Links for Sunday July 1st, 2012
Ikea's U.S. factory churns out unhappy workers: This is not cool:
"Workers complain of eliminated raises, a frenzied pace and mandatory overtime. Several said it's common to find out on Friday evening that they'll have to pull a weekend shift, with disciplinary action for those who can't or don't show up."
Microsoft lines up its big swing at tablets: More empirical evidence that Microsoft is behind the curve:
The shift to a Apple-based culture is noticeable among innovators and entrepreneurs, said Matt McIlwain, managing director at Seattle-based venture capital firm Madrona Venture Group.
"Five years ago I would have said 80 percent of the startups or ventures who came to pitch us pulled out their laptop and started showing us their PowerPoint presentation," said McIlwain. "Now 80 percent pull out their Mac. If I were Steve Ballmer, that would be concerning to me."
When I was looking to join my first startup in '06, it was still fairly common for me to reject companies because they used Windows. Now, I just assume that a company that I'm talking to uses Macs — and I'm almost always right.
The Failure of Yahoo's Board: Maxwell Wessel makes the case that Yahoo's board is at fault, not Carol Bartz:
"Unfortunately for Yahoo, during her tenure at Autodesk, Bartz dealt with issues surrounding scaling a core business. Her success was a function of being good at increasing earnings (in the face of rapid market expansion) and managing investors. She never had to find novel products and revenue sources. Bartz's experience at Autodesk did not prepare her for problems facing the CEO of Yahoo, a company that needed new avenues for growth."
Interesting food for thought.Hyper-Realistic Black and White Oil Paintings: Cool stuff from artist Matteo Mezzetta. (via @mymodernmet, by way of @sabrinabot)
Steve: Jesper on Steve Jobs.
The decline and fall of TiVo and Media Center: Things aren't looking so hot over at TiVo, but for their sake, I really hope that they don't go the patent troll route. (via Ed Bott)
Is Yelp the canary in the daily deals coal mine?: I've been negative on this whole "group buying" space for awhile, so I'm glad to see some reality intruding here.
August Recap: Shawn Blanc recounts August 2011 in tech news. It has been a pretty crazy month.
AT&T’s $39 Billion Merger With T-Mobile Target of U.S. Antitrust Complaint: This is great news.
Apple’s Designers Work Towards Storefront Symmetry: I think I need to make a trip to Berkeley.
Ideas, Not Hierarchy: On Steve Jobs Supposedly Making All Apple Decisions: I love this piece by Tom Reestman. (via Daring Fireball)
H-P's One-Year Plan: This pretty-much sums up the state of Hewlett-Packard right now. Spoiler alert: it's not pretty.
Dying HP TouchPad now even with Android tablets in ad hits | Electronista: Why am I not surprised by this?
The Mystery of Steve Jobs’s Public Giving: It's all about focus:
"...he [Steve] could do more good focusing his energy on continuing to expand Apple than on philanthropy, especially since his illness. “He has been focused on two things — building the team at Apple and his family,” another friend said. “That’s his legacy. Everything else is a distraction.”
That totally jives with my impression of Steve Jobs.Steve: Who’s Going to Protect Us From Cheap and Mediocre Now?: John-Louis Gassée knocks it out of the park again, this time writing about Steve Jobs:
When I first met Steve, in February 1981, he was sitting cross-legged on a credenza in the Apple board room, picking his toes. Since then I’ve watched with glee as he went against received wisdom, causing pundits to have fits at every turn. I picture them as a gaggle of eunuchs standing around the caliph’s bed, braying in high-pitched voice: ‘Steve, you’re doing it wrong!’
So good. I strongly recommend you read the whole thing.
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