1. Papermaster leaves Apple. Now what? (Gartner)
The press has speculated wildly about the reasons for Papermaster’s departure. Obviously many see him as responsible for "antennagate," but others attribute it to his incompatibility with Steve Jobs’ hands-on management approach. Whatever the cause, it’s further evidence that Apple has little tolerance for mistakes.
2. Google and Verizon offer give and take over net neutrality (The Guardian)
After last week’s excitement – when the New York Times boldly but inaccurately claimed that Google and Verizon were cutting a sweetheart deal over internet traffic – the truth has turned out to be less dramatic but potentially more worrying for US consumers and net users.
3. Why we need to abolish software patents (TechCrunch)
Patents make a lot of sense in many industries. But in software these are just nuclear weapons in an arms race. They don’t foster innovation, they inhibit it. That’s because things change rapidly in this industry. Speed and technological obsolescence are the only protections that matter.
4. Brent Hoberman: European tech companies must not copy the US (The Telegraph)
Brent Hoberman tells Emma Barnett what he has learnt from co-running a European venture capital fund dedicated to finding the ground-breaking technology businesses of the future.
5. A Hurd Conspiracy Theory (Twilight in the Valley of the Nerds)
One of the conspiracy theories making the rounds about Mark Hurd’s forced departure from HP’s mahogany row is that at least some of the company’s board members set him up. According to the conspiracy theorists, a minority of HP board members had become convinced that Hurd had overstayed his welcome.
