Holiday Reading For The Geek In You

A few years back, my most erudite #2 son admonished me for spending too much time with short form real-time media. He explained that books — digital and otherwise — offer context that one simply can’t extract from the ephemeral world of streaming media.I thus decided to periodically post links to those books that generated…… Continue reading Holiday Reading For The Geek In You

Apple Censors A Wi-Fi Critic

iPad AirApple may not have to constantly contend with a corporate mission statement like “Don’t Be Evil,” but the world’s most esteemed brand certainly recognizes and understands the value of cultivating consumer confidence. It does so by building great products, including tomorrow’s public release of the iPad Air, which, if the (company-managed) reviews are any…… Continue reading Apple Censors A Wi-Fi Critic

Free iPhones In China?

Apple & Burberry teamed to promote iPhone 5S (Photo: Burberry) Do you know anyone who absolutely must get their hands on a plastic cell phone? Here we are a week after another breathless Apple new product press conference, and the question remains unanswered.Not unexpectedly, the news event consumed myriad column inches and airtime minutes in the…… Continue reading Free iPhones In China?

Reputation Capital

Is it just me, or are you also seeing a sudden rise in Apple-bashing these last few weeks? If my journalist and tech pundit-filled Twitterstream is any indication, the answer is yes. Consider:”Is Apple running out of juice?”Has Apple has lost its way? Bobbie Johnson and Mike Butcher debate whether the tech giant is in…… Continue reading Reputation Capital

Apple Disconnect

Maybe it was the advance, much-tweeted meme that screamed with credulity Apple’s intentions to use its annual WWDC to announce a re-vamp of its entire product line. Or the resurfaced rumblings about the debut of the long longed-for Apple iTV or even the next iteration of the iPhone.Whatever I had come to eagerly anticipate from Apple…… Continue reading Apple Disconnect

Apple Taxes & PR

Who wasn’t talking about this weekend’s New York Times expose of how America’s (and the world’s) most beloved company uses creative accounting and legal tax loopholes to avoid paying its fair share of taxes?Yes it’s true, Apple fan boys! $AAPL’s U.S. federal income tax rate was less than 10% in 2011, depriving U.S. government coffers…… Continue reading Apple Taxes & PR

The Analyst Who Erred

I’m really liking my iPad 2, though perhaps less so now that it’s a done-deal for a 4G-enabled iPad 3 come March 7. Oh well. Personal technology marches on, albeit too fast sometimes for my comfort.The one significant drawback with the iPad — something everyone seems to acknowledge — is its inability to efficiently process…… Continue reading The Analyst Who Erred

Rock Star Founders

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs (photo: Reuters) A much buzzed-about piece in wunderkind Justin Smith’s The Atlantic titled “Steve Jobs’s Law” explains “Why Founders Make the Best Leaders.” It was accompanied by an iconic and familiar image of Mr. Jobs wowing the cult of Mac at one of his soon-to-be legendary product launch events.Author James Kwak writes: “Still, the conventional…… Continue reading Rock Star Founders

Apple of My Life

The year was 1986. I was toiling in Hill and Knowlton’s Broadcast Media department under the tutelage of George Glazer. Our focus was almost exclusively on media training and broadcast media placement. For the latter, the program pickings were rather slim by today’s standards: the network morning talk and evening news shows, a couple of…… Continue reading Apple of My Life

Your Weekend Video Viewing

Since I missed Friday’s deadline for pulling together this week’s video clips, I will use the occasion to rename the weekly roundup. Here are the top clips for your weekend video viewing. Google+Google’s stock price is soaring, and many believe it’s due to the quick ramp (20M+ invite-only users) of Google’s first (major) foray into…… Continue reading Your Weekend Video Viewing