What if Driving Were Free

After attending thea recent auto conference financial services company Raymond Jones issued a research note stating that Apple and Google were now officially competitors to the auto industry. 

With CarPlay and Android Auto installed in a vehicle, auto companies have concluded that they eliminate differentiation in the user experience. This terrifies OEM's and manufacturers alike, because without that differentiation currently high markups are difficult to justify.

The thought of Apple, Google, or any other tech company going it alone to develop a car may seem surprising but is inevitable. Google recently moved from converting existing vehicles into self driving cars to creating an entirely new vehicle type with no steering wheel or rearview mirror. Apple may not be far behind with a similar creation.

So how would the world look with tech companies running the auto industry. Here are a few points that I would expect.

• Commuters will not own vehicles. Companies will have fleets that drive around and move people as requested. Think a glorified Uber only no driver and the scale to make it more affordable.
• Commute differentiation will matter. Do you want your vehicle to have a bed so that you can snag a few more minutes of sleep? What about an exercise bike? A workstation?
• Commune commutes will lead to self driving buses or other shared ride options.
• With transportation a revenue driver for tech companies look for immediate advancements in fuel.
• As a current test in Las Vegas proves there is interest in replacing Semi truck drivers, so look for a very impactful cross country transport revolution.
• And finally, what if driving were free. Is there really that much of a difference between cars on the highway and information on the information superhighway? I mean, besides absolutely eliminating accidents and unnecessary driving time - what if the transportation of America became a macrocosm of the world wide web, funded by advertising. Possible? Riders could be targeted based on their interests, destinations, and more.

The History of Google Chrome

It looked like Microsoft was going to do it again ... complete, total, absolute market domination. Yes there were a few upstarts like Mozilla tossing a web browser into the ring, but Microsoft's Internet Explorer owned the market.

Jump back to 1988 when a young Danish man by the name of Lars Bak graduated with an MS degree in Computer Science from Denmark's Aarhus University. Lars quickly became a JavaScript prodigy.

Sun Microsystems picked up Lars and put him to work on virtual machines, or coded programs within a larger system. After several years in Sunny Cupertino, California Lars Bak was anxious to return to his home country of Denmark. He left Sun to start his own company OOVM.

Impressed by his team's work, Microsoft decided to bring Lars on. They made Lars a fabulous offer, which Lars summarily refused. He was more interested in growing his own projects and staying close to his daughters who were studying in Denmark.

About the same time Google also made a move pick up Lars Bak. Again the lure of a great paycheck was insufficient incentive. Google then made a counter offer that was unprecedented in the corporate world. Google offered to build an office in Denmark for Lars and his entire team if he world bring his projects to Google. Lars readily accepted.

Fast forward a few months and the world saw the release of the now dominant Google Chrome, all thanks to Lars Bak and his team.

Google Chromecast

After using the new Google Chromecast for the last week I thought I would share a few thoughts.  The Chromecast is a thumb drive like device that plugs into a TV’s HDMI slot.  Once plugged in you can transmit videos or music from your smartphone, tablet, or PC to your TV.

So what is the big deal?  I already have a ROKU box, Apple TV, or an HDMI cable that connects my computer to my TV.  Why do I care about Chromecast?

The BIG DEAL is this:

Size

I love the Chromecast’s thumb drive shape and size.  You can fit the device in your pocket and take it with you on business trips, vacations, or to show off to your neighbor.  Plus you don’t have a box sitting on, by, or even under your TV Chromecast is no larger than your average thumb-drive.

Compatibility

Chromecast is not limited to working with just one computer or phone.  No, you can share this device across an infinite number of devices.  And that is on both the sharing and the receiving end.  You can take this device to a hotel and plug it into the room’s TV and avoid the onslaught of local TV crap.  You can take Chromecast to your friends place, your girlfriend’s condo, your dad’s retirement home, or your kid’s Sunday School class.  What I am trying to say is that you can take this device anywhere and run it off any smartphone, tablet, or PC.

Price

The price is right for the Chromecast.  The device is less expensive than most HDMI cables, making it a no-brainer for someone simply looking to connect their computer to their TV.  When you then consider the cost of similar Internet TV boxes like Apple TV, you save a lot of money going with Chromecast.

Now not everything has been peaches and cream with Chromecast.  I being the Googley person that I am was hoping to have this device cure cancer and bring my dog back from her backyard grave.  It turns out that Chromecast is not really the cure-all I had hoped.

What I Do Not Like

Wall Plug Dependent

I wish Chromecast ran off a battery.  Why shackle such a powerfully small device with a wall plugin.  The decision seems akin to a creating a cellphone that must be plugged into the wall to turn on.  

Cloud Only

It is time to transfer your movies to the cloud, because Google’s Chromecast will only allow you to play content that is on the online (small movie pun compliments of The Internship).  This means that you will have to find another way to play all of those movies you downloaded off Torrent last year.

Wi-Fi Required

The biggest con of Chromecast is that it requires Wi-Fi to function.  Chromecast creates a secondary Wi-Fi network after tapping into your current Wi-Fi network.  It then receives data through this new network.  This means that you cannot use Chromecast if there is no Wi-Fi network to join.

So what does Chromecast mean for Google?  Is this Google’s initiation into a low-cost cost small electronic device market?  At only $35 Chromecast is perfectly targeted to capture the 18-30 tech savvy demographic that keeps Google in business.   Will we be seeing a Chromecast 2.0 soon?  What does this mean for cable?  Are we one step closer to slaying the major networks and living our lives on Netflix and YouTube?