Uber Partners With Daimler in a Step Toward a Driverless Future – The New York Times

by dldamore

Uber Partners With Daimler in a Step Toward a Driverless Future – The New York Times:

“The ride-hailing company announced on Tuesday a partnership with Daimler, under which the German automaker plans to build autonomous vehicles that will operate on Uber’s transportation network.

The move marks the first time a major automaker will provide its own self-driving vehicles — built entirely in-house and without Uber’s help — specifically to operate on the ride-hailing company’s network.”

*Autonomous cars are coming. 

Automakers Prepare for an America That’s Over the Whole Car Thing – The New York Times

by dldamore

Automakers Prepare for an America That’s Over the Whole Car Thing – The New York Times:

“General Motors and its partner, Lyft, an Uber rival, are about to begin testing a fleet of self-driving cars ferrying passengers short distances in Detroit and other cities. Uber already has similar trials underway in Pittsburgh and has just expanded its tests to San Francisco. Next year, Delphi Automotive expects to have self-driving Audis providing rides to mass transit stations in a section of Singapore.”

(Via.)

 

*The future is coming. 

WSJ: BMW, Daimler, VW and Ford to Build Auto-Charging Station Network

by dldamore

Hundreds of ultrafast, high-powered charging stations planned for electric cars in Europe

BMW AG, Daimler AG and Volkswagen AG said Tuesday they plan to build together with Ford Motor Co. a network of hundreds of ultrafast, high-powered charging stations for electric cars in Europe.

That’s a good start on standardization and providing customer comfort in buying vehicles that require a way to refuel (electric charging) that is different and currently less available and more unknown.

Understanding the 2016 Election Better

by dldamore

Below are links to three C-SPAN Q & A podcasts that are helpful in understanding the past presidential election. They are listed in the order I listened to them. You could probably listen in whatever order you wish. 

 

J.D. Vance

Author J.D. Vance discusses his memoir, [Hillbilly Elegy], about growing up in a poor, white family that has its roots in Appalachia.

 

David Cay Johnston

Author and columnist David Cay Johnston talks about this book, [The Making of Donald Trump], in which he takes a critical look at the 2016 Republican presidential nominee.

 

Nancy Isenberg

Historian Nancy Isenberg talks about her book, [White Trash], which examines the history of the class system in the United States.

WSJ: Drugmakers Find Competition Doesn’t Keep a Lid on Prices

by dldamore

Drug price increases will likely bring more regulation in the future. In the short run that is probably not the case. The balance of power in Washington can change very quickly. 

 

Drugmakers Find Competition Doesn’t Keep a Lid on Prices

*Link may be behind the Wall Street Journal paywall. Try pasting the title in a Google Search

http://www.wsj.com/articles/drugmakers-find-competition-doesnt-keep-a-lid-on-prices-1480248003

 

“The two companies, though rivals, followed a common industry practice: raising prices almost in lockstep.”

 

““You’re not rewarded for having a low price and for the most part, the market doesn’t punish a high price,” says Mick Kolassa”

 

“The freedom to raise, rather than slash, prices in the face of competition is a big reason why U.S. prescription-drug spending has surged by close to 10% on average annually in recent years to $310 billion in 2015”

 

“Tandem drug-price increases for other ailments have prompted lawmakers to call for investigations into potential collusion.”

 

“Tandem increases can be perfectly legal, so long as companies don’t confer with each other, says Herbert Hovenkamp”

 

“In compliance training, companies tell employees not to discuss pricing with rivals. But when it comes to drugs, list prices are public.”

 

““Any profit-optimizing company is going to want to get as much price as they can get,””

 

 

 

Shifting Consumer Options

by dldamore

How Google Plans to Take Down Amazon’s Echo (EXCLUSIVE)

To Google, the Echo isn’t just another speaker. It’s part of a bigger move away from text- and app-based interfaces that require users to seek out information to voice-based systems that offer more natural interaction. In other words: It’s what’s next after Google’s search bar — and it’s made by a competitor.

*Competing in a time of great change. 

The Robots Are Coming for Investment Bankers, Not Just Truck Drivers

by dldamore

The Robots Are Coming for Investment Bankers, Not Just Truck Drivers https://hunterwalk.com/2016/09/07/the-robots-are-coming-for-investment-bankers-not-just-truck-drivers/

 “Maybe in ten years investment bankers will stand alongside truck drivers in discussions about safety nets, universal basic income and skills retraining.”

“The vulnerability of these jobs is due, in large part, to the easy availability and rapidly declining price of computing power, as well as the rise of ‘‘machine learning’’ software, like Kensho, that gathers and assimilates new information on its own.”

*Machine learning, automation and innovation will led to human disruption at a rapid pace, perhaps outpacing precious technological transformations. 

Compressed Learning

by dldamore

September 12, 2016

2:01:40 PM

Compressed Learning

Pick up to six topics or areas of interest. Each day there will be some learning and engagement with the areas you have chosen. You can even plan in an exercise period if you like.

You will be amazed at how much you can learn in these short bursts of time. Focus and interest make a huge impact on totality of what you learn.

…

2:04:34 PM