Horace talks again with Dan Abrams about film budgeting, Kickstarter, pre-production, location, technology for production, and a surprise announcement. We also discuss the project-oriented nature of movie production vis-a-vis “pipelined” product development, the history of studios and how they evolved, Pixar and much. much more. via 5by5 | The Critical Path #32: Mockumentary. Show Notes … Continue reading “5by5 | The Critical Path #32: Mockumentary”
At the end of 2011 Apple’s net property, plant and equipment (PP&E) was $7.8 billion. This reflects $12.34 billion gross PP&E net accumulated depreciation and amortization of $4.5 billion. The depreciation and amortization increased by a total of $533 million and the gross PP&E increased by only $572 million. I say “only” because in the … Continue reading “The role of capital [1]”
Charles Arthur, writing for The Guardian, has noted that court filings seem to be revealing Google’s Android revenues. If this is the case, we have a significant breakthrough in understanding the economics of Android and the overall mobile platform strategy of Google. The new data is a reference to a settlement offer Google made to … Continue reading “Android Economics”
In terms of platforms, IDC expects a relatively dramatic shift between 2011 and 2016, with the once-dominant Windows on x86 platform, consisting of PCs running the Windows operating system on any x86-compatible CPU, slipping from a leading 35.9% share in 2011 down to 25.1% in 2016. The number of Android-based devices running on ARM CPUs, … Continue reading “Top-down vs. bottom-up: Which market analysis method is appropriate when disruption is knocking”
Apple’s share price has increased rapidly in the last few weeks. The rise to $600 was swift and broke the pattern of slow growth the the stock was able to obtain over the past few years. The level, however, shouldn’t have been a complete surprise. I think Apple is going to $600…It’s really not that … Continue reading “Apple at $600. Who knew?”
With the launch of the Wii console, Nintendo averted disaster. When the Wii launched in late 2006 Nintendo had been facing the simultaneous attack from the “seventh generation” Xbox 360 which launched a year earlier as well as the PlayStation 3, both of which set as their bases of competition 3D graphics at HD resolutions. Many … Continue reading “The parable of Nintendo”
As the chart below shows, the last quarter (fourth calendar 2011, first fiscal 2012) was robust with 116% earnings growth and 73% net sales growth. I’ve heard many superlatives used to describe it. It is certainly exceptional but it was not as good as the second calendar quarter of 2011. Sales grew faster both in … Continue reading “Estimates for Apple's second fiscal 2012 quarter”
@mastermmik: love how @asymco thinks of everything and everyone as being “hired” to do something. lol via Twitter. Hiring products to do jobs for us is not a difficult cognitive leap to make. But can we extend the metaphor to “everything and everyone?” Aren’t there parts of the human experience that are outside the realm … Continue reading “[Asymconf] What are the jobs that the entertainment industry is hired to do?”
The phenomenon we call business disruption could benefit from a different name. Although it signifies a disturbance or an interruption in an industry, it’s much more than that. The nominal definition I work with is that disruption is the “transfer of wealth in an industry from dominant incumbents to disadvantaged entrants.” It’s a convenient definition … Continue reading “What is disruption and how can it be harnessed?[1]”
This is a reminder that I will be speaking at the Apple Investor Summit on March 15th at the Los Angeles Convention Center. My topic will be Apple’s capital expenditure structure and how that foretells strategy. I will present previously unpublished data and review the likely scenarios for 2012 iOS device production. As I prepared … Continue reading “Reception and workshop at the Apple Investor Summit”
