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Monday, November 16, 2009

Qualcomm’s CEO Paul Jacobs Talks About Smartbooks and More!

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When in San Diego recently, BoomTown paid a visit to Qualcomm and its Chairman and CEO, Paul Jacobs, to talk about a new “smartbook” device the wireless-technology company unveiled last week, but that won’t make its debut until the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in January.

There, Jacobs will show off what is essentially a combination of a smartphone and a netbook.

Obviously, it’s going to be a competitive market and, really, Apple, with its upcoming tablet computer, is also pushing into this mobile-phone-that-ate-computers space.

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Friday, November 13, 2009

Flying the Digitally Friendly Skies: Gogo, Google and the Facebook PR Guy in 17D

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So, BoomTown–who cannot be unplugged from the matrix for very long without breaking into a cold sweat–was pretty excited to have free Wi-Fi on my Virgin America flight to Washington, D.C., early this morning.

Lots of Web companies are footing the bill for people to use wireless for free, in an attempt to boost use and, of course, their brand.

While that should be a given in this country, I won’t look a digital gift horse in the mouth.

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Monday, May 4, 2009

Silicon Valley Start-Up Whisperer (And Twitter Investor, Natch) Sacca Speaks!

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Since leaving Google several years ago, where he last worked on wireless spectrum issues, it’s hard to say exactly what role the digital jumping bean who is Chris Sacca plays.

He’s not an entrepreneur, although he seems to know all of them in Web 2.0 world and advises 18 start-ups. He’s no longer a big-company exec, although he was one and knows a lot of them too. He’s not a venture capitalist, although he is involved in a private equity firm and invests in a lot of the start-ups he advises, like the red-hot Twitter, and knows those guys too.

In any case, here’s my chat with the Silicon Valley gadfly, whom BoomTown has dubbed the Start-Up Whisperer.

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Sunday, November 16, 2008

Obama YouTubes and Techies Swoon (BoomTown Will Only Do So When There Is a National Broadband Policy)

Is it just me or does the fact that President-Elect Barack Obama is broadcasting his weekly address on YouTube not seem like it should be the very biggest deal in the world?

While it is a first for the Commander-in-Chief, I am more depressed that it is a first–after all, skateboarding cats made it to YouTube eons ago–than utterly thrilled that he is doing it.

But, when it come to the glacial movement related to politicians and tech issues, disappointment seems to be a better stance than hope.

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Tuesday, October 28, 2008

The Entire D6 Interview With FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam (2 of 3)

We’re posting all the interviews from the sixth D: All Things Digital conference that took place in late May.

Here’s an interview Walt Mossberg and I did with Federal Communications Chairman Kevin Martin and Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam. We paired the two together to talk about big issues facing the wireless industry, including low broadband speeds, high prices and the opening of networks.

This is the second of three parts.

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Monday, October 27, 2008

The Entire D6 Interview With FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam (1 of 3)

We’re posting all the interviews from the sixth D: All Things Digital conference that took place in late May.

Here’s an interview Walt Mossberg and I did with Federal Communications Chairman Kevin Martin and Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam. We paired the two together to talk about big issues facing the wireless industry, including low broadband speeds and high prices.

This is the first of three parts.

Read More »

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Kara Visits Dash!

Earlier this week, I visited Dash Navigation, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based car-navigation device start-up that is being backed to the tune of $42 million by Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins.
There, I got a look at the new GPS device called the Dash Express that went on sale exclusively on Amazon (AMZN) today and was also [...]

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Monday, December 3, 2007

Joy of Tech: Google’s Evil Plans–Cellphone Edition

More from the cartoon dudette and dude–Nitrozac and Snaggy–over at Geek Culture’s Joy of Tech, whose work will be appearing more regularly on this site, since we all could use a good laugh.
So what does Google really want from its upcoming current bid for wireless spectrum? Oh, you have no idea the extent of their [...]

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Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Verizon Sneak Attack on Googleplex! Or Not!

What to think of the announcement yesterday that Verizon will open itself up to consumers who want to use non-Verizon-sold phones for their wireless service?
Was it a bold way to thwart new rivals, like Google and Apple, who are promising–but have yet to deliver–a world without the fascist rule of the “Soviet ministries,” as Walt [...]

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Wednesday, November 14, 2007

WSJ Online: Craig McCaw and WiMax

We owe entrepreneur Craig McCaw a lot for his efforts at bringing cellphones to the masses, and now he is working on WiMax, wireless access on a massive scale.
More ubiquitous wireless, pretty please, Craig (or anyone listening)! Now.
Here’s a link to a great front-page Wall Street Journal article on his efforts by Amol Sharma, as [...]

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Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Joy of Tech: Steve Jobs Channels Walt Mossberg

More from the cartoon dudette and dude–Nitrozac and Snaggy–over at Geek Culture’s Joy of Tech, whose work will be appearing more regularly on this site, since we all could use a good laugh.
After Walt Mossberg’s “Free My Phone” call-to-arms earlier this week, will Apple’s Steve Jobs foist the wireless banner of liberty?
Click on the image [...]

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Wireless Pooh-bah Strikes Back (With a Feather)

Look, we’re biased when it comes to Walt Mossberg.

But BoomTown was not moved in the least by the post that CTIA President and CEO Steve Largent (pictured here) wrote yesterday on the blog for the wireless industry association’s annual meeting, taking place in San Francisco now through tomorrow.
Titled “Largent to Mossberg…Wish You Were Here [...]

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Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Kara Visits CTIA Events in San Francisco

The annual CTIA conference–CTIA reps the wireless industry–opens today in San Francisco, but the action started last night with some parties.
One was thrown by ContentNext Media, the online news site whose flagship paidContent.org writes all about online media, where I talked to Publisher and Editor Rafat Ali about big trends in cellphones.
He was spot on. [...]

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Mossberg: Hero of the People United Against the Soviet Ministries, Oops, I Mean Cellphone Carriers

With thanks to engadget, we repost this portrait of our beloved leader at AllThingsD.com, Comrade Walt Mossberg.
Walt has long railed on the topic of the stifling of innovation by the U.S. cellphone carriers–especially to me over dinner when I am really tired–so it is nice to see it in a terrific piece you should not [...]

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Wednesday, August 22, 2007

A Matador in San Francisco Fights for Wireless

A bullfighter in a San Francisco Starbucks complaining about high wireless fees to jack in while sipping coffee?

Actually, this is a very sly ad for FON, the Spain-based company trying to build a global community of Foneras, people who share their wireless connection using special routers and in turn get to use the WiFi of [...]

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About Kara

Kara Swisher started covering digital issues for The Wall Street Journal's San Francisco bureau in 1997 and also wrote the BoomTown column about the sector. With Walt Mossberg, she co-produces and co-hosts D: All Things Digital, a major high-tech and media conference. Read more »

Ethics Statement

Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.

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