Tag Archives: Kara Swisher

No More Phones and Other Tech Predictions for the Next Decade

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Kara Swisher is a technology soothsayer. She has been successful over and over with her forecasts. Her Opinion editorials in the New York Times are not to be missed.

Swisher predicts that carrying around a device in our hand, and staring at it, will be a thing of the past by 2030. And like the electrical grid we rely on daily, most tech will become invisible.

Your Future 10-Minute Health Check-Up

https://youtu.be/2A2CI_IR-Gk

I will be looking at the future of medicine when I attend CES next week. A French company, named BodyO, will be showing off the BodyO’s AI POD, a self-service one-stop full body digital scanner that features 19 measurements to track a wide range of vital health indicators in just 10 minutes.

I am not sure where these will be located. I imagine they will situated in high traffic areas like shopping malls, airports/train stations, and health clubs.

This is perfect for people on the go. After your analysis, you will be offered virtual coaching (over 1,000 fitness exercises) and over 20,000 easy to use, healthy and nutritious recipes.

Wake Up Twitter

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Thank you Kara Swisher for your opinion piece in the New York Times yesterday. Swisher is one of the most respected tech business journalists in the world. Today she questioned Twitter’s motive to keep publishing the tweets of Alex Jones, an American radio show host and conspiracy theorist.

In her own words, “Apple, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Spotify and most other major internet distributors banished Alex Jones, either permanently or for some unspecified star-chamber-determined amount of time, for hate speech and other violations.

“But not Twitter. Instead, Jack Dorsey, the chief executive, founder and tweet inventor himself, took to his own platform to explain in the high-minded tone that one takes with small children that Mr. Jones wasn’t suspended from Twitter because he “hasn’t violated our rules.”

Swisher finds this inexcusable. She took time out of her busy schedule to challenge Dorsey on his decision. She just can’t sit back and let Twitter give any sort of credibility to a guy who claims the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School was a hoax, and accuses the U.S. government of being involved in the Oklahoma City bombing and the September 11th Twin Tower attacks.

Read what she has to say.

Click here.

Inside Tech: An Industry Podcast 

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Uber’s Travis Cordell Kalanick, Kara Swisher of Recode, and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook.

Vanity Fair’s tech expert Nick Bilton just did a remarkable podcast with Kara Swisher, the legendary technology reporter and co-founder of Recode. The two of them dish about leading members of the tech industry in ways you never heard before and Kara talks about her intentions to run for Mayor of San Francisco. 

It’s fun listening to them banter about their personal lives and what they really think of Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Travis Kalanick of Uber, Steve Jobs of Apple, Bill Gates of Microsoft, and others. Find out about which CEO has panic attacks before interviews, which one has an inferiority complex and the one they dislike the most. 

I truly can’t believe they revealed so much, including information about their personal lives, career desires, and challenges at work. I felt like I was eavesdropping. It was interesting to hear their opinions and insights.

If you want feel like an industry insider, be sure to listen to the podcast. Click here.
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Kara Swisher Interviews Barack Obama

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It doesn’t matter what your political affiliation is, I hope you will agree that it is pretty remarkable that Kara Swisher, executive editor at Re/code, the leading tech publication, secured an interview with President Barack Obama.

Obama was in Silicon Valley last Friday to speak at the White House Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection.

Below are videos of that interview and click here to read the questions and answers.






Vanity Fair Features Uber In November Issue

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Everyone is Uber crazy. My friends and family do not stop talking about how much easier their lives are now because of Uber. They use Uber for all their transportation needs. Some are even talking about giving up their cars.

My friend Steven Adler, 67, told me he sold his two cars because getting around Los Angeles was just too much for him. He uses Uber for everything, even grocery shopping.

Now that we are spending more time in Miami, I just signed up for Uber tonight. I hate driving and I don’t want to have to depend on Eliot to chauffeur me everywhere. I’m excited. My new found freedom.

Who ever thought a phenomenon like Uber would be such a success. According to Wikipedia, as of September 16, 2014, the service was available in 45 countries and more than 100 cities worldwide, and was valued at more than $15 billion. It was started by Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp in 2009.

I have a real treat for you. Vanity Fair, in the November issue, did a profile on Kalanick. Famous Re/Code writer Kara Swisher wrote the piece. I managed to capture the article digitally so I am including it right here.

See you in the back seat.

All Things Full of Shit

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At a certain age, I had to put up with finding out there was no tooth fairy, no Santa Claus, and no Easter Bunny.

I obviously survived all those disappointments, but I don’t know if I can survive this one: as of the first of the year, Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg will no longer be producing AllThingsD for the Wall Street Journal. My equilibrium is now all messed up.

Kara and Walt represent the epicenter of the digital universe as far as I am concerned. Their consistent ace reporting and leading industry guidance, has helped give birth to some of the greatest innovations of our lifetime. Rumor has it, that Steve Jobs would call Walt in the middle of the night to get his opinion about moves he was planning to make. Today the founders or leaders of Google, Twitter, Facebook, Tesla, Amazon, eBay, and Microsoft regularly contact the dynamic duo for their all-important reality checks.

AllThingsD was launched by Walt and Kara, both former WSJ tech reporters/columnists, seven years ago as an extension of The Wall Street Journal’s D: All Things Digital conference.

I don’t think I missed a morning since they started that gig that I didn’t read them and then check back several times during the day to see what else was going on. No matter what other tech site I read, AllThingsD represented the ultimate truth in the ever developing story of Silicon Valley. I’m not the only one who feels that Kara and Walt just have the finest reputations.

I can’t Imagine what the WSJ was thinking when they didn’t renew with Kara and Walt. AllThingsD was the must respectable part of the WSJ organization. While reports claim that the WSJ will try to replace them with new tech hires, I think it is safe to say that it will take years for the publication to capture the caché they once had.

It just proves there is nothing sacred in publishing. It a dollars game, nothing more, nothing less. If the legendary folks cost too much, bring in the youngsters. Editorial is nothing more than some gobbledygook crammed between the almighty ads.

When I look at the larger picture, I realize that Kara and Walt have a better future ahead of them. Either they will sign on with another media service or start their own. In either case, the millions of readers who believe in Walt and Kara will follow them anywhere. They are a part of our digital DNA. We can’t live without them.

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Dark Meat

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I love dark meat Turkey. So does Larry David. I found this out because Kara Swisher of AllThingsd.com shared the video below with her readers. It’s pretty funny, especially if you come from Brooklyn.

I want to dedicate this blog post to Elliott Lampert, my friend in Miami, who had to spend Thanksgiving in the hospital. You will be out soon. Get some good rest. Thank you Mindi for keeping us informed. I finally see the virtue of texting.

Quite a Turkey Day.

An Update On Self-Driving Cars

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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.”

Eric Schmidt Of Google Meets Kara Swisher & Walt Mossberg of WSJ (AllThingsD) At 92nd St Y

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Walt Mossberg, Kara Swisher and Eric Schmidt.

I was waiting for this night for a long time. Three of the most famous names in the digital world were on stage at the 92nd St Y in NYC, one of the most respected institutions for lectures, talks, and entertainment in the United States.

Eric Schmidt is Executive Chairman of Google.
Walt Mossberg is the author and creator of the weekly Personal Technology column in The Wall Street Journal.
Kara Swisher started covering digital issues for The Wall Street Journal’s San Francisco bureau in 1997.

Most of the presentation focused on what Schmidt calls “The Gang Of Four,” Google, Amazon, Apple and Facebook. He said the future really will be about what Facebook does the best, gather personal information from users and their contacts. This will be a valuable growth area and each company will integrate this into their own formats.

Schmidt also pointed out that big name, national newspapers will survive but local ones will not. As strange as this sounds he predicts that celebrities Iike Jay-Z will be the big brands in publishing. “It is very obvious that Americans are celebrity crazed and follow their every word. A newspaper named after a major star will draw more attention than what local newspapers call themselves today.”

Another Schmidt prediction is that mobility will be the most important factor in technology growth. “Software will be designed for mobile devices and then for the web. Today it is the other way around. We have discovered that most users can get along with just using their smartphones. They don’t need anything else.”

Schmidt said six billion people use a phone. One billion use a smartphone. He wants Google to always be the “Center Of Information.”

You’ve Heard Of The Electric Car? Now There Is An Electric Boat

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Can you imagine water skiing on a lake where powerboats were previously prohibited?

Coming to you soon.

Kara Swisher, one of the most important tech writers in the business and co-founder of AllThingsDigital at the Wall Street Journal, revealed an electric boat for the mass market earlier this week. Click here to see Kara’s story.

They said it could never be done but long time tech entrepreneur. Andy Rebele, of Pure Watercraft, did it. Click here to see his story.

The boat is so quiet no one will hear a thing, except the birds and the bees.

Rebele’s last start-up was CityAuction, which he sold to IAC/InterActiveCorp for $54 million.

I guess he is ready for his next big wave.