I was reading Joe Coughlin’s recent column It’s the Services Stupid! and realized that I sorta agree with him and sorta don’t. Putting AIP tech into retail settings doesn’t work yet. There are a number of vendors out there who have products in Best Buy and other major retail stores and have found it doesn’t add a lot to their sales bottom line. Instead: >>> Read more . . .

What is missing is systems thinking that responds to the entire ‘job’ of the older consumer or caregiver.

Purrfect Pet. The PARO therapeutic robot is a pretty darn cool contraption. Shaped like a stuffed furry baby seal, it has five kinds of sensors built into itself: tactile, light, sound, temperature and posture. PARO’s sensors can “feel” being stroked or being held. It can also recognize the direction of voice and words such as its name. It moves, looks at you, blinks and closes its eyes, purrs and other pet-like actions and it is supposed to learn your desires and behave appropriately over time. >>> Read more . . .

Are seniors missing the tablet and e-Reader boomlet? Las Vegas can rest now. It has been left to its own devices, so to speak, now that CES has left town for another year. Exhibitors, never original, seized on swipe and touch trends started by Apple -- reports from the show noted that 'Android tablets have sprung up around CES like worms after a rainstorm' and how many types will be sitting in stores in 2012. So why don't seniors want to buy them? Pew Research published a glowingly titled doc recently titled Tablets and e-Reader Ownership Nearly Double Over the Holiday Gift-Giving Period and headlined that 'overall at least 29% of Americans own at least one of them.'  And the 50-64 year-olds did show a significant increase in tablet ownership from December 2011-2012 -- from 8-15%. But as the Pew data shows, the 65+ are not flocking to the store to pick up a tablet-- a mere increase from 5 to 7%. Maritz did some profiling the younger folk: the average tablet buyer is aged 38-41, with an income of approximately $70K, tablet buyers are likely to be male. Older women seem to like the e-Reader more, with ownership jumping from 8-12% year over year, average e-book buying woman is aged 44. So what's the, er, story here? >>> Read more . . .

Just in case you thought you ran into me -- I wasn't there. But I got a kick out of Wayne Caswell's CES in Pajamas blog post, David Pogue's Sampling the Future of Gadgetry (wow, it really is a showcase for "tablets, thin TV screens, superthin laptops and Android phones") and then there were the 25 robots -- three of which were related to healthcare. So that led me to plow through more 'zone lists' and offer a paragraph about each of ten companies/products from A to Z that are recent/new to me -- and may be new to you. The link goes to their website, the text is theirs: >>> Read more . . .

Not to be a spoilsport…but 'age-friendly cities' aren’t. US News Money ran an article this week about ‘aging in place’ – what a great idea, but…  Adding the 'but' is a correct assessment -- senior-friendly communities don’t really resonate as two words in the same sentence, although I suppose that is depending on whether you are imagining a young-aged (in either age or demeanor) senior. The AARP-sponsored state-by-state study cited underpins the issues, particularly with transportation. But what really struck me: "Of Americans over age 65, 21 percent do not drive," the report said. "This reduced mobility has a direct and often debilitating effect on older Americans' independence. More than 50 percent of non-drivers over age 65 normally do not leave home most days, partly because of a lack of transportation options." So let’s count that up, shall we? With 40 million aged 65+, 8.4 million of them are non-drivers, 4.2 million not leaving the home most days because of a lack of transportation. What are these people doing in their homes? Who sees them? How age-friendly is that? >>> Read more . . .

Las Vegas demographic dreaming. Today’s Silvers Summit at the International CES was an exercise in demographics — is it really fair to say that boomer and beyond is a market segment? Even to a novice, it must seem rather silly to clump everyone 45 and older as a buying segment.  Marty Cooper (whose tweets can be followed: @martymobile) wisely pointed out midday that demographics do not define a market. >>> Read more . . .

Wonder about a distributed time bank across geographies for tasks that do not require being in person?

2002 tech trends - compared to 2012.

Business ideas sound good -- but are they sustainable? The world's most tech-hopeful event kicks off this week -- that would be CES, for those not in the industry. As a tech veteran, I have been to so many of these types of shows over the years, where the floor is chock full of caffeine and confidence, clever demos, looping videos, bubbling marketers and blaring televisions. But with 149,000 attendees and multiple shows within a show, I am again reminded that in the world of startups, even those launching from inside giant companies, that 90% will eventually fail. >>> Read more . . .