For the Week Ending July 20th, 2012

This week was all Google, all week long — but don’t worry the TSA made an appearance.

### Yahoo!

Former Google executive Marissa Mayer made the move from what seemed like a dead end job, [to the CEO of the once web darling, Yahoo](http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/07/16/googles-marissa-mayer-tapped-as-yahoos-chief/?hp&pagewanted=all). This is a pretty big deal in tech, and [it got the nerds all riled up](http://dearmarissamayer.com/) — was it Mayer herself that prompted [this great response to them](http://www.flickr.com/dearinternet)?

[*The Week* has a nice roundup of the hubbub surrounding Mayer’s hiring](http://theweek.com/article/index/230636/marissa-mayer-can-yahoos-new-ceo-turn-the-company-around), but personally I think this was a savvy move by Yahoo and gives them a fighting chance at righting the ship — I give Yahoo better odds than Microsoft.

Not everything is roses in the Mayer hiring, well at least not for Google as [Marco Arment points out](http://www.marco.org/2012/07/17/the-real-reason-marissa-mayer-left-google):

>Every time Apple loses one of its Senior VPs, we see stories questioning Apple’s leadership and future, suggesting that there may be significant inner turmoil.

>Well, Google just lost one of its top people.

[Steven Levy points out in his article for Wired](http://www.wired.com/business/2012/07/why-marissa-mayer-the-ultimate-googler-makes-sense-for-yahoo/), most Googlers he talks to don’t see themselves at Google in 5 years. [Something to keep on eye on](https://brooksreview.net/2012/07/google-mayer/).

### Nexus Se7en

Speaking of Google, pre-orders of Google’s new Nexus 7 tablet made it in the hands of users this week and guess what? There’s a ton of reviews to read. [Most agree that this is a mighty fine tablet](http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/15/omg-he-likes-it-he-really-likes-it/), though there are some [that question the usefulness of the device](http://www.popsci.com/gadgets/article/2012-07/googleasus-nexus-7-review-best-weird-breed).

[Shawn Blanc, also questioned this in his write-up, concluding](http://shawnblanc.net/2012/07/the-nexus-7/):

>Where is the magic? The fun? The incredible 3rd-party apps? It is because of these elements that the iPad is more than the sum of its parts while its competition continues to remains less than.

I’ll post some thoughts on the tablet soon, but suffice to say — I don’t think it’s worth spending money on.

### This Week in TSA Stupidity

[The TSA freaked out this week](http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/07/17/man-claims-worlds-largest-penis-got-him-frisked-at-sfo/) as a man with a world record holding penis had a “concerning” bulge in his pants. Oh TSA, you would be the government agency to force me to write the word penis on my site.

### Apple Ordered to Buy Samsung Some Nice Ads?

[So says a U.K. judge, that ruled Samsung tablets are *not* a knock-off of the iPad](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-18/apple-must-publish-notice-samsung-didn-t-copy-ipad-judge-says.html) — and therefore Apple must now buy ads in top publications, as well as post on their U.K. website, that he hath decreed Samsung tablets to not be iPad knock-offs.

We’ll see how that works out for you.

I can’t see Apple ever complying with this. If there is a fine, I bet Apple pays it up to $400 million without even blinking. If it is an injunction against selling in the U.K., well I say Apple calls the bluff on this one — would you want to be the judge that decided no more iPads in your country? I didn’t think so.

### Patents

Remember when the iPhone was announced in 2007 and Steve Jobs proudly declared something like: “we patented the crap out of this thing”. Remember that?

We this was the week those patents started to get approved, everything from the [disappearing slider](http://www.theverge.com/2012/7/17/3165237/intellectual-properly-apple-patents-disappearing-vertical-scroll-bars) to how they display files on the screen.

[Christina Bonnington](http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/07/apple-patent-gui-iphone/), for Wired:
>It may sound snoozy, but the patent — which covers graphical user interfaces ranging from email to Camera Roll to menu lists to the multi-touch interface in general — looks like a dangerous weapon for Apple as it battles Android handset makers.

I can already hear Samsung screaming “prior art!”.

### Sad Days in Redmond

[Microsoft reported it’s first *ever* quarterly loss](http://allthingsd.com/20120719/aquantive-write-down-deflates-microsoft-earnings/) as they realize the loss on an acquisition gone bad.

That’s too bad too, because it’s been rather nice weather here in western Washington. Then again, we have had freak lightening storms all week…

This is a big deal for Microsoft, but it’s not *that* big of a deal. The loss was basically from a bad investment, rather than the kind of losses that — say — RIM is experience, those of disinterested consumers. So while this stings, it’s more like deciding that the boat covered in moss on the side of your house — yeah that boat — it’s no longer an “asset” to your family, rather than it is about actually tanking your business.

### Sad Days for the Country

[A shooting in Colorado at a Dark Knight Rises movie premier has left a dozen dead and many more injured](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-20/14-killed-as-many-as-50-injured-in-colorado-movie-shooting.html). Most debates that will arise from this shooting, will sadly, be the wrong debate to be having.