Steven Savage

It's slowing down as we near Christmas, but there's important geeky news . . .

Locations:
Boston is home to some tech-meets-food startups. Amusing but also we might see the beginning of a specialty tech area for Boston which may be good for attracting business and investment. Also these are businesses IBM PROBABLY won't buy despite their Bostophile approach.

Mobile:
Mobile cloud security company Lookout gets $19.5 million in investment – They've got a good footprint and they're in a good market, so I'd say toss them a resume. Also, that kind of money going into a security company for mobile shows people think that area of tech is going to be big, and thus profitable.

Technology:
EMN8 raises $12.2 million – Who you ask? Well despite it's name EMN8 is not a band nor an energy drink, but people that make transaction kiosks. That may not sound exciting until you realize how many there are out there at restraints and more, and how these will probably increase and grow. Then it gets exciting (having worked on mere display kiosks many years ago, trust me that this stuff actually gets pretty creative and interesting).

Skype had problems this week. It was all over the internet, which tells me people got a might too dependent on it.

Video Games:
So why did the Wii cool off? NPR Takes a look, and mixed market issues seem to be a big one.

Atari names a new CEO. Frankly they need it, and it might just be too late considering their recent issues. I'd put them in the "apply to cautiously" category.

Harmonix has been sold to a private equity firm. So they're sort-of-independent again – for now. Despite their finer points, you may want to hold off sending them a resume or anything.

Gamebase, in South Korea, purchased Emergent. Sounds like this gives them a foothold in the states. I liked Emergent and am glad to see them getting a chance again.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Why do you think the Wii cooled off?

– Steven Savage

 

It's geek news time, but first . . . What you say? Someone set us up the Year End Roundups? Yep they're starting so let's get to:

• The best and worst of Mobile in 2010
• The 57 lamest moments in Tech – All I can say . . . Lady Gaga?

Wait, and we've got predictions too?

• Mashable's predictions for the Music Industry in 2011.
• Mashable's predictions for digital advertising in 2011 (The part about the bay area is intriguing)

Economics/Geekonomics:
New Jersey requests information from banks on foreclosures – with the possibility of freezing all foreclosures. basically the banks in question have to show reason NOT to suspend foreclosures. If this works out – or goes bad for the banks – I'd give it a good chance other states will follow suit.

Barry Ritholtz thinks Japan may be a surprise economic story in 2011. He's got some good arguments. May I also add it's relations with India may help.

Culture:
Tipping is irrational. OK that may seem obvious, but here's a discussion of part of it.

Demographics:
Where the smart people are – And not much is going to surprise you here – except I expected Seattle to be doing better.

Geek Law:
That ICE/Homeland security domain seizure? May have been very unsound. We're going to keep hearing about this one for awhile.

We've got the new Net Neutrality rules out and of course I'm fully expecting it to be lawsuit-enabling because no one is happy.  In a way that's good, as it increases the chance for better public awareness, but still . . .

Anime and Manga:
We have a director for the live Bakugan film. You didn't know there was going to be a live Bakugan film? Sorry to destroy your sweet sense of peace and serenity. To be fair the director, Harald Zwart, might be a good choice, but I have no idea how something like this will translate, and we'll end up with A.I.N.O. – Anime In Name Only.

Tokyopop's new store allows Print On Demand of out-of-print titles. They also experimented with DVD-on-demand. This is one to watch as A) others may follow, and B) this gives Tokyopop a POD infrastructure they can build out for saving money and to add new works.

Mobile:
AT&T buy's Qualcomm's Mobile Spectrum. Hopefully this can help them deal with some of their issues in service (or at least looks good).

Is Mobile malware a growing threat?

Publishing:
Does Kindle (as a device) have a finite limit of sales? Some thoughts on what appears to be an inevitable truth – there's a finite population to buy the things. The article suggests what we've wondered, if the device itself has a finite lifespan. I figure there is a natural limit, but am not sure what it is, or how it will affect business.

Couple starts magazine on shoestring, made $200 in revenue this year. Outsourcing and freelancing appear to be a part of it. Something to pay attention to if you have such ambitions.

Technology:
Fox continues to sell off digital assets. I wonder if that does make a MySpace selloff to Google viable . . .

Video Games:
Sony is expecting a good amount of PS3 sales in 2010-2011. I also wonder if DCU Online is going to help . . .

EA wants to do a movie on the Madden Curse. That curse, for you non-curse informed, is that the player that appears on covers of the Madden games will suffer some misfortune. No, I am not sure what to think either, but if people are throwing money around for this . . .

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Is having MMOs a significant advantage for a console?

– Steven Savage