Welcome to the GAM summer edition. The focus of the issue is slightly tipped toward technology and packaging with a review of the role of inkjet in packaging specifically, written by yours truly. This combination is fairly new in some sectors and shows promise of growth, particularly in highly specialized niche markets. For example, I had the opportunity to talk with a company that specializes in creating single prototype samples for television commercials. It seems as though the summer has been filled with interesting tech news of this variety. Diana Brown reviews MIS systems, with an update article featuring two players: Hiflex and Avanti.
We attend EskoWorld in New Orleans, a user conference showcasing print and packaging solutions. Here there are many interesting tech stories with virtual stores, iOS integration and super high-speed cutting tables. And of course we can’t talk about summer technology without discussing the new Surface tablet by Microsoft.
Rumoured to be priced to compete with the iPad, the Surface may prove to fill the need of a market separated by love of PC versus Mac. It’s difficult to say how the device will actually stack up because a lot of the specs have not yet been released. However, it is important to note that Microsoft is not only targeting the current tablet space, but also promising that the device will be powerful and practical enough to be a laptop replacement.
Of course when it comes to technology, Murphy’s Law (anything that can go wrong will go wrong) seems to always be hovering nearby. During the press release, Steven Sinofsky (President of Windows and Windows Live) had the device freeze up during his presentation. For all of you Microsoft diehards, I hope this is not an indicator of future performance. In my opinion having Apple and Microsoft compete has been nothing but good for the world of technology (all user frustration aside). So enjoy all the tech-talk along with some sunshine and summer fun.
