Wow Meg Whitman is still CEO of HP??? Oh that explains the $8.8 BILLION screwup (read: LIE)

[underpants]

HP: Deception behind $8.8 billion charge

Hewlett-Packard's stunning accusation Tuesday that it was deceived about the value of a British software maker it purchased last year is just the latest in a string of missteps that the Silicon Valley icon must try to put behind it quickly, analysts said.

"In order to keep the brand from further tarnishing, they have to first of all not make any more mistakes," said analyst Roger Kay of Endpoint Technologies. "Given the number of mistakes that HP has made in the past few years, this is just one more weight that's pulling the boat down."

Despite the $8.8 billion fourth-quarter write-down that was largely due to the alleged accounting fraud at Autonomy Corp., HP Chief Executive Officer Meg Whitman still has a strong lineup of products and business services that are generating billions in revenue, said analyst Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies of Campbell.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/technology/article/HP-Deception-behind-8-8-billion-charge-4054672.php#ixzz2CoajEb1J

[bluedigger]

1. Whitman has a talent for turning gold to dross.

I can't believe her shareholders haven't noticed yet.

[wilt the stilt]

5. read my post

I know this story more than you can even imagine.

[bluedigger]

6. Fair enough.

Doesn't really change my opinion of Whitman, but I won't hang this one on her.

[Mr.Bill]

2. Stop 100 people on the street in California

and ask them what they know about Meg Whitman, and 99 of them will say "She founded Ebay" (she didn't).

Such ignorance is the magic of Meg Whitman.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. This is my favorite part of her story:

thanks to wiki...
I just read it three times in a row and hummed happily.

"she spent more of her own money on the race than any other political candidate spent on a single election in American history, spending $144 million total of her own fortune and $178.5 million including donors.
Whitman lost to Jerry Brown in the November 2 election."

What is amazing about that race is that the prennial candidate, Brown, WON. Which says a lot about how people feel about the repugs all over the place.

and HP has been floundering for quite a while, long before it got ripped off by Autonomy.

ha! Autonomy did to HP what Merrill Lynch did to Bank of America.
I love it when the sharks eat their own.

[wilt the stilt]

4. I know this story very well

and Whitman had nothing to do with this. Leo Apotheker came from SAP and bought Autonomy for cash. Because it was a cash deal stockholders had no say in this deal. Autonomy has been a house of cards for years. Their software blows. Due diligence was not done and this is really fraud. Whitman replaced Apotheker when the board was furious. My only regret was I didn't short HP.

[Liberal_in_LA]

8. thanks for the background info.

[xfundy]

7. I heard her on NPR tonight.

What a nightmare she would have been.

[Doremus]

9. Meg has made this a habit.

The same thing happened when she was at the helm of ebay. They hung on to her mistake, Skype, for several years hoping it would gain some value but they finally had to write it down, and later sold it, losing a shitload of money.

Arriving at ebay at the precise time that Whitman did, a feral rhesus monkey would have done as good a job, or better. Ebay was destined to be successful, and it became so despite Whitman's considerable incompetency.