Articles filed under Manjoo, Farhad
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Silicon Valley's attack of the clones
Jun 29, 2013 7:04 AM - I've always believed that in tech, ideas matter less than execution. Apple didn't invent the tablet, Google didn't invent the search engine, and Facebook didn't invent the social network. They all just did those things better than others. And if Instagram can do short, viral videos better than Vine -- because it has a bigger audience already, or because it offers slight improvements like effects filters and image stabilization -- then being second shouldn't stop it. On the other hand: Sad day for Silicon Valley.
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Apple's iOS 7 is little more than a new look
Jun 22, 2013 7:35 AM - For a redesign that's so immediately jarring and radical, iOS 7 comes to feel strangely superficial over time. Once I got used to the new icons and typography in iOS 7, there was no next step -- no clear payoff for braving the dislocation the new design had caused. What's this design in service of? How does it improve your phone? Does iOS 7 change how your device works, rather than just how it looks? Most of the time, not really.
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Here's how to fix the school yearbook business
Jun 1, 2013 7:32 AM - You wouldn't know it to look at the products, but the school yearbook business is kind of shady. There's a good chance you and your kid's school are paying way too much for yearbooks -- sometimes thousands or tens of thousands a year too much.
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The end of the credit card?
May 18, 2013 7:27 AM - This week Square announced a new product that took me by surprise: the Square Stand, an iPad holder and credit card reader that's meant to function as a point-of-sale system for high-volume small businesses like restaurants and cafes.
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Why I love Internet sales tax plan
May 5, 2013 7:12 AM - Don't hate the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would require you to pay tax on all offline and online purchases. The bill does something that's almost unheard of: It makes taxes fairer and simpler. There's also a carve-out for small businesses
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Why iPad is Apple's most valuable product
Apr 27, 2013 9:06 AM - The iPad has always labored under the shadow of its little brother the iPhone. When Apple launched the tablet back in the spring of 2010, everyone thought it was derivative -- it's just a big iPhone! Even now, after proving itself a worthy alternative to personal computers, the iPad rarely gets its due.
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Review: Facebook Phone Isn't as Bad as You Think
Apr 6, 2013 6:56 AM - Facebook Home isn't a phone, it isn't an operating system, and it isn't an app. Instead, it's a free-to-download lock- and home-screen replacement for Android phones. If most people's phones are already Facebook phones, Facebook Home makes them Facebookier, bringing the social-network's content (including, at some point, ads), to your phone's foremost screen.
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Is Google Fiber too powerful?
Mar 23, 2013 9:00 AM - Google Fiber, the search company's effort to wire a large American city with 1-gigabit Internet lines. That's 100 times faster than the average American home broadband speed. The only problem is, no one knows what to do with that much power.
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Good riddance, Google Reader, Manjoo says
Mar 23, 2013 8:16 AM - I've made it pretty clear that I don't like RSS readers. But enough about me. Let's talk about you. You didn't just love Google Reader. No, your feelings about it were much deeper -- you relied on Google Reader, making it a central part of your daily workflow. Now it's gone, and you feel lost.
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What to do with the world's fastest Internet service
Mar 16, 2013 7:32 AM - oogle's gigabit initiative, called Google Fiber, has sparked a round of questions across the tech industry. Is Google looking to become an Internet service provider? Does it simply want to spur other ISPs into providing faster service? And, finally, why gigabit Internet -- what does Google expect people to do with the world's fastest broadband service?
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