Category Archives: Energy

Another Episode of “WHAT IF…” this BIZ meets that Tech

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

The idea for the “What If…” Business and Technology series for me, comes directly out of Marvel comics.  The comics ranged from “fictional” battles or plots that were so abstract yet tangent that it was nearly impossible to happen other than in a “one-off”, alternate reality, comic book in the Marvel Universe.   On the same premise, I will spin several stories that will most likely not happen in the “real world”, but we will bring them to light.

Apple Adopts the Palm OS Business Model

Apple spins off its mobile hardware business and focuses on the iOS operating system.  The mobile OS business unit, in theory, will have a robust and direct focus to drive revenue to their area.  We may see partnerships that would have never developed if these units are continued to be tied together.  Mobile iOS on OEM, 3rd party devices?   Multiboot mobile hardware for Android, Linux, and Mac iOS out of the box.  Competing and evolving lines, between the iOS tablets. How about mobile hardware from Motorola, Nokia, or Blackberry using iOS?

Allow Customers to Buy Gasoline as Units at Current Price on Loyalty Debit Cards

A legitimate reason IS NEEDED why in this day and age of commodities trading, storage, pipelines, trains, tankers, and trucks, why if I can buy stocks at current market value, or go on Ebay and buy 50 yards of antique bobbed wire at an auction, why can’t I go to a gas station and buy 50 UNITS of gas at the current price of gas that day? Upon return to the same brand gas station, I should be able to use my same loyalty debit card and subtract units of gas from the card, instead of the current price of gas that day.

EVs “in the field” Use Existing Home Energy Provider, with Transportation Charges Applied

Similar logic can be applied to Electric, and EVs but with a twist, incorporating the use of your home “energy provider”, and when charging ‘on the go’, only pay local “line usage/distribution” fees.

Full Article Here

Fundraising Using Public WiFi, and an UL/DL MB Meter Reading

What if commercial, public WiFi Hotspots partnered with a fundraising cause, and every MB exchanged (up and/or down), a donation of N cents would go to a charity-sponsored by you with Paypal. The business providing the WiFi would match the donation.

Greece Prosperity / Tourism: The World will Come See You in Augmented Reality (AR)

While perusing through all of the ruins, looking at the sites, watching the tour groups, and the tour guides explaining these empty ruins, I pondered, wouldn’t it be amazing to see the people of ancient times dressed in their clothing of the times, interacting with each other through the ruins as though the tourists were not even there. In effect, acting out scenes that perhaps took place thousands of years ago, echoes of the past. I thought why wouldn’t for starters, the government pays the people of the Arts and Sciences to go through scenes, such as basic interactions with a Librarian, studying in one corner, ignoring the world, and just reading and thinking, and in another corner of this library, there might be a quiet debate going on, in Greek of course, and through a translation application, any foreigner could hear their native language the interactions. It could be ancient commoners, to known ancient people of the past acting out scenes like echoes of the past, while tours just come up close and personal, pass by, even wave their hand in front of an actors hand, and he continues to act as if the tourists were not even there. All of these Greek actors would be prerecorded and play out in Augmented Reality (AR).

Full Article Here

 Tune in next time for more “What If…” episodes.

Accelerating Availability of EV Charging Stations through Legislation

Are you planning on traveling this week for your vacation?  Bought a gas guzzler instead of an EV because of the time it takes to charge, and chargers were not readily available on your commute or a road trip?  Don’t want to get stuck without a charge, or kill a half day recharging your wheels?  It looks like with the release of the Tesla Model 3 it will address most of these items such as:

  • Range Per Charge – 215 miles
  • Supercharging
    • Tesla Supercharger provides up to 170 miles of range in as little as 30 minutes.
  • Relatively Affordable – 35k

But how wide spread are the charging stations, and what could be done as a catalyst to rapidly improve EV charging coverage?   We can look at EV charging coverage, US map like we do for cellular coverage (and range).  One possibility is to tack on a rider to federal funding requiring states that use federal funding for their highways implement EV Charging Stations at EVERY rest stop along the road.  

However, there are a vast array of EV Charging Stations on the market.   Although adoption across the US is currently sporadic, there are several brands/standards of EV Charging Mechanisms

  • A heterogenous mix of N EV chargers per rest stop / station, may allow for a diverse set of solutions.
  • Each state may declare N companies to install, maintain, and periodic upgrades for each EV Charging Station.  Each rest stop / station can be awarded to separate contractors, or clustered
  • The ‘bid winning’ companies per state responsible for the rest station EV chargers must perform ongoing evaluations of EV charging station adoption, and use quantifiable data for upgrading solutions, after N period of time.
Stakeholders to Gain from Expansion of EV Charging Stations across the United States of America.
  • The Consumer
  • EV Manufacturing Car Companies (Ford, General Motors, Nissan, Tesla, Toyota, etc.) Click here for the complete list.
  • Car Rental Firms
    • Is the cost of maintaining an EV vehicle (e.g. batteries) more expensive than the combustible engine?
  • Retail / shops across the US; i.e. at least 1/2 hour to charge
Who is in a position to accelerate / fast track this program?

Finally, is there really a “lack” of EV Charging Stations across the United States?   Here is a map from the U.S. Department of Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) list of charging stations.

I found several EV Charging Stations in my area such as  the Molly Pitcher Service Area, Mile Marker 71.7 New Jersey Turnpike, Cranbury, NJ 08512