According to the enclosed article, Cyber-espionage is a real / on-going threat to ‘America’s special / national / vital interests’ (in other words, it just seems like the country is moving into another phase of an endless war) which has to make on wonder if the nation could actually exist without being engaged in such (be it real and/or perceived?)
(Source) SF Gate: http://goo.gl/Q9gi2
Groupon’s IPO has the potential to pave the way for other social media firms at a pre-valuation that’s second only to Google’s since their debut in 2004. And, if they are successful / sustainable in the midst of a market that’s seemingly on a one-day up / the next day down roller coaster ride (over the past several months in light of the on-going global recession) others could soon thereafter follow suit. No pressure though…
(Source) The Mercury News: http://goo.gl/aSqoc
As the one-month mark arrives since Steve Jobs died it seems there is virtually no middle-ground regarding those that loved (in some respects almost worshipped) him versus those that loathed (in many respects most certainly hated) him.
(Source) NY Times: http://goo.gl/RKE9b
Innovation vs. economic determinism all set against the hegemonic (balance) reality that is / are the inner dynamics within Redmond’s brain trust (i.e., Microsoft)… whereas, far too often, consumers the world-over know firsthand (for better and for worse) the overriding end-result… inferior products captive to Windows (and all of the requisite peripherals).
(Source) CNET: http://goo.gl/hjdFY
Today Toyota unveiled robots that are built to assist with healthcare and nursing (that the firm intends to offer for commercial sale in 2013). In sum: if these are successful they have the potential to go a long-way towards modernizing / revolutionizing the mass application of AI (…as it’s almost a given that they’ll be ‘an app for that…’ too).
(Source) Times Live: http://goo.gl/IUBdo
This is indeed scary… as the Orwellian notion of Big Brother watching (eavesdropping in this instance) via the Metropolitan Police (in Britain) employing a seriously high-tech (007-ish) surveillance system that can masquerade as a mobile phone network smacks of nothing short of 1984… Dracula; Frankenstein; the Mummy and Werewolf hardly rate in comparison…
(Source) The Guardian UK: http://goo.gl/p392u
It seems a bit odd (okay, surreal) that a 33% increase in the number of smartphone handsets shipped in Q3 is considered a ‘slow-down.’ Granted, the market is not as hot as it was / has been during the past few years; however, as the market itself matures this should come as no surprise. Moreover, as consumers have a greater-range of handset choices it is also becoming increasingly clear that the duality (and, on one side of this dynamic Android OS fragmentation) is almost akin to the PC Revolution (i.e., Apple vs. IBM-clones) although in this instance Apple is clearly playing the role of the ‘establishment’ (as much as Jobs and company would like to argue otherwise). And, if this analogy holds true it’s also an inevitability that the market itself is hitting a saturated point of critical mass whereas the spectacular growth figures of the past few years will increasingly diminish…
(Source) The Inquirer: http://goo.gl/s9sfh
If the fact that Singapore sold-out all of their initially available iPhone 4S models (within minutes of being put on-sale) becomes a global-trend (for the second wave of this product’s release-cycle) Samsung’s report of ‘shipping’ more handsets than their rival in Q3 will in all probability be short-lived.
(Source) MacWorld: http://goo.gl/pT4ZT
Congrats (perhaps) are in order as SK’s flagship electronics maker passed Apple (this past quarter) within the Smartphone (sales) space for units shipped – not sold as the firm does not release that figure (which is an important distinction). Whether or not this is a long and/or short-term trend will be assessed further as Q4 looms large (as always) and looks to be Apple’s for the taking (at this juncture due to their iPhone 4S release).
(Forbes): http://goo.gl/6hbCl
Africa: whilst overlooked in far too many respects holds tremendous promise in potential within the Smartphone space (and, as yet still, untapped markets) in a manner of speaking that could ultimately make the PC Revolution pale in comparison.
(Source) Star Tribune: http://goo.gl/O2iJ7
