Instagram is changing the feed, and even though users say they don’t like it it’s the right decision. Plus, why Snapchat may be a threat. Then, two pieces of news about Apple and the cloud, both good and bad. Plus, Microsoft is still competitive, and rightly so.
March 2016
Dropbox Leaves AWS, Should UPS and Fedex Be Afraid?
In an inconvenient bit of timing Dropbox announced they were leaving AWS just as I was singing its praises; in fact the storage company’s decision reinforces the benefits AWS provides. Then, why Amazon’s move into logistics makes sense, and how it might play out.
The Amazon Tax
Amazon is building a lot of businesses that look like AWS: taxes on major industries that work to everyone’s benefit. The reason, though, is that AWS is a lot like Amazon itself.
WeWork Now Worth $16 Billion, Google Joins Open Compute Project
My attempt last summer to justify WeWork’s $10 billion valuation is looking pretty good, but I’m not sure I can pull off the trick for $16 billion. Plus, the brilliant strategy of Facebook’s Open Compute Project
Exponent Podcast: Is That an Echo?
On Exponent, the weekly podcast I host with James Allworth, we discuss the Amazon Echo, Apple’s cloudy future, Google’s Missed Opportunity, and why Amazon has so much growth potential ahead of it. Listen to it here.
Microsoft SQL Server to Run on Linux, Box’s Great Quarter
Windows is truly dead at Microsoft, as SQL Server will soon run on Linux. Meanwhile, Box had a great quarter, underlying the fact that SaaS economics work — and what happened to Windows Server helps explain why.
More on Bitcoin, Samsung and Designing Software, The Problem with Holacracy
More on Bitcoin and the fundamental problem with the project, plus my thoughts on the blocksize question. Then, Samsung still can’t nail software, and the problems with Holacracy.
Bitcoin and Diversity
First, an exploration of the block size debate that is roiling the Bitcoin world, and then how lessons from that debate apply to diversity in tech.
Amazon Echo Expands, The Nest Failure, Microsoft and Slack
There are a lot of useful lessons to draw from Amazon Echo’s early success, particularly when placed in contrast to Google’s Nest. Microsoft should pay heed if in fact they had a chance to buy Slack.
Exponent Podcast: Wrapped Around an Axle
On Exponent, the weekly podcast I host with James Allworth, we discuss The Voters Decide. Listen to it here.