| Today's Top Stories | | #1 | Microsoft buys Nokia's devices and services unit for $7.2 billion; that's one way to become a devices and services business | | | by David Pierce, The Verge | | | One of the most enticing "what-ifs" of recent years has come true: Microsoft has purchased Nokia's Devices and Services unit, bringing the Lumia lineup under the Redmond roof. The move unites Windows Phone 8 with its biggest hardware supporter, giving the company the integrated mobile offering it's been looking for with Surface and other devices. More»
Why This Matters: First Skype, now this. But for less money, because the devices and services division of Nokia is struggling. Here's Steve Ballmer's letter to the employees and his Power Point explaining it all. It's Microsoft's way of trying to return to relevance in the landscape that Apple and Google created—a landscape that will continue to define Pro AV. -Cynthia Wisehart |
| | #2 | Winners and losers in the Microsoft deal | | | by Maribel Lopez, Forbes | | | In 2011 Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz wrote an article about how software was eating the world. Nokia's device business sale to Microsoft highlights that point. Increasingly the value of the mobile device market is in the operating system and the applications that are designed for these systems. In an intensely competitive mobile devices market, beautiful hardware is a requirement, not a differentiator, in the space. More»
Why This Matters: Journalism doesn't need another pundit parsing the daily ups and downs of Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, et al. But this refreshing analysis of the interplay between software and beautiful hardware cuts closer to our world. It's important for everyone in AV to understand how the massive Smartphone market impacts us all. Ever wonder why, of all the behemoths in that market, only one is a big player in AV? The author brings up a possible play by LG– could this big Microsoft/Nokia deal start bringing more of the big AV giants in from the sidelines? –David Keene
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| | #3 | Can technology close the care gap for Baby Boomers? | | | by Ki Mae Heussner, GigaOM | | | A report from the AARP shows that as Baby Boomers age, the number of potential caregivers will dramatically decrease. Policy changes are needed to address the shortage, but technology could make a difference too. More»
Why This Matters: It's going to happen, that aging thing. More than just working past retirement age, but living past the age that just isn't graceful or safe to be done independent of help. This is where the gap can filled by technology that provides a little more dignity to the process and isn't quite so expensive as moving to a home. It's a growing field—and one to watch as not only as the Baby Boomers start needing more assistance but also as this generation becomes larger consumers of technology. –Jessaca Gutierrez |
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| | | | | Pro AV Today Editorial Team
SOUND & VIDEO CONTRACTOR
CYNTHIA WISEHART, Editor
Phone: (212) 378-0400 x526 | Send Email
SYSTEMS CONTRACTOR NEWS
KIRSTEN NELSON, Editor
Phone: (212) 378-0400 x522 | Send Email
AV TECHNOLOGY
MARGOT DOUAIHY, Editor
Phone: (212) 378-0400 x 538 | Send Email
DIGITAL SIGNAGE
DAVID KEENE, Executive Editor
Phone: (512) 480-9473 | Send Email
RENTAL AND STAGING SYSTEMS
DAVID KEENE, Executive Editor
Phone: (512) 480-9473 | Send Email
RESIDENTIAL SYSTEMS
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