Redmond and Reality

Microsoft’s dominance in enterprise software was built on the difficulty of managing software installations; SaaS removes that linchpin entirely.

Daily Update: Microsoft Earnings

Good morning, I’m very sorry about the multiple emails yesterday – especially since the second email had the exact same error as the first! So embarrassing! Thanks for your patience. I found yesterday’s Microsoft results really interesting, and did a bit of a deep dive. It’s the only topic today, and it’s a bit longerSubscribe […]

Docker and the Integrated Open Source Company

It’s been a long time since an open source project has gotten as much buzz and attention as Docker. The easiest way to explain the concept is, well, to look at the logo of the eponymous1 company that created and manages the project: The reference in the logo is to shipping containers, one of the […]

Daily Update: .NET and Microsoft’s Mobile Opportunity, New Relic Files for IPO, GitHub Enterprise 2.0

Good morning, Thank you to everyone for the kind words after yesterday’s announcement about Stratechery’s success-to-date (check out that post for an expanded version of what I wrote yesterday). As I intimated yesterday, I don’t plan on talking much more about this; I just want to think about and write interesting stuff, and I’m reallySubscribe […]

Two Microsofts

My well-chronicled frustration with Microsoft’s corporate strategy comes down to one point: I don’t think any company should have both horizontal (i.e. services) and vertical (i.e. devices) businesses. It creates conflicting incentives: a horizontal business should be great on every platform, while a vertical business should be differentiated. Thus, I was quite pleased when Satya […]

Daily Update: HP to Split, A Secure Golden Key, Microsoft’s Android Cash Cow

Good morning, My piece on PayPal will drop later today, so keep an eye out for that. Just a heads-up that I’m traveling this week so updates may be a bit irregular. Thanks for your patience. On to the update: HP to Split Big news from The Wall Street Journal: Hewlett-Packard Co. plans to separateSubscribe […]

Daily Update: Talko, Bye-bye Beats Music?, About that iPhone Line Film

Good morning, I wrote about Uber yesterday, but in reality I was actually writing about why I think the tech industry should become much more proactive about the development of a social safety net. Not only would a better safety net spur entrepreneurship, but it would also provide a cushion for those who lose theirSubscribe […]

Daily Update: Apple and the Cloud Followup, Box for Industries, Calculators: Not Disrupted

Good morning, It’s official: I won’t be going to the keynote in person, but since the presentation will be streamed I will once again hold a live chat for Access members. I’ll email details next week. In addition, look for a new episode of Exponent later today. On to the update: Apple and the CloudSubscribe […]

Big Blue and Apple’s Soul

I hope you’ll forgive my writing about week-old news,1 but I find it striking to compare the paucity of words written about Apple’s partnership with IBM, at least relative to what was written when Apple acquired Beats. After all, the IBM partnership is a much bigger deal. It certainly seems that Tim Cook feels the […]