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, and Madison
Facebook’s Impressive Consistency, Yelp’s Employee Problem
Facebook consistently delivers good results, which is why they get a lot of leeway from investors. Perhaps the latter aren’t as irrational as everyone thinks. Plus, Yelp’s big problem, and why it might affect Twitter.
Intel and the Delay in Moore’s Law, Another Android Vulnerability
Moore’s Law has officially hit a slow-down. The more important question is why — and it is necessarily as bad a thing as we expected? Plus, the latest Android vulnerability points to a big Apple advantage and the implications of tradeoffs.
Amazon’s Transformation, The Apple Music Backlash
Amazon turned a surprising profit: was it on purpose? More importantly, what does it say about the fundamental nature of Amazon as a company and as an investment? Plus, why the Apple Music backlash shouldn’t be a surprise, and a survey about meet-ups for this summer.
In Defense of Markets, The Qualcomm Mess, Uber and de Blasio
I think that the stock market tends to get a bad rap amongst tech pundits and executives; in fact, it is a critical part of how new companies defeat incumbents. Still, sometimes markets get it wrong and I think that is the case with Qualcomm. Plus, what Uber’s episode with New York City mayor Bill de Blasio suggests about politics and Aggregation Theory.
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.
Google’s Impressive Earnings, Ebay’s Uncertain Future
Google had great results that were impressive not just from a dollars and cents perspective, but also from a strategic perspective. Plus, brief thoughts on Ebay as it spins off Paypal.
Google’s Integration of Retail and Hotels, Facebook Page Shops, Netflix’s Earnings
Google’s “buy button” for ads and experiments in hotels fit the pattern of Internet-based disruption. Facebook, meanwhile, is meeting needs it itself created, and Netflix has started a virtuous cycle.