In today’s Bulldog wrapup of technology news:
- GM brands its ride-sharing effort as Maven
- Microsoft buys educational Minecraft
- Amazon expands smart-home ordering
- Verizon joins “sponsored data” push
The details:
- GM picks Maven for ride sharing name
The final destination is a mystery, but General Motors is taking another step on its fast-moving journey into new ways of getting around.
The company on Thursday announced that it’s formed a brand called “Maven” that will run its car-sharing ventures, including a new one that will begin competing with ZipCar next month in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and spread to other metro areas later this year.
GM executives said they expect their main business model of selling cars to people will continue to be large, but they also see big changes coming with ride- and car-sharing.
“We see significant opportunity as that change occurs,” GM President Dan Ammann said. “We very much as a company want to make sure we’re at the forefront of that.”
The unveiling of Maven comes on the heels of two new mobility deals announced by GM this year: a $500 million investment in ride-hailing company Lyft and the purchasing of the remnants of defunct ride-hailing company Sidecar.
Maven already has 21 parking spaces and new GM vehicles assigned to the area around the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, including spots in dormitory lots. It’s also expanding a residential car-sharing project to more apartment buildings in New York City and to Chicago.
- Microsoft’s Minecraft deal
Microsoft is buying the educational version of Minecraft and has plans to create a bigger and better version of the popular world-building video game that’s designed for classrooms.
The Redmond, Washington, software company will partner with TeacherGaming LLC, creator of MinecraftEdu, to transform that game into “Minecraft: Education Edition.” Financial terms were not disclosed.
Microsoft says the new version will add and expand features intended to make the game classroom friendly, including better maps and coordinates that will help teachers and students find their way around a Minecraft world together. Developers will also beef up the game’s multi-player capabilities so that a classroom of up to 40 kids can work together.
The game lets players explore, fight monsters and build surprisingly complex structures — even electrical circuits — out of blocks. You could easily use it to teach math, said Deirdre Quaranstrom, Microsoft’s director of Minecraft education. But kids could also explore ancient temples in the game for a history class or view the inside of an eyeball as part of a science lesson.
Perks for educators include an online community with a mentorship program for connecting teachers experienced with Minecraft to those new to it.
The new game will be available this summer, with free trials available for teachers and students. Microsoft will announce pricing details before the end of the current school year, but says it currently plans to keep the price at $5 per user per year.
- Amazon beefs up smart-home ordering
Amazon is expanding its smart-home ordering service to a range of new appliances. Its Dash “replenishment” service lets users reorder common household items with a touch of a button. (Its first incarnation involved plastic “Dash buttons” dedicated to particular products; pressing one orders a set quantity of, say, diapers or dishwasher detergent.)
The new Dash devices will work in a similar fashion, although they won’t be dedicated buttons anymore. Instead, Brother connected printers will let you order replacement toner or ink automatically. A GE washer will reorder detergent when it runs low. And a Gmate glucose meter, which tests blood sugar for diabetics, automatically reorders testing strips and blood-drawing lancets when needed. Users can sign up online to activate the service.
Amazon first announced the expansion to the Dash line in October; now the new products are hitting the market. Others in the works include Purell hand-sanitizer dispensers, Samsung laser printers, “smart” home locks from Austin and others.
- Verizon’s new data plan
Verizon is the latest cellphone company to offer Web surfing for customers that doesn’t count against their data caps.
Under such caps, you can get hit with extra fees or slower speeds if you go over your plan’s data limit. That’s not particularly difficult, especially if you’re often watching video and listening to music on the go.
Verizon has said that it’s interested in “sponsored data” as another source of revenue. A company can pay Verizon so that phone users can browse their websites, watch video clips or download their apps without using up their data allotment. Verizon says brands that have signed up include Hearst Magazines and AOL, which Verizon owns.
AT&T also launched a sponsored data program two years ago, but relatively few companies are participating.
By contrast, T-Mobile exempts several dozen music and video providers from caps, but says it isn’t charging them. It says it wants to appeal to customers who watch a lot of video in a way that doesn’t strain its network as much. To do that, it degrades video quality across the board, even for video that isn’t exempted from caps. T-Mobile says that lets customers watch more.
Government regulators have asked AT&T and T-Mobile for more information about their strategies. While net neutrality rules enacted last year don’t ban the practice of picking and choosing services that won’t count against data caps, technically known as “zero rating,” some advocates say it could hinder innovation or favor some companies over others. Net neutrality refers to the concept that websites and apps should be treated equally by Internet service providers.
Some government and police officials may be seething because encryption makes it harder for them to track criminals and extremists, but it turns out that many companies aren’t bothering to protect their data by encoding it in the first place.
