Electronics

Much has been written about China’s diminished presence at CES 2019. Looking strictly at the numbers, the story seems clear. The CES 2019 Exhibitor directory listed 1,211 Chinese exhibitors, down from 1,551 at the 2018 show (a 20 percent drop). Add in the congressionally approved CFIUS (the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) reforms, which all but dried up Chinese venture money flowing into the United States, then add the on-again/off-again China-vs.-US trade war, and it’s easy to adopt a bearish attitude toward Chinese tech. But there’s more to this story than the numbers and the politics suggest. Continue Reading →

The largest trade show in North America, CES^® (formerly the Consumer Electronics Show) starts this week in Las Vegas. The numbers are staggering. There are roughly 4,000 exhibitors hawking their wares to approximately 180,000 people. I've been attending the show since 1996, and I can tell you from personal experience, it is one of the most exciting weeks of the year. Here's what I expect to see. Continue Reading →

We live in the age of exponentiation. Everything is evolving at an almost unimaginable speed. New tools, techniques, iterations, breakthroughs, and game-changing discoveries happen almost daily. Today, just staying on top of what's happening is practically a full-time job. This raises a question: If free unencumbered commercial enterprises are struggling to keep up with the pace of change, what hope do governments have? Continue Reading →

At the last ShellyPalmer Innovation Series Breakfast at CES, I had a Socratic discussion about the influence of the big technology platforms and other emerging technologies on our lives and the need for responsible innovation with David Sapin, US Risk & Regulatory Leader, PwC. Then the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica news broke. Since then, our thinking has evolved. Continue Reading →

Courtesy of Black Friday/Cyber Monday pricing, I am the proud owner of a brand new, top-of-the-line 82” Samsung 4K TV set. It is huge, awesome, and amazing. The picture quality is breathtaking. You just run out of superlatives when trying to describe the viewing experience. There’s only one problem. The best 4K content is only available over-the-top (OTT). Regular TV viewers (cable TV customers and antenna users) are simply out of luck. Continue Reading →

Known simply as 5G, the next-generation wireless network has been touted as “world-changing” and a quantum leap in the evolution of communication. There’s a good reason: it will be. If you’re wondering how and why, here are 5 things 5G should make you think about. Continue Reading →

Since we first met the Jetsons on September 23, 1962, the idea of a smart home has enthralled us. In the 56 years since the show’s premiere, technology has advanced in ways Hanna-Barbera could never have dreamed of, yet we’re no closer to a world where Rosie the Robot is real. What gives? Continue Reading →

I edit a substantial number of images and videos, spend some time doing graphics and animation, and, just for fun, sometimes mashup a meme or two. I have two problems: (1) resolution and (2) accuracy. So I went looking for a big, 4K HDR monitor with configurable color space and industrial-strength calibration capabilities. I found what I was looking for in the new BenQ 4K PhotoVue Photo Editing Monitor. Continue Reading →

For about 200,000 years, modern humans have relied on our eyes and ears to separate truth from lies and fact from fiction. Even if we ignore the rise of fake news (and how difficult it is to do anything about it), technology (like deep learning) is on the verge of making it impossible to know if what you are seeing and hearing is real or fake. Continue Reading →

Adapt or die! For smartphone makers, this immutable law of nature incentivizes innovation and forces continuous improvement as they seek new ways to make their great devices even greater. What's next? Here are five awesome new smartphone features we're likely to see in the near future. Continue Reading →