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3million

I crossed the 3-million Google+ circles line this morning.

It’s weird and thrilling to have so many “followers,” and to be sandwiched in circle counts between Paris Hilton, who has a couple hundred thousand more circles than I do, and Rihanna, who will probably catch up to me and pass me at some point in the future. (One of the great things about Google+ is that the geeks hold their own against entertainers in popularity.)

But mostly, it’s been an eye-opening adventure for me. Here’s what I learned along the way. 

thing

The future looks grim for Microsoft. The world is quickly turning mobile and post-PC, two categories Microsoft hasn’t succeeded in.

Recent reports from Gartner and IDC show just how dire the situation is. PC sales, which are directly tied to sales of Microsoft Windows, are in a free fall. Between 2012 and 2013, PC sales dropped by 10% (that’s 35 million fewer PCs).

Gartner says only 15% of Internet-connected devices sold in 2014 will run Windows.

That’s Windows’ real market share: 15%.

Having tried everything else, maybe the solution for Microsoft is to be a software company. That would mean embracing Android with everything they’ve got. 

emo

 

This is the year that Android busts out — out of phones and tablets and into all kinds of devices.

Android is coming this year to your home, car, desktop, wrist, face, camera and other locations near you.

Of course, Android has been used by a huge number of non-phone, non-tablet devices. But these have almost always been niche products that didn’t go anywhere.

What’s likely to happen this year is a kind of “mainstreaming” of Android as the OS that powers random devices that you normally wouldn’t think of as mobile computers.

audi

Google and Audi plan to announce a partnership to build in-car dashboard systems based on Android, according to a new report.

The deal will be rolled out Jan. 7 at the big International CES trade show in Las Vegas, says The Wall Street Journal, with the companies also set to reveal others involved in the collaboration, including Nvidia.

atheer

A new book called Dogfight: How Apple and Google Went to War and Started a Revolution by Fred Vogelstein revealed the mechanism by which Apple influenced the direction of Android — shock and awe.

Yes, the introduction of the iPhone changed the direction of smartphones. But I don’t think it’s going to happen again in the wearables market. Here’s why.

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