Link: Qwikster →

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Tarun

Netflix is systematically killing the DVD-by-mail model off:

  1. Pick a name that is extremely off-putting
    BONUS: Pick a name that is not trademarked yet and already has a Twitter handle claimed.
  2. Establish it as a completely different business from the original derivative.
  3. Focus on the fact that Games are offered, instead of giving more, cheaper options on DVDs-by-mail.
  4. Lazily suggest that the look is going to be the exact same, not innovative in any way.
  5. Send out an apology email to millions of customers.
Posted in Netflix | Tagged , , | Permalink | Comments Off on Qwikster

Link: Chrome for Lion →

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Tarun

Finally, Chrome gets an update that increases speed, adds full screen mode and supports Safari-like gestures.

Posted in Google | Tagged , , | Permalink | Comments Off on Chrome for Lion

Link: AT&T Lighting Up LTE Network →

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Chris

On September 18th, AT&T will officially launch it’s “true 4G” LTE network.  AT&T has been calling it’s beefed up HSPA+ service 4G, but speeds were much slower than that of Verizon’s LTE network.  AT&T has promised speeds that could reach as high as 28Mbps!

Posted in Mobile | Tagged , , , , , , | Permalink | Comments Off on AT&T Lighting Up LTE Network

Link: Windows 8: 500,000 Served →

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Tarun

Steve Ballmer:

There is no phone, there is nothing on the tablet, there is no operating system on the planet that will ship 350 million units of anything other than Windows.

But in the long term, the PC market as a whole is shrinking. Right before Ballmer’s eyes. Also keep in mind the usage of the word “ship”, which is far different than “sold”.

Posted in Business, Microsoft | Tagged , , | Permalink | Comments Off on Windows 8: 500,000 Served

Link: The New BSOD →

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Tarun

Interesting design choice with the text smiley, but a marked improvement from the hexadecimal error page

Posted in Design, Microsoft | Tagged , , | Permalink | Comments Off on The New BSOD

Link: Windows 8 Developer Preview Announced →

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Chris

Microsoft announced it is launching its new Windows 8 Operating System to developers this week.  Windows 8, much like OS X Lion, is integrating features of its mobile OS with its desktop OS.

Posted in Microsoft | Tagged , , , , , | Permalink | Comments Off on Windows 8 Developer Preview Announced

Link: Arrington is Out →

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Tarun

Kara Swisher:

The company’s statement said that the high-profile blogger had “decided” to move on, which was a decided understatement, given that the negotiations between the pair sometimes approximated a cage match.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Permalink | Comments Off on Arrington is Out

Link: Video Games Continue to Decline →

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Chris

As we discussed last week in the podcast, video games continue to be on the decline.  It looks like August did nothing but confirm that for all of us.   The video game market is down 23% from where it was last year.

Posted in Games | Tagged , , , , , , | Permalink | Comments Off on Video Games Continue to Decline

Link: The New Apple Advantage →

Posted on September 10, 2011 by Tarun

John Gruber:

I’ve always been interested in Apple’s products because of their superior design; the business side of the company was never of as much interest. But at this point, it seems clear to me that however superior Apple’s design is, it’s their business and operations strength — the Cook side of the equation — that is furthest ahead of their competition, and the more sustainable advantage.

Good insight here. A company that could possibly match the economies of scale that Apple has introduced is Samsung. They make almost every core PC part, even processors. It wouldn’t be that big of a leap for the company to spin-off to be a scaled PC manufacturer. Nevertheless, Apple’s marriage of production and design is unlike any we have ever seen in the computing industry.

Posted in Apple, Business | Tagged , , | Permalink | Comments Off on The New Apple Advantage

Link: Windows 8 Boot Time Demo →

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Tarun

This is impressive, but it isn’t a bloated, final-release version either.

The computer in the video is a Core i7 with an SSD (via the YT comments), so the thought is that this would “rival” MacBook Air boot times. How fast the boot is on a computer without an SSD?

Posted in Microsoft | Tagged , , | Permalink | Comments Off on Windows 8 Boot Time Demo

Link: Harry McCracken’s Overview of the TechCrunch/AOL “Train Wreck” →

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Tarun

A story of heated romance and desire, beautifully narrated in this summary report.

The whole saga should never have happened — It is a ridiculous conflict of interest to invest in companies you report on, even if you leave the company (or are fired from it).

Posted in News | Tagged , , | Permalink | Comments Off on Harry McCracken’s Overview of the TechCrunch/AOL “Train Wreck”

Link: Henry Blodget’s Modest Proposal to Yahoo! →

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Tarun

Henry Blodget, CEO of SAI:

It’s not an instant miracle cure, of course. Fixing Yahoo will take time.
But it is, if we do say so ourselves, the sort of plan that Yahoo has been sorely lacking for the last couple of years.

Ouch.

Posted in News | Tagged , , | Permalink | Comments Off on Henry Blodget’s Modest Proposal to Yahoo!

Link: RIM Shareholder Giving Up →

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Chris

While the stake of this shareholder is unknown, it is still telling that the shareholder, Jaguar Financial, is essentially telling RIM to throw in the towel before it’s too late.

The status quo is not acceptable, the company cannot sit still. It is time for transformational change. The directors need to seize the reins to maximize shareholder value before more market value is lost.

Posted in Business, Mobile, RIM | Tagged , , , , , | Permalink | Comments Off on RIM Shareholder Giving Up

Link: AllThingsD: Carol Bartz Out at Yahoo →

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Tarun

Kara Swisher has the scoop:

The situation around the departure is unclear, but Bartz has had a very rocky tenure in her 30 months at the company.

Posted in Business | Tagged , , | Permalink | Comments Off on AllThingsD: Carol Bartz Out at Yahoo

Weekly Download #12: Kindle Tablet, HP, AOL, AT&T and T-Mobile, Final Cut Pro 7, GameStop

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Tarun

Tarun and Chris talk about Amazon’s entrance into the tablet arena; HP’s continued failings; AOL’s potential as a “buy”; the AT&T and T-Mobile marriage; Final Cut Pro 7’s triumphant return; Gamestop’s great decision to sell iOS devices. Like the podcast? Please add a comment and rate us on iTunes. Thanks for tuning in.

Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:28 — 67.5MB)

Posted in Amazon, Android, Apple, Business, Games, HP, iOS, Mobile, News, Podcast | Tagged , , | Permalink | Comments Off on Weekly Download #12: Kindle Tablet, HP, AOL, AT&T and T-Mobile, Final Cut Pro 7, GameStop

Link: Sprint Files to Block AT&T Merger →

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Chris

Sprint has previously come out and stated their displeasure with the AT&T, T-Mobile merger, but they have now officially sued to stop this deal from going through.  Sprint’s actions mark yet another roadblock for AT&T in what is shaping up to be a very interesting merger.

Posted in Mobile | Tagged , , , , , , , | Permalink | Comments Off on Sprint Files to Block AT&T Merger

Link: GameStop to Possibly Carry iOS Devices →

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Tarun

Via 9to5 Mac. This is just further validation that the console age is dying. Hey Nintendo and Microsoft, are you reading this?

Posted in Apple, Games, iOS, Microsoft, Nintendo | Tagged , , | Permalink | Comments Off on GameStop to Possibly Carry iOS Devices

Link: Hybrid Books →

Posted on September 3, 2011 by Tarun

This report from NPR talks about how publishers are finding it difficult to increase profit margins during times when e-readers and cheap books are the main business model. A solution to this comes in the form of a hybrid book. These books would have a DVD packaged with the book that includes extras that the book doesn’t have:

The idea is interesting in that it provides a bridge between the e-book and print copies (both come with “Illuminations”), and gives booksellers on the frontlines more ammunition to use when trying to push physical books.

This doesn’t seem to narrow the e-reader/physical divide. People who want to buy an e-book are casual readers who typically don’t care for the extras in the first place. People who already prefer books may find this appealing, but e-reader customers probably will look past these books like the $4.99 bin of DVDs at Wal-Mart.

Posted in Design, e-books | Tagged , , | Permalink | Comments Off on Hybrid Books

Link: The Amazon Tablet →

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Tarun

MG Siegler has the first look at an Amazon tablet, albiet he cannot provide pictures. Details within the article include:

  • A form factor similar to the BlackBerry Playbook
  • 7” with a capacitive touch screen in full color
  • That means no e-ink technology
  • No camera
  • Runs a flavor of Android (big move)
  • No physical buttons on the device
  • Initially wi-fi only, but Amazon is reportedly working with carriers to make it 3G
  • 6 GB or so of internal storage
  • $250 dollars or “half the iPad price”
  • Potentially release is imminent, before the holiday buying season

As John Gruber has said and I have corroborated as well here, this tablet is possibly the only potential iPad contender because of the Ecosystem that Amazon has built over the years.

Posted in Amazon, Android, Business | Tagged , , | Permalink | Comments Off on The Amazon Tablet

Link: Settling →

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Tarun

Jordan Golson, for MacRumors:

Apple has put the previous version of its Final Cut Studio video editing suite back on sale after a mixed reception to the new and completely redesigned Final Cut X. We received word that Apple had issued a memo this afternoon announcing re-availability of the product.

Took Apple long enough to make this move, but it will probably only impact a few people who don’t already have the old box set available anyway. You can expect the Mac App Store to only advertise X as the future model. This is the equivalent to having the option to turn off “reverse scrolling”. It’s only a matter of time before one product (or feature) is axed.

Posted in Apple | Tagged , , | Permalink | Comments Off on Settling

Link: It’s Even Priced the Same →

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Tarun

Competition isn’t a bad thing, but this is just too close (via Daring Fireball)

Posted in Apple, Business, Design, Microsoft | Tagged , , | Permalink | Comments Off on It’s Even Priced the Same

Link: No Streaming For You! →

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Tarun

MacRumors has posted a new update, saying that the new iOS Beta 7 kills iCloud “streaming”, which was really just a cache usage, according to InsanelyGreatMac. So, if a user wants to download a song from the Cloud, this is still possible but the song will store on the device you choose to listen to the song from.

But, apparently iTunes Match on the Mac does still have a streaming behavior. Arnold Kim writes:

Even with the newest iTunes beta release from tonight, users can reportedly stream songs from iTunes Match and those songs are not saved permanently to their Mac. Mac users must explicitly press the iCloud button to download and save songs locally — of course, this could change.

Personally, I haven’t been a proponent of streaming at all, since download speeds and technology haven’t quite caught up to make this a go-to solution. Perhaps with future cellular technologies like 4G/LTE on the iPhone, streaming can be a primary listening method.

Posted in Apple, iOS | Tagged , , | Permalink | Comments Off on No Streaming For You!

Link: Count In AOL? →

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Tarun

AOL owns a significant share of media sites on the web, but that’s about all the company has visibly going for them. A few incubated initiatives are mentioned in the article, but I don’t see how these provide a sustainable profit model for a company that has always had core competencies in providing internet services in a dying era of technology. AOL needs to champion some industry and let go of the past for the company to move forward in the fast-paced advertisement and media market of today.

Posted in Business | Tagged , , | Permalink | Comments Off on Count In AOL?

Link: Justice Department Trying to Block AT&T Merger →

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Chris

The US Government is attempting to block the merger between AT&T and T-Mobile.  The merger has been highly controversial with numerous companies weighing in on the matter.  AT&T recently went before Congress to explain the merger and what exactly it meant.  This however marks the first attempt by the government to formally block the merger from happening.  Throughout the entire process, Sprint has been very vocal about the merger being anticompetitive.

Posted in Business, Mobile | Tagged , , , , , , | Permalink | Comments Off on Justice Department Trying to Block AT&T Merger

Link: Windows Phone Hits New Milestone →

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Chris

BGR reports that the Windows Phone Marketplace now has more than 30,000 applications available in it.  This may seem like a decent number of apps, but comparatively, the Marketplace still lags behind…

By comparison, Apple’s iTunes App Store is populated with more than 500,000 applications and Google confirmed in May that the Android Market has more than 200,000 apps.

Posted in Microsoft, Mobile | Tagged , , , , , , | Permalink | Comments Off on Windows Phone Hits New Milestone