Microsoft Surface Pro 4 vs. Apple iPad Pro buyer’s guide – Business Insider – or why the whole tablet versus laptop debate is a bit of a moot point. For the vast amount of knowledge workers a laptop is as important. An iPad Pro is a nice to have for many people rather than a productivity and creative device. Tablets like the iPad Pro have different strengths from laptops they’re complementary not substitutive for most people. More iPad related content here.
British Draft Law Threatens Data Encryption and Privacy | Grey Coder – no real surprise at the level of stupidity involved in this bill
Xiaomi launches new phone to counter Huawei challenge – FT.com – Huawei’s smartphone sales have grown more than 80 per cent year-on-year in China, while by some measures Xiaomi has seen year-on-year declines, according to Canalys. IDC, on the other hand, reported that Xiaomi had year-on-year Chinese smartphone sales growth of 11 per cent in the three months to September. (paywall)
Forget Wi-Fi: You may soon access the internet via ordinary light bulbs – Light-speed internet may be upon us. A technology called “Li-Fi” uses light waves from ordinary LED light bulbs to deliver internet connectivity that that is cheaper, more secure and 100 times faster
Japanese adult site will donate to AIDS charity—if you can resist looking at their breasts – interesting the way they developed this site
Amazon Pulls Subway Ads for ‘Man in the High Castle’ Amid Backlash to Nazi Insignia | NBC New York – how on earth did this get approved
These companies are betting on hard-to-reach fossil fuels, and it could cost them billions – given the industry is cyclical this could actually look smarter than the headline indicates
Samurai, spy, commando: who were the real ninja? Aeon Magazine – they had me at the title
Operator 24 Seven’s National Roaming Solution Aims to Tackle Network Not-Spots – domestic roaming
Future Visions – really smart project from Microsoft
We chew over CCS Insight’s look into the fu-ture-ture-ture-ture • The Register – idea of QNX being owned by automakers is interesting
Domino’s Offers One-button Pizza Ordering: Cheesy Button | Technabob – it was only a matter of time
With TV Viewing Changing, Networks Take Longer to Drop Shows – The New York Times – “It’s going to take a little longer to evaluate the metrics,” he said. “The overnights are just not the complete picture anymore, and every viewer counts.” (paywall)
Rich Countries Don’t Want Coal – Slate – which leaves coal open as a possible replacement chemical feedstock precursor as oil declines?
The euro crisis was not a government-debt crisis – Economist – (paywall)
Audi content engine – Audi self driving car – thanks to Azeem
Tencent to fully open WeChat Payment for overseas transactions: Shanghais – Chinese Internet giant Tencent has just announced that it will completely open the mobile payment service offered on its social messaging app WeChat to overseas transactions, making it much easier
The Last Days Of Marissa Mayer? – Forbes – Yahoo!’s core business with 4 billion USD in revenue is worth less than nothing
Sky Q for Gen – CCS Insight – interesting lack of focus on streaming media with a lot of local storage
SFX Entertainment Nearing Bankruptcy – Magnetic Magazine – interesting times that could bring a hammer blow to EDM
Paris Terrorists Used Double ROT-13 Encryption – Bruce Schneier – no cryptography used at all
Activist investor Starboard asks Yahoo to sell core business instead of Alibaba stake because of concerns over large shareholder tax bill (Wall Street Journal) – which makes sense if you’ve read Bob Cringely’s analysis on Yahoo!
Soma Group Video Calls Launched | Soma Blog – threat to Skype
Blackberry taking ‘balanced’ approach to encryption, lawful intercept – Fedscoop – so basically don’t use Blackberry
A Chinese billionaire bought a $170 million painting with an American Express to get the points – Quartz – the best ad for Amex ever
brandchannel: Is VICELAND the Disneyfication of VICE or the VICE-ification of Disney? – and from a marketers perspective that’s a bad thing because?
Official Google Blog: Introducing the new Google+ – whilst it is likely to look interesting, we’ll see if consumer interest gets on board. In terms of position it reminds me a lot of Douban – the Chinese social network that revolves around passion points: books, music, art, photography etc.
The Dawn of Commercial Digital Recording by Thomas Pine – ARSC Journal – (PDF) fascinating reading