Archive for January, 2012
Peter Kafka: Why the future of TV won’t be here soon
Jan. 11, ‘12: There’s plenty of cool new tech at CES for watching television. But the real future of TV — where you can pick exactly which channels and content you want to pay for, instead of today’s giant, overpriced bundles — is … Continue reading →
Apple’s supplier responsibility page
Jan. 9, ‘12: As discussed on this week’s This American Life, here’s where Apple publishes its lengthy reports on social responsibility among its suppliers. (They state the percent of suppliers in compliance, and describe certain violations, but typically don’t disclose the specific suppliers.) … Continue reading →
This American Life: Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory
Jan. 9, ‘12: Mike Daisey was a self-described “worshipper in the cult of Mac.” Then he saw some photos from a new iPhone, taken by workers at the factory where it was made. Mike wondered: Who makes all my crap? He traveled to … Continue reading →
Welcome to SplatF 2.0!
Jan. 9, ‘12: After a week in the lab, I’m happy to release the first significant revision to SplatF’s design and feature set since it launched six months ago. The big changes should last a year, I hope, and will help me make … Continue reading →
5 years ahead
Jan. 9, ‘12: Five years ago today, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone for the first time, completely changing the mobile industry. (If you haven’t watched his keynote lately, you should. It is his best performance ever, I think.) That means today … Continue reading →
Here’s what I’m actually looking forward to in tech this year
Jan. 6, ‘12: “Predictions” season is over — thank goodness. But the folks at SAY Media — my advertising partner for SplatF, and my new employers via ReadWriteWeb — asked me to write a piece for their weekly newsletter about some of the … Continue reading →
Amazon is doing its real job: Squeezing retail chains
Jan. 5, ‘12: One of the dramas in tech right now is the story around Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet and its potential to mess up Apple’s iPad business. I don’t think the Kindle Fire (an okay-but-not-great media tablet) is a real, long-term threat … Continue reading →
Roku sold 1.5 million boxes last year, 25% below expectations
Jan. 4, ‘12: Roku reached 2.5 million total streaming boxes sold last year, USA Today’s Jefferson Graham reports, which was behind its estimate of 3 million, according to GigaOM’s Janko Roettgers. After passing 1 million boxes sold early last January, that suggests about 1.5 million … Continue reading →