No Tech Tuesday today as I am pondering the big news that Microsoft is acquiring Nokia’s devices and services business. From glancing at the deal terms it is not clear to me whether this was really an offensive move (as Microsoft is positioning it) or a rushed defensive rescue of a failing company that was the only one making Windows phones at meaningful volume. Here is one line from the press release that suggests that it may have been an emergency: “Microsoft will also immediately make avai...

No Tech Tuesday today as I am pondering the big news that Microsoft is acquiring Nokia’s devices and services business. From glancing at the deal terms it is not clear to me whether this was really an offensive move (as Microsoft is positioning it) or a rushed defensive rescue of a failing company that was the only one making Windows phones at meaningful volume. Here is one line from the press release that suggests that it may have been an emergency: “Microsoft will also immediately make avai...

It seems as if Microsoft can’t catch a break any more. On the day that all the Surface reviews come out, Apple hogs the news with the iPad Mini launch. Then again, given that the reviews for the Surface are decidedly mixed, maybe not such a bad thing after all. It doesn’t sound like the Surface will set the world on fire yet and Microsoft badly needs something that will. Apple on the other hand has launched something that for the first time could turn out to be a hardware misstep (I have writ...

It seems as if Microsoft can’t catch a break any more. On the day that all the Surface reviews come out, Apple hogs the news with the iPad Mini launch. Then again, given that the reviews for the Surface are decidedly mixed, maybe not such a bad thing after all. It doesn’t sound like the Surface will set the world on fire yet and Microsoft badly needs something that will. Apple on the other hand has launched something that for the first time could turn out to be a hardware misstep (I have writ...

Google buying Motorola is a strong defensive move against both Microsoft and Apple on two fronts: patents and user experience. Apple is vertically integrated and Microsoft controls Nokia (without having had to buy it). Between that and having filed or acquired a lot of patents, these two pose formidable threats to Android. Buying Motorola lets Google fight both of these threats in one go. As Larry Page’s blog post makes clear, Motorola has a huge trove of mobile IP, having invented the first ...

Google buying Motorola is a strong defensive move against both Microsoft and Apple on two fronts: patents and user experience. Apple is vertically integrated and Microsoft controls Nokia (without having had to buy it). Between that and having filed or acquired a lot of patents, these two pose formidable threats to Android. Buying Motorola lets Google fight both of these threats in one go. As Larry Page’s blog post makes clear, Motorola has a huge trove of mobile IP, having invented the first ...

Whether or not you like Google+ one thing is clear: Google is all in on this one. Unlike Wave or Buzz which were halfhearted launches at best, Google+ is being woven deeply into everything Google does, including of course search, maps and Android. This is an all out assault with all of Google’s resources applied to it and anyone who dismisses it does so at their own peril and is ignoring an important historical precedent. Google’s efforts here are reminiscent of Microsoft’s push into the appl...

Whether or not you like Google+ one thing is clear: Google is all in on this one. Unlike Wave or Buzz which were halfhearted launches at best, Google+ is being woven deeply into everything Google does, including of course search, maps and Android. This is an all out assault with all of Google’s resources applied to it and anyone who dismisses it does so at their own peril and is ignoring an important historical precedent. Google’s efforts here are reminiscent of Microsoft’s push into the appl...

Yesterday it was revealed that Microsoft is clearly using Google search results and people’s clicks as an input to Bing’s algorithms. That raises a bunch of interesting questions about who owns what online. First, let’s talk about where Microsoft could have this data from. There are two possible sources: Internet Explorer and any Microsoft browser plugins (e.g., conceivably something like Silverlight could do this). In either case this may or may not be a violation of the terms of service tha...

Yesterday it was revealed that Microsoft is clearly using Google search results and people’s clicks as an input to Bing’s algorithms. That raises a bunch of interesting questions about who owns what online. First, let’s talk about where Microsoft could have this data from. There are two possible sources: Internet Explorer and any Microsoft browser plugins (e.g., conceivably something like Silverlight could do this). In either case this may or may not be a violation of the terms of service tha...

Hats off to Mark Zuckerberg and the entire team at Facebook. They are managing that most impressive feat of innovating at scale. They are also incredibly ambitious in what they want to accomplish. The goal seems nothing short of one identity and one graph to “rule them all." With over 400 million users worldwide and a sign on system that is being widely adopted this ambition doesn’t seem crazy. Especially when you layer on top of this the possibility that soon many of these users might have F...

Hats off to Mark Zuckerberg and the entire team at Facebook. They are managing that most impressive feat of innovating at scale. They are also incredibly ambitious in what they want to accomplish. The goal seems nothing short of one identity and one graph to “rule them all." With over 400 million users worldwide and a sign on system that is being widely adopted this ambition doesn’t seem crazy. Especially when you layer on top of this the possibility that soon many of these users might have F...

There are a lot of posts worth reading about the potential impact or lack thereof of a possible deal between Microsoft and News Corp (and maybe other news sources as well), including Danny Sullivan, Jeff Jarvis, Andrew Parker and others. But one thing that I have missed from everything I have read (and it may well be that it’s there and I missed it) is what this is truly all about: the immense competitive pull of Google’s amazing profits! The big challenge for businesses with network effects ...

There are a lot of posts worth reading about the potential impact or lack thereof of a possible deal between Microsoft and News Corp (and maybe other news sources as well), including Danny Sullivan, Jeff Jarvis, Andrew Parker and others. But one thing that I have missed from everything I have read (and it may well be that it’s there and I missed it) is what this is truly all about: the immense competitive pull of Google’s amazing profits! The big challenge for businesses with network effects ...

When Brad Smith from Microsoft had called for the regulation of Facial Recognition technology in July I was concerned about where that might go, as it could easily result in stifling innovation. I was therefore relieved to see the principles that Microsoft put forth yesterday, which are for the most part quite sensible.In particular, I agree and strongly support the due process suggestion on government’s use of facial recognition technology. Surveillance of an individual using facial recognit...

When Brad Smith from Microsoft had called for the regulation of Facial Recognition technology in July I was concerned about where that might go, as it could easily result in stifling innovation. I was therefore relieved to see the principles that Microsoft put forth yesterday, which are for the most part quite sensible.In particular, I agree and strongly support the due process suggestion on government’s use of facial recognition technology. Surveillance of an individual using facial recognit...

After at first appearing to be shutting it down, Yahoo is now apparently selling delicious (or possibly giving it away). Google or Microsoft should be first in line to pick it up, but especially Google. Why? Because delicious would help immensely with battling spam and content farms, something many folks have criticized Google for lately, including Jeff Atwood and Marco Arment. That was of course the original idea behind Yahoo buying delicious – at that time Yahoo was still very much in the s...

After at first appearing to be shutting it down, Yahoo is now apparently selling delicious (or possibly giving it away). Google or Microsoft should be first in line to pick it up, but especially Google. Why? Because delicious would help immensely with battling spam and content farms, something many folks have criticized Google for lately, including Jeff Atwood and Marco Arment. That was of course the original idea behind Yahoo buying delicious – at that time Yahoo was still very much in the s...

The rumor is that Facebook will on Monday unveil a fairly full fledged webmail solution. At the same time Google is working hard on some kind of new social network. Microsoft too is trying to have email, search, social, etc. all under one roof. The rationale here seems to be one of wanting to own as much of a user’s experience as possible. It is supported by an economic logic in which companies are making lots of money in one area and using that to subsidize other parts of functionality. Once...

The rumor is that Facebook will on Monday unveil a fairly full fledged webmail solution. At the same time Google is working hard on some kind of new social network. Microsoft too is trying to have email, search, social, etc. all under one roof. The rationale here seems to be one of wanting to own as much of a user’s experience as possible. It is supported by an economic logic in which companies are making lots of money in one area and using that to subsidize other parts of functionality. Once...