Spotify’s earnings were solid, although I am more skeptical of its podcast exclusive strategy than ever. Plus, Apple continues to act anti-competitively, this time in e-books.
Google Kills Stadia; Why Stadia Was a Bad Product; Microsoft, Activision, and Antitrust
Google Stadia is, predictably, dead: the company never had the business model to match. Microsoft is showing just how hard it is to get that business model off of the ground.
Launch Follow-Up, Figma Feedback, More on Antitrust and Acquisitions
More details on yesterday’s launch, then a designer explains why Figma is different, and why Adobe has a good chance in court if it goes that far.
Adobe Acquires Figma, Figma’s Disruption, The Figma OS
Adobe’s acquisition of Figma is about the long-term shift in the design value chain; it paid so much because there was no other reason for Figma to sell.
Data and Definitions
Explaining exactly why Apple’s approach to ATT is anti-competitive
Browsers and Regulation; Thin Platforms, Bundling, and Unbundling
The lessons regulators should learn from the Microsoft antitrust case, and how Thin Platforms are part of the unbundling and bundling cycle.
Thin Platforms
The Microsoft and Stripe developer keynotes were both examples of the rise of Thin Platforms
Google I/O; “Near Me”, Competition, and Innovation; Pixel and Fitbit
This year’s Google I/O built on last year’s focus in a way that lends credence to Google’s longer-term goals. Plus, Pixel hardware and the problem of design by regulation.
Apple Earnings, Apple and Zero-COVID, Apple Pay and the EU
Apple’s earnings were dominated by supply chain issues in China, which are ultimately driven by COVID. Then, the EU gets it right in an antitrust case (for now).
Google Privacy Sandbox, SDK Runtimes, On-Device Targeting
Google’s Privacy Sandbox initiative is vague but has some interesting ideas that may change the whole industry