IBM and other leading technology companies want to create devices that will help retail merchants sell more products. According to Bill Bishop, industry consultant, the retail industry is still using the technology of 50 years ago, which represents a good opportunity for anyone who has new ideas. IBM, which itself has a multibillion-dollar retail division, sees the potential. In 2004, the firm created an 'emerging business opportunity (EBO)' to market promising technologies it invents or develops with partners. The company has created a showroom to exhibit these projects, but it is a big step from the showroom to the retailer. Most of the new technology inventions are expensive, and it takes time for consumers and store staff to accept them. For example, three years after introducing the Personal Shopping Assistant, which is a small bar-code reader that keeps a running account of a shopper's purchases, the Stop & Shop chain has the device available in only 15 of its stores. Teaching customers how to use the PSA takes up employees' time, and the device still has bugs. A more promising device is IBM's Veggie Vision scale. This is a scale combined with a camera that can identify every fruit or vegetable in the store. The device has proved popular with shoppers. The Everywhere Display is a ceiling-mounted projector that can transform any surface in a store into a merchandising display. Retailers can also make the images on the device interactive, which could allow shoppers to get more information about a particular product.