Faber: The other day, in Ireland, in our innovation center there, one of our team members showed me a forever mouse with the comparison to a watch. This is a nice watch, not a super expensive watch, but I’m not planning to throw that watch away ever. So why would I be throwing my mouse or my keyboard away if it’s a fantastic-quality, well-designed, software-enabled mouse. The forever mouse is one of the things that we’d like to get to.

Patel: What made the mouse a forever mouse?

It was a little heavier, it had great software and services that you’d constantly update, and it was beautiful. So I don’t think we’re necessarily super far away from that.

But, again, I just come back to the cost. You sell me the mouse once. Maybe I’ll pay 200 bucks for it.

The business model obviously is the challenge there. So then software is even more important when you think about it. Can you come up with a service model? In our video conferencing business, that is now a very important part of the model, the services, and it’s critical for corporate customers.

Let’s come to that in a second because that makes sense to me. You sell managed services to enterprises. You price support contracts for cameras and whatever. That’s an ongoing need businesses have. I’m still stuck on, “You’re going to sell me a mouse once and it’s going to have ongoing software updates forever.”

Imagine it’s like your Rolex. You’re going to really love that.

But Rolex has to employ software engineers to ship me over-the-air updates forever.

But the artifact is like your Rolex, and then given that we know the technology that we attach to changes, it’s not going to be like your Rolex in that it doesn’t have to ever change. Our stuff will have to change, but does the hardware have to change? I’m not so sure. We’ll have to obviously fix it and figure out what that business model is. We’re not at the forever mouse today, but I’m intrigued by the thought.

It certainly will help with sustainability. There are two ways people have traditionally proposed monetizing hardware over time. It’s subscription fees and it’s advertising. Is there a third way that I don’t know about that you’re thinking of?

No. The third way is the traditional model of “we innovate and we have you upgrade.” That’s the current model. And we’re pretty damn good at that model because we have pretty damn good innovators around the company who do come up with fabulous products. 

That is definitely the model today. It’s not a bad model at all, especially since we’re continuing to design for more sustainable products. We’re continuing to recycle and refurbish products. All of that is good. But that said, I am intrigued by a forever mouse or forever video conferencing solution that you just update with software and create a business model around that.

I’m going to ask this very directly. Can you envision a subscription mouse?

Possibly.

And that would be the forever mouse?

Yeah.

So you pay a subscription for software updates to your mouse.

Yeah, and you never have to worry about it again, which is not unlike our video conferencing services today.

But it’s a mouse.

But it’s a mouse, yeah.

I think consumers might perceive those to be very different. 

[Laughs] Yes, but it’s gorgeous. Think about it like a diamond-encrusted mouse.

Disney is rolling out a new wave of price hikes that its subscribers will probably be none too pleased to be hit with. Beginning October 17th, individual monthly and annual plans for Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN are all going up.

Monthly subscriptions to Disney Plus with ads will jump from $8 a month to $10. The monthly Disney Plus ad-free tier will increase from $14 to $16, and annual ad-free plans will rise from their previous $140 price point to $160. Hulu’s ad-supported tier will rise from $8 / month and $80 / year to $10 / month and $100 / year, and monthly ad-free plans will jump from $18 to $19. ESPN Plus’ $11 / month and $110 / year plans will now cost $12 / month and $120 / year, respectively. And people subscribed to Disney’s basic and premium streaming bundles will also see their bills getting a bit more expensive this fall.

Along with the new prices, Disney Plus is also giving subscribers access to ABC News Live and a series of curated playlists serving up content from across the company’s portfolio beginning September 4th. The first playlist to hit the service will be focused on things for preschool-aged audiences, and Disney plans on launching four additional categories — Seasonal, Epic Stories (Marvel and Star Wars fare), Throwbacks (older shows and films), and Real Life (documentaries) — in the near future.

The playlist news tracks with past reports of Disney wanting to get into the FAST channel game to offer subscribers a low-effort way of finding things to watch. And while the price hikes similarly gel with Disney’s continued push for streaming profitability, the move isn’t likely to be a welcome change for viewers when it rolls out.

The surge in the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) has brought an unexpected challenge to the forefront. Despite being the third-largest EV market in the nation, Los Angeles and its surrounding areas face a critical shortage of charging infrastructure. A recent study by real estate giant CBRE has dubbed this region a “charging desert,” highlighting the growing disparity between EV ownership and accessible charging options.

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What is a ‘charging desert’ and how was it discovered?

With an advanced digital mapping tool, CBRE assessed EV charging needs nationwide to help its clients. The tool’s purpose was to inform charging networks and property owners to locate and select the optimal locations to install new EV chargers.

This digital mapping tool combines data from approximately 80 sources, from mobile phones and housing type to EV ownership, to name a few. Comparing these sources gave CBRE valuable insights, such as whether most EV owners charge their vehicles at home or work.

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Electric vehicle at a charging station (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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LA’s charging deserts: Key areas lacking sufficient EV infrastructure

The tool revealed that parts of L.A. have significant charging deserts, which are areas where there are not enough public, accessible fast-charging stations to meet the needs of the area. These areas include:

• Inglewood
• Long Beach
• Sherman Oaks
• Studio City
• Lomita
• Southwest Torrance
• Westwood (UCLA)
• Fullerton (Cal State Fullerton)
• Redondo Beach

Electric vehicle at a charging station (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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Why are there ‘charging deserts’?

A variety of factors lead to a “charging desert,” including but not limited to a strong rental market in which most people do not have the ability to charge in their homes. 

For example, Inglewood is made up of almost 70% of renters. And despite more than 1,000 registered EVs in the area and even more driving through daily, there are no public chargers in that area. Additionally, there are issues of inadequate power infrastructure, such as electrical substations for distributing additional power. Also, in densely populated urban areas like L.A., limited parking space makes it challenging to install charging stations.

However, Los Angeles is installing EV chargers on light poles to help meet the growing demand for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

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Electric vehicle at a charging station (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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Challenges of EV charging infrastructure in the US

The electric vehicle (EV) market in the U.S. is witnessing significant growth, with over 1 million EVs sold last year, marking a record high. However, the share of electric vehicles in light-vehicle sales has seen a slight decline, dropping from 8.1% in Q4 2023 to 7% in Q1 2024, as reported by Cox Automotive. Despite this dip, research indicates a “second, significant wave” of potential EV buyers is anticipated in the latter half of the decade.

CBRE’s recent analysis underscores the considerable gap that remains in the charging infrastructure necessary to facilitate this shift, emphasizing the urgency for enhanced investment and development in EV charging solutions.

Kurt’s key takeaways

Even though Los Angeles has nearly 588,000 EVs registered to make up 4.2% of the cars being driven, there are huge gaps in readily available EV charging options. Though the city of L.A. is working to help meet this demand by installing chargers on light poles, L.A. and the rest of the U.S. have a long way to go before having the infrastructure to support America’s shift from gasoline-powered vehicles.

Do you have an EV? If so, has charging been a challenge? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

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