Viva La Cola!

Founded in January 2009, PubliCola is a blog about Seattle written by journalists who are dedicated to non-partisan, original daily reporting that prioritizes a balanced approach to news. Started by longtime local editor and award-winning reporter Josh Feit, PubliCola is the first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol.

PubliCola was off and running. In June 2009, PubliCola hired another award-winning journalist, super-sourced Seattle city hall reporter Erica C. Barnett.

People were afraid that blogging would change journalism. Instead, we believe journalism can change blogging. Twenty-first century journalism may look and feel different, and yes Erica isn't afraid to get cranky, but we're committed to making sure online news still delivers independent, reliable, even-keeled coverage. And most of all, we're committed to making sure the coverage sparks honest civic debate.

Bringing you cola for the people, PubliCola is named after Publius Valerius PubliCola, the alias for the authors of the Federalist Papers—the original bloggers.

x close
The first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol and Seattle city hall, PubliCola has been called a “must-read” by the Seattle Post Intelligencer and a hot “New Media Mover and Shaker” by Seattle Magazine—which also cited our own Erica C. Barnett as the city's No. 1 news nerd.

Windows Phone 7: Games, Apps, and Netflix

News   March 15, 2010 at 12:05 pm Sam Machkovech

Microsoft’s MIX10 Conference in Las Vegas has begun to unveil details about the company’s forthcoming Windows Phone 7 Series, but the basic takeaway is the same as what I reported last week: lots of apps and games are coming, because they are so easy to translate from existing Microsoft coding platforms (if you must know, XNA and Silverlight). Netflix announced that it’s coming to Windows Phones, too, but don’t be shocked about that; Netflix has an unofficial goal of eventually working on every Internet device in the world.

Currently, tech sites Gizmodo and Engadget are battling to beat each other to MS’s press releases. Click through to either of those for photos and videos, or hit up the MIX10 site for live video of the various web- and phone-development panels.




  • http://twitter.com/joeszilagyi Joe Szilagyi

    I've been on the WM5/WM6 phone train for years (loved the HTC Apache and currently Touch Diamond which I sorta adore) but I think my next port of call will be either the HTC Hero with android–likely–or the iphone, less likely.

    The Hero in particular on Sprint has been getting absolutely fantastic reviews.

  • http://www.publicola.net/author/sam-machkovech/ Sam M.

    I've seen mixed reviews on the Hero as an Android phone, particularly its disappointing touch-screen keyboard. Try before you buy.

  • http://twitter.com/joeszilagyi Joe Szilagyi

    I figured as much; this wouldn't be till October anyway when my current 2-year servitude ends.

    It was these guys (in addition to Cnet) that sold me: http://www.mobiletechreview.com/phones/HTC-Hero…

    I've always done good by their reviews in the past.

  • http://www.bigapplechannel.com/ Andrew Sansone

    How much competition will Windows 7 Series cell phone be for iPhone? It was a trending topic all day on Twitter http://bit.ly/duxQxg

  • giffy

    Assuming it does what they are saying it does I'll be ditching my iPhone for one. Don't get me wrong, I have mostly liked my iPhone, but its kind of out of date and their are a lot of annoying things about it.

  • Donolectic

    Hey Giffy, just curious – what do you find annoying about the iPhone? To me, it's been the best mobile experience I've ever had, after regular phones (ie, Sony/Ericcson and Motorola) and then the hell of WM5 & WM6.

  • Donolectic

    I'm really happy that MS is finally doing something awesome with the windows mobile platform and am even happier that they've rebuilt it from scratch. Now though, I'm firmly in Apple's ecosystem, so much so that I couldn't imagine switching. Apple would seriously have to drop the ball in order for that to happen.

  • giffy

    Browser crashes, app store censorship, low quality mail and calender apps. slowness (especially with the onscreen keyboard), the fact that I'm stuck with AT&T, no multitasking, and the lack of flash.

    Don't get me wrong, the iPhone was a great innovation and when I first got it 2 or so years ago I was in love. However, as I think is the case with many Apple products, they have a great idea but don't really improve it enough and soon are surpassed by others.

    I very well may be disappointed, but I think the next version of Windows mobile is going to pretty kick ass, at least based on what I have seen…

  • joshuadf

    I'll believe it after using a phone. Having been forced to support Windows CE and Mobile devices for years has left me very skeptical.

  • Donolectic

    Thanks Giffy!

    All of your issues, completely understood. I was already with AT&T so that wasn't a problem for me and I occasionally get browser crashes, but these seem to be due to the way that the site is coded – granted, the browser should handle it much more gracefully than it does. I don't use Safari on anything but the iPhone.

    My last non-iPhone experience was the AT&T 8525 by HTC and I admit that I haven't looked back since I got the iPhone. It's been the only phone I've had that hasn't required me to restart it multiple times a day or remove the battery (not that I have that option on the iPhone, but you get the idea).

    I'm definitely excited to see what WM7 has to offer, but as I said below, I'm already locked into Apple's ecosystem with my music, videos, and now apps. I think that would be my #1 complaint about the iPhone right now.

  • Donolectic

    You and me both.

  • http://www.publicola.net/author/sam-machkovech/ Sam M.

    MS is specifically targeting doubters like you by mandating certain rules across all Windows Phones – specific HW specs, screen resolutions, buttons, and visual/UI rules. It's pissing phone manufacturers off, because they don't want their phones considered clones, but MS is finally putting their foot down on basic use quality control. How that translates once MS and vendors debut hand-in-hand remains to be seen, of course.