International Focus: Russia

June 14, 2013
Joint Venture Developing RFID Supermarket Solution Future Store LLC, a Russian joint venture between X5 Retail Group, Rusnano and Sitronics, is finalizing its pilot program for an item-level RFID solution expected to launch in commercial locations by the end of summer. The technology will help with inventory management and product expiration dates, and will increase the efficiency of point of sale (POS ) transactions. The inventory management system involves RFID tags for all products—including produce—along with “smart shelves” and POS terminals with built-in RFID readers. X5 Retail Group operates more than 3,400...

Mobile Security in a Cloud-Based World

June 06, 2013
Cloud computing is so named because of the cloud-shaped symbol used in system diagrams depicting the complex infrastructure it contains. Cloud computing has become ubiquitous in modern society. Because the cloud is device-agnostic (it will run on any platform), smartphones and tablets are perfect conduits to access information in the cloud. Things we used to think about as “local” computing resources, stored on our PCs, are now distributed into the cloud. This means private owner information — names, addresses, passwords, PINs, even social security numbers and credit card numbers — now also travel back and forth to the cloud. Thus the cloud becomes a hotspot for...

UNews: May/June 2013

June 03, 2013
Helping the Elderly Live at Home Longer Washington state's Life Sciences Discovery Fund (LSDF) is helping a team of researchers at Washington State University study how to commercialize marketable “aging-in-place” technologies, which help elderly people stay in their homes longer. WSU Professor Diane Cook and her team have created the Smart Home in a Box, a set of instruments about the size of a  home printer that can learn and monitor residents’ routines, note when there is a change in activity, prompt them if they forget to do something, and mitigate the need for costly assisted living facilities. Smart Home in a Box uses non-invasive sensors to track...

The New Generation Approaches

June 03, 2013
After Nintendo released the Wii U console in late 2012, gamers eagerly awaited announcements from the remaining two major players – Microsoft and Sony – for a complete view of the next generation of gaming. After announcements from both companies, it’s looking like the so-called eighth generation of gaming consoles will be in full swing by the end of 2013.   Here’s some of what we know (and some of what we don’t) about the upcoming Xbox One and the PlayStation 4.   Xbox One Blurs the Line between TV and Gaming  Microsoft announced its successor to the Xbox 360 – the Xbox One – at a press conference on May 21 in Redmond, Wash...

The Tiffen Company’s Steve Tiffen

May 28, 2013
Steve Tiffen knew early on that he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. As a boy, while his father called on customers, his imagination was fueled by visits to the Hollywood sets of Bewitched and Bonanza. His father’s business advice for his son was simple but profound: listen to your customers, give them what they want and be passionate about what you do. After 75 years, this customer-centric focus still permeates the Tiffen family business. The Tiffen Company manufactures high-end accessories for the still imaging, video, motion picture and broadcast markets, and focuses on the...

Reality TV

May 21, 2013
One thing is certain: consumers are destined to have gorgeous displays with resolution that matches the acuity of their vision. Even though I have seen many 4K and 8K demos, I am still astounded by the way Ultra High-Definition TV (Ultra HDTV) can mimic reality. Looking at a demo from Japanese broadcaster NHK at the NAB show, I had a moment when I experienced what experts mean when they say Ultra HD can “feel” like 3D because the resolution is so good. I thought I was looking at one of the classic scenes used to show off studio quality cameras, a model sitting at “home” with plenty of colorful objects. I had actually glanced up at an 8K display that was showing the...

A Transformative Wave

May 21, 2013
Wearable technologies are emerging from the lab onto the street, into the gym and onto the ski slopes. Today’s smartphones and tablets are like having a genie in a bottle. We pull from our pockets a mini, powerful computer and with a swipe or voice command get all of the information we need. We are at the beginning of this new form of “control and command.” Google Glass is a new disruptive technology. These high tech glasses have the potential to take interaction to the next level by replacing swiping with voice commands, head gestures and simple tap controls to display and capture information...

Empowering Consumers with Technology

May 13, 2013
From this day forward you will have—within reach or through the sound of your voice—an agent to answer your questions, bring you entertainment, coach and connect you with those you care about. When Bill Gates used to paint a picture of a “rich user experience” during his keynotes at the International CES®, the premise was that the user was sitting in front of a PC. With the phenomenal uptake of smartphones and tablets, that user  experience is now available any time we choose. In the same way that the Internet broke old business models and unleashed entirely new...

How iTunes Shuffled the Audio Industry

April 25, 2013
iTunes, the world’s largest music retailer, turns 10 this week, and Apple is celebrating by highlighting some milestones in the digital music market over the last decade. As of February, more than 25 billion songs had been purchased on iTunes, and 40 billion apps had been downloaded from the iTunes App Store.   On-the-go access to media is reshaping music, TV, movie and entertainment retail sales. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) says nearly 1.4 billion digital music singles, and 117 million digital albums were downloaded in 2012.  Revenues from digital music files and royalties topped $4 billion in 2012. Overall, digital music revenue, including...
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