Mark Cuban has been blogging again. This happens with alarming frequency, but there is something special about today’s bloviation — serious news sites like MarketWatch turned Cuban’s comments into a lead news item. More →
For years, the decline in broadcast audiences has been sort of a mild, persistent headache for TV executives. U.S. viewership of “linear television” has been dipping at a speed of few percentage points per year: In some quarters, the drop stabilized for a spell while in others, it briefly expanded to 4% or 6%. But the Nielsen numbers from the second half of 2014 are the worst on record for a six-month period because U.S. television audience decline accelerated by a scary 7% in Q4 2014. More →
By noon, midtown Manhattan has turned into a ghost town. Times Square, the heart of Broadway, is nearly deserted and seems like a set for a chilly zombie movie. More →
I’ll be heading for CES again tomorrow, but mainly to meet people. As a device showcase, CES has demonstrated an uncanny ability to highlight trends that will never be. Perhaps the most legendary example was the year 2006, one year before the iPhone arrived. The highlights of CES 2006 pretty much represented every trend that was going to fizzle out far before anyone expected. More →
Much has been made about movie theater chains’ decision to reject running The Interview on December 25th due to safety concerns. It is now becoming clear that these theaters have made a huge miscalculation that may cause much bigger problems than just reputation damage. More →
Apple waited for three years to dive into the phablet market while allowing Samsung to rack up big sales with devices featuring jumbo screen sizes. This fall, the iPhone finally jumped into the ring with two new variants boasting large displays. Perhaps the biggest question in the consumer electronics market this winter is what happens to the tablet market now. More →
There have been signs of revival in the vinyl record scene for quite some time. Back in early 2013, one of the most high-profile Kickstarter projects was the modern, minimalistic Orbit turntable with a cool USB connection twist. Orbit raced to $230,000 in fundraising, eclipsing its original target of $60,000 handily. Lately, mass market U.S. retailers like Best Buy have started stocking a surprisingly deep range of turntables, including offbeat, faux-’40s curios like Paprika and Victoria. More →
The end of November period brought just about the worst possible news for Nintendo: The latest Pokemon games sold a dazzling 1.5 million units in Japan during launch week. More →
An oddball Russian satellite that launched to orbit last May is now raising suspicions. The so-called Object 2014-28E was put into orbit at the same time with several communications satellites, but Russia has not elaborated on its purpose. The object has been maneuvering in a precise way and it’s possible its purpose is to clear out space junk or refuel other satellites. More →
Apple’s market capitalization hit $700 billion during Tuesday morning’s trading session, which is a lot of moolah. It’s more than the value of the entire Russian stock market combined. It’s more than the annual gross domestic product of Sweden, home to such powerhouse companies as Ikea, Volvo, Ericsson, H&M, Spotify, Astra Zeneca and Assa Abloy, the world’s leading lock brand.
The Cupertino-based company also now towers over ExxonMobil, which used to be the world’s most valuable company. Poor Exxon is stuck at around $400 billion. More →
