Technology & Innovation — February 17, 2011

A Green and Bitter Apple

Yes, that’s right: Apple isn’t the best at everything. Apple’s new fee structure for premium content not only risks anti-trust issues—its 30% cut is greedy, says TechCrunch.

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Yes, that’s right: Apple isn’t the best at everything. You can’t read an iBook on anything other than an iPad or iPhone, compared to Kindle which supports a half-dozen other platforms and the E-ink Kindle reader, which is a vastly better reading experience than any backlit display to boot. Oh, and users also stand to lose out on the pricing competition between the two eBook platforms. Similar comparisons can be made for other services that could potentially compete with Apple’s products: music, movies, TV shows, and so on.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

20 Game-Changing Technology Trends That Will Create Both Disruption and Opportunity on a Global Level

Technology is always evolving. That’s why smart organizations stay ahead of the trends by anticipating them, adapting them to their unique environment before the competition does, and ultimately enabling the organization to profit from them.

A vintage brass typewriter with exposed keys and mechanisms, evoking a sense of typing consciousness, displayed on a reflective surface.

The Past

How typing transformed Nietzsche’s consciousness

The Malling-Hansen writing ball, with its potential and limitations, redefined Nietzsche’s philosophical and creative expression.

A digital countdown reading "0: MINUS" over an Earth view from space with scattered debris and sunlight illuminating the scene.

The Future

T-Minus: Kessler Syndrome

Experts answer 10 big questions about the nightmare scenario that could send us back to the pre-Space Age.

Multiple country flags on poles against a clear blue sky, representing international diversity and unity.

The Present

From global to planetary: Is new governance needed in a post-Holocene world?

The nation-state had a good run, but its usefulness may have come to an end.

Portrait of a smiling man in front of a background featuring chemical structures and molecular models in green and blue hues.

The Present

Inside the battle for FDA approval of MDMA therapy

MAPS founder Rick Doblin speaks to Big Think about the FDA’s rejection of MDMA therapy and the future of psychedelic treatments.

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

Kasparov Remembers Bobby Fischer

The circumstances were bizarre. The sudden return, the backdrop of war, a shady banker and arms dealer as a sponsor. But it was Bobby Fischer! One could not believe it.