media acquisitions

https://www.recode.net/2018/6/12/17450196/att-time-warner-court-ruling-media-landscape-deals-murdoch-stephenson-cbs-viacom-disney-fox

Smartphones to die out 'within five years', says new study

Smartphones to die out 'within five years', says new study According to a new study of 100,000 consumers, mobile technology is expected to be replaced by artificial intelligence
 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/12039813/Smartphones-to-die-out-within-five-years-says-new-study.html

By Adam Boult

Many consumers believe smartphones will cease to exist within five years, according to new research carried out by researchers on behalf of Ericsson. The company's ConsumerLab questioned more than 100,000 customers in its native Sweden and 39 other countries, seeking their views on their technological desires for the future. Half of the respondents said they thought mobile technology would be a thing of the past by 2021, with increasingly prevalent artificial intelligence superseding many of its functions.

Rebecka Cedering Ångström of Ericsson ConsumerLab said: "A smartphone in the hand, it's really not that practical. For example, not when one is driving a car or cooking. And there are many situations where display screens are not so good. Therefore, one in two think that smartphones will belong to the past within five years." She also predicts that evolving technologies will enable customers to enhance their leisure time. "Just imagine watching football and being able to choose from where you want to see the game from different places in the stands, or perhaps even from the pitch. Shopping is also an area where you could [virtually] try on shoes and see how they fit on your own feet."

 Ericsson ConsumerLab's new report, 10 Hot Consumer Trends for 2016, claims to represent the views of 1.1 billion people across 24 countries. Michael Björn, Head of Research at Ericsson ConsumerLab, said: "Some of these trends may seem futuristic.

But consumer interest in new interaction paradigms such as AI and virtual reality (VR), as well as in embedding the internet in the walls of homes or even in our bodies, is quite strong. This means we could soon see new consumer product categories appearing – and whole industries transforming – to accommodate this development." "This means we could soon see new consumer product categories appearing - and whole industries transforming - to accommodate this development."

At a glance Ericsson's 10 Hot
Consumer Trends for 2016

1. The Lifestyle Network Effect. Four out of five people now experience an effect where the benefits gained from online services increases as more people use them. Globally, one in three consumers already participates in various forms of the sharing economy.

2. Streaming Natives. Teenagers watch more YouTube video content daily than other age groups. Forty-six percent of 16-19 year-olds spend an hour or more on YouTube every day.

3. AI Ends The Screen Age. Artificial intelligence will enable interaction with objects without the need for a smartphone screen. One in two smartphone users think smartphones will be a thing of the past within the next five years.

4. Virtual Gets Real. Consumers want virtual technology for everyday activities such as watching sports and making video calls. Forty-four percent even want to print their own food.

5. Sensing Homes. Fifty-five percent of smartphone owners believe bricks used to build homes could include sensors that monitor mold, leakage and electricity issues within the next five years. As a result, the concept of smart homes may need to be rethought from the ground up.

6. Smart Commuters. Commuters want to use their time meaningfully and not feel like passive objects in transit. Eighty-six percent would use personalized commuting services if they were available.

7. Emergency Chat. Social networks may become the preferred way to contact emergency services. Six out of 10 consumers are also interested in a disaster information app.

8. Internables. Internal sensors that measure well-being in our bodies may become the new wearables. Eight out of 10 consumers would like to use technology to enhance sensory perceptions and cognitive abilities such as vision, memory and hearing.

9. Everything Gets Hacked. Most smartphone users believe hacking and viruses will continue to be an issue. As a positive side-effect, one in five say they have greater trust in an organization that was hacked but then solved the problem. 10. Netizen Journalists. Consumers share more information than ever and believe it increases their influence on society. More than a third believe blowing the whistle on a corrupt

Google to enter wireless business

http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_27368231/google-enter-wireless-business

By Matt O’Brien

MOUNTAIN VIEW -- Google is taking a leap into the wireless business, according to reports that say the Internet giant plans to partner with Sprint and T-Mobile to sell mobile phone plans directly to customers.

"It's not surprising. Google has limitless ambitions," said analyst Scott Cleland, president of Precursor, a Virginia-based consulting firm and author of a book that raised concerns about the company's growing influence. "They're going to play Sprint and T-Mobile against each other to get a really low price, so Google can offer a really low price."

Citing unnamed sources, news sites The Information, The Verge and the Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday about Google's plans to run a new wireless service that resells what is provided on Sprint and T-Mobile networks.

Google, Sprint and T-Mobile declined to confirm the reports Wednesday.

Google is not registered as a wireless carrier in California, according to the state's Public Utilities Commission.

Telecommunications experts disagree about how much Google's entrance into the wireless business will disrupt the industry, and big players such as AT&T and Verizon, and how much the move will bring down prices and increase network speeds. Google's plans are to become a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO, which allows the company to sell wireless service using its own brand name even though it does not manage the network.

 

"MVNOs are cool, they're a good way for Google to get its brand out there and offer interesting pricing plans," said John Bergmayer, a senior staff attorney at Public Knowledge, which advocates for a more open Internet. "But they don't really change the competitive dynamics of the wireless industry. They're just reselling Sprint or T-Mobile."

Virgin Galactic Broadband Satellites

Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson this week said he wants to launch as many as 2,400 small satellites in an effort to set up a constellation capable of bringing broadband communications through a company called OneWeb to millions of people who do not have it. He said he plans to initially launch a low-earth-orbit satellite constellation of 648 satellites to get the project rolling.

3D Cameras Are About To Go Mainstream

http://www.vox.com/2015/1/9/7520967/intel-realsense-3d-camera

So, this is interesting - the infrared camera used in the Microsoft Kinect is what allows for depth perception to capture and recognize objects.

Put one on a drone and its like having a sonar.

There was a time when you could create 3d models with such a camera - take a picture and you make what shoot. this is how motion capture works to some extent - the geometry of the models arent clean but depending on the purpose it doesnt matter. Thats ok for something subjective like a model of a person, but doesnt work (I dont think) for something explicit like an industrial object.

I'll have to digest this more to generate ideas, but it's a good one.

Off hand I think about something like this for generating a real-time representation of a face talking, and creating an image that can be put into a virtual space - AR (augmented reality), then combine with haptics so the person in the virtual environment can physically feel the other person for telepresence. If you can send a drone somewhere to scan a location, then send back the data to a virtual space, you could network that feedback with a drone from another location and combine data.

Example: superimposeinfrared scans of multimple operators into an infrared scan of a location, and relay the combination into one virtual space. If the elements/objects in the 'shared' location serve as interfaces for affecting things in the real world, the result can be a collaborative space.

Example: a remote team of operators controlling robots in an industrial plant. Or a remote army controlling robot drones. The physical dynamics of the remote location can be simulated in a virtual space to account for collisions, gravity, light, darkness, reflections, refractions, etc.

Google Fiber

Even as a massive firestorm burns uncontrollably threatening to scorch the very foundations of the internet with AT&T indefinitely halting future GigaPower FTTH rollouts due to uncertainty over the future of net neutrality and the Obama administration proposing to regulate the internet under Title 2, highly suggestive jobs were recently added to Google Careers.

These Google Fiber related positions include: "City Manager", "Community Impact Manager" and "Plant Manager" in all potential Google Fiber cities. Perplexing inconsistences abound, such as Portland, Phoenix, San Jose and Atlanta positions being listed as local. Whereas San Antonio, Raleigh, Charlotte, and Nashville are listed as telecommute positions.

One is inclined to speculate as to what these job postings mean despite Google's disclaimer: "Not all cities where we're exploring hiring a team will necessarily become Google Fiber cities." Would Google post jobs as an act of posturing much like AT&T's supposed "Gigabit smoke screen" bluff? Or, should we expect to see these so called Fiber Huts springing up like so many mushrooms after a heavy rain in an additional 9 metro areas?

At the rate Google is going, is it too soon to speculate over Fiber Dojos popping up in Japan?

Next Centuries Cities coalition

from slashdot.org:

At least 20 additional American cities have expressed a formal interest in joining a coalition that's dedicated to bringing gigabit internet speeds to their residents by any means necessary—even if it means building the infrastructure themselves. The Next Centuries Cities coalition launched last week with an impressive list of 32 cities in 19 states who recognize that fast internet speeds unencumbered by fast lanes or other tiered systems are necessary to keep residents and businesses happy. That launch was so successful that 20 other cities have expressed formal interest in joining, according to the group's executive director.

 More than two dozen cities in 19 states announced today that they're sick of big telecom skipping them over for internet infrastructure upgrades and would like to build gigabit fiber networks themselves and help other cities follow their lead. The Next Century Cities coalition, which includes a couple cities that already have gigabit fiber internet for their residents, was devised to help communities who want to build their own broadband networks navigate logistical and legal challenges to doing so.

Skynet is coming. But not like in the movie: The future of communications is high-altitude solar-powered drones, flying 13 miles above the ground, running microwave wireless equipment, delivering broadband to the whole planet. The articles predicts this technology will replace satellites, fiber, and copper, and fundamentally change the broadband industry. The author predicts a timescale of roughly 20 years — the same amount of time between Arthur C. Clarke predicting geosynchronous satellites and their reality as a commercial business. "Several important technology milestones need to be reached along the way. The drones that will make up Skynet have a lot more in common with satellites than the flippy-flappy helicopter drone thingies that the popular press is fixated on right now. They're really effing BIG, for one thing. And, like satellites, they go up, and stay up, pretty much indefinitely. For that to happen, we need two things: lighter, higher-capacity wireless gear; and reliable, hyper-efficient solar tech."