DickBrass
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KlearKase joins booming Kindle enclosure market (updated)
You know a product's taking off in popularity when new cases for it start dropping on a daily basis. So here we are, two Kindle cases in two days, only this one is klearly the feistier one. The KlearKase press release wastes no time in slamming yesterday's M-Edge Guardian for being twice as expensive, three times as heavy, and presumably nowhere near as cool. This new 6-ounce polycarbonate shell has some industry bigwigs behind it too, with Dick Brass and other former Microsoft execs forming its brain trust. We still don't see ourselves spending $39.99 on something like this, but if you feel otherwise, Amazon will have stock of the KlearKase by the end of the month. Update: M-Edge pointed out to us a pretty major discrepancy between their products: the KlearKase isn't actually waterproof. It's only "splashproof," whatever that means.
Entelligence: Another view of Microsoft's creative destruction
Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he'll explore where our industry is and where it's going -- on both micro and macro levels -- with the unique wit and insight only he can provide. Last week, the New York Times ran an op-ed piece by former Microsoft executive Dick Brass, in which he took the company to task on many issues. Brass was a VP at Microsoft who left in 2004, and prior to his departure he worked on various projects from e-books and ClearType to the Tablet PC. I've met Dick through the years and he's a super smart guy, but I'm not sure I agree with everything he wrote in his op-ed. Dick argues that internal politics and unwillingness to do "risky" hardware have led Microsoft away from innovation. Clearly, Dick has a much better view regarding Microsoft's internal politics than I do, but some of the examples that he uses to bolster his argument are a little off base, at least in my opinion. Dick cites Clear Type, Tablet and Mobile as examples of innovative products that Microsoft managed to somehow bungle due to internal politics, and says that Xbox is at "at best an equal contender in the game console business." Let's examine those claims.
Engadget Podcast 182 - 02.07.2010
What do three bloggers huddled around microphones in frigid locales across the country have on 22 of America's beefiest athletes gathered on the field in Miami? An iPhone app. Oh, actually, no. But Josh Tops, Nilz, and P-Mill most certainly comprise the universe's largest repository of JooJoo insight. That's worth something, right?Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul MillerProducer: Trent WolbeSong: Disco Rehab - KidsHear the podcast01:22 - Nexus One gets a software update, enables multitouch (updated with video!)05:00 - Motorola Droid gets official multitouch support -- in Google Maps, anyway14:34 - Nook firmware 1.2 ready for download now (Update: video!)20:05 - Joojoo tablet now in production, will support full Flash at launch30:15 - Acer not making a tablet, will focus on ultra-thin laptops42:20 - Former Microsoft VP Dick Brass weighs in on why Microsoft 'no longer brings us the future'45:00 - Microsoft responds to Dick Brass: 'We measure our work by its broad impact'48:20 - Steve Jobs compares iPad battery life to Kindle's: 'You're not going to read for 10 hours' (video)48:30 - Hachette Book Group also pulls away from Amazon48:35 - Amazon pulled Macmillan titles due to price conflict -- confirmed (update: they're back!)51:45 - Verizon advertising says Droid is for men, Pre is for women (video)58:09 - We're turning comments off for a bit59:00 - Commenting on Engadget: a human's guide Subscribe to the podcast[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC).[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator.[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune MarketplaceDownload the podcastLISTEN (MP3)LISTEN (AAC)LISTEN (OGG)Contact the podcast1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com.Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadget
Microsoft responds to Dick Brass: 'We measure our work by its broad impact'
You had to know Microsoft would respond to former VP Dick Brass saying the company didn't have "a true system for innovation" in the New York Times this morning, and it looks like Redmond's VP of corporate communications Frank Shaw is on the move: he's just posted up a reply on The Official Microsoft Blog. Frank says that what matters is "innovation at scale, not just innovation at speed," and that "it is not sufficient to simply have a good idea, or a great idea, or even a cool idea. We measure our work by its broad impact." Frank also points to OneNote in response to Dick's claim that Tablet PC was doomed because the Office team refused to make a version of Office designed around stylus input, and then refers to the Xbox 360 as an example of Microsoft's leadership -- and says Project Natal is a "magical experience" that'll keep the trend alive. That's pretty much exactly how we would respond, although we'd also argue that Dick's individual criticisms are less important than his larger thesis about systematic innovation -- and we'd love to hear what Frank has to say about that. P.S.- Can we all please stop calling everything "magical" for a minute, though? Thanks. [Image from Robert Scoble]
Former Microsoft VP Dick Brass weighs in on why Microsoft 'no longer brings us the future'
It's a sad tale, if you hear Dick Brass tell it. In a new op-ed for the New York Times, the former Microsoft VP explains how he thinks the Microsoft corporate culture has "never developed a true system for innovation," and that while the company is obviously strong at the moment, he doesn't see the company retaining its dominance if or when the Office and Windows revenues die down. His own anecdotes are a little heartbreaking: his team developed ClearType (first announced in 1998), but due to infighting and jealousy within the company, was kept from shipping as a default until 2007 with Windows Vista. Similarly he argues that the Tablet PC was much restricted by an Office team that didn't believe in the concept, and therefore never developed a version of Office that was stylus-friendly. Dick left the company in 2004, and he says the tablet group at Microsoft has since been eliminated, and that almost all the executives in charge of "music, e-books, phone, online, search and tablet efforts over the past decade" have also left. The man isn't out to get Microsoft: he sees the company as important, and its profits have obviously gone to great philanthropic ends through Bill Gates and others, but if what he says about the anti-innovative corporate culture is true, it sounds like Microsoft has some work to do before it can return to its place of preeminence as an innovator, instead of the fast and effective follower it seems to be becoming in many areas.
