Plaud NotePin Review: An Excellent Wearable Capsule that Transforms Sound Into Meaning I carried the Plaud NotePin through my day at the Henry Stewart Semantic Data Conference, eventualy creating a personal archive of the conference that included audio, transcripts and analysis. I also carried it across the sprawl of KMWorld and Enterprise AI World. Those environments are unforgiving test beds: large conference rooms, hallway conversations, overlapping voices, and the relentless cadence of back-to-back sessions. The device was worn, clipped, pinned, and occasionally set on a table, shifting between intimate discussions and cavernous ballrooms without ceremony.

Anant Kale, CEO and Co-Founder of AppZen on AI and Fraud in the Back Office: A Serious Insights Interview Anant Kale ChatGPT drawing from LinkedIn profile portrait. Generative AI has shifted from novelty to infrastructure, and as it evolves, it is rewriting the risk profile of basic finance workflows. Expense reports and invoices once felt like back-office hygiene; now they sit on the front line of an AI-versus-AI contest where synthetic receipts, invented vendors, and subtle document edits can be generated with a prompt. The skill barrier to fraud has collapsed, but the accountability expectations for finance leaders have not.

Nashay Naeve on Career, Global Manufacturing and AI: A Serious Insights Interview Nashay Naeve drawing by Gemini from LinkedIn portrait. I recently had the opportunity to interview Nashay Naeve, President of the Engineered Plastic Components Business Unit at Tsubaki Nakashima. Our interview explores how a global manufacturing leader thinks about the real constraints and levers in front of her: a worldwide shortage of skilled labor, shifting tariffs and regulations, and uneven ESG expectations across the U.S. and Europe. She traces how lessons from Caterpillar, DuPont, Redwood, and now Tsubaki Nakashima have shaped a view of manufacturing in which engineering, operations, and people systems must move together or not at all.

"The Future of AI Isn’t What You Think" from Foxit Featuring Daniel W. Rasmus I had an opportunity to chat with Charles Verhey, Group Manager, Digital Media Production & Web Content • Marketing at Foxit, to explore the future of AI. Here's our YouTube conversation, followed by an overview. Foxit Daniel W. Rasmus Interview Overview AI keeps getting sold as if it has one destiny: an inevitable curve up and to the right. That story may be comforting, but it is also wrong. The futures of AI are multiple, contested, and highly dependent on forces beyond the technology itself—governance, energy, geopolitics, economics, and culture.

Kuxiu S2 Qi2 Portable Charger Review Over the last couple of years I’ve looked at a steady stream of MagSafe and Qi2 batteries. Most share the same basic formula: 5,000mAh, 15W wireless charging, 20W USB-C, a magnet, and a little plastic box. The Kuxiu S2 Qi2 Portable Charger takes a different path by bringing semi–solid-state battery tech into that familiar form factor. That shift isn’t cosmetic; it meaningfully changes safety, longevity, and how often the pack will need to be replaced. Against other mobile power gear I’ve used, the Kuxiu S2 Qi2 Portable Charger sits at the intersection of “daily carry” and “tech experiment.” It’s still a straightforward 5,000mAh MagSafe puck, but the semi-solid-state chemistry, Qi2 certification at 15W, and very slim 0.39-inch profile make it feel more like a next-generation reference design than a commodity accessory.

Karpul Cordless Vacuum Cleaner Review My children will tell you I have a thing for vacuum cleaners. I was always buying smaller, more agile, less hair-tangely versions as they grew up. While I'm not an expert, I do know what I like, and this new generation of powerful, lightweight, rechargeable and reconfigurable models is just what I've always wanted. And so far, devices like the $159.99 Karpul Cordless Vacuum haven't disappointed. As a reviewer, I treat budget-minded hardware as a test of promises. The Klarpul cordless vacuum cleaner arrives with big promises: 50KPa suction, a 600W brushless motor, up to 60–65 minutes of runtime, and a relatively small price.

The Top Ten Ways Scenario Planning Can Go Wrong: 10 Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them Scenario planning is a powerful tool. When it works, it rewires how people think about the future. It invites leaders to confront uncertainty, question their assumptions, and build more agile strategies. I’ve seen scenarios help organizations avoid big bets on bad assumptions — and uncover opportunities they didn’t know they were looking for. (Serious Insights) I’ve also seen scenario projects go sideways. Not because the tool is flawed, but because of how it’s framed, governed, or executed.

This article examines why documents are only fragments of knowledge, how generative AI exposes brittle content, and why access alone never guarantees understanding. It argues for context-rich knowledge practices: better scaffolding and metadata, explicit assumptions and confidence levels, and stewardship that retires or renews aging content. The piece introduces the “knowledge sculptor” as a new role that shapes AI-generated output into meaningful, trusted artifacts. Rather than idolizing archives, organizations are urged to build active, social, and contextualized knowledge systems where AI augments human judgment, surfaces patterns, and keeps knowledge aligned with changing realities.

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SoundPEATS Clip1 is a lightweight, open-ear clip-on earbud that prioritizes comfort and awareness while still delivering a surprisingly dense feature set: Hi-Res Wireless with LDAC, Dolby Audio, DynamicEQ Pro, AutoSense channel detection, multipoint, low-latency gaming mode, IPX5 water resistance, and up to 40 hours of battery life. The trade-offs are typical of the form factor—limited deep bass, no ANC and minimal accessories—but the combination of design, smart features, and aggressive pricing makes Clip1 a compelling everyday audio companion for those who value situational awareness over isolation.

If AI is to succeed in reshaping work, it will reshape all kinds of work. I recently had the opportunity to interview Rafsan Bhuiyan, who. While his new endeavor, OrionQ appears focused on traditional marketing and lead generation, Rahsan would rather talk about AI in construction sites, garages, and service vans. OrionQ builds AI agents that pick up the phone when a plumber’s under a sink, or schedule jobs while a roofer’s on a ladder. He sees AI as the difference between winning a contract or losing it. Rafsan believes trades may turn out to be the most important proving ground for AI adoption.

Status Audio Pro X Earbuds Review I have been on the road. And the Status Audio Pro X earbuds have been with me every mile. They have blocked noise, communicated insight, and offered hours to pleasant, and sometimes disturbing audio from television shows and movies, and bouncy pleasure from and soothing interludes from music. Many wireless-earbuds focus on brand prestige, design flash or broad marketing claims. The Status Audio Pro X emerges as being less about flash, more about feature-rich substance and acoustical ambition wrapped in an elegant package. They sits squarely in a space where audiophile ambition meets real-world wireless convenience.

Lumary 56FT Smart Landscape Lights Gen2 Review This is the introductory paragraph with formatting. The Rasmus home taking on a decidedly Halloween look with greens and purples via the Lumary 56FT Smart Landscape Lights Gen2 . (Source: Daniel W. Rasmus. ©2025 Daniel W. Rasmus and Serious Insights LLC. The Lumary 56FT Smart Landscape Lights Gen2, 6 Pack RGBAIWW offers an integrated, pre-packaged, fully featured, ready-to-deploy outdoor lighting system. I approach this system not merely as a set of spotlights, but as a bounded digital canvas, examining how its closed architecture serves the creative impulse of dynamic exterior illumination versus the long-term strategic needs of home automation integration.

TOZO Open EarRing Review Open-ear devices have been appearing alongside the more traditional sealed earbuds reviewed at Serious Insights. Products like the Tozo Open EarRing represent a design philosophy shift: prioritizing awareness and comfort, trading the sealed-ear “wow” for a safer, more social listening stance. We look at the Tozo Open EarRing as a wearable that optimizes for use cases where isolation is a hindrance rather than a feature.   From a market-watch perspective, this segment is getting crowded as brands chase commuters and fitness-minded listeners with IP ratings, long endurance, and companion apps.

Enterprise AI Insights from the Field: Success Factors and Waiting for ROI I had the pleasure of listening to leaders discuss their firsthand experiences with AI deployments and how organizations are implementing AI. I learned from Saanya Ojha of Bain Capital Ventures, who spoke with Moveworks President Varun Singh, and from several thought leaders during a KMWorld-hosted webinar that brought together TigerGraph (Victor Lee, PhD), Semedy (Charles Lagor), and TopQuadrant (Steve Hedden). I'll keep the takeaways simple. They all align with my experience: design for success, including how to measure ROI.

Wacom Cintiq 24 Touch Review The Wacom Cintiq 24 Touch is a lot of device. Not just in price or promise, but in sheer physical presence. It’s a relatively massive piece of equipment, and not the kind of thing that easily sneaks onto a crowded desktop where a keyboard, mouse, and laptop already wrestle for territory. This isn’t the kind of tool you casually tuck beside a monitor; it demands its own stage. Artists already accustomed to tilted drawing tables know what they're getting into. For me, the Wacom Cintiq 24 Touch arrived in my workspace like a visiting dignitary—impossible to ignore, insistent that I bring it a new surface (a foldable table) because, while I have a desk and a credenza, it wouldn't fit among the existing equipment.

Dynabook Tecra A40-M Series 2 Review The Dynabook Tecra A40-M Series 2 arrived while I was reviewing the Lenovo ThinkPad X9. In many ways, that was unfortunate for the Tecra as the X9 touted modern design flourishes, while the Tecra proudly displays its legacy callbacks. That the X9 abandoned the ThinkPad's traditional design language makes for an even bigger contrast. Both, however, claim to be AI PCs, sporting the latest Intel chips with their NPUs. Both include a Copilot key. Using that as a field leveler that defines them as state-of-the-art devices, many of the legacy choices in the Tecra don't do it any favors.

Edifier ES20 Review There are always the sounds of summer. Sometimes mine were Yuaght Rock, other times Los Angeles Dodgers games, and occasionally new music from Christina Carpenter or Billie Elish, or a Star Talk Radio podcast. More likely than not, this summer's open spaces were filled with sounds emanating from the Editfer ES20. The ES20 slides into my speaker collection where minimal size meets maximal usability, and portable audio devices stop behaving like disposable tech and start hinting at enduring craftsmanship. The Edifer ES20 harkens back to classic guitar amp design and other classic stage gear.

Rokid Max 2 AR Glasses Review Portable displays increasingly act as instruments of discretion—screening work and entertainment from crowded spaces without the weight of a full XR rig. The Rokid Max 2 falls into this category, featuring micro-OLED glasses that serve as a travel-friendly private screen, delivering comfort and convenience that fluidly switch between phones, tablets, consoles, and laptops. The Rokid Max 2 glasses are a measured iteration on the previous model. The new version extends the familiar recipe with a strong spec baseline, an effective myopia system, and an ecosystem path—Rokid Station and Station 2—that turns a simple monitor into a pocketable platform for streaming, office apps, and multi-app spatial layouts.

Edifier MR3 Studio Monitor Speakers Review Across recent audio and creator-tool reviews, a pattern keeps surfacing: everyday gear borrowing ideas from studios to support disciplined, improvisational work. The Edifier MR3 Studio Monitor Speakers fit that pattern, trading luxury finishes for a measured response curve, proper balanced inputs, and tuning tools that make cramped desks behave. This is the same practical ethos behind travel mics, compact lights, and minimal gimbals covered here. The MR3 complements those kits with honest monitoring, app-level convenience, and quick physical controls—a small upgrade that improves focus and reduces rework in research, teaching, and content pipelines.

BENFEI USB-C to Audio Jack Adapter with 60W Fast Charging Review I like cute. This compact BENFEI USB-C to Audio Jack Adapter is cute. It combines audio high definition audio for devices like iPhone and iPad (and other USB-C powered devices that no longer ship with an audio jack) along with an input for power. All for under twelve dollars. And did I say it was cute, as it folds up into something that looks more like a keychain decoration than high-tech audio enabler. And while I wouldn’t suggest carrying the BENFEI USB-C to Audio Jack Adapter among a jangle of keys all the time, it would likely survive the experience, save a few scratches.

Rhinoshield AirX case for iPhone 16 Pro Review Protective accessories increasingly differentiate on engineering, not embellishment. Recent Serious Insights coverage has highlighted gear where design choices map cleanly to outcomes—microphones that favor quick capture over dials, lights that trade heft for portability, and gimbals that guide rather than intrude. The Rhinoshield AirX arrives in that lineage as an argument for managed energy: a case designed to isolate impact before it reaches the device core. This review situates Rhinoshield AirX against cases that chase thinness or transparency as primary virtues. The AirX proposition is different: predictable protection over time, with an architecture that speaks in pressures, chambers, and flow paths.

JBL Quantum Stream Wireless USB-C Microphone Review The Quantum Stream Wireless USB-C fits into one of my favorite themes: lightweight tools sculpted for personal, purposeful and improvisational storytelling. Like the mobile-first camera gear and compact lighting kits we’ve examined, this mic favors flexibility over depth, trimming friction wherever possible. It won’t replace a desktop mic, but it complements the episodic spontaneity of recording on a phone, especially on the road, as I did recently at Comic-Con and other conferences. I have also used it for a weekly AI vlog entry to a WhatApp group.

Kwikset Halo Select Touchscreen Wi-Fi and Matter-Enabled Smart Lock Review So, I’m a fan of the Kwikset Halo Select Touchscreen Wi-Fi and Matter-Enabled Smart Lock. I love the connectivity. I went with Wi-Fi to ensure full access to all features in the Kwikset app. Installation was a bear. My door had quirks. The first attempt at Kwikset sending the right parts didn’t result in the right parts. The second attempt, with my son-in-law sending images and spending significant time on a call, resulted in the right parts showing up. The lock is now installed.

The MIT NANDA Report Challenge: AI’s ROI Problems Call for a Revisit of Solow’s Productivity Paradox, The Serendipity Economy, and Finding Value Beyond Productivity Technological revolutions rarely arrive on schedule. They come with fanfare, bold promises, and heavy investment, but their impact often hides in the shadows before it bursts into the open. Artificial intelligence now finds itself in this awkward in-between space. Boardrooms are abuzz with talk of generative AI strategies; enterprises are pouring billions into pilots and partnerships; employees are experimenting with chatbots and copilots. Yet in measurable business terms, most of these efforts appear to fail to deliver returns on the investments.