Buried in the day-to-day operations of a business or institution, it is often difficult to see how outside developments will impact the long-term. The importance of a show like CES is that it allows one, for a few days at least, to look at the bigger picture and see how seemingly disparate industries and advancements could change the future.
Through the Air or On the Ground, CES2019 had Mobility Covered – Part 1
Whether by air, road, bike lane, hallway or virtually, via wireless, CES2019 had all aspects of mobility covered. Starting with wireless, announcements of so-called “5G” were everywhere. Wireless carriers are racing ahead of standards and chipset compatibility to establish beachheads in markets served by traditional wireline networks, such as cable and fiber providers. Stay tuned for part 2, which will have an Internet of Things focus.
The Dangers of WiFi/Internet-Enabled Cameras and the IoT Connected Home by Alan Weissberger
Reports from across the U.S. indicate an ever-increasing problem of hackers accessing the Wi-Fi/Internet enabled cameras from Nest and other IoT security/surveillance device companies. This author and others have many times warned this is likely to be the number one reason NOT to have a “connected home,” i.e. because of Internet-related security problems. There have been well-publicized IoT hacks that took control of Internet-enabled trucks, cars, drones, and appliances. The IoT security protocols don’t seem to be robust enough to prevent such occurrences.
An Independent Bikeshare Courtesy of an Independent Telecom Provider
“An issue our community is facing is connectivity,” says Matthew Dosch of Comporium. The connectivity issue is not a broadband one, as Comporium, has been a leader in bringing high-speed Internet and other cutting-edge communications services to the Rock Hill, South Carolina area for decades. The challenge has to do with the ease of moving within the downtown area and to the local university. As a community leader, Comporium, which also has its headquarters in downtown Rock Hill, decided to sponsor a community bike-share program to provide an alternative way of getting around.
Educating The Wannabe Cord Cutter #CES2019
Parks Associates reported in their December 2018 study that 13% of U.S. households have already fired their traditional pay television providers. FlexVU aims to grow the number of cord-cutting households. As explained by Anselmo Pilla, Senior Director of Marketing of Pixelworks, FlexVU is an ad-hoc consortium of companies with a goal of educating consumers as to how to use over-the-top and over-the-air television services to create an effective substitute for the typical pay television line-up.
The Self-Contained IoT Weather Station for Precision Agriculture #CES2018
It may be too cold for much of the nation to use this device today, but during growing season this micro-weather station provides the type of granular weather information that could mean the difference between a profit and a loss for an agricultural concern. Arable’s solar-powered, self-contained weather station, the Arable Mark, provides a farmer with an understanding of multiple parameters on her farm. What separates it from a stand-alone weather station is the back-end that looks at external and historical weather data to create more accurate and granular forecasts than the status-quo.
Some Tweets and Short Thoughts
- Integrating augmented reality into industrial processes to improve efficiency is demonstrated in this video interview that we forgot to add in the previous issue of the Viodi View (ViodiTV’s YouTube Channel)
- Yikes, even though the data apparently stays local, Eyesight’s computer vision and AI solution for providing audience measurement, viewer demographics, recognition, and attentiveness is kind of creepy. Maybe Rockwell (YouTube) was correct in his seemingly paranoid view from the 1980s that someone was watching him.
- Well, this is cool. Some would say that #broadband is as much a necessity as water is, so broadband provider/utility @NineStarConnect acquiring Gem Water Utility makes sense.
- Looking forward to and humbled to moderate a panel with industry experts in late April. Details to follow.
- And looking forward to seeing many friends at the NCTC’s WEC conference in Atlanta, February 25th and 26th. It will be Jared Baumann’s first NCTC conference since joining that organization as VP of Broadband Solutions – Congratulations!
The Korner – Even More Respect For “The Talking Heads” Who Read the News
Was the inspiration for the video the two minutes spent on the daïs spilling out words that did not match the thoughts trapped inside my head? The details are fuzzy, but Monday’s meeting reinforced the idea that a two-minute video can be much more effective than standing before a lectern.
So with an idea of what the video should look like, writing and editing a script on Tuesday morning didn’t take much time. Fortunately, the images needed as proof-points were within easy grasp, so broll wasn’t an issue. I had a great source for music, so everything was good, except……..
The guy reading the just couldn’t do a good enough job, no matter how many takes. The words were fine, but the delivery just didn’t work (maybe a voice prompted teleprompter would have helped – Lifehack review). Fortunately, my spouse stepped in and made a convincing argument to get rid of the knucklehead’s face.
Although my pride may have taken a hit with her truthful words, she was right. It is common for even the best speakers to freeze up in front of the camera (or, in my case, have odd facial contortions). It is also a good reminder of just what talent and skill it takes to read the evening news.
To watch the video, which is about the need to look at various developments in a holistic manner and with the lens of tomorrow (when they will be developed) please check out the San Jose Insider article.