Archive for the ‘video’ Tag

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: , , , , , , , ,
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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!

ClientLink on the Beach

Posted September 21, 2011
Filed under: 802.11n, Cisco, MIMO, Video | Tags: , , ,
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A colleague of mine on Cisco’s West Coast Mobility Sales Team, Jason Grant, produced a short (one minute) video about one of Wi-Fi product features, ClientLink.   However, instead of a dry technical description, he explained it using an interesting visual aid.  Take a look:

The Packets Never Lie

Posted May 31, 2011
Filed under: 802.11n, Video | Tags: , , , ,
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OK.  If you have been following my blog (here or over at Computerworld), you’ll notice that I am really starting to incorporate a lot of video into my posts.  So far, I have found that one of the easiest & most effective ways to include video is to interview someone else.  However, I now realize that turn-about is fair play.

The fine folks at CWNP had a little fun by asking me what I though about their recent Certified Wireless Analysis Professional (CWAP) beta course.

I told them about one mantra I hold about wireless networking… that the packets never lie.  Then they took some liberties with my response.  🙂

See for yourself:

Oh, it’s all in good natured fun.  That is, if you can stand seeing & hearing me more than 10 times in under 5 minutes…  In all seriousness though, I had a great time at the CWAP beta course and learned a ton from all the real brains in the room.

If you want to read CWNP’s original post with the video montage, you can view it here: https://www.cwnp.com/index/cwnp_wifi_blog/cwapbeta-round-up-the-packets-never-lie

Related Posts:

Vegas! Who’s With Me?

Posted May 25, 2011
Filed under: Industry Events | Tags: , , , , , ,
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I am making the trek up to Las Vegas tomorrow to attend Forrester’s 2011 IT Forum.   The event actually starts today and runs through Friday.  It is being held at The Palazzo (which is part of The Venetian Hotel and Casino).

In year’s past, Forrester has used UStreamto broadcast many of the keynotes across the internet.  I don’t have the specifics, but it’s worth a search, when keynote presentations run from 8:30 – 12:30 Pacific Time (Friday morning keynotes end at 10:05).  Personally, Friday morning’s keynotes are of particular interest.  The first is titled “iPads And Torches And Droids — Oh My! Mobile’s Not In Kansas Anymore“.  That is followed up by another session called “Killing The Laptop: How IT Solutions Amplify Business Productivity On Tablets and Smartphones”.

After the morning keynotes, the afternoons are packed with 3-4 sets of track sessions.  The track that really jumps out at me so far is one called “Transform Processes That Touch Your Customers”.  It has sessions on topics such as next-gen CRM and customer service through social technologies.

The content is spot on.  For example, last year, I heard Ted Shadler speak about his book, Empowered, which mentions the rise of four key technologies: social, mobile, cloud, and video.  In my opinion, those four areas absolutely dominated the IT mindset in the past year, and are only growing in importance.

Like any conference, beyond the actual content, one of the most valuable aspects of attending are the networking opportunities.   In the past, Forrester has done a good job of trying to connect people with similar interest with role-specific ribbons to add to attendee badges.  They also put placards on the lunch tables to group people with similar interests.  Forrester also offers one-on-one meetings with their analysts — at no extra cost for attendees.

Please let me know if you are attending the forum (or happen to be in Las Vegas for something else), and would like to meet up.   If you are unable to attend, keep a look out here, my Computerworld Blog, or my Twitter stream for a recap of  what I find the most interesting and relevant.  You can also keep a tap on what’s happening at the conference with the official Twitter hashtag, which is #ITF11.

A Geek’s Thoughts From the Carrie Underwood Conference

Posted October 4, 2010
Filed under: Cellular / Mobile Phones, Social Media, Video | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
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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. 🙂

Attending a Conference? There’s an App for That!

Posted July 3, 2010
Filed under: Industry Events, Video | Tags: , , , ,
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I just published a post on my Computerworld blog about how conferences and tradeshows of the future are incorporating more mobile and wireless technologies to provide attendees more value than ever before.

In that post, you’ll find out how cutting edge events are:

  • Extending the battery life of your mobile devices
  • Using high density Wi-Fi networks to offload bandwidth demands from cellular networks
  • Leveraging video as a way for attendees to connect & share

As a preview to that post, check out the 2 minute video I created about an iPhone app created specifically for one such  event, the Forrester IT Forum: