Linked List: October 21, 2013

Monday, 21 October 2013

Ben Popper, writing for The Verge, after Google announced that its Motorola division is on pace to lose over $1 billion this year:

Does a money pit like Motorola have a major impact on Google’s bottom line? In a lot of ways, the answer right now is no. Despite the losses, Google is profitable overall, and its cash on hand has grown steadily. But if Motorola continues to slide, Google may eventually be forced to write down the cost of the $12.5 billion acquisition — and its investors could clamor for the company to scuttle what has so far been a painful experiment into the world of mobile hardware. “Looking at the purchase I’m still scratching my head about why they did it,” says Avi Greengart, the research director for consumer devices at Current Analysis, “and how they see it playing out going forward.”

Almost $13 billion in the hole to start and still digging.

Big-Three Credit Bureau Experian Sold Consumer Data to ID Theft Service ★

Brian Krebs:

An identity theft service that sold Social Security and drivers license numbers — as well as bank account and credit card data on millions of Americans — purchased much of its data from Experian, one of the three major credit bureaus, according to a lengthy investigation by KrebsOnSecurity.

Netflix Passes HBO in Paid U.S. Subscribers ★

Cliff Edwards, reporting for Bloomberg:

Netflix, based in Los Gatos, California, reports third-quarter results today after markets close. Already the world’s largest subscription-video service, the company probably reached 30 million paying U.S. customers as of Sept. 30, according to Needham & Co. HBO, Time Warner Inc.’s premium cable-TV network, has about 28.7 million, according to researcher SNL Kagan.

Reed Hastings knows what he’s doing. If you’d told me five years ago this would happen in 2013, I wouldn’t have believed you.

Update: Ends up Netflix added over 1.3 million new U.S. subscribers, for a total of over 31 million.

Marissa Mayer Announces David Pogue’s Hire ★

Wait, she’s not using the exclamation mark after “Yahoo” either. Did Yahoo finally drop this nonsense?

Siegfried and Roy, 10 Years Later ★

Great profile by John Katsilometes for the Las Vegas Weekly:

Hip-high rails have been constructed along those winding sidewalks, so Roy Horn has something firm and steady on which to lean as he makes his way around, visiting Little Bavaria’s animal kingdom, which includes horses, mini-donkeys, black swans, exotic chickens, African cranes, royal turkeys, canines and assorted cats, big and small. Siegfried Fischbacher ordered those rails built, once more providing support to his friend, life companion, performing partner and co-founder of a Strip show that entertained more than 25 million fans for more than 35 years. Siegfried also enforced the construction of a new house outfitted to offset Roy’s physical limitations, suffered a decade ago when he was dragged offstage by a white tiger named Montecore during a performance at the Mirage. October 3 marked the 10-year anniversary of that incident, which Siegfried and Roy alternately refer to as “the accident” or “the thing,” as in, “When the thing happened …”

But they hardly speak of it, and only when asked.

Why Microsoft Word Must Die ★

Charlie Stross:

I hate Microsoft Word. I want Microsoft Word to die. I hate Microsoft Word with a burning, fiery passion. I hate Microsoft Word the way Winston Smith hated Big Brother. Our reasons are, alarmingly, not dissimilar …

David Pogue Leaves The New York Times for Yahoo ★

David Pogue:

But 13 years is a long time to stay in one place; we all thrive on new experiences. So I was intrigued when Yahoo invited me to help build a new consumer-tech site. Actually, “site” doesn’t even cover it. I’ll be writing columns and blog posts each week, of course, and making my goofy videos. But my team and I have much bigger plans, too, for all kinds of online and real-world creations.

Now, listen: I realize that Yahoo is an underdog. I’ve given them a few swift kicks myself over the years. But over the last few months, as I’ve pondered this offer, I’ve visited Yahoo headquarters. I’ve spent a lot of time with its executives. And what I found surprised me.

This is a company that’s young, revitalized, aggressive — and, under Marissa Mayer’s leadership, razor-focused, for the first time in years. Since she took over a year ago, Yahoo has regained its position as the #1 most visited Web site on earth. She’s overseen brilliant overhauls of several Yahoo sites and apps, and had the courage to shut down the derelict ones.

I try not to write too much about the comings and goings of who’s writing for whom in this racket, but, Pogue leaving The Times is a big deal — especially since it comes hot on the heels of Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher leaving The Wall Street Journal. Raises a couple of questions: Who replaces him as The Times’s technology columnist and product reviewer? Who is he recruiting for this new thing at Yahoo? How long can he hold out omitting the silly exclamation mark at the end of “Yahoo”?

So I’ll be starting there in a few weeks. (I’ll still keep up my NOVA specials on PBS, my “CBS Sunday Morning” stories, my Missing Manual books, and my Scientific American column.)

Hard not to admire Pogue’s prolificacy.

Eject ★

Great story about Apple’s (current) campus from Landon Dyer.

NSA Accessed Mexican President’s Email ★

Der Spiegel:

The NSA has been systematically eavesdropping on the Mexican government for years. It hacked into the president’s public email account and gained deep insight into policymaking and the political system. The news is likely to hurt ties between the US and Mexico.

You don’t say.

NSA Surveillance on France ★

70 million phone calls per month, according to Le Monde:

Amongst the thousands of documents extracted from the NSA by its ex-employee there is a graph which describes the extent of telephone monitoring and tapping (DNR – Dial Number Recognition) carried out in France. It can be seen that over a period of thirty days – from 10 December 2012 to 8 January 2013, 70,3 million recordings of French citizens’ telephone data were made by the NSA. This agency has several methods of data collection. According to the elements obtained by Le Monde, when a telephone number is used in France, it activates a signal which automatically triggers the recording of the call. Apparently this surveillance system also picks up SMS messages and their content using key words. Finally, the NSA apparently stores the history of the connections of each target – or the meta-data.