Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.) – Walt Whitman, Song of Myself Last week Snapchat reportedly turned down a $3 billion dollar all-cash offer from Facebook. Apparently Facebook was worried about losing the teen demographic, or perhaps they were unnerved by the 350 million photos […]
Articles
A Technological Optimist, but Just
In June, in response to claims that nine Internet companies were willingly passing information to the NSA, Apple released Apple’s Commitment to Customer Privacy: Apple has always placed a priority on protecting our customers’ personal data, and we don’t collect or maintain a mountain of personal details about our customers in the first place. There […]
Skating Towards the Goal
First things first: I do not subscribe to the idea that a Bill Gates return would be a good outcome for Microsoft. Indeed, much of what troubles Microsoft today is directly attributable to Gates, particularly the Vista disaster/distraction and the Windows obsession. Still, though, there is something to be said for the power and inspiration […]
The Magical iPad
This is part three in a series on last week’s iPad event. Part 1: Whither Liberal Arts? | Part 2: The Missing “Why” of the iPad | Part 3: The Magical iPad In The Missing “Why” of the iPad I wrote: Yesterday’s presentation covered the “What” and “How” of the iPad, but it had nothing […]
The Missing "Why" of the iPad
This is part two in a series on last week’s iPad event. Part 1: Whither Liberal Arts? | Part 2: The Missing “Why” of the iPad | Part 3: The Magical iPad Christina Warren took issue with my article, Whither Liberal Arts: To this I have just one response. It’s the best Apple commercial in […]
Whither Liberal Arts?
This is part one in a series on last week’s iPad event. Part 1: Whither Liberal Arts? | Part 2: The Missing “Why” of the iPad | Part 3: The Magical iPad Steve Jobs closed the January, 2010 introduction of the iPad with this now famous slide: His remarks: The reason that Apple is able […]
iPad Predictions, Revisited
I wrote about my expectations for tomorrow’s iPad event back in August in an article entitled The iPad is like the iPod, not the iPhone. The introduction: Most folks seem to instinctively compare the iPad and the tablet market to the iPhone and smartphone market, and it’s easy to see why. They share the same […]
So the 5S is (allegedly) killing the 5C. Why is this bad news?
John Koetsier, writing at VetureBeat: Apple has the prototypical good-news, bad-news scenario on its hands, with soaring sales of its flagship iPhone 5S contrasting sharply with souring sales of its “for the colorful” iPhone 5C. “Our latest channel checks confirm that Apple indeed has cut back 5C production by 35 percent and increased 5S production […]
Facebook Acquires Onavo
Earlier this week Facebook acquired the mobile data analytics company Onavo. The original spin was that this was a great fit with Internet.org, given that Onavo’s apps are focused on monitoring data usage and maximizing the amount of data you get per kilobyte. Onavo said as much in their blog post announcing the acquisition: As […]
Open Source Apps
I’m a bit late to the most recent flareup around app store pricing – it’s been a busy week of traveling – but it’s worth noting that the trend towards free is basically inevitable and the expected result in a functioning market. To put it another way, apps want to be free just like apples […]