TSMC showed the power of modularization, and now they are core to the U.S. national security strategy.
Ben Thompson
Facebook Acquires GIPHY, Data Credits and Critical Suppliers, SDK Insights
The GIPHY acquisition makes sense for Facebook, but for more pragmatic reasons than malicious ones.
Exponent Podcast: Open, Free, and Spotify
On Exponent, the weekly podcast I host with James Allworth, we discuss Dithering and Open Versus Free. Listen to it here.
Media, Regulators, and Big Tech; Indulgences and Injunctions; Better Approaches
Blaming Facebook and Google for the media industry’s trouble inevitably leads to bad regulations with unintended consequences and the end of accountability for big tech.
Uber + Grubhub?, Aggregator Acquisitions, Uber and Lime
An Uber acquisition of GrubHub makes all kinds of sense, but for the same reasons that it will be frowned upon by regulators (and for good reason). Then, Uber’s investment in Lime makes sense as well.
Dithering and Open Versus Free
Announcing the new Dithering podcast, and why it is important to fight for the open ecosystem that Spotify is trying to aggregate.
Taiwan and Tech’s Geopolitical Realities, ARM on Mac?, TSMC’s Choice
The U.S. is increasingly — and appropriately — concerned about its extreme dependence on Taiwan. TSMC needs to build in the U.S. if they don’t want to let Intel back in the game.
Announcing Dithering, An Interview with John Gruber (not about Apple)
Announcing Dithering, a new podcast from John Gruber and myself. Then, and interview with Gruber about being an independent writer on the Internet, covering Apple’s rise, and Dithering.
Disney Earnings, AMC Versus Universal, Businesses in the Middle
Disney’s earnings were predictably brutal, particularly for its Parks Division, which is the most important division when it comes to understanding Disney. Plus, AMC has nothing to lose.
Zoom’s “Genuine Oversight”, Zoom’s Strengths and Weaknesses, Virality Versus Network Effects
Zoom has another screwup, this time in terms of reporting how many users it has. It is a disturbing pattern and a reminder that strengths are weaknesses.