How was science's year, you ask? Oh, not too shabby. A robot rocket fought a robot barge and won. Humans detected gravitational waves from space for Pete's sake. And a certain company that rhymes with Chairanos brought serious drama the biomedical world. So yeah, it was an eventful year for science--thanks for asking.

When Tim Cook took to the stage for Apple's last keynote – meant among other things to address a growing and worrying disquiet about the future of the company – he introduced a video. Instead, the gathered tech elites watched a video highlighting the different kinds of accessibility features that have been wrapped into Apple products. As with all of its products, the focus wasn't so much on the technology as what it does. It closed with the realisation that many of those same features had been used by a young editor, Sady Paulson, a video editor who is living with cerebral palsy, to actually make the film. "When technology is designed for everyone, it let's anyone do what they love," Ms Paulson says in the video – which she also narrated, with the help of Siri.

Where appropriate, we brought back trends from previous reports, once they had hit tipping point or promised new value.We looked ahead to predict which consumer segments will be most affected by the trend, how it will evolve, and identified brands that are leading the way. They are the early adopters of new technology. Millennials – those born after 1982 – are adept at making the most of technology to create a world of difference for themselves. Technology has given them the freedom to redefine the way they work, play, shop and to take control of their daily activities. Their dependence on their smartphones and other new technologies sets their expectations for how they want to engage with brands. Generation Z – defined loosely as those born after the late 1990s – are the first true digital native generation, and are the native speakers of the digital language of computers, video games and the internet.

The expansive interpretation of legal authority and strong defences of secrecy wielded by a president who at least understood the risks and downsides of drone warfare will now be available to an administration that sees the world in black-and-white, rather than shades of grey. The administration, moreover, continues to resist the release of other legal documents regarding the drone programme and to defend the significant reductions in documents that have been released (whether via government leak or through litigation), including the 11-page factual discussion in the July 2010 Office of Legal Counsel memo regarding the strike that killed American citizen Anwar al-Aulaqi in Yemen. Thus, while Obama has relied primarily on the AUMF for drone strikes, he has interpreted his statutory authority broadly.

Today our focus has been on KPIs, ERP, WMS, TMS, YMS, EDI, The Cloud, S and OP, 3 D Printing, IoT, IoE, Drones: Same Hour/Day/Time Delivery to Customers, Cyber Security, Theft, Government Regulations, E-Commerce, Omni-Channel, Modeling/Simulation, Risk Management, Tracking, Traceability, Re-shoring, Robotics, et al, but…what about Artificial Intelligence or AI technologies? AI is a controversy of deep, lasting dimensions. Will machines learn to think like humans…and then outthink us? If AI Technologies Can Think & Act Like "Us" Where do "We" Go? The application of AI technologies has created the ability to understand, store and use product information in an entirely new way.

Researchers at Tohoku University have, for the first time, successfully demonstrated the basic operation of spintronics-based artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence, which emulates the information processing function of the brain that can quickly execute complex and complicated tasks such as image recognition and weather prediction, has attracted growing attention and has already been partly put to practical use. The currently-used artificial intelligence works on the conventional framework of semiconductor-based integrated circuit technology. However, this lacks the compactness and low-power feature of the human brain. To overcome this challenge, the implementation of a single solid-state device that plays the role of a synapse is highly promising.

Is it too soon to do reviews and forecasts for the New Year? I noticed another contributor to SA has offered a forecast for Palo Alto (NYSE:PANW) and its prospective performance for the coming year. Several brokerage analysts have offered their evaluation of the year ahead for IBM (NYSE:IBM). The old year is passing at a frightful pace, and it means that all valuation metrics need to be adjusted for the year ahead. One of the interesting things about IBM is that its headline metrics are not expected to change much in 2017, with earnings expected to rise and revenues expected to show marginal shrinkage, how much credence should investors place in the consensus? How should investors look at prospects for IBM's dividend? How should investors value a company without growth, or will there be growth in the future? Of course, I do not hold all the answers. But I think as 2017 approaches, it might be worthwhile for me to express my point of view about what to expect going forward. I think that IBM is most likely to miss and/or guide down for a variety of reasons that I outline in the foregoing article.

Growth hacking is common for startups to make unheard-of progress in building their business. Career Hacks can help Geek Girls and those who support them (yes, that's you too, Dad!) to excel in this typically male-dominated world. Is there a bias against women in the tech / developer communities? Why are women 50% of the workforce, but hold only 24% of the STEM or IT positions? Is there a bias against women in the tech / developer communities?

Workhorse Group Inc. of Loveland, Ohio, received permission Wednesday from the Federal Aviation Administration to begin testing a delivery drone nicknamed HorseFly that is launched from atop the company's electric trucks. SAN FRANCISCO – The world's largest drone maker has teamed up with the nation's largest thermal camera company to create ready-to-fly drones that can see in the dark. The drone maker is DJI, a China-based company that currently has about 70% of the world drone market. The camera is by FLIR Systems, a Wilsonville, Ore.-based thermal and infrared imaging company. The collaboration will produce drones that can be used in search-and-rescue, firefighting, security and surveillance.

Tesla has been working on enhancing its Autopilot self-driving feature, and the upcoming update might make its cars even safer than human-driven vehicles. The update will cap the top speed to the preset speed limit when the vehicle's Autosteer function is used, TechCrunch reported citing sources. Autosteer is a Tesla feature that controls the wheel and maintains the car's lane. If speed limits could be imposed using the updated software, it would make vehicles less prone to accidents. A Purdue University study in 2008 found that most drivers on U.S. roads don't follow speed limits, which is one of the major causes of accidents.