Archive for 2012
Why Apple Would Dare Partner With Those Evil Cable/Telco TV Providers
Feb. 7, ‘12: At GigaOm, Ryan Lawler walks through the latest reports and speculation about Apple’s TV set, including supposed partnerships in the works with cable and telco TV providers. Why would Apple want to partner with these horrible monopolies when it is … Continue reading →
‘Hey Bill, it’s Steve’
Feb. 7, ‘12: To achieve the impossible, sometimes you have to do the unthinkable. Nice essay by Jim Maiella. But here’s the beauty part, not only did Steve Jobs have to find a way to fix Apple’s products and restore its broken relationship … Continue reading →
Facebook’s Mobile Problem Isn’t Ads — It’s The Product
Feb. 6, ‘12: In a well-circulated New York Times article, Jenna Wortham notes that Facebook doesn’t make any money from mobile. Despite a ton of mobile users — about half of its 845 million monthly users — it’s going to be a significant challenge for … Continue reading →
Why Apple doesn’t buy Super Bowl ads
Feb. 6, ‘12: John Gruber nails it: Super Bowl ads bring high-profile attention to major announcements. Apple doesn’t need pay for Super Bowl ads to get high-profile attention for their major announcements.
Why today’s ‘Smart TVs’ aren’t
Feb. 6, ‘12: Amol Sarva: Apparently people actually have these. The product is really bad though. Nobody, nobody deserves to say “oh why does Apple get all the credit; we have had these for years” Apple obviously won’t be the first company to … Continue reading →
3 Weeks With The iPhone 4S: The S Is For Slick
Feb. 6, ‘12: I’ve been an every-other-iPhone buyer, so after getting the iPhone 4 in 2010, I was planning to skip the iPhone 4S and wait for whatever’s next. But with all the international travel I’m planning to do this year for my … Continue reading →
Amazon reportedly developing a retail store in Seattle
Feb. 6, ‘12: If this report, by Michael Kozlowski for Good E-Reader, is true, it actually makes some sense. Never mind the age-old Amazon sales tax issue: I’ve been paying tax on Amazon orders in New York for years, and my willingness to … Continue reading →
Facebook’s Payments Business Is Already 15% The Size Of PayPal — Sort Of
Feb. 4, ‘12: Facebook’s IPO filing this week revealed that its payments business is growing at a healthy clip, and represented 15% of Facebook’s revenue last year. (Up to 17% of its sales during the fourth quarter.) How does it compare to eBay’s … Continue reading →
The ‘Eggs In One Basket’ Index
Feb. 3, ‘12: Earlier, I noted how Facebook’s advertising business generated 85% of its revenue last year, down from 95% in 2010, as its payments business is helping it diversify away from ads. Then I saw this post by Ed Bott, comparing Microsoft, … Continue reading →
Why Microsoft will inevitably try to buy Nokia or RIM
Feb. 3, ‘12: MG Siegler points out that Apple’s iPhone business is bigger than all of Microsoft. Once you get over the historical weirdness of that, it makes sense: Would you rather pocket hundreds of dollars per phone sold? Or ~$15 in license … Continue reading →
