Machine learning still has a lot to learn. Infrastructure as a Service is highly serviceable. And digital transformation is undergoing a transformation in Canada.

That’s the latest intel from top IT market watchers. And here’s your tech provider’s update.

Machine learning

That’s the new math on mini-PCs from Intel.

Intel has offered its NUC (short for Next Unit of Computing) devices for some time, but until now, only as bare-bones kits for tech builders. That meant you had to install an OS, memory, storage, apps and more before Intel’s mini-PC was usable.

2-in-1 devices, which combine the portability of a tablet with the power of a laptop, are a good idea. However, for many customers, they’re still too expensive.

That’s the upshot from the latest tablet market figures from IDC. It finds overall tablet sales in this year’s second quarter fell by nearly 14% worldwide. Unit shipments fell for both slate and detachable tablets, IDC adds.

Is now the right time for tech providers to get into blockchain?

This peer-to-peer technology is best known as the home for cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin. But some market watchers predict blockchain will be used in many other areas, possibly transforming entire industries.

So how big is the blockchain opportunity?

As usual, it depends on who you ask.

Getting your customers started with artificial intelligence requires powerful GPUs, right?

Not anymore. Today’s advanced CPUs are increasingly up to the job. They can power many AI workloads all by themselves.

This means your customers can now get started with AI using the same server architectures they already know. That includes the Intel Xeon Scalable processors.

Summer is really underway, and it's time to catch up on your reading.

Earlier in the season, we offered 6 tech books for your summer reading, including new looks at cybersecurity, social media and HR analytics.

Now, with August around the corner, here are another half-dozen recent books for your tech provider summer reading.

Makers of keyboards and mice had better look out. Lenovo and Google just took a collective step toward making their devices obsolete.

The market is already pretty big. Market watcher Canalys has predicted that something in the order of 56.3 million smart speakers will be purchased this year.

Lenovo and Google have collaborated on a new device known as the Lenovo Smart Display. It’s essentially a tablet that’s controlled by the user’s voice. And it can respond with an automated voice of its own.

Every with-it company is doing a digital transformation, right?

Well, it’s easy enough to believe so.

The big consulting firms post case studies showing how they’ve help major clients digitally transform, saving millions in costs while earning millions more.

Market-research firms add to the excitement, too. IDC, for one, has predicted that worldwide spending on digital-transformation technologies will grow nearly 17% this year, approaching $1.3 trillion.

Technology helping technology. That’s the idea behind the latest data-center storage announcement from Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

If your customers include product designers, architects, graphics designers and other creative professionals, and if they also like to save a few bucks, then HP has some exciting new hardware for them.

HP last week added 4 entry-level workstations -- 3 of them members of its Z2 line -- that offer lots of performance, storage and expandability, yet have starting retail prices under $800.