Linked List: July 28, 2012

Saturday, 28 July 2012

Moltz on the Genius Ads 

John Moltz:

It’s still a switcher-based game for Apple. In order to increase Mac sales, they have to get people to switch from Windows. Ads like these (if not necessarily these exact ads) are integral to the game plan.

WSJ: Apple/Twitter Investment Talk Is Year-Old News 

Shira Ovide and Jessica E. Vascellaro, reporting for the WSJ:

Apple Inc. held discussions with Twitter Inc. more than a year ago about taking a strategic investment in the short-messaging service, according to a person familiar with the talks. People familiar with the matter said there are no current formal investment or acquisition discussions between the companies.

News of the investment talks was first reported by the New York Times.

Translation: “The New York Times blew it.”

Noteworthy 

Stephen Coles on the silly default font in Mountain Lion’s new Notes app.

New ‘Genius’ TV Ads From Apple 

Reaction on Twitter seems overwhelmingly negative, but I’m not so sure. These spots don’t appeal to me, personally. They’re not cool. But they’re not supposed to be cool, and they’re not targeted at existing Mac users. This is about assuaging the doubts of would-be switchers. If you switch to Mac, we’ll help you. That’s the message.

Update: Not explicitly but implicitly, these are the first TV spots Apple has run for their retail stores, not for products. Daniel Jalkut:

Apple’s store experience is a great competitive advantage, but without ads like these, only existing customers know it.

NYT: Apple Considering Investment in Twitter 

Evelyn M. Rusli and Nick Bilton, reporting for the NYT:

Apple, which has stumbled in its efforts to get into social media, has talked with Twitter in recent months about making a strategic investment in it, according to people briefed on the matter. […]

Apple has considered an investment in the hundreds of millions of dollars, one that could value Twitter at more than $10 billion, up from an $8.4 billion valuation last year, these people said. They declined to be named because the discussions were private.

So who leaked this — Twitter or Apple? I have my guess.