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Why Do Amazon & Apple Hate Families?
With the Apple iPad and the Amazon Kindle Fire among the hot gifts for families this year, it’s pretty sad that neither device has any concept of “family” baked into it. Used by plenty of children, these devices ironically aren’t intended for them. Crazy, right? I mean, who hasn’t seen kids taking to an iPad…
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The Closed, Unfriendly World Of Wikipedia
Right now, Wikipedia is busy asking for donations to stay afloat. Here’s a thought. If it wants donations, maybe open things up so that outsiders feel like they can contribute expert knowledge without wasting their time. A Debate Over Notability Here’s a case in point. About two weeks ago, Jessie Stricchiola let me know that…
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After Two Days, Minecraft Is Topping Grossing App In iTunes
Still don’t know Minecraft? Well, if you use iTunes, the block-building virtual world game is giving you a wake-up call. The game is now the top grossing app on iTunes and settling between the top third and fourth paid app overall. Minecraft Pocket Edition was released on November 17 and formally announced yesterday at MineCon,…
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Move Over Angry Birds, It’s The Minecraft Coming Out Party
Angry Birds? That’s so 2010. The hot game you might not have heard of yet, but chances are your kids know, is Minecraft. And 5,000 Minecrafters have descended upon Las Vegas for MineCon, the first-ever event for Minecraft. During today’s keynote, Markus Persson — Notch — the creator of Minecraft officially took Minecraft out of beta status.…
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Lessons & Thoughts On My Five Year Anniversary Of Starting A New Business
Five years ago, I found myself heading down an unexpected path, starting a new business to carry on the work I had been doing writing and speaking about search engines and search marketing. On this anniversary, a few thoughts on life along the way. My First Founder’s Story For those unfamiliar, I’ve been covering search…
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A Rare Event: The Los Angeles Angels Actually Play In Los Angeles
Orange County is my home, so it kills me that my hometown baseball team — the Angels — pretends to be in Los Angeles when it is not. Even worse is when the franchise admits to its own fans the stupidity of its name. Case in point, this email I just received from the Angels:…
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A Better Letter To New York Times Readers About Digital Subscriptions
Today, the New York Times is taking a major step forward as we introduce digital subscriptions in the United States and the rest of the world. Since we first announced the plan 11 days ago, we’ve heard from so many of you, our readers. We’ve also heard from a bunch of noisy bloggers, but they…
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California DMV Struggling To Issue Driver’s Licenses
A year ago, I lost my California driver’s license and discovered the nightmare world of getting it replaced. But since late November of last year, the situation apparently has gotten much worse. My original post was Dear California DMV, Surely Replacing A Driver’s License Could Be Easier. Look at the comments, and you’ll see a…