The Critical Path 87 & 88: "De Gustibus" & "Siri in the Driver's Seat"

This morning, Horace and I recorded two episodes back-to-back, in an effort to catch up on being behind as well as to address the mountain of news and topics to discuss from WWDC last week.

Part 1, "De Gustibus" looks back at his first-of-its-kind AirShow event, the thrust of Apple's desktop hardware strategy and the "hardcore" Mac Pro, and a bit on Mavericks and especially iTunes Radio. 

We closed the day with Part 2 ("Siri in the Driver's Seat") focusing a great deal on iOS 7, but not with the reductive, colors-and-pixels design lens that others have over the past week. We instead look at what this overhaul means with regard to where Apple is going next, zeroing in on Siri and other bolted-in service improvements and enhancements. The next installment of our AsymCar discussion spins out of that, and we close on what iWork for iCloud really means  in the grand scheme of all things Apple.

We're recording Episode 89 this Thursday morning. There really is that much to discuss. 

Critical Path 71: Max Headroom

iTunes link / RSS link (for other podcatchers)

5by5 site show notes

Hit the site for links to the stories we discuss in the show.

I love hearing Horace tear bad analysis a new one. He was initially reluctant to even bring up our opening topic. I told him in our pre-show prep that the audience needed to hear his precise process of dismantling this "supplier checks" speculation. It's not just that it's stupid, it's important to know why this is an "all hat, no cattle" situation for the Wall Street Journal.

We get a tiny tease of TV and media consumption disruption talk at the end. It's going to be an interesting year.

Critical Path 70: Harvesting Talent

iTunes link

5by5 site

The opening salvo in my massive hate-on for 4K HDTVs (and what they represent), as well as CES in general. Horace is, as always, a tactical nuclear analytical weapon. 

Critical Path 54: Moving the Ball Forward

My third shot co-hosting with the venerable Mr. Horace Dediu finds us talking about this past week's Apple Event.

We discuss how the announced gadgets re-assert Apple's substantive platform lead over others, while also pondering how they are actively looking to kill the iPhone as the cornerstone of their strategy, just like they did with iPod.

That's right, Apple is trying to kill the iPhone...and cinema, and loads of other things.

Just listen to the show. Horace is brilliant, and more prescient on this than most.

Critical Path 52: The Art of Making Money

It was a surprise and an honor to be asked by my friend Dan Benjamin to fill in for him on this week's episode of The Critical Path. I've been an avid follower of Horace Dediu's Asymco.com for some time. In the realm of Apple prognostication, many often engage in the sort of praise-heaping that inspires calls of fanboyism, but Horace is always utterly pragmatic in his analysis.

We discuss the Apple v. Samsung verdict, the relative success of the Kindle Fire, and jump from the Amazon connected ecosystem into a contemplation on the future of media distribution. We also question whether Apple can yet be considered an 800-pound gorilla in that world.