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Trump Issues Order to Block Broadcom’s Takeover of Qualcomm

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21–30 of 126 posts

Re: Trump Issues Order to Block Broadcom’s Takeover of Qualcomm

#21
post #13
post #3

It's good news. State-sponsored 5G in the USA would be great, and unprecedented. Hopefully we can agree on that.

It's rather odd watching the same group that wants Net Neutrality and municipal broadband disagree with you. Trump's nationalized 5G idea is brilliant in that it consolidates all efforts, but also serves to protect freedom. Under the privatized approach we use now, wireless ISPs spy on us, and sell the data to the government. That's constitutional and legal, because the government didn't do the spying. Under a nation…

No, and we have the most extensive highway system in the world.

That extensive highway system has destroyed communities, alienated us from one another. It destroyed passenger rail (air travel took the high-end of the market, to be sure, but what business does the government have in using taxpayer money to destroy an entire industry?)

If you were a person of color in the 1950s, highways likely destroyed the places you lived in. And you couldn't follow the white people to the suburbs. Racist people used zoning laws to prevent you, and where would you get the money to do so anyway? The vast majority of the high-paying professions were not open to you.

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/11/syracus...

Re: Trump Issues Order to Block Broadcom’s Takeover of Qualcomm

#22
post #13
post #3

It's good news. State-sponsored 5G in the USA would be great, and unprecedented. Hopefully we can agree on that.

It's rather odd watching the same group that wants Net Neutrality and municipal broadband disagree with you. Trump's nationalized 5G idea is brilliant in that it consolidates all efforts, but also serves to protect freedom. Under the privatized approach we use now, wireless ISPs spy on us, and sell the data to the government. That's constitutional and legal, because the government didn't do the spying. Under a nation…

> Do we drive on corporate owned highways? No, and we have the most extensive highway system in the world. For comparison, look how well privatized rail worked out. You're right. Privatized infrastructure sucks.

You mean the highway system that's been underfunded for the past several years even before you take into account the fact that much of it is in dilapidated condition and needs unbudgeted replacement? In contrast to the freight rail system that Europe wishes it had?

Re: Trump Issues Order to Block Broadcom’s Takeover of Qualcomm

#24
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is Qualcomm better?

Qualcomm gpus have so many webgl bugs and they never get fixed via driver updates. I have run into 3 different ones in my three.js work. Now getting acquired by broadcom probably wouldn't have changed things.

It is curious that Qualcomm continues to develop their own closed source driver instead of throwing their weight behind Rob Clark's Freedreno initiative.

Broadcom at least pay someone to develop a FOSS driver for the VideoCore IV and V, as found in the rPi.

Re: Trump Issues Order to Block Broadcom’s Takeover of Qualcomm

#25
post #13
post #3

It's good news. State-sponsored 5G in the USA would be great, and unprecedented. Hopefully we can agree on that.

It's rather odd watching the same group that wants Net Neutrality and municipal broadband disagree with you. Trump's nationalized 5G idea is brilliant in that it consolidates all efforts, but also serves to protect freedom. Under the privatized approach we use now, wireless ISPs spy on us, and sell the data to the government. That's constitutional and legal, because the government didn't do the spying. Under a nation…

U.S. freight rail is completely privatized and it is the finest system anywhere.

"our freight rail is the envy of the world, carrying over 40% of our intercity cargo. Trains carry much less of Europe’s freight, which is why trucks clog Europe’s highways. And America’s rail-shipping rates are the world’s lowest, reducing the cost of doing business in the U.S.; they’ve fallen 45% in real dollars since the industry was deregulated three decades ago."

http://business.time.com/2012/07/09/us-freight-railroads/

Re: Trump Issues Order to Block Broadcom’s Takeover of Qualcomm

#26
post #10

This is the right decision, but is it normal for M&As to be blocked by executive order rather than by a DOJ decision, or is this a Trump thing?

> Trump acted on a recommendation by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. Seems legit. I know we all love to bash Trump, but he might not be entirely evil. Sometimes he's not treated fairly, that said it's all well deserved that's for sure :)

Or, his random chaotic approach may accidentally do the right thing sometimes out of shear probability. A broken clock is right at least twice a day, a random clock is right randomly.

Re: Trump Issues Order to Block Broadcom’s Takeover of Qualcomm

#27
post #3

It's good news. State-sponsored 5G in the USA would be great, and unprecedented. Hopefully we can agree on that.

Perhaps you could explain why you assume that to follow as a consequence of this action. as it is, your comment seems like a non sequitur.

In an effort to be brief I grouped all the thoughts on 5G in the USA together, but the State-sponsored 5G has nothing to do with this really. Many tech enthusiasts are actually advocating for a state-sponsored solution, however, and such moves have worked in the past for other nations (Australia was the first nation with 3G thanks to a state-sponsored move that has now been privatized [now run by Telestra]). As long as we're on the topic of 5G at all I figured I'd voice my support as a coder and generally well-informed individual.

Re: Trump Issues Order to Block Broadcom’s Takeover of Qualcomm

#28
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Qualcomm gpus have so many webgl bugs and they never get fixed via driver updates. I have run into 3 different ones in my three.js work. Now getting acquired by broadcom probably wouldn't have changed things.

It is curious that Qualcomm continues to develop their own closed source driver instead of throwing their weight behind Rob Clark's Freedreno initiative. Broadcom at least pay someone to develop a FOSS driver for the VideoCore IV and V, as found in the rPi.

The situation has historically been the exact opposite for WiFi drivers, where Broadcom is the obstinate closed-source vendor and Qualcomm-Atheros is the most open-source friendly vendor in that market.

Re: Trump Issues Order to Block Broadcom’s Takeover of Qualcomm

#29

> "There is credible evidence that leads me to believe that Broadcom Ltd." by acquiring Qualcomm "might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States," Trump said in the order released Monday evening in Washington. > The government said it feared Broadcom would cut investment in research and development in order to increase short-term profits. That could allow Chinese companies to be…

I suspect the issue is that, if whole classes of chips that are important for military purposes (wireless communications, for example) are made exclusively by China, they could put in backdoors and other traps that would compromise U.S. military hardware. I haven't seen anyone discuss this angle openly, though, so either I'm off base somehow or it's not something the U.S. wants to loudly discuss (because they're likely doing it too.)

Re: Trump Issues Order to Block Broadcom’s Takeover of Qualcomm

#30
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's rather odd watching the same group that wants Net Neutrality and municipal broadband disagree with you. Trump's nationalized 5G idea is brilliant in that it consolidates all efforts, but also serves to protect freedom. Under the privatized approach we use now, wireless ISPs spy on us, and sell the data to the government. That's constitutional and legal, because the government didn't do the spying. Under a nation…

U.S. freight rail is completely privatized and it is the finest system anywhere. "our freight rail is the envy of the world, carrying over 40% of our intercity cargo. Trains carry much less of Europe’s freight, which is why trucks clog Europe’s highways. And America’s rail-shipping rates are the world’s lowest, reducing the cost of doing business in the U.S.; they’ve fallen 45% in real dollars since the industry was…

Good freight rail and good passenger rail seem to be more or less mutually exclusive. Japan has one of the lowest rates of freight rail usage in the world, and yet the Shinkansen and the extensive urban metros and suburban railways with their absurdly high schedule reliability are basically an element of national identity...
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