The New York Times asks an obvious question, will Apple's culture hurt the iPhone? (hey, it is the New York Times). The cheap and easy answer is, yes, obviously. But a more nuanced look at this should include the notion that the smart phone market isn't the same as the PC market, and while certain (obvious) aspects of both are similar, it's far more likely that we're not going to simply repeat history. I think Apple has a place at this table for as long as they want it.
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Even Under New Captain, Yahoo Seems Adrift. Apparently, being cranky isn't enough.
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The market researchers at NPD recently revealed that they would no longer provide US monthly sales figures for video games. No matter, Microsoft will do it, at least while its own products are selling well. The software giant said that it sold 484,000 Xbox 360 consoles in September, up 37 percent year over year, and the only console to improve sales over that period. It was the number one selling console in the US for the fourth straight month, or, ever since it debuted the more reliable Xbox 360 S console. Meanwhile, Halo: Reach sold 3.3 million copies in its first month.
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It's a big week for Apple: Today, the company announces its latest quarterly earnings. And Wednesday, of course, is its "Back to the Mac" event. Both are going to be interesting, but my only expectation is that Apple today will burst past the $20 billion revenue barrier. Why? Because "analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect Apple to post revenue of $18.9 billion." And those analysts always work in cohorts with Apple to ensure the company exceeds estimates. I don't know why they need to play this game, as Apple's numbers are always impressive regardless.
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Shocker: Facebook is involved in a high profile privacy breach. Who could have ever predicted that?
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I've posted about Windows Phone 7 data usage on the Windows Phone Secrets blog.
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Microsoft announces that Kinect with launch with 17 titles, including Kinect Adventures (included with every Kinect sensor), Kinectimals, Game Party: In Motion, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 The Videogame, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, Dance Central, The Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout, DanceMasters, EA SPORTS Active 2, Zumba Fitness, Kinect Sports, MotionSports, DECA SPORTS FREEDOM, Kinect Joy Ride, ADRENALIN MISFITS, Fighters Uncaged, and SONIC FREE RIDER.
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This just in: Microsoft software head Ray Ozzie to retire. Good riddance. Here's the email from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to the troops.