March 2012
3 tags
5 tags
Foursquare Ditches Google Maps For OpenStreetMaps →
This is interesting because maps are obviously a vital part of location-based services. And while a few have picked Bing Maps over Google Maps, I can’t recall any service as big as Foursquare, which was using Google for so long, ditching them in favor of the open alternative (as they note, several smaller startups have, often due to cost — which was also why Foursquare started looking for...
February 2012
3 tags
Windows 8 "No Compromises" Sum Not Equal To Parts? →
Tim Stevens has an in-depth look at the Windows 8 Consumer Preview on Engadget. He seems to generally like individual parts but:
Now, as we creep closer to a likely release near the end of this year, we can’t shake a sense of doubt. Windows 8 still feels like two very different operating systems trying to be one.
Newsflash: “No compromises” is actually a huge compromise.
4 tags
Liveblogging The iPad Home Button Revelation
Just to follow up on the late-breaking news:
LOL. LOL. LOL. LOL. LOL. LOL. LOL. LOL. etc, etc, etc, etc…
Which is more likely:
Apple pre-leaking a major design change in a press invite image — or — Everyone reading way too much into what is essentially an advertisement?
There will still be a home button. Take my word for it, or wait for The Wall Street Journal to break the news in a week...
5 tags
EXCLUSIVE Detailed Information About The New iPad
It still has a button.
3 tags
Under 1 Million Google TV Devices In Use →
GigaOm’s Janko Roettgers was able to dig up the dismal data.
Yeah, but that doesn’t matter — remember, in three months the majority of all TVs sold are going to run Google TV.
4 tags
New Apple TVs Alongside New iPads? →
Mark Gurman of 9to5Mac cites “reliable sources” and has some part numbers to back it up.
I don’t have any information about this, but it sounds right because I’d imagine Apple will want higher quality video content to show off on the new iPad’s Retina screen. That likely means upgrading current HD iTunes content from 720p to 1080p (which is still less than the new...
4 tags
Twitter Moves To Monetize Mobile →
Promoted Tweets — read: ads — are coming to the Twitter mobile client streams. I suspect the initial reaction will be: “Great! Another reason to use TweetBot!”
But I actually don’t view this as a negative thing. Twitter is a service that many of us use and love for hours on end every single day. It’s a great service. But like any great service, if it’s to stick...
5 tags
4 tags
5 tags
Nobody Gives A Damn About Google+ →
Ouch.
A quote from that site I refuse to link to:
Visitors using personal computers spent an average of about three minutes a month on Google+ between last September and January, versus six to seven hours on Facebook each month over the same period, according to comScore, which didn’t have data on mobile usage.
3 minutes versus seven hours. I mean, 3 minutes!
The sad thing is: I bet...
3 tags
Yahoo Sticks Knife In Stomach, Will Bleed Out Over... →
Put a fork in Yahoo, they’re now officially done.
As relayed by Michael J. De La Merced of The New York Times:
“Yahoo has a responsibility to its shareholders, employees and other stakeholders to protect its intellectual property,” a Yahoo spokesman said in an e-mailed statement. “We must insist that Facebook either enter into a licensing agreement or we will be compelled to move forward...
3 tags
A Show with Ze Frank by Ze Frank →
Ze Frank posts on Kickstarter to bring his show back. Total Kickstarter-bait. Already fully funded. And yet, I’m in.
[via Daring Fireball]
6 tags
"We're no longer a PC company, we're an IT... →
That’s not IBM. That’s not HP. That’s Dell.
But you’ll notice the trend. Everyone is getting out of the PC business because it’s a shitty business to be in.
IBM was way ahead of the curve (and is reaping the rewards as a result). While seemingly insane at the time, HP had the right idea last year (then backtracked and got burned last quarter). Now Dell.
You often...
6 tags
Winning! Duh!
“2012 is going to be the year that we double down and make sure we’re winning in that space.”
That was Andy Rubin talking about Android’s tablet strategy at Mobile World Congress, as relayed by The Verge.
Across all the various OEMs that make Android tablets, 12 million have been sold in total. Ever. For context, Apple sold 15 million iPads last quarter.
Obviously,...
4 tags
thatfrenchman asked: I'm still an AT&T customer, but it pains me to be. I'm holding onto my unlimited data and I'm still getting a discount on my bill from a former employer. But every single thing AT&T does these days makes me want to throw those benefits away. But then I look at Verizon and their country-wide data outages and attempts at price hikes in the form of online debit charges. Do you...
2 tags
Anonymous asked: Why the change to gray? I thought the green went with the whole "lemon" theme.
3 tags
“Eventually you start to think that AT&T executives should just stop thinking...”
– Karl Bode from the previously-linked piece about AT&T’s latest idiotic money-making scheme.
3 tags
AT&T's New "Troll Toll" →
AT&T now wants to charge app developers data fees to ease customers running into their imaginary data caps. It’s an idea so bad it’s almost comical. Writes Karl Bode:
It’s an idea we’re sure AT&T will pitch as a cost-saving endeavor for consumers, but given this is AT&T, you’d be naive to think cost savings will be in the equation. You’ll still pay...
3 tags
On The Road
A couple weeks ago, a rant of mine on technology journalism kicked off a firestorm that has yet to fully subside. The talking points have evolved beyond my initial ones and yes, I too have re-fueled the flames a few times.
I knew the reaction would be strong (for obvious reasons), but I didn’t expect the tech press to get as riled up as they have for this extended period of time. In my 5+...
3 tags
The Everlasting Gold Bubble →
cdixon:
The second major category of investments involves assets that will never produce anything, but that are purchased in the buyer’s hope that someone else – who also knows that the assets will be forever unproductive – will pay more for them in the future. Tulips, of all things, briefly became a…
Fucking brilliant. In the Berkshire Hathaway 2011 annual report, Warren Buffet breaks...
4 tags
Sonastand →
Nice iPhone speaker/stand project on Kickstarter.
I like this for a few reasons:
1) You can carry this around in your pocket. (They have slightly different sizes depending on the case you use, if you use one at all.)
2) They’re going to manufacturer these themselves right here in California.
3) These guys poured their life savings in to this project to pursue their dream.
They’re...
4 tags
JK Exits TC →
jasonkincaid:
It isn’t easy to feel sad when you’re standing in front of a 14-foot ape who’s wearing a polo shirt, a backwards baseball cap, and, for reasons only its designer could explain — no pants. And yet, there I was.
Actually, “sad” would be an understatement. I was downright gloomy. Even the…
Classy farewell by Jason Kincaid on his way out the TechCrunch door. I worked with...
4 tags
For Those Keeping Score At Home
Today:
Conflicted blogger: Breaks major story about an Apple acquisition.
Enlightened savior of journalism: Day two of Scoblegate — the deep dive into Robert Scoble’s desire to start a venture fund. Related: day two of eating shit and looking like a total jackass.
7 tags
The Wall Street Journal Is Fucking Bullshit
Earlier today, I broke some news.
I don’t typically do this anymore given my new job. But from time to time this will happen. But if you read The Wall Street Journal, you’d never know. Why’s that? Because they’re fuckheads who don’t credit actual sources of information.
I know, I know. I’m ranting again. But indulge me for a few minutes.
I broke the news that...
3 tags
“You can be assured we are working as hard as ever this year to deliver an...”
– Tim Cook talking today at Apple’s shareholders meeting.
“We’re working on things that will blow your mind” is a pretty constant theme amongst those I talk to from time to time at Apple. While the competition is all aimed squarely at them, they’re not worried in the...
4 tags
Google Replacing Jha As Motorola Chief →
I’m shocked that Google is replacing a guy who managed to lose $80 million last quarter. Almost as shocked as I am that Google is buying this company losing hundreds of millions of dollars a year for $12.5 billion.
Let me reiterate my stance that Sanjay Jha is a wizard. He’ll likely walk away with tens of millions of dollars for pulling this thing off.
4 tags
Actually, Maybe Google+ Is Useful →
Watch front and center as the last great bastion of journalistic integrity dives face first into a huge pile of shit.
Then opens his mouth.
And Eats. It. All.
2 tags
Google's Dork Glasses →
I had been sitting on this for a couple of days trying to collect my thoughts on Google’s real-life goggles, as reported by Nick Bilton. Unsurprisingly, my thoughts are mainly in line with John Gruber’s here:
My first thought was to laugh, but, hey, at this point, let’s give Google the benefit of the doubt and hope these things are actually useful and cool. We’re not going to be...
2 tags
Look, This Is What It Comes Down To →
Michael’s take on blogging/writing and “objectivity” is a good one. It’s almost as if what he says makes too much sense so the debate must go on! Which of course makes no sense.
At some point I’ll get to stop writing about this topic. I’ve been trying to move on, because quite frankly, it’s gotten boring. I’ve ignored requests to comment or to go on...
3 tags
HP Q1 Revenue Down 7 Percent To $30B, Net Income... →
As a reminder, Apple’s revenue this past quarter was $46 billion.
Remember when HP still held the tech revenue crown? You should, it was only this past summer.
3 tags
Google Cable TV Coming To Kansas City →
I’m all for anything that disrupts the region-based cable monopolies.
But remember that Google had a hell of a time trying to reach agreements with content providers for Google TV. And recall that it’s coming up on two years (!) since Google first showed off their music product — and they still don’t have a deal with all the labels. The types of deals needed for content plays...
8 tags
What If... (Office For iPad Edition)
Watching the back-and-forth yesterday about the whole Microsoft Office for iPad thing was nothing if not amusing. The basic rundown:
“It’s coming, here it is.” “That’s not it.” “Yes it is.” “No it’s not, but we didn’t say it’s not coming.” “A Microsoft employee showed it to us.” “No they didn’t,...
3 tags
From The "Um, What?!" Department
Google now asks you to enter your credit card as part of the Gmail signup flow. Bold. twitter.com/rmatei/status/…
— Robert Cezar Matei (@rmatei) February 22, 2012
This is going to go over well.
6 tags
The Beatles Launch Exclusive Ringtones Through... →
AKA: when you have an exclusive deal, milk it.
5 tags
Microsoft Office For/Not For iPad →
Microsoft making Office available in some capacity on the iPad is huge news, obviously. But even more interesting is the back-and-forth about this story.
Depending on the hour, Microsoft is either:
Readying a version of Office for the iPad in the coming weeks.
Not readying a version of Office for the iPad in the coming weeks.
Denying the screenshots are real.
Not denying the software is...
3 tags
CNNMoney Tech: MG Siegler vs. MG Siegler →
I’m confused as to what exactly I’m accused of here. I posted a link to Microsoft’s side of the argument. And I followed up with Google’s response. As a result, CNN staff writer David Goldman seems to think he has me in some sort of GOTCHA!
Newsflash for Goldman: my personal blog is not The New York Times. I post links to things I find interesting throughout the day with a...
3 tags
The Race To Save Flickr →
Betabeat’s Adrianne Jeffries is optimistic after sitting down with Flickr product head Markus Spiering and seeing a glimpse of what they’re working on. It sounds like it will be more of a gradual change over the year though, rather than one major revamp.
Three words not nearly mentioned enough: mobile, mobile, mobile. The only part of the story that mentions this says:
But Flickr is...
5 tags
5 tags
Netflix Competitor Launches New Netflix Competitor →
Speaking of Netflix, Comcast is launching a Netflix competitor.
But wait — isn’t Comcast already a Netflix competitor with their On Demand service, their Xfinity service, and their stake in Hulu? Well yes, but this will have a new name and new fees! Joy!
Reports Andrew Wallenstein for Variety:
With a business model and catalog-oriented content mix similar to Netflix and other competing...
5 tags
Netflix And The Weinstein Company Enter Into Their... →
Huge win for Netflix. The Weinstein Company is one of the few production houses where quality absolutely trumps quantity. If I wasn’t already a member, I’d consider signing up for Netflix just for this alone.
6 tags
China Telecom Getting The iPhone 4S On March 9,... →
This will get overshadowed by the new iPad unveiled a couple days before, but this is big news. China Telecom has 130 million customers. And, get this, one model of the 4S will be given away for free with a contract.
Huge.
4 tags
Google: Microsoft Is Full Of Shit
Earlier today, I posted a link to a Microsoft blog post calling out Google for bypassing IE security measures. Google saw the post and sent me the following on-the-record statement (below).
It’s a bit verbose, so I’ll summarize: “Microsoft is full of shit.”
Statement: Attributable to Rachel Whetstone, Senior Vice President of Communications and Policy, Google
Microsoft...
6 tags
It's Unnatural →
Sarah Lacy talking about Google+ on PandoDaily:
We simply don’t need another social network, no matter how great your circles are or how badly Larry Page wants to have one.
Agreed. The problem, which Google really, truly does not seem to understand is that at the end of the day, they’re solving a problem which has already been solved. They may think it hasn’t, but it has.
...
5 tags
I Tried To Watch Game Of Thrones... →
Hollywood’s core piracy “problem” is perfectly captured in this one cartoon by The Oatmeal.
In fact, I’ve had this exact debate with myself. I really want to watch Game of Thrones. But I’m not an HBO subscriber because I’m not a cable subscriber and unfortunately, the two go hand-in-hand, no matter what I’m willing to pay.
Speaking of “willing to...
4 tags
Google Quietly Tries To Compete With Foursquare Of... →
A few years ago, this would have been interesting. But now it just looks foolish. It looks like a company that’s so embarrassed about how late they are to the dance that they snuck in the backdoor and refuse to talk to anyone let alone dance with anyone.
Google made a big bet on background location with Latitude, but they were far too early. By the time they realized this and pivoted...
6 tags
Microsoft: We're Also Pissed Off At Google Over... →
I’m honestly not sure which is more concerning:
1) That Google is doing things to bypass the privacy settings in Internet Explorer.
2) That Microsoft had absolutely no idea that Google was doing this until the (somewhat misleading) Wall Street Journal article last week.
Update: Google: Microsoft Is Full Of Shit
5 tags
Chill's Ultimate Steve Jobs Collection →
An awesome collection of pretty much every Steve Jobs video you can find on the web. This was put together by Chill (a CrunchFund portfolio company).
4 tags
Hollywood's Next Great Business Model: Praying... →
Update: While McDermott accurately quoted the Netflix rep (who herself apparently checked with two supervisors), Netflix is now saying the information is inaccurate. Actually, The Bodyguard vanished as a streaming option before Houston’s passing.
Earlier: When asked why The Bodyguard was pulled from Netflix streaming following Whitney Houston’s death, Dan McDermott got the following...
