The Verge’s Tom Warren:

IDC reports that Windows Phone sales dropped by 9.4 percent in Q2 2014 compared to the same period last year.

They’re now at just 2.5 percent. I’m so old I remember when Windows Phone was going to surpass Android.

Oh, what the heck, let’s revisit that prediction from 2011.

Beginning this year, [Pyramid Research analyst Stela] Bokun sees Windows Phone popularity exploding even faster than Android adoption has since its introduction in 2008. The analyst attributes the coming Windows Phone boom to Microsoft’s partnership with Nokia; the Finnish cell phone giant is set to bring the end user cost of Windows Phones down, thus accelerating adoption dramatically. Bokun also notes that other manufacturers will continue to support Windows Phone, which will help make the devices widely accessible.

It’s like looking into a parallel universe, isn’t it?

Like I suggested last year when I linked to that piece, I don’t think these firms even believe their own predictions. They just make them to get their names out there.

Zeynep Tufekci on the events in Ferguson, Missouri, last night and the implications on awareness from net neutrality and trending algorithms. Just another reason why I don’t like Facebook.

Via Matt Pierce who’s done some great coverage on Ferguson on Twitter.

I’m not sure I completely buy these survey results as being more scientific than science-riffic, but it’s another indicator that the iPhone 5c isn’t the failure it’s been painted as. And the reason makes some sense:

The 5c moved up one position to replace the 5s, which dropped down to second. uSwitch.com said the 5s’s dip in popularity is likely due to people holding out for the launch of the iPhone 6.

The iPhone 5c was always supposed to have a long tail rather than being a big draw on the release weekend. That’s exactly what happened.

Bill Hamilton in a letter to the New York Times:

As the literary executor for the Orwell estate, I’m both appalled and wryly amused that Amazon’s tactics should come straight out of Orwell’s own nightmare dystopia, “1984.” It doesn’t say much for Amazon’s regard for truth, or its powers of literary understanding. Or perhaps Amazon just doesn’t care about the authors it is selling. If that’s the case, why should we listen to a word it says about the value of books?

That’ll leave a mark.

A friend introduced me to Astro Duel, a simple but crazy fun game for the iPad. The game is pretty much like it sounds: player-vs-player Asteroids. It doesn’t really need to be any more complicated than that. But it does have multiple gameplay modes and is tricky enough to master that it keeps your attention.

Two players can play each other with just the iPad app, but for more fun you download a free iPhone controller app for up to four players. Having played it with the controller app I can say the experience highlights the problem with touch-based controllers, but it’s still a great game. It’s just $2.99 on the App Store and if you think that’s a lot you should have your head examined. A single Skylander costs $14. And the dog can’t chew up an app. I don’t know what dog-inducing chemical they put in those things but he is crazy for them.

Any parent of a video game-loving kid will tell you how insidious the Skylanders business model is. “Now you have the game,  you’re gonna wanna get EVERY DAMN FIGURE FOR AN ADDITIONAL $14.” Now it’s coming to tablets. It’s not a bad game, but it makes in-app purchases look like petty thievery compared to the mafia.

I wonder how well the Skylanders franchise will continue to do now that Disney (with all its associated Marvel characters) has gotten into the racket. The key seems to be owning the characters kids want. Skylanders can make them integral to the game, but Disney can make them integral to the game and give them collector value. Sure, you have Iron Man, but do you have Silver Centurion armor edition Iron Man? Given that, it might be a good model for Nintendo to try.

ADDED: Turns out they are. (Via Caleb Peters)

The LA Times on Amazon’s ongoing strong-arming of book and media companies, which now includes blocking pre-orders of Disney movies:

“They are squeezing studios on DVD pricing, understandable given their market position,” said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities.

It screws movie fans and Disney, but it’s understandable.

Here’s the Verge’s Kwame Opam last month talking about Comixology:

However, ever since its recent acquisition by Amazon, the app has endured criticism for a new design that — as a consequence of Amazon’s understandable unwillingness to deal with Apple’s in-app purchases policy — effectively breaks what was originally an awesome storefront.

It screws comic book fans, but it’s understandable.

Of course we shouldn’t be naïve about Amazon acting in its own self interest, but I’m struck by how people all simply expect that Amazon, the middle man, is going to try to get more and more.

Computerworld’s Greg Keizer:

Calculations by Computerworld show that the Surface’s cost of revenue for the June quarter was $772 million. With revenue of $409 million, that put the tablet in the red to the tune of $363 million, the largest one-quarter loss for the Surface since Microsoft began providing quarterly revenue numbers.

It’ll take off when they open a new store in New York City across from the Apple Store. How that makes sense for a services company is beyond me but, whatever.

“But if the Surface is one, not growing sales; two, losing money; and three, not creating a market, what’s the point ultimately?” [Jack] Dawson wondered.

Pretending you’re relevant in mobile? Beats me.

You know what they say: Keep digging in that pile of manure. There’s got to be a pony in there somewhere.

Benedict Evans:

When people talk about whether Apple should do a ‘cheap phone’, it’s important to be clear about which of these segments you’re really talking about. When people say ‘Apple is missing out on the next x billion people’ – that is, the portion of the market that’s still on feature phones – they’re actually talking about the first category. Even Samsung doesn’t really play here, nor Xiaomi. This is is the land of the $200 PC – very low margin commodities with a poor user experience.

Apple only competes where they can provide a good user experience.

I don’t know why anyone would have to repeat this like it’s news. But, well, here we are.