Linked List: January 13, 2014

Monday, 13 January 2014

Salon: ‘Amazon’s Bogus Anti-Apple Crusade’ ★

Kathleen Sharp, writing for Salon:

Which gets to the heart of this bizarre case: The numbers show that, far from hurting the market, the publishers’ and Apple’s agency model actually helped it. They allowed Barnes & Noble to gain a foothold in the e-book market, provided relief to the independent brick-and-mortar stores, and gave consumers lower rather than higher prices.

She joins a chorus of critics of Judge Denise Cote’s decision and handling of the case.

Apple Platform Devices vs. Windows PCs ★

Fascinating analysis from Horace Dediu. The number of Windows PCs vs. Macs sold changed dramatically starting in 2004, three years before the iPhone, and a year before they announced the switch from PowerPC to Intel processors. I think the core factors behind this pivot point were:

Mac OS X was pretty good by 2004, and getting better annually.
Windows development had stagnated; XP came out in 2001, and Windows Vista didn’t ship until 2006.
More people started buying laptops instead of desktops, a trend that played to Apple’s advantages — the integration of hardware and software.
More and more of what most people did on a computer was done in a web browser, which made switching from Windows to Mac a lot easier.
Millions of people had their first Apple product experience with the iPod, and they liked it.

Even without iOS, the Mac’s fortunes changed dramatically starting in 2004. But when you do factor in iOS, that’s when things really changed.

‘Google Was the Only Serious Bidder’ ★

Liz Gannes, reporting for Recode:

Nest had been close to completing a funding round of upward of $150 million that would have valued it at more than $2 billion, Re/code reported earlier this month. That round never closed, because Google swept in. Sources familiar with details of the acquisition said that Google was the only serious bidder and Apple was not in the mix.

Does Google acquiring Nest change Apple’s mind about selling Nest products in Apple Stores?

Nest Says Customer Data From Devices Will Only Be Used for Nest Products and Services ★

Tony Fadell:

Will Nest customer data be shared with Google?

Our privacy policy clearly limits the use of customer information to providing and improving Nest’s products and services. We’ve always taken privacy seriously and this will not change.

That’s a good answer, but I’m not sure how tenable that is, long-term. Who is to say the privacy policy won’t change post-acquisition. Does anyone seriously think Google doesn’t want the information Nest’s devices provide?

Google to Acquire Nest for $3.2 Billion in Cash ★

Google PR:

Tony Fadell, CEO of Nest, said: “We’re thrilled to join Google. With their support, Nest will be even better placed to build simple, thoughtful devices that make life easier at home, and that have a positive impact on the world.”

Nest will continue to operate under the leadership of Tony Fadell and with its own distinct brand identity. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals in the US. It is expected to close in the next few months.

Tony Fadell at Google is an interesting turn of events.

Everpix Intelligence ★

Data dump from the now-shuttered photo service: “Uncensored Everpix metrics, financials and slides for your perusing”. Interesting to me: their daily website traffic, which shows a nice bump from their first DF RSS feed sponsorship. Nice jump in sales, too.

Thomas Boswell on Greg Maddux ★

Thomas Boswell, writing for The Washington Post:

First, Maddux was convinced no hitter could tell the speed of a pitch with any meaningful accuracy. To demonstrate, he pointed at a road a quarter-mile away and said it was impossible to tell if a car was going 55, 65 or 75 mph unless there was another car nearby to offer a point of reference.

“You just can’t do it,” he said. Sometimes hitters can pick up differences in spin. They can identify pitches if there are different releases points or if a curveball starts with an upward hump as it leaves the pitcher’s hand. But if a pitcher can change speeds, every hitter is helpless, limited by human vision.

“Except,” Maddux said, “for that [expletive] Tony Gwynn.”

(Thanks to Paul Timmins.)