HIGH - TECH

  With the collapse of the Intel Developer Forum , Nvidia's GPU Technology Conference has become the strongest event showcasing the near-term future of technology. One of the most interesting parts of that event, Inception , allows small focused startups to pitch their ideas in a Shark Tank -like atmosphere to compete for a significant cash prize. Two of the more compelling solutions were presented by companies run by women this year. However, the big news was a company that was well along the way to creating an electronic human/machine interface that has huge implications for prosthetics in the near term, and the singularity in the long term. I think what people will see at Inception, which will hold its final event at the end of March, is a view of the world folks thought would be possible by 2030 or beyond. Instead, it is beginning to look more like a picture of 2022-2025. Yes, the future is coming faster than we think. I'll close with my pro...

  Facebook reportedly allowed senior executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, to delete messages from recipients' inboxes and chat threads, but it never disclosed the practice or offered the same capabilities to users. Facebook secretly used technology to delete archived messages sent from Zuckerberg's social media account, TechCrunch reported last week. Facebook told TechCrunch that it began using the tool after the 2014 hack of Sony Pictures as a means of protecting executive communications. In conversations Zuckerberg had with internal employees, as well as chats with people outside the company, there are deleted passages that make it appear that the recipients were talking to themselves, TechCrunch reported, citing three anonymous sources. In a subsequent update, TechCrunch said that Facebook disclosed plans to make the feature available to all users and said it had deactivated it for Zuckerberg and other execs until then. The disclosures ca...

  The shooting incident that took place last week at YouTube had less to do with guns than with the failure of the police to act on information in a timely way and the inability of social media to be anything but part of the problem. Google has been giving this issue little more than lip service, but I expect it has become motivated to do more, given that YouTube -- not some distant school -- was the latest target. Funny how personal risk can change perspectives. However, in both the Parkland and YouTube events, social media -- Facebook in the case of Florida, and YouTube in the case of YouTube -- seemed to help inflame the attackers, or at least did nothing to reduce their anger or eliminate the threats. Foreign governments apparently want to interfere with elections and polarize U.S. citizens, which showcases abuse of an incredible power. Why can't that power be used in better ways -- say to keep kids and Silicon Valley employees safer? It can,...

  Welcome to Gadget Dreams and Nightmares, the column that delves into the latest gadget announcements in search of something dazzling, life-changing or simply ridiculous. In our grab bag this time around are a novel way to track your time, a smartwatch for kids, and a musical controller you can put together yourself -- and it just happens to be made of cardboard. As ever, these are not reviews, because I haven't even seen these items in person, let alone held them in my grubby hands. The ratings reflect only how much I'd like to try each item. Tracking Time More often than I'd care to admit, I feel the seconds, minutes, and hours of a day slip into the ether before I realize it's happening. When it's time for bed and I try to take stock of my day, it's difficult to recall exactly how I spent my time. As someone who would like to be more efficient and productive (but is perhaps a little too absent-minded and doesn't wa...

One fundamental element of building a brand relationship with customers is consistency. Widely franchised companies like Starbucks compromise consistency, however. They employ several different business models instead of sticking to one. This approach confuses customers and hurts the master brand, since customers never really know what to expect. Because Starbucks uses different business models, depending on store locations, certain customers have become distrustful of the brand, which ultimately hurts the company. Starbucks uses at least two different business models that I have seen, although there may be more. One model is for company-owned Starbucks stores. A different model is for franchises that are not owned by Starbucks, but by other companies, such as supermarkets or department stores. There are Starbucks franchises inside Publix, Kroger, Target and Barnes & Noble stores. They show up in shopping mall booths, hotel lobbies and many other places -- and...

  Adam Smith famously referred to "the invisible hand" of the free market in his landmark book The Wealth of Nations , and with that made himself one of the very first political economists. Smith's observation was so on point that most of us assume markets run through the agency of individuals pursuing their enlightened self-interests. A lot of this drove the evolution of CRM as a tool for tracking customers. If you pay attention today, you can notice the not-so-invisible hand functioning in multiple areas. For instance, if you've been following the aftermath of the school shooting in Florida, you know that a group of kids kick-started a nationwide activist movement to get something done about gun safety. The #MeToo movement -- women banding together to change the workplace by eliminating sexual harassment -- is another example. So is the Black Lives Matter movement. What they have in common is the initiative by engaged individuals to cause chan...

  If you study economic cycles, you can watch the evolution of a disruptive technology throughout its lifecycle, from a specific product to a competitive industry. The last phase in the evolutionary chain is the formation of a utility. For example, over a couple of centuries we've seen the evolution of electricity from a curiosity, to a business, to a group of public companies. Along the way there were the inevitable mergers and acquisitions to enable a winnowing field of competitors to achieve the scale needed to compete in very large markets. It wasn't just the electric industry that went through an evolution. The oil, gas and coal industries did the same. Banking is in a similar position. In fact, any industry that attracts the term "too big to fail" is showing signs of utility status. When your business becomes so big that it affects large segments of society, it can't be allowed to fail lest it crater the economy or cause massive dis...