Americans want better PCs for the dollar; HP and Dell outgrow Apple

Americans want better PCs for the dollar; HP and Dell outgrow Apple

Now that 2014 has come to a close, we can definitively say that the PC market has turned around in the US, growing 5% after years of decline.

Without much category competition, PC innovation grew stagnant over the decades. Then tablets came and easily beat PCs that catered to low cost, light computing needs. PC makers tried new things, but the technology wasn’t ready. New, experimental devices…

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What you can do with $30 million of venture funding

What you can do with $30 million of venture funding

Have you heard of Color? It’s the start-up that raised a staggering $41 million without a product. Unfortunately,  that capital didn’t translate into a hit and Color soon folded.

Clinkle could be the next Color. Clinkle raised an amazing $30 million, also on the back of concepts and not actual product. Unfortunately, that capital didn’t translate into a hit and…Clinkle is now pivoting.

TechCrunch

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Robots first conquer poker; soon the human race

Robots first conquer poker; soon the human race

Think you’re good at poker? Well then, I’ll wager you can’t beat this robot 1-on-1. Developers and researchers from Alberta University have created Cepheus, a self-learning poker AI that’s supposedly unbeatable.

It became good by stimulating literally billions of poker games, and then learning from each one. 10,000 hours of experience is a flash in the pan compared to the education Cepheus gave…

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Maybe we're too obsessed with teenagers

Maybe we’re too obsessed with teenagers

A teenager wrote about how teens use social media and it’s fascinating. It’s based off his experiences and observations of peers, so perhaps the sample size is limited, but it’s well written and insightful in connecting human psyche to products. It’s worth a read, and if you’d like the TL:DR here it is…

Nobody really shares on Facebook, but it’s weird to not be on it

Everyone is on Instagram —…

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Yet another cat fight between Google and Microsoft

Yet another cat fight between Google and Microsoft

There’s a cat fight happening between Google and Microsoft. Basically, Google has a policy to publicly disclose any bugs it finds within 90 days of informing the software provider. In this case, it was a bug in Windows that allowed a person’s system to be taken over. It’s not easy to do, but possible nevertheless.

The 90 window passed with still no fix from Microsoft, so Google went ahead and…

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I hate clones, but this Surface Pro rip-off is interesting

I hate clones, but this Surface Pro rip-off is interesting

I don’t normally think much of clones, but the Remix Ultra from Jide is intriguing.

Let’s get it out of the way: it’s basically a rip-off of the Surface, right down to the aesthetics, adjustable kickstand, thin detachable keyboard cover, location of SD card and ports, etc. Even the software looks the same.

Fortunately, there are two key differences that can validate the Remix Ultra’s existence.…

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Maybe a Kickstarter gadget will deliver for once

Maybe a Kickstarter gadget will deliver for once

I used to be an active Kickstarter, having backed Pebble, the Buccaneer, a couple games and a bunch of other things. However, I didn’t back a single project in 2014 after realizing most will get horribly delayed and/or fall way short of what was promised. It makes more sense to simply wait for products to be ready and buy then.

The Dash by Bragiwas one project I nearly gave into last year. I’ve…

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The new 12-inch MacBook Air shows Apple is still ballsy

The new 12-inch MacBook Air shows Apple is still ballsy

Let’s talk about the new, 12-inch MacBook Air. Typically, I don’t like to analyze speculation but 9to5mac seems confident about its information. Anyway, this isn’t about the MacBook Air per se and more on how Apple is still willing to take big risks — which is fantastic — and about their view on computing.

Here’s the quick rundown on those MacBook Air rumors:

12-inch display in an extremely…

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Jeff Bezos tried to be like Steve Jobs and failed

Jeff Bezos tried to be like Steve Jobs and failed

Fast Company has a fascinating article on Jeff Bezos and the Amazon Fire. It’s a great piece and worth the long length. Check it out and then come back here.

For those who don’t need the nuance, here’s the story’s bottom line: the Amazon Fire was Jeff Bezos’ baby. He micromanaged it like Steve Jobs, and made decisions unpopular with his team but which he pushed through anyway. One example is…

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Laptops and tablets will finally, successfully converge in 2015

Laptops and tablets will finally, successfully converge in 2015

2015 will be an exciting year for fans of 2-in-1 devices — i.e., hybrid convertibles that double as both laptop and tablet. Driving it are Intel’s new line of chips, which broadly offer a significantly better performance-to-power ratio. This means you can get reasonably performing PCs that don’t require fans, so designs can be thinner and lighter and have longer battery life.

As…

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Watch Netflix or Hulu via VPN? Then you must be a law-breaking pirate

Watch Netflix or Hulu via VPN? Then you must be a law-breaking pirate

When I moved out of the US, one of the things I missed was Netflix. I considered keeping my subscription and streaming via VPN, but decided I needed to cut down on TV anyway and so canceled the subscription. I do have friends in similar situations who opted to keep subscribing, signing up for VPN services so they can watch in countries where Netflix is not present.

Unfortunately, according to Tor…

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iPhones no longer #1 in customer satisfaction

iPhones no longer #1 in customer satisfaction

Tim Cook is fond of citing customer satisfaction scores as an indication of Apple’s truth north — that it’s about making delightful experiences for customers first; with market share and profits further down the list.

He won’t like the most recent customer satisfaction survey about mobile phones from the American Customer Satisfaction Index, based on 70,000 consumers. And that’s because Samsung…

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Japan's electronics scene isn't like the one in yours

Japan’s electronics scene isn’t like the one in yours

I just returned from a holiday in Japan, a country with a fascinating culture for electronics. My biggest takeaway is how mainstream gadgets are in Japan; unlike most other countries, there seems to be electronics stores at every corner, with average, everyday kind of people shopping there.

The first impression you get from visiting one is the barrage of colors and signs that beset you. Check out…

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Happy new year!

Dear Cornerplay readers, happy new year! Here’s hoping your 2014 was great and that 2015 will be even better.

When I first started this blog in May last year, I just wanted an outlet from the daily grind of entrepreneurship — a chance to flex my fingers and create something that I can complete daily, as opposed to products that take months to build and launch.

I love writing this blog. There have…

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Have a wacky #newyear arrr!! Here's to a smashing #2015! (at The Peninsula Tokyo / ザ・ペニンシュラ東京)

Interesting #dresscode for an interesting organization. Thankfully I wasn't wearing my gorilla #costume. 😎 (at Robot Restaurant 　【ロボットレストラン】)

Lizard Squad: so scary, yet so stupid

Lizard Squad: so scary, yet so stupid

Lizard Squad is pissing me off. First, because I couldn’t play Destiny or go on the PlayStation Network for several days because the hacker group launched DDoS attacks that brought it down. Second, because it appears at least one or them did it for money, and small money at that.

According to The Guardian, Lizard Squad launched Lizard Stresser, a service that can be used to take down any website…

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