Linked List: July 13, 2015

Monday, 13 July 2015

Berkeley Breathed Publishes First New ‘Bloom County’ Strip Since 1989 ★

Ack thpt!

Accusing Amazon of Antitrust Violations, Authors and Booksellers Demand U.S. Inquiry ★

David Streitfeld, reporting for the NYT:

Five years after Amazon secretly asked regulators to investigate leading publishers — a case that ended up reinforcing the e-commerce company’s power — groups representing thousands of authors, agents and independent booksellers are calling for the United States Department of Justice to examine Amazon for antitrust violations. […]

Among the destructive practices cited by the critics was Amazon’s appearing last year to engage in content control, “selling some books but not others based on the author’s prominence or the book’s political leanings”; selling some books below cost as loss leaders to drive less well-capitalized retailers — like Borders — out of business; and blocking and curtailing the sale of “millions of books by thousands of authors” to pressure publishers for better deals.

Facebook’s New Chief Security Officer Wants to Set a Date to Kill Flash ★

Facebook chief security officer Alex Stamos, posting on Twitter:

It is time for Adobe to announce the end-of-life date for Flash and to ask the browsers to set killbits on the same day.

Even if 18 months from now, one set date is the only way to disentangle the dependencies and upgrade the whole ecosystem at once.

It’d be nice if Adobe led the way on this, but it isn’t necessary. Apple forever crippled Flash by not allowing browser plugins on iOS. If just a few of the major desktop browsers did the same — say, Safari, Chrome, and Microsoft IE/Edge — Flash would die quickly. It’s already teetering.

Satoru Iwata, Nintendo Chief Executive, Dies at 55 ★

Liam Stack, writing for the NYT:

Satoru Iwata, who as chief executive of Nintendo oversaw the introduction of gaming systems such as the Nintendo DS and the Wii, died on Saturday, the company said in a statement. The statement said the cause was a bile duct growth. He was 55.

A former video game development star, Mr. Iwata was appointed the president of Nintendo in May 2002 and became the chief executive of Nintendo of America in June 2013, the company said.

Man, just 55.

Apple’s Share of Phone Handset Industry Profits Climbs to 92 Percent ★

Shira Ovide and Daisuke Wakabayashi, reporting for the WSJ:

Roughly 1,000 companies make smartphones. Just one reaps nearly all the profits.

Apple Inc. recorded 92% of the total operating income from the world’s eight top smartphone makers in the first quarter, up from 65% a year earlier, estimates Canaccord Genuity managing director Mike Walkley. Samsung Electronics Co. took 15%, Canaccord says. Apple and Samsung account for more than 100% of industry profits because other makers broke even or lost money, in Canaccord’s calculations. […]

Apple’s share of profits is remarkable given that it sells less than 20% of smartphones, in terms of unit sales.

At just 20 percent of unit sales, Apple isn’t even close to a monopoly. At 92 percent profit share, they have a market dominance that rivals any actual monopoly the tech industry has ever seen. We don’t even have a term for this situation, it’s so unusual. Profit monopoly?

‘Accustomed to Deference’ ★

Ravi Somaiya, reporting for the NYT:

Earlier this year, after Michael Bloomberg reasserted control over the company he founded and began to scrutinize its online operations, he suggested in a meeting that perhaps Bloomberg — which makes the overwhelming majority of its money from desk terminals that provide financial data — did not need to have a website.

Joshua Topolsky, the founder of a prominent technology website who had been hired to oversee a glossy reintroduction of Bloomberg’s web properties, responded sarcastically, making fun of the suggestion, according to three people with knowledge of the exchange, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Mr. Bloomberg, who often challenges subordinates with provocative questions, has grown accustomed to deference, the people said. He was furious, and his relationship with Mr. Topolsky subsequently deteriorated to the point that both decided it was better if Mr. Topolsky left.