Articles
August 9, 2011
First Time Ever: America Loses Its AAA
There is a downgrade this week, and the downgrade is the rating: the AAA of the United States, cut to AA+ on Friday evening, the first time in history that America lost its top mark. The downgrade is the shock, and the shock is the market: the Dow that fell 634 points, the worst day since 2008. The questions began that day: what is a rating worth, who can be trusted, where does the money go. The First Time Ever is the August 2011 story, and the story is the lesson: the rating that fell on Friday, the market that reeled on Monday, the trust that must be rebuilt.
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July 15, 2011
Music for Everyone: Spotify Crosses the Atlantic
There is a launch this week, and the launch is the arrival: Spotify in the United States, the Swedish service that opened its doors in New York on Thursday. The arrival is the crossing, and the crossing is the Atlantic: ten million users in Europe, more than a million paying. The launch is the bet, and the bet is the model: free with ads, premium without. The Music for Everyone is the July 2011 story, and the story is the lesson: the access that replaces ownership, the music for everyone.
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June 20, 2011
Cents on the Dollar: Bitcoin's First Great Theft
There is a theft this week, and the theft is the exchange: Mt. Gox, the dominant Bitcoin exchange. The theft is the Sunday: the compromised auditor account, the thousands of bitcoins moved out of user accounts, the coins sold into the market. The theft is the collapse: the price that fell from about seventeen dollars to one cent, the chart everyone watched. The theft is the number: roughly sixty thousand bitcoins reported stolen. The questions began that day: who is inside, what was taken. Cents on the Dollar is the June 2011 story, and the story is the lesson: the exchange that held the coins, the account that opened the door, the custody that every user must question.
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May 11, 2011
Eight and a Half Billion: Microsoft Calls Skype
There is a call made this week, and the call is the deal: the eight and a half billion dollars that Microsoft promised for Skype, the news that broke on Tuesday and filled the pages on Wednesday. The call is the validation: the free service that became the prize. The questions began that day: would the price be justified, would the users stay free, would the integration succeed where eBay failed. The eight and a half billion dollar call is the May 2011 story, and the story is the lesson: the free service that became the prize, the deal that will define the decade.
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April 26, 2011
Dark Week: Sony and the PlayStation Outage
There is an outage this week, and the outage is the network: the PlayStation Network that Sony took down on Wednesday after detecting an intrusion. The outage is the shock, and the shock is the disclosure: personal data from up to 77 million accounts, exposed in a breach among the largest ever disclosed. The questions began that day: who is inside, what was taken, when will the games come back. The Dark Week is the April 2011 story, and the story is the lesson: the platform that trusted its users, the data that was stolen, the security that every service must prove.
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March 3, 2011
Thinner, Lighter, Faster: Apple Unveils iPad 2
There is a second this week, and the second is the iPad: the iPad 2 that Steve Jobs unveiled on Wednesday. The second is the sequel, and the sequel is the statement: the tablet that made the category, back to defend it. The second is thinner and faster, with cameras front and back, at the same 499 dollars. The press asked this week: can anyone catch Apple? The answer begins now. The second is the March 2011 story, and the story is the lesson: the tablet that became a category, the sequel that became the standard, the race that is only beginning.
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February 10, 2011
Dollar for Dollar: Bitcoin Hits Parity
This week, a digital currency with no issuer and no government reached one dollar for the first time. On Wednesday, February 9, one bitcoin traded for one dollar on Mt. Gox, and the milestone was celebrated across the forums and blogs of the believers. The price had climbed from roughly thirty cents in late 2010. The currency was the creation of an anonymous developer, Satoshi Nakamoto, a name known and an identity unknown. The moment is the February 2011 story, and the story is the lesson: value does not need a government, and the internet's currency grows up quietly, one dollar at a time.
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January 7, 2011
Single Click: Apple Opens the Mac App Store
There is a store this week, and the store is the software: the Mac App Store that Apple opened on Thursday, delivered through the Mac OS X 10.6.6 update. The store is the promise: the desktop that works like the iPhone, the apps that arrive with one click, the updates that install themselves. The questions began that day: would the developers follow, would the big vendors come. The store is the January 2011 story, and the story is the lesson: the Mac that becomes an app platform, the desktop that gets a store, the software that moves to the cloud of clicks.
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December 3, 2010
# The Offer: Google Courts Groupon
There is a courtship this week, and the courtship is the offer: the six billion dollars that Google was ready to pay for Groupon, the daily deals site from Chicago. The courtship is the talk: the reports that ran on Friday, the number that stunned the industry, the price that would have been the largest acquisition Google ever attempted. The questions began that day: why pay so much, why say no, what is local worth. The questions are the December 2010 story, and the story is the lesson: the local Google wants, the list Groupon built, the no that changed the land grab.
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November 5, 2010
# The Controller: Microsoft Kinect Ships
There is a controller shipped this week, and the controller is none at all: the Kinect that Microsoft put on sale for the Xbox 360 on Thursday, the hands-free motion controller that needs no controller, the camera that watches the whole body and answers to a wave. The controller is the story: the launch across North America, the reported half a billion dollar marketing campaign behind it, the gesture that the living room has been waiting for.
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