It was the spring of 1995 and my firm (XONITEK) was one of the top implementers of Macola Software’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. We were the very top when it came to implementing in a manufacturing environment. As such, I was invited to Macola’s summit to share my views on the future direction of…
I was giving a commencement speech a number of years ago at a university where several students were getting their degrees of varying levels, and I could tell my first comment took the parents as well as many of the graduates completely by surprise. I said, “I don’t want you to try to live a…
When Hewlett-Packard announced it would no longer be competing in the tablet computers and mobile phones arena, the world entered into a state of disbelief. However, HP saw what many others hadn’t yet: that the tablet market does not exist. A market for Apple’s iPad exists – as a function of how well this device…
The Economist reports on the extent to which 3D printing may help entrench the world’s engineering giants in the 21st Century. But these engineering companies are picky about terminology in this regard, for reasons encompassing the fact that the technology itself has now moved beyond the development labs. Indeed, 3D printing is now being used…
The world has become obsessed with making things more efficient, better faster, smaller, cheaper. Has our never ending quest for more and more efficiency actually had an adverse effect on us all? This fascinating talk by historian Edward Tenner unpacks the many promises and dangers that arise in our quest for efficiency and provides seven…
In December 1997, members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiated the Kyoto Protocol that established emissions reductions for the developed and developing nations that ratified the Protocol. The Protocol went into force in February 2005 after Russia ratified it in November 2004. The U.S. did not ratify the Protocol because it set no emission limits for China or India. The Kyoto Protocol…