I am greeted this morning by a problem with my PowerBook G4. Ever since I bought a new router last week, this thing has trouble connecting to my wireless network. Of course, since Apple is so user-friendly, it simply says, "There was an error joining the Airtport network katebeckinsale." (that's the name of the wireless network here). GRAR! Thanks for the help, Apple!

It looks like there's no real solution. One thing I can say is that if this was happening on my tablet... I could troubleshoot it. Things seem harder to fix on a Mac than a PC when problems occur...

Blech.

. . .

July 8th, 2006, Letter to the Shareholders of Weitz Funds:

Dell is a new position for us (and one likely to raise eyebrows among our investors). We generally avoid technology stocks because of their very short product cycles and unpredictable future free cash flows, but we do not think Dell is a typical tech stock. Dell markets directly to consumers and assembles computers, monitors, printers and other hardware to order. As a result, it takes very little inventory risk and can change its product offerings on short notice.

In recent quarters, Dell has faced improved competition from Hewlett Packard and others and has created problems for itself by skimping on telephone tech support for its customers. As a result, sales have slowed, margins have slipped and the company’s cost advantage over its competitors has narrowed. We believe Dell has addressed these problems and that its cost structure, balance sheet, returns on investment and strong management provide the company with significant and sustainable competitive advantages. The company generates prodigious amounts of cash and is currently deploying it in a massive stock buyback program. We believe the company is worth considerably more than the current price of $24.

Are you kidding me? Who in the world thinks Dell is doing well? It seems that there are literally hundreds of horror stories online. I had my own horror story when I simply ordered a simple system using their website, had the order delayed by weeks, then had the CC charge come out fraudulent, then I couldn't get ahold of anybody to reorder the same system. I spent like an hour on hold just trying to buy the friggin system. I eventually gave up and resolved never to buy another Dell again. Giving the impression that I'm "smart with computers," people ask for my advice when buying laptops and computers. I always steer them away from Dell now. By my count, I've cost Dell nearly $10,000 in business over the last year alone. Not much, but I'm just a random dude.

Anyways, vindication this morning as Dell issued an outlook warning and the stock responded by dropping 13%. I can only hope that Dell continues to pay the price for becoming such a nightmare company to deal with.