News and Analysis

OnLive changes my opinion of it, Plenty of Venture Capital flows, and of course a few big game stories!

Career:
Why It's Noble to Be An Innovator. A great read (though some might feel he dismisses the importance of some jobs). Check it out and feel inspired.

Time for a social media inventory?

Publishing:
And now in the wake of the Google eBookstore, we've got Kindle for Web. Not surprised at this, it's forward thinking, and continues Amazon's attempts to keep and expand the market it made.

Technology:
Mobile analytics firm flurry just raised $15 million. They also work with a game recommendation platform. Sounds promising and resume-worthy.

The shift to the cloud is becoming more walk than talk. I've seen the same thing professionally and think it's obviously the wave of the future. In fact, you may want to check out cloud-oriented companies employment-wise – and remember this trend as it may affect any IT-heavy profession.

Zedesk gets $19 million in investment. They make a nice product (I've used it), and should be thought of as resume-worthy, and worth using period.

Wham – Salesforce releases it's own cloud database product which puts it in competition with Oracle. It makes sense of course because they have good underlying technology. I recommend learning Salesforce as it's everywhere (I in fact use my own instance just for personal management), and it is definitely a resume-worthy company.

A roundup of what you need to know about Chrome. Sounds like we have to wait until 2011 to get a look at Chrome OS. I still wonder where Android fits into any Chrome strategy . .

In 18 months the age of the PC ends – well, more or less.

Video:
Why Netflix's Streaming focus may be . . . bad? A bit contrarian, but also frankly brings up issues that Netflix will have to face. A good read to understand the complexity of the video streaming market.

Video Games:
World of Warcraft's Catacylsm launched. If you didn't know this, I am disappointed.

CityVille is a big hit for Zynga. No one is surprised.

Zeboyd, which made surprise indie hit 'Breath of Death' is at it again. This time with Cthulu Saves The World.

GEEK MOMENT:
I wish we had places like this in the US.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:Is the age of the PC ending in 18 months?

– Steven Savage

Google breaks into eBooks, Sprint Upgrades, and OnLive takes on . . . Netflix? Lots happening today, so let's get to the news!

Career:
Seth Godin hits it out of the park and into hyperspace with this post on the world's worst boss. Must read.

Mobile:
Sprint to spend $5 billion to upgrade it's network. An intelligent choice – and it may mean they're hiring . . . and maybe AT&T should take a hint.

Movies:
The Live Action Yamato does well. I like what I see and hope it gets further distribution. Curious how this affects "Cool Japan" issues.

Publishing:
And here we go again (in a good way): Google's eBookstore is live, with a heavy emphasis on courting indie bookstores. Give Techmeme a check and see what people are saying here. This tells me that Google wants to make sure it keeps the book market/e-publishing market frothy, and this is a definite shot at Amazon. So will they do comics next?

(And now I have to upload my book again . . .)

Social Media:
GroupOn walked away from the Google offer and is looking to emulate Facebook.

Technology:
OK try and follow this rumor: AOL is considering a breakup/merger/restructuring combo that will combine it with Yahoo. A bit more of a view into the complexities of the oft-discussed (especially here) possibility of a Yahoo-AOL merger.

A nice, sane response to the idea that we’re in another tech bubble.

Ouch – Major Outage At Tumbler.

Video:
OnLive to get into streaming movies. OK, NOW they have my attention. If they try to be an entertainment device without a device (or with a small one) they may have a model here. This could also be a sign of concern or desperation, but as for now my opinion of OnLive has gone up a bit. Certainly Netflix is in their sights – which makes me think they might want to try being a Google-esque spoiler for other streamers and services . . .

Video Games:
How one man made a hit game for mobile.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Would Movies change the game so to speak for OnLive?

– Steven Savage