“You had to be there” is the worn-out phrase one hears from a storyteller after his story doesn’t quite get the reaction he thought it would. Fortunately for the Viodi View audience, many of my stories are captured with video so it is possible to see and hear directly from the people doing the action. Thanks to broadband and video conferencing technology, it is still possible to reach out to our friends, wherever they may be.
Public-Private Partnerships for Broadband & Beyond
Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC) has been at the forefront of innovative broadband community partnerships in the Land of 10,000 Lakes for the past decade. Their partnerships do not stop where the fiber ends, however, and extend deep into the communities they serve. CTC has some unique ways to support its staff, including hosting interactive games and bringing in a comedian to entertain and educate.
The comedian Westbrock spoke of is C Willi Myers. We will be talking to him today, 7/24/20 at 1:30/3:30 PDT/CDT.
First Packages, Then People – Potential Implications of the Amazon-Zoox Deal
Will package delivery via autonomous vehicles provide a path for those people who can least afford mobility, the so-called mobility disadvantaged? Specifically, does Amazon’s purchase of Zoox hint at a world where the world’s largest online seller becomes the low-cost people mover? And, if so, what are the implications for public spaces, the built environment, and human-to-human interaction?
Water for the Autonomous Mobility Future
Someone once said something about freshwater being the new oil. From a scarcity and need perspective, water is already much more valuable on a dollar per liter basis than oil. Similar to how oil can be a lubricant for gears, clean water is also going to play an important role in the operation of driverless mobility machines. An Israeli-based company’s solution to this includes converting humidity to water that will be refreshing for both vehicles and passengers.
Telecom Techniques for Autonomous Sensing
A full-stack autonomous sensing platform for ten percent the cost of conventional methods is what Perceptive promises. Their path to this dramatic cost reduction is to apply both principles and components of modern telecommunications. Similar to a modern wireless network, fiber optic cables carry laser and radar signals between small, inexpensive antennas and a central processing unit. Cameras help guide their sensors to focus on what is important.
Some Summertime Memories of Telecom Meet-Ups #
It is the time of the year when those of us in the telecom industry would normally get together either for The Independent Show or OPASTCO’s Summer Conference and Convention. The following videos capture some moments from those shows as well as a few other conferences.
NFL great, entrepreneur, and humanitarian Ronnie Lott talks about the importance of character, following a moral compass, and the value of hard work in this timeless and timely interview at the 2015 Independent Show in Boston.
Sometime around 2010, Roger Bindl put together this highlight reel describing ViodiTV. Yikes, it is hard-to-believe that some of this footage is from the pre-iPhone era.
And the filming of this next video occurred when the iPhone was in its infancy and hardwired keyboards were the norm. In this interview, an icon in the independent broadband world, the late Tim Owens, describes the challenges of reaching the Cell Phone Generation. Condolences to Tim’s husband and family regarding his recent and unexpected passing. There are some beautiful sentiments regarding Tim and his impact at this tribute location.
Some Tweets and Short Thoughts:
- This sounds like the type of personal electric transportation device that Brad Templeton has been arguing for and that would give people of all abilities mobility in virtually any road condition.
- On the surface, the Google-West Des Moines partnership seems like a good public-private partnership, but the economics aren’t clear. It appears that West Des Moines will effectively provide a minimum of $16 to $23 M subsidy for this project (assuming only a 20-year life cycle of the project and that other parties can use the conduits for the same price/terms as Google).
- And Shirley Bloomfield’s take on Google Fiber in West Des Moines, “For everyone going “gaga” over ?
@googlefiber building in Des Moines – here are some #RLEC stats that are way more impressive. 372 gig capable communities, 483 #FTTH communities, 236 school districts covered, and 526 healthcare facilities. The power of community-based #Fiber.”
The Korner – Vice Mayor Chappie Jones Talks Race, Hope and How He Found His Way to San Jose
To close out this issue of the Viodi View, we will hear directly from the Vice Mayor of San Jose, the nation’s 10th most populous city and the anchor city of Silicon Valley. After a career that included stints with telecom and tech giants, such as Pacific Bell, AT&T, Apple, Jones’ moved into the world of public service almost six-years ago, representing the part of San Jose that borders communities that have headquarters of the likes of Apple, Intel, and Nvidia.
Although this interview touches upon those experiences, the focus is on Chappie Jones’ life. Although this author feels a kinship to Jones because we are around the same age and shared common experiences (e.g. things like the moon landing), it is clear that his path and how others sometimes viewed him as he walked down that path are strikingly different at times. Thanks, San Jose Inside for publishing this unfiltered story of Chappie Jones.
Read and View Here (San Jose Inside)
