Want to show off with the coolest looking earbuds around? Read Serious Insights’ latest earbud review to see if the sound from these new GravaStar Sci-Fi-inspired earbuds lives up to their looks. 

– Daniel W. Rasmus, Serious Insights

AMD and Mercedes may be one of the most powerful and interesting technology racing partnerships currently in existence. AMD had a prior partnership with Ferrari, but it seemed to be more of a marketing relationship than an operational one. This time, the AMD relationship highlights one of the market advantages in terms of server performance, making it more powerful than the earlier effort. It showcases how these things both should and should not, be done.  

Let’s talk about AMD, F1 racing, and Ferrari this week.

– Rob Enderle, The Enderle Group

HP was once one of the leading innovators in high-end video conferencing and collaboration with its Halo video conferencing effort. It was the first to wed high resolution video conferencing to a service that could link two sites at opposite ends of the world in a seamless experience. However, it failed and was sold to Polycom. Polycom was acquired by Plantronics, which had also been developing market-leading sound solutions for video conferencing rooms. Now, HP has acquired the combined entity which had been renamed Poly.

– Rob Enderle, The Enderle Group

The landscape of docking stations has changed significantly over the last several years. USB-C docks now predominate for laptops and desktop computers. This post from Serious Insights offers guidance on what features to look for and how to choose a USB-C dock.

– Daniel W. Rasmus, Serious Insights

Comic-Cons return in 2022 with a vengeance. In 2021 some cons wandered into the tepid social waters of a Covid world with their few celebrity guests sequestered behind negative test paywalls for photos and autographs. The large stages were dark, and the cheering crowds murmured behind masks as they wandered the greatly diminished show floors.

But the biggest of cons returns full steam on July 21-24, 2022, after its abbreviated Thanksgiving 2021 outing. Comic-Con International in San Diego is back, and with it, the opportunity for tech professionals to learn from the event in ways they might not consider.

– Daniel W. Rasmus, Serious Insights

Microsoft hasn’t cornered the PC business tablet market with it's Surface line. The Lenovo ThinkPad X12 Detachable combines Lenovo design excellence with several innovations and makes for a great computing experience. The thin, light, solid performer should be considered by anyone looking for a Windows computer, but who also wants the flexibility of a tablet that actually performs and behaves like a tablet.

– Daniel W. Rasmus, Serious Insights

Anybody who owns a Macintosh knows the name OWC, or their longer moniker, Other World Computing. Found in 1994 by Larry O’Conner, OWC is a premier maker of Macintosh storage and connectivity peripherals, drivers, and other accessories. The company enterprise-level hardware to those looking to maximize quality and performance in areas like multimedia editing. Dan had the opportunity to talk with Larry last week about innovation. His insights offer food for thought to entrepreneurs, technology leaders, and fellow CEOs.

– Daniel W. Rasmus, Serious Insights

The home of Sam Spade, Frank Bullitt, and Harry Callahan, San Francisco is engrained in my mind as a town of hard-boiled private eyes and no-nonsense detectives. That’s probably about as far away from the city’s current vibe as can be, but I’m still a sucker for Bogart’s cadence, McQueen’s mastery of a Mustang, and Eastwood’s legendary question, about how lucky you feel. Now while I didn’t burn rubber up and down the embarcadero, I made sure I put some miles on the soles of my shoes in a city I was inexcusably unfamiliar with, and of course that meant hitting a few local watering holes and culinary gems. 

– Richard Healy

Orlando, FL hosted Enterprise Connect March 21-24 as an in-person and hybrid experience. Dan talked with vendors and sat through sessions to come up with his The Top 5 Takeaways from Enterprise Connect 2022, which include too much innovation, shared canvases, employ control, AI, and the metaverse.

By Daniel W. Rasmus

The return to offices has forced many managers to confront new team dynamics in meetings with some staff joining in shared spaces while others remain virtual. That’s not the only fear created by returns to the office. Daniel W. Rasmus identified 12 Hybrid Work Fears Managers Must Face as the next reality. He looks at planning, motivation, finding time to reflect, how to innovate and other challenges that all of us will likely face at one time or another over the next several months.

– Daniel W. Rasmus, Serious Insights