Rays trusted analytics in the World Series, and it cost them.

On October 27th, 2020 the Tampa Bay Rays faced off against the Los Angelas Dodgers in Game 6 of the World Series. The Tampa Bay Rays were down in the series three games to two. They sent out their former Cy Young pitcher to the mound, Blake Snell, to force a Game 7. Blake Snell brought his A-Game on Tuesday night, dealing nine strikeouts and only giving up two hits.  Blake Snell was actually the first pitcher in World Series history to record nine strikeouts with zero walks in less than six innings. Blake Snell was absolutely on fire and had the Rays leading Game 6 with a one run lead. However, Kevin Cash, the manager of the Tampa Bay Rays decided to pull Snell after giving up his second hit in the 5th inning.

Kevin Cash decided to pull Blake Snell who had thrown only 73 pitches at that moment in the game, not because of the pitch count but because analytics has shown based off Snells past performances that he struggles when he faces batters for the third time around. Instead of going with your gut and making your decision based off what the eyes tell you, Kevin Cash trusted numbers instead of his ace who was having an all-time performance in the most critical game of this Tampa Bay Rays season.

Baseball leads all other sports in sports analytics. The Oakland A’s showed how effective a team can be by using analytics and statistics to find players who are cheap, because of the Oakland A’s small payroll. The Oakland A’s couldn’t afford any top free agents. Short-story-short the Oakland A’s were able to use analytics to discover talent from the data. Baseball is a very stat driven sport where a players greatness is based off a batting average, number of home-runs, on-base percentage (OPS), and for a pitcher earned-run average (ERA). There are many more stats that matter to baseball but that is for a whole other story.

I want to know what people think about whether you should trust analytics all the time in sports and never make a call from a the feel of the game, and if that’s so, what is the point of a manager if they make their decisions based on analytics.

 

Source: https://www.si.com/mlb/2020/10/30/kevin-cash-blake-snell-world-series-game-6

https://calgarysun.com/sports/baseball/mlb/analytics-cost-cash-rays-shot-at-pulling-out-world-series-upset

 

Apple taking advantage of App Store

Apple who owns and runs the Apple Store that is within all of its products accumulates at least $15 Billion in sales. Recently, many people have been taking notice of the way Apple is pushing its consumers to use in game purchases, so why is it that this trillion dollar company is doing so and facing backlash? It is simply because Apple is taking 30% of paid apps and in game purchases. If it wasn’t noticeable this is an extremely excessive number and there are many companies who rely on their app in game purchases as their main source of income. The issue is that there is no other way to go about getting apps out to the public without going through the App Store. the App Store has a complete monopoly through Apple products. There is nothing these companies can do but to give up 30% for every purchase.

We have been watching Epic Games try and take a stand against Apple, and it is pretty interesting seeing all of this play out. For those who don’t know, Epic Games is the creator of the popular game Fortnite. Fortnite is a free game that relies on their in game purchases for revenue, for every single purchase someone makes Apple takes 30% of each. Fortnite stood up for themselves and offered a new direct payment in their game so they would avoid the Apple charge. Apple found this out and immediately took Fortnite off of the App Store. Epic Games and their fans took offense and started to boycott Apple. Last I have checked, Epic Games was filing a lawsuit to Apple because “it positions its anti-trust argument by saying that Apple has a monopoly over IOS distribution. The antitrust arguments for every big tech company tends to hinge on some question of market definition”. There are of course alternatives to get around this like switching to Samsung but Apple accounts for a majority of all mobile app revenue in the U.S.. For the sake of Apple keeping a close relationship with app companies, let’s hope they attempt to reduce the cut they take.

source: https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/14/21368504/fortnite-apple-google-app-store-brief-incomplete-timeline

T-Mobile merging with Sprint

4 big phone companies turns to 3 after we see the merge of T-Mobile and Sprint. Im making this post because I am interested in hearing if everyone thinks this will make the new company more successful or if it will fall off, making AT&T and Verizon even more stronger than before. Some of the promises that the new T-Mobile says will come include massive capacity, faster internet, and more 5g users.

T-Mobile promises that over the next 6 years their capacity will increase by 14x, that in just a few short years their fast network will increase by 8x and then by 15x in 6 years, and that in the next 6 years their 5G will be provided to 99% of Americans. These are some really bold statements and I would love to see if they can manage to complete all of these within the next 6 years. I really think this was a good call on both companies to do this, especially on Sprints end. I think Sprint realized it would be out of the game within the next decade and they did what’s best in order to survive. This is good for both companies though not just one, T-Mobile can now take all of Sprint’s clients which is a great addition. I do not believe T-Mobile would fail without Sprint but In order to compete with the 2 biggest companies the smaller ones needed to work together before they both went out of business. AT&T and Verizon are now facing serious competition after this merge, because of the FCC favoring increase competition in this industry we can definitely expect to see some unexpected moves from AT&T and Verizon. I hope there are some previous Sprint users in this class that can comment on this letting me know some of the positive (or negative) additions that this merge has caused.

source: https://www.t-mobile.com/business/t-mobile-sprint-merger-benefits

Apple is trying to become carbon neutral?

I am sure we have all heard about or experienced the outcome of Apple’s new iPhone 12. For those who might not know, Apple took out the charging block and headphones that usually come with every iPhone you purchase. The main issue many are complaining about though is that they have to go out and purchase a new charger block because the new charger that comes with is not compatible with the blocks. Where many see this as pointless and a way for Apple to take even more of our money, Apple’s standpoint is that they are trying to become completely carbon neutral by 2030 and removing these charger blocks will hopefully result in less e-waste.

If you took notice, the box the phone comes in is significantly smaller than all of the rest which results in less materials being used. According to The Conversation “A smaller product box would let Apple fit up to 70% more products onto shipping pallets — reducing carbon emissions from shipping.” The efforts they are making seem to make sense, but what about the old charger blocks that will be discarded? It would make more sense for universal ports that can be compatible with any phone, but I doubt Apple would do this because they would lose money. At the end of the day is this a push for Apple to try getting people on board with their wireless charging and to get more money when people buy blocks or do you think their intentions are strictly just for the environment? Let me know what you guys think!

Source: https://theconversation.com/apples-iphone-12-comes-without-a-charger-a-smart-waste-reduction-move-or-clever-cash-grab-148189

Artificial Intelligence and Microsoft Teaming Up

When the COVID-19 pandemic started it influenced a new way of virtual communication to start. Virtual communication during the pandemic has often been done via video conferences for education, work purposes, gathering with family and so on. In most all forms of video conferences background noise is noticeable.

But now, artificial intelligence has teamed up with Microsoft to work on eliminating the background noise. This is a huge step in improving virtual communication via webcam. Since there is no set end date to the pandemic, no one knows how long we will rely on video conferences to stay in touch. With the elimination of background noise it will make the virtual experience feel more in person.

Exactly how is Microsoft and Al doing this? Microsoft 365 is planning to develop an “Al-based real-time noise suppression”. Al  is working to eliminate background noise by analyzing the users voice. If the Microsoft software can analyze a persons voice using deep neural networks, the background noise that does not sound like the person speakings voice will be blocked out. This will be a setting listen in the options as ‘high noise suppression’.

article: usatoday.com/…-noise-reduction/3712935001

How Spotify uses big data

Spotify, along with Apple Music, is arguably the biggest music streaming platform out there. Users can choose to have the free version or pay 10 bucks a month for Spotify premium. Both of these options use big data and analytics to target and improve the users experience. On the free version there are constant ads targeted at the user in between every couple songs played. They take the age of the user but they also use the kind of music listened to target the consumer. For example, younger people tend to listen to more rap and hip hop music so they take that data to target ads at them.

As a Spotify premium user I can definitely see all the ways that Spotify tries to improve the user experience using data. They analyze the music that you listen to and use it for many purposes. On the home page they give many options for the user to listen to based off the data. They have recommended podcasts, artists, albums, and even AI created playlists. This includes Discover weekly, a custom created playlist which consists of new songs for the user to listen to based off their recent listening. They also have created playlists for songs that I haven’t listened to in a while, songs that I have had on repeat lately, even a playlist of songs that I listened to from 2016. Another way is while the user makes a new playlist, Spotify will give recommendations of songs similar to the ones in the playlist to add. Some people may find this use of data creepy and violation of privacy but I think it is a great way for Spotify to improve the users experience. Lastly, Spotify > Apple Music.

source: https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/blog/spotify-big-data/

Drones Can Help Hurricane Struck Areas

In the past 10 years, there have been 158 named storms in the Atlantic Ocean, almost 10 more than the last decade. In this ten year period, 72 were Category 1 Hurricanes which had a maximum sustained wind strength of 74mph. In just the past few years, America sustained the two costliest hurricanes 2017’s Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Maria, one of the deadliest hurricanes 2012’s Sandy, and the most powerful hurricane to hit land 2019’s Dorian.

Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico on September 20 as a Category 4 storm and caused $90 billion of damage and left almost 3,000 people dead. Although Maria destroyed roads, bridges, and towns, it took down Puerto Rico’s power grid and destroyed most of the wireless networks and internet cables. As a result, many relief efforts were unsuccessful due to a lack of connection. Family members and emergency responders were not able to contact injured people and emergency workers and firefighters were unable to monitor their vitals.

In order to prevent these issues from reoccurring, tech developers from Project OWL hope to create new technologies like mesh networks that can be quickly deployed in ruined areas and wearable equipment that monitors the health of firefighters in real-time. According to their CEO Bryan Knouse, “In the worst disasters, chaos, and misinformation are pervasive,… With better information and better analytics, you can get the resources you need to the places that need it most.”

This technology currently deployed at the University of Puerto Rico can be used to help people in rural areas. “There are people living in the rural areas, and as soon as something happens to them — they have an injured person, they’re lacking food or they’re lacking water — they can immediately notify [first responders] through this mesh network. The first responders will immediately know where and what is going on.”

As global warming gets worse, the increased moisture will provide additional fuel for hurricanes resulting in more issues like this. With the help of this new drone software, emergency response will be simplified and more effective.

Source: https://www.cnet.com/features/after-a-disaster-wi-fi-is-a-lifeline/

 

Artificial Intelligence in Hockey Analytics

Hockey is a sport that involves constant motion among 5 skaters per team on the ice. Each goaltender typically stays put. Analytics is the study further into the statistics of a game to further make predictions. Analytics has been a rapidly developing field since the late 1900s with many notable figures using it; one that I like to mention is Billy Beane of the Oakland A’s, featured in the book and later movie, “Moneyball.” Using sabermetrics, he was able to build a baseball team that was successful due to the use of undervalued players. He analyzed stats the game had, with data points already measured.

Hockey isn’t so easy to evaluate. There are many moving parts, without any sense of turn-based action like baseball or football, where each play kind of resets. Tracking the players and shots based on location has been very difficult. Add in the association of each player per team, and you have many uncollected data points. With the addition of cameras around the rink, analytics professionals can use AI systems to track players’ every movement on the ice with relation to their teammates and the puck. This makes calculations for expected goals per player and per location much easier to record and determine thanks to new data points that were previously uncollected and hard to collect.

The use of analytics since the 90s with Billy Beane was just the beginning, and the use of AI and other future systems will revolutionize each sport.

Article: https://medium.com/syncedreview/ai-powered-hockey-analytics-a-game-changer-8534b2e263aa

The Expensive Yellow Dog

Boston Dynamics has been conducting some of the most public robotics research in the world as of the last few years. Im sure many recognize this 4-legged walking robot dog from videos on things like twitter and such, but its actually the real deal. For a mere $75,000, you can be the next owner of the Boston Dynamics Spot Robot Dog.

The company has recently delved into more commercial and private based researched involving robotics. Previously, most robotics research was done for private and military companies, without a lot of applicable use for smaller businesses and private homes, but Boston Dynamics hopes to change that, with Spot the dog being their first project in the space.

The technology this simple dog aims to develop are in the realm of motion and stability for moving robots. The dog has been designed to walk on surfaces of all types, slopes, and roughness. It can walk up a hill, over a pile of rocks, through a re-bar filled surface, all without getting tripped up, and rather quickly too. With this, we move towards a time where challenging or dangerous tasks that humans used to perform can now be done be robots that used to be otherwise impossible. Wheel and track based robotic systems didn’t give these older robots much mobility, making robotic solutions expensive and not very successful. Now however, I believe a whole new era of robotics has opened up, and im excited to see where it goes.

 

Source: https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/industrial-robots/boston-dynamics-spot-robot-dog-now-available

NASA is Putting A 4G Network on The Moon

This latest news might come as shock to many people. NASA is partnering with telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics company Nokia to put a 4G network on the Moon.

In order to reach its 2028 goal to build a lunar base and sustain a human presence on the moon, NASA has awarded $370 million to several companies to deploy the technology on the lunar surface with $14.1 million of it going over to Nokia. To the ordinary public this may come as a shock, if you are unable to get a cell phone signal while out and about, why do astronauts need reliable service? To tweet about their moon golf shots and post lunar rover selfies? NASA says that putting 4G on the moon will upgrade the current radio communication already on the moon, and in the future, it will be upgraded further to 5G.

The cellular network on the moon will be built with many challenges in mind with it needing to withstand high temperatures, radiation, spaces vacuum, and it will need to be functional during lunar landing and launches. This 4G network will be used in many ways on the moon by astronauts. They will be able to use it to transmit data, control lunar rovers, and access real-time navigation over the moon also known as Google Maps for the Moon.

Although I do see the potential of having a 4G network on the moon, I do think it will be very controversial. Wanting to prioritize a strong internet connection for the 10 people on the moon at once compared to the millions of people that live in underserved areas that aren’t covered by cellular service might not sit right with people.

Sources: https://www.xda-developers.com/nokia-nasa-funding-4g-moon/

https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/18/tech/4g-network-moon-trnd/index.html