Versatile Amphibian

I've been watching Microsoft win real interest in 2015. They've got tech journos salivating with clever augmented reality technology, made Windows free, brought office to iOS and Android and launched a major ad campaign based on the superiority of the Cortana virtual assistant.  But one thing that's gone under the radar is the launch of the Lumia 435, a new smartphone targeting first time smartphone users and upgraders in less wealthy segments. In the UK is retails at just £70 without a contract. I  spent some time with the device at MWC and was very impressed with the experience.  Physically the demo units all sported rather garish luminous plastic backs and have a screen about the size of that in the original iPhone. It's thick and rather sharp edged next to the zeitgeist devices of today, but is still a fun, coherent package. The OS is Windows - for those of you haven't used the mobile version of this OS, that means scrolling down through tiles of various sizes r...

I read with interest Satya Nadella's first email to Microsoft staff as CEO. It's inspiring stuff and says a lot about his understanding of the future digital world that we'll  inhabit. He's much better equipped than Steve Ballmer to win in that world. He likes hoodies, for a start. But Satya's got a problem, and that problem is one of Microsoft's strongholds: the corporate IT department. I love all the words that he uses in his email - fun, excitement, clarity, the accomplishment of great things. Trouble is that the way most people experience Microsoft these days is at work. And that desktop and application experience is controlled by the IT department. And for the most part, that IT department will have created a "build" of services that stops the average Jo Bloggs doing very much that's exciting or fun. Accomplishing great things is pretty tough on a glacially slow Windows XP, Vista or 7 machine loaded with bloated apps and locked down aga...

I’ve had another week of travelling so a slightly truncated reading list again today, nevertheless, this week: Under Armor connects, Xbox One is watching you, weaponised Internet and psychedelic techno speakers. Business models All this outrage about the NSA weaponising the Internet is stupid. It’s like complaining that in order to provide security they’ve invested in secret weapons they’ve not told anyone about in case they really need to defend us. When the US reveals a new spy plane we all go: cool! When it turns out they’re using the Internet to spy on people and developing digital weapons we get our underwear all twisted. If they weren’t doing it, they’d be failing in their duty. Anyway, here’s what the (digitally) smoking gun looks like. And the spy plane. http://www.wired.com/opinion/2013/11/this-is-how-the-internet-backbone-has-been-turned-into-a-weapon/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24803511 Everyone is getting into the technology incubator game these day...

I’m of the belief that participants in the TMT industry need to read widely in order to understand the present and future dynamics of the market. To that end, this (short) post is a collection of the articles that have caught my eye in the last week. This week: Yahoo! tumbles into random buying spree, 3-D printed firearms, hacking vehicle networks & USSR's space laser near miss... Media Can YouTube's paid channels succeed? This blogger thinks so... I'm not so sure, but I guess they've got as much chance as NetFlix from a user experience point of view and perhaps the federated model that enables brands to set their own prices and packages within a familiar user interface will work. I'm not convinced, but I doubt it cost much to set up, so it's worth a try!  http://paidcontent.org/2013/05/11/pay-to-play-can-youtube-succeed-with-its-paid-channel-subscriptions/ An interesting perspective on the future of gaming. Arguably the writer has a vested interest ...

My unexpected ‘life redesign project’ is still in progress, but - with a little trepidation - I’m going to start blogging again. So here we go.  I’m of the belief that participants in the TMT industry need to read widely in order to understand the present and future dynamics of the market. To that end, this (short) post is a collection of the articles that have caught my eye in the last week. This week: rumours of cut cords greatly exaggerated, Wii U fail, Ofcom cost taxpayer billions and only 30% of executive decisions are good ones (says McKinsey…) Media Cord cutting didn’t really happen in the US last year. No shit. This shows how a badly worded survey can totally mislead unwary observers. Common sense needs to be applied in the future… http://allthingsd.com/20130320/how-6-million-cord-cutters-disappeared/ Good analysis here of multitasking behaviour amongst the TV audience. It’s always gone on, which is why second screen et al are no threat to TV – we’...

I’m of the belief that participants in the TMT industry need to read widely in order to understand the present and future dynamics of the market. To that end, this post is a collection of the articles that have caught my eye. This week: Spotify for everything, social advertising only sort of works but everyone loves it, Apple returns to the US, Windows get sticky for Microsoft. US planned to nuke Moon in ‘50’s. Digital media This is a well researched article on whether a “Spotify for books” service could work. I’m undecided. I think that a subset of readers will find this a valuable service, but in the early days the subscription charge will have to be set high in order to create sustainable value. http://paidcontent.org/2012/12/05/can-a-spotify-for-books-really-work/ Meanwhile, the real Spotify has just passed the 5 million paying subscribers mark. That’s pretty impressive and suggests that annual revenue will be somewhere around $250M in the calendar year 2012. http...

I’m of the belief that participants in the TMT industry need to read widely in order to understand the present and future dynamics of the market. To that end, this post is a collection of the articles that have caught my eye – a late posting this week as I was on holiday. Lucky me! This week: Apple and Amazon beat Microsoft on Black Friday, Volvo goes self-drive but Cambridge warns of robogeddon Digital media ITN launch a citizen journalism on Youtube. Perhaps one of the aforementioned citizens can post a story about why ITN would do that. http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/itn-production-s-citizen-journalism-youtube-channel-launches/s2/a551300/ Technology Jawbone were one of the first companies to launch a wristband activity monitoring product. Seems like they’re still learning. http://www.fastcodesign.com/1671325/jawbone-up-20-ambitious-beautiful-and-still-fatally-flawed#1 Tiresome tech wannabe Will.i.am launches an add on gadget that turns the iPhone into a c...

I’m of the belief that participants in the TMT industry need to read widely in order to understand the present and future dynamics of the market. To that end, this post is a collection of the articles that have caught my eye. A short update this week - I blame Thanksgiving, even though I live in London. This week: More social/ Gaza news, Nokia leaves Windows (a bit), Steve hopes MS is becoming cool again, Apple UFO delayed Digital media After Penguin House, Harper Collins and Simon Schuster are in merger talks. Publisher consolidation is inevitable as innovation finally enters the book market via digital. http://paidcontent.org/2012/11/20/harpercollins-simon-schuster-reportedly-in-preliminary-merger-talks/ The Gaza conflict is another step in the digitisation of warfare, but it’s a two edged sword: the IDF has had to tell citizens not to tweet where rockets land to prevent social media being used for targeting by Hamas. http://www.fastcompany.com/3003212/israeli-military-citi...

This week I’m going to go counter-trend and say nothing about Surface or the tiny iPad or the sleek new Macs. You’ve all heard enough about those things and I can’t add much. Instead, this post is a collection of the less well publicised articles that have caught my eye. This week: CMOs slam mobile, Mayer prepares for Yahoo! future, Penguin House emerges from shadows, future of wearables and connected cars in focus Digital media CMOs aren’t happy with the results they’re seeing from mobile advertising. Not a surprise to me – the techniques of mobile advertising are not well established at the moment, so trial and error is inevitable. http://www.digiday.com/brands/brands-struggle-in-mobile/ Some Olympic Games sponsors saw a lift in brand awareness. I hope it was worth it! http://www.marketingcharts.com/wp/topics/branding/some-olympics-sponsors-enjoyed-lift-in-brand-awareness-esteem-24181/ It is a little silly that ebooks are counted as software and therefore attract VAT in the...

I’m of the belief that participants in the TMT industry need to read widely in order to understand the present and future dynamics of the market. To that end, this post is a collection of the articles that have caught my eye. This week: X-Com returns, social policies attract grads, Microsoft take device fight to Apple, comes to blows with Nokia, Google accuses Apple of trolling Digital Media A dumb Guardian story. How dare Jeremy Clarkson make money out of selling his Top Gear rights? It’s not like the BBC isn’t making much more money off Top Gear... http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/sep/27/top-gear-jeremy-clarkson The FCC is about to embark on a reclaim and sell-off of broadcast spectrum in the US. I think this’ll be the scenario that plays out in many major markets as the value of mobile broadband grows and the inefficiency of terrestrial broadcast (versus satellite, for example) becomes manifest in the face of increasing TV resolutions. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/29/t...

In the UK we've long celebrated the dearth of news in the summer months as silly season , a period in which the (somewhat removed) heir to the throne behaving like a normal 28 year old man makes headline news. Just as traditionally, the technology industry likes to celebrate the end of the summer hiatus with a raft of new product announcements. With a new iPhone and new version of Windows on the cards, I thought it was worth running down my expectations for the next couple of weeks. Apple are still keeping us in the dark about the date for their much anticipated press conference, which is expected to be on the 12th of September. I anticipate that invites for this event will emerge just before 3pm GMT on the 5th, to coincide with the Nokia/ Microsoft presentation. iPhone 5 (likelihood: 100%) will be launched at this event, featuring a larger 4" touchscreen (90%), LTE for the US (90%) but not other markets (50%), NFC (75%) and the usual increase in processor and bus speed...

I’m of the belief that participants in the TMT industry need to read widely in order to understand the present and future dynamics of the market. To that end, this post is a collection of the articles that have caught my eye. This week: All bad news for Zuck, Penguin in self publishing hedge, Sky in Sun wrap & network vendors feel pinch Digital media The number of Facebook accounts in the US fell 1.1% in the last 6 months. Their share price is commensurately down. Unfortunately, this is likely to put a cloud over tech stocks and IPOs for the foreseeable future. Such a shame, since many of us saw it coming from a mile off. Banks to blame, I’m afraid. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/07/18/facebook_user_growth_declines_stock_tanks/ It’s all bad news for Zuck right now – here the BBC demonstrates how worthless “likes” are. Their fake bagel product managed to get 1,600 likes despite representing a totally fictitious brand. How much are those likes worth? Nada. http://www.bbc.c...