During his speech, Bill Ford acknowledged that - how did he say, it -- "the joy of driving" would never fully be lost, but it would have more of these Knight Rider features (my words, not his... seems appropriate to mention KITT in the context of the other shows we'r talking about). It would be more of this sensor-type stuff to sense road conditions, generate voice-automated alerts, feeding info up to the road infrastructure system and other things that would make your life easier while hands stay on the wheel. I think some of the vision could be compared to something like driverless trains and autopiloted planes where pilots handle the important tings like landing and taking off. We're already using so much technology to run large-scale, mass transportation systems, maybe now it's just starting to spill over to our "personal" moving pods.
Here are the two cars Ford had on display at their booth. the EVOS and the B-Max; the B-Max was announced at the MWC.
Hi jbond - Like CES in Vegas, most companies attending MWC make major announcements the Sunday before the event or Monday morning, and they jockey for all the press splash they can get. As the week goes on, there's so much noise, it's hard to follow everything.
Yes, university students on Wed. demonstrated near downtown Barcelona, protesting significant cuts in education. Later in the day, about 4 p.m., a splinter part of the protest ended up near the MWC (a kilometer or two from city center), and riot police lined up outside; some access points to the conference were closed. I went to see what was happening at the protest, and talked to a bunch of students; I guesstimated that there was about 200 people outside the MWC site (an estmated 25,000 people showed up for the earlier protest downtown). Personally, seeing what's going on every day, I don't think the protest outside MWC was so big or such a threat that police and organizers responded they way they did, but I suppose they were being cautious, and being cautious is better than not be cautious, in the grander scheme of things. Also, based on incidents that happened earlier in the day (including burning a car) perhaps police and organizers believed this protest could have escalated, and took the measures they did to secure the MWC site. As far as I can tell, there were no outbreaks at the MWC protest; just a bunch of kids sitting in a busy roundabout cursing off the police, the government, the banks and capitalism. Also it's important to keep in mind by Wed. late afternoon, which is the third day of the four day event, many attendees are already making their way back to the airport; so I don't excatly how much disruption was caused. If the protest happened, say, Tues morning, there would have been a bigger impact.
Obviously, too, police were commissioned to protect a big investment in the city. The MWC brings Barcelona and surrounding areas 300 million euros annually. That said, the student protest plays into much deeper problems in Spain; unemployement is at more than 20% (last I looked) and for young people under 30, the unemployment number goes up to 50%. Prior to the event, metro and bus workers also threatened to strike during the 4-day event (again because of signicant budget cuts), but in the hours/days before the congress, the strikes were canceled. I think that's because the GSMA -- the organization that sponsors the MWC -- said it would look at other cities to host future event if a transportation strike occured (i read this, don't have direct confirmation; Barcelona is scheduled to be the host city for at least three or four more years); losing a conference of this magnitude --- 67,000 powerhouse tech attendees translated to lots of hotel, restaurant and other business -- would be a huge blow to the city, so they took measures to prevent anything from going awry. Whether it worked or not or the actions were justified by any one party depends on your point of view, I suppose.
Gee, how exciting! We could have gone for some tapas afterwards. :D
The MWC Website, and the updates is all I can have this time. Some Finnish companies have presented new products there. At least I am going to follow this part closely from here. :)
I just watched an update posted on You Tube about how some folks protesting at the exhibition shut down some areas of the MWC. Interesting stuff. You should check it out on EE Times.
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
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Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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