Where Google beats Apple - Maps
Even on iPhones, Google Maps is the preferred app.
Apple Maps had a disastrous debut and while it has improved over the years, the gap in usage is only widening.
Over 1 billion people use Google Maps every month.
It gives Google an enormous advantage when practically all major apps that use Maps for navigation live by it - from Uber to logistics and delivery companies.
One of the reasons it has stayed ahead is the remarkable number of updates provided by users - 20 million pieces everyday.
And the way they have managed to map remote areas.
Take Sheep View. Solar powered cameras were strapped to sheep to collect imagery for Faroe Islands.
On the 18 islands there are 50,000 residents - and over 70,000 sheep! And since the sheep roam all over the place, getting a map may not be as organized as it is in the metros, but it works.
Apart from the local public who use selfie sticks, backpacks and horses, tourists who visit Faroe Islands can borrow Street View 360 cameras and contribute, if they want to.
It's only when getting down to the smaller details that the challenges appear. When an area has extensive tree cover, mapping the roads below is difficult. And dry riverbeds can look like dirt roads.
India is now adding 35 kms of new roads everyday - and that has to be captured in the maps going forward.
How quickly new routes and landmarks are updated drives the experience for users - and they are quick to criticize, slow to accept.
In a project as mammoth as this, when the app that appears on your phone is a small window to the world, it's difficult to see the whole picture.
And that's the way it will always be.
Does anyone still use a fax machine?
here are over 43 million fax machines still operating across the world.
And they are used to send out 17 billion documents every year. That's now, not the statistics from a decade ago.
We make the mistake of assuming that when technology moves on, old ways are abandoned.
But they continue in pockets that still makes it profitable to service them.
The National Health Service in the UK maintains over 8000 units. To do business with them, businesses have to learn to send a fax!
In some sectors in Japan, over 50% of business is still done through faxes.
These statistics are provided by an online Fax provider, so we can look at it in two ways - that they have a biased interest in keeping the business going, or that some sectors simply don't change as quickly as we believe they do.
They also state that 11 million businesses have switched to online faxing. So, it is not faxes being fed into machines but simply sent via online channels - and it must be working well enough for them to continue.
And here's the recipe backwards - there are films demonstrating how to send a fax by email! There are even mobile fax applications.
The enterprises involved are Fortune 500 companies - and while they do talk about moving into the future and metaverses, a significant portion of the business is conducted through these tried and tested solutions.
The faxes are now stored securely in email boxes - so the question that arises is why the company has not switched to email completely, instead of relying on the tech that went out of favour decades ago.
The truth is that processes and systems don't change overnight. They adapt.
Shrinking markets for a technology can still be a goldmine!
So why would you want to scoot underwater?
Fins on feet aren't enough.
And the heavy oxygen tanks the lifeline for every breath.
Snorkeling is possible only in shallow waters.
The solution is another piece of equipment strapped to the arm. It provides battery operated thrust saving divers the effort of propelling themselves underwater.
The underwater scooter is simply a battery inside a tube with a hook around the index finger to control the speed.
What works is that it reduces the strain of moving underwater because human bodies are nowhere as supple or designed like underwater creatures.
To us, it is an alien environment.
The fascinating part is how we've moved from snorkels to deep diving to oxygen cylinders and now, to propelling divers who cover more ground - or more ocean, if we want to get the context right.
Exploration over a greater area is now possible - and the 'scooter' works at depths up to 60 metres. That may not seem like much, but newer models could help divers reach new depths in the years to come.
Top speeds are also limited to 2 mtrs per second. But it is a significant improvement on the speed divers can generate with only their arm movements.
These improvements are incremental - and it will depend on how large and how fast the market grows for the product.
The Kickstarter project could be a good test case for the demand this product generates.
PADI, the world's leading certifying authority for scuba divers has issued more than 28 million diver certifications since 1967.
There's no mention on how many of these are hobbyists vs professionals - but as the numbers grow, this market has the potential to accelerate products built around enhancing the diving experience.