Netizen

Saturday, January 05, 2013

Samsung: Top Tech Company

If Google has the best apps on the iPhone and Samsung's next smartphone leaves the iPhone in the dust, then is Samsung among the great tech companies of today?

The Fifth Horsemen: Samsung

We all know the “four horsemen” of tech: Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google .... Microsoft simply no longer belongs on that list. .... there’s an omission that’s becoming a glaring one: Samsung. .... Samsung is not an American company (it’s South Korean). Nor did it start as a scrappy technology startup that set out to change the world (it started in 1938 as a local produce trading company). Nor does it operate like an American technology company (the entire company is and has been run largely by one family .... Samsung isn’t even just a technology company .... there’s a decent chance that it will end up being the most important tech company of 2013. .... Samsung is by far the most important Android partner. Not only does it dominate from a market share perspective, it’s really the only Android OEM that is actually making any money. .... posted about $155 billion in revenue in 2011. That’s almost exactly the amount of revenue that Apple posted in 2012. Samsung should come in closer to $190 billion when its fiscal 2012 comes to a close. .... $100 billion for Amazon, Facebook, and Google in 2012 ..... unlike Amazon and Facebook which make little or no profit, Samsung is hugely profitable. $12 billion in profit for 2011 should move closer to $20 billion in 2012. That’s not a ton compared to Apple ($55 billion in profit in 2012), but it should be roughly twice as much profit as Google pulls in for the year. ..... it is the most important piece of the Android ecosystem beyond Google. And it seems that the company is at least exploring the possibility of taking a step back from that ecosystem, or hedging its bet. That could be the story of 2013 ..... Samsung must be looking at how profitable Apple is as a result of its total control. .... Beyond mobile devices, the hot topic for 2013 is the future of television. .... And Samsung isn’t stopping with phones and televisions (or memory chips and flat-panel displays where it is also the global leader). Chairman Lee Kun Hee recently gave a speech to employees underscoring the need to venture into new businesses. The son of the man who started the produce trading company knows that the future of his company will be products that don’t even exist today.

Thursday, January 03, 2013

The Nexus 4 Is A Beautiful Thing

I have been playing with it for a few hours now. I feel like I am all set. Made me feel like I bought the seven inch tablet in vain. I don't need it. This phone is so much of a better experience. And the screen is so responsive. I feel good.

Nexus 4: My First Smartphone

You go about downloading all the important apps. And you just hold it in your hand.

Wednesday, January 02, 2013

A Second Stimulus

I'd argue for a second stimulus. See that World War II hump when the debt exceeded 100% of the GDP? We are nowhere close to there yet.

The problem with the first stimulus was most of it was not spent on active stuff. Tax cuts don't count. Unemployment benefits don't count.

140 Billion Is Cheap

Spend money to take all Americans to the gigabit broadband era. That would be my idea of a stimulus bill.

More Like Fiscal Sausage

Everything is Terrible

In short, the fiscal cliff was “averted” the way that Jay-Z “retired” in 2003.

Short-term relief, and little else

the ugly fiscal arithmetic and political dysfunction that produced the cliff in the first place will remain...... A deal nearing completion in the Senate would make permanent the tax cuts first enacted by George Bush in 2001 and 2003 and due to expire on December 31st, except for the wealthy. The marginal rate for individuals earning more than $400,000 and couples earning more than $450,000 would rise from 35% to its pre-2001 rate of 39.6%, while deductions would be curbed for some people earning as little as $250,000. Estate taxes would go up, but not to pre-2001 levels, while rates on capital gains and dividends, now 15%, would go up to 20%, still less than their pre-2001 levels. Tax credits for families, workers and college students first introduced in Mr Obama’s stimulus plan will be extended for five more years. ...... Republicans, because they are being asked to approve the first increase in tax rates in two decades while getting no spending cuts in return. (Update: the senate approved the agreement early Tuesday by a vote of 89 to 8. The house approved it late Tuesday 257 to 167, with 85 Republicans joining nearly all the Democrats.) ..... It leaves in place significant short-term austerity while doing nothing to change the long-term trajectory of debt. It doesn't reform taxes or entitlements. And it doesn't deal with several key components of the cliff. ...... For his part, Mr Boehner never seemed sure of what his own members could accept, which made for unproductive negotiating sessions ...... Higher taxes on the rich will reportedly raise about $600 billion over a decade, an “inconsequential” sum, noted Bob Corker, a Republican senator. Indeed, it is almost a rounding error against a ten-year projected deficit of $10 trillion on current policies, or 5% of GDP. “The fact that the president won’t challenge his party on spending cuts is disgusting,” said Steven LaTourette, a Republican congressman.

Tablets Have Their Limitations

Image representing iPad as depicted in CrunchBase

Image via CrunchBase

When the iPad first came out I did not think it was a laptop substitute at all.

iPad
The iPad
Da iPad
Finally The iPad Has Competition

I still feel the tablet is not a laptop substitute. The Chromebook is.

The Seven Incher

Difference Engine: Smaller still is smarter

Last year, your correspondent was one of the millions who hoped an iPad would meet all his online needs. He was thrilled with everything about the device except its size. After a month of ownership, he went back to taking a laptop on his travels. The iPad has since been relegated to doing casual duty in the living room...... one cannot help but think that the late Steve Jobs—had he ever been persuaded (doubtful) to bless a four-fifths-sized iPad—would not have allowed the Mini out of the door in its present state. Nor, for that matter, would he have permitted a half-baked product like Apple Maps to see the light of day. Perhaps there is some truth in the claim that, in the absence of Jobs, Apple is now more interested in litigation than innovation. If so, it is a sad day for all who have championed the company for its creativity and pursuit of excellence. ..... In the meantime, the Nexus 7—with its flawless multitasking, top-notch notification scheme and more than adequate apps—will do just nicely, thank you.