Aside from disruption, these tools augment/enhance/enrich their users life in a meaningful way.
Not to mention enlarging the pool of students these academic institutions draw upon and finding additional channels to generate revenue. A rising tide effect perhaps.
The challenge that Android faces is that multiple versions of software/hardware are available to purchase at the same time. While Apple only has one version of the iPhone in stores.
I hope Android succeeds to keep Apple innovating and honest.
I certainly would be hesitant to just email them a business plan...While Google itself might not "steal ideas"; What's to prevent an engineer at Google from culling through great ideas and starting up his/her own company?
Obviously and rather sadly a big drawback of freemium services is lack of support. Before signing up for these services,you need to ask yourself a question: How long can I live without accessing my data?
If the answer is "Not very long" then you will have to crack open your wallet.
I'd like to hear the other side of the story as well. I certainly hope it's not true.
As a developer I'm worried that these open web platforms are not so open. I worry that my data will be hijacked, that my apps will be locked to one vendor, that my provider might be my main competitor.
I have no problems with double taxation. Just don't compare capital gains vs. Income tax. Which is what the blogger is doing. When in reality the equation is: Actual Tax Paid = (Income Tax + Capital Gains tax).
Even if GE does poorly, Buffet will still get his dividend. Also bear in mind, dividends paid by most corporations are taxable as long-term capital gains as opposed to income tax.
All in all, a solid bet by Buffet. Perhaps it's time to investigate Berkshire Hathaway stock.
There's an excellent lesson to be learned here. The level of passion and technical competency the detailer displays in his quest to clean the car is what's also needed for a startup to succeed.
Muni needs to reduce the number of stops a bus/train makes.