The New York Times reports that the European Union regulatory division is looking into questionable tax practices by Starbucks, as well as other American firms. The highlight of the piece is the regulators’ contention that Starbucks’s roast technique wasn’t so much a recipe (and therefore intellectual property), as it was just a temperature instruction: The … Continue reading Roasting Regulations
The Times of Israel carries a bold leading sentence about the acquisition of eMusic by an Israeli firm, TriPlay: Overnight, an Israeli cloud-based music access platform start-up has become one of the world’s largest digital music services. Comparable in size to iTunes and Google Play Music, eMusic was bought by Ramat Gan-based TriPlay for an undisclosed amount … Continue reading Music “Rivalries”
There’s an article in the Times about the critical role that Twitter has come to play in customer service, particularly for airlines. The piece cites an example of Seth Miller, a blogger, who uses Twitter to communicate with airlines whenever there’s a hitch: Before the plane door shut, Mr. Miller exchanged a few tweets with a customer … Continue reading #CustomerService
AdWeek reported yesterday that GoPro will award cash prizes on a weekly basis to users who generate some of the best content. The piece notes: “This is not a contest or gimmick—it’s an ongoing campaign,” said Zander Lurie, svp of entertainment at GoPro. “We envision that a key component of our strategy will be to share revenue … Continue reading GoPro Goes Long
Word is that JetBlue will roll out free wi-fi on all of their flights by 2016. I always liked flying JetBlue – primarily because of the free Terra chips and their easy-to-use app – and this development makes me that much more likely to fly with them. Houston, here I come! Continue reading JetBlue
I’ve held shares of Ford for a little while, and so I’m naturally inclined to perk up a bit when I see them mentioned in a headline. In this case, the article in question is a piece in the Wall Street Journal, which talks about how the car company is investing heavily in autonomous vehicles … Continue reading Automotive Updates
In 2010, Steve Jobs posited that only some enterprise applications would remain on desktops. “PCs are going to be like trucks,” he said. “They are still going to be around.” But only “one out of x people will need them.” Today, enterprise applications – the pickup trucks of Jobs’s analogy – have become a bit more … Continue reading Enterprise Apps on Mobile
Twitter has begun implementing its new feature, “Moments,” which aims to sift through the chaff that is the Twitter stream. The service aims to distill important news items into easily digestible and image-heavy stories from reliable news outlets. In order to keep stories updated and orderly, Twitter will use human editors to sift, prioritize, and … Continue reading Just a (Twitter) Moment
The NYT reported last week that Amazon had recruited Louis CK, Sacha Baron Cohen, and other comedians to produce a raft of new shows for Amazon’s Prime Video service. It’s clear that Amazon – like its video competitors Netflix and Hulu – is doubling down on its investment in content production, especially after Transparent took home … Continue reading It’s All About Content
I was pretty sure I’d never use the word “blackberry” on this blog again, except for, perhaps, a granola recipe. But the news is out that the erstwhile smartphone leader is releasing a keyboard slider Android handset, aimed at the business and security-minded crew. I’m not going to say “I told you so.” I’ll just … Continue reading Blackberry is (Kinda) Back
Silicon Spatula 