For anyone remotely connected to technology, the idea that net neutrality is an unabashed good seems incontrovertible, and one of the most popular examples of why it matters is Netflix. Consumers get a video competitor to their cable provider over said cable provider’s pipes; surely the end of net neutrality would mean the end of […]
February 2014
The Nokia X
It’s real, and the Verge had a hands on: As expected, [the Nokia X, X+ and XL] combine Lumia-style design with low-cost hardware aimed at the masses, from a large 5-inch screen on the 109-Euro XL to the 4-inch display on the 99-Euro X+. The X will be released for just €89 in Eastern Europe, […]
Podcast: The Talk Show – Go to the Mat on Stickers
I was honored to join John Gruber on his podcast, The Talk Show. We had a nice “short” conversation about Facebook and WhatsApp, why stickers are great, Twitter, iMessage, Microsoft’s app problem, and more. Check it out here; I think you’ll enjoy it.
The Social Conglomerate
When news of the Facebook/WhatsApp deal broke, a lot of people gave me credit for being prescient: after all, I had just written 1,568 words on why messaging was mobile’s killer app. WhatsApp, though, was all but absent from the article, meriting but a single mention, and in parenthesis at that! Viber does have strong […]
Messaging: Mobile’s Killer App
Messaging is a completely new kind of social networking that is uniquely enabled by mobile.
Microsoft v Microsoft
In his first column for the New York Times, Farhad Manjoo advocated relying on Apple, Google, and Amazon: When you decide what to use, you’ve got to play every tech giant against the other, to make every tech decision as if you were a cad — sample every firm’s best features and never overcommit to […]
Microsoft’s Mobile Muddle
Saying “Microsoft missed mobile” is a bit unfair; Windows Mobile came out way back in 2000, and the whole reason Google bought Android was the fear that Microsoft would dominate mobile the way they dominated the PC era. It turned out, though, that mobile devices, with their focus on touch, simplified interfaces, and ARM foundation, […]
Podcast: Vector – Microsoft’s new CEO and Lenovo’s new Moto
I once again joined Rene Ritchie on his Vector Podcast to talk about the CEO change at Microsoft (and the return of Bill Gates), along with Lenovo’s acquisition of Motorola. I added quite a bit of color as to why this deal made sense for Lenovo, particularly from a patent perspective, as well as why […]
Bill Gates’ Steve Jobs Moment
Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, once pirates, now legends, are forever linked in tech history. You know the lore: both collaborators and competitors in the 80s; Gates dominant in the 90s; Jobs triumphant in the 00s. Their career arcs were different though: Gates went out on top, retiring to a life of philanthropy, while Jobs […]
Two Bears, Revisited
One of the more annoying aspects of the late great PC area was how review sites treated Macs: for all intents and purposes, they were just another PC. Consider this CNET review of the 2007 MacBook Pro:1 The good: Updated CPUs and graphics without an updated price; LED-backlit display for better battery life; 802.11n support. […]