Love Those Tea Leaves

Tesla Problems?

Tesla has brought in a new director of its driverless project. Actually, this person is already at Tesla. Will this mean more of the bit-by-bit advance for its driverless technology? Does it mean speeding up the project? I have no idea and I'm not seeing reports that do more than speculate.


Ford - 3 Is a Lucky Number

Ford is about to triple the dollars it spends on driverless technology, demonstrating (1) that the automaker is serious, (2) that it feels real competition, and (3) that the company believes is it is close and a competitive player for taking this market when driverless goes live, as it were. And Ford is aiming for normal people, not the luxury market. CEO Fields envisions this as heeding the company's Model T heritage of bringing automobiles to the masses. (Now wasn't that a disaster for cities? Don't even think that unmentionable name of Robert Moses, whose evil extended to the loss of the Brooklyn Dodgers, causing heartrending sadness for my hometown and for my grandpa.)

Please note that Ford is playing it safe by pursuing both semi-autonomous and completely self-driving technology.

Flying High in the Sky

A little des(s)ert here after the above healthy meal. Google is working in the beautiful desert of New Mexico on solar-powered drones. It's a 5G project. This will make the Jetsons look completely old fashioned. (That's the extent of my sci-fi interest.)

Will Google employees run into Walter White? Oh, now I remember. Guess not.

One Last Tea Leaf

The current laser technology that allows driverless vehicles to "see" has potential competition. The competition is not yet ready for prime time, but someone who is working with this stereoscopic technology is confident that the computer advances and faster speeds will soon make this a practical and cheaper alternative. Translation: Perhaps this is the VHS to the laser's betamax.

If you are under 30, you probably have no idea what that translation means. You might first have to learn G-talk and find out about Huckapoo shirts and Jordache jeans. Or maybe that's my Brooklyn upbringing talking. As Bernie says, Enough already. Or was that my father? Both.