Tech Bytes to Know this Week: 8.3.2016

August 3rd, 2016

Topics: Apps Big Data / Analytics Culture Global Social

Uber Racing to Privatize Global Mass Transit – While much of the tech world is focused on claims that Uber “raised the white flag” in China by allowing it’s division there to be purchased by rival Didi Chuxing, the end goal for Uber is to squeeze out rivals and link a global network of privatized mass transit. The Didi acquisition aligns the company with Uber against its rivals in a way that directly competing would not allow. If you’ve been paying attention to the big picture there appear to be two goals of Uber, one a short-term goal and the other a long-term goal. The first is to grow fast enough to monopolize the on-demand transit space. Uber has aggressively expanded at the expense of profitability in the way Amazon approaches ecommerce. Grow now, profit later. The second, longer-term goal is the privatization of global mass transit. Against this goal, we’re already seeing some wins from Uber, and the Did acquisition is more about making private mass transit a reality in the world largest country. What’s astonishing is that Uber is arguably more successful in achieving its second goal in a communist country (China) than the a capitalist country (the United States). It’s a strange world we live in.

Registered Sex Offenders in New York Now Banned from Playing Pokémon Go – NY Governor Andrew Cuomo directed the state’s department of corrections to ban sex offenders from playing the popular game and move to ban the playing of all mobile games in the future. The state already forces paroled sex offenders to surrender all email, social media and similar account information to provide to Facebook, Twitter and other sites to remove their profiles and delete access. The fact that Governor Cuomo is pushing for this new requirement is interesting in that, despite reports of robberies and assaults on gamers, there are no reports at all that sexual predation has occurred as a result of playing Pokémon Go.

Tablets Sales Continue to Slump – Despite significant efforts by Samsung, Apple and Microsoft, worldwide tablet sales continue to spiral, down 12% this quarter. Apple is still the device leader and Android the OS champion, but the market for tablets continues to shrink, which is a cause for concern if you’re Apple, Samsung and especially Microsoft with its Surface line of tablets. As phones grow in size and laptops get lighter and more mobile, is the category getting squeezed out?

Twitter Hopes to Find a Home at the Rio Olympics – It’s been a rough year for Twitter, but the company is hoping to reach new heights at the Rio Olympics, with a host of features and live streaming options that will enable its users to follow the games. It’s a smart move by Twitter because the firehose effect that normally plagues Twitter is well-suited for a time-bounded, live, multi-channel event like the Olympics. The live video feed will enable cord-cutters to stream the games in real-time as well. Even the Olympics being held in the Western Hemisphere (during working hours for much of the US) is to Twitter’s advantage. Will the Olympics save Twitter? Probably not, but it might just find a killer use for the platform.

Featured CXOTalk video of the week: Episode 176: Innovation at Harley-Davidson with Sean McCormack, Chief Technology Officer

Everyone knows Harley-Davidson for motorcycles, the company has deep roots in technology, manufacturing, and a variety of business areas. On this episode, Harley’s Chief Technology Officer, Sean McCormack, shares the company’s innovation story.