A new app, KeyMe, has been released for iOS. The idea is that you take a picture of your keys and then, if you lose one, you can show the picture to a locksmith and get a new key. I tried it out and it is very straightforward to use. One can imagine that if …
Should Apple be forced to host rival book retailers for free?
That appears to be a key part of the DOJ's proposed remedy for Apple in the eBook pricing case. To reset competition to the conditions that existed before the conspiracy, Apple must also for two years allow other e-book retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble to provide links from their e-book apps to their …
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Information and the AEA Elections
Over at the Freakonomics blog, I have a short essay arguing that the AEA should consider providing more information about candidates for its officer elections. It may be of some interest to readers of this blog.
Do books compete with one another?
In a very interesting post, Geoffrey Manne makes the case that the Judge in the Apple eBooks trial got it wrong and that a successful appeal is possible. His analysis in lengthy but this hits at the central premise of his argument: While the opinion asserts that each publisher "could also expect to lose substantial …
Of flying cars and tweets
In a provocative piece, Peter Thiel wrote: "We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters." This framed a discussion at the NBER Summer Institute on Monday as to whether we are about to run out of ideas. (By the way, apparently only Bob Gordon thinks we are or, perhaps like Tyler Cowen, the ideas …
Apple found guilty of price fixing: Initial thoughts
Apple have been found guilty of price fixing in the US. Judge Cote found that Apple and five publishers had conspired to raise the price of eBooks. Basically, Apple used the iPad launch to "solve" the publisher's problem with Amazon's $9.99 retail pricing by assisting and, perhaps, insisting, that they engage in a coordinated move …
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What Feed Reader should you use?
With Google Reader closing down in just a few days, I have had lots of questions regarding where to switch to. I have waited until the last minute because there is innovation going on at a rapid pace as other competitors suddenly see opportunity. The answer of which feed reader to use really depends. I …
Is Steve Jobs a posterchild for the inequality debate?
The short answer: No. First, some background. Greg Mankiw, who is one of the clearest economic writers there is, penned an essay "Defending the 1%." He wasn't looking to earn any friends but he was looking to frame the inequality debate. And on page one what do we read? Then, one day, this egalitarian utopia …
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A quick remark on Instagram's Video
Instagram announced yesterday that it would be adding video to its now extremely popular (130 million user) app (acquired last year by Facebook). The video part works alot like Twitter's Vine in that you can only make short videos and that putting different angles together is very easy. That led many to suggest that Instagram …
My TEDx talk
Filmed last month at TEDxUofT on entrepreneurial strategy. It reflects thinking about that topic that I have done with Fiona Murray and Scott Stern. Someone later suggested the title of the talk should have been "A Vision for Relief." Here are some links to some of the topics touched on: The Onion talks The National …
Digitopoly 