The beginning of the holiday season always makes me think about my time working in the retail side of the business. That’s understandable since I spent so much time there and, like it or not, retail and the holiday season are inextricably linked. I spent a couple of years working for a major department store. […]

Technology seems to be able to do nearly everything — unless the government steps in and says, “No, it can’t.” And, that’s precisely what happened with the concept of facial recognition. Everyone’s experienced it. Everyone’s probably used it, too, if they have a Facebook account or use Apple devices — facial recognition is a giant […]

Recently, a friend came to visit and left “The Economist” magazine on my table.  He said he tried to give it to his sons. But as I opened them up, the pages were stiff, as if they had just been retrieved from the printing press.  I flipped to the Editor’s page titled, “The World in […]

IBM and Ricoh have partnered for a cognitive-enabled interactive whiteboard which uses IBM’s Watson intelligence and voice technologies to support voice commands, taking notes and actions and even translating into other languages. The Intelligent Workplace Solution leverages IBM Watson and Ricoh’s interactive whiteboards to allow to access features via using voice. It makes sure that […]

Claire Penny of IBM’s Watson IoT Business Unit will keynote the Smart Building Conference this year, held just prior to ISE 2017 in Amsterdam. Penny’s session at SBC 2017, called This is My Building’s Last Offer, will explore how cognitive IoT brings smart homes and buildings to a new level of intelligence. The exclusive talk […]

For the longest time (12-15 years?) we have been talking AV/IT convergence. Some will even refer to it as IT/AV. Why? Well, if I was to surmise I’d say that those who are may still be trying to bring validation to this concept, the merger of IT and AV where now AV takes the second player […]

Virtual Anatomy 101 Robert Hasel had an idea about how to change the teaching of human anatomy for medical, dental, and health science students which, instead of cutting into a real human corpse, involved wanting his students to get immersed via virtual and augmented reality. Hasel is associate dean for simulation, immersion, and digital learning […]

The Ultimate Drone? Qualcomm Technologies, the $26 billion (2014 sales) wireless chip company is looking for a new market to consume Snapdragon 800 series SoCs (system on a chip), in large part due to the persistent market strength of the iPhone which only makes use of some of Qualcomm’s technology (even though there is usage of the chip in the […]

Will new headsets and more powerful phones pave the way for brain-controlled smartphone apps? Imagine calling your friends through the power of thought? According to an IBM and Xerox paper (*) summarizing the state-of-the-art in Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI), applications may well be developed including brain-driven software for dialing numbers, as well as for messaging and calling […]

Google Life Sciences to Focus on Diabetes Outcomes Through Data and Disease-Centric Approaches  Earlier in the week, it was reported in WIRED (and other publications) that the newly created Alphabet holding company’s Google Life Sciences has its first big mission — developing new ways to treat and manage diabetes. In a sign that the company is serious […]

Bob Snyder Editor, rAVe Europe In a global recession, what do the cash rich companies do? They go shopping! IT companies are looking for acquisitions, as organic growth is difficult given the poor economy. And valuations are very cheap now. That’s why IBM ($13 billion in cash) is buying Sun for $6.5 Billion. IBM wants […]