Monthly Archives: May 2011

Trifling Twitter

May 29, 2011 – 7:12 pm

TweetWhen a member of the old guard barges into their cozy backyard, the Digerati jump up and strike indignant poses. And when the intruder’s point is missed, its author gets crucified. This is what happened to Bill Keller, the New York Times’ executive editor, when he dared to write a column critical of Twitter. In [...]

Edited by Frédéric Filloux | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (15)

Google Wallet: Big Deal or another Buzz?

May 29, 2011 – 7:05 pm

TweetAfter weeks of rumors, Google finally announced its near field communication payment system, christened Google Wallet. It must be big because PayPal sued, but how big? Let’s start with the basics. First, the ostensible goal is to get rid of the antiquated multiplicity of insecure credit cards and replace them with your smartphone…your smartphone is [...]

Edited by Jean-Louis Gassée | Posted in hardware | Comments (29)

Media & tech: Reconcilable Differences

May 22, 2011 – 6:06 pm

TweetMedia and tech worlds must work together. There is not a shred of a doubt about it. The former have lost the dual battle for growth and economic performance; the latter are attracting eyeballs and endless funding. Still. When combined, their relevance to society can be greater than the sum of their respective parts. Last [...]

Edited by Frédéric Filloux | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (11)

Shift Happens…

May 22, 2011 – 6:06 pm

TweetBehold Netflix. This really is a special company, one that was long adored by its customers for its DVD rental service by mail. Success made the company one of the largest if not the largest US Postal Service customer. Then — and this is where the “really special” part comes in — Netflix managed to [...]

Edited by Jean-Louis Gassée | Posted in radio & TV | Comments (19)

Dangerous Blend

May 15, 2011 – 8:50 pm

TweetLast week, the Columbia School of Journalism released “The Story so Far“ (PDF here). For news zealots, this is tantamount to the Vatican publishing a sex manual. Still, this work is one of the best reports ever written on the state of modern journalism. Its authors, Bill Grueskin, Ava Seave and Lucas Graves, detail the [...]

Edited by Jean-Louis Gassée | Posted in journalism | Comments (13)

Ballmer’s latest acquisition

May 15, 2011 – 8:49 pm

TweetIn a bold move, Microsoft acquires Nokia and catapults itself to the top of the smartphone world. The full integration of Windows Phone 7 software into Nokia hardware will result in a better user experience for customers, a zero-fragmentation platform for developers, easier deployment of a smaller number of SKUs for retailers, and more reliable [...]

Edited by Jean-Louis Gassée | Posted in software | Tagged , , | Comments (34)

Lessons from the Bin Laden coverage

May 8, 2011 – 6:53 pm

TweetOne after the other, the newscycles of momentous events keep reshaping the digital information landscape. The latest example of such alteration is the Bin Laden story, it just set a new reference point. For traditional media, this raises the pressure yet another notch; they must rethink everything: organizations and processes – as well as business [...]

Edited by Frédéric Filloux | Posted in journalism, online publishing | Comments (20)

Intel 3-D Transistors: Why and When?

May 8, 2011 – 6:53 pm

TweetA few days ago, Intel teased: On May 4th, the company would make “its most significant technology announcement of the year.” Tongues wagged. Will Intel make ARM chips for Apple? The speculation has roots in reality. We’ll start with the public breakup of the Wintel marriage. At this year’s CES in January, Steve Ballmer made [...]

Edited by Jean-Louis Gassée | Posted in hardware | Tagged , | Comments (38)

Freemium Revisited: Paying For Content-Based Applications

May 1, 2011 – 7:34 pm

TweetLast week, Instapaper’s founder Marco Arment gave us a remarkable insight into the economics of content applications. For readers who haven’t used Instapaper on their iPad or iPhone (preferably on both): this application is an absolute must-have. This is what I call a Real-Life App. Minimalist design, no frills, no “wow effect”. But, in return [...]

Edited by Frédéric Filloux | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (6)

Carnival Barker Edition: Show me your iOS licensing certificate!

May 1, 2011 – 7:33 pm

TweetApple is doing it wrong, Apple is living on borrowed time! Apple will Fail Again! This idea, this meme, isn’t new. For more than 30 years we’ve heard a number of versions of the “Apple is doomed” requiem. December 12th 1980 — the day of Apple’s IPO, coincidentally — I’m in Geneva, signing my employment [...]

Edited by Jean-Louis Gassée | Posted in hardware | Tagged , , | Comments (100)