its doing well lately

Q: You've said you sometimes look at stocks without big dividends. How about tech?

A: You don't get a lot of dividends there, even though there is lots of cash in the group. But Intel [INTC] has kind of an interesting yield. We also like Dell [DELL] and Microsoft [MSFT]. People have put off upgrading their computers' operating systems, in many cases because they have been waiting for Windows 7. While I haven't used it yet, I was at Dell a couple of months ago, and they have been using it all year throughout the company and they were very, very high on it.

That means the ability to buy so many companies that are overseas-oriented: Intel (INTC), Microsoft (MSFT), Cisco (CSCO), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Caterpillar (CAT), 3M (MMM), United Tech (UTX), Boeing (BA), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), McDonald's (MCD), Alcoa (AA), IBM (IBM), Procter (PG), Coke (KO), Merck (MRK) and Pfizer (PFE), just to give you the Dow stocks that are weighted perfectly for the overseas turn.

Now It is a hold

Our respondents' top pick, Microsoft has rallied nicely since March, but substantial gains could lie ahead as the software titan embarks on a new product-upgrade cycle, headlined by the launch of the Windows 7 computer-operating system, which has garnered glowing reviews. Microsoft trades for 15.5 times the $1.79 it is expected to earn in the fiscal year ending next June. Back out the company's nearly $4 a share in cash, and its price/earnings multiple is only 13. Microsoft returns cash to shareholders via a 52-cent annual dividend; it yields 1.8%.

Always been good new OS out.

So let's put it all together. This is now a short-seller's paradise for the moment. Washington is against us. Oil is against us. Tech? Broadcom (BRCM) is actually trumping everything including Microsoft (MSFT), and that is part of the misery here today;

We have leaders, so we have winners. Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG) and Microsoft (MSFT) are making moves that have us thinking about tech in a positive way and make us recognize the power of the Web renewed.

Revenue growth at Microsoft (MSFT) came from the consumer side, said Joe Terranova. That’s interesting because you’d think strength would come from the PC cycle upgrade. Consumer strength in Microsoft’s numbers says to me the people are feeling more comfortable spending money, adds Gary Kaminsky.

Late last week Microsoft reported profits and revenue that beat Wall Street estimates, even though they were down. Its new Windows 7 operating system was also well received. Price's target for Microsoft is 35, versus 28 last week following a big gain. His 2010 earnings estimate is $2 a share.

not sure they will play in the future

Slip sliding away

provides terrible products.

Downward spiral

too back and forth

never moves much

never moves up

I love the company, but it is becoming stale. The many benefits of Windows remain, but those arguments have become technical, and all of the things that people do with computers have transcended the OS as the foundation of the user experience. Windows users don't feel pride or awe toward the OS anymore, and the rush of people to a browser-defined or mobile Internet application experience will (one day soon) suck the Windows-derived life out of MSFT and make it truly vulnerable to competition. In fact, it's happening as I write this...

too sideways

Has done nothing for years