Weitz Funds Analyst Corner - A Perspective On Motorola Solutions Inc.

Motorola Solutions (MSI) is a global leader in the sale of public safety communication infrastructure products and services as well as commercial radio systems. The company’s public safety portfolio, which represents over 60% of sales, provides first responders with mission critical, reliable and secure communications necessary for operating during storms, fires and security events where the inability to communicate can result in disastrous consequences. MSI designs, manufactures and installs the underlying infrastructure necessary to run a network as well as the end point radios and other devices carried by local personnel. The company’s commercial radio systems are sold to a diverse set of private and public entities which need a reliable, low cost, two-way push-to-talk method of communicating with customers and employees. We believe the company is the share leader in both of its primary businesses, serving over 10,000 customers located in more than 100 countries.

Old is New Again â€" With Higher Margins



Motorola was originally founded as Galvin Manufacturing in 1928 with the police radio as one of its first products. In its 86 years, the company invented or commercialized many leading edge products such as the AM/FM car radio, two-way police radio, walkie-talkie and the first cellular phone and network. Over time, Motorola became the owner of a wide range of technologies pertaining to semiconductors, personal computers, mobile phones, cable television and networking equipment. In the early 2000’s the company began a program to divest many of its disparate businesses. With the appointment of CEO Greg Brown in 2008, the divestment program was accelerated through the spin-off of the mobile phone unit and culminated with the sale of the enterprise mobility products business in the 3rd quarter of 2014. MSI management believes that as a result of being able to completely focus on what are two very similar businesses, it will be able to reduce selling and overhead expense and therefore increase operating margins by a significant amount.

Analog to Digital LTE: Opportunity or Threat?

While shrinking its portfolio, Motorola was also investing in the public safety and commercial radio businesses. By refreshing and expanding the product portfolio MSI is well positioned to participate in what is expected to be a long-term transition by customers from aging analog to modern digital and LTE systems. MSI estimates that only 60% of its install base has moved to a digital infrastructure which among many improvements allows for better quality, more efficient use of spectrum and lower costs. The company has long protected its customers by making new equipment compatible with older versions so customers can transition to digital as needed without worrying about obsolescence.

A rush by MSI’s customers to comply with an FCC mandate caused some of the “digital transition” demand to be pulled forward from 2014 into 2012 and 2013. The resulting lull caused negative year-over- year sales growth and created doubts in investor’s minds about the durability of the public safety business. We anticipate that public safety revenues will return to growth in 2015.

Another source of opportunity for MSI is to sell LTE data capabilities into its installed base. LTE systems complement existing digital systems by offering features such as high-speed, two-way data transmission, real-time video and use of “big data” applications. However, Voice over LTE is barely reliable for consumer cell phone use (most consumer smart phones connect to a “3G” network for voice and use LTE for high speed data) much less critical public safety situations and therefore existing analog and digital voice products must still be used for the foreseeable future. Motorola has patiently built out its LTE offering while it waits for the U.S. Government to settle on rules and standards for a national intraoperative public safety LTE network. The process has taken longer than expected and combined with what we believe are unfounded worries that LTE will cannibalize revenue from the analog to digital transition has caused investors to express concern that LTE is more a threat than an opportunity. Our analysis leads us to believe that LTE has significant potential and will be additive to Motorola’s results.

Strong Capital Allocation



The separation of the mobile phone business in early 2011 left the company with significant net cash. Since then Motorola has repurchased over 30% of its diluted shares. Furthermore, the company has committed to moving to a net debt position thus making available more funds to shareholders. These funds, when combined with the proceeds from the sale of the enterprise mobility business are what enabled the company to authorize an additional $5b in repurchases in November 2014. If fully utilized at current prices the repurchase would reduce MSI’s share count by another 25%. In buying a substantial portion of its shares, MSI has materially increased per share value for remaining shareholders.

Attractive Value

We believe Motorola possesses an above average “moat,” good management and a shareholder-friendly capital allocation policy. As a result, we consider the MSI to be a high-quality business. With predictable long-term growth driven by public safety infrastructure upgrades and margin improvement resulting from focus and scale, we believe our discounted cash flow derived estimate of business in the mid $80’s represents a compelling opportunity for the Funds.

http://www.gurufocus.com/news/310722/weitz-funds-analyst-corner--a-perspective-on-motorola-solutions-inc

Weitz Funds Analyst Corner - A Perspective On Motorola Solutions Inc.

Motorola Solutions (MSI) is a global leader in the sale of public safety communication infrastructure products and services as well as commercial radio systems. The company’s public safety portfolio, which represents over 60% of sales, provides first responders with mission critical, reliable and secure communications necessary for operating during storms, fires and security events where the inability to communicate can result in disastrous consequences. MSI designs, manufactures and installs the underlying infrastructure necessary to run a network as well as the end point radios and other devices carried by local personnel. The company’s commercial radio systems are sold to a diverse set of private and public entities which need a reliable, low cost, two-way push-to-talk method of communicating with customers and employees. We believe the company is the share leader in both of its primary businesses, serving over 10,000 customers located in more than 100 countries.

Old is New Again â€" With Higher Margins

Motorola was originally founded as Galvin Manufacturing in 1928 with the police radio as one of its first products. In its 86 years, the company invented or commercialized many leading edge products such as the AM/FM car radio, two-way police radio, walkie-talkie and the first cellular phone and network. Over time, Motorola became the owner of a wide range of technologies pertaining to semiconductors, personal computers, mobile phones, cable television and networking equipment. In the early 2000’s the company began a program to divest many of its disparate businesses. With the appointment of CEO Greg Brown in 2008, the divestment program was accelerated through the spin-off of the mobile phone unit and culminated with the sale of the enterprise mobility products business in the 3rd quarter of 2014. MSI management believes that as a result of being able to completely focus on what are two very similar businesses, it will be able to reduce selling and overhead expense and therefore increase operating margins by a significant amount.

Analog to Digital & LTE: Opportunity or Threat?

While shrinking its portfolio, Motorola was also investing in the public safety and commercial radio businesses. By refreshing and expanding the product portfolio MSI is well positioned to participate in what is expected to be a long-term transition by customers from aging analog to modern digital and LTE systems. MSI estimates that only 60% of its install base has moved to a digital infrastructure which among many improvements allows for better quality, more efficient use of spectrum and lower costs. The company has long protected its customers by making new equipment compatible with older versions so customers can transition to digital as needed without worrying about obsolescence.

A rush by MSI’s customers to comply with an FCC mandate caused some of the “digital transition” demand to be pulled forward from 2014 into 2012 and 2013. The resulting lull caused negative year-over- year sales growth and created doubts in investor’s minds about the durability of the public safety business. We anticipate that public safety revenues will return to growth in 2015.

Another source of opportunity for MSI is to sell LTE data capabilities into its installed base. LTE systems complement existing digital systems by offering features such as high-speed, two-way data transmission, real-time video and use of “big data” applications. However, Voice over LTE is barely reliable for consumer cell phone use (most consumer smart phones connect to a “3G” network for voice and use LTE for high speed data) much less critical public safety situations and therefore existing analog and digital voice products must still be used for the foreseeable future. Motorola has patiently built out its LTE offering while it waits for the U.S. Government to settle on rules and standards for a national intraoperative public safety LTE network. The process has taken longer than expected and combined with what we believe are unfounded worries that LTE will cannibalize revenue from the analog to digital transition has caused investors to express concern that LTE is more a threat than an opportunity. Our analysis leads us to believe that LTE has significant potential and will be additive to Motorola’s results.

Strong Capital Allocation

The separation of the mobile phone business in early 2011 left the company with significant net cash. Since then Motorola has repurchased over 30% of its diluted shares. Furthermore, the company has committed to moving to a net debt position thus making available more funds to shareholders. These funds, when combined with the proceeds from the sale of the enterprise mobility business are what enabled the company to authorize an additional $5b in repurchases in November 2014. If fully utilized at current prices the repurchase would reduce MSI’s share count by another 25%. In buying a substantial portion of its shares, MSI has materially increased per share value for remaining shareholders.

Attractive Value

We believe Motorola possesses an above average “moat,” good management and a shareholder-friendly capital allocation policy. As a result, we consider the MSI to be a high-quality business. With predictable long-term growth driven by public safety infrastructure upgrades and margin improvement resulting from focus and scale, we believe our discounted cash flow derived estimate of business in the mid $80’s represents a compelling opportunity for the Funds.

http://www.gurufocus.com/news/310722/weitz-funds-analyst-corner--a-perspective-on-motorola-solutions-inc

What are the different types of earpiece?

An earpiece allows Security Professionals to communicate in a covert manner without anyone noticing. Earpieces are important to allow communication between the wearer and his/ her team discreetly. There are many earpiece models and makes that a security agent can wear but typically, earpieces are of two major categories i.e. wireless and wired. Within these two categories, there are varying versions and models available. Several factors affect the choice of the ideal earpiece, these factors include:

• Discreetness- Security officials can chose an earpiece based on how discrete they want to be. The level of discreetness is determined by the earpiece style and colour of the coiled tube. In-the ear earpieces are obviously discreet because they are worn inside the ear than over-the ear earpiece- with the wires and all. You can choose a colourless earpiece as opposed to a coloured one for more secrecy or choose a wired earpiece altogether for total secrecy.

• Comfort- You obviously want the earpiece you chose to be comfortable to wear. Choose an earpiece that fits well and that is made with hypo allergic materials. Some of the important questions to ask before choosing an earpiece include how easy the earpiece is to wear and remove, how easy is to use and control the device, can the earpiece remain intact as long as necessary without falling off.

• Versatility- The right earpiece should make it possible to wear underneath the clothes, attached to a collar or back of the tie.

• Tastes and preferences- Different individuals have different tastes and preferences. You can chose an earpiece that meets your needs and preferences in terms of comfort, style and colour



A security earpiece is normally worn inside or put around the ear depending on the type you choose and is usually connected to a 2- way radio or related device. An earpiece is also worn with a microphone and receiver that makes it possible for a person to communicate with other people wearing a similar earpiece.

Earpieces are normally won by bodyguards and security personnel for instance the US secret service, law enforcement officers and private bodyguards and security personnel to allow discreet communication for security purposes. Earpieces are either wired or wireless, with each type having different models, types, styles and makes

Earpieces can either be worn around the ear or in the entrance of the ear as a small ear bud. For extra discreetness, wireless earpieces are often preferred over wired ones since it's hard to tell that someone is actually wearing a wireless earpiece as opposed to a wired earpiece. Wireless earpieces often receive signals wirelessly. A person needs to wear a separate microphone at the end of a sleeve or on a lapel. To send a message, the wearer needs to speak into the microphone and receive messages via the wireless earpiece

A wired earpiece works in the same way as a wireless earpiece the only difference is that the receiver is connected to the earpiece with a wire that anyone can see. However, the wire can be transparent to make it harder for people to notice. The wire is normally worn around the back of the ear to get out of the wearers way.

There are different types of wired earpieces including one wire, two-wire and three wire. One wire microphone consists of a single wire and no microphone, two- wire comprises of an earpiece and a single wire connecting the earpiece to the microphone which is usually connected to a sleeve or lapel.

A three-wire earpiece comprises of an earpiece, a microphone worn on the lapel, and a third wire that normally connects to a separate device on the hand to allow the wearer to activate the microphone at his discretion.

As mentioned above there are typically two types of earpieces and a wide variety of models under each type. The ideal earpiece will be determined by the wearer's preferences, level of secrecy wanted, cost, comfort, and how versatile the device is.

The market is flooded with various models and makes so it's important to understand your needs before buying an earpiece. Buy your earpiece from a reputable source. Do some research before buying your ideal security earpiece to understand the features, components, advantages, and disadvantages.

what are mp3 audio files

I am a vinyl fan. You’ve never heard of most of my favourite bands, and if you have, you won’t like them. Modern music leaves me extremely cold. I’m a fan of most styles, but the current production methods (lets bury everything under a million layers of random sounds just because we can, then we’ll get rid of all background sound and make everything pitch-perfect and soulless) are lost on me.

As you can imagine, I came to MP3 rather late. For the longest time I wandered around with a portable CD player in my pocket that skipped if I moved even a step too fast. It ran on batteries that would run out regularly and was, generally, a pain. However, I persevered with it because I’m ahere. The rock, blues, folk and reggae tunes I listen to daily are the soundtrack to my life.

This, then, is how I learned to love portable music (and MP3 is the first truly portable music â€" believe me, I also once carried a tape player). These days I carry an Apple iPod, an ever-ready library of about 60Gb of music at my fingertips, but I have also used (and worn out) several other MP3 players in my time.

MP3 isn’t the best way to listen to music. The sound is too ‘scrunched’ (for want to a technical term) At the moment, it is winning on convenience grounds as its space-efficient, cost-effective, easily copied/transferred to other gadgets and can be obtained in just a few minutes. In addition to that (perhaps worryingly if you are a fan of album music) you can purchase only the particular tracks you want at the time. Vinyl is still the best way to really hear a band. But you can’t play a turntable on the train, you can’t take it on holiday with you and you really don’t want to carry a suitcase filled with vinyl anywhere unless you are some sort of DJ and being paid to do so.

The MP3 is without a doubt the finest development in portable music since the travelling band. But its also really good for alternative music; the mainstream’s brow-beating tactics have rendered a good deal of great music unfashionable, and nobody wants to walk around blasting Celtic Folk or Delta Blues tunes out of a ghetto blaster, do they? Likewise, your favourite band’s foray into soundscapes or clever-dick psychedelia may be awesome, but might not be a hit with the ladies, so to speak, but with MP3, you could be listening to anything and its entirely up to you. Its also good for independent music, bands can cheaply distribute their music (often giving away free songs) which makes starting a band and sharing your music that much simpler. So, to sum up MP3 is a very freeing experience indeed. Just don’t chuck out your turntable!

Amnesty International Creates Anti Spying Program

Amnesty International has announced the creation of a program that can detect the types of spying software frequently employed by governments to monitor activists and dissidents.

The Human rights organization, which partnered with three like-minded groups to develop the program, declared that the new system was very much needed, as standard anti-virus programs frequently miss spying software.

According to Amnesty, many governments employ such spying software to monitor their targets. Some of these programs can hijack webcams, or even listen in to conversation via compromised microphones. The spying programs leave little trace of themselves on the computer and, as a result, are notoriously difficult to uncover.

Marek marczynski, Amnesty’s Head of Military, Security and Police, is quoted on the organization’s website as saying, “Governments are increasingly using dangerous and sophisticated technology that allows them to read activists and journalists’ private emails and remotely turn on their computer’s camera or microphone to secretly record their activities. They use the technology in a cowardly attempt to prevent abuses from being exposed,”

This new program, named ‘Detekt’, is capable of spotting even remote traces of such harmful software and warning the computer’s owner about it. Developed by four separate Human rights groups, Amnesty, The Electronic Frontier Foundation, Privacy International and Digitale Gesellschaft, Detekt is available completely free of charge.

According to Tanya O’Carroll, who works as a technology adviser at Amnesty, spying software has been discovered on the computers of activists in Tibet, Germany, Bahrain, Syria, Ethiopia, North Korea and Vietnam, amongst others. In fact, the world’s governments spend an estimated £3bn a year on spyware products.

In a worrying trend, such software is becoming increasingly popular with democratically elected governments, “Its easier to name the countries that are not using these spying tools than those that are” O’Carroll told BBC News.

Spread via email attachments, hacked websites, sites designed to distribute malware, or even false internal messaging software, unwanted spyware is a major challenge facing every Internet user today. According to Detekt’s makers, the major difference between general malware and government spyware is that illegal software is generally aimed at proliferating itself, whereas government spyware is principally interested in hiding itself and quietly gathering sensitive information.

Detekt was created by German security researcher Claudio Guarnieri, who asserts that a great many governments around the world are employing spyware to track and monitor people of interest to them. It has even been alleged that computer security firms have even agreed to ignore government spyware from time to time. Guarnieri told BBC News that,

"The real problem is nobody really asked the public whether that's acceptable and some countries are legitimizing their use without considering the consequences and inherent issues."

Amnesty International is presently looking for help to keep the program current, and also to expand it.

To find out more about Amnesty, or to make a donation, visit their official website at http://www.amnesty.org/

Are your earbuds making you deaf? 1964Adel says yes, so it created a solution

With a huge thanks to %link% we're allowed to repost the piece of writing, thankyou yet again

Those tiny earbuds you bring along with you here, there, and everywhere are causing you to go deaf. At least that’s what audio specialist, and in-ear monitor pioneer Stephen D Ambrose would have you believe. To save you from the dangers of the common earbud, Ambrose and his team at 1964|Adel have created an entire new wave of in-ear headphones designed with patented technology to be safer for your eardrums, all of which are making the rounds in a new Kickstarter campaign.

The link between hearing loss and headphone use being drawn here is not a new one. For its part, 1964|Adel singles out a study from an L.A. Times report which cites an increase in hearing loss for U.S. teens in the last 15 years from 30 to 77 percent. The study in question ruled out ear infections and external environmental factors as causes, pointing instead to the higher prevalence of portable audio players, though it stopped short of specifically laying blame. That said, there are plenty of other studies blaming the blasting of headphones as a major contributor to hearing loss.

But Ambrose argues that hearing loss from in-ear headphones and earbuds, specifically, is different due to the way they isolate the eardrum inside the ear canal. In the video below, Ambrose claims it’s not acoustic pressure (i.e. loud noises) that causes hearing loss, but the pounding of air pressure from the moving driver being sealed inside your ear canal, causing “pneumatic pressure” from the movement of the driver itself.

In response, Ambrose and 1964|Adel have proposed a new way to solve the very hearing loss epidemic Ambrose claims to have helped create with his original in-ear monitor design; four ways to be exact, stemming from four different headphone series. The new headphones employ 1964|Adel’s patented RealLoud Technology, which incorporates a “second eardrum” inside the earpiece designed to take the brunt of the air pressure to protect your real eardrum. The company even claims the design makes audio “sound louder,” requiring a lower overall volume level.

Adel in-ear module diagram

The first, and most affordable solution in the arsenal is the new Adel Control, a modular earphone that allows users to adjust features like bass and external noise to taste, tailoring the sound signature. At time of publication, the Control was still available as an Early Bird special for $100, half off the suggested retail price.

Next in line is the Adel Ambient series, which offers 4 multi-driver models, from the entry-level dual-driver Ambient 2, to the Ambient 12 which (you guessed it) is jam-packed with a whopping 12 drivers per side, labeled the “jewel” of the Ambient line. Pricing for the Ambient series starts at $200 for the dual driver set, and goes up to an impressively (relatively) affordable $500 for the 12-driver version, again, priced at half the cost of suggested retail for each. For reference, the quad-driver Westone W40 will run you the same price as the Ambient 12.

Next up are the 1964|Adel U-series, which take the shape of more traditional in-ear monitors, covering the entire ear canal. The U-series starts with a quad-driver pair for $300 â€" down from a suggested $500 retail price â€" and the series goes all the way up to the 8-driver U-series 8, which will run you $720. The latter offers 4 drivers for the bass register alone, with two each for the midrange and treble, to create a massive sound.

Finally, the 1964|Adel A-Series includes both 10-driver, and 12-driver models, priced at $1,000 and $1,200 respectively â€" 40 percent off the claimed MSRP. Like most top-tier in-ear monitors, the A-series are custom tailored to the user’s ears for the ultimate fit and sound, while harboring a RealLoud secondary eardrum for safety.

Not only is 1964|Adel’s new project already funded, but it has already reached its stretch goal of $350,000, which provides an optional inline 3-button mic piece for all of its headphones. All of the new models are slated for release in May of 2015, with the exception of the A-series, which will be available earlier in February.

While we certainly can’t attest to the claim that RealLoud Technology actually makes these headphones safer, they are priced very competitively under the Kickstarter deal. And hey, if they offer competitive sound in their respective genres, what’s the harm in playing it safe, right? If you’re interested in finding out more, or ordering up one of 1964|Adel’s latest designs, you can do so today at its Kickstarter page.

Former WWE Champ Brian Danielson Apprehends Burglar

A burglary was thwarted last month by professional wrestler Brian Danielson â€" known to WWE fans as Daniel Bryan â€" after he unknowingly interrupted two robbers who were in the process of burglarizing his home in Pheonix, Arizona.

Thinking quickly, the four time World Champion chased down one of the suspects and applied a chokehold, subduing the would-be thief until police could arrive.

"Unfortunately, he wasn't in very good shape so it didn't take much." Said the 33-year-old former WWE Champ, who headlined the company’s 30th annual WrestleMania event last April and successfully defended the WWE Championship at May’s ‘Extreme Rules’ Pay Per View event.

"Its probably not the best thing to do, because you don't know what's gonna happen," Danielson confessed to interviewers. "I just reacted, and that's what most people do."

Upon returning home and disturbing the attempted robbery, Danielson and his wife Brie Bella â€" also a WWE wrestler â€" were mostly concerned for the safety of their dog, Josie.

"Our main concern was for Josie, so we came in, Brie went looking for Josie, I saw the guys running out the back, I chased 'em, I caught one of 'em, and kept him until the police got there," said Brian Danielson, somewhat matter-of-factly, at a press conference held by the couple the next day.

According to Danielson, the suspect was winded by the time the Champ caught up with him "Exhaustion makes cowards of us all, and he was very, very tired, and it literally took zero effort to take him down," he said.

When some reporters teased Danielson that his on-screen wrestling rivals ‘The Authority’ may have been behind the robbery, he joined in with a few tongue-in-cheek comments of his own.

“Who knows, maybe Triple-H (whom Daniel Bryan defeated at WrestleMania XXX) is behind this whole thing?" Brian joked.

Last week it was reported that police in Pheonix had uncovered three further suspects believed to have been involved in the break-in. The three have been linked to multiple burglaries in and around the local area.

Danielson has wrestled for many wrestling companies, including Ring of Honor (ROH), where he held the ROH World Championship and was known as ‘The American Dragon’.

By the way, the dog was fine. In fact, she joined the couple at the press conference (no, really).

Brian Danielson is presently recovering from serious neck surgery and has been inactive in the WWE since June. We wish him a speedy recovery.