2016-02-15 Show Notes

Tech News

AT&T jumps into the fast lane with ultraspeedy 5G field trial
5G is coming. Eventually.

The fifth generation of wireless technology heralds a significant speed boost for Internet connections. On a 5G network, you could download the latest "Star Wars" film in seconds, not the minutes needed on today’s networks. Its expected ubiquity will also help connect millions of devices, from lightbulbs to farm gear, allowing them to talk to one another and to you.

Now AT&T has publicly come out with its road map for 5G, which will deliver 10 to 100 times the speed of today’s 4G wireless connections. This follows Verizon’s vow to start field tests this year.

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Say Farewell to Google’s Picasa
Google is ending support for Picasa and would love it if you transition over to Google Photos.

Google plans to end support for Picasa and transition users to Google Photos, the company announced today. Picasa, an image-organizing application Google acquired 12 years ago, has seen few updates in recent months as Google focused development efforts on its shiny, new Photos app.

Support for the Picasa desktop album will end on March 15, though it will continue to work for users who already have it installed. Uploaded Picasa photos will be transitioned to Google Photos on May 1.

Originally introduced by Lifescape in 2002, Picasa brought iPhoto-like editing ease to casual photographers on Windows. Google improved the service with its trademark "I’m Feeling Lucky" button, which automatically retouched photos with one click.

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Why Google’s self-driving vehicles mean the end of car insurance

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Xerox’s innovation officer Valerie Raburn points to the reams of data Google will gobble, to ask:

Yet consider how all this sifting of auto-insurance rates will position the company: Could Google turn this revenue-generating learning experience into a more lucrative opportunity to underwrite its own insurance policies and displace traditional carriers—especially once driverless cars become a reality?

This broad understanding of how auto-related risks are priced in the competitive market could allow the company to insure tomorrow’s vehicles, or simply roll the cost of insurance into the retail price of Google’s own driverless car once it hits the market.

Raburn’s observation is intriguing, on one hand, because she is probably right:

Google’s massive automobile ambitions, combined with its constant hunger for data, means the company is probably playing a long game that could threaten insurance companies. While this would obviously be unpopular with the insurance industry, it would be a boon for consumers and transport companies like Uber because the costs and headaches associated with insurance would decline dramatically.

The other reason to take note of Raburn’s prediction is because it shows, yet again, how new technologies bring unintended consequences. Specifically, Google’s driverless cars are not only poised to reduce accidents, but could also wipe out a multi-billion dollar industry in just a few years. <read more…>

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