An Empty Notebook 📧
Been working on a tweaked/streamlined format, which will start next week. For now, enjoy a random barrage of thoughts/links.
I Note...
✨ The Gemini Mac App – Pretty barebones, but still nice to have. And necessary to have for Google, if they truly hope to rival ChatGPT and now Claude, which is rising fast not just in the coding world, but in the day-to-day of my life. A tab on the web just isn't good enough. While baking Gemini directly into Chrome may be (and you have to imagine becomes problematic for regulators at some point), there are a few people here and there that don't use Chrome day-to-day (including me). One fun/funny bit: Google opted to use option+space as the default keyboard short cut to launch Gemini, which is interesting since it's the exact same shortcut that OpenAI uses for ChatGPT (Anthropic goes with double-tapping option for Claude, and Apple itself uses command+space for Spotlight and double-tapping command for Siri). That doesn't not seem like a coincidence. As OpenAI looks to bring more into ChatGPT to make it a "super app" what might Google layer in here? One idea: a native Gmail client. How killer would that be – especially if email is going to be one key agentic use case... [9to5Google]
🎬 Reed Hastings (Fully) Leaving Netflix – End of an era, but also not surprising. In terms of exits, this is about as graceful as you will see, with a long goodbye in the form of board chair role. (Undoubtedly what Apple would like to copy for Tim Cook soon enough.) By contrast, Bob Iger's final farewell from Disney – which, to be fair, was far more prolonged for other reasons – will be much more abrupt at the end of this year. It sure feels like Netflix is Ted Sarandos' company now. Yes, technically Greg Peters is co-CEO, but as the failed Warner Bros deal made clear, there's a sort of Sith master/apprentice situation going on. And Hastings clearly wasn't exactly gung-ho about the prospects of the Warner deal, but largely swallowed his tongue and ego to be a good board member for Sarandos. Now he won't have to do that anymore. And I look forward to his thoughts on future Netflix endeavors! [WSJ 🔒]
🍿 The Hunt for Gollum Cast – I think Jamie Dornan is a good choice for Strider – aka Aragorn. Yes, it would have been fun to have Viggo Mortensen return, but he's also 67 years old and would be playing a version of himself that's supposed to be about 15-20 years younger than he was in The Fellowship of the Ring. That movie came out 25 years ago so... you can do the math. They could have de-aged, but doing so in our current Age of AI probably just would have pissed people off. (Gandalf and Frodo are other stories – especially for the ever-elderly Ian McKellen – now 86! – and the ever-youthful Elijah Wood – now 45!) Leo Woodall as Strider's hunting partner certainly looks of that world. But mainly I'm excited that Lee Pace is also back as Thranduil. [THR]
I Wrote...
M.G. Siegler
I Quote...
"Now, I know you’re all wondering when we’re going to announce who’s playing James Bond. Please know that we’re taking the time to do this with care and deep respect. It is the dream of a lifetime for all of us to bring audiences this next chapter, and it’s a responsibility we don’t take lightly."
– Courtenay Valenti, Amazon MGM's head of film, addressing the elephant in the room at CinemaCon this past week. First, obviously that's nice to hear. Second, it sure sounds like they have not made a choice yet, despite endless, rampant speculation and reports. That also makes sense – director Denis Villeneuve just wrapped Dune 3. Those meetings/screen-testings are probably just underway...
Asides...
- The NFL and YouTube are in "advanced" talks about a new 5-game package. Again, despite efforts, there's no stopping the tech + sports tide. [Front Office Sports]
- The main benefactor of NPR right now? Connie Ballmer. Aka. Mrs. Steve Ballmer with an $80M donation. Good for her/them. [NPR]
- It looks like Apple is officially sanctioning the use of decals on the iPhone in South Korea? Fun! Imagine if they made their own! [MacRumors]
- I might note they've done this with the MacBook Neo and stickers in a recent ad as well. [YouTube]
- Five years after Doug Field left Apple's (ill-fated) car project to join Ford, he's leaving there as well. Which seems abrupt/unexpected, but also maybe a writing-on-the-wall situation? [NYT]
- More signs point to a dark red 'Dark Cherry' iPhone 18 Pro, as well as perhaps a 'Light Blue' model (alongside a 'Silver' and 'Dark Grey'). [9to5Mac]
I Spy...
Honestly this Street Fighter trailer, as ridiculous as it may be, gives me less pause than the recent He-Man trailers. It just seems more over-the-top in several ridiculous ways which I think may end up with a better vibe? Or maybe I'm just a sucker for Four Non Blondes and the fact that this is coming out the same year as the Mortal Kombat II movie (which also looks fun), just like the good old days...
Below, members of The Inner Ring will find thoughts on:
• Can Snap Cut Its Way To Success?
• Cleaning Up the Xbox Game Pass Mess
• xAI Gets Cursor to Cover Some Server Costs
• and more...