January 2012
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Exclusive: Microsoft and Nokia's Plans for... →
Included in the plan are sales incentives for retail workers, aimed at getting them to finally start recommending Windows Phone as an alternative to Android and iPhone. The amount of payments are $10 to $15 per handset sold, depending on the number sold, for some handset models.
Screams of absolute desperation to me.
December 2011
3 posts
Why Buy The Cow For $1.2 Billion When You Can Get... →
parislemon:
VentureBeat’s Devindra Hardawar reports not only that HP was trying to sell webOS for $1.2 billion (the same price HP paid to get all of Palm just last year), but that Facebook was one suitor they met with.
While Hardawar cites a source saying that this deal “was practically laughed out of the room”, I wouldn’t totally put the idea of webOS and Facebook to bed.
Back in August,...
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Why Spotify can never be profitable →
(via Instapaper)
Here’s an interesting look at why companies like Spotify will fail at becoming profitable. Personally I don’t like Spotify. Don’t get me wrong from a technical standpoint it’s amazing. The lack of buffering even when you skip around in a song is something I still marvel at. However I just hate the idea of music becoming a subscription service. Bad for...
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Android ranked most ‘closed’ open source OS →
Proof that for Google being “open” is only a crutch they use to try and enter markets where they don’t dominate. After all there is nothing open about their search algorithms.
November 2011
2 posts
A "Holy Shit" Website →
MG Siegler on Path’s HTML5 based website.
parislemon:
Speaking of Path, hopefully you’ve visited their new website by now. If not, click the link above. It’s amazing.
It’s the kind of thing you used to need Flash for. And it was one of the few decent arguments for why it perhaps should stick around. With it, you could make a website that felt alive — more like art and less utilitarian....
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Adobe to stop developing mobile Flash
Let me start out by saying that I have never liked Flash. I begun playing around with web development when it was in it infancy. Playing with HTML and making simple and crude web pages. I remember when Flash first arrived on the scene, back when it wasn’t bundled with your computer when you purchase it. I can remember the first websites that were built using Flash and users being asked to...
October 2011
11 posts
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Dropbox: The Inside Story Of Tech's Hottest... →
Good read on how Dropbox turned down big money from Apple in order to build their business which now boast over 50 million users.
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Are Smartphones Becoming Smart Alecks? →
Interesting article about how Apple gave Siri a personality. I have yet to get my hands on an iPhone 4S and test Siri out, but I’ve come to believe that the fact that Siri has a bit of an attitude that it’s programmed full of jokes and anecdotes is a huge part of it’s amazing popularity and reception with the general public.
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Issues with iMessage
I’ve been looking forward to the release of iOS5 because I want to see how iMessage affects my cell phone bill. Most everyone I know has an iPhone and I suspect in a month or two my cell phone bill will gradually reduce as a result of this.
With iOS5 out in the wild I started receiving the first messages from friends and colleagues that are now using iMessage. I noticed a pretty big problem...
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Scott Forstall, the Sorcerer's Apprentice at Apple... →
Great piece from Business Week on Scott Forstall, the architect of iOS and a huge part of the iPhone’s runaway success. Scott has been for years now a guy to keep your eyes on and going forward in an Apple without Steve Jobs he’s going to become even more important.
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iCloud
I’m now entering the brave new world of iCloud. I pushed all my calendars and contacts from my Mac into iCloud. I then backed up the local files and deleted them, having my Mac import everything from iCloud.
My first impressions is that it’s incredibly fast. Add a contact on one device and it’s pushed through to other devices immediately. Considering their user base I find this...
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John's Tumblr: Steve Jobs →
Great read!
lilly:
Like many of us, I’ve been thinking a lot about Steve Jobs the last few days — thinking about the man and his legacy. I’ve been having some trouble even understanding the way I feel, let alone being able to put it into words. Lots of folks have asked me what I think, and have been surprised that I…
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Steve Jobs
To begin with I have to say that I can’t think of any other celebrity that has passed away and has left me dealing with so many feelings. I guess I now know how people felt when John F. Kennedy or John Lennon were assassinated.
I have always loved computers and technology. There is something about a computer that draws me to it, and I can’t seem to stay away. I remember when I was in...
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Facebook's bold move
Last week I watched portions of Facebook’s F8 press conference and walked away very impressed with the direction the company is taking.
I’ve always believed that the biggest fear at Facebook is that the party will one day end. That users will begin to abandon the service in droves for a new service. Let’s call it MySpace syndrome.
It’s obvious to me that MySpace syndrome is something...
September 2011
1 post
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The Kindle Fire & Google's Haste
I’ve been waiting a long time for a device like the Kindle Fire to come out. Not because it’s a device I need or plan on purchasing, but because it proves a theory of mine. Google in it’s haste to bring Android to the market and try to become the Microsoft of the mobile industry made some very serious mistakes.
Those mistakes are now all coming back to haunt them.
Google loves to hide behind...
August 2011
2 posts
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The end of an era
This week saw the resignation of Steve Jobs as Apple’s CEO. I’ve been a big Apple fan since the first time I used OS-X so it’s very sad for me to see him go. Especially after all these amazing years where I’ve witnessed his guidance take Apple from a little under dog that would never make it to the number one technology company in the world.
The public reaction and...
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Apple is now the king
As of my writing this HP has just announced they will sell of their PC line and Google has announced their plans for acquiring Motorolla Mobility.
There’s no denying it, Apple has become the biggest player in tech. Against all odds, and against all the advice from one time tech leaders, the small company from Cupertino is know wearing the crown.
July 2011
1 post
June 2011
2 posts
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Apple worth more than Microsoft and Intel
A story that hit the internets yesterday:
So, add ‘em both up and you find that the “Wintel” is worth $316.8 billion. As you nmight imagine, we’ve been watching these values with anticipation for quite some time and today, for the first time (ever?), the closing value of Apple (AAPL) $317.60 billion exceeded that of Wintel. Just in time to make a nice slide for somebody’s WWDC keynote address...
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Windows 8 Preview
Microsoft has given the world a preview of Windows 8, which seems to be a very big deal for them. It has the feeling of a make or break release. As you can see in the video it takes it’s cues from the Windows Phone 7 user interface. Something I rather like, it’s sleek and modern.
The idea of Windows 8 is that it will run across devices. From desktops, laptops, to touch screen...
May 2011
1 post
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Google Music
I saw briefly a demonstration of Google Music, which is Google’s answer to something I’m not sure is really much of a problem. See for the last year the media has been going on about the need for music to move into the cloud in order to do away with the awful hassle of spending 1 minute of your time syncing files to your handset. It’s picked up steam and now all the major players...
April 2011
2 posts
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Final Cut Pro X demonstration of Apple's strength
Yesterday at a Final Cut Pro user group meet-up at NAB in Vegas Apple gave a demo of the coming version of Final Cut Pro. Even if your not into film & video for work or creative purposes I think it’s interesting to observe this announcement and look at some of the subtleties behind it.
If the bold title of the posts didn’t make it clear I think this is another example of just how...
Android Gripes: Why do apps from the same company... →
android-gripes:
When I use an iPhone and an Android phone at the same time, I often find that apps from the same company look a lot different on these two platforms - the ones on Android usually look much worse.
Here is a couple of examples.
This is what Meebo IM looks on Android, the contact list screen and…
March 2011
4 posts
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Amazon Appstore represents Android's Achilles heel
Amazon has launched their Android Appstore this week, you can read a little about it here.
It will be interesting to follow the progress of the Amazon Appstore. I have this notion that the majority of Android users are people that come from this generation that is used to having to spend time tweaking Windows to make it run properly, and as a result they feel entitled to downloading applications...
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Dear New York Times
Charge two bucks and be done with it!
Seriously this complicated plan with different options based on devices is never going to go anywhere. Keep it simple, two dollars for a 24 hour period with access across devices (web/phone/table). Just like a normal printed copy.
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Where Twitter and Facebook hope to go
This week saw some interesting news that Twitter is looking to get developers to stop building Twitter clients in an effort to better control how users access their platform. The story was covered on Ars Technica: Twitter tells third-party devs to stop making Twitter client apps
It got me thinking a bit about Twitter and Facebook, and where these two platforms hoping to go. It seems clear,...
February 2011
5 posts
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Why Nokia has already lost
Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop says “first priority is beating Android.”
I say that you don’t even know who you are competing with. You don’t work for Microsoft anymore. Your priority is beating HTC, Apple, Samsung, Motorolla, and all other phone manufacturers. Not beating a software platform.
If that’s the philosophy, then they’ve already lost the war.
Two turkeys don't make an eagle →
Well now it’s official Nokia and Microsoft are forming an alliance in a vain attempt to make themselves relevant again.
Of the two companies I feel Microsoft got the good deal. They essentially bought themselves some market share in the mobile race. Nokia on the other hand really gains very little, they are losing market share and this deal may not help turn it around. I have a tough time...
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The new HP and the classic Microsoft-Apple war
HP just had a very Apple like presentation where they displayed their new line of Pre phones, along with the new TouchPad tablet. What I find most interesting about this transition at HP, aside from the fact that they are moving into a more Apple style way of controlling hardware and software, is how this is going to affect Microsoft in the long run and the epic Apple-Microsoft battle.
...
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Nokia's brutally honest memo →
Things not going to well for Nokia these recent years. It amazing how that company used to be at the center of cool, I remember when everyone wanted the phone Neo had in the Matrix. Seems like ages ago.
My prediction is their is going to be nice little marriage with Windows Phone 7 (still hate the name). I speculated before that Microsoft would end up having to buy market share for their failing...
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January 2011
5 posts
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Apple's 4% mobile market share rakes in over half... →
A lot of tech pundits will try and draw parrallels between Apple-Microsoft and iPhone-Android.
In my opinion they just don’t get it, or better yet they get it and pretend not to because their job requires them too.
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How the iPhone mail app decides when to show you... →
Daring Fireball put me on this interesting article about how the iPhones mail app works. The attention to the smallest details is really what sets Apple apart from other tech companies.
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Apple TV ...
So I received an Apple TV as a Christmas gift and figured I would give it a good one over on this blog. The latest generation Apple TV looked pretty interesting when Steve Jobs gave it a demo upon it’s introduction, but what doesn’t look appealing during an Apple keynote? It’s price point of 99 dollars also made it cheap enough that one could go out and buy one as an impulse buy....
December 2010
6 posts
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“Apple refers to its products grammatically as persons and not as objects. If...”
– Interesting observation about how Apple refers to it’s products.
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Inception on a second viewing
As you can see on the last post I immediately ran out and bought Inception this weekend. I think the film holds up pretty well on the second viewing. After seeing it in the cinema I was worried about how it would hold seeing it multiple times since the film is mostly an explanation of the dream world and all the rules that are attached to it.
One interesting thing to do on the second viewing is...
November 2010
6 posts
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A Tale of Two Gotham's
I watched Batman Begins again this week, which I hadn’t really seen since the Dark Knight came out. Watching it again, and having seen the Dark Knight recently, I noticed the striking differences in Gotham City. It really feels like two completely different cities in the two films. I was a little taken back at how such a drastic change went by semingly noticed. I guess it’s a testament...
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