1.   Huge crowds throng the Mechanics Hall convention center.

2.   Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. is testing similar systems from different vendors at selected stores in Columbus and Louisville.

3.   Interoperability allows equipment and software from different vendors to work together.

4.   Sakamoto also likes this San Francisco maker of software that helps programmers design databases from many different vendors.

5.   That software, called Smart, for Sandia Modular Architecture for Robotics and Teleoperation, allows a robot to use components, like sensors, made by different vendors.

6.   These combination purchases can require us to shop with different direct vendors simultaneously.

7.   THERE are a variety of video-conferencing systems available in the market from different vendors.

8.   Such technology sharply reduces development times and allows software from different vendors to be combined, NEC said.