In this episode Gary recaps the ABB Automation and Power World user conference, discusses the ramifications of a $7 million grant to the Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition, and reviews the book "Producing Prosperity," by Pisano and Shih.

Gary discusses Rockwell Automation's new Safety Automation Builder software with OEM Technical Consultant Jonathan Johnson. We learn that the tool is part of trend of providing easy-to-use tools for engineers to help them improve design, get projects done faster and provide end-of-project documentation. Check the Rockwell SAB Website for more information.

Gary discusses his new personal directions, news from the ARC Forum including emphasis on Cloud Computing, the upcoming ISA Automation Week and the HART Communication Foundation 20th Anniversary.

Gary discusses the current spate of articles in mainstream media about automation and jobs. He also announces a new personal direction.

Gary reviews the latest developments in controllers, software and networking for automation and manufacturing from the end of 2012 and looks forward to what 2013 holds.

Gary discusses leadership in manufacturing, how engineers can become leaders and the need for emotional stability.

Gary discusses interoperability--the connection between systems to move necessary data. He discusses how Mitsubishi has morphed from a machine controls company to one who understands the need to take control to the next level--as spokespeople discuss on a Webcast Gary hosted at http://www.automationworld.com/visible-factory-see-it-all-real-time.

Returning after a few month's hiatus, Gary records from his mobile studio thoughts about the Maintenance and Reliability Technology Summit, his presentation on digital technolgy, and silos in manufacturing companies.

Gary's Labor Day discussion of automation's impact on jobs plus a quick update of some news in the automation industry.

Gary reports on NI Week, National Instruments' annual user conference. He discusses the large turnout, 25 years of LabView, multicore and FPGA parallel programming with LabView and dataflow programming, and NI's growth into a big company.