United sends their elite passengers at Newark to a bag check shortcut that they don’t open, and they have one person doing a line of about 200 people. Way to go #United!

One of the problems is we've been teaching our kids the wrong lessons. Here's a better story for Rudolph. Happy Holidays!

Merici Canada! And to CBS: Argo _ _ _ _ yourself!

New TalkingPointz Test Bench video is up, focused on Center of Table cameras.. I unbox the AudioCodes RXVcam360 and show its features, alongside a new white paper that explores the history and evolution of #COT cameras. This category isn’t as new as people think. www.linkedin.com/posts/davidd...

Happy Thanksgiving to our friends and partners, and to all who celebrate, from all of us at TalkingPointz. Wishing everyone meaningful moments with the people who matter.

The U.S. DOT wants us to “dress up” for flights again, as if a necktie is going to fix air travel’s… everything. So I wrote a sarcastic reminder of what the real golden age looked like. If you’ve ever rolled your eyes at modern flying, enjoy this trip back in time. danto.info/Golden_Age-J...

Turned a few of my honest takes into wearable truths. Think “Friends don’t let friends buy bad tech” and “Tech issues aren’t unexpected – they’re any Tuesday.” Travel versions too. "My points devalued while you read this." All by a reputable partner. Browse here: Tinyurl.com/TechAndTravelWear.

Yup…

My travel blog this week unfortunately has to dive into politics - which I hate doing - but what we have here is a crisis: danto.info/Crisis-JSM.htm

Amazon just sent Perplexity AI a cease-and-desist for scraping data. The company that built an empire on automation now fears being disrupted by it. The elephants are fighting in the schoolyard–and stomping on jobs, stores, and the future of humanity along the way. www.linkedin.com/pulse/when-d...

We all wanted the beautiful future that Star Trek promised us, but instead of that, the stupid people who voted against their own best interests have brought us Star Wars and its evil empire. We always knew the emperor's nature was evil. It's those who voted for him that we will never forgive.

Still holding meetings in mountains and canyons? Twenty years on, creative conference-room names keep confusing people. If your guests need a Sherpa to find “Paris,” your office design isn’t clever, it’s broken. Read about it in my latest LinkedIn blog. www.linkedin.com/pulse/end-me...

When Did “Smart” Start Meaning “Held Hostage”? Remember when you could just own things? You’d buy something and it'd keep working until worn out. Now it's a software update away from a brick. We used to call it ransomware with hackers. Now we call it “the cloud.” www.linkedin.com/pulse/rise-c...

Nowadays the major collaboration platforms seem to be shouting far more about Agentic AI than engaging in efforts to simply make calls work well. It's long past time to fix this, by regulation if necessary. Read more in my latest blog. www.linkedin.com/pulse/dantos...

The AV story is shifting - and Q-SYS is leading the charge. At their latest Activate event, Q-SYS didn’t just drop a few new gadgets. They showed how every announcement tightens the focus on what “full-stack” really means. Read more: www.linkedin.com/pulse/q-sys-...

Yup...

Unmasking the Myth: The Great Work Culture Hoax www.linkedin.com/posts/davidd...

Once upon a time a Fortune50 firm appointed an #AI #Agent as #CEO. The #CFO’s math: Why replace $50K workers when we can replace $10M+ ones the same way? The new boss’s ultra-original playbook: Work smarter, not harder. If this concept makes you uncomfortable – good. www.linkedin.com/pulse/ceo-no...

I recently purchased a mattress at Mattress Firm. They took my email. I've received about 2 emails a week since then, each pitching me on buying a new mattress. Wouldn't they know I don't need one now? #BadMarketingPlan

On the next @talkingpointz.bsky.social #UCWeeklyNews, Yorktel's CEO Ken Scaturro discusses the merger with Kinly & what it means for customers and the industry. Join us Aug 25 on any of the listed channels ~10am EDT, or anytime after that at DantoReport.com www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

#AI isn't coming for your job. It's coming for Google's job. And if AI keeps delivering answers faster and better, Google is going to need a parachute. And someone might need to drop Charlton Heston in from a helicopter just to keep things from crashing over there. www.linkedin.com/pulse/ai-isn...

Remember the sci-fi flick Demolition Man? Stallone wakes from years of sleep & learns that after the wars, all restaurants are now Taco Bell. I bring this up because the audiovisual (AV) industry is undeniably warming up the tacos. Read more in my latest article www.linkedin.com/pulse/welcom...

Now do players - couldn't be much worse than the Mets yesterday....

Remember the Diamond Rio? No? Exactly. Remember when Zoom was the dominant company in #Videoconferencing? It's getting harder to do. Read the beginning of the article below and keep reading on the TalkingPointz website via the embedded link. www.linkedin.com/pulse/first-...

Who’s Watching Whom? The Growing Battle Over Your Digital Likeness - my latest Linkedin article. www.linkedin.com/pulse/whos-w...

Trelane is Q! (that’s right up there with “clams got legs”) IYKYK🖖

Thank God new episodes of Star Trek are back on TV. I don’t think I could’ve survived another day without them.

Is it just me, or when you're peeling a clementine to eat, you sing the song "My Darling Clementine" in your head?

Yup….

I gotta admit, I liked this one…..

What do #InfoComm25 and the #AV industry have in common with frogs? Read my latest blog for @ravepubs.bsky.social to find out. www.ravepubs.com/av-convergen...

It really does explain a lot.....

A Dash of Irony: When AI Changed the Way We Write www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...?

QSC just had its iPhone moment. At #QSYS #Activate, they didn’t launch a product – they ended the idea of disconnected AV parts. This is what #FullStackAV actually looks like. Read why it matters: talkingpointz.com/qscs-iphone-...

TalkingPointz Insider Lite #7-25 davemichels.substack.com/p/talkingpoi...

I've been talking about "lost Vegas"-poor customer treatment, more greed, less value-for years. Now the Las Vegas Convention & Visitor Authority released numbers that show the decline. If I were the LVCVA/a casino group I'd read the reader comments here carefully-wow. www.youtube.com/watch?v=drhw...

I'm worried about #Google's Project Starline-now #Beam. It's déjà vu. We've seen this movie before w/ #Telepresence and it doesn't end well. As I see it, it has two huge problems: Promises and Scale. Take a look at my full write-up and let me know if you agree. www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

@cnn.com really had the gall to send me a marketing email saying "consistency matters"? #IronyMuch? Between cowtowing to MAGA spokespeople, and changing platforms every quarter, they lost their core audience including me a long time ago.

Yup...

BRU is a confusing airport.

#Agentic #AI and the curious case of #StarTrek's Commander Data talkingpointz.com/agentic-ai-a...

Flying through Copenhagen airport today and as soon as security saw we were from USA our bags were spitefully emptied for hand inspection-including personal medical supplies - all legal to travel-Took 40 min to repack-all thanks to the idiotic policies. Avoid CPH if you can. @joesentme.bsky.social

RIP Mark Brown 😢 www.linkedin.com/posts/activi...

People or Wall Street–who are you really backing, and what does that mean for your company's success? A major chipmaker may be preparing to lay off 20,000 employees. If you want to deploy successful tech, choose partners that are growing, not shrinking. Full blog: www.linkedin.com/posts/davidd...

@astrokatie.com - a wonderful discovery is if you add a random curse/swear word to your Google search it bypasses the AI response in the results ... and is surprisingly satisfying.

Holy S**t! If the FBI arresting judges because the administration doesn't like the decision is OK with congress then we really have lost democracy. RIP 1776 - 2025

Of all the timelines I thought I might be living in, I never in my life thought I'd be living in the one from "The Old Man In the Cave." .....sigh..... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Old...

Yes, the world is particularly screwed up right now, and we all know the reason for that. But still, one has to admit that there is no stupider rule in baseball than the free runner in extra innings.