Microsoft’s Build keynote didn’t garner much attention, because there was nothing for consumers: that is exactly what made it so compelling.
More on Chrome and AMP, The Case Against Google, Decentralization and Paradigm Shifts
More on Chrome and AMP, and what The Case Against Google gets wrong about Microsoft. Then, why decentralized networks are aggregator kryptonite.
Amazon Go and the Future
Amazon Go exemplifies how Amazon is building its monopoly in three ways: horizontally, vertically, and financially. Plus, why automation is worth being optimistic about.
Microsoft/IBM Follow-Up, Facebook Earnings, Instagram Stories > Snapchat Stories
Follow-up on Microsoft and IBM, including why Steve Ballmer deserves more credit than I gave him. Then, Facebook’s earnings and the reluctance to admit to pricing power, and why Instagram Stories are more innovative than Snapchat Stories
Microsoft’s Monopoly Hangover
There are striking similarities between Microsoft today and IBM in the Lou Gerstner era, but today’s IBM should be a warning to Redmond.
Tech and Trump, Tech and Politics
Tech executives are meeting with Trump, and it’s the right decision; now is the time, though, to establish the conditions when opposition is appropriate. Then, why technologists should not outsource politics.
Amazon Re:Invent; Google vs AWS vs IBM vs Microsoft; Stratechery Gifts, Schedule, Subscription Switching
Some Stratechery announcements around gifts, schedule, and subscription switching, then a reminder that AWS is still the clear leader in the cloud, and why Google has a customer service challenge
SideCar’s “Innovation”, Facebook Stadium and Twitter’s Conundrum, Tidbits
SideCar feels that Uber was unfair, but the truth is the company didn’t understand that product matters more than technical expertise. Plus, why Twitter doesn’t have an natural acquirers, and several other tidbits from this week.
The State of Consumer Technology at the End of 2014
While the modern computing era in many respects began with the IBM System/360 mainframe and further expanded with the minicomputer, normal consumers didn’t start encountering computers until the personal computer. And, while mainframes are technically still around (while minicomputers are decidedly not), what is unique about the PC is that it is very much still […]
Peak Google
Despite the hype about disruption, the truth is most tech giants, particularly platform providers, are not so much displaced as they are eclipsed. IBM, for example, has been successfully selling and servicing mainframes for going on 50 years (although they are now in serious trouble (members-only)). During the PC era, though, they were eclipsed by […]