More Authors Signing Exclusive Kindle Deals – GigaOM »
This is one trend that I definitely hope doesn’t continue. What bullshit.
Facebook’s Project Titan: A Full Featured Webmail Product »
The email problem is an ever-increasing one for a lot of people. When I talk to entrepreneurs looking to start something new, it seems that almost all of them say they’ve at least thought about basing their product around this problem. But the problem with the startups coming up with solutions is that most users don’t seem to want to deviate from the old standards they’re used to (like Gmail), thinking the new solution is foreign, and won’t be worth putting the time and effort into learning.
Facebook though, with its 400 million users, has an opportunity to do something really interesting. Also, given that their current message system is weak, a complete overhaul shouldn’t piss off too many users (well, it will, but temporarily).
One thing Mike forgets to mention: Paul Buchheit, the creator of Gmail, now works for Facebook.
“PC makers had hailed Windows 7 as a way for them to launch feature-laden new machines that they could sell for bigger margins. With Windows 7, said Dell Vice President Alex Gruzen in October, the PC market would no longer be a “race to the bottom” in terms of prices.
But the opposite happened as PC makers ran into tight-fisted consumers and retailers that were selling PCs at deep discounts over the holiday quarter. Since PC prices dropped so quickly, analysts now expect Dell and H-P to announce slimmer PC profit margins when they report quarterly results later this month.
via Windows 7 Fails to Boost PC Makers’ Profit – WSJ.com »
The race to the bottom continues in the PC world as Apple continues to bathe in profits.
“In short, I’d say Apple likes its technology open and its products closed.
via Daring Fireball: What if Flash Were an Open Standard? »
When you truly believe you make the best products, as Apple does, you can afford to take this stance. Many of Apple’s competitors meanwhile, take the opposite stance.
“Great products, according to Mr. Jobs, are triumphs of “taste.” And taste, he explains, is a byproduct of study, observation and being steeped in the culture of the past and present, of “trying to expose yourself to the best things humans have done and then bring those things into what you are doing.”
via Steve Jobs and the Economics of Elitism – NYTimes.com »
The other key takeaway: Keep It Simple, Stupid.
“Secretly, I suspect, we technologists quite liked the idea that Normals would be dependent on us for our technological shamanism. Those incantations that only we can perform to heal their computers, those oracular proclamations that we make over the future and the blessings we bestow on purchasing choices.
via Fraser Speirs – Future Shock »
A great perspective on the iPad. It’s pretty amazing that to this day the idea of computing is still very frustrating and scary to a lot of people. The reason is that things are still way too complicated. OS X is better than Windows in this regard, but even OS X is way too complicated for most people.
If it explodes in popularity and becomes a massively-used general computing device, the iPad could well change that. That is its true potential. And that scares the shit out of many tech-savvy people who are used to wielding a certain power.
AT&T Beefing Up Network for iPad and iPhone – PCWorld Business Center »
Interesting notes about the iPad from AT&T’s perspective. Basically, they assume most people will use it with WiFi and will “adapt” if 3G usage kicks up. Obviously, this worries me as it sounds much like the wait-and-see approach they took with the iPhone — only to have their network crippled under its strain.
Still debating if I should get the WiFi iPad (which will be out a month earlier and be $130 cheaper — not to mention lack any monthly fee) or the 3G iPad. Leaning towards the 3G just so I can rest easy knowing that it will work everywhere, but statements like this from AT&T are definitely making me think about it.
Apple makes $208 on each $499 iPad »
Four things:
1) Apple looks to still be making a nice margin on each iPad sold.
2) Apple makes a better margin on the more expensive versions of iPad.
3) Just imagine if Apple had sold this for $999 or even $899, that margin would be huge.
4) Apple will have plenty of room to drop the price even lower if they feel the need to.
“Blockbuster was saddled with debt during the spinoff from Viacom and is now fighting a multi-front war against Netflix, Redbox and Apple, and the company is today worth less than $80 million (Netflix’s market cap is about $2.6 billion).
via Hacking NetFlix : Blockbuster Lowers Expectations; Blames Holidays & International »
Blame everyone. But yourself.
Things are not looking good for the former titan of rentals. That market cap comparison is staggering.
