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Viodi View

Viodi View – 07/09/14

It is that time of the year when millions of people pack their suitcases and take some well-earned vacation time. We too will be on the road this summer visiting some of our friends with independent broadband service providers. One trip I am looking forward to is next week’s NTCA Regional meeting in Savannah, GA, where it will be an honor to moderate a panel on the topic of over managed, over-the-top video.


A Teacher Teaching Tech to Telecom

Ken Pyle interviews Carissa Swenson of TechTECS at the 2014 MTA Convention.
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One of the sessions I wish I could attend at the aforementioned NTCA event will feature TechTECS’ Carissa Swenson. Fortunately, I was able to catch up with Carissa at the 2014 MTA Convention, where she explained how her career path evolved from teaching within the North Dakota public school system to helping telecom companies teach tech to their customers. She is able to run her business from a small town (population of 209), thanks to the robust broadband of a Fiber to the Home Network.

Click here to read more and to view the video interview.


Abolishing the Fear of Failure- Do What You’re Afraid to Do!

An impersonator of an Elvis impersonator gives his best move.
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On June 26th, Stanford Education & Psychology Professor John D. Krumboltz told a sold out Commonwealth Club-Silicon Valley audience to “stop being afraid of failure. Learn to accept and even enjoy it,” he said in his opening remarks. Prof Krumboltz is the co-author of the book, Fail Fast, Fail Often- How Losing Can Help You Win.  It was Oprah Winfrey’s favorite book for 2014.

Click here to read more.


Local Sports Everywhere with No CableCARD

Ken Pyle interviews Joe Jensen regarding their multiscreen implementation of their local TV channel.
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From the Pinewood Derby to collegiate sports, the BCSN networks carry local sports that are of interest to residents of the Toledo and Lima, Ohio area. This platform, which has been years in the making, lays the foundation for the transition from QAM to IP for Buckeye CableSystem’s delivery of video services.

The next step in this transition is in the regulatory realm and, in the above interview, Buckeye CableSystem’s EVP of Cable & Telecommunications, Joe Jensen, discusses their March 2014 request for a waiver of CableCARD rules which would allow Buckeye CableSystem to create a combination set-top that incorporates a DTA (Digital Terminal Adaptor – a low-cost QAM set-top) with an Internet Protocol video receiver.

Click here to read more and to view the video.


Evidence of Cable/Telephony Architecture Convergence

An image of Grande's web site and their 1 Gig service.The appointment of cable industry legend Chris Bowick to Calix’s board of directors, along with their related announcement regarding Grande’s use of their equipment to power their 1 gig, GPON network, is evidence of the long-term architectural convergence of the cable and telephony industries. I was fortunate to work with Calix and Phil Fine on the following video, which provides more information about Calix’s work with Grande, as well as their related effort to deploy DOCSIS and GPON from the same back-office.

Click here to view.


The Luddites of London

The graphic illustrates how Virtual Personal Assistants could work in the background to facilitate human relationships.
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Just as we begin to hear about the and the significance of the autonomous vehicle (AV) for society, taxi cab drivers throughout the European Union recently staged mass protests against the smart phone app service Uber, portraying themselves as 21st century Luddites sacking London.

Click here to read more.


Some Tweets and Short Thoughts:

  • San Jose complies with Google Fiber’s checklist, according to Mayor Reed – now up to Google to bring Fiber to Silicon Valley.
  • A couple things stand out in this article; how tech and telecom can be the beneficiaries of autonomous vehicles.
  • It’s the People Power band van. They must be returning from a July 4th gig. We interviewed their CEO, Gene Wang a few years ago.

The Korner – Keeping a Green Lawn & Saving Some Green

The ZERO from Cub Cadet is demonstrated at the 2014 International CES
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With summer in full bloom, so are the gardens and lawns. For those in places where the lawns are large and the blades of grass thick thanks to summer rains, a riding lawnmower is a labor and time-saving device that is a must-have.

At International CES 2014, we caught up with Cub Cadet, a leading manufacturer of riding lawnmowers, where they displayed their first electric, riding lawnmower. They claim it is possible to mow an acre of grass on a single charge with their new model, ZERO. It also features all the other benefits of going electric, such as lower maintenance costs, no liquid fuel and quieter operation (now, you can mow the lawn at any time).

Given the theme of many of the recent Viodi View posts, it is not difficult to imagine a future model that would feature autonomous operation, much like the robotic vacuum cleaners that have been on the market for years. Autonomous operation would eliminate the need for a human operator, leaving the home owner even more time for a summer vacation.

Click here to read more about the ZERO.

Author Ken Pyle, Managing Editor

By Ken Pyle, Managing Editor

Ken Pyle is Marketing Director for the Broadband Forum. The mission of this 25+-year-old non-profit “is to unlock the potential for new markets and profitable revenue growth by leveraging new technologies and standards in the home, intelligent small business, and multi-user infrastructure of the broadband network.”

He is also co-founder of Viodi, LLC and Managing Editor of the Viodi View, a publication focused on the rural broadband ecosystem, autonomous vehicles, and electric aviation. He has edited and produced numerous multimedia projects for NTCA, US Telecom and Viodi. Pyle is the producer of Viodi’s Local Content Workshop, the Video Production Crash Course at NAB, as well as ViodiTV. He has been intimately involved in Viodi’s consulting projects and has created processes for clients to use for their PPV and VOD operations, as well authored reports on the independent telco market.

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