Daily Archives: April 2, 2022

Rapid technological advances are bringing major changes to workplaces around the world. In the U.S., this has been a source of both joyfor those able to work from home thanks to advanced video technology and the internet of things (IoT)and sorrow for those who lost their job due to advanced robotics. Predicting the impact of new, Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technology on employment opportunities around the world is now a growth industry. But how relevant is the technology, and to a large extent the experience of rich countries, to Africas current problems and choices?

In our recent report, we take a hard look at this question. Focusing on Africas current economic development challengehow to speed up the process of economic transformationwe examine the potential of 4IR technology to support and accelerate this process. A reasonable expectation might be that 4IR technology has a lot to contribute since technological innovation has been one of the main drivers of economic growth and development since the invention of the steam engine and electricity. However, our report argues that for Africa, the key policy question is not What can 4IR technology do for Africa, but rather What are Africas productivity bottlenecks, and could 4IR technology help relieve them? In other words, for the owner/operator of a business or farm, the question is not What about robots? It is What is my current productivity problem, and if I used this technology would it produce a quick and specific response to this problem?

From this perspective, we do share the excitement for some of the potential of 4IR technology to help farms and also formal and informal firms in Africa to reduce production costs, grow their markets through productivity improvements, and increase employment and earnings. We are most optimistic about:

Although we find ourselves much less worried about robots and job losses than some other analysts, our analysis does leave us concerned with the long-standing obstacles to technology adoption that already exist in Africa. Without innovation, producers will lose market share to the rest of the world. But new technology is an investment and will be adopted only if a producer has access to markets to sell their products and services and can get the needed complementary inputs (including services such as electricity and transportation of goods to market) at a price that results in a competitive product. This makes issues such as building; operating; and maintaining infrastructure, including information and communications technology infrastructure; deepening the financial sector to reduce the cost of financing new investment; and reducing barriers to regional trade all the more urgent. To ensure success, the public and private sectors will have to work together on strategy and implementation.

Conscientiously shaping public policy that guides technological growth to maximize benefits for all and minimize costs will be crucial for success.

Africa urgently needs employment transformationgrowth in the employment share of wage jobs. This will take time given the current rate of labor force growth. Africa cannot afford to let the bright, shiny object of new technology divert its attention from needed measures to support earnings growth in the agricultural and nonfarm informal sectorshousehold farms and firms. Conscientiously shaping public policy that guides technological growth to maximize benefits for all and minimize costs will be crucial for success. Countries need comprehensive, effective, and implementable strategies that will address the various challenges in their country context, while ensuring inclusion. A policy focus predominately on supporting and catering to the high-tech sectors will exacerbate inequality, an undesirable result.

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Technology and the future of jobs in Africa - Brookings Institution

To celebrate April Fools Day Ive tried to have some fun in this newsletter, including in the choice of reader mail and the quote of the day. Everythings true, though no fooling.

Im fascinated by what the evolution of language tells us about economic development over the years. In focusing on language Im paying homage to my incisive Opinion colleague John McWhorter as well as the great William Safire, who for years wrote the On Language column in The New York Times Magazine. The difference is Ill try to stay connected to my main topic, economics.

Consider this coinage: meatspace. It refers simply to the physical world, where we have tangible bodies made of meat. Meatspace is a word that didnt need to exist until the invention of cyberspace. Technological progress gives us a new perspective on things we once took for granted, in this case reality itself.

I.C.E. vehicle (pronounced ice) is similar. I.C.E. is short for internal combustion engine, a modifier that was superfluous until electric cars came on the scene. Like meatspace, its what the journalist Frank Mankiewicz called a retronym a new term thats invented for something old because the original term has become ambiguous, usually because of some development such as a technological advance.

There are lots of lists of retronyms on the internet. Among my favorites, each revealing societys progress in some way or another: incandescent light bulb (necessitated by fluorescent, LED, etc.); landline phone; analog watch; Euclidean geometry; hard copy; vacuum tube radio (as opposed to transistor radio although who bothers specifying transistor radio anymore?).

Unlike retronyms, infrastructure is an old word that keeps getting asked to do more work. It began as a term from French railroad engineering referring to the layers of material that go beneath (infra) the tracks. Its meaning expanded to include roads, bridges, sewers and power lines, and very recently expanded again to include people, specifically caregivers, as in this fact sheet from the Biden White House last year, which said, The presidents plan makes substantial investments in the infrastructure of our care economy, starting by creating new and better jobs for caregiving workers.

Our language preserves old ways of living as surely as amber preserves long-dead insects or volcanic ash preserved ancient Pompeii. We still cc: people on emails even though increasingly few of us have ever made carbon copies on a typewriter (I have). We copy and paste text, scarcely aware that actual fragrant paste used to be involved. I recently learned that uppercase and lowercase letters got their names from actual wooden cases of lead that were used by compositors for printing. People still talk about dialing phone numbers even though phones dont have dials, and rolling up car windows even though hand cranks are long gone.

Along those lines, its amazing that well into the 21st century were still describing the strength of our cars and trucks in comparison to the power of horses. That usage traces back to James Watt, the Scottish inventor who developed a better steam engine in the late 18th century and compared it to a horse, since in those days horses and pulleys were used to lift buckets of water out of flooded coal mines.

Technology has leapt ahead since the 18th century but the English language hasnt, at least when it comes to describing the power of engines. One horsepower, by the way, equals 746 watts and yes, watt is named after James Watt.

Not all technical terminology has horsepowers staying power. In economics, for example, priming the pump used to be a well-understood phrase for what today we call stimulus. A conventional pump wont work if there is air in the pump or the line to it. You have to pour water into it to prime it before you can get water out. In an era when people were more familiar with pumps, it made sense to them that the government would occasionally need to pour some money into the economy to get it working and pump much more money out. That metaphor is less intuitively persuasive these days.

Flat-screen, high-definition color TVs are just TVs today. Ballpoint pens are just pens. And before long, self-driving electric cars will be just cars. Time and technology march on.

In reading your March 25 newsletter on the economist Clifford Winston, a believer in free markets, I thought of this old joke: An engineer and an economist are stuck in a deep hole in the ground. After several hours the engineer says, I just cant figure out a way to get us out of here. The economist turns to him and says, Its easy! First, assume a ladder.

Allan Kemp

Littleton, Colo.

Asking me now to write on how I feel about economics journals is like asking a lamppost to write a memoir on dogs.

Philip Mirowski, The Effortless Economy of Science? (2004)

Have feedback? Send a note to coy-newsletter@nytimes.com.

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Opinion | 'Meatspace'? Technology Does Funny Things to Language - The New York Times

This is not how you burn a file.

The practice of law in the twenty-first century increasingly requires attorneys and staff to use technology in order to best serve clients. Many law firms employ predictive tagging software, search engines powered by artificial intelligence, and other state-of-the-art methods in order to save money and more efficiently complete legal tasks. In addition, the practice of law requires that lawyers use basic technology such as email applications, word processors, and other more commonplace technology. Although it is understandable that some lawyers may not be well-versed with advanced technology in the legal industry, there is no reason why lawyers are not proficient with basic technology like track changes, email application, and the like.

Ill be the first to admit it, I am not always the best when it comes to new technology. I did not own a smartphone until 2013, and I embraced social media platforms far later than others. When I moved from firm to firm throughout my career before starting my own practice, it usually took me a decent amount of time to get used to the document management systems, time tracker software, and other technology at each of these firms.

However, I learned years, if not decades ago, how to perform basic technological tasks. For instance, I learned how to use track changes in a Word document a long time ago, probably since I have been using Microsoft Word since Windows 95. Moreover, I know all of the functions of email applications, including Bcc, reply all, and other functions that trip up other lawyers, likely since I have had an email address (originally a long-lost AOL email address) since I was in fourth grade in the mid-90s. Understanding all of these basic technologies makes it much easier to perform my job as an attorney and best serve clients.

It might seem like all lawyers know basic technologies within the legal profession, but I regularly encounter lawyers who are not well versed in even the most routine technologies. For instance, earlier in my career, I represented a client for whom I was negotiating a lease. Usually when lawyers negotiate a lease, they use track changes in Microsoft Word, so that attorneys can propose and accept changes and so lawyers can leave comments that are helpful to the negotiations.

My adversary said that he was not that well versed in tracked changes, and he sent me a document that purportedly included his suggested revisions in the negotiation. However, the tracked changes were only present in part of the document, and in other parts of the document, the other lawyer just made changes without tracking them so it was difficult to tell what was present in the original document and what had been changed by this lawyer. Using the compare function in Word helped solve the issue of tracking changes, but the lawyer would have helped move the process of negotiating along more quickly by correctly using track changes.

When an adversary does not understand basic technology, it often requires another lawyer to explain how to the exclusion of other tasks. For instance, one time I sent a lawyer a document with revisions in track changes and the other lawyer swore that he could not see the revisions. The other attorney thought that I did not use track changes or that I did not know what I was doing. I eventually discovered that this lawyer had his review setting in no markup instead of full markup and this is why he could not see my redlines. I needed to explain to this lawyer, step by step, how to select full markup in order to see all of the changes that were made to the document for his review.

At another point in my career, I was at the end of a contract negotiation and it was time for everyone to sign the document. The contract specifically permitted electronic signatures, and I proposed to my adversary that the document be signed through an electronic signature application. This attorney responded by saying that he was old school and that he did not know how to use such an application. I suggested that I would set up the document for signature in this electronic signature application, but I think the lawyer was paranoid I would upload a revised document for signature. This attorney asked that the document be printed out and signed, and since my client did not have a printer, executing the document this way was much more difficult than merely signing the document in an electronic signature application.

All told, no one expects lawyers to be well versed in cutting-edge technology, and fortunately, the practice of law rarely involves the use of highly sophisticated technology. However, all lawyers should have a basic understanding of some fundamental technologies that make it easier to deal with adversaries and best serve clients.

Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.

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Some Lawyers Are Unacceptably Bad With Technology - Above the LawAbove the Law - Above the Law

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HII rebrands its technology solutions business - Washington Technology

What happened

Shares of memory chip manufacturer Micron Technology ( MU -2.19% ) fell 2.2% today. In fact, the stock is down some 10% since Micron reported earnings on the evening of March 29. It was a solid quarterly update, one that beat expectations and showed Micron's momentum continuing through this year as the world continues to suffer from a shortage of chips.

As for specific numbers, Micron management said that in the second quarter of fiscal 2022 (the three months ended March 3), sales and adjusted earnings rose 25% and 118% year over year, respectively. Pricing on its memory chips is expected to rise at a double-digit percentage for the balance of the year as demand for electronic components continues to outpace the supply Micron can crank out.

That means at least a couple more quarters of strong growth is likely. So why the glum mood among Micron investors? Some stock analysts are beginning to sound the alarm on the industry, noting that white-hot demand (especially for consumer devices) might start to ease in 2023.

Notably, Barclays analysts led by Blayne Curtis downgraded Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD -1.05% ) this week from outperform to perform, citing a possible slowdown in growth next year.

Perhaps Micron is falling in sympathy with AMD. This makes sense, given that digital memory chips are a basic commodity included in more-complex semiconductor units and computing devices (like what AMD designs). If higher-order chip companies sneeze, Micron could catch cold. Historically, this has been the case. The semiconductor industry is cyclical, and Micron especially so.

Data by YCharts. TTM = trailing 12 months.

However, there are undeniable secular growth trends propelling Micron and the whole semiconductor world higher. Management pointed to its data-center, automotive, and industrial-device segments as areas of particular note on the last earnings call. More-complex technology needs more memory, a trend that should keep Micron sales chugging higher for many years to come (albeit at a more wild up-and-down pace than many of its peers).

The stock trades for less than 10 times trailing-12-month earnings, and less than 18 times trailing-12-month free cash flow. It's anyone's guess when the next downturn in chip sales arrives, but Micron has heard this story before. It's in great financial shape and ready to weather the storm.

This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the official recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. Were motley! Questioning an investing thesis even one of our own helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.

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Why Micron Technology Stock Fell More Than 2% Today - The Motley Fool

GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) The Greenville County Sheriffs Office is the first agency to implement the use of a new technology that will allow deputies to listen to active dispatch calls.

According to the Greenville County Sheriffs Office, the technology advancement provided by Equature Logging System gives deputies the capability of listening live to active 911 calls as they are being fielded by dispatchers.

The sheriffs office said the new technology will decrease the time it takes to go through dispatch when responding to calls requiring a time critical component such as an active shooter or locating a drunk driver.

The technology will not take away the critical role of dispatchers but rather assist them in getting information to deputies quickly when time is of the essence, according to deputies.

The sheriffs office said the new technology has already proven its effectiveness when deputies were trying to locate a drunk driver who was being followed by a caller who was relaying information.

Rather than the caller give information to dispatch, who would then pass the info along to the responding officers, the deputy was able to listen in immediately and get on top of the driver quickly and initiate a traffic stop.

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New technology allows deputies to listen to active 911 calls - WSPA 7News

Micron Technology's ( MU -2.19% ) revenue and earnings in the second quarter of fiscal 2022 blew past Wall Street's expectations earlier this week. The company benefited from the robust demand and pricing of memory chips that are used in several applications, ranging from smartphones to computers to data centers and automotive. Micron's fiscal third-quarter guidance was the cherry on the cake, as it indicates that its momentum is here to stay.

Let's take a closer look at Micron's latest results and see why they offer further indications that this semiconductor stock is worth buying right now.

Image source: Getty Images.

Micron's fiscal Q2 revenue increased 25% year over year to $7.79 billion, while adjusted earnings more than doubled to $2.14 per share from $0.98 per share in the prior-year period. The company was originally expecting $1.95 per share in earnings on $7.5 billion in revenue at the midpoint of its guidance range, but it easily cleared the higher end of its range. This wasn't surprising, as Micron went into its quarterly report with some solid tailwinds.

Analysts were expecting $1.98 per share in earnings on $7.53 billion in revenue. However, a strong product mix, cost reductions, and strong demand for Micron's memory chips, especially in the solid-state drive (SSD) and automotive markets, led to a stronger-than-expected showing from the company. In fact, a favorable demand and pricing environment sent Micron's adjusted gross margin to 47.8% last quarter, up significantly from 32.9% in the year-ago period.

Coming to the guidance, Micron anticipates$2.46 per share in earnings this quarter on revenue of $8.7 billion, edging out the consensus estimate of $2.24 per share in earnings and $8.13 billion in revenue. The midpoint of the guidance would translate into year-over-year revenue growth of 17% and earnings growth of 31%, though it wouldn't be surprising to see the company turn in a better performance on account of the favorable developments in the memory market.

Micron's terrific growth last quarter was driven by a sharp increase in revenue from both the DRAM (dynamic random access memory) and the NAND (short for "not and") flash memory segments. The DRAM business produced 73% of Micron's top line during the quarter, with revenue increasing 29% year over year. NAND flash revenue increased 19% year over year and accounted for a quarter of Micron's top line.

The DRAM business is sitting on multiple tailwinds that are here to stay for the long run. The transition to 5G smartphones, for instance, is driving increased DRAM demand. That's because 5G smartphones are using 50% more DRAM content over 4G devices. Similarly, NAND flash content in 5G smartphones has doubled thanks to the demand for more storage.

The automotive and industrial markets, on the other hand, could becomethe "fastest-growing memory and storage markets over the next decade," according to Micron. The chipmaker generated record revenue from this segment last quarter, and it expects solid growth ahead thanks to the growing adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). More specifically, Micron says that EVs equipped with Level 3 autonomous driving capability carry about $750 worth of memory and storage content. That's 15 times higher compared to an average car.

The data center market is yet another major catalyst for Micron. The company says that data centers became the largest market for memory and storage last year. Memory and storage demand from data centers is expected to grow at a faster pace than the broader industry over the next decade, driven by the proliferation of cloud computing and AI/ML (machine learning) workloads.

For instance, market research firm TechNavio estimates that the data center storage market is set to clock a compound annual growth rate of 27% through 2024. As it turns out, Micron is growing at a faster pace than the data center storage market. The company's data center SSD revenue doubled year over year last quarter, and it expects the momentum to continue for the rest of the year.

Micron stock has started regaining its mojo over the past couple of weeks, and its latest quarterly report is likely to add more fuel to its rally.

MU data by YCharts

That's why investors who haven't bought Micron stock so far should consider doing so right away, as it is still availableat a cheap price-to-earnings ratio of 12.7, which is a big discount to the Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector Index's multiple of 33. But this growth stock may not be available at such a cheap valuation in the future given its secular growth opportunity, which is why investors may need to act quickly.

This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the official recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. Were motley! Questioning an investing thesis even one of our own helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.

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Red-Hot Micron Technology Could Soar Higher After Its Latest Earnings Report - The Motley Fool

Innovation of the Year finalists in the 2022 GeekWire Awards, clockwise from upper left: Eviation, First Mode, StormSensor, Spaceflight and Helion.

From fuel cells to fusion energy, theres a common theme among many of the finalists for Innovation of the Year in the GeekWire Awards this year: alternative sources of power and new forms of transportation.

And while were waiting for breakthroughs like those to improve the climate, weve got some environmental monitoring to help us cope with the crisis in the meantime.

The five finalists for Innovation of the Year in the 2022 GeekWire Awards are: electric aircraft maker Eviation; hydrogen fuel cell generator company First Mode; fusion energy startup Helion; space transportation company Spaceflight; and rain management technology company StormSensor.

Continue reading to learn more, and vote for your picks across all categories in the GeekWire Awards ballot below. Innovation of the Year is presented by GeekWire Awards title sponsorAstound Business Solutions.

Last years winner in this category was Vikram Iyer, then a graduate student (now an assistant professor) at the University of Washington, for lightweight radio trackers that helped in the search for murder hornets in Washington state.

The GeekWire Awards recognize the top innovators and companies in Pacific Northwest technology. Finalists in this category and others were selected based on community nominations, along with input from GeekWire Awards judges. Community voting across all categories will continue until April 22, combined with feedback from judges to determine the winner in each category.

We'll announce the winners on May 12 at theGeekWire Awards, presented by Astound Business Solutions. Contactevents@geekwire.comfor more information.

Arlington, Wash.-basedEviation is developing three variants of its all-electric Alice aircraft, optimized for cargo shipment, commuter passenger service and executive business travel. The company recently announced a CEO transition in advance of the airplanes first flight.

Seattle engineering companyFirst Mode has developed a hydrogen fuel cell generator that can power massive trucks, retrofitting big vehicles to provide a clean source of energy. One of the first applications of the generator created one of the biggest zero-emission vehicles on the planet.

Everett, Wash.-based Helion generated huge interest in its fusion energy technology by raising $500 million from high-profile investors in November, with the possibility of an additional $1.7 billion if it hits key milestones. The investment underscored the promise of theoretically limitless, carbon-free power.

Seattle-based Spaceflight, Inc. developed a new type of orbital transfer vehicle called the Sherpa Escape, or Sherpa-ES, with multiple ports allowing payloads to deployed in translunar orbit or low lunar orbit.

Seattle-basedStormSensormakes technology to monitor water and prevent flooding,combining its sensor data with external conditions including rainfall intensity and length, winds and tides.

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Innovation of the Year: 5 technology breakthroughs named finalists in GeekWire Awards - GeekWire

The Cleveland County Jail announced a new heart monitoring system that searches for signs of distress in detainees and prevents in-custody deaths during a press conference on Thursday.

Custody Protect is a strap designed in collaboration with 4Sight Labs, which was founded in 2016 by its CEO John DeFalco, who said the combined expertise of law enforcement corrections, military and technology all contributed to the release of Custody Protect.

DeFalco said the strap is used as a bracelet or anklet consisting of materials including polyester, Kevlar and Velcro. It is easily sterilizable and requires skin contact to assess the detainees vitals. A quarter-sized green sensor is placed in the strap and assesses vitals for up to 45 seconds, DeFalco said.

Once the bracelet or anklet is applied, the detainees vitals can be seen by both the booking sergeants phone and the master control at the County Jail, DeFalco said. The booking officer will attach the technology to a new detainee if they seem to exhibit suicidal thoughts, depression or drug and alcohol use.

In some cases, you're stopping a suicide attempt. In other cases, you're responding to somebody who just overdosed on drugs. There's a golden window where you can save people's lives, DeFalco said. This produces a mountain of data to show that the agency's personnel did everything humanly possible to save someone's life. So this is about saving people in custody. It's about accountability and transparency.

DeFalco said the device is rechargeable, secure and well-made to endure detainees attempts to remove it from their body. The software program will be notified of any tampering and accounts for the heart rate variability of the body, whether it be stationary or exercising, to accurately consider other factors into the accelerated heart rate.

Cleveland County Sheriff Chris Amason said the software is easy for users to learn and the technology will first be distributed to 16 detainees. He said the Cleveland County Jail has 400-450 detainees on average, and believes it would be cost-prohibitive to distribute more at this time.

After looking at the causes for in-custody deaths, Amason said he decided to prioritize a new tool to lessen those opportunities.

We want to mitigate the opportunities for people to have events that are going to take their lives, and to help those people at high risk. Our job is to protect everyone, whether its citizens or pretrial inmates, Amason said.

With no grants to support the devices, DeFalco said the first 16 devices will be one price of $1,875 per detainee every year. Backups are ready in the event of one of the devices failing, and cellular connectivity is used so Wi-Fi will not affect the devices real-time response.

Amason said he hopes to expand the technology in the Cleveland County Jail and in Oklahoma, with a future goal of every officer carrying a device with them. He said safety and security are priorities, so he wanted to be proactive in finding a solution that prevented detainees from dying in custody.

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Cleveland County Jail introduces new heart monitoring technology to help prevent in-custody deaths - The Oklahoma Daily

Are the tools your organization offers accessible to your entire membership base?

By that, we dont simply mean are those tools easy to access via computer, but rather are they accessible to everyoneincluding those agents and brokers who have visual impairments or speak a language other than English? Inclusively designed technology means that more of your membership base can benefit from the tools you provide.

Companies can enhance their platforms with bilingual reporting options and updates that meet the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards for Accessible Design, as examples. Here, well take a closer look at these types of updates and how they are helping organizations better serve their members and their community at large.

ADA Compliance

ADA-compliant design changes are subtle and include deepening and adjusting color contrast, adding alt-text to images, and improving navigational elements with improved labels, headings, and more.

To real estate professionals with visual impairments, however, these changes make all the difference. Just ask Daniel Jones.

Pursuit of ADA compliance makes me smile, says Jones, CEO of North Carolina Regional MLS (NCRMLS). I have personal experience within my family with blindness and deafness. Not just one person, but severalits a genetic thing. I know the personal challenges, and the amount of energy one has to go through in order to communicate and listen.

ADA compliance is unusual from a functionality standpoint. Theres no ADA button that you press. ADA-compliant design blends in so that people dont even realize that that functionality is there.

There are not a lot of companies that will say, Were taking on ADA compliance! and be accountable like that, says Jones.

Bilingual Reporting

Did you know that the U.S. has the second-largest population of Spanish speakers in the world? Only Mexico has more. And Spanish speakers arent just concentrated in places like Florida, California and the SouthwestSpanish is the second most widely spoken language in every U.S. state, and Spanish speakers account for 13% of the nations overall population.

Thats a major reason why its so important for property technology companies to consider adding Spanish-language reporting options. Now not only can Spanish-speaking agents create reports in their own language, they can also share those reports with their Spanish-speaking clients.

Translating the information in an accurate way can be a tricky process, so look for a product that really gets this right.

We made bilingual changes based both on user feedback and our own research, says Jess Bobrek of CRS Data. We saw market trends and our own demographic data and knew it could be extremely beneficial.

Bobrek did the base Spanish translation herself with the help of Zoraida Zoe Ballew, a REALTOR who originally hails from Ecuador and now practices real estate in the greater Knoxville area.

I helped to translate the information in an accurate way because translation can be tricky sometimes, says Ballew. When you are in front of a product that is not translating correctly, you are lost.

For more insight on how ADA/bilingual enhancements can be integrated into digital products, watch the video below or click here to watch.

To learn more about CRS Data, visit CRSData.com.

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Enhance Your Platforms and Community with ADA-Compliant Technology - RisMedia.com