Companies

Microsoft

  • Activision Blizzard Buys King Digital, EA and the Disruption Narrative, Apple TV Gaming

    Activision Blizzard is buying King, the makers of Candy Crush Saga; the mobile games maker is probably worth more to a company like Activision Blizzard than they are by themselves. Plus, both EA and Activision Blizzard beat earnings expectations — does that mean the gaming disruption narrative is wrong?


  • Android > Chrome, LinkedIn’s Business Model Beats

    Android is reportedly going to subsume Chrome OS; I’m bummed but it’s probably the right decision (and no, that doesn’t mean iOS and OS X will merge). Plus, LinkedIn had another strong quarter, and their smart business model deserves the credit. Is there a lesson for Twitter and other consumer companies?


  • Amazon’s Transformation, Continued; Microsoft’s Transformation…and Threat

    As predicted last quarter, AWS is increasingly the engine driving Amazon’s financial results. However, there is evidence the e-commerce side is changing as well. Then, Microsoft has completely changed itself over the last few years, but the company is not out of the woods just yet.


  • Microsoft’s Hardware Event, Satya Nadella Versus Windows, The Surface Strategy

    Microsoft’s hardware event was very compelling on multiple levels: what it said about Windows, what it said about Microsoft, and what it said about Satya Nadella.


  • Onshape and Disruption, Office 365 and Sustaining Innovation

    Onshape is CAD software making a bet that starting with the cloud is fundamentally disruptive. However, disruption includes an economic component, and as Office 365 v Google Apps suggests, if that doesn’t exist the incumbents will respond


  • From Products to Platforms

    Apple was at its best in its most recent keynote: unveiling the sorts of products the company is uniquely capable of creating. The question, though, is whether the company has the vision and capability of making those products into platforms.


  • Okta is a Unicorn, BlackBerry Acquires Good Technologies

    Okta is an important company in part because what their existence says about Microsoft’s challenges in the enterprise space. Plus, Blackberry acquires Good Technology, making them the market leader in device management.


  • Meetup Information; LinkedIn Beats, Slumps; Samsung’s Shift Continues; Sony’s Specialization

    LinkedIn and Samsung both had negative reactions to their earnings, but both are in the middle of a shift to a better position going forward; Sony’s results were worse on an absolute basis but better received because they’ve already gone through the hard work of focusing on what works. Plus, meetup information for Chicago, New York,…


  • The Remarkable iPhone 6, The Apple Watch, Microsoft Earnings

    Perhaps the most surprising thing about the iPhone 6 is that Apple itself keeps getting it wrong. Plus, some observations about the Apple Watch and an appreciation of Satya Nadella.


  • The Best Twitter Day Ever, The End of Windows Phone

    Something amazing happened on Twitter that really highlighted how unique the service is. It also showed how many product holes remain. Then, Satya Nadella does what needed to be done. That doesn’t make it any less impressive.