Let's Talk Tech
Get it? Because neither Tim Tebow nor T-Mobile want to sign contracts? And they both start with the letter “T”? Get it?
Actually this is a pretty cute spot featuring the QB who couldn’t lead my Broncos to a Super Bowl, and all the crazy shenanigans he’s been getting into since he’s not locked down by a contract.
But I have a question in earnest, for you folks who watch the big game for the commercials, what’s the point if all those spots are already online?
Hey Google. If the rest of Kansas doesn’t want Fiber, might I suggest breaking up some of the monopolies here in Southern California? Maybe? Think about it OK?
I try not to soapbox politically too often on this site, but network infrastructure is one of my trigger topics, especially when business and politics meet preventing a level playing field and stifling competition.
The “municipal communications network and private telecommunications investment safeguards act” would seek to prevent other municipalities in Kansas from offering the same kinds of incentives Kansas City provided Google. Of course, the boilerplate goals of the bill all triumph protecting consumer interests, and providing services through “fair competition”, and letting the established ISP market decide what fair rates are for that service. Continue reading “Kansas Legislature Trying to Stall Fiber Internet Outside of Kansas City?”
Well now that the dust has settled a bit, we can actually take a closer look at some of the details of this proposed deal. Though it was kind of funny how many corporate experts came flocking out of various corners of the internet following the freakish suddenness of this announcement.
The Motorola that Lenovo will acquire will be a very different animal than the one that Google purchased for $12.5 Billion. Firstly, there’s no set-top division. That was sold to Arris Group for $2.35 Billion.
We also know that the experimental division of Motorola responsible for the modular Project Ara will be staying with Google. As will most of the patents they acquired in buying Moto. Lenovo will receive all of the Motorola branding and trademarks. Not too shabby as they’ll instantly become the number three Android manufacturer.
Lenovo will also receive a patent licensing deal. The timing on this makes perfect sense when placed next to the deal Samsung and Google hammered out recently. Google is making a tremendous amount of patent material available to the top Android manufacturer, and the number one PC manufacturer (who also happens to be making a play for more of the mobile market). Lenovo and Samsung get more IP weapons, and Google gets a Samsung less focused on altering Android and a new home for Moto for them to keep stave off any perception of impropriety. Lenovo gets a great brand with a lot of history, and like IBM’s Thinkpads, Lenovo is proving itself very capable of reviving old brands. My histrionic speculation below doesn’t feel like it was TOO far off the mark…
So why aren’t I happier about this? Rationally I know this is probably the best possible move for all parties involved. I think I’m somewhat disappointed on Motorola’s behalf. It takes a long time to incorporate a company following a buy out. We were just starting to see the fruits of a newer, leaner, meaner Moto. The Moto X was a terrific handset, and Moto G was the best possible Android answer to the onslaught of low cost Windows Phones like the Lumia 520.
Now little Moto has to move to a new home. I’m very confident Lenovo will be a solid keeper for the beleaguered brand, but I’m bummed seeing anything which might interrupt the little bit of momentum that we’ve started to see.
And while this makes fantastic business sense for Google, both from a revenue standpoint and to maintain good relationships with other manufacturers, it makes me feel like this entire procedure really was a cynical grab for a patent portfolio. The very accusations I defended Google from back in 2012. I don’t like being wrong like that.
More details on the Motorola Blog and Lenovo’s Press Release. My original article below. Continue reading “Updated: Lenovo to buy Motorola from Google for $3 Billion!”
Whelp it doesn’t get more straightforward than this.
Now through the end of March, for each new smartphone, tablet, mobile hotspot, or wireless home phone you add, you get $100. New customers or existing, add something new to your plan and AT&T will drop off a C-Note.
Between all the various credits and plans, our carriers are getting really creative with ways to entice customers to begin or continue service. This latest move from Big Blue looks like it’s targeted at combating some of the recent gains made by T-Mobile in the PR arena.
If you’re an AT&T customer, does this help sweeten the deal? Are you looking to add a tablet or another line to your account? Drop a comment below!
Full Press Release:
Continue reading “All New & Existing AT&T Customers: Add a Line of Service, Receive $100 Credit”
They do look better, less sci-fi, more natural.
I think heads up displays are our wearable tech future. After using several fantastic smartwatches, nothing seems to solve the problem of eye-level information like Google Glass. Of course it brings a completely different kind of stigma in that you’re wearing a computer on your face, which really seems to weird people out. A common criticism of Glass is that it looks too geeky, and now it seems Google is taking steps to curb that complaint.
Following their partnership with eye wear designer Warby Parker, Google is piggy-backing on the designer’s Titanium Collection of frames with four new looks for Glass that Google is calling “The Titanium Collection”. Not very original, but Google isn’t known for fashion, so maybe it’s better they leave that job to the pros.
This also marks the beginning of Glass supporting prescription lenses. From the FAQ: “Google is in partnership with VSP Vision Care for VSP members and VSP eye care providers to receive reimbursement on Glass frames up to the frame allowance provided within their current vision benefit. The prescription lenses are also covered under the patients’ lens benefit offering through their VSP coverage.”
See the new frames in this Google promo vid:
This does not change the process by which you go about getting Glass, it’s still a very public BETA, and the Explorer program is still the gateway through which people acquire their own face computer. This is simply another iteration in the design of the heads up display, hopefully making them a bit more socially acceptable for people who are concerned about the design of the original Explorer Edition Glass. Google is pushing into very new territory, and that can make consumers squirrely. Restaurant owners asking Explorers to leave, law enforcement issuing citations for operating motor vehicles with screens visible to the driver, there’s a stigma to this product Google’s going to need to overcome. You know you’re in trouble when The Simpsons dedicates an entire episode to showcasing how socially awkward heads up displays are.
The Explorer program isn’t getting the job done. For as many people who are fantastic ambassadors for this technology, there are just as many Glassholes who taint the product in the minds of people who might be apprehensive about its capabilities and their privacy. Google is still publicly stating “the end of 2014” for the consumer launch of Glass, but they’ve got some significant PR hurdles to clear before then. These new frames at least area step in the right direction.
RELATED: Chris Emerson Interview – Two Months as a Glass Explorer
Full Google FAQ below: Continue reading “Will more attractive frames solve Google’s Glass perception problem?”
If we needed any more proof that Samsung was the top dog in Android, we just got it.
Google and Samsung have arrived at a “Global Patent Cross-License Agreement”, which will allow the two companies to share tech free from the worries of patent litigation through the year 2024.
As Samsung is the number one manufacturer of Android devices, it’s in Google’s interest to keep them happy, however Sammy could get more of a benefit from this agreement, as it would likely give them access to the treasure trove of patents Google received in their Motorola acquisition. Having access to that intellectual property could be a significant benefit to a company which is also examining the possibility of releasing their own mobile operating system which would become a competitor to Android.
While it probably wasn’t likely that Google would ever take Samsung to court or vice versa, an explicit cooperation agreement between these two companies has to be good for consumers. The short official press release is below.
Continue reading “Google and Samsung to Share Patents for the Next Decade”
Does anyone else think this company missed out on a terrific opportunity to name their AI “Deep Thought”? Anyone? 42? Is this thing on [tap, tap, tap]?
Beating out Facebook with a $500 Million dollar bid, Google is now the proud owner of DeepMind, a company focused on creating algorithms which will help computers learn in a way which resembles human experience. Artificial intelligence. Now, most people are linking this to Google’s recent acquisition of Boston Dynamics as if we’re all on the cusp of a Skynet inspired apocalypse. While I’m sure learning algorithms would be a tremendous boon to the robotics community after watching excerpts from the DARPA Robotics Challenge, it was very clear that we’re a LONG way off from Skynet or Asimov’s robots, there are a number of other projects at Google HQ which could also benefit from some good old fashioned learnin’
Improving the responses of automated, self-driving cars for instance. Making those systems more flexible and adaptable to changing road and traffic conditions.
Google is first and foremost an information broker.
Search will continue to be an ever increasing issue as we dump more and more info into this giant bucket we call the internet. Google is now facing incredible competition from companies like IBM with their Watson project. A computer system which isn’t self-aware, but is able to adapt, add information, and make sense of casual instructions and commands to deliver meaningful results. If Google doesn’t start working on a similar program, they’ll find themselves disasterously behind. Given a choice between Siri, Google Now, and Watson, I know I’d prefer to send my search query to the computer who spanked the crap out of the top two most winning Jeopardy contestants in that show’s history.
We instantly assume that working on aspects of Artificial Intelligence means that we’ll flip a switch someday and all our machines will have distinct personalities. What will most likely happen first is more likely to be painfully dull for the general populace. Purpose built computing systems which are subtly, but noticeably better at their individual jobs. Think of a WHOLE animal brain, so many different pieces to regulate and control various aspects of an organism’s life. We’re a LONG way off from poorly replicating the human frontal lobe. We’re a LONG way off from building a system which could rival a house cat’s ability to problem solve and learn tricks.
Let’s not forget that Google’ main competition for acquiring DeepMind was Facebook, a company that failed to put out a branded phone. If there were any more reassuring fact that we wont see this AI in some near-future skeletal doomsday robot warrior, it’s the fact that Facebook is most likely looking for better systems to sift through user data, not to operate machinery.
So when Google flips the switch and we all get slightly better turn by turn recommendations, when predictive search results and ads are a little better targeted at our needs, we can all shrug a sigh of relief. However, if I’m wrong, allow me to be the first to welcome our future robot overlords. I’d make a fantastic liaison officer in your new world paradigm where humans are kept like cattle for some unexplainable but dramatic reason.
It’s an icon.
For all of our tech gamesmanship, Apple vs PC, iOS vs Android, days like today are fun to celebrate regardless of which team you’ve sided with.
The Mac is 30 years old.
Many are focusing on the revolutionary ad which played during Superbowl XVIII. Seeing “18” in Roman numerals makes me feel damn old, as I was actually alive for that presentation. We of course have that video linked below, but I wanted to focus briefly on the actual Mac itself, and what we might still be able to learn from it today.
It’s impossible to overstate how important the Mac was in making computing accessible to consumers. For many people my age, it was likely their first computer and graphical user interface. In schools, it was often the computer used to populate labs where we learned basic programming skills, supplemented traditional math, science, and writing education. It was probably one of the first machines we were able to play games on. I’m pretty much always down for a round of Oregon Trail.
What made it so revolutionary was a focus on the user experience. Utilizing precious little computing power by today’s standards to draw pictures and icons on the screen. It gave many first time users a much clearer understanding of what they could accomplish on a little magic box. We live in a world now where my watch is more powerful than those cute little Macs of old, so this aesthetic wasn’t easy to pull off.
A multi-disciplined team of individuals was responsible for bringing Mac to life, including doctors, artists, even an archaeologist. All working together to bring a more informative UI to the user than the flashing text prompt of UNIX and DOS. It’s where we first started having conversations about conveyance and skeuomorphic design.
As we move forward…
As we look towards the next 30 years, we must keep asking ourselves the same questions those early Mac pioneers struggled with. We must keep demanding efficiency, but not at the cost of experience. We’ll constantly be evolving, receiving more powerful devices, but we must have applications for that power.
Lastly, we need to start having frank conversations about our social use of technology and ergonomics. How we incorporate it into our daily lives, use it respectfully and safely.
Happy birthday Mac! You’ve been an inspiration for generations.
(Photo courtesy of Mac History)