Last week I was in the San Francisco area on business and over the weekend took the opportunity to visit Napa Valley wine country. Even here, where centuries of tradition and art are still applied to the production of wine, technology and science are also at work. I suppose that isn’t too surprising, as it…
Imagine what would happen if your mere presence near your computer automatically triggered logging in to your Google, Facebook and Twitter accounts? Check out this new app that works with your mobile phone to fire up your computer’s social accounts whenever you are near. While the app is for desktop or laptop use, it was…
Have you ever been injured while camping, playing sport, traveling, or during a busy holiday weekend? Anyone who has ever had to seek medical attention for a break or sprain knows how difficult it can be to find immediate relief in a busy emergency room waiting area. Of course, professional medical treatment is important in…
Innovation with how we represent the results of our hard earned labor — money — and how we transact business with it has been going on for thousands of years. Metal coins for commerce go back to the third century B.C. and paper money was introduced by Kublai Kahn in the 1200s. The disruptive idea…
The crowds continue to provide wisdom when it comes to consumer desires and that’s very true in the travel industry. Lots of travel sites out there offer to find consumers the cheapest flights. Most of them use search engines to find those cut-rate fares. But one organization, Australian Flightfox, goes to their crowds to save…
We all do a lot of sitting. In our daily work routine it seems there is barely enough time to move from office chair to airplane seat to the conference room before fatigue and poor health begin to take a toll on our bodies. It’s becoming a dangerous epidemic and an occupational hazard for those…
Today there are so many ways available to share information. Collaboration and social dissemination of information are done through a variety of means including workshops, focus group sessions, communities of practice, teleconferences, video conferencing, net meetings, idea portholes and Web applications. Many corporations have also gotten a taste of the success that can come from…
We’re seeing more and more innovative ways inventors are finding to charge our battery-operated devices. Creative charging methods include a pedal-powered table, a charging handbag or a USB-equipped urban bicycle! News from Kenya reports an entrepreneur has now developed a tiny chip inserted in the sole of a shoe that can charge the wearer’s cell…
No matter where I go in the U.S., or what type of industry I work with, I see a common challenge across almost all companies. Many industries have significantly cut back the financial resources they have earmarked for innovation. This situation is having impact on innovation leaders and their teams, as well as the companies’…
Transdermal patches were approved by the FDA and first marketed in the early 1980s. They have advanced significantly since then and are now available to treat a limited variety of conditions. Most of the patches work in the same general way: Medicine is applied to the adhesive side of a patch that is placed on…
