How to Manually add Playlists from iTunes 11 to your iPhone

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." 
-Leonardo Da Vinci

One of the things that has made Apple (AAPL) wildly successful is their ability to create user intuitive products.  Steve Jobs said that he first designed the desired user experience, then built a product that would achieve that experience.  I think this is one of the most fundamental drivers of AAPL's success and appeal over the years.  Now that Jobs is gone, is Apple starting to stray from the path?

iTunes 11 is visually appealing at first glance, but even as an very experienced iTunes user (abuser), I had some trouble getting around.  I wanted to drag and drop a playlist from iTunes 11 to my iPhone 4 and run out the door this morning.  I sat in front of my Macbook Pro puzzled and confused.  I found the answer of how to do it, and for the sake of brevity, I'll withhold any further pontifications in regards to the future of AAPL, and post the answer below. 

Hope you find this useful!

How to manually add playlists from iTunes 11 to your iPhone.

1 - Connect your device so that it can be seen in iTunes 11

2 - Select your device and then select "On This iPhone" on the far right (or whatever your connected device is)

3 - Under the blue "Done" button there is another button titled "Add to". Select this

4 - You will now be presented with your iTunes library for your computer. You can select one of the following options for searching your library

5 - Simply drag track(s), albums or playlists over to the iPhone mounted on the right side of iTunes

h/t Robbo

Kyle Bass Keynote: The Engtanglement | AmerCatalyst 2012

In October Kyle Bass gave his keynote presentation, The Entanglement, at the AmerCatalyst 2012 conference.  Bass touched on the US, Japan, China and of course the debt related issues.  He also spoke a bit about the housing shadow inventory in the Q & A, as well as where he sees some investment opportunities.

Here is the link for the video: Kyle Bass: The Entanglement




 h/t Frank Voisin

It Takes a lot of Work to get to Simple

Einstein said that "everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."  It takes a lot of work to get to simple, and the video below shows just that.  Here is an interesting perspective of what it takes to make a pencil.  It seems simple enough, but how much orchestration occurred to have that simple device conveniently at your finger tips...?






h/t Cook and Bynum

Bill Ackman: If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?

Embedded below is hedge fund activist Bill Ackman's 43 minute presentation that he did a little while back for the Floating University.  Initially students or those interested in the video had to pay to see it, but it was just released into public domain on Youtube in it's entirety   The title is "Everything You Need to Know About Finance and Investing in Under an Hour."  Hmmm...somehow I doubt Ackman covers everything, but he has proven himself to be one of the contemporary greats of the activist/value investment world.  Since you'll learn everything you need to know about finance and investing in under an hour, Ackman speaks in broad strokes, but still an educational way to spend some time gleaning insights from a Pro.

A sockless Bruce Berkowtiz interview at University of Miami

Bruce Berkowitz and Fairholme had a rough year in 2011 -to put it mildly- yet has significantly outperformed so far in 2012.  During 2011, Berkowitz continued to hold concentrated positions in AIG, Sears, and Bank of American which led him to dramatically trail the market.  In 2011, I noticed various talking heads proclaiming the Berkowitz had lost his touch, that he was reckless, and that he was so far under he could not liquidate his positions to meet fund redemptions.  Clearly he had lost his touch. Obviously he started taking stupid pills.  The pundits were right...wait a minute - no they weren't!  Berkowitz remained in his circle of competence, and continued to hold his positions which have produced a 36% return YTD.


Embedded below is a recent interview with Bruce Berkowitz at the University of Miami where he is the "Executive in Residence".  He speaks a bit about his General Growth Properties position, his charitable work at the Fairholme Foundation, and his work with the Secret Millionaires Club which creates cartoon webisodes to promote financial literacy for children.

Howard Marks latest memo: A Fresh Start (Hopefully)

Below is the latest memo from the ever insightful Howard Marks at Oaktree Capital.

A Fresh Start (Hopefully)
by Howard Marks

That link goes to the Oaktree site where the PDF can be downloaded or read.  All of Marks' past memos are posted on that page as well.  Marks is one of the few who imparts pearls of investment wisdom that remain relevant through various market and economic periods.  His memos are all there for free, or you can read the cliff notes version in his excellent book: The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor.

GMO's Jeremy Grantham: "On the Road to Zero Growth" Q3 2012 Letter

The latest from Jeremy Grantham of GMO, with additional commentary from Ben Inker.


"On the Road to Zero Growth" - Grantham pgs. 1-17

"Help, Help, I'm Being Repressed" - Inker pgs. 18-20

GMO3Q12 Letter