J

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iRobot’s Roomba: Vacuuming the floor with the competition
J
Posted on November 18, 2016 at 5:33 pm
The Roomba revolutionized the vacuum cleaner industry. But can it continue to outpace its competitors?
Capitalizing on Change: Nordic Bulk Carriers and the Northwest Passage
J
Posted on November 4, 2016 at 5:58 pm
Climate change already presents numerous challenges for many businesses. But for some industries, does this cloud have a silver lining?

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On November 20, 2016, J commented on Skyworks Solutions: The Technology in Everyone’s IPhone That Will Change the Future :

Super interesting! On a side note, I have to think that the name “Skyworks” has to somehow be connected to the “Skynet” of the Terminator franchise, given the products they’re peddling…

I like your recommendations for both diversifying and working to increase market share. Relationships with what companies do you think would best help Skyworks to get fully diversified?

As long as it stays on the front end of innovation, it seems that Skyworks could truly have a piece in just about every item in one’s home in 10-20 years. The sky’s the limit, provided they play their cards right.

On November 20, 2016, J commented on Junk You Don’t Want Anymore…… Now Online! :

I wonder if, at this point, there’s any way for newspapers (or another website) to counter the impact of Craigslist–certainly, no platform has the ease of use and name recognition. eBay comes close, but doesn’t facilitate smooth transition of goods between people in the same geographic area. I think it’d be interesting to see eBay take Craigslist head on–it wouldn’t be a huge leap for the website to go down that path.

A major issue is the security/safety of Craigslit, given that it’s also a forum where murderers have been able to find victims. Do you think there’s any way to decrease the risk of buyer/seller in the future, without sacrificing the website’s value proposition?

On November 20, 2016, J commented on Eagleview Technologies: The Eye in the Sky :

This is brilliant. One would think that the roofing industry is one that would be least prone to technological disruption, but it goes to show that one good idea can revolutionize an entire industry.

It’s interesting to think how advances in imaging technology will continue to affect other industries and sectors. The military has gained a tremendous advantage in being able to access up-to-date imagery of buildings, as well as landing zones for aircraft. Check out LIDAR photographs, as well–it’s a bit more expensive than other types of imagery, but may be particularly useful for the roofing industry (and others) as costs continue to decrease.

In order to stay relevant, I imagine that Eagleview would also need to look at focusing more on satellite imagery (once it becomes more comparable in quality to aerial photographs); continuing to partner with companies like Spookfish to stay on the cutting edge.

On November 20, 2016, J commented on ADT’s Digital Transformation – 140 Years in the Making :

Awesome post. ADT was in the internet of things before the internet existed.

It’ll be interesting to see the future of smart home play out: my post discusses a bit about how Roombas could be linked with fire alarms (and Amazon’s Echo) to serve as a roving fire detector. ADT could defend its position as the home security leader by making it more “linkable” with other IoT items: think Roomba for fire/theft detection, continued integration with Nest for surveillance, Amazon Echo for activation of counter-burglar devices a la “Home Alone”. As long as they stay ahead of the game, they could be in a stellar position to be a key centerpiece in the IoT.

On November 20, 2016, J commented on Is the Pen So Mighty After All? :

Super cool. Note-taking is at the intersection of a lot of different fields; it’ll be interesting to see how handwriting-recognition technology will advance in the next few years.

After reading your post, I did some personal research on the current options for digital pens…remarkable technology (check out http://www.toptenreviews.com/electronics/family/best-digital-pens/ for some information on the best digital pens out there). I imagine (and hope) that there will be some serious innovation in the future as soon as Microsoft/Apple get fully on board with developing digital notebooks/pens.

On November 7, 2016, J commented on PADI and Climate Change: Staying Afloat or Drowning? :

Awesome post! This is a huge issue, and I enjoyed reading your thoughts on it.

As you mentioned, artificial reefs are an effective–albeit temporary–replacement for natural reefs. Previous commenters mentioned a concern about whether artificial reefs will serve as adequate tourist destinations. I’d encourage everyone to read about the U.S.S. Oriskany (check out this NY Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/19/science/earth/19ship.html), also known as the “Great Carrier Reef.” Intentionally sinking decommissioned naval vessels in specific, targeted locations provides 1) a great home for marine life and 2) an excellent tourist destination for wreck-certified divers.

It would be great to see the diving community to continue to build support for the creation of artificial reefs–both for wildlife and the diving industry.

On November 7, 2016, J commented on The Death of the Ski Industry? :

Aside from being tremendously depressing, this is a wonderful post.

I wonder how this will play out in coming years. If climate changes forces costs to rise at low elevation resorts, then this may force a spike in tourism at resorts located in higher elevations. A common concern for climate change is that it will force consolidation of populations inland–but few people consider the effects that it will have on tourism.

Furthermore, this may indicate that there will be an increased market for snow-making machines and a need for advances in snow-making technology, given the considerable difference in quality between natural and artificial snow.

On November 7, 2016, Joe K commented on Climate Change Delivers New Opportunities for Maersk Line :

JM,

Great post (great minds think alike).

I particularly like how you emphasized that Maersk must manage risk going forward. This is an opportunity that has tremendous potential, but there is a long list of things that make this situation particularly complex: the uncertain seasonality of when routes are open, inability to effectively track 100% of ice movement along the NSR, and the current dearth of adequate emergency response (and icebreakers) throughout the Arctic.

Another challenge (that is impossible to fully address in 800 words) is the complex political situation in the Arctic. The number of competing claims to shipping lanes in the Arctic indicate that this is a situation that will not be fully resolved for many years. It will be interesting to observe how this plays out in the coming decades.

On November 7, 2016, Joe K commented on Freeport-McMoRan: Demonizing the Foundation :

JP,

This is a very interesting post. As you pointed out, it’s difficult to try to fix something (i.e. work toward sustainability in the automobile industry) without making something else worse.

I wonder what other solutions there might be; perhaps there could be ways to more effectively recycle the massive amounts of copper that have already been mined, in order to supplement what the mining industry produces.

In any case, it’s imperative that governments take account of the second- and third- order effects of regulations: in order to make long-term sustainability a feasible option, all of the inputs for necessary mechanical devices/plants need to be considered–including copper.