How streaming TV is repeating the evolution of cable TV
Wired lists seven free streaming services with advertising that you will want to have as backups to Netflix and Amazon Prime Video accounts: IMDbTV, the Roku Channel, Kanopy, Tubi, Pluto TV, Crackle, and Vudu.
dis-rup-shun: If you are old enough to remember when cable TV was a new thing, you remember that for a reasonable monthly fee, your three-channel rabbit-ear antenna TV could become clear and sharp. Then came more channels. Then came movie channels such as HBO. Then came original content, like the Sopranos. Now that 76% of us U.S. households have Netlix and 51% have Amazon prime, we see the add on of many more streaming ‘channels’ or services. The next step will be bundling of many services into streaming packages, enabling one to access many services through a single sign-on and credit card authorization. With the pay TV providers such as AT&T driving those bundles, these new services will come from the same providers who used to offer cable TV packages. Once again we will be buying packages from big TV providers — but this time based on when we want to watch.
How apps get to the Apple App Store
Apple’s process for reviewing and approving or rejecting apps for publication on the App Store includes over 300 human reviewers who speak 81 languages, at two offices in Sunnyvale, CA with a goal to complete review of a submission within 24 to 48 hours. Each reviewer must review between 50 to 100 apps per day to ensure they run properly, are not illegal, and do not contain prohibited content. CNBC
dis-rup-shun: Apple fan or not, one must credit the company on the high quality of available apps. Apple takes up to 30% of revenues generated from sales on the app store, so the company has an incentive to provide a quick turn-around and ensure a good app experience. TechCrunch states that 2/3rds of an estimated $75 billion (2018) in app revenue is generated by Apple’s app store. The revenue gap between Apple and the Google Play Store increased last year, with Apple advancing its lead. Research firm Sensor Tower states that rising revenue disparity is driven by increasing number of subscriptions to monthly services such as Netflix, and Tinder.
Drones for humanity
Eco-entrepreneurs are developing a working drone that will biodegrade in weeks after completing its mission. Otherlab of San Francisco has built a gliding drone made now from cardboard but later to be made of a mushroom-based mycelium material. The Apsara drone is funded by DARPA who required a design that not only could carry cargo to a designated spot, but that would also decompose quickly. Wired
dis-rup-shun: Given last week’s downing by Iran of a $220 million U.S. surveillance drone, it is easy to consider drones as weapons, but this brilliant drone design will enable humanitarian aid of emergency food supplies and medicines in an effective and responsible way — likely helping to maintain populations that are caught in the cross hairs of military actions.
Kano, the Erector Set of today, will boost STEM interest
Microsoft has invested in UK youth computer maker Kano which will now run Windows 10. The $300 computer kit comes with creativity and development software which encourages kids to design 3D objects, build their own programs, computer art, and collaborate with other builders through a youth version of Teams collaboration software. TechCrunch
dis-rup-shun: Today’s youth have most often clamored for Apple to be their first device. By introducing a computer designed to engage youth prior to the age of ownership of first computer, Microsoft has seized on an opportunity to develop renewed interest from tomorrow’s newest scientists. Hopefully the move will address the shortage of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) students by developing an early interest in computer science.