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Even if you don't think you do, you already know plenty about commodities. Want us to prove it? No problem.
What makes oil produced in Saudi Arabia different from oil exported from Nigeria? It's the same thing that makes the corn you ate at last summer¿s barbecue different from the corn used to produce ethanol. Stumped? Well, don't feel bad, it's a trick question. The answer? Absolutely nothing. Corn is corn no matter where it comes from -- just as wheat is wheat and natural gas is -- right! -- natural gas. (Though the quality may differ, the make-up is uniform.)
So, in less elaborate terms, corn and oil (and all other commodities) are homogenous goods that can be processed, resold and more often than not, used as an input to the production of other goods or services. These goods are traded on a commodity exchange, thus setting the price-per-barrel (or other metric unit) used to value them.
Now pay attention, here's a question that indeed does have an answer: What is the difference between a commodity and a stock? While a stock can tank and become worthless, a commodity cannot have its value be wiped to zero. One other difference: Most commodities are traded in futures, meaning traders buy and sell where they think the price of a product will be at a certain point in the future. Stocks trade based on the value of the underlying company at that point in time.
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Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Microsoft to Incorporate Touch Screen Technology Into Upcoming OS
FOXBusiness
New York--Microsoft (MSFT), the Redmond, Wash., software titan, will incorporate touch-screen technology into the next version of its Windows operating system, reported the Wall Street Journal.
Click here to read more about the Touch Wall
The technology, which will be built into the Windows operating system to be launched in 2010, will let people use their fingers to manipulate its software on the screen.
The technology is expected to drive a whole new class of personal computers in the next few years, reported the Wall Street Journal.
Microsoft, which demonstrated the technology at D: All Things Digital conference in Carlsbad, Calif., showed how a person can draw images using fingers. Microsoft was tight lipped about other features of its next generation operating system, informally being called Windows 7.
Earlier this month Microsoft showcased its prototype of a 4X6 foot digital whiteboard that reacts to the human touch to demonstrate the multi-touch technology.
During a presentation at Microsoft’s CEO Summit, Bill Gates said “All the surfaces, horizontal surfaces, vertical surfaces, will eventually have an inexpensive screen display capability and software that sees what you’re doing.”
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