I wonder if it’ll be like the Korean LG app store or just an offshoot of the Windows mobile app store. Both will probably totally suck.
Archive for August, 2009
September 2009 announcement
August 31, 2009
The stock valuation wisdom of the crowd
August 30, 2009Scoble has one of his usual nonsensical, gut driven valuation posts:
Why Twitter is underhyped and is probably worth five to 10 billion dollars
This from the same twit who posted long time back on why it is that Microsoft gets no credit for selling 1M tablet PCs after putting in $10B in R&D (it’s called ROI).
Anyhoo, Scoble’s question is best answered by commenter thebulfrog:
thebulfrog said…
Some quick math – it would take 420,000 companies paying $100 every month for 10 years to reach 5 billion. Considering twitter currently has no one paying anything, how about you stop with the link-baiting nonsense side of this article?
Well said, bullfrog.
Tell me why I’m wrong.
Hmm ok, though we work for companies that have real business models that take up a lot of our persona time, I’ll gonna make the effort to tweet you a reply 140 characters at a time for the next 15 years on why you are wrong.
Snow Leopard: look to the future
August 29, 2009Let’s not forget its a step forward to setup for the future:
Not everyone missed out on noting Apple’s continued successes in whittling down OS X’s footprint while speeding it up: Our own Sean Michael Kerner touched on the subject in his recent piece on Snow Leopard; as did New York Times tech columnist David Pogue in his review of the new OS. Brian Caulfield at Forbes.com devoted an entirecolumn to it.
And rightly so — feats like this, I believe, need to be highlighted.
This is the way that system software should be architected. Each successive release of OS X has gotten lighter and more efficient. It hasn’t introduced bloat that forces users to upgrade their systems. Quite the opposite: It’s gotten leaner while getting more powerful.
Apple could have clearly opted to bloat, but there’s something else going on. It’s cleverly setting up for the future and Snow Leopard shows us what it thinks future devices will need: multi-core CPUs [GrandCentral] and compression for fast startup and switching. Presumably, no one wants computer like response time for apps to open and close after having experienced the iPhone world and single processor for video/graphics/cell radio in an intensely connected world.
Snow Leopard is setting the table. What’s next is beguiling.
NYT publishes 3,000 word article on how Microsoft “I am PC” ads worked … to boost Microsoft employee morale
August 29, 2009Because it’s clear that it didn’t do anything else. Besides, who is it fighting? Apple or consumer perception of a company that stopped innovating, constantly following the market (Apple, Nintendo, Google, RIM …) and over-promising and consistently under-delivering?
I’ve never seen more pride at Microsoft,” he says. “You walk through the campus, and you see people’s laptops that have ‘I’m a PC’ stickers on them. I walk in the company store, and there are these huge banners that say, ‘I’m a PC’ and shirts and ties and mugs. I think I made a difference. My God, that’s so cool!”
I guess that’s a good thing for employees. But sorta expensive.
In June, Microsoft felt that it had more reason to gloat. The chief financial officer, B. Kevin Turner, says he got a call from an Apple lawyer who asked him to change the ads because Apple was lowering its prices by $100. “I did cartwheels down the hallway,” Mr. Turner subsequently boasted in speech at a New Orleans conference.
Then Apple announced its second-quarter rebound. And for some analysts, it seemed like game over. “The reality is that Apple’s business has been impacted by the overall economy, not by Microsoft’s campaign,” said Gene Munster, senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray. “Those ‘What can I get for 1,000 bucks’ ads? That was a clever campaign. But it never really caught on. If you compare it to ‘Get a Mac,’ it didn’t even register.”
Sorry, while Microsoft employee morale may be up, the truth is that the Microosft brand is tainted. Everybody in this current generation has experienced some form of BSOD or heard it from their parents.
Microsoft, however, has found it enjoys mixing it up with Apple on the airwaves. In July, Mr. Ballmer told analysts that Crispin’s work had been “quite effective.” He promised that Microsoft would continue investing heavily in Windows marketing. “We didn’t do that three, four, five, six years ago,” he added.
Yes, traditionally monopolies don’t have to spend a lot to market their products. That’s why your water company doesn’t spend much on marketing. Unfortunately, Microsoft didn’t invest much in making their products better in three, four, five, six, ten years either. And that, ultimately, is what is leading to poor performance. Ballmer believes its a marketing problem. Hmm, sure. Otay.
Thank you, NYT, for not quoting anything from Rob Enderle.
E-paper display forecast reminds me of the interactive TV projections
August 28, 2009It’ll mean that in a couple of years that they’ll change the definition of e-readers and proclaim victory. One thing for sure, whatever is forecasted for e-paper as understood today will be totally off-base (via PaidContent):
As a result, annual sales of digital book readers are projected to zoom from 1 million units in 2008 to 77 million in 2018.
I call bull. Let’s revisit in 9 years.
Yahoo now a bit player in the Silicon Valley
August 28, 2009Well, at least now they have a CEO who can swear like a sailor:
The dream of Yahoo as a Silicon Valley giant playing a lead role in one of the fastest growing and most profitable parts of the Internet business is now over.
– Tradition Capital Management analyst George Kurian
W. Virginia governor’s office gets 5 free HPs
August 28, 2009“Our expectation is that this is not a gesture of good will. People don’t just send you five laptops for no good reason.”
— Kyle Schafer, West Virginia’s chief technology officer, says the delivery of five unordered HP laptops to the governor’s office (along with similar shipments either delivered or intended for officials in nine other states) is now being investigated by the FBI as a possible vector for a malware attack
Nokia gunning for Apple?
August 28, 2009Nokia is reminding the world that it, not a certain Cupertino (Calif.) rival, is the world’s dominant handset maker. In the space of four days, the Finnish company, which accounts for 37% of global mobile-phone sales, announced plans for a netbook computer, unveiled a new bargain-priced touchscreen handset, and a high-end “Internet Tablet.” The moves come in response to Apple’s growing market share in high-end smartphones.
Market share ≠ profit share.
