Some follow-up on Snapchat, where it fits alongside Facebook Messenger and iMessage, then a discussion of where all the “bot” talk is coming from. Then, Microsoft jumped all in on bots: what does it mean, and what should they do next.
March 2016
Snapchat’s Ladder
Snapchat is on the verge of conquering the toughest messaging market in the world: the United States. The way they did it is by laddering-up.
The FBI Unlocks the San Bernardino iPhone, Sony to Make a New PS4?
The FBI has successfully unlocked the San Bernardino iPhone. Now the question is if they will say how. Still, I think this debate will now go away for quite a while. Then, Sony is making a new PS4 which makes sense given the changing market, even though it’s risky.
Sundar Pichai’s Greatest Achievement To-Date, The VR Era Begins, Facebook Versus Oculus
The Oculus Rift officially launches today, and will be followed soon by the HTC Vive and the Sony PlayStation VR. I’m optimistic about virtual reality, but I still don’t understand why Facebook is involved: the company should learn from Google and Android.
Exponent Podcast: Low Hanging Fruit
On Exponent, the weekly podcast I host with James Allworth, we continue last week’s discussion about Apple’s struggles with the cloud, then discuss why the iPhone SE is such a brilliant move — and how those two things are related. Listen to it here.
Blendle Launches in the U.S., An Interview with Alexander Klöpping, Apple Pay Coming to Websites
A bit of follow-up on why the SE might not succeed in India, and then an exploration of Blendle, the new micropayments platform for news that launched yesterday, along with an interview with co-founder Alexander Klöpping. Plus, Apple Pay for websites.
Understanding Today’s iPhone Market, Characterizing the iPhone SE, The iPhone SE Market
While I touched on why the iPhone SE was important yesterday, this is the full deep dive on one of Apple most strategically important launches in a long time.
Andy Grove and the iPhone SE
Andy Grove passed away the same day that Apple announced the iPhone SE. One of Grove’s best decisions reminds me of this launch.
The Significance of AlphaGo, Google to Sell Boston Dynamics, Google’s Self-Driving Car Will Take Awhile
The reason why AlphaGo is such a big deal is, I suspect, related to why it is that Google is selling Boston Dynamics.
Exponent Podcast: Pickaxe Retailers
On Exponent, the weekly podcast I host with James Allworth, we discuss The Amazon Tax. Listen to it here.