October 2020 - Page 2 of 2 -

US military increases recruiting activities on Twitch

The new military requires a new type of recruit, and he or she is likely lurking on Twitch — Amazon’s Internet channel for video game streamers. Twitch hosts 3.9 million monthly unique streamers — people who wish to play and watch other people play video games live. These game enthusiasts display many of the skill sets needed by the armed services to operate today’s and tomorrow’s weaponry, intelligence and tactical command operations. While the armed services have not been well received so far by this audience, the Pentagon has stated that it will continue to invest more in recruiting from this population. Wired

dis-rup-shun: Cyber warfare and cyber weaponry, along with unmanned drones and craft, are the future of geopolitical power struggles and tomorrow’s military requires a change in mix of personnel. Less needed are the brawny jar heads whose physical strength and courage are in another world, while increasingly important are brainy nerds who would not have considered themselves warriors in the past. Until the armed services learn the culture of core gamers, their recruiting tactics will remain awkward, but expect recruiting to become more effective once the recruiters better understand the recruits.

Apple Watch SE — Apple applies iPhone lessons to watch

Apple’s new Apple Watch SE follows the script from iPhone SE — take components from previous generations, add new software with a few key features disabled, and sell for less. The Apple Watch SE at $279 to $304 lives in the space between between the current Series 6 and the older Series 3. It is a reincarnation of Series 4, enabling the owner to run the latest OS and most of the current features, without the always-on face and ECG features while saving $120 or more. The body materials and types are limited, as are the colors. The Verge

dis-rup-shun: Apple’s leadership, not only in technology, but in marketing, continue to develop. Apple fairly quickly applied learnings over product pricing to the Apple Watch lineup, relying on colors and accessories to drive excitement among a more price sensitive shopper — unlocking a new demographic that it was potentially missing with its flagship lines. As Apple’s future is more about services than devices, it benefits by making its services, such as Apple Fitness, more accessible to more people through more devices. Expect to see more SE variations in other products, including computers, streaming TV devices, and even AirPods.

Nest Audio is newest in Google’s lineup of smart speakers

A refresh to Google Home had been expected for some time. The new Google Nest Audio is the latest flagship in the smart speaker lineup, with this colored-cloth device shaped like a large chiclet, and designed to look less like a tech gadget and more like a home decor accessory. The slow transition to Nest branding continues, but unlike better-known thermostats and smoke detectors from Nest, this device uses a separate app – a fact running counter to the assumption that Google is seeking to create one interface for all its devices. The Nest Audio sells for $100 and features bigger, better speaker components and a faster quad-core processor — enabling more on-device computing and improved security. CNET

dis-rup-shun: Google’s hardware strategy continues to be disjointed, with Nest being one brand, while Pixel and FireTV are other brands within the brand. While the Nest Audio appears to be a welcomed update to Google’s smart speaker base product, it is difficult to see how this product is the next step in a clear strategy. Amazon, on the other hand, clearly plans for Echo and Alexa to be an interface to most any home appliance, from microwave to TV, but for Google, it seems that this device is mostly a reaction to a fast changing smart speaker market that expects better sound and better looks.

Portable Bluetooth Projector from Anker

Anker, a company that sells some impressive devices through mass merchant retailers has added a portable projector to its lineup for $550. The device offers a small, easily portable, battery-powered projector/speaker combo device that may be perfect for back yard TV watching — requiring about 9 feet to project a 100 inch picture. With the built in speaker and on board Wi-Fi, the system can stream content from one of your favorite accounts without involving your PC or smartphone in the mix. CNET

dis-rup-shun: New technologies continue to give us new, never before considered product categories. While many are turning to Samsung’s outdoor optimized smart TVs to permanently affix on the back patio or poolside, Anker provides a device that can bring the indoors out in a mobile kind of way. As the pandemic continues to keep people mostly tethered to the home and back yard, investments in home entertainment continue to rise, and who doesn’t need to take TV, movies and YouTube clips to the back patio?

Google’s curious collection of new devices

Google’s annual hardware event, on the heels of Amazon’s string of announcements, featured an updated Pixel phone that supports 5G, a new Nest smart speaker, and a new Chromecast with Google TV dongle with remote, that looks more like Roku or Amazon FireTV. CNBC

dis-rup-shun: Google continues to provide compelling products that occupy a minor share of their respective markets. Apple’s strategy is clear: leverage uniquely well-designed products to support ecosystems of services that surround a consumer’s life. Amazon’s strategy is becoming clear: to be a dominant provider of products and services at all points of consumption, and to create new opportunities for consumption of products and services. Google’s strategy, other than being the preeminent provider of search services, is difficult to discern. How do these interesting devices advance Google’s strategy? Can having a minor share of mobile, smart home and streaming video help the company become more than a search giant, or are these mere placeholders to keep Google in other arenas while it determines its next big play?

YouTube TV’s battle with Fox Sports looks a lot like cable TV

Pay TV subscribers (that is most of us) have grown accustomed to the occasional disputes between our chosen carrier and a content provider and aggregator, and most of the time, the dispute is around professional sports carriage. YouTube TV is going through its own dispute with Fox regional sports networks, as Fox has pulled many regional networks from the YouTube TV’s line up. The Verge

dis-rup-shun: The movement en masse of subscribers away from pay TV services to over the top services, primarily to lower the monthly TV bill, is facing the same hurdles to cost savings as before. The astronomical prices charged by pro sports team owners have to be paid by someone, and that someone is now the streaming TV service subscriber. The costs of streaming services have progressively increased, with YouTube TV now costing $64.99 per month. As the “invisible hand” of the economy pushes traditional pay TV prices down, will the price advantages of streaming services essentially disappear — once again leveling the playing field?

This is not your father’s garage door opener

Just when you didn’t think you could get excited about garage doors, LiftMaster has combined the MyQ camera technology into its next generation garage door opener, alerting your smartphone when your garage door opens, and enabling you to have a two way conversation with those in your garage. The system also works with Amazon’s Key service, in which delivery people open your garage door to slip a package in, protecting you from porch pirates. CNET

dis-rup-shun: LiftMaster’s commercial, recreating a scene from Ferris Beuller’s Day Off, is definitely worth the 10 seconds required to watch — especially the final scene that features Ferris’ good friend Cameron Frye. The Secure View Garage Opener is the marriage of a Ring-like smart doorbell and a garage door controller. The camera, however, is not mounted on the door but rather on the ceiling-mounted controller, enabling a view of the car and those entering the garage. Expect this to be the new standard for garage doors in new homes and a few older homes, as having a connected camera dedicated to the garage is a no-brainer.

A scathing review of the FCC’s broadband report

Wired, never afraid of politics, offers a scathing evaluation of the U.S. FCC’s report on broadband, suggesting that the agency’s definition as well as counting of broadband access is deeply flawed. Wired suggests that, in order to show better results, the agency has lowered the bar on what defines broadband service. The discrepancy in number of people without coverage ranges from 18.3 million as stated by the FCC and 42.8 million, estimated by third parties.

dis-rup-shun: Broadband, especially in times of pandemic, is a lifeline to education, jobs, entertainment and (sometimes real) news. This, arguably more than phone service, is an essential service just below electricity and running water on the hierarchy of needs. If the U.S. has 331 million citizens, then somewhere around 10% to 12% are unserved, according to these estimates. While the number of unserved people is large, one has to imagine that a sizable share of the unserved choose to remain so. For the statisticians, the question is how many of those that want services can not access them, and what is the number of people who are vigilantly working to stay off of the grid?

Month: October 2020

Twitch is the playground for future military brass