While the United States’ administration seems to be picking trade war fights with just about everyone these days, creating jitters across almost every sector, an all too familiar scene played out in late May just outside of Bangkok. The Royal Thai Police conducted yet another raid on an open-air but well-hidden operation with all the […]

InfoComm 2018 recently wrapped up in Las Vegas where manufacturers, consultants, integrators and end users all gathered to hawk their wares and kick the tires of the latest gadgets to cure their ills. It is a show where a sea of gizmos and gadgets fill close to every square meter of the convention center. This […]

If you have never heard of blockchain before, it’s to your advantage to read up on it. Most people in some way have heard of Bitcoin, the ubiquitous digital cryptocurrency, but have not ventured farther into that somewhat mysterious world. Blockchain is what makes cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin work, providing it security in an unregulated […]

For all the benefits of the latest technology, what happens when gear is no longer needed, breaks, or its usefulness has been outpaced by the latest model has been a subject of much consternation. I have written several columns here about planned obsolescence, e-waste and e-recycling but a recent event has brought to light another […]

Before you commit to incorporating augmented or virtual reality into your design process, consider these scenarios that could harm, rather than help, your final outcome. Much like Doctor Who’s TARDIS, the toolbox for design just got a lot bigger on the inside. What was once relegated to testing labs, tinkerer’s garages, and a relatively small segment […]

As millennials continue to increase in ranks in the workforce, so does the desire to have products that are good for the environment. This includes businesses they patron and their workplaces, as well as their homes. Corporations are increasing looking to this demographic, who are tech savvy and socially conscious, to lead their company’s technology […]

As we enter 2018 in the grips of a bomb-cyclone dumping frigid temperatures, snow, ice and floods up and down the eastern seaboard, it can be difficult to consider global warming particularly since global warming has nothing to do with weather and everything to do with climate change. Here is a good explanation of the […]

With this year’s holidays upon us it is easy to try to find that special quirky gift that the tech guru in your life might enjoy. Being the eco-friendly person you are, however, might lead you to some questionable choices that the receiver might be concerned for your mental state. I came across these while […]

Recently the registration for the upcoming United States Institute for Theater Technology (USITT) Conference opened with a great renewed focus on providing a sustainable conference. When attendees arrive in March (14th-17th) to the show floor in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., there are several key strategies that they may notice and many more behind the scenes initiatives […]

Well as we start yet another record-breaking hurricane season here in the U.S., many in our southern states and the Gulf of Mexico are bracing for impact. Already hurricanes Harvey and Irma have caused billions in damage to home, businesses, infrastructure and lives. Power companies and cleanup crews are busy wrestling with the monumental task […]

Do your ICT products have good chemistry? Do you even have any idea what chemicals may be in your products and how it may affect the environment you install them into? Do you know if the manufacturer you purchased or specified are being environmentally responsible when it comes to chemicals in the manufacturing process? Chemical […]

We are losing our generation’s “race to the moon” in clean energy technology innovation. Plain and simple. The EU and Asia are beating us. Hands down. The main driver for this is two-fold. First and foremost is financial. The 2009 Recovery Act stimulus package poured $27 Billion into energy efficiency and research into renewable energy […]

InfoComm is rapidly approaching and I am sure that there will be many gizmos and gadgets that are IoT ready as offerings in both consumer and commercial technology continue to explode in the market. The Internet of Things (IoT) play space has been promising, and delivering, on new and exciting ways to engage with customers, […]

The current administration’s reversal of key environmental directives and what appears to be a blatant dismantling of the EPA and other regulatory departments has the potential to set the U.S. back decades in environmental policy and contribution to climate change and global warming. As I noted in last month’s article it will be up to […]

Even with the front-and-center headlines of world politics throwing shade to other news worthy events a quiet revolution is taking hold. Just under a year and a half ago the Paris Climate agreement was birthed with rosy cheeked and wide-eyed predictions of its mark on global climate change. We are now starting to see the […]

On February 3rd, 2017 House Representatives Matthew Gaetz (R-FL), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Steven Palazzo (R-MS) and Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) introduced a bill literally titled: To Terminate the Environmental Protection Agency, which has now been introduced to the committees on House Science, Space, and Technology; Energy and Commerce; Agriculture; and Transportation, and Infrastructure. If enacted, the agency […]

Amazon’s hottest selling items for 2016 were the Echo and its little brother Dot. These devices, along with their competitors from Google and Apple, are revolutionizing the way we interact with our homes and are quickly moving into the workplace. These voice command and control devices allow the participant to use their voices with simple […]

Very recently, my father passed away. I was fortunate to be able to spend time with him in the weeks prior to his death in a way that I had not done before. I think subconsciously he knew he was coming to the end after a long battle with congestive heart problems combined with 85 […]

The often tumultuous presidential campaign has finally come to an end (Yay!!!). Now that we have all had the luxury of time to reflect on the outcome, expressing either our joy or sadness, we look to the future and wonder what the next administration will bring to the table regarding sustainability. With this in mind […]

Now that many things in an Internet of Things (IoT) world have sensors that can track and control their energy consumption as well as influence the energy use and monitoring of other things, reams of data about these things has been produced, stored, and culled over. Having access to this much data allows the consumer […]

With the Internet of Things (IoT) encroaching further and further into the lives of the masses on a daily basis, one key element is becoming more important than ever — encounterability and controllability. This involves not only the macro scale of energy sources to power skyscrapers and corporate campuses, food and water resource management and […]

My company has been knee deep in the design of high end audiovisual technology for a major new health education client and one of the main drivers of the project is to allow for as much portable wireless technology as possible – laptops, cell phones, tables, etc. There are a few major concerns with this […]

As I sit here in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention, I’m thinking about something I did not ever expect to happen in this current political climate — a recent bipartisan bill was introduced into the House of Representatives [Rep. Gene Green (D-TX) and Rep. Paul Cook (R-CA)] that aims to stop the flow of […]

This past weekend was Father’s Day and outside of my hometown bringing back an NBA Championship (Go Cavs!) capping the day, I got to hang out with my son above and beyond the normal weekly rush of household chores and repairs, grocery shopping and the usual noise of life. He is twelve going on eighty […]

Another InfoComm Show will soon be upon us with just under a thousand vendors and exhibitors vying for attention from tens of thousands of attendees in the hustle and bustle of Las Vegas. If you are attending this year’s conference, I have a challenge for you. Ask every exhibit you stop by what their corporate […]

So a number of the news blurbs I came across related to this year’s Earth Day surrounded the growing scourge of e-waste. A main example was cell phones and how often people are changing out their devices to get the newest features or because of the inefficiencies of their older device. A typical cell phone […]

By now you should have heard about Apple’s battle with the federal government over the unlocking of Syed Rizwan Farook’s iPhone for use in the investigation of the San Bernardino shootings. If you have not been paying attention and you work in the ICT industry, you should. In short, the Federal Government has secured an […]

The Internet of Things (IoT) just got one step closer to reality. The Wi-Fi Alliance recently approved a new low-powered long-range Wi-Fi standard they are calling 802.11ah or HaLow for short. Announced at CES this year, this new standard promises to make IoT possible on a large scale. One of the biggest hurdles to IoT […]

The COP21 Convention held in Paris is now in the history books. For those of you who may not know what this annual event even is or have vague ideas about it having something to do with the climate, here is a bit of a primer: In 1992, there was a large political response to […]

Most often when design professional think about creating solutions that help improve the intended environment’s energy efficiency or work to reduce the overall carbon footprint of a space it is often just the immediate cause and reaction that is considered — if I use this product or solution than I reduce emissions by “X” amount. […]

Is Asia the hot spot for green office buildings in the world? Right now they are certainly poised to be. Take Singapore and its Green Mark certified green building path, for example. The government has set the benchmark of having 80 percent of all buildings be certified green by 2030. This push by the Building […]

Since 2006, InfoComm has been actively involved in sustainability and technology under the leadership of my predecessor for this column, Scott Walker of Waveguide Consulting. Scott headed up the Sustainability Task force for InfoComm and then mustered up a motley crew of twelve consultants, manufacturers, integrators, and end users to create the Sustainable Technology Environments […]