Geotagged tweets and images can breach privacy walls and even cost lives:
But it also raises privacy issues, particularly when users are unaware, or forget that, their tweets are geotagged. Various celebrities are thought to have given away their home locations in this way. And in 2007, four Apache helicopters belonging to the US Army were destroyed by mortars in Iraq when insurgents worked out their location using geotagged images published by American soldiers.
This is surprising, given all the doom and gloom in the press.
If discussions of net neutrality make your eyes glaze over, this is a good read. Clear and thoughtful, without being too parochial. I recognize that Netflix has a vested interest in how this plays out, but you can’t ignore the fact that Reed Hastings has a unique vantage point. He’s at the center of this storm.
All that said, here’s another read to balance things out, get a more objective point of view. Good to keep in mind that Netflix is a business, not a consumer service.
Smart, smart move. If BlackBerry is going to survive, lean and mean is the way to go.
Twitter Music is an experiment that never quite caught on.
Here’s the official goodbye tweet.
Nice tip.
To get to the page, launch iTunes, click the App Store link at the top of the page to get to the App Store, then click the Indie Games Showcase banner at the top of the page (you might need to wait for it to rotate into view).
Some fans who bought nosebleed-seat tickets to see the Golden State Warriors received a friendly suggestion from their phones when they stepped off the escalators at Oracle Arena: Wouldn’t they like to spend a few extra bucks for a seat where they could actually distinguish Stephen Curry from Andrew Bogut?
See any downside to this? All good?
The Streisand effect occurs when an attempt to suppress something has the opposite unintended consequence. Which is the definition of irony, I might add.
So what does this have to do with Twitter and Turkey? Read on…
To be clear, by book-less I mean an absence of printed books, a completely digital library. This is not the same as an internet cafe, a room filled with computers for general use. There actually is a library of eBooks for loan to library patrons. No waiting, and no late fees.
Vulfpeck’s latest album is a business experiment, not a musical one. The idea behind the project is for fans to stream the “songs” constantly, generating royalties for the band in their spare time. Vulfpeck plans to use the proceeds to go on tour. It’s an ingenious publicity stunt and, if you squint hard enough, a commentary on the way music is valued in the digital age.
Um, what? Is this art or is it theft? Interesting question.
Take a look at the two videos embedded in the post. The first one is more of a commercial, showing different aspects of life with a Google watch. The second one is more detailed, a bit more of a mission statement. The linked blog post lays out four keys to Google wearables
Before there were Apple Stores, before big box retailers like Best Buy, there were the mom and pop computer shops. It’s where you’d go to buy your first Apple computer, where you’d get supplies like floppy disks and perforated computer paper (one long sheet of paper, perfed into individual pages, sprocket feed holes on the side). More importantly, it’s where you’d go to get your questions answered, buy your software (or find shareware), and get your computer fixed. And now they are closing.
Interesting writeup on the industry’s reaction to Secret. Personally, I feel like I need to wash my eyeballs after reading some of these posts. Anonymous posting brings out the worst in people. And maybe that’s why they found it so easy to raise $8.6 million.
Benjamin Mayo (from 9to5Mac): I am slightly obsessed with the anecdote about Jobs throwing a pen in your face. Is the story true?
Eddy Cue: No it’s not.
‘Nuff said.
Too many people focus on the short term wins in their life. This thoughtful piece, by Brian Fetherstonhaugh, CEO of one of the largest and most successful advertising agencies in the world, is valuable both as career advice and life guidance.
I think there’s incredible food for thought here, so very much worth the time to read.
From Seeking Alpha (free reg-wall):
In effect, the watch is a device for using Google Now and cards that apps on the phone send to it.
This is an interesting model. It means that a Google watch is a satellite device that locks you in to the Google ecosystem. Since the watch without the phone is just a wrist-watch, or less, if it does not have the built in smarts to do its watch and alarm thing without its master.
Well said, Mike. I feel exactly the same. I know I can turn these notifications off, but that’s an extra step I have to take and an annoyance.
Tom Conrad has been with Pandora since almost day one. Sad to see him go.
Just as we search for ways to preserve our ancient video and photographic images, it’s critical that we work out a mechanism for preserving our digital archives. Interesting article.
This is a bit of a rant, but there’s logic at the core of Marco’s argument.
Maybe the reason Prime economics have become tricky is because Amazon bundled in a video service nobody wants since 2011, leveraging one business’ extreme success to juice the numbers of one that’s faring poorly against its competitors. Netflix charges $95.88 per year for a similar service. How much of Prime’s price hike was really to help pay for the video service that’s just a tax on Prime members who have never used it and don’t want it?
This is a classic business problem. How do you distinguish a product that is a drag on revenue from a product that has yet to blossom?
Ever consider subscribing to Office 365? Here’s how Microsoft handles things when you let your subscription lapse. Interesting.
From Ars Technica:
This morning Apple made a couple of new additions to its iOS lineup, where “new” in this case means “old stuff that is nevertheless better than what it is replacing.” It has finally removed the iPad 2 from its lineup and replaced it with 2012’s fourth-generation iPad. For its second tour of duty, the 16GB iPad 4 will set you back $399 for a 16GB Wi-Fi version or $529 for a cellular version, $100 less than the equivalent iPad Air models and equal to the 16GB Retina iPad mini. There’s also a new 8GB model of the iPhone 5C, which as of this writing is only available in certain territories.
Allison Johnson was the Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Communications at Apple from 2005-2011. She was one of a select few who reported directly to Steve Jobs and was responsible for memorable ad campaigns like “Mac vs. PC” and “There’s an app for that”. More importantly, Johnson helped develop a launch culture at Apple that saw lines around the block for products like the iPhone and iPad.
From the Vimeo page:
In this interview with Behance’s Scott Belsky, Johnson shares stories from her time at Apple, emphasizes authenticity in business, and reveals how we can find a balance between launching a polished product (like Apple) versus shipping fast for feedback (like Google).
This video gives an excellent sense of what it was like working with Steve Jobs and being at the center of the Apple universe during some particularly notable times, but it is more about marketing craft than it is about reminiscing. Lots to learn. Great to watch.
Yahoo made an incredible investment when it paid $1 billion for 40% of Alibaba Group back in 2005. Times have changed and now Alibaba is the bigger fish. Last year, a subset of Alibaba’s properties, two web portals, together did more business than eBay and Amazon combined.
Shrewd move on Yahoo’s part.
Rene Ritchie presents his take on the latest iOS release.
If you don’t have the Apple Store app on your phone and iPad, they are worth getting. Don’t forget to pick up your free music.
Cardiologist George Diamond had an idea for a piece of software that could help diagnose coronary disease. The Apple II was brand new and, in 1977, represented a huge leap in the accessibility of computing power. This is the story of how Dr. Diamond pitched his idea directly to Steve Jobs and Apple.
The iPhone and iPad are revolutionizing medical care in so many ways. This inexpensive iPhone adaptor from Stanford will allow an iPhone to replace a diagnostic machine costing tens of thousands.
The original Sunday Times interview was behind a paywall, but Time Magazine carried it in the clear. The post carries excerpts from the interview, and some comments from the man who wrote the Jony Ive book.