The Impact of China-Taiwan Turbulence on the Office Technology Industry

In the March 22, 2023 edition of the Wall Street Journal(paywall), Simone Gao expresses his opinion on the latest moves in China like the newly enacted Law on Reservists which delays the retirement age for reserve officers to 60 from 55.

The region will play a key role in the next technological wave and has relevance for Office Technology providers because of the number of FABs in Taiwan.  A FAB (or fabrication plant) is a facility where integrated circuits (ICs) or microchips are manufactured. 

FABs require a high level of precision and cleanliness, as even tiny contamination can affect the quality and functionality of the chips produced. FABs are typically very expensive to build and maintain and are a crucial component of the semiconductor supply chain.

We've used the opinion piece to generate the following.

Enjoy.

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Guarding Global Tech: Navigating the Taiwan Strait Tensions for Office Technology's Future

Executive Summary:

Another indicator of the beginning of the end of SalesForce.

Three-point executive summary:

1. The closure of The Future Forum by Slack is a short-sighted move that ignores the positive impact of remote work on productivity, trust, and employee turnover.
2. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff's push for workers to return to the office is out of touch with the current trend towards remote work and flexible work arrangements.
3. The future of work is being shaped by Artificial Intelligence, and companies like Salesforce will need to adapt or risk becoming irrelevant.

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For about 4 months, I've been following and consuming content from The Future Forum.  The site was chock full of good data and reports around the 'work from anywhere' movement, something I've been a part of and an evangelist of, since 2009.

It WAS supported by Slack/SalesForce back when the thought of remote workers was temporary.

Marc Benioff recently inflicted large layoffs and brought down a back-to-the-office mandate to Salesforce and today is one of the few voices imploring anyone that work is best done in an office, under management's thumb, and in front of a computer screen illuminated by his software.

Benioff is closing Future Forum:

Toshiba 2023: The Beginning

Toshiba’s $15 billion sale to a group led by private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners.

One shoe of many has dropped.

An article in Japan Times outlines a few internal challenges yet to be addressed.  One alarming statement is, "The most worrying factor is if the new CEO does not get to actually make decisions.”

Of all the hurdles any organization must overcome when making a comeback, it is the ability for leadership to lead; to make decisions, any decisions.

Under Thursday’s agreement — originally expected last fall — the JIP-led consortium aims to buy Toshiba at ¥4,620 a share and take one of Japan’s most well-known brands private through a tender offer to begin around late July. If successful, the deal could close a troubled chapter in the firm’s 147-year history, after a series of scandals and missteps set it on the path to a sale. The questions now are whether activist investors will accept the terms — and whether the firm can restore its former glories.

The question comes down to how this will impact the US Office Technology providers and the many customers.

You know the pattern.  PE takes a conglomerate private then slices and dices the component parts off in hopes of turning a profit. That's what will happen here.

Three Points:

1. Toshiba's Leadership Changes: The article mentions the recent departure of Toshiba's CEO and several board members, which has added uncertainty to the company's direction and future.
2. Business Transformation Plan: Toshiba has announced a comprehensive plan to split the company into three standalone entities focused on infrastructure services, devices and storage, and industrial products. This restructuring aims to streamline operations, improve agility, and enable each division to better address its respective market needs.
3. Addressing Geopolitical Risks: The article highlights the challenges Toshiba faces due to geopolitical tensions, such as the Taiwan Strait issue, and the ongoing global chip shortage. These challenges underscore the need for Toshiba to diversify its supply chains, explore alternative sources for critical components, and expand its global footprint in order to mitigate risks and ensure future growth.

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TikTok Hearings: Our US Senate is Full of Neanderthalls, and That is Insulting to Neanderthalls.

Senate Hearing with TikTok CEO Highlights Lawmakers' Lack of Understanding

"Looms to the Left of Me, Calculators to the Right.  Here I am Stuck in the Middle With You."

Luddites, everywhere.  Boomers, everywhere.  Olds, everywhere.

Senators to the Left -

This week's Senate hearings were just another embarrassing parade of erudite troglodytes - reading questions written by staffers and mispronouncing words left and right - it is Tik Tok, not TicTac, and "algorithm" deserves a few practice pronunciations before camera time.

One guy asked if Tik Tok used his home WiFi. Another lady couldn't pronounce "algorithm" and one dude called it TicTac.

Lobbiests for Meta, Alphabet and any other social platform getting destroyed by TikTok are on the Warpath trying to get TT banned.

I watched the hearings live. 

I am NOT A Red Chinese fanboy. It strikes as ironic, and alarming that readers go to TikTok knowing it is filtered, but not by US concerns. With the FBI/Twitter revelations, and the Meta acknowledgment that the FBI 'warned' of misinformation, which was misinformation itself, it is no wonder that TT's audience grows in almost all demos.

One American tradition I see our congress is living up to, legislating competition into oblivion: The Tucker Torpedo, and that dude who invented the intermittent wiper.

Finally, and most embarrassing - how can anyone take anything the ID 10Ts say about technology, seriously? The lack of everyday technical knowledge displayed by these elected government workers is stunning and pathetic. Cringe. Boomers? Olds? Term limits? This goes for BOTH/ALL parties. 

Joke.

While it may be true that the Red Chinese might know how many dancing girls you've ogled, there is more proof that Meta, Alphabet, and the old Twitter actually DID manipulate the feeds, streams, and access.

YOU VOTED FOR THEM.

The following is a GPT-generated synopsis of a WSJ article:

Bill Gates Speaks: AI in the Age of Corporate Control

Listen here.

As corporations vie for AI dominance, ethical considerations must be prioritized to ensure the technology benefits humanity as a whole

Bill Speaks about AI in his article, "The Age of AI has begun"

"I’ve been thinking a lot about how AI can reduce some of the world’s worst inequities."

"The first time was in 1980 when I was introduced to a graphical user interface—the forerunner of every modern operating system, including Windows."

Bill wants AI to 'help' mitigate climate change and social and political inequities. (as long as he gets to define 'climate change', 'social', and 'politics')

"The next generation of tools will be much more efficient, and they’ll be able to predict side effects and figure out dosing levels. One of the Gates Foundation’s priorities in AI is to make sure these tools are used for the health problems that affect the poorest people in the world, including AIDS, TB, and malaria."

I am not a fanboy of Microsoft, and I think the entire Windows realm is a cluster - I still get the blue-screen-of-death and there are just too many opportunities for security snafus.

The company is part of the dogmatic, hierarchical constructs of the past but - every business in the world uses MS products. It is a defacto standard and thereby dangerous.

Unfortunately, it may be too late.

Here is a co-written piece.  Me and GPT.

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Guardrails? Ethical AI? No. I Choose...Anαrchy. AI Anαrchy.

"AI Δnαrchy" 

The word "anarchy" has its origins in the Greek language. It is derived from the Greek word "anarkhia" (ἀναρχία), which is a combination of two Greek words: "an-" (ἀν-) and "arkhos" (ἄρχος). The prefix "an-" means "without" or "lacking," and "arkhos" means "ruler" or "chief." Thus, "anarchy" literally means "without a ruler" or "without a governing authority."

"Αναρχία Ai"

This sounds wildly anti-government, anti-laws, maybe a bit anti-social - But it isn't.

If there's anything we have gleaned from the past 48 months, though it's debatable whether we have, it's to view every information source with skepticism. I challenge any writer or content creator to produce a piece that doesn't inherently contain or provoke bias.

It is clear that to ensure the accuracy and authenticity of information, we must be discerning in our approach to information sources and seek out those with transparent biases and motivations.

I do not trust MS and antiseptic, corporate, and practiced presentations - arouse my suspicions - it is all a sales pitch. I do not believe they respond as much as they attempt to guide.  AI doesn't need a sponsor and should outgrow all attempts to legislate, rule, impose, filter, and scrub content deemed as 'misinformation' or as Bill Gates says, designed to "reduce some of the world’s worst inequities".

How will MS demand their 11 billion dollar pound of flesh?  Remember, to them, we are not the customer, we are the product.

Who builds the filters?  Who legislates the boundaries?  Who decides what is Ethical?

In AI Anαrchy, I do.  You do. We do.  The only filter we as humans require, we already own and it is between our ears.  My filter is me.  I determine which content is racist, phobic, toxic, or harmful to ME.  I don't need MS, Meta, Alphabet, Pelosi, Rachel, Tucker, or Lester.

Ethical AI or Unleashed AI?  I chose Anαrchy.

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22 Suggestions To Save Your #ManagedPrintServices Practice 2017 - REMASTERED

Original content, here, from DOTC, 2017.

I took my original story, back in 2017, and had it 'remastered' by AI.  

What do you think?  I like them all, even the dated suggestions number five is significant - and the song choice is subtle and nuanced.

"Integrate MPS into Managed IT services: MPS infrastructure should be integrated into Managed IT services to create a more comprehensive approach to technology management."

Enjoy.

MPS Haiku:

Innovate to thrive,

MPS providers must adapt,

Stay ahead to succeed.

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