Articles
June 24, 2010
# The Antenna: iPhone 4 and the Grip of Death
There is a phone that went on sale this week, and the phone is the antenna: the iPhone 4 that launched on Thursday in the United States, in the United Kingdom, in France, in Germany, in Japan, the redesign that Apple had promised, the smartphone that the world had been waiting for. The launch is the story, and the story is the grip: the stainless steel band that framed the glass, the signal that dropped in a left hand, the flaw that the forums named within hours. The launch is the June 2010 story, and the story is the lesson: the product whose most visible design choice had a flaw, the choice that the reviewers had warned about, the phone that everyone was holding.
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May 6, 2010
# The Panic: Markets and the Flash Crash
On Thursday afternoon, the American stock market fell almost a thousand points in a matter of minutes, and the fall was the fastest in the history of the Dow. The biggest intraday drop ever recorded erased about a trillion dollars of value before most of it returned by the close, and the panic was over almost as quickly as it had begun. The Panic is the May 2010 story, and the story is the lesson: the market had become a computer network, and the network had a glitch.
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April 13, 2010
# The Launch: iPad Goes on Sale
There is a line this week, and the line is the storefront: the Apple Stores that opened on Saturday morning, the Best Buy aisles that filled, the crowds that came before the doors. The line is the launch: the iPad that went on sale on April 3, the pre-orders that had sold out in days, the queues that wrapped around the blocks. The line is the April 2010 story, and the story is the lesson: the tablet that the pundits doubted, the device that the public wanted, the launch that felt like the iPhone again.
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March 23, 2010
# The Exit: Google Leaves China
There is a decision made this week, and the decision is the exit: the Monday redirect from google.cn to google.com.hk, the end of the censored search service on the mainland, the principle that was chosen over the market. The decision is the biggest technology story of the week, and the story is the exit: the search engine that left, the users who were redirected, the market that was given up. The questions began that day: would the censored service return, would the business survive without it, would other companies follow the same road. The exit is the March 2010 story, and the story is the lesson: the largest internet market in the world, and the company that walked away from it, the censorship that was refused, the principle that was kept.
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February 18, 2010
# The Marriage: Microsoft and Yahoo Make It Official
On Thursday, the search deal between Microsoft and Yahoo was approved by the regulators, and the approval was the end of a courtship that had dragged on for three years. The two companies had almost merged, had almost married, had spent billions on lawyers and negotiations, and the deal that finally landed was not a merger at all. The deal was a partnership, and the partnership was the surrender of the search war. The approval is the February 2010 story, and the story is the lesson: sometimes the biggest victory is admitting that you cannot win alone.
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January 27, 2010
# The Tablet: Apple Announces the iPad
On Wednesday, Steve Jobs stood on a stage in San Francisco and announced the iPad, and the announcement was the answer to a decade of failed predictions. The tablet had been predicted since the dawn of the personal computer, had been promised by every company and delivered by none, and the promise was finally being kept. Apple was betting that the world was ready for a screen between the phone and the laptop, and the bet was the biggest in the company's recent history. The announcement is the January 2010 story, and the story is the lesson: the products that change the industry are the ones that redefine a category instead of joining it.
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December 4, 2009
# The Merger: Comcast and NBC
On Thursday, Comcast, the largest cable company in America, announced a deal to take control of NBC Universal, and the announcement redrew the map of the media industry. The company that delivers television into tens of millions of homes was buying the company that makes the television, and the combination was the biggest bet yet on the future of the screen. The deal was the year's biggest media story, and the bigness was the point. The deal is the December 2009 story, and the story is the lesson: when the pipes and the content come together, the industry changes shape.
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November 12, 2009
# The Ad Network: Google Buys AdMob
On Tuesday, Google announced it would buy AdMob, the largest mobile advertising company, for seven hundred fifty million dollars in stock, and the deal was the loudest signal yet of where the money was moving. The phone was becoming the most important screen in the world, and the advertising was following the eyes. The deal came days after Apple bought its own mobile ad company, and the two purchases were the declaration of war. The deal is the November 2009 story, and the story is the lesson: the future belongs to whoever owns the pipes of the next platform.
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October 22, 2009
# The Comeback: Windows 7
On Thursday, Microsoft released Windows 7 to the world, and the release was the company's most important apology in decades. The operating system was the successor to Windows Vista, the version that had been mocked, resisted, and avoided, and the successor was built to make the world forget. The company that had stumbled was asking for a second chance, and the second chance was the launch. The release is the October 2009 story, and the story is the lesson: in technology, the comeback is not about the technology alone, the comeback is about trust.
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September 21, 2009
# The Services: Dell Buys Perot Systems
There is an acquisition announced on Monday, and the acquisition is the services: the $3.9 billion that Dell promised for Perot Systems, the $30 per share in cash, the premium of roughly 68 percent. The acquisition is the confession: the personal computer that has become a commodity, the hardware that cannot carry the margins, the services that must come next. The questions began on Monday: whether the price was too high, whether the services would lift the margins. The acquisition is the September 2009 story, and the story is the lesson: the hardware that is fading, the services that are rising, the chain that Dell intends to climb.
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