Ello and Consumer-Friendly Business Models

Vox introduced Ello this way: A brand-new social networking startup — Ello — has gone viral. At one point on Thursday, the site was acquiring 31,000 new users an hour — many of whom flocked to there because of a disagreement with Facebook over its policy requiring real names, which some say is unfair to […]

Daily Update: China Approves the iPhone, Photoshop on Chromebooks, Technology = Tobacco

Good morning, False alarm about the Ello post; hopefully it will go up today instead. On to the update: China Approves the iPhone From Reuters: The iPhone 6 will be sold in China from Oct 17, after rigorous regulator scrutiny led to Apple Inc reassuring the Chinese government that the smartphones did not have securitySubscribe […]

Daily Update: Facebook Launches Atlas, News as a Service

Good morning, My first item today is about Facebook’s new (relaunched) Atlas product. You may think it’s creepy, so check back on Stratechery later on to see what I think about Ello. I will warn you, though, I’m not a fan. On to the update: Facebook Launches Atlas From the New York Times: Facebook builtSubscribe […]

Don’t Blame Uber

At the risk of painting too broad a stroke, it seems to me that much of the opposition to changes wrought by the Internet undervalue the positive impact said changes have on normal people. For example, people despair over newspapers closing without appreciating the explosion in quality content freely available to anyone anywhere in the […]

Daily Update: American Girl, Minecraft, and the Next Generation of Builders; The Panasonic Cameraphone; China’s Antitrust Crusade

Good morning, I wrote yesterday that I thought the Minecraft acquisition made a lot of sense for Microsoft both from a financial point-of-view – given it’s engagement numbers, I think Minecraft has a lot of latent revenue opportunities – but also from a strategic point-of-view. It’s a natural fit with where Satya Nadella wants toSubscribe […]

Daily Update: Google Launches Android One in India, Good News on Patents, Apple’s Payment Strategy

Good morning, I hope you had a pleasant and relaxing weekend! Google launched Android One this week, and there are more rumors that Microsoft will indeed buy Mojang. More on that if it happens. On to the update: Google Launches Android One in India Google first announced Android One at this year’s Google I/O, promisingSubscribe […]

Daily Update: iPhone Delayed in China, Apple Watch Edition, Xiaomi Could Have Done Worse

Good morning, I’m a bit distracted as I write this; I’m simultaneously refreshing the Apple Store in the hopes of ordering an iPhone, but it’s been almost two hours and the Store has yet to appear, making this three cloud messes for Apple in two weeks. As with the livestream, the Occam’s Razor explanation isSubscribe […]

iCloud and Apple’s Founding Myth

From a certain perspective, what is happening to Apple this week is unfair. Both OS X and especially iOS are more secure than their competitors, and Apple has regularly prioritized security over features that customers have demanded. For example, Android has long supported custom keyboards, but Apple is only adding them in iOS 8. The […]