Messaging is a completely new kind of social networking that is uniquely enabled by mobile.
Articles
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, […]
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. […]
Google’s Tasty Lemonade
It’s good to see one of the more tiresome myths of the last couple of years – that everyone is trying to be like Apple, just look at Google buying Motorola! – get put to bed once and for all. Earlier today Google sold the remains of Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for $2.91 billion,1 closing […]
The General-Purpose iPad and the Specialist Mac
I’ve written previously that the iPad was helping to unbundle the general-purpose PC: The iPad and the Disaggregation of Computing The Humpty Dumpty PC The (Alleged) 13-Inch iPad and the Triumph of Thin Clients From the Humpty Dumpty PC: The iPad and other appliance-like devices have actually had the opposite effect [as compared to the […]
Battle of the Box
The battle between Dropbox and Box show the differences between selling to consumers and selling to enterprise.
Google’s New Business Model
Excepting the patent and panic-driven Motorola deal, prior to yesterday’s acquisition of Nest for $3.2 billion, the previous largest deal Google’s history was DoubleClick for $3.1 billion 2006. Beyond the similar dollar figures, it’s a deal worth considering for what it says about Google then and now. With the acquisition of DoubleClick, Google solidified its […]
Business Models for 2014
Perhaps the greatest continuing disconnect between technologists and normals is the value ascribed to software. As Marc Andreesen famously declared, “Software is eating the world,” and while that is absolutely true, software, especially in the consumer space, is not eating value, at least not directly. In fact, if 2013 taught us anything, it’s that the […]
Windows 8 and the Cost of Complexity
PCs just suffered their worse quarter ever. From the WSJ: World-wide PC shipments fell 10% last year, research firms Gartner Inc. and IDC said Thursday, the worst-ever sales slump for the industry. Both companies have been tracking personal computer sales since the 1980s. Computer makers have been hurt as consumers and businesses spend more time […]