That was Then... This is Now

Amazon (AMZN), Meta (FB), T-Mobile (TMUS), Twitter (TWTR) and Pinterest (PINS) confirmed that they no longer plan to attend CES in Las Vegas January 5-8, citing health concerns over the recent spike in Covid-19 cases. "The health and safety of our employees is our top priority. Due to the quickly shifting situation and uncertainty around the Omicron variant, we will no longer have an on-site presence at CES," Amazon spokesperson Sarah Sobolewski said in a statement. "Out of an abundance of caution and care for our employees, we won't be attending CES in-person due to the evolving public health concerns related to COVID-19," Kamran Mumtaz, a spokesperson for Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, said in a statement. "We will participate virtually as much as possible and continue to collaborate with the CTA around CES, which remains an important event for Meta, our clients and industry partners," Mumtaz added, referring to the Consumer Techno...

How do you know if the information you get online can be trusted or not? There is no single, easy answer. Everyone who uses the Internet faces the same dilemma. In 2019, Pew Research Center conducted a poll of 6,127 adults  in the US. They found that more Americans view made-up news as a bigger problem than terrorism, illegal immigration, racism, and sexism. Nearly seven-in-ten U.S. adults (68%) said made-up news and information greatly impacted confidence in government institutions, and just over half (54%) said it was having a major impact on our confidence in each other. Verifying on-line information takes work on your part. And the “bad guys” can be very persuasive. The first thing you can do is verify the source. For many organizations and individuals of note you will see a blue symbol with a checkmark next to their name if they have been verified on social media. This means they are who they say they are but it still doesn’t mean that their posts are accurate or unbiased....

With the announcement this week that Facebook was renaming itself “Meta” many people have been wondering exactly what the Metaverse is. Quite simply, the “Metaverse” despite all the hype, is just an open “virtual” or “augmented-reality” computer environment. Often associated with gaming or social media, metaverses have existed for decades. Many of you probably remember Second Life. Or maybe VR headsets and goggles from almost 30 years ago? Data suits from the 90's anyone?  The concept of a metaverse requires that it is persistent, always on, so it would have to be available on every device that connects to the Internet. That's where 5G networks come in. Facebook owns Oculus. It also plans to release AR-powered “smart” glasses in partnership with Ray-Ban. The first thing that came to my mind was “Google Glass” from almost 10 years ago.  Everyone involved in 5G technology is betting on metaverses being the “next big thing.” Qualcomm calls its approach "XR" or extended...

A supply chain is a network of individuals, companies, resources, activities, and technologies used to make and sell a product or service. It starts with the delivery of raw materials from a supplier to a manufacturer and ends with the delivery of the finished product or service to the consumer. Supply Chain Management or “SCM” is the management of the flow of goods and services and includes all processes that transform raw materials into final products. It involves the active streamlining of a business's activities to maximize customer value and gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. SCM oversees each stage in the delivery of a company's product or service, from initial creation to the final sale. Steps along the supply chain can add value through efficiencies or reduce value through increased costs or poor design. Ideally, SCM can increase revenues, decrease costs, and impact a company's bottom line. By managing the supply chain, companies can cut excess cos...

The “5S” system is a lean manufacturing tool that improves workplace efficiency and eliminates waste. Sometimes referred to as the "Visual Workplace." Applying 5S helps businesses avoid lost productivity from delayed work or unplanned downtime. Frequently a sixth “S” is added. This is of course Safety. 5S was created in Japan. The original terms were in Japanese, so English translations for each of the five steps may vary. The basic ideas and the connections between them are easy to understand however. The sequence is important as each step leads into the next. For example: Clearing out unnecessary materials in Step 1 (Sort) will provide the space needed to organize the important items in Step 2 (Set In Order). Then, once the workspace is de-cluttered and organized, dirt and grime can be removed in Step 3 (Shine). These changes to workers’ job duties and work environment should be reflected in updated procedures through Step 4 (Standardize). Finally, those new procedures won’...

July 29, 2021. PCMag editors  Chris Stobing & John Burek reviewed the latest “small” PC offering from Intel. Small in size only and nicknamed “Beast Canyon,” the machine reviewed packs an Intel Core i9 processor, 16GB of RAM, a 500TB SSD, and a Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card. Be aware that the retail version of this PC, as the name implies, is a kit, and you will have to add your own RAM, hard drive, and video card, as well as install the OS of your choice. As configured, with Windows 10 installed, the final price was $1,350. Not bad. Thinking about getting one myself. Read the entire review here: https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/intel-nuc-11-extreme-kit-beast-canyon

I have harbored more than a few concerns about TikTok for quite some time. There are many well documented security and privacy issues surrounding the app including reports of alleged spying on users and the use or sale of personal information. I would recommend that anyone interested conduct an independent investigation into these claims and draw their own conclusions. Note: If you are a parent of someone under 18 who uses or is considering using TikTok I would especially recommend doing this! Last February, I was encouraged to download the app by a friend. She thought I might find it fun and entertaining. Unfortunately I found TikTok to be all the bad things people had said it was. The screenshot of my post on Reddit below lists the major issues I had. Of particular note were the many videos containing false or misleading information posted as "facts" and the racist and sexist comments.  To be fair, I did in fact meet some great people of all ages and developed a small “...

The reliability of a component is measured by the mean time between failures (MTBF). It is the average time until failure and is typically provided in hours or years. A MTBF of 10 years means that, on average, every 10 years a failure occurs, based on a large sample. These numbers are typically provided in the component data sheets of the hardware manufacturers. There are two problems associated with using the MTBF: 1. The values for MTBF can vary significantly, especially for components with moving parts like disk drives. This is because the MTBF depends greatly on the quality of the individual production batch which is far from constant. Manufacturers obviously try to detect quality problems, but this is not easy, as the manufacturing of complex components is more an art than a science. There are many variables, like calibration of machinery, impurities in the clean room, quality of materials, etc. 2. The appearance of failures does not follow a uniform distribution. The failur...

Cryptocurrencies are everywhere you look these days. Many are wondering if they will become the primary means of conducting business transactions in the future. We have all heard the stories about the unbelievable financial gains some have made in such a short time. And also the volatility and painful losses. What will happen to “money” as we know it? Still others would like to know how to get “in on the action.” Investing in cryptocurrencies requires a greater tolerance for risk and learning a whole new vocabulary. The following is a guide to the fundamentals of cryptocurrency that I’ve put together from several sources. Cryptocurrency A digital money system made up of "coins" or "tokens" that are controlled by a decentralized electronic database ledger. Everything is electronic. Unlike “traditional” forms of money, there are no metal coins minted or paper money printed. Many casual observers may not realize there are different applications for cryptocurrency. ...

We’re on the edge of change at least as significant as last year’s Covid-19 driven shift to remote work: the move to "hybrid" work as some employees return to the workplace and others continue working from home. Flexible work is here to stay. Remote work has created new job opportunities for some, offered more family time, and provided options for whether or not to commute to an office. But there are still many challenges ahead. Teams have become more “siloed” for example and “digital exhaustion” is a real and unsustainable threat. A well planned and thoughtful approach to hybrid work will be critical for attracting and retaining diverse talent. To help organizations through the transition, the 2021 Work Trend Index outlines findings from a study of more than 30,000 people in 31 countries and an analysis of trillions of productivity and labor signals across Microsoft 365 and LinkedIn. It also includes perspectives from experts who have spent decades studying collaboration...

Rapid development is crucial for today's business. Tools that assist in the rapid deployment of apps are a vital part of one's technology toolkit. Whether you are a Developer or just someone who needs to create a cloud-based data storage solution quickly, Airtable may be for you. This semester I have been using Airtable in my MIS 330 Project Management class with great success. Most of the students are Business Majors with limited experience in working with databases. A few are Business Analytics Majors. Since we are "on line" due to the continuing Covid-19 crisis, we needed something students could access on-line from wherever they were. The ability to share their work with me was also important. Here's the introductory exercise we did at the beginning of the semester back in January. It assumes little or no background in Database Management. "Creating a Relational Database in the Cloud – Getting Started"  1. For all of the database development work in ...

Logistics is the process of planning and executing the efficient transportation and storage of goods from the point of origin to the point of consumption. The goal of logistics is to meet customer requirements in a timely, cost-effective manner. Many times logistics involves warehouse and location planning decisions. To determine the optimum choice, we often use a tool known as a "Decision Tree." A decision tree lists all the various outcomes and probabilities, allowing us to calculate the expected "Payoff" for each alternative. This lets us compare all possible outcomes, selecting the one with the highest Expected return. There are many commercial "Decision Tree" software packages available but, with a little work, Microsoft Excel can be used to set up a template which may be used for a variety of business logistics problems. Our example focuses on a decision to either Build a new warehouse, Expand our current operations through leasing, or Do Nothing. He...

You most certainly have heard of it and probably use it all the time. Simply put, it’s a method of verifying electronically that it’s “really you.” Unlike many years ago, a single password today is no longer considered secure enough to access most accounts or engage in a transaction. What you need is a second way to verify yourself. That's why many Internet services use two-factor authentication. Sometimes you will see it referred to as 2FA. Two factor authentication allows you to securely access an account, a trusted device (like a phone), or a website. You will need to provide two pieces of information. Typically these are a password that you enter as well as a six-digit verification code that's sent to your phone or other “trusted device.” By entering this code, you're verifying that you are indeed “you.” According to security analyst Neil J. Rubenking "there are three generally recognized factors for authentication: something you know (such as a password), som...