When Microsoft’s Kinect—a device that lets Xbox users control games with physical gestures—hit the market, computer scientists immediately began hacking it.

Manufacturing is now a global game. The United States is still the world’s largest manufacturer but is no longer the engine for growth it once was. China, Brazil, Australia, India, Singapore, and other countries are building new facilities at a breakneck pace.

During a recent holiday debriefing with a friend, I learned that a colleague of hers was feeling guilty because she and her husband were unable to afford an iPad for their daughter.

Some time ago, while speaking at a conference in the land down under, I was taken to task by a participant for suggesting, “5S is usually the first improvement” in lean implementation.

Like anyone else, when I plan for the new year, I need to set aside time for reflection and anticipation.

Inspired by the popularity of up-close recreational experiences in the land of 10,000 lakes, a Minnesota company has figured out how to design and manufacture a unique line of small, electrically powered watercraft.

I recently returned a pair of $28 (suggested retail price) Chinese-made gloves I bought for $7.97 the day after Christmas, which is when I do all my Christmas shopping.

A Quality Digest reader wrote in asking for techniques to evaluate touch-trigger probes for accuracy.

Although you were energized and excited about jumping into 2012, the 20+ tasks added to your to-do list and an inbox full of e-mails begging for an immediate response sidetracked you into feeling overwhelmed and incapable of getting everything done.

With a random-looking spatter of paint specks, a pair of cameras, and a whole lot of computer processing, engineer Mark Iadicola of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been helping the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in cooperation wi