Sony is no longer an electronics company

An interesting take on Sony’s recent activity from the Verge.  It looks almost all electronics are gone from the company and the main focus now is on the PlayStation and entertainment.  A handy chart for the Q4 2014 financials too:

Sony Q4 2014

Cyprus developers can now sell paid apps on Google Play Store

Android Police reports exciting news:

Today, the doors are open for developers from 12 additional countries to register for merchant accounts and begin selling paid apps to the world.

Support for merchant accounts has been added for:

  • Bahrain
  • Bolivia
  • Bulgaria
  • Cyprus
  • Dominican Republic
  • Estonia
  • Honduras
  • Jamaica
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Malta
  • Panama

Just to clarify, it was already possible for customers in these countries to buy paid apps and make in-app purchases, but developers registered in these countries were limited to submitting only free apps without IAPs – until now. Without support for merchant accounts, developers usually have to rely on advertising revenue, if they can get it, or turn to alternate business models.

Out of the 152 countries Google Play currently accepts for developer registration, 74 now support merchant accounts.

This has been a long time awaited update!

On experience

If I believe that I already know the answer and possess the truth, then I’m not genuinely open to learning larger truths.

This is the danger of experience. We already know better, we already know that an idea or business won’t work. This is one reason that naive, young founders are often the ones who start the most successful companies — they just don’t know any better, and they’re often too arrogant to listen to those who do.

Paul Buchheit

John Schnatter on management

I don’t think you can control people. I don’t think you manage people. I think you give people a direction, you give them the resources, you lead by example. That goes from top to bottom, then I think people will manage themselves, they will motivate themselves.

John Schnatter, the founder and current CEO of Papa John’s International Inc.