banker
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Apple flush with cash and ready to buy
Got a company you're trying to sell? Apple might have a check with your name on it -- BusinessWorld reports that they're in the mood for picking up some new businesses lately. Even after high profile acquisitions like LaLa and Quattro Wireless, Apple's still got plenty of cash in the bank, and they're looking to buy. BW points to the hire of Adrian Perica, a former Goldman Sachs banker, as the company's "first dedicated M&A specialist," and says that with Perica on board, Apple's looking to get the jump on rivals like Google and pick up some new technology and talent via acquisition. So what kind of companies will they be picking up? Apple is a company that's always on the move. While the Mac market is strong, they seem to have realized that their main strength lies in breaking new ground, from music players to smartphones, and so they'll likely pick up companies slightly different from their current core products. They also have a history of buying smaller companies, so you probably won't see them do gigantic merger deals. Rather, they'll find a company working on a new tech that interests them, and then just swallow the little firm whole (see Cover Flow and any number of their other pickups in the last decade). So if your ten-person company is working on, say, a revolutionary new tablet control scheme, or a new category of personal computing, that knocking on your door might be Apple with a truckload of money. [via MacRumors]
WoW Rookie: Bag it
New around here? WoW Rookie points WoW's newest players to the basics of a good start in the World of Warcraft. Send us a note to suggest a WoW Rookie topic, and be sure to visit WoW.com's WoW Rookie Guide for links to all our tips, tricks and how-to's.With the excitement his week focused on the all-new, 22-slot Onyxia Hide Backpack, it seems anticlimactic to think that many players are struggling simply to maintain enough space in their bags for quest items and a decent amount of loot. It's easy to throw down big money for big bags when you're max level and rolling in gold from dailies – but new players must walk the line between overspending for convenience's sake and having enough bag space to get the job done.Let's make one thing perfectly clear: bigger bags are a savvy investment. There's definitely a point of diminishing returns, though, which will be obvious to even the most naive of WoW rookies searching through the Containers section in the Auction House. (Really. You'll know when it's time to stop upgrading. We promise.) Getting wise to what's available and where to find it will help you squeeze out those last few precious bag slots without going broke in the process.
Why have a bank alt?
So Zach posted one of my favorite recent articles about making sure your bank toon looks stylish while it's taking care of your business, and I was amazed when I read the comments to see that a few people were wondering what the whole point of a bank alt was at all. I have to admit that I was once like them. Why should I give up one of my precious character spaces for some dude who will just sit around Thunder Bluff or Ironforge and do nothing but store stuff that I should just be using or auctioning anyway? Of course, now that I have a bank alt, I'm pretty happy with the concept. If you're someone who hasn't made one yet, I'll tell you why I think you'd be happy with one too after the break.
[1.Local]: A look at WoW Insider comments this week
WoW Insider serves up a smattering of reader comments from the past week, from the sublime to the ridiculous.Readers picked some fairly off-beat topics to wax loquacious about this week. Join [1.Local] as we chew the fat over those conspiratorial, Horde-centric folks at Blizzard ... the controversy (or non-controversy?) of Arena point selling ... the virtues of dedicated banker characters ... and what we thought was a really interesting idea for PvP-oriented crafting.As always, be sure to dive into the comments area and add your own thoughts – unlike your mama, we like us some hot, fresh backtalk. Employee-only bronze orc and wolf statue on eBayWe thought we were the only ones constantly accused of being Horde-centric – but it looks like Blizzard gets their fair share of finger-pointing, too, from readers like Gror: "Anyone else think that this is more proof that Blizz favours the Horde? They got a 12-foot statue made of an Orc and give all their employees Orc statues. Sickens me! This game for a long time has been Horde-biased! So hordeinsider.com, your mission will soon be completed." Bwahahaha.
Mr. Peanut and his monocle: Bank toon fashion
So you're getting all rich and the gold's started to pour in. You've made lots of wise investments and your arbitrage has been paying off great dividends. You've even got a bank toon to handle all your business -- after all, the rich folk leave all the dirty work to their accountants. Here's a question for you... is your bank toon dressed for the part? See, it just isn't right for your bank toon to run around Stormwind or Orgrimmar in their underwear, no matter how much that delights your inner pervert. Bank toons must be dignified... classy, even. They are the keepers of your wealth, so give them their due by throwing out that ratty Thug Shirt.Fortunately for you, WoW Insider has prepared a simple makeover guide for your bank toon. If you've been treating your banker right, you've probably dressed them in the tuxedo sets made from Tailoring or obtained through the Noblegarden event. Complete the look with a perfectly matching pair of Frayed Shoes. You probably won't find these on the Auction House, but they drop from Level 1-5 mobs, so they shouldn't be a problem to farm. If you're too lazy (or unlucky), you can purchase Heavy Weave Shoes from clothiers in most cities. These also go very well with tuxedo sets but require Level 12. I personally keep my banker at Level 1 too keep her ego in check, so it's the Frayed Shoes for her.
Best practices for a banker alt
Lately, I've really been pushing hard to get the 5k gold for my epic riding skill-- as I said on Friday, that Netherwing mount is calling my name. And so, on the advice of a rich guildie, I've finally made it a point to get a fulltime auction house alt. I chose one of my younger, less-played alts, stuck him between an Auction House and a mailbox (it happened to be in Thunder Bluff, but it could have been in any capital city), and made it a point to start scanning the AH every day, posting auctions when I start playing, and sending items to the alt when I'm done playing. That way, the next day when I log in with my bank alt, all those items are sitting in the mailbox, waiting for me to put them on AH-- right after I scan it again.That's what Amanna at Adventures in Azeroth does as well-- though she goes even farther and looks for deals on gear she has in mind to buy. It would be great to have that kind of know-how, and I'm sure it makes money, but I don't have time to know the approximate costs of every little thing-- I leave that to Auctioneer. (Auctioneer does come with a mod called Bottomscanner (used to be called Bottomfeeder) that is supposed to find deals on high-priced items for you, but I'm not sure that I can get it to work right-- I'm worried that I'll spend a bunch of money on an item I can't sell).But if nothing else, I do have to agree that the formula works-- check the AH with your alt when you log on, and mail items back to that alt when you're done playing for the night. It's a basic thing to do (and anyone who's been interested in making money before has probably already started doing it). But making money seemed like such a chore before (I'd rather be killing stuff or grouping up then worrying about prices and checking the mail), but it's actually become fun for me to log in every day and check what's sold and how much gold I've earned.
