In case you missed the news, Star Wars launched on Blu-ray this week. Lucas & Co. never miss an opportunity to soil their brand and so, along with turning to annoying in-game advertising, recently wrapped the handrails of several Tokyo subway cars. So, you know, passengers can have imaginary lightsaber battles with stationary props. AWESOME! Japan gets all the fun stuff. → Read More
Before I lost my voice earlier today (yes, that’s me up there asking all those questions, NOT Marge Simpson), I sat down with Spotify CEO Daniel Ek at F8. We spoke about today’s “launch” of Facebook Music, which wasn’t a built-in music console on top of Facebook like many had conceived, but rather a partnership built around a dozen music apps — like Rdio, Mog and Iheartradio — through Facebook’s now extended Open Graph, allowing people listening to music to share that listening activity on Facebook. → Read More
As you may have heard, today Facebook held its fourth f8 developer conference, showcasing an array of new features that represent what Facebook says are the biggest changes to its Platform since it launched in 2007. The changes include a completely redesigned profile and a new Open Graph API that gives third-party applications and sites more flexibility (and eyeballs) than they’ve had before.
→ Read More
F8 is afoot and it looks like Facebook schooled the Internet. But what about G+ and, most important, the new features added to head Facebook off at the pass.
Erick and I discussed the pros and cons of both services, the various improvements, and, while I got a kick out of G+’s collaboration features, especially as a way to get work done, Erick was more impressed by timeline. Both services are wildly impressive – but only one can fly higher than the other. → Read More
Meg Whitman is back in the corner office. Earlier today, she was officially named CEO of HP, taking over from Leo Apotheker, who lasted less than a year. In the video interview above, I talk to Forrester analyst Frank Gillett about whether Whitman is the best person for the job or the best one available on short notice.
Gillett and I get into HP’s recent strategy twists, including Apotheker’s decision to get out of the PC business and bail on the Palm acquisition. We discuss whether Whitman, who signed off on that strategy as a member of HP’s board, should stay the course or go back to square one? Personally, I thought they should have brought back Mark Hurd, who now works for Larry Ellison. (Hey, if the stock keeps tanking, maybe Oracle can buy HP and Hurd can make a comeback). → Read More
“Whatever, man. I’ve got 10 girlfriends. And they’re supermodels! You just don’t know them, because they live in Canada.”
“Oh, okay. Call one of them and prove it.”
Well, crap — now what?
Enter FakeGirlfriend.co, a clever little service that lets you text your maybe-not-so-real girlfriend in a pinch, get a text back, and have her “call you back” a few minutes later. Because that’s totally not a weird thing to do, right? → Read More