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Google’s New Gadgets Come With a Big Helping of A.I.

Google’s unveiling of new smartphones, smart speakers and other gadgets had all the makings of a typical technology product launch: a fawning crowd of superfans, skeptical journalists, slick product videos, not-so-subtle jabs at the competition, and overly romanticized descriptions of design choices, colors and materials.

But one nagging question lingered for Google, which makes nearly all of its money from selling online advertisements: Is it finally serious about making devices?

On Wednesday, Google did its best to demonstrate its commitment. It introduced two new Pixel smartphones, Google Home speakers both small and large, a laptop running the company’s Chrome software, a new virtual reality headset and wireless headphones.

But Google’s pitch for why its hardware is different had little to do with the hardware itself.

Unlike the way an Apple event is conducted — usually chock-full of talk about chip speeds and screen resolutions — Google didn’t spend much time on product specifications. Instead, its focus was on artificial intelligence. Sundar Pichai, Google’s chief executive, spent the first 10 minutes explaining how artificial intelligence was helping Google Maps and its translations.

Mr. Pichai said that as an “A.I. first” company, this is a “unique moment in time” for Google to combine hardware, software and artificial intelligence. “It’s radically rethinking how computing should work,” he said.

Google executives said it has been getting harder to find new hardware breakthroughs like bigger and better screens, but they believe significant improvements will come from artificial intelligence software that is developing at a faster clip than physical components.

Rick Osterloh, Google’s senior vice president of hardware, compared the company’s strategy for building devices to search and email. Google was not the first search engine and Gmail was hardly the first free web-based email provider — but both services reimagined what those products should do.

Last year, the company started its “Made By Google” line of hardware products, headlined by the Pixel smartphone. The handset received positive reviews, but it did not threaten the premium smartphone dominance of Apple or Samsung.

On Wednesday, Google demonstrated how every hardware product had received an A.I. makeover. The Pixel smartphones come with an image-recognition app called Lens that can help users find information just by pointing a camera at a movie poster or an ad. The new “smart speaker” uses artificial intelligence to adjust its sound for the layout of a room. And new wireless headphones allow for instant translation of different languages.

The question of Google’s commitment to hardware is a testament to the challenges of competing against devices made by Apple, Amazon and Samsung. Most other companies have found it hard to turn a profit in that product fight, and a flop can follow a company around for years — both in money and reputation lost.

It is also a recognition of Google’s history of fits and starts with devices. The company once acquired Motorola, only to sell it a few years later to Lenovo. It bought Nest and Dropcam, but the introduction of new products from those home device companies seemed to stagnate after they joined Google, now operating under the parent company, Alphabet.

Whether Google’s device push sticks over the long haul remains to be seen, but its checkbook for hardware is still open.

Last month, Google said it had agreed to acquire a team of 2,000 engineers from the Taiwanese manufacturer HTC for $1.1 billion. The hardware-focused personnel came from an HTC research and development division that was already working with Google to create the Pixel phones. Google said the acquisition will allow it to move faster in its efforts to develop new features for smartphones.

The deal is expected to close, pending regulatory approval, early next year.

Roomba maker wants to sell your home’s floor plan

Robot burglars better not get any ideas.

The maker of the Roomba robotic vacuum, iRobot, wants to start selling mapped floor plans of customers’ homes to Google, Amazon and Apple, the company said Tuesday.

The privacy-invading plan will help other smart home devices operate more efficiently using movement data collected by the circular cleaning gadget, CEO Colin Angle told Reuters.


“There’s an entire ecosystem of things and services that the smart home can deliver once you have a rich map of the home that the user has allowed to be shared,” Angle said.

The home layout data will likely include info on the location of everything from lamps to home security cameras and thermostats, according to the firm.

But the thought of a robot collecting such sensitive info pushed some customers’ buttons.

“Your friendly little Roomba could soon become a creepy little spy,” one Twitter user slammed.

Others feared the data could be hacked.

“Wow. Who knew that the Roomba was mapping your house?” another customer, Jennifer Grygiel, tweeted in a huff.

Roombas have been been on the market since 2002 and have been been mapping homes using a camera and sensors since 2015.

The company assured users the gadgets wouldn’t sell house layout data without asking first.

“We will always ask your permission to even store map data. Right now, iRobot is building maps to enable the Roomba to efficiently and effectively clean your home,” the company told CNET in a statement.

“In the future, with your permission, this information will enable the smart home and the devices within it to work better. For example, in order for the lights to turn on when you walk into a room, the home must know what lights are in which rooms,” the company said.

iRobot became compatible with Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant in March and could reach a deal to sell its maps in the next couple of years, Angle said.

Investors love the plan, which has sent iRobot’s stock soaring from $35 a year ago to more than $87 as of Tuesday morning.

The popularity of smart home technology — including lamps to speakers to refrigerators — has spiked in the past few years.

Amazon, Apple and Google didn’t respond to a request for comment.
http://nypost.com/2017/07/25/roomba-maker-wants-to-sell-your-homes-floor-plan/

Higi ja pisaratega tippinvestoriks

Uustulnukana Äripäeva investorite TOPi kerkinud Lauri Meidla sõnul nõuab edu saavutamine tuhandetes tundides aega, tekitab närvipinget ning seab rahapaigutaja mitme närvesööva valiku ette.

„Portfellis igasuguste muudatuste tegemine on üliraske,“ viitas Meidla sellele, et edukas investor seisab sageli raskete valikute ees. „Minul on iga suurem portfelli muudatus elus võtnud tervist, tekitanud närvipinget ja võtnud mõnikord aastaid ning tuhandeid tunde,“ kirjeldas Investorite TOPis tänavu 31. kohal paiknev Meidla oma teed tippu.

Raske valik seisis Meidla ees ka siis, kui LHV otsustas enda väärtpaberid aasta tagasi Tallinna börsil noteerida. Selleks, et investeeringusse siseneda, tuli investoril langetada tähtis otsus. „LHV IPO jaoks loobusin rohkem kui 15protsendilise omakapitali tootlusega rahavooga objektist ja neid ohvreid tuli tuua veel,“ selgitas Meidla.

LHV - maailma parim

Meidla portfellist leiab hetkel 2580 euro eest Harju Elektri aktsiaid, 6670 euro eest Tallinna Kaubamaja aktsiaid ning vaieldamatult kõige suurem positsioon on investoril kodmaise LHV aktsiates. Panga väärtpabereid on Meidlal 1 268 506 euro eest. „Eelmise aasta üks suuri eesmärke oli saada LHV investeering alla 10eurose aktsiahinnaga,“ rääkis ta.

Kuigi LHV aktsia kaupleb praeguse seisuga 9,51 euro juures, leiab Meidla, et tegemist on hoolimata hinnast väga hea investeeringuga. „Arvan siiralt, et keskmisel eestlasel pole täna maailma börsidelt leida LHV-st paremat investeeringut,“ oli ta kodumaise panga headuses veendunud. Seejuures avaldas Meidla lootust, et LHV turuväärtus ületab 1 miljardi euro piiri juba enne 2025. aastat.

Lisaks arvas Meidla, et LHV pakub täna atraktiivsemat sisenemiskohta kui enne esmaemissiooni. Samuti on tema hinnangul võimalik kriisi eest kaitsta arenevate riikide võlakirjadega. „See tundub mõistlik kaitsestrateegia, kui keegi tahab seda kasutada,“ märkis ta. Kindlasti ei tasuks Meidla hinnangul aga investeerimisest loobuda või karta, et praegu on vale aeg turule sisenemiseks. „Ma keskenduks Eestile kuna siin on hetkel turvaline, hea ja lihtne,“ arvas investor.

Kuigi Meidla usub LHV-sse, selgub aktsiaraamatutest, just kui oleks investor väärtpabereid viimase aasta jooksul märkimisväärsel hulgal müünud. Päris nii see aga Meidla kinnitusel ei ole. „Ma ei ole midagi müünud, suur ports aktsiaid on mul repos ehk siis pandud laenu tagatiseks,“ selgitas ta.

Tallinn valmistub kasvuks

Tallinna börsi usub Meidla aga suuresti selle kõrge tulevikupotentsiaalitõttu ning pealinna arenguvõimalusi silmas pidades. „Täna ei arvesta keegi sellega, et suure tõenäosusega on aastal 2025 Tallinnas rohkem kui 500 000 inimest,“ selgitas ta. „Selleks ajaks on nii mõnestki IT-firmast saanud multimiljoni ettevõtted ning ka palgad on oluliselt kõrgemad,“ rääkis Meidla.

Kuigi Meidla on Tallinna börsi selle aasta väljavaadete suhtes küllaltki optimistlik, jagub tal ka kriitikat. „Paljude börsifirmade tegevus on suht-koht arusaamatu,“ märkis ta. „Tallinna börsil on elavaid surnuid mitu, paber kannatab palju ning seetõttu tunduvad surevate firmade numbrid teinekord jube atraktiivsed,“ viitas Meidla sellele, et peab oma senise investeerimiskogemuse jooksul suurimaks veaks just neid olukordi, kus on ainult numbreid usaldanud. „Õnneks on need küll väiksemad investeeringud olnud,“ rõõmustas ta.

Tema sõnul võib iga soliidse omakapitali või mõistliku kasumlikkusega firma osutuda kõndivaks laibaks. Meidla tõi välja, et usaldab kodubörsilt lisaks LHV-le veel Tallinna Kaubamaja ja Harju Elektrit.

Hindab usaldust ja aega

Investeerimisotsuste tegemisel peal Meidla kõige tähtsamaks börsifirma usaldusväärsust ning seda, et investoril oleks aega ettevõtte tegevustesse süveneda.

„Kõige, kõige olulisem on usaldusväärsus, kui seda pole, ei ole midagi,“ rõhutas ta. „Ei saa investeerida ülipõnevasse projekti või firmasse, kui pole usaldust – kui usaldus on, tuleb hinnata kuidagi omanike ja või juhatuse konkurentsivõimet,“ lisas Meidla. Lõpuks peab ta oluliseks vaadata ka numbreid, mis võiks enam-vähem loogilised olla.

Teisena peab Meidla investeerimisotsuste langetamisel oluliseks aega. „Aeg on selline asi, mida paljud väikeinvestorid ei arvesta, kuid see võib olla nende suurim vara või kohustus,“ arvas ta. „Näiteks olen tükk aega murdnud pead, kuhu aega investeerida,“ lisas Meidla.

Investeerimist peab ta aga elukestvaks protsessiks ning seetõttu ei taha Meidla ka end edukaks nimetada. „Täna ei julge ega taha ma kuidagi end edukaks pidada,“ kinnitas ta. „Olulised investeeringud on alles poole peal ning tahan tulevikku vaadata,“ kirjeldas ta oma paiknemist investeerimisteekonnal, avaldades seejuures lootust, et suudab tulevikus ka oma aega efektiivsemalt juhtida ning erinevate projektide vahel hajutada.

Filosoofilised riskid

Riskidena aktsiaturgudele nimetab Meidla sõda, looduskatastroofe ja nende firmade juhatusi, kes ei julge võtta riske, areneda ja uute asjadega välja tulla. Seejuures ei pea ta aga probleemiks maailma võlakoormust. „See oli tähtis 2010. aastal, kuid täna Keskpangad ja poliitikud selle vana kooli probleemiga ka tegelevad,“ leidis ta.

Nimetatutest rohkem kardab ta aga suuri tõuse. „Kõige rohkem kardan ma paradoksaalsel kombel Nasdaq 100 ülijärsku ja tugevat edasist tõusu,“ märkis Meidla. „See tähendaks suuri filosoofilisi muutusi poodlemisest panganduse ja põllumajanduseni,“ oli ta veendunud. „Ma saaks väga hästi aru investorist, kes ostaks täna Nasdaq 100 portfelli kaitsmise eesmärgiga,“ lõpetas ta.

Nasdaq Breaches 6,000 Mark for First Time Ever

The Nasdaq breached the 6,000 mark for the first time ever on Tuesday, spurred by a raft of strong corporate earnings and President Donald Trump's promise of a major tax reform plan.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose as much as 0.4 percent to hit a record level of 6,007.72 helped by gains in Biogen and Apple.

The index first breached the 5,000 mark on March 7, 2000 and closed above that level two days later during the height of the tech boom. Biogen's shares jumped more than 4 percent after the biotech company reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue on Tuesday.

At 9:36 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 184.02 points, or 0.89 percent, at 20,947.91, the S&P 500 was up 9.71 points, or 0.41 percent, at 2,383.86 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 22.27 points, or 0.37 percent, at 6,006.09.

Trump promised last week to make "a big tax reform and tax reduction" announcement on Wednesday. The president has directed his aides to move quickly on a plan to cut the corporate income tax rate to 15 percent from 35 percent, a Trump administration official said on Monday.

Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were higher, with materials and financials in the lead.

Better-than-expected profits at McDonald's and Caterpillar helped the Dow outperform other major Wall Street indexes.

Tuesday's gains build on a day-earlier rally, which was driven by the victory of centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron in the first round of the French presidential election. Polls show Macron is likely to beat his far-right rival Marine Le Pen in a deciding vote on May 7.

"The French vote and Trump's plan to slash corporate taxes to 15 percent are two powerful forces that will still likely contribute to a positive trend as earnings prove to be better than expected," Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial wrote in a note.

Of the 100 S&P 500 companies that have reported results so far, 77 percent have beaten profit expectations, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Over the past four quarters, 71 percent of the companies had beaten estimates.

Straight Path rose 6.3 percent after the company said a "multi-national telecommunications company" had offered $104.64 per-share, topping AT&T's bid of $95.63 per share.

Sandwich supplier AdvancePierre Foods jumped 9.2 percent after Tyson Foods said it would buy the company for about $3.2 billion in cash.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,857 to 741. On the Nasdaq, 1,787 issues rose and 519 fell.

The S&P 500 index showed 57 52-week highs and two lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 114 highs and nine lows.

Peugeot in talks to buy GM's Vauxhall and Opel business

French carmaker PSA says it is considering taking over General Motors' (GM) European Opel business.

PSA - which makes Peugeot, Citroen and DS cars - and GM already share production of SUVs and minivans.

The French government holds a 14% stake in PSA, as do the Peugeot family and Chinese firm Dongfeng Motor.

Any deal would include Opel's UK affiliate Vauxhall, and create a carmaker with about 16% of the European market.

'Potential acquisition'

Shares in the maker of Peugeot cars were up by 5.3% in Paris in lunchtime trading.

"PSA confirms that it is exploring a number of strategic initiatives with GM with the aim of increasing its profitability and operating efficiency, including a potential acquisition of Opel," company spokesman, Bertrand Blaise, said.

But they added "there can be no assurance that an agreement will be reached".

Any new combined firm would overtake Renault to become the second largest European carmaker, after Volkswagen.

In December 2013, GM sold its 7% stake in PSA for £250m, after plans to make cost savings from co-operating on a number of projects were not as successful as envisaged.

That failed experiment led PSA to seek a bailout from the French government and Dongfeng.

In 2009, after GM's bankruptcy the US car giant came close to selling German-based Opel, but changed its mind in order to retain a strong presence in Europe.

But the PSA announcement comes a week after GM reported a loss of $257m from its European operations last year.

That was the sixteenth consecutive loss-making year for GM in Europe, bringing its cumulated losses on the continent since 2000 to more than $15bn.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-38969791