Newest Amazon tablet “really great” at half the price of iPad
Amazon’s latest Fire HD 10 tablet “is a great alternative to the iPad at half the price.” The third generation Fire HD is faster, charges quickly and has long battery life. The tablet is optimized for Amazon services but also enables access to websites such as Netflix and Spotify on its 1080p screen, and allows for expanded storage. The Fire HD 10 starts at $150, compared to the iPad at $329. CNBC
dis-rup-shun: So, is Amazon trying to be more like Apple, by creating better and better devices, and selling them at break even or less to try to catch Apple, or is Apple trying to become more like Amazon by launching new video, music, gaming and news services? Apple makes fat profits on hardware but has determined that continuous growth will require being good at services. Amazon has built vast empires of services, including shopping, video, books (of course), and delivery, but has determined that owning the device that gets you to the services (Echo, Firestick, Kindle) will result in higher consumption of Amazon services. Two vastly successful companies are accomplishing similar goals by very different paths. At what point do they begin to look similar, and what course does that leave for Google? Google, already dominant in services, looks more like Amazon in its strategy, but got lost on the journey a few years ago when it bit off a bigger Nest than it was ready to chew, but appears to be regaining its vision.
Google and OpenTitan seek to build un-hackable chip through open source
A chip technology called secure enclave seeks to secure a computing device by putting the microprocessor in charge of encryption, and in charge of shutting down the device if any of its operating system has been tampered. Google and a consortium of companies called OpenTitan seek to create a shared secure enclave chip architecture, allowing many contributors to build the chipset, rather than it being property of the usual suspects (Qualcomm, Intel, Nvidia, etc.). Wired
dis-rup-shun: What is Google doing in the microprocessor business and why is it creating an open architecture that potentially disrupts the value of person-decades of knowledge carefully protected by patents? It’s just everyday Art of War strategy in which defeating your enemy is about defeating your enemy’s strategy and re-writing market rules that have traditionally rewarded holders of protected intellectual property. If the strategy sounds familiar, it is how a search engine became the largest player in the smartphone operating system market by making Android an open environment that enlisted armies of developers around the globe from many different companies. If you can’t win at the game, bust up the game board and see who has enough money, developers and marketers to build the new board first.
Congress begins creation of a Federal data privacy law
California federal congresswomen Anna Eshoo and Zoe Lofgren (Dems.) have drafted legislation to protect data privacy rights by forming a new 1,600 employee agency entitled the Digital Privacy Agency (DPA) responsible for policing companies’ use of private information and penalizing scofflaws. The law would also give individuals the ability to see what companies are using their data, for what purposes, and to manage when those rights could be retracted. CNBC
dis-rup-shun: This is real progress, as Europe enacted strong data privacy laws, called GDPR, several years ago while the U.S. has only talked. This will be a test to see if the U.S.’s fractured legislators can agree on a much needed new policy, and for those of us paying taxes, we will appreciate the headcount for the new agency coming from a reduction in some outdated agency, like the Stage Coach Regulation Agency. In debate are states’ rights issues. It will be very difficult for companies to answer to the laws of fifty states, so a single body of legislation, as in Europe, is the better solution. Apple, the company that has chosen to position itself as the privacy company, must now decide to support this initiative or pooh pooh it as inferior to the company’s own internal privacy standards.
IOTc, the Internet of Things Consortium launches summit
The Internet of Things Consortium launches IOTc Next, The Connected Futures Summit. The event takes place in New York City’s TimesCenter on November 12th.
dis-rup-shun: Readers of dis-rup-shun.com are entitled to event discounts. The one day event features a wide variety of IOT topics and speakers. The agenda topics include: financing IOT projects, user interfaces, media organizations in a connected world, marketing how-to’s, seeing the future, IOT and mobility, smart homes, connected health and wellness, securing devices and networks, connected retail, smart cities, and the ethics of IOT. 6 days to register.
It’s now time for you to purchase a robotic vacuum cleaner
iRobot Roomba S9+ is expensive. Its $1,399 but this model is truly smarter than any of its predecessors or competitors. The S9+ uses sensors to create a map of your home, enabling it to do the job more quickly. It includes sensors that enables it to avoid vacuum dangers, like strings, socks, and stairs. And most importantly, it empties itself into a dust bin that requires human attention only after multiple house cleanings. Wired
dis-rup-shun: If you have ever used a Roomba, you know that it is a great vacuum that really works, except for the fact that it randomly bumps its way through the house, doubling back in certain areas and likely never reaching some. Also, the small size of its dirt compartment means it must be changed every 20 minutes or so, especially if you are knee deep in pet hair. The new S9+ proves that rocket science, when applied to household products, really does make every day living better. This is the level of machine intelligence that will make smart home products must haves from here onward.