Sure, but don't try to hack this metric too much. Manufacturers use it and don't try to game it. They actually want to improve it. Apple partners with Foxcon to get this number at 5, and wouldn't have it at 5 if they didn't believe Foxcon could manage demand. Apple would maintain inventories in their warehouse if that was the case.
This metric speaks as much about Foxcon's success as it does Apple's.
Some misconceptions in this thread on how inventory turnover is calculated.
It is (commonly) calculated as COGS / Average Inventory.
Let's say your COGS for a Macbook is $500. You buy material on Jan 1 to make it, assemble on Jan 2, and ship Dec 31. Your turnover is $500 / $500 = 1 for the year.
If you buy parts to make 2 Macbooks on Jan 1 your inventory turnover would be 0.5 ($500 / $1000).
This accounts for unused A5 chips in stock (or anything else unused), and online sales don't count as "0 days".
Not totally accurate. There isn't much uncertainty in the law, but rather whether you broke it. Plaintiff has the burden of proof. And while there may not be a specific statute spelling out liability, case law has equal wait in the US.
Here is an example. This is a common 3 part test used to decide whether a manufacturer is liable for failure to warn:
1. Manufacturer had actual knowledge of the alleged danger
2. Manufacturer had no reason to know that consumers would know of this danger.
3. Manufacturer failed to exercise reasonable care to inform customers of the danger.
Despite the "no refund for deposits" clause, you are entitled to your full money back. It doesn't matter that they offer no warranties, express or implied, either.
You may have to go to small claims court to get it. Or you may have to get an attorney to get it (Tough to do, I know).
Just know he is feeding you BS and you will have to assert yourself to get it.
The PDP-Linux maker should be sued for copyright (and trademark) infringement. Buyers may believe they are getting RedHat Linux because that is what the cover is, but they are not getting Red Hat Linux.
Once again, the programmer's work is sacred and we need Linus's permission, but an artist who creates cover art did trivial work and deserves no protection.
Those two pictures are not out of context. They are from the case that Baio cited himself. On Baio's blog (http://waxy.org/2011/06/kind_of_screwed/) he cites an "influential paper on fair use" as his reasoning and authority for his own fair use argument.
These pictures show what the paper writer is actually using as the "transformativeness" example. Baio never bothered to dig into the writer's citations to figure out the details. Trying to claim his own work is similar to the Blanch v. Koons case is a mistake. They aren't alike at all.
Source code changes that I am suggesting will allow the new BaioNix to functionally "work" just as Linux does, just like how Baio created a picture but it "works" as a homage to an earlier Miles Davis photo.
And I am not suggesting trivial code modifications for the sole purpose of evading copyright. The changes that BaioNix has produce a simpler naming convention that enables programmers to understand the code easier.
People are acting like Baio has a slam dunk case but had to settle because he doesn't have money to defend. In reality Maisel has a slam dunk case and Baio wisely settled and cut his losses.
Is this a just result? As with everything, that is up for debate. But if you want to change the law to allow Baio-works one needs to consider what else it affects.
I think your attempt at a distinction in paragraph 1 actually proves my point. Yes, GPL covers binaries, or however else the code is distributed. Just like how copyright law protects a Miles Davis picture on an album cover, a CD liner, and on a web page when it is "mostly-the-same."
First, I can't say that I am surprised my post currently sits at 4 downvotes here on HN. A programmer's work is sacred while a photographer's is not.
Use some common sense? Baio absolutely published the photograph, which is why we are all having this discussion.
It doesn't matter why people buy something or if it had an impact on sales. A copyright holder retains the sole right to publish a work and its derivatives. That is the essence of how we protect works of art fixed in a tangible means of expression.
Hypothetical: Baio downloads the latest Linux kernel. He changes all variable and function names to words of his choosing. Baio now says that he has the right to distribute BaioNix code free from GPL copyright restrictions and does so. The Free Software Foundation sues Baio alleging copyright infringement.
Who wins and why? How is this different from or the same as Maisel v. Baio?
I have a BS/MS in Electrical & Computer Engineering. For a while I designed/manufactured sensor systems. Our customers were nuclear plants, oil refineries, chemical plants, etc. My company had a line of products that monitored steam valves, among other systems.
For a bunch of reasons I decided to go back to law school and added that skill.
So now I operate at the intersection of law, management/operations, and engineering for small companies. So far it is working out as a good niche.
The motivation for moving from "per valve" to "total for all valves" was cost savings in monitoring. There are thousands of these in plants. Operators didn't want to have to check each one individually, so they got the rule changed to a total measurement.
To actually measure they "randomly" sample their valves, monitor, and then extrapolate to the rest. I say "randomly" because the best ones get checked repeatedly.
The steam valves are designed with pressure relief valves. When pressure exceeds a specified limit, the release is opened to the atmosphere.
Increasing releases is a symptom of other issues in a plant, some very dangerous and some just a reflection on increased utilization.
I am a lawyer, and what ggchappell said is correct.
The work required to license either isn't difficult. Arguing back and forth on terms is how the legal bills add up. It all boils down to how much money must be paid.
Your product is mostly the underlying asset, not the streamlined process.
Remember, every licensee of the copyright or trademark will be selling the same thing (mostly). How do they differentiate themselves in the market? Probably price, in a multitude of ways.
Yes, copyright and TM are different, but both can be handled similarly. Let's start with similarities.
You can register both individually, and then execute a licensing contract for each afterward. You sign and the new party signs. Terms of the agreement ae mostly up to both of you.
Trademarks allow for extra assignment recording rights. You can check the USPTO website for those or contact an attorney for specifics.
Basically, you creat a license, like GPL or a CC license or a custom one (how most are done).
You can charge a flat fee, ongoing royalties, or other. Whatever fits your goals and the market.
1. Hopefully you incorporated in your state and actually have the protection, not as a Delaware LLC, which might not help you. Hopefully you paid the yearly fees and did the registration requirements, too.
2. Declaring bankruptcy doesn't just let you walk away. The opponent will get your assets. Did you claim your computer as a deduction? Other side could get that. They can get any corporate assets up to the judgement amount. If you have regular income from licensing agreements they can also get that. And so on.
3. Declaring bankruptcy isn't without its consequences. Senior officers of companies that declare bankruptcy can be prohibited from serving as a senior officer or founder of other/new companies. In some instances it will show up on your personal credit report.
4. Hopefully you don't have a business line of credit that you made a personal guarantee on. Or friends and family loans.
Ha. If you were a lawyer you would know that saying "this is not legal advice" doesn't actually turn legal advice into non-legal advice.
The whole post is legal advice.
EDIT: I think that is funny that I get downvoted for this. The writer very early on in the post demonstrates that he doesn't have legal knowledge, yet he advocates people using his language in their own contracts.
Some of the clauses don't protect how the writer thinks they do, if at all. Parts of the analysis/summary are flat out wrong.
For example, the legal costs clause is one of the scariest in the post. You really want to allow the other side to recover their legal costs if he sues you? These things work both ways.
Just look at the balance of potential damages. Your potential damages are for the unpaid contract price. That is it. The client's damages if your software fails could be millions of dollars in tort liability. And you are going to pay their legal fees when they hire the best contingency lawyers around and win?
By the way, defense attorney's can't take cases on contingency basis. If you are being sued you will have to pay your own way with the hope of collecting afterward. The legal costs clause created a nice incentive to go to trial for the opposing plaintiff.
This metric speaks as much about Foxcon's success as it does Apple's.