Critical Path

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Many Chinese vendors have quickly moved past the stereotype of the salesperson who eagerly presents you with an offer you can't understand. But some Asian vendors are still lost in translation.

"it's much like the mainframe-to-PC move, predicts one enterprise systems vendor at CONEXPO-CON/AGG as he extols the virtues of cloud computing. "It will happen gradually, but when it reaches the tipping-point, it will happen in a hurry," he says.

After much build-up and fanfare, Deere & Co. on the first day of CONEXPO finally took the wraps off what it was billing as its most important machine ever: A recording studio.

The ribbon-cutting opening ceremonies of CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2011 included industry leaders with traditional giant scissors. But in true Las Vegas style, it also included a rap band singing "Let's Get It Started" by the Black Eyed Peas while they banged on equipment attachments and made noises with a welding torch. See the photos!

Few people are buying machines displayed at shows like CONEXPO without a means to put their investment to work.

The ConExpo event app for mobile devices gets kudos for its availability on all smart phone platforms, but the app has some gaps to fill, especially for the BlackBerry crowd.

Gloomy skies greeting early arrivals during Sunday's set-up phase for Con-expo/Con/AGG, which opens Tuesday in Las Vegas, couldn't tamp down the excitement of watching a big event come together. And bright sun breaking through in the morning Monday only lifts spirits more.

Obama signs a three-week spending measure, but the stopgap's cutbacks hit GSA construction hard.

Doug Oberhelman, the new chairman and CEO of Caterpillar Inc., talks about the economy, equipment, jobs, emerging markets and technology.

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) wants to create a federal infrastructure bank, launched with $10 billion in federal funds to leverage up to $640 billion over 10 years.