This is a terrible palindrome.
This is a terrible palindrome.
Franzen, his wife Yi-Fen Chou, and an Iraqi orphan “walk” into a “bar”… #LiteraryTwitter
How Uber CEO Travis Kalanick Is Taking On China
“That’s where the action is,” Kalanick says in an exclusive interview with Fast Company.
Earlier this year, an internal email to investors from CEO Travis Kalanick revealed that Uber intended to invest $1 billion in China. During its first nine months in the country, Uber had grown 400 times more rapidly than it had in New York within nine months of its launch there; by June, Uber was operating in China at a rate of nearly 1 million rides a day. In his note, Kalanick deemed China the “number one priority for Uber’s global team” and touted it as “one of the largest untapped opportunities for Uber, potentially larger than the U.S.”
How Uber Is Different In New York Than It Is In D.C. or Seattle
Fast Company‘s profile of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick explains how the ride-hailing app tweaks its approach in different cities.
Since its launch in 2010, Uber has steadily expanded into more than 300 cities. With every move, CEO Travis Kalanick knew that he needed to tackle each region individually, with its existing transportation options and population in mind.
Amazon Is Reportedly Debuting A $50 Tablet
The e-commerce giant hopes to sell more tablets by offering a more affordable device.
You may want to bookmark this as a potential stocking stuffer: This holiday season, Amazon is supposedly releasing a $50 tablet for U.S. consumers, according to the Wall Street Journal. The new, as-of-yet untitled 6-inch device is designed to target what the WSJ calls “cost-conscious” customers, in hopes of increasing its tablet sales. Amazon’s budget tablet won’t have phone capabilities, and will be the cheapest option among several new tablets the company plans to release.
Periscope Is Coming To Apple TV
The Twitter-owned live-streaming platform is developing an app for Apple TV.
On Wednesday, Apple will introduce its shiny new Apple TV—and Periscope is allegedly building an app specifically for the device. TechCrunch reports that Periscope has been hard at work on an app for the media player, which could make live streams easier to watch in a group setting. The functionality is unclear at the moment, but it’s a safe bet that the app will focus on Periscope’s core business: allowing users to watch streaming video in real time.
That Time Uber CEO Travis Kalanick Got Into It With A Cab Driver
Fast Company‘s exclusive profile details how Kalanick once accused a taxi driver of ripping him off—long before he started Uber.
More than 10 years before creating Uber, CEO Travis Kalanick joined the founding staff of Scour, a search engine that used peer-to-peer file sharing to distribute movies and music. As Max Chafkin writes in Fast Company‘s exclusive profile of Kalanick, the company was a “proto-Napster” for which Kalanick managed product, business development, and marketing. Though Scour grew quickly, it was slammed with lawsuit after lawsuit due to copyright issues; eventually, Scour’s most generous backer refused to further invest in the company, and it was forced to file for bankruptcy.
Why I Won’t Be Watching Today’s Apple Event
Here comes another Apple product announcement. Stop salivating.
Steve Jobs fueled the mania for Apple’s product releases in two important ways. First, he brought showmanship to the events, a combination of prestidigitation and circus blarney that Apple’s new leadership can’t match. Second, and more importantly, on more than one occasion Jobs delivered products that truly changed our world. As a result, Apple product announcements are preceded by dozens of frothy articles explaining why this or that predicted feature will alter—sorry, revolutionize—our lives.
5 Great Free Apps For Minimizing Your Online Presence
See if your data’s out there, shut down old accounts, send self-destructing messages, and more.
There’s nothing wrong with having a high profile on the web, but too much of a good thing can lead to plenty of bad things. These tools can help you get stuff done without revealing too much to hackers, marketers, and other assorted snoops.
Super Mario’s Creator Reveals The Design Secrets Of Its Famous First Level
Shigeru Miyamoto talks about the original Super Mario Bros., and how Mario has evolved since.
The first level of Super Mario Bros. is a masterclass in game design. And now Shigeru Miyamoto—the genius game designer who gave us some of Nintendo’s most beloved franchises—explains why. Within the first few seconds of the game, a player is enticed to jump and hit that question mark block, learns how to stomp a goomba, and eats a mushroom to become super.
What Your Brand Can Learn From Queen Elizabeth II’s Historic Reign
Elizabeth II has officially become the U.K.’s longest-reigning monarch. Here’s how she’s managed one of the world’s most high-profile brands.
On September 9, Queen Elizabeth II became the longest-reigning monarch in Britain’s history, surpassing her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria’s record that’s been held for more than a century. Elizabeth II ascended the throne in 1952 at the young age of 25 and has since been leading what is, essentially, one of Britain’s most valuable brands now for more than six decades. Although the Queen’s longevity at the head of the family business is mainly the result of her just staying alive all these years, she has managed to steer her country through postwar depression, oversee the formation of the Commonwealth of Nations, act as a patron to over 600 charities and organizations, and watch a staggering amount of U.S. presidents come and go—just to highlight a few lines on her resume.
