The Critical Path
By 5by5
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Podcast Description
Critical Path is a talk show contemplating the causality of success and failure in mobile computing. Using Apple as a lens to look at both telecom and traditional computing markets, we try to understand what it means to be great. Hosted by Horace Dediu & Dan Benjamin.
| Name | Description | Released | Price | ||
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1 |
The Critical Path 40: Awaiting the Big Bang | This week, Horace follows up on his discussion of automobiles and road infrastructure by talking about the role of bicycling in Europe. He and Dan also analyze comments made by Tim Cook at the recent D10 conference, particularly as it relates to AppleTV a | 5/30/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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2 |
The Critical Path 39: The Locus of Power | -- | 5/23/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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3 |
The Critical Path 38: Seeking Enlightenment | The Android Economics series of posts on Asymco and The Critical Path Kickstarter project. | 5/16/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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4 |
The Critical Path 37: Pathfinder I | Horace and Dan talk about the Critical Path book, and preview an upcoming topic: how to analyze Android as a business. | 5/9/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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5 |
The Critical Path 36: An Interview with Clayton Christensen | Horace interviews his teacher Clay Christensen to discuss his new book, How Will You Measure Your Life. We discuss some of the concepts of learning, jobs to be done and approaches to self-disruption. We also cover what Clay is working on next in his writi | 5/2/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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6 |
The Critical Path 35: Joys and Sorrows | A review of Apple's performance in the first calendar quarter. | 4/25/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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7 |
The Critical Path 34: Climax and Anti-climax | Horace and Dan talk about the recently ended Asymconf 1.0 and the fascinating "lost tapes" of Steve Jobs and Nokia's latest anticlimactic results. | 4/18/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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8 |
The Critical Path 33: The Futility of Machinations | Dan and Horace discuss the latest news from Nokia, RIM, HTC and Sony and what they have to do with each other. | 4/11/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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9 |
The Critical Path 32: Mockumentary | Horace talks again with Dan Abrams about film budgeting, Kickstarter, pre-production, location, technology for production, and a surprise announcement. We also discuss the project-oriented nature of movie production vis-a-vis "pipelined" product developme | 4/4/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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10 |
The Critical Path 31: Greenlighting | Horace talks to Mike Schneider, a feature film development executive about what development means in the context of filmmaking. | 3/28/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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11 |
The Critical Path 30: Jetlag | Horace Dediu and Dan Benjamin discuss travel, Apple's dividend and share re-purchase plan, Asymconf, and more. | 3/21/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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12 |
The Critical Path 29: The Consequences of Disruption | The five characteristics of disruption: Net growth and value creation, inevitability, increased speed of change, necessity for macroeconomic growth, historical consequences. | 3/14/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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13 |
The Critical Path 28: False Profit | Horace interviews writer/producer Dan Abrams. Dan talks us through the budgets and cost structures of independent movies as well as the obstacles to innovation presented by the current industry structure. We talk about some of the new concepts that are em | 3/7/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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14 |
The Critical Path 27: Supernova | iPads and what we'll hire them to do for us. We talk about how measurements of the market show an unprecedented growth in mobile computing and how that leads to a new context for computing along axes of non-consumption. That could mean that the devices wi | 3/2/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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15 |
The Critical Path 26: Zeitgeist | Act I: An analysis of the manufacturing cost structure for iPhones Act II: The $10 billion App store economy and how to quantify value of apps per iPhone Act III: Like GM and IBM, rather than seeing it as the exception, Apple may be the rule that defin | 2/22/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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16 |
The Critical Path 25: Only the freshest Mountain Dew | -- | 2/17/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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17 |
The Critical Path 24: Spidey Sense | We talk about Apple's fourth quarter, Horace's trip to California and his visit to Colbert Report. It's all leading up to a fusion of entertainment and technology to create something never seen before. Something wonderful. | 2/5/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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18 |
The Critical Path 23: Auteur Theory | Horace talks to Prof. Bill Torgerson from St. John's University about the writing process and how it survives and/or thrives as a commercial enterprise. We touch on writing for movies and compare the collaborative process of "content creation" vs. the "si | 1/26/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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19 |
The Critical Path 22: Asymconf | Horace announces Asymconf and takes an archaeological expedition into the ancient history of personal computing so we can understand the distant future. | 1/18/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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20 |
The Critical Path 21: Negative Costs | Continuing our discussion of the creative side of Hollywood accounting, Dan and Horace take on the way income from movies is distributed and why no movies ever make money. The observations sharpen focus on the over-arching influence distribution has on th | 1/11/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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21 |
The Critical Path 20: Below the (belt)line | Horace and Dan begin a journey through the financial carnival that is Hollywood and talk about the wonders they encounter. | 1/4/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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22 |
The Critical Path 19: The hiring and firing of milkshakes and candy bars | -- | 12/29/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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23 |
The Critical Path 18: Who's Paying for My Lunch? | Dan and Horace ponder why some companies are more mysterious than others. We ask whether transparency and simplicity of business models is a sign of strength or weakness. We compare the measurement, creation and capture of value and why we should celebrat | 12/21/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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24 |
The Critical Path 17: Working with Clay | Horace interviews James Allworth, author, Fellow at the Forum for Growth and Innovation at Harvard Business School, and a former Apple employee. James describes what it's like working with Clayton Christensen and takes us on a journey through | 12/21/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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25 |
The Critical Path 16: The Existence Proof | Horace interviews Dan Benjamin on the motivation, basis of competition and trajectory of the 5by5 network. By studying where podcasting came from and where it's going we provide proof of existence of disruption in "big media". | 12/14/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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26 |
The Critical Path 15: The Theater of Disruption | -- | 12/12/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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27 |
The Critical Path 14: The Super-platform ecosystem | In the first of the Critical Path Interviews, Horace discusses the disruptive potential of cloud computing with Randy Bias. Is the new ecosystem the coupling of devices with backend cloud APIs? How do we calibrate new business models based on tightly coup | 11/24/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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28 |
The Critical Path 13: The Innovation Anomalies | Dan and Horace talk about innovations in emerging countries related to mobile service and how that might foreshadow changes in the developed world. We also discuss why some industries seem to be exempt from disruptive innovation and suggest that there are | 11/16/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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29 |
The Critical Path 12: Back to the Future | Dan and Horace talk about the tension between relying on data and using intuition to make strategy decisions. We also apply this dual approach to think through the next evolution of user interaction and the jobs we might hire mobile computers to do for us | 11/2/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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30 |
The Critical Path 11: The Thermonuclear Option | Dan and Horace talk about patents and litigation as a means of defending innovation. We go way back to the beginning of the last century and talk how patent wars have played out in the past and how they affected the fortunes and fates of innovators. | 10/26/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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31 |
The Critical Path 10: The Means of Production | Dan and Horace talk about Apple's quarter with an eye toward the operational commitments being made. We cover the cost of store openings, data center purchases and machinery used in manufacturing iOS devices. By tracking capital expenses we can get a clue | 10/19/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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32 |
The Critical Path 9: Getting To Know You | Dan and Horace talk about some of the more profound implications of "intelligent assistance" in personal devices both in terms of business models and in terms of industry dynamics. Getting assistance is an implied bargain we all make as internet citizens | 10/5/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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33 |
The Critical Path 8: In Memory of Robert Boyle | Horace and Dan talk about why CEOs are paid so much and what analysis has come to mean in equities research and the value of cross-pollination between the camps that form around technology companies. | 9/28/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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34 |
The Critical Path 7: Genericized Trademarks | Horace and Dan look at brand theory and decide it should not be left to the experts. Also, we ask what jobs products are hired to do and tie that to the meaning imparted in the brand and visual imagery associated with it. | 9/21/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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35 |
The Critical Path 6: Black Boxes | Horace and Dan tackle corporate valuation and hypothesize whether amateur bloggers know more about Apple than professional analysts. We also look at the ancient economic history of Windows and how that still shapes it today. | 9/14/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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36 |
The Critical Path 5: HP's Innovation Antibodies | Horace and Ryan discuss HP's departure from the PC business, the end of the TouchPad, buying your way into innovation and what it takes to compete and survive in the Post PC era. | 8/23/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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37 |
The Critical Path 4: Acquisitions | Sitting in for Dan while he is on paternity leave, Ryan Irelan speaks with Horace Dediu about Google's planned acquisition of Motorola Mobility and the potential ramifications for competitors. | 8/16/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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38 |
The Critical Path 3: It's Good to Be King | Horace Dediu and Dan Benjamin discuss the power of cash to control supply chains in the post-PC era and how Apple is challenging conventional wisdom about its value to shareholders. | 7/3/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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39 |
The Critical Path 2: Synchronized failure | Horace Dediu and Dan Benjamin discuss how smartphone pioneers Nokia and RIM falter while the market is booming. | 6/17/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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40 |
The Critical Path 1: The Five Year Plan | In this inaugural episode, Horace Dediu and Dan Benjamin try to weigh the strategic implications of Apple's WWDC announcements. We take a look at the impact on RIM, operators, Google and Apple's flirtation with Twitter. | 6/7/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 40 Episodes |
Customer Reviews
Thoughtful, thorough, great listen
For a first episode especially, this is really fantastic. Thought-provoking analysis grounded in data. Congrats to Dan for teaming up with yet another intellectual heavy-hitter.
Quickly becoming my 5by5 favorite
Listening to Horace Dediu's insight on what I hope will be a regular basis, is an absolute treat. Kudos to Dan Benjamin for starting yet another great Podcast.
Right now this Podcast along with The Talk Show, Build & Analyze and Hypercritical are more eagerly awaited than anything that NPR produces, and are better technology Podcasts than The Guardian's Tech Weekly, or NY Times Tech Talk, or equivalents from APM and NPR, which all seem to be dumbed down for a "general" audience or simply the 5by5 hosts are better informed. Bravo Dan and 5by5!
It's like Fresh Air, but for mobile market analysis
This is an impressive first podcast episode. Dediu is an amazingly dispassionate analyst with data-based insights that also take into account Clayton Christenen principles and historic events in business and economics. And thankfully Dan Benjamin plays the Terry Gross-style interviewer that poses a question and gets out of the way.
I also like Benjamin and Gruber on 'The Talk Show,' but that podcast frequently devolves into tangential banter. This one is straight-down-the-middle and packed with insights, judging from the first episode. I hope they keep the quality high like this. Most likely that will require less-than-weekly updates, but I'm okay with that. Like a fine iPhone, I'm willing to wait if the results are polished to perfection.
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