TomE

If you were out when Apple announced the recent reduction of shares, you missed or will miss the increase in your assets (generally speaking).  If you sell too soon , you miss dividends and special dividends. If you don't like the Stock or the Company or don't have the money to put in the Market, don't buy the Market.  Mr Market does not like you, but Apple does like you the customers.  The stock you buy on the market is not money in Apple's pocket. Apple made the money when they originally sold the stock.  Apple does their stock owners a favor when they buy back stock and put it in their own hands - less shares, more ability to pay dividends to those who actually have the stock outside of Apple.   They have the Cash on Hand or Assets on hand to by back.  Easier than continuously "raising / or holding" the quarterly dividend like a Utility Stock Might Do.  Utilities are so Infrastructure Heavy they have a much harder life than Apple who could actually buy a Utility if they wanted one.  Thankfully Apple does not want a Utility.  Instead, Apple installs Solar Panels to offset their Utility Costs.  Apple can afford it.  You might not have the available cash to do this. 

I am putting a solar panel with a marine battery (boat battery) with an inverter on my outside garden potting / storage building. It is easier and more sensible than digging up my yard, tunneling under concrete, etc. and running a new cable from the distribution box in my house to the Storage Building.  If my cable had not been fried by lightening, I would use House Power (City) and it would be cheaper.  Dealing with the new cable is not and it will get fried again. So, thus the simple , mind freeing solution is to install a solar panel or panels or batteries and a larger inverter 100 ft away with no cable to the house.  Some times it may not be cheaper, but look at what you want to accomplish.  Power when I need it 100 ft away. City Utilities can slowly disappear.  This is what Apple is doing.  I worked for a very large electric utility and they had a large # of people on site 24/7 dealing with just the generation of power (250 - 300).  A solar farm might have 1-2 maintenance electricians that are actually shared. Almost a no brainer or risk. Especially if the Utility Co buys the green power and the Government subsidizes the solar farm. I don't need or want the Government to subsidize my "little" solar project.

rob53 said:

There's nothing wrong with Apple but everything wrong with this country. Yes, I said it but that's where the problem lies. There's false information about everything that makes every product someone wants to look bad, look bad. Market manipulation, shorting of stocks, making up information about sales, everything is being done to make money without actually earning it. The only people who know how well Apple is doing are people within Apple, nobody else no matter how smart they think they are. I don't care what happened years ago, Apple wasn't being run the way it is now. Apple will survive but AAPL might not. When AAPL is being hammered, especially by the media and stock market, Apple must be doing something right because the market has always hated Apple, especially because they're from the left coast.

I agree with Rob53 and remember most all of the things that took place with Apple since I have been involved as a user / investor since prior to the Mac (was it not 1984).  Apple ///, Apple 2, Apple , Newton, Camera, etc.  So many good products that did not make it from a Marketing stand point.  Most of the news writers do not remember these things, etc.  It is much easier for reporters, Stock Brokers, Anal-ysts, etc. to de-promote success than to promote or write about it.

Apple is a much greater company than in the past, but the above mentioned publication writers, don't want to say this.  It is almost like political system reporting: Very Little fact - lots of opinion.  Difficult for me to watch any TV channel for very long.  Too much YaDaYaDaYaDa from any side gets old, as does the Apple lambasting.  Apple is great - I have a lot & continue to use the products I want to use.   I like competition, but Apple has all the money, profit, what ever you want to call it.  Reporters expect Magic !  It is not Magic.

Last week VZ Customer service told me they had a way to block these calls, messages etc from people who fake in the phone number & the city. Imagine that.  They said they can determine this and would apply these techniques to the phones on our account. This was after much interrogation of the CS Representative.  They did Not.  Providers have a responsibility to their Paying Customers that exceeds their responsibility to the Spammers.  They need to quickly intercept the incoming numbers, cities, locations, IP addresses, etc. , since they claimed to be able to do it, and block.

If they do not have a valid Company , Name, Location, Telephone Number, the Cell Providers need to route the calls to somewhere else.  Perhaps theirLegal & the VP of Revenue Streams can handle the calls - they are complicit in this problem.  They allow it. It makes money.

I don't want calls from impersonators & Con-Artists.  None of the ideas above in the Article are very effective. VZ must have written this Article.
I want to propose an effort for Apple, who values privacy, to support that VZ, ATT, etc be Automatically Back Charged a minimum of $1 USD for each bogus call & we be given a credit on our Monthly Bill Automatically.  2nd Offense is $5 USD credit to our monthly bill.  If it continues, I will attempt a Court Order against VZ.  I freely give the Intellectual Property of this Idea to Apple, Inc.

Dear Fellow Apple Insider Readers:

I enjoy your comments on a daily basis.
Most are well thought out - A far cry from the 4-8th grade level articles written by the Professional Correspondents for the masses.

I am retired, over 70, and have been an Apple User, Investor and supporter since prior to 1984.  All companies have their daily difficulties - Apple has overcome the most overwhelming odds.

Most people cannot remember their trials and tribulations.  From almost Bankrupt and unable to buy parts to where they are today.  Today they cannot buy enough of the Best Parts and they essentially have all the cash ($).  

So what do they do?  They design and build the best as fast as they can produce with the quantities they can get.  In the earlier days they were at the mercy of their cash on hand or loans available; now they have the cash and cannot get enough of the latest available components, but they have the cash.   So now they aid manufacturers with $'s to get the best production facilities possible.  They design very great chips.  Have their own design facilities, etc.  They are really on a roll.  Security is one of their best features.  Maybe not the best display or the best speakers, because no one can supply the quantities they need.  Logistically speaking, Tim Cook and Men are Solving that in a very logical manner.  It will not be long and Chinese & others will not be able to steal Intellectual Property.

As an "Older" user , I can appreciate their determination to provide a World Class Product with the best Security at a price point they need to keep rolling.  I am willing to be rewarded later for with my new computer and investments.  Wall Street wants to be gratified now because their bonuses are dependent upon churning stocks.  I also have MS, Intel, and others like you might.

No reason to make fun of any of their competitors. They are more successful than I.  I ride their coat-tails: rise or fall and it does not matter at my age.

But Apple and Facebook have different objectives entirely - no similarity at all.  Most of Apple's General Purpose Applications can be access via an Internet Browser.  I run them natively on my Macs, Phones, etc.  My Wife's Old Windows Notebook that I took away from her years ago remains hidden in a closet in a book sack.  Now she does not have any real problems with software and OS.

Facebook runs on all platforms and is in my single opinion as Evil as it Comes -  Almost a Satan hiding in Zuckerberg's Body.  Zuck's  intentions are completely diametric to those of Apple His company & Apple are like North and South Poles on a magnet.  Apple provides products with security in mind.  Facebook, Zuckerberg,  provides a software experience that is apparently Free. FB has been as Devious as Satan.  They still are.  Zuck's intent is to connect the world with everyone via the information he has gleaned or tricked his users into providing, via deception and Changes to the User Agreement.  There is No Free Lunch in this World.  He is an Arrogant Parasite feasting off of the lack of understanding of his users.  Most people do not understand FB or Twitter, etc. - They just use it "freely" - a gift of Zuck the Devil, aka Facebook.

Zuckerberg has succeeded in his intention, but he has been caught.  Congress is a "1 Trick Pony".  The intention of most in Congress is to not represent the people of the Republic, but to stay in office as long as they are able and then leave after their "pockets & corporations" have been sufficiently greased by others.

I urge you to contact your Elected Officials every time something happens that you like or dislike - They listen to the people who are needed to put them back in office. They are always promising that "we are working on that idea, but nothing will happen until the next term after we are re-elected".

Vote them in or out as you see fit. Even the local officials.  Read between the lines.  If you are not really knowledgeable, try to become more active in learning - not Picketing or Sign Waving.  Knowledge is true power.

Congress Fool Me - Do Something This Term !

Zuck you are a Arrogant, Rich, Joke.  

And Here We, the Apple Watch Users and the Stockholders, wait while these "legal opportunities" await the potential benefits of the Apple Watch.   This is ridiculous in every way.  Show us what the watch can do !  We are here, waiting and need it.  Make me a beta wearer of the new improved software & hardware.  I am a user since pre 1984.  Our Government is a padlock around productivity; as is our legal system.