Tag: amazon

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Bezos explains how to succeed in business

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Bezos offers the key to business success

Bezos, at Amazon’s re:MARS conference on AI, while wearing a questionable shirt and sportcoat combination for the world’s wealthiest man, offered business leaders advice for success: 1. Focus on a customer need that will not change, such as customers wanting products delivered faster at lower prices; 2. Focus on something for which you are passionate, as without passion, you will get outworked, and 3. Do something risky because if it is not risky, someone is already doing it. ZDNet

dis-rup-shun: Bezos’ advice appears elementary, until we consider the very things that the company is transforming: shopping, the grocery business, travel (Blue Origin), package delivery (drones), TV watching, controlling home systems (Alexa), and many other industries. Bezos is saying go where the money is and transform the delivery of fundamental needs. Unfortunately for other entrepreneurs, Amazon has already disrupted, or started to, for most industries.

 

Space X shows how a trip from NYC to Shanghai in 39 minutes

In a concept video, Space X shows how passengers will board a high speed ferry which will deliver them to a floating launchpad, where they will board a rocket that hurls them into orbit and makes a gentle touchdown on another floating platform, from which they will be ferried to downtown Shanghai. YouTube

dis-rup-shun: The concept shows why the Space X test landings on floating platforms are critical to the plan. Using a floating platform for travel introduces more opportunities for nature’s interference. Calling home to inform your loved ones that you missed your rocket due to rough seas will be a big disappointment for all. 

 

All three smart speakers to get smarter this year

The race to dominate home voice control through smart speakers means a constant stream of new features. Alexa will allow a user to complete multiple tasks with one request to Alexa. Google’s voice assistant is getting more friendly in that you can now ask it to go back when reading instructions, or simply to “stop” without using the watch word. Siri is now able to distinguish different voices in one room, a skill already possessed by Alexa and Google Assistant, and in the home space, Apple is a distant third. CNet

dis-rup-shun: While smart speakers are great to use and making interaction with home systems much more natural, the new capabilities mean that the tech companies will be listening and recording your conversations longer, so that they will have more context to carry out commands. Those that are worried about being listened to will not be in favor of these new enhancements, but those that are willing to pay for some convenience with some privacy see it as a good deal.

 

FexEx appears to be aligning with Walmart: ends Amazon Express deliveries

FedEx announced that it will not renew its Amazon Express services, using the capacity to assist other e-commerce companies. Meanwhile FedEx is increasing the number of kiosks inside of Walmart stores. New York Times

dis-rup-shun: The online power players are jockeying for position. Walmart is working overtime to catch up with Amazon’s dominance, and FedEx is threatened by Amazon’s growing fleet of trucks and planes. FedEx is likely terminating a low profit contract with Amazon and seeking higher profit per delivery with other customers, and siding with Walmart as both companies seek defense from Amazon’s tight grip on online selling.

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Ikea’s robotic furniture makes arranging easy

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Ikea launches line of robotic furniture

Ikea’s upcoming furniture line features wheels that, with a push of a button, reconfigure your rooms to convert sitting or work areas into sleeping areas. With the accelerating migration of populations to cities, real estate is becoming costlier and space, accordingly, more efficient.  engadget

dis-rup-shun: Ikea’s line is not yet ‘smart,’ and does not yet boast of AI, but that will inevitably follow so that one can reconfigure their apartment as they are approaching in their Uber, or so the apartment can ready itself as the usual time, or, of course, so that Ikea can collect more data on sleep habits and inform you if you are sleeping well.

11 Great applications for facial recognition technologies 

CBInsights shows the growth of patents for facial recognition technologies, and lists 11 use cases, including law enforcement, accessing and starting a car, banking authentication, virtual makeup sampling, workplace security and worker alertness, insurance quotes, personalizing food orders, healthcare access and diagnosis, hotel check-ins, shoplifting prevention, travel check-in.

dis-rup-shun: If you use facial recognition on your phone or your PC, you have experienced the ease-of-use and effectiveness of the technology, and if you have “enjoyed” long hotel or rental car check-in lines on your latest business trip, you will be willing to risk a compromise of privacy for some convenience.  After all, you do that every time you surf the Internet — why not share your photo with Google, Amazon, Avis and Hilton?

China launches rocket from a ship at sea

China’s National Space Administration successfully launched a rocket from a cargo ship. The March 11 rocket carried five satellites — two which will be part of a global, space delivered Internet network. China is the third country behind Russia and USA to launch a rocket from a ship, though the first country to do so without cooperating with other countries. engadget

dis-rup-shun: Independence is the name of the game for China as the U.S. tries to force China to change its trade practices. As the U.S. shames China’s Huawei, China will be showing off its technology and flexing its strengths very publicly. The race is on for space, and thousands of new satellites and space objects will be cluttering the skies to provide networking services and military defense outposts. It is the Wild West in space and those who get there first will own platforms for both revenue and national defense, worth billions.

Amazon drones use AI to avoid power lines

Amazon is developing a drone called Prime Air, designed to deliver light loads, under 5 pounds, at high speeds. Challenges that must be overcome are identifying hard-to-see dangers such as power lines or clotheslines, and the craft must land and liftoff in tight spots. engadget

dis-rup-shun: Many obstacles remain for commercial drone deployment, but Amazon will not have to rely on others when regulators open the skies. FedEx and UPS cannot rest on their logistics network laurels, as Amazon plans to fly right over them.

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Amazon and Google and federal scrutiny

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Amazon and Google under federal scrutiny for unfair competitive practices

The Washington Post (owned by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos) reports that the FTC and DOJ have divvied up duties of looking into the practices of Amazon — a job for the FTC, and of Google, to be handled by the DOJ. 

dis-rup-shun: Google’s dominant search engine and Amazon’s marketplace, together with Prime subscription data, enormous logistics resources and leading cloud platform, AWS, put the companies in the difficult position of direct competition with most of their customers. Owning the very rails of the online market, the Post puts it, is akin to the railroads of the late 1800s. The “coopetition” position of the companies — as they both compete and serve their customers, will undoubtedly be the companies’ defense should the feds take the companies to court.

iTunes is dead

This is the week of Apple’s annual developer event, WWDC. It has been rumored that Apple will shutter iTunes, more tightly integrating movie and music content services into new operating system features, rendering iTunes as a standalone marketplace irrelevant. Engadget

dis-rup-shun: Most people likely fell out of love with iTunes years ago as soon as it swallowed their music collection after their first iPhone upgrade. Launched in 2001, the service was the most important thing that happened to the music industry after music became digital, but iTunes complexity was its demise. By making it difficult to manage and share the content that people rightfully owned, it hastened the shift to streaming music services, which Apple finally joined by acquiring Beats in 2014. By that time, consumers had already tried and settled on several streaming services and the majority chose Spotify. Apple, the company that re-invented music, lost it only a dozen years later.

Space race setback: Stratolaunch shutting down

The race to own space is full-on with several governments (China, Russia, Japan, USA) and several private and public companies (SpaceX, Blue Origin, Lockheed, Boeing and others) aggressively pursuing economic and strategic initiatives. Stratolaunch, space company of late Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, is reported to be shutting down. The company has built and flown the world’s largest aircraft, capable of launching heavy rockets from high altitudes, which reduces the cost and complexity of blast offs from a launch pad.  Engadget

dis-rup-shun: The U.S. government has outsourced space innovation to corporations. The free market will create efficient competitors who will profit from space exploration, but whose goals may not align with political and military objectives. Having a contract with NASA, however, helps stabilize the early days of the new space race.

Odd technology: Muro programmable music box

Muro is a wood and metal retro music box encased by a plastic dome. Unlike its pre-computer predecessors, this version can be programmed with an app to play essentially any tune. TechCrunch

dis-rup-shun: The appeal of an antique-looking and sounding music box playing Guns N’ Roses is lost on most, but perhaps this tech novelty will be the rage this holiday season.

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Internet success, divorce and $18 billion of goodwill

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MacKenzie Bezos will give away over $18 billion to charity. Ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, Blue Origin and owner of Washington Post, has committed to joining the Bill Gates and Warren Buffett Giving Pledge. The Giving Pledge was initiated in 2010 and calls mega millionaires and billionaires to give at least half of their estates to charity. CNBC

dis-rup-shun: While Jeff has not (yet?) taken the pledge, he has commended his ex-wife on her decision. The Gates foundation is making measurable progress at eliminating diseases in a number of third world and economically disadvantaged countries. Leveraging significant talent and capital for the good of humanity will hopefully become a trend among tech entrepreneurs that will influence the greater business and celebrity community to build weath with a cause.

A new Intel chip means thinner, faster computers with longer battery life

Intel has finally released a new generation of X86 semiconductors that were announced several years ago.  Ice Lake, code name for Intel’s 10th generation PC processor, provides faster computing in a smaller form factor, consuming less power. Gizmodo

dis-rup-shun: We are now experiencing the end of Moore’s Law, that for many years promised a doubling of transistors at half the cost every two years. This means major refreshments of PC computing technology will be fewer and farther between, but for now we can expect another round of even thinner, faster and more battery efficient laptops. This should help the global economies as demand for new products helps shake off the effects of trade wars.

Music streaming has changed the makeup of songs

Streaming music delivery, having essentially obsoleted physical delivery, has changed the structure of songs, making them shorter and quicker to get to the melody. Payment to artists for streaming music occurs if the listener sticks with the song for 30 seconds or more, and filling a listener’s time with more songs is more profitable. This has led to shorter songs with shorter intros. The Verge

dis-rup-shun: Technology, including streaming delivery and AI that analyzes audience preferences to determine what movies, TV shows and songs are most popular, will continue to erode diversity and make commercial entertainment content more homogeneous. This homogeneity, however, will increase demand for alternative or indy content and streaming services that deliver it.

Next smart home products: smart air purifiers for good health

Those with allergies, or who live in polluted areas, understand the importance of eliminating particles from air. A Wi-Fi connected smart air purifier from Blueair includes an app to help one see the levels of particulates, or pollution, occurring when one opens a window, changes bed sheets, or after a cleansing rain shower. Managing indoor air quality starts with measuring it, and the Blueair app provides a visualization of the degree of impurities in the air and the device’s effectiveness in cleaning it. TechCrunch

dis-rup-shun: Following smart thermostats and smart lighting, smart air management is a highly desired benefit of smart homes, according to surveys conducted for major HVAC manufacturers. Avoiding air-borne illness is a high priority, and with 80% of Americans and 55% of rest of world living in cities that are often polluted, these gadgets will be increasingly important and cost justified.

 

 

 

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Stargazing permanently impacted by new space objects

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Shocking photography of satellite launch

An amateur astronomer captured a photo of the launch of 60 StarLink satellites — the first of 12,000 to be launched in coming years. TheVerge  Astonomers around the world, however, have expressed shock at the realization that each satellite’s solar panel will reflect light back to Earth and be very visible at dawn and dusk — forever chaning views of the night sky. Forbes

dis-rup-shun: Imagine the shock of early farmers and urban dwellers when the first interstate billboards, replete with bright lighting, were erected in their views. Today’s stargazers are the ones shocked, as Elon Musk’s band of low orbit satellites, orbiting Earth to provide a new source of broadband services, will forever change views of outer space. Never fear, the new broadband service will make it easier to surf pictures of uncluttered outer space — the way things looked before space objects changed the view.

Withings smart watch is everything Apple’s is not, and more

Withings, maker of connected health and fitness gear, has released a smart watch that is by bar the most stylish design for lovers of classic watches. The device features fitness and workout monitors, sleep analysis, a vibrating alarm, battery life of 25 days and is water resistant up to 50 meters and okay for showers. Inverse

dis-rup-shun: At a price of $199, Withings enables lovers of fashion watches to enjoy the benefits of a connected device, and with long battery life, the ease of use beats Apple iWatch 4’s expected 18 hours.

Tesla Model 3 is best seller in Norway

Tesla’s allocation of Model 3s arrived in the country in February and quickly put a dent in sales of other luxury models, incluing Mercedes Benz. Norwegians have a high interest in electric vehicles. CleanTechnica

dis-rup-shun: Depite Tesla’s bumpy year, with continuous delays in Model 3 production, softening U.S. orders, and stories of cultural disharmony, the company’s product is still favored by buyers of electric vehicles. For generally affluent and eco-conscious cultures such as Norway, the company’s market leadership will spur accelerated EV development by more established competitors such as Daimler, Toyota, and Volvo.

Alexa intercom feature now on all devices

Alexa’s ability to serve as an intercom between only its flagship devices (Echo, Dot, Show, Spot) has now been expanded to every Alexa-enabled device. The Verge

dis-rup-shun: As many different types of devices, including light fixtures, wall switches, door bells, thermostats and Bluetooth speakers now include Alexa, every home has many intercom possibilities. For busy families with young children or homes with seniors, the application for voice to voice, in-home communications adds a new layer of benefits to smart speakers and further advances Amazon’s lead over Google in this category.

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Hitting China where it hurts

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Chip designer ARM ceases work with Huawei

ARM is the UK based company that licenses the semiconductor design spec used by most smartphone chip makers. Although the company is not based in the U.S., it has stated that many of the design elements in its specification originated in the U.S., therefore it can not lawfully license its design to Huawei. Gizmodo

dis-rup-shun: This second blow to China’s equivalent of Microsoft or Apple, coming on the heals of Google announcing that it will not license Android to Huawei, essentially finishes off the smartphone division of Huawei. If China chooses to get even, first it bans its contract manufacturers from building certain products designed in the U.S., then prohibits the sale of certain components to U.S. companies and poof, there goes the majority of non-South Korean (Samsung) smart phone business. That would be ugly.

Cannondale Treadwell smart bicycle

Cannondale’s new exercise bike, designed not for racers but for ordinary people who like tracking their fitness, features a sensor on the front wheel which tracks speed, distance and location. The data is uploaded to a special smartphone app, and there is a mount for the smartphone — turning the smartphone into a cycle computer. Wired

dis-rup-shun: There is one piece of this product that seems to be missing, or at least has not been described — it is the bike’s role in an online community. Either by posting (bragging) personal fitness progress to one’s social media accounts, or by being a part of a Peloton-like competition of peers, the bike needs to create an alternate reality to create a viral following. Measuring personal progress for one’s own satisfaction only works for a small audience — and that audience will want a racing bike.

Amazon spends $1.2 billion last quarter on new acquisitions

The company’s growing profits are leading to an increase in investments in emerging companies. Several Amazon investments are in the autonomous auto industry, including car companies Rivian and Aurora. CNBC

dis-rup-shun: Bezos, through aerospace company, Blue Origin, is conquering space. Amazon is aggressively investing in the autonomous and auto industries and his ambitions are far greater than delivering packages. The company, no doubt, seeks to disrupt Uber and Lyft, as well as city busses, Ford, Chevy and Toyota. The company will continue to boldly charge in every direction, experiment and unafraid of failures.

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Xbox and Playstation play together

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Xbox and Playstation teaming up

Sony’s and Microsoft’s gaming console divisions have formed an alliance to stream gaming content from the cloud. The alliance will use Microsoft’s Azure cloud services to provide a better gaming experience to users of Xbox and Playstation. TechCrunch

dis-rup-shun: Google has announced its Stadia gaming steaming platform and has the incumbents looking for ways to blunt the new offering. By making certain that the Xbox and Playstation experiences are as good as it gets, the players hope not be displaced by Google. Google, however, has a reputation for providing great experiences at great prices, mostly free. Another example of how competition benefits the consumer, as the gaming experiences, offerings and prices of all providers will be getting better immediately.

Amazon Alexa Guard turns Echo into a security device

Amazon has activated the Alexa Guard service, which listens for sounds of breaking glass, smoke detectors, and carbon monoxide detectors. If detected, Alexa sends an alert to the account holder’s smartphone to tell them of the potential emergency. These features join Alexa’s capabilities of controlling lights and alarm systems. CEPro

dis-rup-shun: Alexa is on its way to running every system in the home and car. Now we know Alexa is not only listening for her name, but is also listening for certain alerts. This could be a path to Alexa offering many home management services, like telling owners that their AC compressor is more noisy than usual and is likely to fail, or that the refrigerator is working harder than normal and a repair person is on their way.

Google terminating Huawei’s Android License

Gizmodo reports that Google is pulling Android from Huawei, making it impossible for the phone maker to continue offering a feature rich smartphone. This move follows Trump’s executive order that banned U.S. companies from buying telecom equipment from companies that pose a threat to the U.S.

dis-rup-shun: This move will hobble Huawei’s race to catch Samsung and LG in the smartphone department and will lead to retribution from China. Expect China to ban sales of something important to U.S. manufacturing, but not labor.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise announces purchase of Cray Computers

HPE announced they will acquire Cray supercomputers for $1.3 billion. HPE wants to develop a high-performance computing as a service platform for specialized needs when large volumes of data must be analyzed in the era of AI and machine learning.  ZDNet

dis-rup-shun: This acquisition is an attempt for HP to find some differentiation for its cloud service offerings, given that the lucrative cloud business is hot and Microsoft is offering some features to make its cloud more attractive than Amazon. It seems that HP has a real knack for purchasing companies that have already peaked. Apollo Computer, Compaq, Palm, Snapfish, EDS, are a few companies whose growth was already slowing when HP absorbed them.