Beyond Devices Podcast

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Episode 46 – WSJ Tech Columnist Christopher Mims Interview May 11, 2016

Show notes

As a reminder, Aaron is still out of the country for one more week, working with students and fellow faculty on various projects in Ghana, Africa. He'll be back for next week's episode. In the meantime, this week's episode is an interview with Christopher Mims, tech columnist at the Wall Street Journal, which he joined in April 2014. Christopher writes about a whole range of tech-related topics for the Journal, and we discussed three recent columns of his in particular. The first of those columns was published this week, and talks about what governments can learn from the tech industry, and cites the example of Estonia, which has successfully embraced this new way of working. The second column we discussed was last week's, which was widely shared and generated quite a bit of discussion, and argued that there's a bubble in the tech industry. Lastly, we discussed a column from the end of March, in which Christopher argued that the iPad Pro wasn't quite ready to replace PCs for most people yet. Up front, we also talked a little about how Christopher got to where he is today, and in-between talking about the specific columns we also talked a little bit about what his job is like. Our thanks to Christopher for being a guest this week – it made for a very interesting conversation. Head over to the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es) to find links to the columns we discussed and more related to today's episode.

Episode 45 – Music Industry Interview May 04, 2016

Show notes

As we said last week, Aaron is out of the country for the next couple of weeks on a trip to Ghana, in Africa. As such, we're switching up the format of the podcast a little in his absence. This week, that means you get an interview between Jan and Ryan Wright, who was formerly SVP, Global Marketing at Sony Music, and who is now CMO at music startup Kobalt. Our conversation kicked off with a brief history of Ryan's career in the music industry, which included launching the Backstreet Boys in Korea and working with other artists such as Britney Spears and Michael Jackson. Ryan also explained what he does at Kobalt, which is a tech startup that helps labels and artists (and others) get their money from all the many parties that pay to play their music. We then talked for quite a while about how the industry has evolved over the last 15 years, and where it's likely to go from here, including the rise of streaming and whether ad-supported streaming is good or bad for the industry. Thanks to Ryan for his time this week, and we look forward to another interesting conversation next week. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 44 – Apple March 2016 Quarter Earnings Apr 27, 2016

Show notes

For the next few weeks, we're going to be messing with our usual format as Aaron will be traveling. This week, the only topic was Apple's earnings for the March quarter. The first twenty minutes or so are mostly Aaron, who had just a brief window before heading to the airport, and the second twenty minutes are just Jan sharing his take on the earnings report and riffing off his two posts on the blog this week. Aaron also explains at the beginning why he's heading off to Ghana for two and a half weeks. Over the next couple of weeks, while Aaron is away, Jan will be having conversations with guests instead, so the format will be different from usual, but we'll still have an episode for you each week. As ever, there are some relevant links on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 43 – EU Android Antitrust Action, Tech Earnings Roundup Apr 22, 2016

Show notes

Our three News Roundup topics this week were: * China's blocking of two Apple content services * Apple's MacBook update * Uber's settlement with drivers. Our Question of the Week is "What should we make of the European Union's antitrust action against Google?" We discuss the EU's process for investigation these allegations, the specifics of the allegations against Google, and whether they hold water. We also talk about the parallels and differences with regard to the EU's case against Microsoft roughly 15 years ago. And we talk about the likely outcomes of this case. Our third topic is a review of tech earnings over the past week, focusing particularly on Alphabet, Intel, Microsoft, and Netflix. We discuss the common thread of mobile disruption overhanging several of the results, as well as Netflix's coming price increase and its international expansion. As ever, we wrapped up with a Weekly Pick, this week a gardening tool recommendation from Aaron. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 42 – Evaluating Corporate VC, Facebook F8 Apr 13, 2016

Show notes

Our News Roundup this week featured the following topics: * Amazon's new Kindle Oasis * KGI Securities' downbeat Apple Watch forecast for 2016 * Hands on with the iPad Pro. Our Question of the Week is: "What is corporate venture capital and is it worth doing?" Aaron talks us through this subset of the world of VC, where corporations such as Google and Intel engage in venture funding of startups, based on research by David Benson (Aaron's brother in law) and others. We discuss CVC's reputation for being "dumb money", what it's intended to achieve, the risks associated with it, and ultimately whether it's worthwhile or not for the companies that do it. Our third topic is Facebook's F8 developer conference and the major announcements made there, including a major new focus on chat bots in Facebook Messenger, a Live Video API, a 360 degree camera rig, and other announcements. We talk about the potential for bots in general and our experience with the first bots to be released on the platform and also about Facebook's broad ambitions to connect the world. As usual, we wrapped up with a Weekly Pick, this week an app recommendation from Jan. You'll find relevant links and other material on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 41 – Apple News for Publishers, Tesla Model 3 Apr 07, 2016

Show notes

Our News Roundup this week covered the following topics: * Conflicting reports on early iPhone SE sales * Samsung's decent preliminary Q1 financials * Twitter's deal for NFL rights. Our Question of the Week is "What is Apple News like for a small publisher?" and focuses on our experience publishing to Apple News over the last several weeks. We talk through the reasons why Apple launched Apple News, the different ways publishers can get content onto Apple News, and the pros and cons of each. We also talk about how Apple needs to evolve Apple News to remain competitive against other options like Facebook Instant Articles, Google's AMP project, and platforms like Medium. Our third topic this week was Tesla's Model 3 announcement and the pre-order process that accompanied it. We talk about the significance of those preorders, the convergence of cars and tech and Tesla's role in that, and the interesting questions Tesla raises about how car design could change in a world without gasoline-powered engines. As usual, we wrap up with a Weekly Pick, this week one from Aaron. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on our website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 40 – Apple & Google CSR Initiatives, Build 2016 Mar 30, 2016

Show notes

This week's News Roundup covers three topics: * Music News – Tidal had its one-year anniversary and announced 3 million subscribers, while SoundCloud launched its paid subscription, SoundCloud Go. * The FBI/Apple case regarding the San Bernardino shooter finally ended as the FBI announced it had been able to access the phone with help from a third party * Foxconn finalized its acquisition offer for Sharp. Our Question of the Week tackled the corporate social responsibility efforts of Apple and Google and what other companies can learn from them. Aaron, who is a business professor who specializes in business ethics, talked us through the history of CSR and how it's evolved, and then covered three different areas in which Apple and Google have been involved in CSR – corporate giving/philanthropy, environmental initiatives, and what Aaron called core competencies. Aside from calling out the positive things both companies have been doing, we also discussed some criticisms of Apple and Google in this area. Our third topic was a discussion of Microsoft's Wednesday morning Build keynote, and especially Microsoft's new conversations as a platform or bots initiative. We talked about Microsoft's strategy here as well as some of the challenges it faces. And Jan's Weekly Pick was a TV show. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 39 – Apple March 2016 Event Mar 21, 2016

Show notes

This episode of the podcast is a slight departure from our usual pattern. We dispensed with our News Roundup, Question of the Week, and Weekly Pick segments and simply spent the whole episode talking about today's Apple event in Cupertino. Jan was at the event, and so we recorded with Jan sitting in a car just outside 1 Infinite Loop – as such, apologies for any audio issues this time around. We covered the content of the event pretty much in order, with a discussion up front of the three non-product-related topics: privacy and security, the environment, and health; followed by discussions of the Apple Watch News, iPhone SE, and iPad Pro. We'll be back to our usual structure in next week's episode. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 38 – Apple Event Preview, Apple News Opens Up Mar 17, 2016

Show notes

Our News Roundup this week covers: * The announcement by navigation company HERE that it will discontinue its apps for Windows 8 and Windows 10 * Sony's big PlayStation VR announcement * A Recode article about a healthcare startup that's working on an electrocardiogram that will work with the Apple Watch (and is led by Vic Gundotra, who formerly ran Google+). We decided to forgo our usual Question of the Week this week and instead make a preview of Apple's event next week our main topic for discussion. We discussed Jan's Techpinions post last week about the iPhone SE and how that might be priced and positioned, and also talked about the prospects for a revamped iPad Air. Our final topic for the week was the announcement about Apple News being opened to all comers. We realized we haven't really discussed Apple News much on the podcast so far, so we had somewhat of a broader discussion about its prospects too. Next week, Jan will be at the Apple event in person, and we hope to do a quick episode shortly after the event ends focused on the day's announcements. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

Episode 37 – What is 5G? Samsung's New Phones Mar 10, 2016

Show notes

Our News Roundup this week covers three new items: Android's early developer preview of Android N; the conclusion of the Apple eBooks trial; and the debut of Amazon's first live TV show. Our Question of the Week is "What is 5G? And should you care?" and piggybacks on an article Jan wrote for Techpinions on Monday offering something of a primer on the technology. We talk through the first four Gs briefly, and in particular talk about what's unique about 4G, before moving on to where the process of defining 5G has got to, and when you're likely to be able to actually use it. Our third topic is Samsung's new phones, which were reviewed by many publications this week. We discuss the consensus from the reviews as well as what the phones seem to signify about the state of Samsung. We wrap up as ever with our Weekly Pick, which is another cooking-themed recommendation from Aaron. As usual, you’ll find some links to related content as well as other ways to listen to the podcast on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.

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