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Tom Foremski: In Silicon Valley

Tom Foremski is a former Financial Times journalist and the Founder and Publisher of Silicon Valley watcher, which is an online news site reporting on the business of Silicon Valley and the culture of disruption.

Recent Posts

• Google’s ‘Q’ ball is pocketed – better products are out there

  Google's Nexus Q "media streaming" device costs US$299, requires speakers and a TV although it does have a small amplifier, better products already exist. Sonos sells a compact US$299 wireless speaker, the Play:3 that can play your iTunes library and stream from any music service. It can blast any room with loud sound through 3 high quality speakers, each with its own custom-tuned digital amp. [I reviewed the Play:5, essentaily the same as the Play:3 but with two extra speakers.] The Sonos doesn't stream video ...
  
  

• iPay: The future of Apple’s subscriptions plans

  There has been much written lately about Apple's rules for apps, that they must provide an in-app purchase function. For example, Jason Kincaid wrote: Why Are You People Defending Apple?, MG Siegler wrote: Apple's Big Subscription Bet: Brilliant, Brazen, Or Batsh*t Crazy? and Frédéric Filloux wrote Apple's bet on publishing | Monday Note - among many posts on the subject. Much of the focus on Apple's move has been on the 30% cut it takes on purchases made through its online stores. ...
  
  

• Jobs gone, ‘uncensored’ Playboy to hit the iPad

  Steve Jobs is known as a big prude, banning applications and other iPad content that feature nude or sexual content on the iPad. No sooner that he announces a leave of absence on medical grounds, Hugh Hefner, announces that Playboy, both old and new, will be available on the iPad in March. The octogenarian publisher, in a message via his Twitter account, @hughhefner, said current and back issues of Playboy would be available on the Apple device in March. "Big news! Playboy ...
  
  

• Why the Murdoch-Jobs iPad alliance may be headed for choppy waters

  Reports that Apple is working with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. to produce an iPad-only newspaper, called the "Daily," sets a troubling precedent. It has not done the same with music, TV or movie studios. Reports the Guardian: "The collaboration, which has been secretly under development in New York for several months, promises to be the world's first 'newspaper' designed exclusively for new tablet-style computers such as Apple's Apple's iPad, with a launch planned for early next year. "...there will be no 'print ...
  
  

• Five lessons about iPad magazines from Condé Nast

  Condé Nast reports that readers of iPad versions of its magazines spend more time with the electronic version than the print version. Also, iPad readers are not typically early tech adopters. Scott McDonald, SVP market research, Condé Nast said: “Many iPad users surveyed were not the typical tech ‘early adopter’ or familiar with Apple products and their navigation conventions. This has very important implications for application interface design.” Other findings: - Specific to Condé Nast digital magazines, eight in ten reported that the content ...
  
  

• Is Apple’s porn ban damaging the future of media?

  Everyone knows that Steve Jobs has banned porn and any sexual content from the iPad but is this a wise move? I just started reading Nick Bilton's book "I live in the future & here's how it works" and the first chapter is about his investigation of the porn industry to see if there are any lessons to be applied to the media industry. I've long been an admirer of the porn industry's innovative business models as applied to technology and media. ...
  
  

• Second Life in desperate need of a second life

  The value of Linden Lab, which operates the virtual world Second Life, has plunged by more than 21%, according to SharesPost, which tracks the private secondary market. In late June, Linden Lab brought back founder Philip Rosedale as interim CEO, after CEO Mark Kingdon stepped down. The current value of Linden Lab is estimated by SharesPost to be about $271-million or about $100-million less than a year ago. The plunge in value appears related to recent news that the company is closing the ...
  
  

• HD video: Big Brother will soon be in your pocket

  We live in a world of ubiquitous computing -- there are ever more computing devices everywhere. We will soon live in a world of ubiquitous video cameras. You probably have one staring at you right now just inches away from your face -- the camera in your laptop or desktop. There are video cameras on street corners, business premises, highways. The Brits have the most video cameras per head of population but other countries are catching up. The CCTV technology is ...