Samsung launches 6-inch, all-metal, super-thin Galaxy A9, in China | VentureBeat | Mobile | by Evan Blass

Samsung launches 6-inch, all-metal, super-thin Galaxy A9, in China | VentureBeat | Mobile | by Evan Blass Like the rest of the A handsets, Galaxy A9 is a metal and glass design, running Android 5.1 Lollipop (with a Marshmallow upgrade likely to arrive in a timely manner). At 7.4mm thin, the A9 features a full HD (1080p) Super AMOLED display, 3GB RAM / 32GB storage, and a 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 652 SoC, all powered by a massive, albeit non-removable, 4,000mAh battery.

Marvy!

'Blank’s Rule': To predict the future, 1/3 of your team needs to be crazy | VentureBeat | Business | by steveblank, Steve Blank

'Blank’s Rule': To predict the future, 1/3 of your team needs to be crazy | VentureBeat | Business | by steveblank, Steve Blank Yet in 1961 LOR was a completely insane idea. We hadn’t even put a man into orbit, let alone figured out how to rendezvous and dock in earth orbit, and some crazy guy was suggesting we do this around the moon. If it didn’t succeed, the astronauts might die orbiting the moon. However, Houbolt wasn’t some crank, he was a member of the Lunar Mission Steering Group studying space rendezvous. Since he was only a mid-level manager, he presented his findings to the internal task forces and the experts dismissed this idea the first time they heard it. Then they dismissed it the second, fifth, and 20th time.

Yes!

WhatsApp will take on FaceTime with video calling feature

WhatsApp will take on FaceTime with video calling feature Having added voice calling at no extra cost earlier this year, WhatsApp is now reportedly looking to introduce FaceTime-style video calls, according to a new report.

It ain't a standard if it only works on one platform. Sorry, I can't call you, you don't have an Apple device.

Microsoft acquires Ray Ozzie's team communication startup Talko, will integrate tech into Skype | VentureBeat | Mobile | by Jordan Novet

Microsoft acquires Ray Ozzie's team communication startup Talko, will integrate tech into Skype | VentureBeat | Mobile | by Jordan Novet Part of Talko’s appeal was that former Microsoft chief software architect Ray Ozzie was at the helm. Ozzie himself invested in the startup, as did Greylock Partners, Kapor Capital, and Andreessen Horowitz.

The app brings together talk, texting, and conferencing. It’s been available on iOS and Android.

It's a mixture of Mozart and Bach, I call it mach!

Powa Technologies enters China with UnionPay joint venture - Business Insider

Powa Technologies enters China with UnionPay joint venture - Business Insider British payments startup Powa Technologies has signed a 10-year deal with China's state-owned payments company to bring its mobile payment app to the country.

This is where US foreign policy intersects high technology. To understand it, read about the UK's involvement in the Asian Infrastructure Bank.

Cult of Android - Evernote is killing Skitch, Clearly and its Pebble app

Cult of Android - Evernote is killing Skitch, Clearly and its Pebble app Evernote’s efforts to streamline its business will see it chop a number of apps from its lineup, including the popular annotation app Skitch. Clearly, a browser extension for Google Chrome, is also getting the boot — as is Evernote’s Pebble app.

I love it when companies that have an initial first success realize how difficult it is to replicate success in the apps market over and over again.

Apple assigns App Store oversight to Phil Schiller in apparent nod to developer issues

Apple assigns App Store oversight to Phil Schiller in apparent nod to developer issues Apple's decision to split its App Stores out of Eddy Cue's iTunes and iCloud oversight and instead assign them to Phil Schiller, its head of worldwide marketing, appears to based on an effort to differentiate platform management of developers' interactive apps from the reselling of static content from media holders, and to handle each appropriately.

Help us, Obi-Phil, you're our only hope.

Apple rolls out revamped Mac in Business webpage with focus on success stories

Apple rolls out revamped Mac in Business webpage with focus on success stories Apple launched a redesigned Mac in Business webpage on Wednesday to better target its growing presence in enterprise, highlighting corporate success stories, a special section detailing its partnership with IBM and reworked marketing literature focusing on individual productivity apps.

Guarded yay! Yay.

If you'd bought Apple stock instead of an Apple III, you'd be a millionaire

If you'd bought Apple stock instead of an Apple III, you'd be a millionaire In December 1980, Apple’s newest computer was an Apple III, with a starting price tag of $4340. Today, you’d be lucky to get that much for it — despite the relative rarity of that particular model.

Apple’s official IPO anniversary is actually tomorrow, December 12. At the time, the Wall Street Journal noted that, “Not since Eve has an Apple posed such a temptation.” It wasn’t wrong. The company’s public offering turned out to be the biggest since the Ford Motor Company in 1956.

Steve Jobs, just 25 years old at the time, ended the day valued at $217 million.

While you're at it, you should travel back in time and invent plastic.