Carrier Network Virtualization Becoming Real
The shift from purpose-built to white-box hardware with network functions enabled by software is building momentum, based on the presentations and demonstrations at the Carrier Network Virtualization conference. Featuring speakers and attendees from carriers and providers, such as AT&T, Google, NTT and Vodafone, this multi-day conference provided an excellent overview of the motivations and current status of the quickly evolving topic of Network Function Virtualization. In the above interview, Michael Howard, Senior Director of Carriers and Research for IHS, describes some of the highlights from this content-packed conference.
A Dramatic Change to the Way We Live and Work
“The way we work and live will change quite dramatically,” is how Stuart Sikes characterizes the impact of connected and smart home. Speaking at CONNECTIONS™ 16, Sikes points out that things such as voice control are removing the friction of interacting with technology and associated products. Sikes discusses the emerging ecosystems, such as Amazon’s Alexa, and the window for competing ecosystems to make an impact.
The Fuel Tank of Tomorrow – A Super Capacitor?
Energy storage is one of the biggest challenges facing a number of technologies from the Internet of Things to renewable energy to electric cars. Although batteries are making slow and steady progress, challenges with parameters such as energy density, rate of charge, temperature, safety and life cycle have, in turn, slowed down the progress of end-applications. The answer to how to jump-start progress in energy storage may reside in a 250-year-old electronic component. Instead of having underground fuel tanks, the service station of tomorrow might have underground super capacitors.
Silence – The All-Purpose, Electric Vehicle Advantage #CES2016
With their limited range, the adoption of electric vehicles in rural areas is lagging behind urban locales. Polaris may start to change that dynamic with its introduction of the first Li-Ion battery-powered all-wheel, off-road electric vehicle.
The Ranger EV is an all-purpose vehicle intended for off-road operation, whether on a ranch or on the range. With a 50-mile range and standard 110 volt charging, the hassle of liquid fueling goes away. It still is capable of carrying 500 pounds in its bed or towing up to 1,500 pounds.
Extending IPv4 – Revisited
In mid-2015, Abraham Chen wrote an article in the Viodi View arguing for an approach that would extend the IPv4 address space, while strengthening security of end devices. Over the ensuing year and a half, working with colleagues from academia, government and industry, he has developed his concept into a proposed standard, which he has submitted to the Internet Engineering Task Force. The proposal, EzIP, could realize a net gain of between 512M and 2B address spaces with either firmware enhancements to existing “Internet edge routers or private network gateways, wherever needed, or simply installed as an inline adjunct module between the two, enabling a seamless introduction.”
Some Tweets and Short Thoughts:
- The REST API included in the latest WordPress release could be a game changer in terms of using WordPress for machine-to-machine applications, but this fix is a must-have to provide a layer of protection.
- Interesting article from Anton Wahlman arguing that subsidies for electric vehicles should be, at a minimum, eliminated.
- This article about whether instructional choice should trump school choice sparked the idea as to whether anyone is looking at school facilities as sort of a common carrier, where multiple instructional choices might reside.
- Congratulations to Paul Bunyan Communication’s Gary Johnson for the well-deserved recognition of being one of the Twin Cities Business 100 People to Know.
- Alan Weissberger reports on the Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) 2016 Award Recipients in this article.
The Korner – The Self-Teaching Guitar and More
One important pearl of wisdom garnered from coaching youth baseball is that it is really difficult to teach a 5 year-old, but every once in a while it is possible to trick him into learning. At that age, the most important thing is to make the activity fun and the skills will follow. Zivix takes this approach to help people teach themselves how to play the guitar.
The Jamstik+ is a Bluetooth guitar that interacts with an app on an iOS or Android device or computer apps, such as Apple’s GarageBand, providing opportunities to practice and to play. The app interacts with the guitar to become a virtual teacher. It seems like the technique of displaying the notes on a screen might even trick one into learning how to read music. If the few minutes this author spent with the Jamstik+ are an indication, then Zivix has hit its target of making it fun to learn and play the guitar.
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