Ben Bajarin is a principal at Creative Strategies Inc., a technology industry analysis and market intelligence firm in Silicon Valley. He contributes to the “Big Picture” opinion column that appears every Monday here on …
Have Consumers Maxed Out On TV Purchases?
TV fatigue has appeared to have set in. No, not in terms of TV viewing, which even with the rise of cord cutting and increased use of the Internet for entertainment, seems to be as strong as ever. But in terms of new TV purchases. For the first time ever—yes, ever—shipments of LCD flat-screen TVs have declined.
via TV Sales: Even …
BlackBerry Bankers: Research in Motion Edges Closer to a Sale
With $2 billion in cash and a patent portfolio worth at least $1 billion, RIM is not at risk of going bankrupt any time soon, but its days as a standalone company may be drawing to a close.
via Blackberry Bankers: Research in Motion Edges Closer to a Sale (JPM, RBC) | Business | TIME.com.
Pogoplug Review: The Ups and Downs of DIY Cloud Storage
Between Dropbox, Google Drive, SkyDrive and SugarSync, there are plenty of options for backing up your files online. But to store an entire hard drive’s worth of data with any of these services, you’ll have to pay hefty, …
Video: How to Save a Wet Cell Phone
So you dropped your phone in the toilet. Here’s a cheap and simple trick that just might save it.
Mobile user? Click here to see the video.
Past videos here.
MORE: Your Next Smart Phone Could Be Safe from Rain and Toilets
TechnologizerMicrosoft
The Secret Origin of Surface
The New York Times‘ Nick Wingfield has a good backgrounder on the roots of Microsoft’s decision to design and sell its own tablets. Basically, he says, Surface stemmed from Microsoft’s alarm over both the iPad’s ambition and the lack of ambition exhibited by Windows PC makers:
Microsoft learned through industry sources that Apple had
…
TechnologizerTablets
TechRadar’s Surface Hands-On Is an Actual Surface Hands-On
At Microsoft’s launch event for its Surface tablets on Monday, it let the assembled journalists get their hands on some sample units–sort of. We were able to hold turned-off Surface for Windows RT systems to gauge their feel and weight and try the built-in kickstand. We could try out examples of the keyboard cover that weren’t actually …
Facebook Finally Lets You Edit Your Comments
We’ve all typed things on Facebook that we regret. Over-the-top angry responses to shared political articles. Weirdly inappropriate comments under a friend’s photo. Typo-ridden exclamations under a big announcement.
Before, …
How Libraries Are Reinventing Themselves for the Future
Many branches of these public institutions are dying from lack of funding—and reinventing themselves in surprising new ways.
Flipboard Launches Android Version of Its Popular News Reading App
Good news, Android users. Flipboard has officially made its reader app available in Google Play.
What is Flipboard? Ask someone with an iPhone — nearly 1 million of them downloaded the app after its first week of release, …
Smartphonatics: How the Smartphone-Obsessed Are Changing Our Society
A new breed of smartphone users–smartphonatics–are changing the way we bank and play. A lot of it makes life easier. Some of it is just plain rude or obsessive.
via Smartphonatics: The Smart Phone Obsessed Are Changing Our …
Google Joins Fight to Save Nearly 3,000 Endangered Languages
The last native speakers of Miami-Illinois died in the 1960s. Two centuries earlier, Jesuits came to the United States and found two tribes — the Miami and the Illinois, which both shared a common language.
“The Jesuits …