Tag: Amazon

Categories
Stuff

Humanoid Robots

A couple of YouTubers I enjoy watching are very upbeat about the prospects for humanoid robots in our future. They talk of massive markets ahead for these creatures. Elon talks about Tesla becoming the biggest revenue company on the planet based on sales of Tesla’s Optimus robots.

Count me skeptical. I’m a big believer in purpose built robots for specific tasks. A couple of years ago I spent a few hours in an Amazon Fulfillment Center in Tracy, California and got to see a whole fleet of industrial robots helping automate that facility and speed shipments to customers. Years before that I toured the Tesla factory in Fremont, California and saw big industrial robots maneuvering car parts around on the factory floor. Those kinds of robots make lots of sense to me.

But humanoid robots? Maybe there’s a market but I suspect there’s too much optimism about the size of that market. After all, do you want or need a humanoid robot driving your car?

Categories
Books Business

Brad Stone’s The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon

It’s been a while since I’ve made a book recommendation – but this is a good one. Over the weekend, I finished reading Brad Stone‘s remarkable story about Jeff Bezos and Amazon.

While some of the Amazon reviewers dispute Stone’s story telling, he does a masterful job of walking through the history of Amazon and educating us on the ins and outs of Jeff Bezos’ approach to building a business. And what an amazing business he’s built.

This is one of those business biographies worth the time – there are great stories of the competitive spirit, the absolute cheapness of the culture, and the power of plowing everything you make in the way of profits back into growing and extending the business. “Your margin is my opportunity” is a quote attributed to Bezos and Stone brings that attitude to life in this great story.

If you like this kind of business history, you’ll really enjoy Stone’s storytelling and come away educated and enlightened. Brad Stone was interviewed today on KQED’s Forum program with Michael Krasny – it’s worth a listen!

Here’s an Amazon Associates link to the book – The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon – if you click on the link and end up buying the book, I’ll get a small referral commission at no additional cost to you. Just another of Bezos’ innovations.