There is an interesting discussion going on on LinkedIn right now concerning video conferencing  security concerns.  DUH…’bout time this was brought up and not ignored.  Let me first copy my comment (then you can understand why I am saying DUH), then I link to the original NY Times article, and then others who have responded.

My LinkedIn comment

“Starting video conferencing at Lawrence Livermore National Labs and then furthering H.323 at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, security for us and our customers has always been a concern. This is a very interesting article, and should not take anyone by surprise as these issues (and more) have been with us for a VERY long time. Jim Berry, when he was at Sandia National Lab, pointed out more than a few security issues to the largest vendors at the time and was met with ire. Not a great response.

When not using the VC system…use the ON-OFF button to turn it OFF. Use passwords that are hard to guess, and default to either not auto-answer or to mute audio and video when accepting a call.

Oh, funny story…remember when the vendors first started to put PC / Windows functionality in their VC systems? We got hacked (at Berkeley Lab) the very night we turned it on. The hackers are out there and they will continue to try, and unfortunately, succeed.

Very interesting discussion….Thx David #1 for pointing us to this article and thanks to the replies from Vidyo and Lifesize.”

Original NY Times Article

Friend David Maldow’s LinkedIn comment

“That article is all over the web today. I hope people who read it understand that it is simply an implementation issue and not an inherent weakness of videoconferencing.

Yes, deploying a large VC environment in a company that deals with secure information should be planned out with security in mind (auto-answers turned off, physical camera covers, obvious lights and indicators when mics are live, FIREWALLS, etc.)

Luckily there are a number of top notch VC consultants (not all of whom are named David) to help end-users get this right.”

Vidyo Responds

LifeSize Responds

David Danto (who has been around as long as I have) Responds

Telepresence Options Responds

Friend Jeff Urdan at VeaMea Responds

Teliris Responds

Rapid7 Responds to Telepresence Options!!!! 

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WHEW!

I’m sure there will be more….I will keep you up-to-date on this interesting discussion.

Cisco is stopping sales of the Umi.  Check out this article.

No real surprise here….I talked about the Umi earlier (here and here) and wondered about it.

See U Umi.

Just started playing around with the Google apps that are available (many for free, and many not requiring a log in).

VERY COOL!

If you use Chrome as your browser click the + sign as shown in the picture below.

You can see the following page pop-up.  Well…..these are MY apps, yours will look slightly different.  :-)

Click on the Chrome Web Store app icon in the top left.  This will bring you to a new world of apps that you can access on your computer.

You can see the categories on the left.  Anything from Education to Extensions and everything in between.   Sweeeeet.

I grabbed a few preparing for this blog entry.

“Angry Birds” wanted access to my Google information…..NOPE…I ain’t gonna do that.

“NY Times” gives me the “Top News” of the day for free in a very newspaper like format.  COOL.

Summary

I have a feeling I will be searching for more apps and using them during the day (when I am on my computer…at night I am still a child of TV).

Give them a try!

Oh yeah….if you are not using Chrome as your web browser, you should use it!  Super FAST, secure, and now you can get all sorts of cool apps.  IE is crap (the interface is sooo confusing, and it is sooooo slow….)

I will be meeting Milton Chen (CEO, VSee) sometime this month.  VSee has, until now, escaped my attention.  No longer!   Here is a Youtube video by VSee giving you quick intro.

What do I like (at least on the surface)?  Multipoint video, multi-user application “sharing”,  the ability to send a document simply by dragging the file to the persons video window (very Personal Telepresence like as we originally envisioned it).  VSee looks like a corporate “cloud” video conferencing service, but, I did not see that stated specifically on the web site (I may have missed it though!).

Initial reservations / questions (at least on the surface)? What does this give me that Google+ Hangout does not?  Skype?  ooVoo?  What about H.323 SIP  interoperability?

I’m sure Milton will inform me later this month.  :-)

I do agree 100% with Milton on one thing:  TeleCommuting.  DUH.  It is 2012 (well, almost) people what the F are you doing driving to a central work location just to sit at your computer?  How stupid (for those who can telecommute…. do it.  Here is my FREE ADVICE on how your company can start a Telecommuting Program).

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Telecommuting = Coworking = Telework 

Buy your geek a great Christmas gift.  But what to get?  Here is what I (and a few friends) would like.  Yup…Geeks all!  :-)  This list is in random order, but, within chaos you can find order.

iPad2

This is pretty easy.  As a video conferencing geek, the video conferencing apps on this are sweeet.  But overall, the iPad2 should warm the heart of your favorite geek.

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PlayStation 3D Display with 3D Glasses

3D in movies and, now, 3D on your TV…..a waste of money until they can get it right (my own opinion).  However, 3D in a game?  Wow!  That would be cool, if it can be done right (How to judge?  Go to Disneyland or Disneyworld…you will find 3D done well).

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GoPro HD Hero 2 Camera

I love this!  Stick it on your bike, your head, whatever….then go out and have fun!

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Nest Learning Thermostat

Friend David Maldow suggested this one.  Very cool!  A thermostat with Apple roots.  You can access it via the Internet using your computer or mobile device.  Extremely cool!

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Swiss Army Knife

What geek could fix anything without the proper tools?  I love this golden oldie.  A must for anyone anywhere.

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Logitech M510 Laser Mouse

I need a mouse.  The laptop keypad does not work for me.  I have a laser mouse just like this and I can use it on virtually any surface. Great tool for the mobile geek.

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Nook Tablet or Kindle Fire

If you like color, a relatively fast tablet for surfing the Internet, watching movies, playing games, or reading magazines (not for hours of reading or sitting outside reading books…sorry) or newspapers….these are great.  Unlike the iPad2, these mobile devices are basically just  ”consumers” or “watchers”.  With the iPad2 you can also create or “produce”.   Thus the price differential..

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Nook Simple Touch

If your geek is like me he/she likes to READ.  The color tablet’s don’t do it…you can’t read for hours without eyestrain, or outside in the bright sun, on a color thingy.  The e-ink readers are the best, and since I like to go to our local (Tracy, CA) Barnes & Noble STORE…the Nook Simple Touch is the Nook for me.

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Keurig K-Cup Coffee Brewer

I like this.  After a long geeky day there is nothing better than a good cup of coffee to keep you awake for the next 50 or 100 lines of code, or the last level of your favorite game.

At AltamontCowork, I could charge $1.00 if a member (or guest) wants a mug of coffee that they choose!

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SodaStream Home Soda Maker

Another cool new item.  Again, if I could charge $1.00 at AltamontCowork for your own soda…I think I could help pay the bills!

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Sharp Aquos 80″ HDTV

When it comes to watching movies at home (since we do movie reviews for charity, we watch a lot of movies at home) there are two requirements: great audio and a great BIG screen.  Awesome!  Only problem is room….

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Lexar 128 gig SD card

Again bigger is better…more pictures, more movies, more data, more, more…128 gig Wow!

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Books

Don’t forget the old fashioned BOOK.

If your geek is like me, Fantasy is a favorite reading genre.  I am in the middle of Book #2 of “A Game of Thrones” (see TracyReaderDad’s Book Review) series (which is also an HBO TV series).  I am loving it!

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ThinkGeek.com

Geek heaven…   ThinkGeek.com

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Happy Holiday Season to everyone!  

I am lost for words…and that is not like me!  :-|

Thanks to LinkedIn connection Gary Hall for posting this on LinkedIn.  :-)

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Comments welcome!

$599.98 per product (click to pay)

**Deliver (or send) the product you want tested to my office (or send me a login).  Or if you are in the Bay Area…I can visit your location.

**I will test the product from set-up / installation, to real-world use (evaluating key features & product support), to tear down.

**I will give your product a “WaterTower” rating from 0 to 5.   See my Rating Rubric here.

**Send your potential customers to this review.

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$599.98 does not buy love, but, great technology does.  :-)

All reviews will be posted on this blog.

Experience

I’ve been doing this for years (way before starting this blog in places like DVC Magazine, Teleconference Magazine, New Media Magazine…..more).

See ALL the Product Reviews posted on this blog.

I will shut-up and let the video do the talking….

AWESOME!!!!!!!!  Sorry, I had to do it.

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Join us in the next Hangout!  Watch this blog, Telepresence Options, or Linkedin for dates and topics!

Also…as we learned in this meeting (from Robert..), Google+ Hangout can be a stepping stone to the more advanced video conferencing systems.  A small business can try Google+ Hangout to get a feel of video conferencing then decide if they need to upgrade to a full video conferencing system.

Very cool!

Before any good, errrr…..AWESOME meeting, there is preparation.   That is especially the case with a video conference.  The initiators of the video conference must work diligently to make sure the meeting goes off without a hitch.

No joking around….deadly serious business.  If you want to get involved in video conferencing and put on an AWESOME meeting (watch for Part 2 of the “Hangout Meeting” here later today)…throw your sense of humor out the window….. and get to work!

Here is a video clip of our Pre-Google+ Hangout Preparations.  We learned from the BEST….kidding around is for losers!  SERIOUS is the only way to make it in this business.

Now watch the video!  Do it!  :-|

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Links

David Maldow, Telepresence Options

Mike Pihlman….you are here!

I posted a comment on Linkedin the other day telling the world how much I’d love to see the ClearSea from Lifesize work on the iPad2.  But…with no iPad2 and starving blogger….I needed help.

Well, that afternoon Michael Granados (email, mgranados@perfectvc.com) from Perfect Video Conferencing wrote me an email that he could bring some LifeSize stuff out for me to see.  Great!

Well….today was the day!  (Actually…by the time I finish….yesterday was the day)

So what did Mike show me?

1. ClearSea on an iPad2.

2. LifeSize Connections cloud-based video conferencing that is still in Beta but should be released by the end of this month.

3. LifeSize Video Center streaming and recording.

ClearSea

My expectations

Truthfully….my expectations were not very high.  I mean I loved Mirial (you can see some blog entries on this blog) and I kinda like LifeSize (hey…no big heads here), but, video conferencing on mobile platforms is:  1. New and 2. On a mobile platform.

How good can it be?

What I experienced

AWESOME!  Crisp video, super audio, easy to use.  Wow!

We called an H.323 endpoint (using the IP address of the far end) and connected just as I would expect from a “normal” IP VC system…very quickly.  The video was smooth and very crisp and, after the audio caught up, it was clear and sufficiently loud to hear (and I’m sure headphones would have worked as well).

We then dialed in to my friend, Christian Helft’s Codian MCU in Paris, France and entered the “Cafe”.  ClearSea worked like a champ (which means far end camera control worked on it!).

Mike told me I could also call another ClearSea on an iPhone or iPad, (or Android?).

Here is the ClearSea call control panel on the iPad2.

Architecture

Here is a simplified diagram of what I understand to be the ClearSea call connection architecture.  The server can be placed anywhere there is good Internet connectivity.  Using the server, one can connect to H.323 / SIP endpoints or infrastructure and also point-to-point to other ClearSea mobile devices.   Hmmmm, maybe I will start a new service?

Conclusion 

Home run.

There is NO REASON why a corporate video conferencing user could not connect to a meeting using ClearSea.  Since it works over WiFi, 3G, or 4G…..you can now participate in video conferencing anytime, anyplace, anywhere.  Where have I heard that before?  Oh yeah….me….and LifeSize  :-)

LifeSize Connections

OK, you know what I think of cloud-based video conferencing.  I love it!

Mike used his Windows laptop to connect to Spring (see Spring  a few years ago at a demo I attended) on a Mac using Connections.

Connections will launch with the ability to connect up to 9 people at 720p 30 fps. Initially, it will only be able to connect LifeSize Desktop’s (which I just played with for 30 days and it was very good), and the LifeSize 220.  In the future, Connections will probably (hopefully!) connect to H.323 endpoints, and there are plans to increase the multi-point to 16 way, the resolution to 1080p, and to extend “connections” to mobile users.

In other words…Connections will get more robust over time.

Video Center

Mike then showed me some videos that were stored on the Perfect Video web site.  We watched them on the iPad2 and on his Windows laptop.

These streamed videos were recorded during real meetings and can now be accessed by anyone with a browser (sure hope Chrome works…he was using Internet Exploder).  The quality was excellent and at one point I thought he had connected into a live meeting….duh on me.

Overall

I’d like to thank Mike for coming out and showing these products.  Very cool thing to do on such short notice.  If you live in the Bay Area, and need anything video, give Mike a call!

I continue to be impressed with LifeSize’s breadth of their product line.  From mobile to the fanciest “Telepresence” room to cloud-based services…..they cover it all, and I have no doubt they will continue to innovate and improve.

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Join David Maldow, Telepresence Options, and myself for a Google+ Hangout this Thursday!  Go here to see David’s article on Telepresence Options, or continue reading my copied version below.  Add me to your circles…….if you dare!  :-)

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Telepresence Options has joined the Google+ community. Go ahead and circle us to get all the latest telepresence related news right in your Google+ feed.

While many people have yet to add Google+ to their social media stable, the tech community has embraced it whole-heartedly and the discussions there can be incredibly educational and fun. Google+ is the fastest social media network to reach 50 million users and does not appear to be slowing down (despite a few high profile predictions of its demise).

I missed this by a few days…oh well, been busy with ForCarol.com.

On October 11, 2011 Polycom announced the availability of “RealPresence” on Apple iPad2, Motorola Xoom, and Samsung GALAXY Tab, with the promise of more tablet support to follow.  It needs a CMA Gatekeeper (ah, gatekeepers live! at your location…here is a cool video demo:

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The entire Press Release is here, but, I will quote part of it (the most interesting part to me, as I finish up my research on Polycom to appear here next week):

“RealPresence Mobile is a significant step toward achieving our vision to make it possible for millions of people to use video collaboration as their preferred method of communicating – easily, reliably, and securely – no matter what network, carrier, protocol, application, or device they use,” said Andy Miller, president and CEO of Polycom. “I’ve met with a hundred customers the past few months, and nearly every executive I talk with is looking to embrace mobility and tablets to improve business productivity. Customers who have seen our mobile applications running on Apple, Motorola, and Samsung tablets are truly inspired by the possibilities Polycom is enabling by extending video collaboration beyond the traditional boundaries of the conference room and desktop.”

Now, whether in the field or on the road, in an airport lounge or working from home, or wherever business leads, customers can use a tablet to connect and collaborate face-to-face with colleagues, customers, partners, and suppliers. RealPresence Mobile allows customers to leverage Polycom’s UC infrastructure to harness the benefits of video collaboration, increase the industry’s highest ROI even further, and unleash the powerful network effect of HD video collaboration.”

Translation:  Video conferencing anytime, anyplace, anyone!   

Comment

VERY cool!!!

The world is a’changing.

Pretty soon even the buttoned up corporate executive types will be video conferencing via a tablet or cell phone.  Just think of the productivity gains!

UPDATE on errors during download from Computerworld.  From me…it may be wise to wait a day, or three, before installing, what is your rush anyway…a few more days won’t hurt.  Read a book!  :-)

Just in case you are soooo busy taking care of video conferencing stuff….here is a reminder that Apple’s iOS5 is available today!  See this article in Computerworld.

I use Andriod, but, my wife and daughter both have iPhones.  One cool thing that is gonna happen with this upgrade is the iCloud.

I wrote about iCloud a couple of months ago on ForCarol.com.  So go there to read a really insightful, well written, extremely interesting, sneek peek at the iCloud.  :-)

Gotta love this cloud based stuff…..very very cool.

This press release came in via email a couple of days ago.  Very cool.

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HACKENSACK, NJ – October 6, 2011 — Vidyo, Inc., today announced availability of VidyoMobile™ for iOS 4.x on iPads, iPhones and the iPod Touch on the Apple App Store. The VidyoMobile application allows Vidyo’s enterprise customers to seamlessly offer mobile workers the ability to participate in company video conferences from their  iOS or Android mobile devices, expanding access to conferences that already connect laptops, desktops, telepresence and HD room systems (including interoperability with Polycom, Cisco/Tandberg and other H.323 and SIP endpoints).

To see VidyoMobile on an iPad 2:

“VidyoMobile turns hundreds of millions of mobile devices into video conferencing and communication endpoints delivering up to 720p HD resolution with shared content viewing capability,” said Ofer Shapiro, CEO and co-founder of Vidyo. “Equally as important is that participants are able to connect to video conferences beyond their mobile devices – with desktop and laptop computers and telepresence room systems — and experience the same low latency, high quality performance that is Vidyo’s hallmark.”

Vidyo sells enterprise video conferencing and collaboration solutions through a worldwide network of resellers and service providers. The company also announced today global service provider support for VidyoMobile from Arkadin Global, Auralink, BCS Global, DoXom, Elisa,ID Solutions, Powwownow, VideoCall and VuCall.

“Alcatel-Lucent has been working with Vidyo to demonstrate high quality video communication between international locations over our lightRadio LTE network.  VidyoMobile has performed flawlessly, is intuitive to use, and is the kind of innovative solution that will drive explosive adoption of mobile video conferencing  in the future,” said Wim Sweldens, President of Alcatel- Lucent Wireless.

VidyoMobile is for business customers that currently offer their employees access to Vidyo’s software-based infrastructure through their enterprise IT department or through service providers who offer Vidyo as a service.  Users simply need to download the app from the iOS or Android App Store and log in to their existing account and begin using VidyoMobile on their mobile device.

Like all Vidyo endpoints, VidyoMobile can participate in conferences with more than 100 participants- displaying up to 4 participants at a time on the iPad2- and provides the user the ability to customize the view and select presentation materials.  Additionally, participants are displayed using the active speaker feature, which automatically displays the current and last few speakers.

VidyoMobile for iOS 4.x is available now and support for the iPhone 4S will be coming soon.VidyoMobile for Android smart phones and tablets is in Beta and will be available for select certified devices in November. Service packages and pricing vary by provider and region.
The Vidyo Difference

The Vidyo communication and collaboration platform is software-based, highly flexible and can be easily customized for individual enterprise and vertical market video conferencing needs. The VidyoRouter is based on the company’s patented Adaptive Video Layering™ architecture and leverages H.264 Scalable Video Coding (SVC)-based technology.  It eliminates the MCU and offers unprecedented error resiliency, low latency and rate matching enabling natural, affordable, high quality video to work over the Internet, LTE, 3G and 4G networks. The Vidyo platform allows users to quickly leverage the latest hardware innovations and new consumer devices, making it uniquely attractive to partners. Vidyo has been active driving H.264 SVC and SIP videoconferencing interoperability in various standards bodies since 2005.

About Vidyo, Inc.

 Vidyo, Inc. pioneered Personal Telepresence enabling natural, HD multi-point videoconferences on tablets and smart phones, PCs and Macs, room systems, gateways that interoperate with H.323 and SIP endpoints, telepresence solutions and affordable cloud-based broadcast solutions.  Learn more at www.vidyo.com, on the Blog or follow @vidyo on Twitter.

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End of Press Release…

NOW…you know me….I think driving to a room to sit in a meeting with a bunch of boring talking heads (all in glorious high definition and at 60 fps) is well….stupid.

If, however, the room looked like this, and provided the 3D graphics for presentations that this one does…I may actually be tempted to drive there (ok, shoot me now!), at least once, maybe even twice.  :-)

In fact, I may drive to LA to try to see this room in action (Oh, there goes my carbon footprint)…But, tell me this ain’t awesome?!!

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Conclusion

Holographic video conferencing is close, very close.

Where is Yoda?

OMG…the world just lost a GREAT man.

A man who changed the world….not just once, but, several times. (Apple II, Mac, iPod, iTunes, iPhone, iPad, Pixar, Next…graphical interface?  commercial mouse?)

Where most are content to design a product that is evolutionary, Jobs dared to design products that were revolutionary.

Such a sad day…October 5, 2011.  :-(

Goodbye, Steve…

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How in the world did this escape me?  Here is some info on the Radvision Scopia Mobile app for iPhone and iPad.

Those of you who know me, know that my dealings with Radvision go W-A-Y back .  As we were developing the ESnet H.323 architecture (starting in 1999), Radvision was there with us.  Eventually, the ECS gatekeeper was the workhorse GK for the ESnet IP video conferencing network that was put into operation Jan 29, 2004, and very quickly grew to be the largest H.323 network in the world.

Radvision is a great company, with great people.  So much for objectivity!  :-)

The Scopia Mobile app works via the Desktop Server, but, from there it can connect to virtually any standards based equipment.  I believe it works on both WiFi and / or 3G – 4G (they say “mobile broadband”, but, I don’t know what that means….)

As a full registered user, on the server,  the mobile app user can set up a meeting, invite new participants, view and manipulate (using H.239) a presentation / document.

It looks like you can also mute a participant (you know how that goes), change the video layout, and more.  Awesome!

For the billionth time:  Video Conferencing anytime, anyplace, anyone.  Driving to a meeting room is stupid….

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Here are some screen shots:

iPhone

iPad

Conclusion

More and more standards-based (or at least standards interoperable) mobile apps are coming out.

Effective, high quality, video conferencing communication is now available anywhere.

A great thing!

Telecommuting = Coworking = Telework.  :-)

WhooHoo!

Update:  Old (well not old…longtime) friend, David Maldow, wrote a more detailed article on Starleaf here.

Google+ friend CZoli posted a link to this video demo of Starleaf’s Personal Telepresence application (damn, we were FAR ahead of the time…see the ORIGINAL Personal Telepresence here).

The person running this demo is old friend Will McDonald.  I was supposed to go visit Starleaf in July….but…HEY, Starleaf…can I come out now to see your stuff?

Pretty sweet….

UPDATE:  After watching the video a few times, I am struck by the casual way Will, Abe, and Hadar are chatting with each other (for example…watch Hadar cover his face at one point).

THAT is the way EFFECTIVE video conferencing  SHOULD be!  Teams working together as if they were all in the same location….friends, colleagues!  No need to leave your office….AWESOME.

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Today, Amazon introduced the Kindle Fire tablet.

I watched a few news reports and to summarize:

The Kindle Fire is fast using a dual processor, it can run Android Apps but you gotta get them from Amazon (not a bad thing).

One analyst says it is NOT an iPad killer since the Kindle Fire is a consumer of media not a producer of media / content like the iPad can be.

Makes sense.

However, this same analyst says it can put a dent in Barnes & Noble’s Color Nook.

It works on WiFi only and costs a “reasonable” $199 U.S.  Storage of your media is via the Amazon cloud and they say that is for free.

The Fire will be available in mid-November but they are taking pre-orders now.  When you get it, it will be pre-configured with your Amazon account information…that is cool.

Here are two videos:

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–From the techy’s at CNET.com–

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–Some guy playing with Fire (sorry, I had to say that…)–

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You gonna get one?  Comment below!  :-)

Surfing the Internet for some information on Polycom (my next blog entry on Products and Services) I ran across the mention of 8×8 cloud based video conferencing.

Knowing 8×8 from WAY back (see the picture above for one of my 4 units of….well the old timers should know what it is)…. I was surprised, and pleased, to see that they are still around and still innovating.

It seems like the 8×8 cloud based service is a nice collaboration between 8×8 and Polycom. And judging by the V-E-R-Y  L-O-N-G video posted below (with my old friend Ira Weinstein looking very stiff in the bottom left…yes, he does talk later in the video) the video and audio quality are both very good.  Data sharing is in the feature list.

As a good video conferencing cloud based service should…it “easily” supports endpoints from your mobile phone, to a computer with a web cam, to some nice Polycom endpoints that I will talk about in the upcoming blog entry.

Excellent!  Have I mentioned that I love cloud based video conferencing?  I now know why…Clint and I WERE a cloud based service (at ESnet).

Until then, enjoy this video.  And NO…I did not watch the whole thing (I skipped forward to see if Ira actually said something, hey, he knows his shit).  If you listen to the whole video…you are way better than I.    :-)

Video conferencing:  Anytime, anyplace, anyone.

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For the old timers reading this, you remember TeleCon.  Once a year in Anaheim, 20,000 or so of your industry friends would gather to learn about video conferencing, audio conferencing and collaboration.

The conference was electric (and Disneyland and Universal were soooo close)….lots of ideas, lots of stuff, lots of great people….wow!

RANT

{

Then….at some point earlier in this decade (a mental block is keeping me from remembering the exact year….it must be the enormous amounts of  beer we consumed the day we were laid off), Pat Portway sold “TeleCon” to someone who used us for a year then trashed almost all of us.  That’s ok, TeleCon died shortly thereafter….what goes around, comes around.

}

Anyway….since then, a “unified” conference related to visual communications was hard to find (The Wainhouse Summits were great, but, on a smaller scale).  And some of the big conferences (which were now dwindling in size) had video conferencing stuff as part of it, but, they were lacking the excitement for our cool technology.

This year (coming up October 10-12, 2011 in The Big Easy) is the Second Annual VCI-Group  Conference that, to me, promises to bring back the old electricity, and focus on OUR industry, that TeleCon had way back in the day.

That is:  Assuming people go!  So….GO!  There….you have your orders from Mike!  :-)

Keynote speakers will be there from: Polycom, Cisco, HP (?), and LifeSize.  There will be a conference track and an exhibit hall and meeting people like you face to face in New Orleans…what could be better!???

Go to the web site for ALL the information….here is a snippet of the agenda (I miss those receptions….did you know I was a reception crasher in my younger days?  Yup…and one day I even picked up a shrimp platter and put myself and a friend (she remembers if she reads this) to work handing out TONS of shrimp!  Gosh that was fun…):

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Monday, October 10

8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Conference Check-In and On-Site Registration

8:45 AM – 9:00 AM
Opening Remarks by VCI-Group Vice President, Indika McCampbell

9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Manufacturer Briefing Class – Hosted by Russ G. Colbert, Jr. (Polycom, Inc.) - Details

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Lunch on your own

1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Distance Learning SIG: Multiplying Campuses Without Duplicating Faculty: Issues, Logistics, Technology, Support, and Accreditation - with Dan Lim (Moderator, Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences), Todd Hughes (Western Kentucky University), Ron Novy (Florida Hospital College Of Health Sciences), Craig Ernst (University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire) and Richard McMahon (University of Oklahoma Health Science Center) - Details

Healthcare SIG - Moderator: Barry Boardman (Cook Children’s Health Care System) - Details

Enterprise Industry SIG - with Chris Thompson (Moderator, Mars IS) and Doug Pearson (Accenture) - Details

3:00 PM – 4:40 PM
Cisco Medianet – The Value of Network Architecture to Enhance Organization-Wide Telepresence and Collaboration (Aamer Akhter, Technical Marketing Engineer, Cisco’s Medianet Infrastructure Group) -Details

4:45 PM – 5:00 PM
Opening Ceremonies

5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Reception in Exhibit Hall

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I wrote an email to the VCI folks, here is the text of our conversation (my questions are underlined):

There are really no conferences out there that focus on the End User and the challenges they are having.  It was an opportune time to begin an organization that was not associated with any manufacturer as we had found that with the emergence of telepresence (immersive today) most organizations were no longer a one (1) manufacturer shop.  To this date 50% of our User base is new to conferencing – this is the only organization which enables these “Newbies” to learn, network and meet with many of the vendors in a one-to-one non-sales format.

This conference focuses on all levels from the first timer to the experienced over 20 years in the industry.  Since this industry is constantly evolving with mergers, equipment and technology many of our End Users come year after year.

Absolutely not, our End User base is a mix of Enterprise (corporate), Healthcare, Government and Education.  There are sessions that are geared to each of the verticals; as well as, Special Interest Groups (SIGs).

As much as we would be open to that, we have not been able to secure this for this event as yet. We are however doing a pre and post virtual conference through vcopius which will be the group’s first look into virtual conference and we are very excited.

The Analyst panel on Wednesday afternoon will discuss the industry and the fact that it is currently a landmine and who will be the front runners in the industry.

Cisco/Tandberg and HP will also be there.  We feel that we have all the major manufacturers at this conference and we are very excited to have them there under one “umbrella” for our End Users to see their equipment, demonstrations; but, most importantly speak to them.

FUN

I remember waking up one day at TeleCon and seeing footprints on the sidewalk leading to the Hall….can anyone tell me what the significance of those footprints were?  Winner gets 5 worthless sub points!  :-)  Comment below…

Cisco/Tandberg Overarching Philosophy (my take)

Corporate, high end, “Telepresence”

What I Think of When I Think of Cisco / Tandberg

Routers / Reliable Video Conferencing Hardware

Product Line

Tandberg has been around the video conferencing industry….well, forever.

Cisco is a late entry that, in my own very humble opinion, was kinda lost in this industry. Then they bought Tandberg which I thought was a great thing (time will tell, however). Hopefully, Cisco will (should) let Tandberg, a world leader in video conferencing, do it’s thing.  Again, time will tell.

Thanks to Tandberg…Cisco now has an IMPRESSIVE range of video conferencing products (from endpoints, to infrastructure to cameras to purses (not!)) and services (cloud based Callway looks VERY cool) that is mind boggling in depth and breadth.  The only lacking component that I can see is an iPhone or Android based mobile app (UPDATE:  I have been told that a sweet app will be coming out Q1-2012).

Cloud Based Callway

You may be able to tell, but, I am a huge fan of cloud-based video conferencing (even though Clint and I are out of work).

Cisco offers two services that they claim are cloud based.  One called “Intercompany Cloud Services” just does not resonate with me as a true cloud based service, the other “Callway” is potentially exciting.

The information on the web site about Callway is very Marketing oriented which means I could not find a whole lot of technical information.  My request for information has as yet gone unanswered.  NEWS:  I understand that my old Polycom PVX will not work with Callway. Arrrghh..

Sooooo….lacking technical details on the web, or a call back from Cisco….the number of endpoints that can be supported by Callway is unknown (but it looks to be 5 or more), the resolutions Callway can support is unknown, what endpoints it supports is unknown, and coverage areas / limitations (if any) are unknown.

HINT:  Cisco needs to put up a spec sheet on Callway! 

But other than that…the marketing on Callway makes it seem cool, and cloud vc  is great (…as long as it works).

Endpoints

The endpoints span the cost spectrum from a <– laptop based Movi to multi-thousand dollar “immersive telepresence” rooms.

The emphasis, again in my opinion, seems to be on the high end “immersive telepresence” systems.  But even the “personal telepresence” (now there is a term I coined!) systems tend to err on the side of high quality video and audio.

An honorable goal!

The Movi is an excellent video conferencing application for your Windows based computer.  I tested it briefly a while back and found it to be, hmmm, I said this already excellent.  It can give you 720p resolution at 30 fps, and great audio with a full range of audio protocols.  I connected my test Movi to an H.323 system in Chicago just fine and had a nice trouble free, stumble free conversation.  Movi requires you to connect to a server at your company, so it is not a “stand-alone” like us old-timers are used to.

Moving up (in cost).

I have to tell you….I always loved the style, reliability, and video / audio quality from the standalone Tandberg desktop T-1000.  The range of desktop stand-alone units has increased.  And the style has remained.   The “telepresence extension” (whatever that means) E20 is shown to the right.   Very cool.

Other products that can be used on the desktop include the “Personal Telepresence” 1700, which looks to be a computer sized monitor with a camera on top.  That unit has a built in 4 way MCU and can connect at up to 2 Mbps H.323  or SIP and has “embedded encryption and H.235 and 802.1x authentication” (damn…I am getting old…I need to look those up!).  It also supports URI dialing (E164 number@yourdomain.name).  This device can work in “stand-alone” mode.  :-)

Once again, moving up the cost chain (at least I think) is the EX Series of <—desktop “telepresence”  units.

These are bigger (for the bigger desks of managers I suppose?) and look really nice.  Video resolutions up to 1080p at 30 fps and 720p at 60 fps mean you can play indoor football and everyone will see the action.

The EX Series supports H.323 and SIP at up to 6 Mbps (!!) and the EX90 (as opposed to the EX60) has a built in 4 way MCU.  The EX Series supports H.460.18 and H.460.19 firewall transversal.  (I seriously doubt that Andrew Davis would pass up a Porsche for an EX90.  Just sayin…)

There are bigger room “personal” systems for higher management “Executive Office” where the offices are, sometimes, immense (like my 1700 sq foot office).  You can go to the web site to see the Cisco Telepresence 500, and Cisco Telepresence 1100 to find out more about them.  I’m tired.  :-)

Moving up, there are room based systems: Cisco Telepresence MX200 and Profile Series that can serve a small or medium sized conference room.  The MX200 –> has a 42″ monitor and both can support up to 1080p at 30 fps and 720p up to 60 fps.  They support H.323 and SIP and support a full range of video and audio standards.

At the highest cost level and the most ambitious are the “telepresence” rooms Cisco is famous for.  I would hope that they are all standards based now that Tandberg is involved.

Using H.264, the Cisco Telepresence System 3010 for example (and I hope it is representative of the others) connects to H.323 and SIP endpoints and gives you 1080p or 720p at 30 fps (so forget conference room football…just kidding…go for it!).  The 3010 sends graphics at 5 fps or with an optional graphics codec at 30 fps (can I show a movie?).  It support G.711 and AAC-LD at 22 khz, I would use the latter.  :-)

For those managment types who just love the “experience”….this system should be awesome.  For engineers working with a team of designers….come on…use your desktop (and WebEx) or mobile (did I already say that was needed?).

Whew!  I told you there was an EXTENSIVE lineup of products.

I’m tired and we are just now leaving endpoints…..but before I leave…the web site and data sheets mention data collaboration (H.239, etc), but, it is not emphasized (just look at the pictures).  Be it known that DATA collaboration is a very important part of effective collaboration as a whole (voice, video, and data), and Cisco / Tandberg does support data collaboration.  In fact, Tandberg thunk it up…

Take five…

Infrastructure Hardware (mostly)

OK…maybe I will shorten the examples a bit because if you thought there were a lot of endpoints, you ain’t seen nothing yet.  Yikes!

I have to post this picture, because, well, I was one of the first to get one and it worked like a champ for years and became the backbone of the ESnet video conferencing service (once Codian figured out how to give us 40 ports!).  Now there are a host of MCU’s (of all types, sizes and flavors) and other stuff they clump under “Telepresence Infrastructure” available from Cisco / Tandberg.  Go here.

Management

There are several management tools available (it looks like one from Tandberg, one from Codian, and one from Cisco) to help you manage your endpoints, infrastructure, and calls.  I believe the original, stupendously great, TMS system is still still TMS but is now “Telepresence Management System” instead of “Tandberg….”  Go here for more info.

Under “Conferencing” comes the Content Servers, Gateways, IP VCR’s….etc etc.  Go here for more info.

And last….the cameras and other accessories (no purses, I’m actually shocked).

Conclusion

If you get this far….I will give you 5 “worthless” sub points!  They are not actually worthless, but, you need to redeem 50 points to get to pick thru the Treasure Chest.

My opinion:

{

Cisco was damn lost in the video conferencing industry.  Sorry.  The arrogance to introduce a “telepresence” system that was PROPRIETARY simply turned me (and I am sure many others) off.  And the cost of a “telepresence” room (and you needed TWO).  Yikes!

Tandberg saved their butts.  Now the line up of products, and services, and tools may be second to none.  And with the Tandberg reputation (I hope they have maintained their quality)…..Cisco done good.

Again, they need a mobile app, and I still think rooms (and severely costly telepresence rooms will fade away as the kids of today grow up).  The next gen worker will be video conferencing from anyplace, anytime, to anyone.  There is simply no need for them to drive to a fancy room to video conference….(UPDATE:  See the comment below for a link to “Cisco Jabber”)

Oh yeah…Mike’s Rule #56:  You do not NEED an “immersive experience” to get work done (you may WANT it…and that is fine).

It bugs me that Cisco marketeers are changing “video conferencing” to “telepresence”….but, I am an old codger….so maybe I need to get over it.  :-)

}

Surfing the Internet yesterday I found this interesting tidbit.

Google is now offering a “Flight Search” service where you can, in one place, find your flights!  Since I hardly ever fly (someday I will tell you why) I hope never to use it, but, you might find it helpful!

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LIMITATIONS  

Well it is pretty limited:

1. It does not have Stockton, CA listed as an airport departure point, so I assume other smaller airports may not be listed either.

2. I can’t find out what kind of plane I will be on (YES..that matters a lot!).  I will not step foot on a smallish plane.  737 / 757 and bigger or it will be driving or training.  :-)

3. I did a search for a flight from San Francisco to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Apparently, “Flight Search” is only good in the U.S. (see pic below)

I wonder if they will expand to international routes?  I can’t imagine them NOT…the next time I get on a plane it may be to Vietnam to visit the old Buddhist Temples my friend Chau sends me pictures of.

I have been following some (very lively) discussions lately and it occured to me that we might be losing sight of the real value of video, audio, data conferencing in our lives.

It is NOT all about super high definition video or audio (although good audio is important), and it is NOT about the most expensive, fanciest,  room you can build (or sell to someone).  Nope…

It IS about effective communication at a price YOU can afford.  Communication that allows YOU to communicate anytime, with anyone, from anywhere.  Communication that improves your life at work, at home, or at school.

You do NOT N-E-E-D super high definition to effectively communicate (you may want it, and if you can afford it…go for it), you just need to be able to effectively communicate at a cost that fits your budget and culture.

OK video is OK.  Good audio is important (but HD audio is not…sorry).  The ability to share data is important.  The ability to connect to any device is important.  Ease-of-use and the ability to work remotely as if you were face to face (“Hi, nice to meet you again, here are the documents I was talking about”) is important.

There are lots of great companies out there with lots to offer.  YOU need to filter the sales pitches and buy, or implement, the video conferencing application that suits YOUR needs.

Lori’s mother’s birthday started out just like any other day.  I was just getting up, Lori was already getting Kristen ready for school, Sunny (our currently 11 year old yellow lab who now has a tumor that is scaring us) was bouncing around as only he could do.

Lori had the TV on.

Suddenly, she yelled to me….”Mike…a plane just crashed into the World Trade Center”. Yikes!  We were just there the month before and took the picture shown below from the Ferry from New Jersey.

I thought to myself all the things that might have gone wrong.  I decided it was possible.  But then, as I watched, a SECOND plane barreled into the other tower!  OK, I read too many spy novels not to know what happened: terrorism.

In addition to having family in the New York City area, I also had ton of friends and colleagues.

Maybe I can help!  I turned on my computer in the study and started working.

Internet-based video conferencing was in it’s infancy in 2001.  We were still slightly less than 3 years away from announcing it as a service.  But it works, now….maybe we CAN help.

An email came in from a colleague at Columbia University asking for help to connect to the outside world.  I sprung into action.  It was “easy” for us at that time to connect virtually anyone with a decent Internet connection to anyone else via video (and audio).

I shot an email back telling Columbia University that we can help.  See this link and scroll down to 11:23 AM…I was the FIRST.  

I can do this.  ESnet can do this.  I called the people at Accord (at the time they were our MCU-multipoint control unit) and spent time figuring out how exactly to get done what I knew could be done.

We did it!  Yes!  We were ready, and all Columbia needed to do was use ESnet video conferencing to make telephone calls if they needed it.

The days passed, our family members were all safe, and I experienced an immense sense of loss (and un-real-ness) that I had not felt again until Sept 18, 2010 when we lost Carol (that day the horrible feeling of loss came back….1000 times worse and remains to this day).

These are very tough days.  I am not looking forward to the next week or so (Sept 9 (60 years), 11 (10 years), 18 (1 year)).  Now Sunny. Our world can calm down…please…

911 taught me that in an emergency: telecommuting works and so does video conferencing via the Internet.

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Drive Safe!  Never Forget.

Surfing the Internet and I found this interesting article on Bloomberg.

A snippet:

“LifeSize Communications Inc., a unit of computer-mouse maker Logitech International SA (LOGN), expects revenue to jump as it competes with rivals including Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) to add clients in the videoconference market, set to more than double in the next five years.

LifeSize’s sales are forecast to rise two to three times faster than the market, which is expected to grow 15 percent this year, Chief Executive Officer Craig Malloy said in a phone interview. Revenue at the Austin, Texas-based company rose 34 percent to $36.5 million in the fiscal first quarter, making LifeSize Logitech’s fastest-growing business.

“We’re seeing very, very rapid growth in videoconferencing,” the CEO said. “We’re going to piggyback on key trends and accelerate our growth.” LifeSize is targeting $1 billion in revenue in coming years, Malloy said, without giving a precise timeframe.”

Now…I was around when the Wainhouse folks predicted multiple times (in the 90′s) that the video conferencing industry was going to be a $1 billion industry, so, truthfully, I do not listen to estimates anymore.

What I look at is what the companies are offering now and what they plan to offer in the future and see if that fits “Mike’s” idea of what I think is good or not.  I can be wrong, but, more times than not, I have been right.  Still poor…..but right, that has to count for something, somewhere.  :-)

Based on the research I just completed on LifeSize, and the research I am now in the middle of on Cisco (and, sorry, as much as I LOVE Tandberg)….LifeSize is probably gonna kick Cisco’s butt.

One (but not the only) reason why….see the top picture.

More to follow when I post my blog entry on Cisco / Tandberg in a week or so…

Just sayin….

This is scary.  I would not be concerned if he wasn’t sick, and stick thin.  But…

From my perspective…this is a guy who changed the world more than once, more than twice, more than three times.  Simply awesome.

He is not afraid to innovate, to try something new, to make it easy, to make it reliable, and then have the foresight to have the backup stuff available to make it all work.

Read my original blog entry on the brand new, world changing iPhone.  Look at the smartphone you have in your pocket today…I rest my case.

The world will miss his creativity and energy.  Let’s hope he re-gains his health.

As promised a few posts down, I will be studying a few video conferencing vendors to get a “snapshot” of where they are in mid to late 2011.  I will start with LifeSize.

Here we go….

Lifesize’s Overarching Philosophy

“Connect anyone, anywhere, any device”

What I Think of When I Think of Lifesize

High definition and SIP

Product Line

LifeSize, fitting a large company that has been in the business for a long time (not as long as me…but…almost no one fits that that ain’t already dead), offers a full range of endpoints (from mobile devices to “Telepresence” rooms) and infrastructure (such as MCU’s, HD recording and streaming, Management, Firewall transversal, and ISDN connectivity).

In short:  A complete architecture for the company that feels more comfortable with products from one vendor.

To me….High Definition video conferencing is the key driver for LifeSize.

Cloud Based Video Conferencing

Coming soon to a LifeSize near you will be a new, cloud-based, HD video conferencing service called LifeSize Connections.  It will be available any minute now, if not already available.

Connections promises 9 way HD video conferencing at 720p and 30 frames per second (fps), NAT/Firewall transversal, management and reporting, and pay-as-you-go pricing.  It does not say if it needs to be scheduled or if it can be true “ad-hoc” (??).  I assume ad-hoc is probably instant scheduling…but, I can be corrected.

I love cloud-based videoconferencing for the simple fact that if you decided to use this service, and already have endpoints, you can stop reading this blog right here!  There is no need for a company to purchase and operate (the very expensive) infrastructure as LifeSize Connections will provide that and all the needed FTE muscle to keep the network up and running.  Sweet.

Endpoints

The recent acquisition of Mirial seems to have filled in part of Lifesize’s philosophy by
giving them access to video conferencing at the mobile level with the Mirial “ClearSea” Andrioid and iPhone apps (see this blog entry) that allow mobile phone, or tablet, participants to
connect to standards based video conferencing endpoints and infrastructure…..no matter where they might be.

VERY cool!

Up one level (not that mobile is inferior or anything) is the Mirial desktop videoconferencing app (now called the Lifesize Softphone) that I have used, when it was Mirial, and thought was sweet (see this blog entry).

Again Full HD at 1080p is mentioned and it has the ability to connect to three participants without an MCU (!).  It works on Windows and Mac and includes H.239 data sharing.

Before the softphone, Lifesize introduced the LifeSize Desktop application for Windows computers (you can tell the corporate leanings by only supporting Windows while leaving out Mac and Linux).

Lifesize Desktop was the first all SIP endpoint that I tested (see this blog entry) and it was VERY good.

Using a 1 Mbps Internet connection, Desktop can send and receive video at 720p at 30 frames per second.  So yeah, you can move around and still be seen!  :-)  You can share the PC’s screen but it does not look like it supports full H.239 application sharing.

Up another level (maybe I am doing this by cost?) is the Lifesize Passport.  This is an external hardware device that can plug into your HDTV / Monitor and Personal computer giving you your own “Telepresence in the Palm of Your Hand” solution.

Again 720p resolution at 30 fps is available and, interestingly, it can connect to Skype!   It supports H.323 and SIP and the standard supply of video and audio protocols (including G.722.1C).

For the executive office, the LGExecutive provides HD video conferencing on the desktop.

Next up are the “room” type systems:

Lifesize Team 220 and Lifesize Room 220.

These consist of a hardware based encoder / decoder (ok codec), an HD camera, LifeSize Phone or LifeSize MicPod, and a remote.

But it looks like you are on the hook to buy one or more HDMI / DVI-I monitor(s).  Each of these codecs support H.323 and SIP, and the standard lineup of video and audio protocols (including G.722.1C).

The Team 220 (pictured) includes a 4 way continuous presence (CP) MCU while the Room 220 provides 8 way CP as well as 8 way video switched, VS (the speaker is seen full screen).

At the top of the line is the LifeSize Conference 200 “Telepresence” Room (see picture below) system with 1080p at 30 fps and 720p at 60 fps (60 fps? What….are we playing football?).

It comes with all the stuff you need, except the three monitors which LifeSize recommends be the same (I would probably get three different ones, just for fun).  Internet speeds needed are from 2.5 Mbps to 18 Mbps.  Yikes!   The data sheet does not specify H.323 or SIP, but, hey…I’m sure, right?

Cameras

Lifesize has four HD cameras.   From 720p at 30 fps to 1080p at 60 fps (for those involved in the conference room football game).

Here is the matrix:

Infrastructure

Whatever happened to gatekeepers?  Did I miss something?  Oh well…

The LifeSize Bridge can handle up to 48 participants without losing capacity or HD video capability.

So, for me, I would test it with 48, 1080p, 30 fps, endpoints and a honking big Internet connection (I can visit ESnet for the day?) and it should work….right?

The LifeSize Video Center can record, and auto-publish, up to 20 concurrent 720p30 HD streams and can provide 1,000 viewers with live HD streams.  It also says it can provide 350 on-demand simultaneous streams…I need to look up “on-demand” definition according to LifeSize.

For your management, scheduling (web-based), and reporting needs, LifeSize offers the LifeSize Control.

It says it can control and manage heterogeneous networks so I assume it can take care of my Polycom Viewstation or Tandberg 1000 or Codian MCU, Radvision Gatekeeper?  OK, I am probably asking a lot…

If you have a firewall, the LifeSize Transit can bust through it, and if you still have a need for ISDN (I can’t believe that people still do….but who am I) they have the LifeSize Networker.

Conclusion

My experience with LifeSize and LifeSize products has uniformly been good.  They have been around the industry for a long long time, they know what is needed, and are looking toward the future.  They are not afraid to innovate…I LIKE that!

Is This Fun?

Originally published on AltamontCowork.com
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OK, companies…here is the free advice on how to start a telecommuting program at your place of work.

Ready? You sure?

OK….

It ain’t rocket science…..do it. DUH.

• Give your employee a task with a deadline.
• Let them work on it anyplace, anytime.
• Remotely connect with them, everyday if you have to, via any of the millions of ways you can connect in 2011 (video, voice, data).
• When the deadline rolls around, ask this question: “Is the task complete?”
• If the answer is “Yes”…you have successfully implemented a telecommuting program. On to the next task.
• If the answer is “No”….then that employee failed (or you did) try the same with another employee.
• Oh yeah…set up a really nice retirement package for the Old Fashioned Bosses (OFB) who insist that people are not working unless they are seen by the OFB, and make them take it. Get them out of the way…

COMPANIES: If you are spending thousands and thousands of dollars studying telecommuting, developing rules and regulations for a program, setting up milestones, goals, and tests, etc…..YOU ARE WASTING YOUR MONEY.

Follow my rules…it’s cheaper.

Telecommuting = Coworking = Telework

Well this is sad, but, predictable.

This article tells us that HP is dropping the mobile division, tablet and webOS.  Pretty much dooming Palm.

Palm was once the leader, but, it goes to show you that a company has to be nimble and change when change is in the air (which is like…..all the time!).

I have seen so many promising videoconferencing companies bite the dust for that very same reason.  Remember Zydacron?  They did not see IP coming even though they had great advice (one guess who gave them that advice!).  How about NUTS?  Intel Proshare?  Objective?  Sooo many, that I will have to go back in archives to find them all.

But I won’t.

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Geeez what is her problem?  Using a combination of three remotes, 27 button pushes, and moving one wire (just kidding)….it was easy!

She wanted me to write the process down….well, I do not have time to write a book, so get over it.

Luckily, Lifesize (a Division of Logitech), had a contest recently that someone at Lifesize entered one of my blog entries for (Anytime, Anywhere…) and I won 3rd prize!!!!

A Logitech Harmony 650 remote!  How cool is that!  :-)

This remote promises to replace up to 5 remotes!  Well, there ya go….maybe the Harmony 650 can simplify the movie watching process and give Lori the ability to watch movies in case I croak sooner than expected.

My Home Theater Configuration

An old (see this blog entry…one of my very first!) 55 inch Sony projection HDTV (only about 720p resolution, but, still good), an older Bose audio system, a Comcast cable box (HD), an old VUDU box for movies, an old Sony Blu-Ray player, and finally a Black Box HDMI switcher. Lots of old stuff (I really need to start making money again) but everything is working fine.

All of these devices need a separate remote!

Thankfully, I could make the Comcast remote work with the Bose, and the Cable box.

And I figured out a way to keep the TV on line 7 for the Blu-Ray, watching TV, and VUDU so the TV remote is not needed all the time.

<–See the pic for the three remaining remotes I hope to replace with the Harmony 650.

(No wonder why Lori was having such a problem, I am having a hard time keeping it easy to understand here….)

Harmony 650 Remote

OK, so I open the box, and read the directions very carefully….yeah, and if you believe that, I have some ocean front property in Arizona you can buy (thank you, George!).

I did know (from reading the back of the box) that the Harmony 650 could be configured using the Internet assuming you have a Windows or Mac computer and the CORRECT browser (see my browser bitch further down).

Very cool!

Sooooo, I plugged the USB cable (supplied by Logitech) into one of our laptop computers and fired it up.

Oooops, wrong browser (see my browser bitch further down).

I switched to another browser, and I was allowed to enter the devices (very cool by the way) and I was damn surprised that it had VUDU (even though the VUDU is on all the time, and I still am using it’s remote….so far).

After I was done naming my “activities” (Watch TV, Watch Movie, and Watch Movie VUDU) I hit the “Sync” button and waited…..and waited……and waited…..then fell asleep……woke up the next morning, unplugged the remote from the computer and brought it to work.  Arrrghhh…..(see my browser bitch further down).

Syncing at Work

Firing up my new Toshiba laptop, I plugged in the Harmony 650 to finally get it synced.

Shit….wrong browser again (!!!!!!!) (see my browser bitch further down).  So I tried another browser….damn….that did not work either (see my browser bitch further down).  Finally, I used the worst browser known to man and it worked!  Yeah……Arrrghh….(see my browser bitch further down).

Taking the remote home that night, I tried it.  I had to answer a few inane questions on the remote, and it had to try each of my devices again…but, in the end, it WORKED!

Joy to the World!

Using the Remote

This is the best part.

Pick up the remote and the display comes on (motion sensing…cool).  Hit the soft buttons on either side of the “activity” and magically….the correct devices turn on!  WhoooHooo!

Hit the top left button and all the devices turn off!  Wheeeee!

I tried all three of our “activites” and the remote turned on the appropriate devices every time!  Lori tried it and…..drum roll…..it worked for her too!

Life is good!

The Browser Issue

As promised, there is one major issue (major to me anyway).

I had to use the awful, terrible, Internet Explorer browser to finally get the remote synced up and working.  The latest version of IE absolutely sucks….it is just awful.  Terrible.

As a tough little hairy guy with big ears would say:  Total crap, that is.

Logitech REALLY needs to fix that, and get it working with Chrome and Firefox (they say Firefox works, but, not on the version I have…the VERY latest, 6.0).

Conclusion

The browser issue aside, the remote so far is working fine.

It has simplified the process for Lori and it works much better than the Comcast remote (faster, and the button pushes feel better).

I like the Logitech Harmony 650 remote!

Just gotta fix that browser issue and it would be nearly perfect.

So much for that (a few weeks later):  it died.  Arrrghhh……

OK, here we go.

I have started work on a new series of blog posts introducing various videoconferencing vendors and their products, services, applications and philosophy  (Thanks, Dave!  Gotta love Coworking!).

I hope to be able to introduce my loyal reader of this blog (yeah you!  :-)) to the various options you may have for implementing video conferencing in your organization and to provide a snapshot of current video conferencing technology in late 2011.

I need your help!  As I progress, I will need technical folks at each of the vendors to ask technical questions of.

IF you are willing to help (and put up with my questions!) comment below and / or email me (see the email to the right –>).  Sometimes the questions will be stupid, sometimes insightful, sometimes thought provoking…

I will start with the “bigger” corporate style vendors first:  I am researching Lifesize now.  Then I will work through:  Polycom, Vidyo, Radvision, Cisco / Tandberg.  More?

After I am done with those (and any that I may have forgotten, please comment below!), I will proceed to the service providers, the less well known / smaller vendors or providers, consumer oriented, free, etc.

Thoughts?  Comments?  Let me know below!  Did I miss someone important?

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Completed

LifeSize

Ah yes, I remember it well.  I remember the day when I had to order an ISDN line at home (remember 2B+D?) to attend a videoconference from home (hey…I practice not just preach telecommuting!).

Then, what seems like a short time later (and after ATM and Token Ring fell by the wayside…) we set-up pretty close to the first (Dr. Bob and Tim Poe were right there with us) H.323 videoconferencing network (which grew to be the largest IP-based video conferencing network in the world for a time, at ESnet).  THAT was FUN!  We played with (yes, technology is FUN!) gatekeepers, QCIF (the old timers know) MCU’s, newly developed numbering plans, evolving H.323 endpoints, and Clint and I running it all with military precision.  Yeah right…

The picture to the left shows the old way…our way.

The very expensive MCU, Gatekeeper and H.323 endpoints (I left out a Gateway to ISDN…since well, ISDN is dead) required Clint and I to keep it all running, configured, etc etc. Some companies have a whole team of people.  Lots of money invested, and you have to have a beefy Internet / Intranet to boot.  More money.

BUT…the results were ground-breaking-ly awesome (for the time).

Again time passed all too swiftly, and now people are talking about the “cloud” (just another name for the Internet), your damn cell phones can do video conferencing, and now one company, BlueJeans Network, tells us that they are doing “video conferencing via the cloud”.

Hmmmm, so now, Clint and I are gone (actually, we are!) replaced by a company out there on the Internet with a bunch of Clints and Mikes taking care of some amorphous infrastructure cloud that connects all these cell phones, Skype, the old H.323 stuff, and telepresence fancy dancy rooms together easy as 3.14???!!!

FREAKIN AWESOME! Except for the fact Clint and I are out of jobs…..hmmmm..

Note: I actually tested BlueJeans when they were asking for help.  I referred them to several of MY old customers so they could put BlueJeans through it’s paces, where I could not (being a starving blogger and coworking location owner.).

Now BlueJeans has been released and open to anyone.   Go here to see the cost.

Imagine:  Small businesses, independents, freelancers, can now have the same video conferencing capabilities that only the huge companies could afford only a few short years ago.  And, to me, best of all, your GrandMa or brother in the Navy can connect to you at your H.323 conference room at work via Skype from the ship or porch.

VERY cool!

Here is a sweet video that explains the BlueJeans Network concept:

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Summary

For the ten billionth time, I repeat:  Video conferencing ANYTIME, ANYPLACE, ANYONE.

If you have to drive to participate in a video conference…that is, hmmm, s-t-u-p-i-d….DUH.

BlueJeans rocks!  I wish them the best!

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++Originally posted on ForCarol.com++

If you have read our Movie Reviews on this blog, you may have run across the fact that we sometimes watch movies on “VUDU”.  As an engineer, and blogger, several years ago, I tested a new Internet-based streaming technology and LOVED IT!  That was VUDU (see my original blog post raving about it).

We own a VUDU box and it is the BEST…

Well word now comes that Wal-Mart (they bought VUDU a year or so ago) has released the ability for VUDU to work on your iPAD!  How cool is that?  All together now:  VERY COOL!!!

Here is the link to a Forbes article.

I’ll quote a bit of it below, if you are interested.

Walmart Launches Video Service for iPad

MarketNewsVideo.com , 08.10.11, 03:10 PM EDT

Walmart (WMT) said today it has launched its VUDU video-on-demand service for Apples (AAPL) iPad. The service will allow iPad users to rent or buy entertainment content and stream it over their iPad browser, without being obligated to sign up for a subscription, as they are with other services such as Netflix (NLFX).

Walmart said today it has launched its VUDU video-on-demand service for Apples iPad.

–

Drive Safe!  Never Forget.

I have said this a thousand times before: Video conferencing anytime, anyplace, anyone.

Vidyo (see my getting old review of Vidyo here).

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Vidyo on a Tablet

Well, it seems that Facebook now offers point-to-point video chatting from within Facebook.

Good for them!  BUT…point-to-point is kinda useless…just saying.  I have more than one friend I like to chat with, and all the Bay Shore Kids could have a reunion.

Overall Opinion 

HoHum, but, at least video conferencing is now reaching the masses.  After 20 years….my work is done?!  :-)

Google+ (if anyone is actually using it…I cannot seem to get connected) offers multipoint video chat (using, I think, Vidyo software).  At least that is what I heard….

Conclusion

I have been saying for MANY years now that videoconferencing should be for anyone at anytime from anyplace.

Big fancy rooms that cost $500,000 each are simply not needed…DUH…each participant should stay home (#telecommuting = #coworking) and video chat into a meeting.  Save gas, save time, save money, save the environment.

Checking the news on the Internet this morning, I spotted this article from SF Gate describing the official announcement today(!) that Microsoft Office is moving to the cloud with Microsoft Office 365 (I suppose that means it is available 365 days a year?).

The article explains that small to medium businesses that can’t afford to buy, install, run, and maintain the servers can now, for a fee, off-load all that hard work to the Microsoft cloud.

They also explain that it is good that Google set up Google apps.  That helped Microsoft get off their butts (my words not theirs….I think appropriate, actually) and move to the cloud.  Here is an interesting history lesson by the folks at PCWorld.com that kinda supports what I am saying…

Here is the original Microsoft announcement way back in October.  I don’t deal with pricing on this blog, but, companies appear to be able to sign up for between $2 per user per month to $27 per user per month depending on features.

My thoughts?

To Microsoft:  Good idea….’bout time.  But you needed someone (Google) to push you…not a good sign looking forward.

Just wanted to post this video as an introduction to a new company, StarLeaf, started by some old friends (from Codian).

I’ll be learning more in the coming weeks (I may be meeting with them in July) and will keep you posted.  By the way, when the Codian came out, I was one of the first supporters, and LOVED it from day one and, eventually, built the ESnet H.323 videoconferencing architecture around Codians (with a Radvison gatekeeper).

Needless to say, I am anxious to see StarLeaf in action.

Oh yeah…as a reminder of who was FIRST with Personal Telepresence….go here.  :-)

Comments welcome!

Surfing the Internet today I spotted this article from the NY Times stating that a new Nook eReader has been introduced!

Very cool.

Here are some basics of the $139 eReader:

It is WiFi only, it uses e-ink technology so glare will not be a problem, the entire display is touch screen, they claim the battery can last (without WiFi turned on) for 2 days, and it has a slot for SD memory expansion.

It weighs 7.48 ounces, and is as thin as a #2 pencil.  It is 6.5 inches tall and 5 inches wide.

Unless I missed it, the article does not say anything about an Android OS or Android apps?  I’ll dig a bit more after I post this….

Here is a page comparing the new Nook to the Kindle 3.

And a page showing the specs….no word about Android…how interesting.  Found it! It is Android (it is on the Nook / Kindle compare page), but, guess what?  No web browsing.  Not sure if that was smart….

Anyway….this looks really cool….I may have to request one for my 60th…ouch.

Bits are flying over the Internet at an unprecedented pace.

As my loyal reader…..you know my feelings about Cisco and video conferencing, but, it looks to me as though they are getting back to focusing on handling bits….a very good thing.  For everyone!

This commercial by Cisco is interesting.  I LOVE the part where they say that you do not need to be in the office to be productive.

DUH.   Telecommuting = Coworking = Telework

Comments?

Dare I say it?   Cisco rocks?   Ouch….that hurt….

Oh yeah…the bridge at the end is awesome…again, back to cisco’s roots.

Acer Chromebook

Google announced today the availability of their new Google “Chromebook” laptop like computers that will be at Best Buy and Amazon.com starting June 15th.

These are laptop like devices that connect to, and use, the “cloud” for everything you do.

They are pricey….anywhere from $350 or so to almost $500.  There are special monthly subscription plans for businesses, gov’t, and schools.  For example, your school can get a Chromebook for $20 per month.  For that price all support, etc. comes with it.

Not bad I suppose…

Is this the beginning of the end of Windows OS or Mac OS?  Are dedicated computers with gobs of memory, loaded with expensive software becoming obsolete?

Time will tell….my hunch is it is time to say Good-Bye to the old laptop, and operating systems…..this (using the cloud for everything) could be earth shattering in a year or so…or not.  :-)

As my loyal reader….you know what I feel about VUDU (and here, and here).   Also see our movie reviews on ForCarol.com, a lot of what we watch is on VUDU.

Now that VUDU is embedded in new TV’s, Blu-Ray players, etc., you no longer need the separate box that we have.  There is also the ability to connect to Facebook, Twitter, and a zillion other features via the Internet.

It ain’t just movies anymore….

Although the user interface has gotten more bloated and harder to use (hint to VUDU designers) this is still the best streaming video service under the sun.  My hope is that is stays that way….note to Wal-Mart:  Hands off!  Let the VUDU folks do what they do better than anyone…

Anyway…on the TV side, the choices kinda stunk.  Until now.  NOW, I see this article that says they are adding “Glee” and “Modern Family”.

OK….this is GREAT news.  We LOVE “Modern Family”, and “Glee”…..well, it is ok too.  :-)

If you have not tried VUDU (’cause you are using Netflix streaming…which actually came after VUDU)…give it a try.

Now that we have Comcast Internet…we can watch HDX movies in real-time….the quality is awesome!

My loyal reader probably remembers when I first saw ooVoo (this is a reclaimed blog entry since the original was lost with all the movement).  I thought at the time that ooVoo was the greatest video conferencing application I had seen in awhile.  Over time, I loved it even more that it included multi-person (3 and then up to 6) videoconferencing…..for free.

We used it all the time (the above picture shows Christian in Paris, Sheila in Chicago, and Me in Tracy, CA).

Then they changed, and started to charge for multi-way video chat.  Damn…

Guess what?  Free 3 (maybe 6?????) way multi person video chat is baaaacccckkk…not sure how long this has been the case, but, I just found out (and that is all that matters….right?  haha).

Give ooVoo a try….and get 2 (maybe 5????) friends to try it with you…

One bitch

I HATE the way they do their web site….it is VERY deceptive (my not so humble opinion). In fact, their Facebook page also insinuates the same 6 way for free (that is why I clicked over).

“ooVoo Lisa sayz “A wallet is a terrible thing to waste! Why pay for Skype when you can get ooVoo 6-way for Free! Like if you agree!”

Looking at it, you would think that 6 way calling is free, right?  Well according to their web pages…..it is NOT.

Go to this page to get the real story.

Buyer beware…the Facebook comments seem to suggest 6 way is free till May 31 (they do not say which year).

Jonathan Yankovitch posted an email on the Coworking group with a link to Memolane.

I clicked on the link and……saw something REALLY cool!

If you have been reading my blogs, you pretty much know that I consider Twitter and Facebook as too temporary.  You post something, and somewhere between 5 seconds to a day later, it is gone.  And worse, it is dang hard to find older posts.

A Blog is better for longevity….that is why I continue to blog.  A simple “Search” or look thru the “Categories”….. you can find my very first blog entry way back in 2005 sometime….but not really sure of the date since I did not have Memolane……Still there, still very awesome.  :-)

In my life, I lose track of what happened when.  And it gets worse as I get older….shit. Sorry, but, even the new electronic form of storing information….with all the crap I come up with……can be cumbersome and hard to find.

Memolane (when I overcome my major concern with it, see below) can be the solution to all of my memory problems (both human and computer).

Apparently, I can set up a TIMELINE of videos, pictures, notes, comments, entries on Twitter, FB, blogs entries, etc.  Once on the timeline, I can simply go back to find it (I’m sure a search is possible).

VERY COOL!

Concern

From the 15 seconds I took to play with Memolane, I have a major concern giving them access to all my most precious sources of information.  Picasa, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.   I would much prefer to upload stuff, give it links, make comments live etc.

In other words:  I would like to upload only what I want to upload, and I really do not want applications with their fingers in my stuff.

Once I can get past that…I see Memolane in my future….

Here is a good theme song for them, I’m sure most of you now know this guy, back when Country was Country:

For some reason, I just HAD to post this press release.  Interestingly, the contact for Vidyo is given, but, not for the Vatican.  Should we call the Pope?  Or should we go higher?

Seriously, this is awesome.  And as I have said before, Vidyo is awesome.

Vatican City Selects Vidyo Video Conferencing Technology to Ease Communications between Offices of the Holy See

Hackensack, NJ – April 20, 2011 – Vidyo®, Inc., the first company to deliver personal telepresence, today announced that the Vatican City, the sovereign territory of the Holy See, has deployed VidyoConferencing™ to enhance interactions between the various locations throughout the organization. The Vidyo platform will be used for communications between lay employees and clergy in central offices such as the Governatorate and the Roman Curia, and in other offices in all continents.

Until now, the Vatican City had been using traditional communications tools that no longer fulfilled the needs of a growing organization with offices worldwide. The selection of Vidyo’s platform was made by the Telecommunication Department of the Vatican City, which oversees the adoption of technologies within the Holy See; they reviewed a variety of different video conferencing solutions during their evaluation.

“We’re seeing a steadily growing number of companies deploying Vidyo’s platform – either switching from their old legacy system or investing in a video conferencing and collaboration system for the first time because of our higher quality, lower costs and superior range of options that span HD room systems, desktops, laptops and mobile devices,” said Eric Le Guiniec, Vidyo’s General Manager for EMEA. “We are extremely happy to be selected by the Vatican City and we look forward to continuing and strengthening our relationship in the future.”

The Vatican City’s Telecommunications Department’s objective was to introduce a high-quality, cost-effective, video communications and collaboration platform. Since most of those who would be using the system were not technically savvy, the system needed to be easy to use, access and maintain. They found that Vidyo’s platform offers exceptional quality over any connection and allows users to join conferences from a variety of desktop and mobile endpoints. Vidyo’s resilience to latency and packet loss, which makes video communication very real and natural, was a huge advantage; another benefit was the ability to invite anyone to join a Vidyo conference – not just the users registered on the system. Vidyo’s solution will allow anyone in the Vatican City to use video communications easily, even those with less technical knowledge, resulting in a reduction of travel costs and a positive impact on the environment.

VidyoTechnology™ offers unprecedented error resiliency, low latency and rate matching to enable natural, high quality video to work over the Internet, LTE, 3G and 4G networks. Because Vidyo’s solution is software-based, it can easily be expanded, upgraded, and customized for customers’ individual Enterprise and vertical market video conferencing needs. Vidyo’s product line spans a full range of potential applications, from the VidyoDesktop™ with personal telepresence capabilities on a PC or a Mac to the VidyoRoom™ that encodes and decodes HD-quality video at up to 60 frames per second.

About Vidyo, Inc.

Vidyo, Inc. pioneered Personal Telepresence enabling natural, HD multi-point videoconferences on desktop computers and room systems, and VidyoCast, an affordable cloud-based broadcast solution. Vidyo’s patented VidyoRouter architecture eliminates an MCU while delivering the industry’s best error resilience and lowest latency videoconferencing and broadcast solutions over the Internet. Vidyo’s solution utilizes H.264 Scalable Video Coding (SVC) and the company has been active in various standards bodies driving H.264 SVC and SIP interoperability since 2005.  Learn more at www.vidyo.com, on theBlog or follow @vidyo on Twitter.

# # #

The VIDYO logo is a registered trademark of Vidyo, Inc., VIDYO and the trademarks of the VIDYO family of products are trademarks of Vidyo, Inc. and the other trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.

Vidyo Contact:

Mari Mineta Clapp

press@vidyo.com

+1 (408) 398-6433

Is This Fun?

Here is an interesting article from the folks at CNET about IT pros willing to take pay cuts to telecommute.

You know I could say a lot about the managers who are “reluctant” to allow telecommuting.  But I’ll be nice….and not call them idiots in this blog entry.  RETIRE!  Get out of the way you old geezer (I can say that ’cause I are one)….get with the 2011 world….DUH.

#Telecommuting = #Coworking = #Telework

UPDATE May 31, 2011:  You all need to listen to me!  The powers that be are coming around to the possibility that cell phone use can cause cancer.  Here is a Reuters report.  OK, this is big news…that I have been saying for years!  Here is a CBSNews report.  The BBC picked up on it.  The Washington Post. This one is very interesting by CNN showing the 10 most emitting and 10 least emitting cell phones.

I have been talking about the issue of cell phone use and brain cancer on this blog for years. (here, here, here, and here).

If you read those, you will know I did a fair amount of research on the effects of electromagnetic radiation on the human body, and that I have a healthy respect for the possible effects.

NPR has added the latest information in the ongoing discussion.

They say that there is no conclusive study showing that there is a definite link to increased cancer risk and cell phone use.

On the other hand, they say that there is also no conclusive study showing no link.

As NPR says, “the jury is still out”.

What I Think

Unless you talk to me.  When (yes, when) brain cancers increase rapidly in, maybe, 20 years (and I strongly believe they will….studies be damned)…it will be too late.

Take steps NOW to protect yourself.

Moderate your usage of cell phones.  Interestingly, texting will help (at least with brain cancers).

I ran across this article in the NY Times this morning and found it interesting.

Why is it interesting?

I’ll tell you why:  In 2007, the Flip camcorder was the latest cutting edge technology.  It sold like hot cakes, and the big players came out with their own versions.

2007 was 4 years ago.  Yikes!  ONLY 4 years ago…

Now…the Flip is pretty much obsolete (as are those cool little cameras you can stick in your pocket).

Smartphones can take pictures with great resolution, and videos, and you can make phone calls, connect to WiFi, upload to Facebook, Flickr, or Picassa.  Who needs a separate device?

Apparently hardly anyone…Cisco is closing down the Flip division which it purchased for $590 million only a short time ago.

Technology time is moving faster and faster.

Sure glad I’m not obsolete….hmmmm, maybe I am.  Check back in a microsecond.  :-)

Update: I just found this interesting CNET article on Cisco’s Consumer Failures.

Now…you know I am not really fond of Cisco (oh you mean it was not obvious that I think their videoconferencing efforts were not being done right (DUH…standards!  DUH…travelling to a fancy, extremely expensive, room to video conference is ANTI-intuitive)…until they bought Tandberg that is), but, this consumer stuff is not their fault, and at least they tried.

Drive Safe!  Never forget.

Not including the “Home” page here are the next ten:

Drive Safe!  Never Forget.

My daughter mentioned to me last night that she and some friends tried to make a multipoint video call using Skype, but, had to sign up, and pay for, Skype Premium to do so. They used ooVoo instead.  (NOTE:  ooVoo when I last looked at it rocks!)

I looked this morning…..and here is the scoop:  Skype multipoint is NO LONGER free.  Rats!

Now you have to pay by the day for $4.99 (with a * which means be careful not to get screwed), or a monthly fee of $8.99 (with the same *).

The number of people allowed in a Skype Premium call is VERY hard to find (I mean come on, Skype people, make that information easy to find…geeezzz) is a max of 10.

All good things must end….they do need to make money.