Uber wants to go public in 2019, Apple makes a big play in streaming video, and a driverless shuttle's first day on the street didn't go so well. All that and more in The Daily Crunch for November 9, 2017. 1. Uber sets sights on 2019 IPO Uber is looking at going public in 2019, per CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who was on stage at the New York Times' Dealbook conference today, giving his first public stage interview since taking over. This is the clearest timeline yet from the company on its plans to file for IPO – but it won't impact the SoftBank deal currently underway, which will give it a heap of cash in the near term from private sources and which will happen soon, per Khosrowshahi. 2. Apple orders marquee Jennifer Aniston/Reese Witherspoon show Apple is making good on its planned push into original content with a really high-profile initial project. It's bought a Reese Witherspoon/Jennifer Aniston TV drama focused on morning shows straight to series. Talk about making a clear departure from 'Planet of the Apps' fare. 3. Uber adds Premium Support tier for high-volume users Some people use Uber a lot – that's why Uber rolled out a pilot for a special 'Premium Support' feature with trained experts on-hand all the time via in-app contact. 4. Driverless shuttle gets hit by a car during first day Self-driving wants to advertise itself as the safer option, so it's pretty bad that a car hit one on its first day of operation in Las Vegas. The excuse was basically that if the truck that hit the shuttle (it wasn't a serious accident by the way) had the same sensor tech, the accident wouldn't have happened. Not good enough, which is why companies should only deploy this when they're absolutely sure it's ready. 5. Amazon now sells its devices at over 100 Whole Foods Amazon bought and deployed its own in-store device retail strategy without anyone paying it much mind, since it looked like a grocery play. The Echo revolution is upon us. 6. Nintendo Switch takes its first step towards being a multipurpose media device Nintendo Switch gets a Hulu app today, which is hopefully just the start of getting more streaming media services on the gaming platform, which is basically just screaming out for them. 7. Facebook adds rentals to its marketplace Facebook is adding housing and apartment rentals to its Marketplace, where apparently some people go to buy and sell things? I've never used it, but maybe someone does. I deleted Facebook from my phone a long time ago and I'm happier since. |