There will be a day in the not-too-distant future that your doctor will call you to let you know that you are not feeling well. Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google, mentioned this possibility last week at the 92nd Street Y, when he was telling the audience all of the things Google was working on.
He didn’t say this was going to be a Google-only project, but he did indicate that his company was researching the sensor part of it. Schmidt said that we will all be taking digital pills with indicators and markers. The pill sensors will be monitored by your doctor on an automated alarm system.
If your blood pressure goes up, one beep. If your sugar levels are rising, two beeps. If you’re having a heart attack, three beeps. If your private parts are not working, the doctor sends life support.
All kidding aside, Schmidt said the medical industry is aware of this progress and is anxious for it to happen. “They want more control over their patients. Millions of lives will be saved because early warning signs will help them make better judgement calls. They can act faster and more timely.”
While a lot of what Schmidt had to say seemed like science fiction, I believed every word if it. Just when I thought I’ve heard it all, he told us other mind-blowing stuff that was also reported in the NY Times.
The other night when he appeared on stage at the 92nd St.Y, along with Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher of the Wall Street Journal’s AllThingsDigital, Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google, hinted that his company’s self-driving cars will be on the road earlier than originally thought. It appears that a number of government officials in California, Nevada, Florida, Hawaii, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and the District of Columbia, all want to lead the way to make these cars legal. Some states already have legal rights to test them. Schmidt said Google “is very interested in leading the way most people will get around.”
This is a real mindblower.
Google began testing the self-driving cars in 2009 along side engineer Sebastian Thrun, who had previously worked on the technology with the Stanford University faculty. Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are cheerleading Thrun to perfect the technology. Yes, the cars drive themselves with the aid of lasers, cameras, and other gear. Schmidt revealed that Google’s autonomous cars have already racked up more than 100,000 miles on the road.
It is very possible that five years from now, when many of us will need them most, we will be able to take advantage of this wondrous invention. Just imagine the implications. We will be more independent than ever before, going where we want to go, when we want to go there. Schmidt said that autonomous vehicles are safer than human drivers. “This technology could prevent accidents, help disabled people get around, and reduce traffic congestion and gas consumption.”
General Motors and Toyota are working closely with Google to hasten the development of the technology.
Swisher added that she took a test run and it was a totally weird sensation. “I found myself breaking to stop and wanting to put my hands on the steering wheel. It is going to take some to get used to this.” Schmidt summed up this advancement in technology saying that “humans driving cars was a big mistake. This is the way it was meant to be.”
Swisher must feel Google is getting closer to introducing the self-driving cars to the marketplace because soon after the 92nd St.Y discussion, the Wall Street Journal released an update on it. My comment is, “This may be a good time to get older.”
From the NY Times–Carter starts his work day with yogurt, fruit and cereal.
All men are not created equal when it comes to getting a story in the New York Times. A perfect example is the Internet story that appeared in the Monday, October 8th, edition about Art.sy, an online start up that just went live this week. Art.sy is a free repository of fine art images and an art appreciation guide. The reason why this company was profiled, is because of its pedigree. The investors read like a Who’s Who in the world of art, Internet, and finance.
The father of the 25-year old founder, Carter Cleveland, is an art writer and his mother is a financier. Both were cleverly not identified. Investors are gallerist Larry Gagosian, art-world figure Dasha Zhukova, Rupert Murdoch’s wife Wendi, Eric Schmidt of Google, and Jack Dorsey of Twitter. John Elderfield, the former chief curator of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art, is an adviser.
Now you can accuse me of being cynical and jealous, but I’ve been around long enough to know that a three-day old company does not get profiled in the NY Times, much less a sizeable story. This was a clear case of connections, connections, connections. I have been repeatedly told by the Times that they only write about tech companies that attract record breaking crowds or have proven to be financially successful.
Which category does this fit into?
What is so glaring is the caption below Carter Cleveland’s picture. “Carter starts his work day with yogurt, fruit and cereal.” Who wrote this story, his fairy godmother? In all honesty, I love art and I think a company like this is something I would frequent. However, I must say there have been other companies like it and similar ones still exist. Anyone who has been in the business as long as I have knows that the chances for a company like Art.sy to make it, is going to take a lot of money, more than any of these deep pockets will be willing to part with.
The worse thing that mom and dad could have done for little Carter was helping him get this story planted. He is now going to believe his own PR and will not be able to tough it out against the street kids of the Internet who are prepared to sweat.
Still, I wish Art.sy the best of luck. I truly do.
The big news in the technology press today was that Yahoo’s new CEO is a six-month pregnant executive from Google. Marissa Mayer was vice president in charge of local and location services at Google. She was there for 13 years (the 20th employee) and was very involved in Google Maps, Google Earth and Zagat. Mayer was reportedly instrumental in the 2011 purchase of the world famous restaurant guide/review bible. I read someplace that she was the former girlfriend of Google founder Larry Page (meow). Her husband is Zachary Bogue, a lawyer and a significant investor in big time start-ups (good move). She started at Yahoo a few days ago.
As much as I am a feminist, I was very surprised that Yahoo would hire someone who is going to be slightly pre-occupied with an overwhelming change in her life in the Fall. I should be the last woman on earth thinking this, because I went back to work three weeks after my daughter was born. The truth is I had a C-Section on a Sunday at 4pm, and by Monday morning I was already on the telephone barking orders to HWH employees.
This was all pre-Internet.
Today in the world of virtual workspaces, Mayer should have it much easier because she doesn’t have to physically be anywhere to lead Yahoo once again into greatness. Sources tell me she is very smart, practical, serious about her work and most of all, knows how to make things happen. Those are the ingredients of a woman who can have it all. It is also going to depend on Mr. Bogue. Mayer cannot be filled with guilt when she has to work, which could be the greater part of her day. It doesn’t matter how many you have in help. If your husband or partner is not willing take a full share (plus, plus) of parenting, then a woman is constantly confronted with the question of whether she is doing the right thing. If you have a husband or partner who makes you feel that your child is getting the best care, then a woman has a free head to focus on her work. I was very lucky. My husband was my business partner yet was extremely involved with our daughter and loved being a kid again with her.
I was very involved in raising my daughter, but I was really in charge of security and health. Don’t laugh! I spent most of my free time making sure she was safe, healthy and secure. My husband was one of her friends. Sometimes they talked for hours about fantasy stuff like Dawson’s Creek. It used to drive me crazy listening to them in the car. I was relegated to the back seat with the dogs on our three hour trips to the Hamptons. In those days, I would think to myself, “Who are they talking about? Who are Dawson, Pacey, Jen and Joey?” I was also very lucky when I hired the best nanny in the world. It was just a matter of luck. She took better care of our baby then what we were disciplined to do. Most of the time, our daughter looked like she came out of a gift-wrapped box. The truth is that we became a blended family. Our nanny’s children spent weekends and holidays with us. Today we are still all close.
Now I want to tell you the real reason why I wrote this post. If there was a backlash about Marissa Mayer getting the position because she is having a baby in early October, I would have gone on a rampage on her behalf. For most of my career I have witnessed so many male executives who were not focused solely on their work, but abused their positions to better their personal lives. I am not going to get into specifics, but I could write a book about how many hours I spent with male clients talking and consulting about their girlfriends, their extra martial affairs, the gifts they needed to buy, their golf game, how drunk they got last night, their boats, fast cars, the trips they were taking,how I was going to make them famous for their career sake, and could I introduce them to…………whatever the next job choice was at the moment.
You might ask me why I didn’t extricate myself from these encounters or one-on-one discussions that was neither my business or responsibility. The only answer is that in the early days of my career, pre-internet, you spent more personal time with people and this was a bonding experience I didn’t shy away from. As long as we were getting work done, and there were solid results from my agency each month for each client, I lent an ear on personal topics, Today , I have little tolerance for this. Then again, I’ve heard it all.
I feel I have every right to conclude that Yahoo made one of the most strategic and forward-thinking marketing moves ever. They have now set the standards for other companies as well. Women all over the world have gained a new respect for a company that deserves every bit of it because of what they have accomplished in the past, and what they will gain in the future.
DigiDame 