Mac App Store; Timely CES Announcement

With the Mac App Store, getting the apps you want on your Mac has never been easier. No more boxes, no more disks, no more time-consuming installation. Click once to download and install any app on your Mac. The Mac App Store is now available as a software update for any Mac running Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

The Mac App Store is just like the App Store for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. So it’s as easy to find and download Mac apps as it is to add your favorite magazine to iPad or a new game to iPod touch. You can browse Mac apps by category, such as games, productivity, music, and more. Or do a quick search for something specific. Read developer descriptions and user reviews. Flip through screenshots. When you find an app you like, click to buy it.

The Mac App Store revolutionizes the way applications are installed on a computer — it happens in one step. Enter the same iTunes password you use to buy music and apps on your Mac, iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. Within seconds, your new app flies to your Dock, ready to go. So you can spend more time enjoying new apps and less time installing them.

» 11 New York City Start-Ups To Watch in 2011

Awesome piece about a rush of startups NOT from Silicon Valley.  As a Bay area pro, definitely nice to see the other coast giving us a run for our money.

» 11 New York City Start-Ups To Watch in 2011 

I'm Out Of Pocket Today and Tomorrow

Don't hold your breath until I come back.  That's dangerous.  In the interim, look at this duck chasing a puppy.

Sony Sponsors 3-D Video of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

Model Julie Henderson appears in the Sports Illustrated 2011 Swimsuit Issue as well as Sony's 3-D video

Well this is just fantastic. And I mean fantastic. In order to further the adoption of 3-D televisions and content, Sony will be sponsoring a 30 minute "Swimsuit in 3-D" video that will be available for purchase or rental. You can get the video via Sony's Playstation 3 as well as Bravia web-enabled, 3D compatible TV and Blu-ray players. Let's face it, we all know like one person with a 3D TV. There might be more in the future, but I say this; what happens when you invite a bunch of people over to watch a football game in 3D, but there aren't enough glasses? How awkward is it for the one guy who has to watch on the 20" screen in your kitchen because he can't get the full effect of the 3D? It's almost like punishment for showing up to a function like that empty handed. No beer? Well then no 3D good sir.

"There's sort of a chicken-and-egg problem going on right now, where the device penetration has been fairly low, so the studios have been fairly slow to release 3-D content," said Michael Aragon, VP and general manager for global digital video distribution and operations at Sony Network Entertainment. "Our expectation and our road map on this whole thing has been that this is going to be a little bit slower adoption than HD. While we might not be making tons of money on the 3-D content, it seeds a universe of product that we have in 3-D."

Sony Sponsors 3-D Video of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue - Advertising Age - MediaWorks

Google Chrome Capturing 10% of The Market

My love for Google Chrome is not hidden or shaded by any means.  I love it.  I love it like I love my Macbook Pro, my iPhone, and my '97 Nike AirMax's in all brown.  And you know what?  Everyone else is starting to love it too....

At the expense of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Google’s Chrome has secured a 10% market share for the first time ever, according to Web metrics company Net Applications. What’s more, Google’s Web browser more than doubled its share over the past year, beating its own expectations for market penetration. In 2009, Google hoped that Chrome would have 5% of the market by September 2010, and 10% for September 2011. “Unless Chrome stalls, Google’s browser should own a 16% share by September,” writes PCWorld. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer lost 1.4% points of usage share in December, the largest one-month decline in more than two years. According to Net Applications. IE’s total share fell to 57.1%, another record low for Microsoft’s browser. Overall, IE has lost 5.6% points in the last 12 months, and 10.7 points since IE8 was introduced in March 2009. Also of note, Apple’s Safari share of the market rose to 5.9% of the market at the end of the year, while Firefox and Opera Software’s Opera both gained small amounts of share last month to finish the year at 22.8% and 2.2%, respectively.

Let's face it, no one is competing right now with Chrome's open source app development environment and they are driving the way designers and developers approach the web. I'll drink a beer to open source right now!

Online Video Through The Eyes of Jeremy Allaire (Brightcove)

Jeremy Allaire, Chariman and CEO of Brightcove gives a great perspective of the online video space.  He touts the rise of consumer adoption of the medium, as well as large scale marketers embracing the need for having a video presence.  Brightcove is a leading online video platform, allowing publishers to manage and distribute video content (for those not following, it's a video player).