It’s Thursday! It’s been a wild and rough work week and I need a drink. Here’s another week of tech talk with Mark Starling and the First News 570 crew. This week, Ticketmaster wants to use apps to figure out if you’ve gotten your COVID shot, SEGA sells a big chunk of arcade operating business signaling the end of an era, after years of building processors for its phones Apple announces its first processor for Mac, and Wal-Mart announces pilot robo-delivery service in Scottsdale using autonomous driving vehicles. You can listen to Mark and I point and laugh while talking about the wild and crazy technology world every Thursday morning, LIVE at 6:43am Eastern.
TICKETMASTER PLANS TO USE HEALTH PASSES SO SHOW CAN GO ON
Excited to get performers back onstage after Pfizer’s COVID-19 announcement, Ticketmaster, the company that charges 100% fee for tickets, announced plans to use third party health information applications to provide information on whether or not a ticket purchaser has been vaccinated against COVID-19. Fans wanting to see a live show will have to verify that they’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19 after purchasing their ticket. (I read that a few times, with Ticketmaster, it’s always after the ticket has been purchased) The purchaser will have to provide some information to Ticketmaster that will allow them to retrieve data from CLEAR Health Pass, IBM Digital Health Pass, or information provided by LabCorp or CVS Minute Clinic. Ticketmaster will be using digital ticketing (there goes souvenirs) and its SmartEvent technology to lower the chance of spreading the virus. Ticketmaster plans to roll out these plans in 2021 provided we’re in a better place with the pandemic.
IN SIGNAL OF DEPARTURE, APPLE ANNOUNCES NEW CHIP FOR MACS
This week, Apple announced a new microprocessor named the M1 for Macs. The new microprocessor is a system on a chip (SoC) which includes an 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, and a 16-core neural engine microprocessor to be used for artificial intelligence processing. Combining all of these discrete components results in more performance while consuming less power according to Apple. Apple is using a new 5-nanometer manufacturing process which results in 16 billion transistors on the chip. Apple’s new chip is a signal for parting with Intel as it reduces their dependency on the processor supplier. Oh, and they brought back the PC guy.
HIT BY COVID-19 HARD, SEGA SELLS OFF ARCADE OPERATING BUSINESS
In August, we reported how SEGA had closed the Akihabara, an iconic arcade which had served as a nerd mecca in Tokyo. SEGA had closed the Akihabara because COVID-19 forced players to stay home. SEGA has announced that it will be selling an 85.1% stake in its arcade operating business to Genda, a Tokyo company specializing in arcade rentals. Genda will take control of the arcades and operate them, but they will still have the SEGA name and branding. SEGA had over 200 arcades operating in Japan before the sale.
WAL-MART CRUISES IN SCOTSSDALE WITH ROBO DELIVERY SERVICE
Wal-Mart is partnering with General Motors owned Cruise in offering robo-delivery services in Scottsdale, Arizona. Wal-Mart will be offering the services as a pilot and hasn’t specified how many cars will be in the robo-delivery fleet. Wal-Mart has partnered with Ford, Nuro, Udelv, and Waymo autonomous driving companies in a bid to get ahead of the anticipated $100 billion food-at-home delivery market by 2025.