Archive for the ‘Cellular / Mobile Phones’ Category

What are Two Things That Make Me Smile? Hockey & Wireless!

Posted October 19, 2011
Filed under: Architecture, Cellular / Mobile Phones, Cisco, Implementation/Integration, Interesting Articles, Social Media | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
* Leave a comment

OK, I thought I would pass along an interesting article where two of my passions – hockey and Cisco — intersect.   Here is an article on Light Reading about Cisco & Verizon updating the Staples Center in Los Angeles for in-stadium video.  Apparently it debuted at last night’s LA Kings game.

In-stadium connectivity is becoming increasingly more popular.  This article mentions controlling several different video angles.  I have a similar stand-alone device from Fan Vision that I use at Arizona Cardinals home games, although that works off of UHF technology.  Fan Vision — if you are listening, *please* expand into hockey.  PLEASE…

The light reading article I mentioned earlier also talks about fans ordering concessions from their seats.  This is something that we already have at Coyotes hockey through a vendor called Bypass.  I have tried to use the Bypass Lane at hockey games, but my in-stadium cellular signal isn’t sufficient to place the order, and there is a lack of public Wi-Fi.  What makes it particularly frustrating to me is that I know the arena *has* Wi-Fi, but they don’t segment a guest SSID for public consumption.  This would not only drive more sales for Bypass, but improve the overall fan experience.   I can also see in-stadium Wi-Fi making it easier for fans to post pictures, videos, etc. to their favorite social networking sites, which essentially extends the team’s brand outside of the event space.

The Light Reading article also mentions social networking, in the context of “digital dissing”.  I always thought they should run those boards on the jumbo tron where you text your message to a certain number, and then it plays your message.  Obviously, they would have to have some good content filtering, but it would be FUN.

While I am happy for the LA Kings and the Staples Center, the Kings are in town tomorrow night to take on *my* Phoenix Coyotes.  Let’s Go Coyotes!

How Long Does It Take For A Single Carrier To Get To 20,000,000 Wi-Fi Connections?

Posted August 3, 2011
Filed under: Cellular / Mobile Phones, Interesting Articles, Mobile | Tags: , , , ,
* Comments (2)

11 Days!  That is just one of the stunning statistics from an AT & T infographic that I saw recently.  The infographic also compares how long it took to reach the same number of connections in years past.  Check it out – you’ll be amazed!   Much of the additional data is of particular interest to those in the Hospitality and Retail Industries.

Rather than re-invent the wheel, I’ll point you to a great blog post from Slashgear.com that pretty much says everything that I would regarding the data.

Enjoy!  http://www.slashgear.com/att-infographic-notes-massive-wi-fi-use-growth-on-mobile-devices-22167040/

 

 

 

 

 

A Geek’s Thoughts From the Carrie Underwood Conference

Posted October 4, 2010
Filed under: Cellular / Mobile Phones, Social Media, Video | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
* Leave a comment

Last night, I attended the Carrie Underwood conference at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

One thing I couldn’t help but think during the show was how many people were using their mobile phones to take photos, record video, and share their experiences on social networking sites.

This really doesn’t do it justice, but I took this photo with my own iPhone while at the show (look at all the lights in the foreground — those are mobile phones!):

Ironically, I recently conducted a video interview of Ted Schadler on my Computerworld blog and spoke about this very topic.  Ted is one of the co-authors of the new book, “Empowered”, which talks about four key technologies that are changing the way we do business — social, mobile, video, and cloud.  With what I witnessed in the crowd, I couldn’t help but think Ted was *really* onto something.

To me, it reinforced that it is best to embrace these technologies, not fight them.  Some artists may try to prohibit such behavior, but I think it benefits Carrie Underwood to have also those people uploading pictures and telling their friends about their experience on social networking sites.  Essentially, they are advertising for her and evangelizing her brand… for free.

What do you think?  Would you try to protect your intellectual property from be spread via social, mobile, video, and cloud?  If so, when and how?  If not, why not?

By the way, in case you were wondering, the concert was amazing. 🙂

Wi-Fi Jedi Speaking at Phoenix ISSA – 7/13

Posted July 7, 2010
Filed under: Cellular / Mobile Phones, Implementation/Integration, Speaking Engagements | Tags: , , , ,
* Leave a comment

For those of you in the Phoenix area, I will be speaking at the Phoenix Information Systems Security Association chapter meeting on Tuesday, July 13th 2010.  Registration starts at 11:30, and I will be speaking at noon.

I will be speaking about using Wi-Fi as a part of your Business Continuity / Disaster Recovery process.  My session abstract is below as well as the invite from ISSA to attend the meeting.  If you are interested in attending, there is a hyperlink at the end of the invitation.

Presentation Abstract: When disaster strikes, does your organization have the processes and technology in place to ensure continuation of business?  In today’s high tech world, one important piece to restoring normal business operations is to establish a reliable computer network.  The speaker will discuss the main factors in deciding in whether to deploy a wired or wireless network as a part of disaster recovery & business continuity – factors including cost, security, and reliability.  The presentation also includes a case study and several recommendations to maximize value to session attendees.

Phoenix ISSA® invites you to its

Q3/10 Quarterly Training Forum to be held on:

DATE: Tuesday, July 13, 2010

TIME: 11:30 am –5 pm

PROGRAM:

1. “Wireless Security and BCP” – Douglas Haider, Xirrus

2.  “End Point Security” – Parker Marshall Fishnet Security

3.  “VM Security”, Diane Barrett, University of Advancing Technology

4. “Business Records to Digital Evidence”, Hoyt Kesterson, Terra Verde Services

LOCATION:

ITT Technical Institute — 5005 W. Wendler Dr., Tempe, AZ  85282

(NW Corner, I-10 & Baseline, Across from Fry’s Electronics)

Please join us!  Our speakers represent security leaders in different industries who will share their insights and expertise.  Stay on top of an ever-changing field, with leading edge content.  Get a free lunch and snacks.  Earn 4 hours CPE credits for certification maintenance (we provide the certificate).  Meet and network with other security professionals.  Win great door prizes!

For event details and registration go to: RSVP link

This event will be full—don’t wait to register!

Will lack of unlimited cellular data plan increase your Wi-Fi use?

Posted June 2, 2010
Filed under: Cellular / Mobile Phones, Poll Questions | Tags: , , , , ,
* Leave a comment

If you haven’t heard, AT&T announced that it is canceling the unlimited data plan for the iPhone as of June 7th, 2010.  Luckily, it seems that (for the time being), existing users will be grandfathered into the old plan if they’d like.

About 6 weeks ago, I wrote about the trend toward metered data plans on my Computerworld Blog based on a discussion with Gartner Analyst Michael King at the Gartner Wireless Summit.

Mr. King postulated (and I agree) that metered cellular data plans will put another source of pressure on enterprises to deploy their own wireless LAN (WLAN )as a way to mitigate the cost associated with their employees with using the cellular network.

It’s one thing if employees can use the cellular network for unlimited data.  At that point, it’s mostly about end user preference.  However, it’s another thing if organizations have to pay for every MB of transferred data- at that point, they will encourage users to switch over the the WLAN, especially for high bandwidth applications such as video.

What do YOU think?  Is this going to affect YOUR use of the cellular network?  Let me know in the poll question below if this will increase your Wi-Fi use.

OBTW, I certainly think this is only the beginning for cellular companies to enforce metered data services.  There was a time when we paid for the amount of minutes with unlimited data as an add-on.  I think over the coming months/years, this will be exactly the opposite — we will have to pay for the amount of data we use with unlimited minutes being an “optional” add-on.

Related Posts:

Summer Break

Posted November 5, 2009
Filed under: Architecture, Cellular / Mobile Phones | Tags: , , , , , ,
* Comments (1)

As you *may* have noticed, I took a hiatus from blogging over the summer.  Now, it’s time to get back to work!  “But Douglas”, you say, “It’s November.  Summer was over long ago.”  To that, I will remind you that I live in Phoenix.  The high temperature is 94 degrees today.  So in that sense, summer isn’t *entirely* over for me, but I’ll start back with blogging anyway…

Yesterday, I wrote a post for Computerworld titled: “It’s Not About ‘Full Bars’, Stupid”.  It actually combines two of my passions: NFL football and wireless.  The wireless portion discusses wireless’ hidden weakness: network congestion.

I don’t want to put any “spolier” information here, so you’ll just have to head over to Computerworld Blogs and check it out for yourself.

 

 

My Customized Twitter Background

Posted May 2, 2009
Filed under: blogging, Cellular / Mobile Phones, Social Media | Tags: , , ,
* Comments (2)

 

As many of you know, I have started an account on Twitter under the user name “wifijedi”.

No, I wasn’t influenced to join by Oprah, or the Ashton Kutcher vs. CNN competition.

I see it mostly as a micro-blogging tool and enjoy sending out shorter, yet more frequent updates.

Recently, my Twitter profile page got a makeover. Thanks to friend and co-worker John Merrill, I now have a customized background.

My background serves as a central repository for WiFi Jedi branded content including my blog, my Computerworld blog, my LinkedIn profile, and my lens on Squidoo.

You can check out my new background at http://www.twitter.com/wifijedi

Twitter Worm Blog Post on Computerworld

Posted April 12, 2009
Filed under: Cellular / Mobile Phones, Security, Social Media | Tags: , , , ,
* Leave a comment

computerworldI have started blogging for Computerworld.  I am serving up content for their Mobile & Wireless space.  

I wrote a post over the  weekend detailing two variants of a Twitter worm – one advertising StalkDaily.com (don’t visit the site) and another highlighting the 17 year old behind the website who goes by the name of “mikeyy”.  

My post details how the worm spreads, as well as provides specific security recommendations.  You can read the post in its entirety at: 

http://blogs.computerworld.com/twitter_worm_still_on_the_loose

I am also excited because I have my first Computerworld comment.  I really enjoy the community aspect of blogging, so feel free to leave comments here at WiFiJedi.com or at Computerworld anytime !

Kindle e-books for the iPhone

Posted March 7, 2009
Filed under: Cellular / Mobile Phones | Tags: , , ,
* Comments (1)

I just purchased my first e-book for the Kindle application on the iPhone.  I purchased The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott.   

I actually purchased it a couple days ago, but wanted to wait until I had some “hands on” time with the application before blogging about it.  I wondered how it would compare to a traditonal printed book.  

The price tag of each e-book is definitely attractive – most available titles are $9.99, which is much less than I usually pay for a printed copy.  However, I still prefer a paper book – something that I can underline, highlight, dog ear the pages, and write notes in the margin.   It is through this process that I feel I truely own the content. 

As far as new technical features of such e-books, there is some interactivity between the actual Kindle device and the iPhone.  They apparently sync including last page read, bookmarks, etc.  

To me, the fact that it functions on the Kindle device as well as the iPhone is a real value-add.  It also places the Kindle squarely in the lead of e-book readers, should I ever buy one.  

There are some features in the application that seem to be missing (or I haven’t played with it enough).  Namely, the multitouch features the iPhone is famous for, vertically scrolling text at a configurable pace, etc.  However, I believe that like most iPhone apps, this one will receive multiple updates adding new functionality and making the application even more stable and user-friendly.  

Lastly, if you are looking for more information on the subject, here is some good analysis on Kindle for the iPhone provided by Van Baker of Gartner.