Kindly Login on Subscriber page to view all Technology Reviews and Analysis
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2025 served as a pivotal
platform for showcasing the latest advancements in technology, with artificial
intelligence (AI) taking center stage across various sectors.
CES 2025 highlighted AI’s evolution from a standalone category to a technology embedded in nearly every innovation. CES emphasized the transition from AI as a buzzword to AI as a foundational technology across industries.
A significant trend at CES 2025 was the rise of edge computing and decentralized AI.
CES also 2025 featured significant advancements in smart city technologies.
One important theme was how to harness the power of artificial intelligence without compromising on control or data security with data privacy being a critical Several security companies at CES demonstrated how on-premises AI can address critical needs in security and management without compromising on performance or data privacy
Among the notable participants, LatticeWork's brand VAISense made a significant impact with its innovative on-premises AI solutions, effectively aligning with several key trends that dominated the event. VAISense emerged as a noteworthy player in the on-premises AI space. VAISense’s presence at CES 2025 centered around informative presentations of their core products: VAISense Security, Track, and LPR (License Plate Recognition) management systems.
by Rob Longwell, Sr Technology Editor
_________________________________________
Securing
the Hospitality Industry
Hotels are vulnerable to cybercrimes through a variety of
avenues that break with the traditional physical security measures deployed
across the hospitality industry. Keeping guests and their assets — both
physical and digital — safe is paramount to preserving both the image and
financial security of hotels
Hotels need cybersecurity: Although they don’t have the
volume of transactions that big box retail stores do, their transactions tend
to be larger and guests have more at stake. The personal information hotels
store is only part of what’s at risk.
Hotel
Cybersecurity
Hospitality organizations need to understand their
vulnerabilities, as well as how to identify threats to their guests, property
and data. Below are four key areas hotel cybersecurity teams need to focus on.
1. Instill Security as a Cultural Norm
Hotel security is a standard practice, but the focus has
traditionally been around physical property. Guests rely on hotels to keep
themselves and their possessions safe during their stays. When they have
high-value items that need more protection than just the lock on their door,
they turn to the room safe or, in some cases, safes managed by hotel security
staff.
Guests may mistakenly assume the same level of protection
extends to the digital assets that reside on their laptops and
smartphones when they use hotel Wi-Fi connections. But hotels need to be
certain they are delivering a consistent level of security to guests and their
possessions, whether they are physical or digital.
2. Think Beyond the Credit Card
It’s obvious that all billing systems need to be secure
to protect guests’ personal and financial information. But with centrally
connected reservation systems, the exposure extends far beyond a single hotel’s
booking system.
Hotels need to think about multiple endpoints and the remote connections they rely on
to run the property’s operations. Electronic door locks, HVAC controls, alarms
and a full range of Internet of Things (IoT) devices can fall under the control
of cybercriminals aiming to disrupt normal operations.
Electronic door locks and other IOT devices can also be
considered and integral part of design and décor.
3. Be Smart About Responses
Cybercrimes happen, and they need to be reported
responsibly, but not all breaches need to be announced at the moment of
discovery. Hotel managers should notify their security teams at the corporate
level so that actions can be taken to protect related properties and their
guests.
Take advantage of cybersecurity professionals who
can identify sources of intrusion, assess the extent of the breach and
provide details of the compromised material. Announcements of the breach surely
need to be made quickly, but they should come after all the relevant
information has been gathered and verified. That way, customers and their data
can be properly advised and further exposures limited.
4. Don’t Sleep on Insider Threats
While malware and other sophisticated cybercriminal
schemes certainly represent a formidable threat, the majority of data breaches
are initiated by individuals within the organization. For example, an
employee might steal data to sell it on the black market, or destroy or corrupt
it for personal reasons.
More often, information is passed to criminals through
social engineering, a practice that involves gaining small amounts of
information over a period of time, generally from a variety of people within
the company. The criminals are then able to piece together the bits of
information to communicate with someone who might mistakenly divulge sensitive
or protected information. Hotel properties need to devote time and effort to
educating their staffs about these advanced threat techniques to protect their
guests and their own reputations.
5. Protecting the Cloud in Hotel Design
5. Protecting the Cloud in Hotel Design
Log in to our subscription site to read about specific methods to design cloud protection.
By Rob Longwell, Sr Technology Editor
-----------------------------
A home security system can lower your homeowner's insurance by 10
to 20 percent and decrease the likelihood of a burglary. Not only that, but
many modern systems include home automation features such as thermostat timers,
light switch regulation, and remote door locks that can all be operated from a
mobile device. Here are a few things to consider when looking for your ideal
home security system.
What Features are Important to
You?
Most packages will come with a
limited number of door and window sensors that will sound an alarm when
triggered. Depending on the size of your home, look into a more robust system
that features more sensors. Most companies will list what packages and features
are available on their website, so take a look at what they're offering and see
what's right for your budget. Home automation features like voice commands and
mobile apps are also becoming more accessible and popular, but beware that
there is almost always a higher price tag.
Does the System Have 24/7
Monitoring?
There are several home security
systems on the market that don't offer 24/7 professional monitoring. These are
usually do-it-yourself options that can alert you if a camera senses movement,
but won't alert the authorities if you've experienced a break-in. Choose a
company that offers 24/7 monitoring so remote certified professionals can
contact emergency personnel in the event of a break-in, fire, or carbon
monoxide leak. These systems are usually installed by a certified professional
but occasionally come as do-it-yourself packages as well.
What are Current or Past
Customers Saying?
At Best Company, we do our best
to research every company and give you the honest rundown regarding their
prices, services, and features. But the very best authorities when it comes to
customer service are current and past customers. These are the people that have
been on the front lines of doing business with the company you're considering.
Take the time to read their reviews and understand their firsthand experiences
before you sign on the dotted line.
Here are some
top rated security companies you can consider.
With an impressive array of free equipment, low monthly
fees, zero upfront costs, and a free moving option, Protect America is one of the most affordable home
security solutions on the market today. Protect America offers an attractive
lifetime warranty on its equipment, a full range of monitoring options, as well
as home automation features. However, if you are not interested in signing a
two-year contract (which can become expensive if you wish to cancel early),
Protect America may not be the best fit. However, consumers may feel more
comfortable signing a long-term contract after they read some of the Protect
America’s reviews (shown below). These reviews indicate that Protect America
beats out most of its competition in terms of value for price and customer
service and satisfaction.
Guardian Protection offers a solid home
security service, including a home protection guarantee and a free base
security system. Depending on the package, service will include more advanced
security features beyond the typical door and window sensors.
Founded in 2007, Frontpoint security
solutions is a nationwide do-it-yourself security option-with optional
professional installation services that can be added for an additional fee.
Frontpoint offers three packages ranging from $34.99 to $49.99/month, and all
equipment is wireless and monitored through a cellular signal. Customer
contracts are typically 12 or 36 months. According to a number of customer
reviews, Frontpoint's main competitive advantage is its exceptional customer
service. While equipment fees start at $99, they may reach as high as $449 if
you chose to upgrade packages. If you're comfortable with DIY installation and
paying for equipment upfront, Frontpoint is an excellent security option.
SafeStreets USA offers
a wide variety of plan options and doesn't charge for equipment, but the
36-month contract can be problematic for some, not to mention the cancellation
policy
Founded in 2006, SimpliSafe is a “do it yourself” home security
system company based out of Boston, Massachusetts. SimpliSafe’s goal is to
offer affordable, wireless, no-contract home security systems for average
individuals. The security company offers basic security features,
including burglar alarms, a panic button to notify police, fire detectors,
motion dectors, freeze sensors, flood sensors, and a wireless keypad.
SimpliSafe equipment can be ordered online and is customer-owned after
purchase. SimpliSafe is unique because its equipment is straightforward to
purchase and simple to install. The company provides several Simplisafe
packages to choose from. Customers of SimpliSafe get to take advantage some of
the most competitive monitoring prices in the industry.If you would
like the peace of mind that a home security system provides
without having to sign into a lengthy contract, SimpliSafe may be a good
option for you. With SimpliSafe, customers receive professional monitoring
services for a low monthly fee—$14.99, depending on the monitoring plan. While
the month-to-month fees are very affordable, SimpliSafe’s upfront equipment
costs, $200 to $500+, can be pricey
By Rob Longwell, Technology editor
January 2025
Connected
car's shines in emerging applications.
What can you actually do in a connected car?
October 4, 2024 by Rob Longwell
October 4, 2024 by Rob Longwell
A connected
car is a car that
is equipped with internet access, and usually also with a wireless local area
network. This allows the car to share internet access withother devices both inside as outside the
vehicle. Often, the car is also outfitted with special technologies that tap
into the internet access or wireless LAN and provide additional benefits to the
driver. Examples include: automatic notification of crashes and notification of
speeding,
What applications can you use in a connected car
today? AT&T (NYSE: T) CEO Randall Stephenson actually said his company thinks about the
connected car as "a big smartphone on wheels." He adds: "The connected car will become just as
routine as people carrying a smartphone."
While the industry segment is still evolving,
here are five emerging applications that consumers who own a connected car
could use.
Representatives from carriers, car makers, components suppliers and analyst firms agree that the market is on the verge of a boom. Indeed, according to research firm Analysys Mason, auto makers will ship around 11.5 million connected cars this year, but will grow that number to around 170 million in 2023.."One thing is for sure: We are on the precipice of almost all new cars coming off the shop floor with a SIM card pre-installed” analyst Morgan Mullooly said.
However, the connected
car, despite all the hype, is still a somewhat nebulous concept. Wireless
carriers have talked up the benefits of bringing cellular connectivity into the
car as if it were self-evident that consumers would not only find connected car
services useful but would be willing to pay for them. Yet there still has not
been a great deal of explanation of what a consumer can actually do in a
connected car environment.
Here we have reviewed the
most popular current uses cases and applications for the connected car as well
as what will be coming down the pike in the next few years. This list is
certainly not comprehensive, but does give an indication as to where the market
is heading. Please let us know what you think in the comments.
·
1
1
·
2
·
3
·
4
·
5
·
Safety and security - connected car
TOOLS
·
Comment
·
Print
Safety and security,
which has been the driver of connected car business models for years, remains a
critical application for both consumers and automakers. The most well-known
example is General Motors' OnStar service, which has been in place for 17 years
and now counts more than 6 million customers. The safety and security features
of the service include the ability to contact OnStar representatives for
emergency services, vehicle diagnostics and directions. The services also
provides the ability to track stolen vehicles, among other features. These
types of services do not take up a lot of resources on carriers' networks, but
provide customers with peace of mind.
 |
GM's RemoteLink allows drivers to unlock car doors with their
phone.
|
"They don't require
a lot of bandwidth," said Paul Hedtke, senior director of business
development for automotive at Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM). "But really what they drive is the need
for ubiquity [in network coverage]."
Nixon also talked about
GM's recently
introduced upgrade to its
OnStar RemoteLink app, which lets customers remotely unlock doors and start
their vehicles. The service will be on all OnStar-equipped 2014 Chevrolet,
Buick, GMC and Cadillac models, even if the customer decides not to pay for
other OnStar services.
Of course, all of the
players in the industry noted that any connected service must be implemented in
a way that won't distract drivers.
Chris Penrose, senior
vice president of AT&T's emerging devices unit, said enhancing driver
safety is a "resounding common theme." To that end, he said the
carrier isn't just looking at specific safety services but is instead concerned
with how connected car apps are architected so that they won't interfere with
motorists' attention. Penrose said that apps should be optimized for
touchscreen displays within cars to make them easily accessible, and that
voice-activated apps and services that provide spoken feedback will let drives
"keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel."
The Future of Android Messaging -- Will it ever catch up to iPhone?
WHEN TEXT MESSAGING and phones were simple, SMS worked
easily. You could send 160 characters to anyone with a cellphone, and
they’d receive it the same way they would a phone call. In the age of flip phones
and nine-key texting, that was all anyone needed. But when texting gave way to
group messaging, video calls, and (Sent with Fireworks), the SMS standard just
couldn’t keep up anymore.
And so users ran to solutions like WhatsApp, which grew huge audiences
on the back of one simple idea: it’s like texting, only better and free. Apple
built a huge devoted fanbase for iMessage by adding features right on top of
texting. SMS squandered its tremendous inherent advantage—it’s built into your
phone, so everyone has it—by steadfastly refusing to evolve.
It raises a fascinating hypothetical: if carriers had stopped charging for
texts and added in new tech like group chats and stickers, would the likes of
WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and GroupMe even exist?
Over the last couple of years, Google has been working with
hundreds of carriers and manufacturers around the world to bring the text
message into the 21st century. Using a standard called Rich Communications
Services, the group plans to make a texting app that comes with your phone and
is every bit as powerful as those dedicated messaging apps. This would make all
the best features available to everyone with an Android phone.
Oh, and the plan’s working. New carriers have been slowly
announcing RCS support over the last few months. Sprint, Rogers, Telenor, and
other global giants all bought in. Now Deutsche Telekom, Globe, and Orange are
on board, as is Vodafone on a limited basis. In all more than a billion
subscribers now have access to RCS messaging tools. If you’re building a
messaging app, those are pretty good user numbers.
Return to Sender
This adoption is a long, long time coming. The ideas behind RCS
date back as far as 2007. That’s when a group at the GSMA, the trade group
representing 800 or so carriers around the world, began to think about the
future of messaging. It imagined a new service, carried the same way cell data
is, that would enable voice calls, video and photo sharing, group chat, and
more. There would be no signing up, no usernames—it would be as simple and
ubiquitous as texting. GSMA CTO Alex Sinclair wrote in 2008 that RCS “will enable mobile
users to see at a glance whether their contacts are available to talk or
exchange instant messages, easily initiate chat sessions with a group of
friends or exchange pictures or videos during a voice call, regardless of which
device or network they are using.”
In retrospect, the GSMA’s proposal was dead right. But the
standard almost immediately devolved into a complicated morass of spin-offs, politicking,
and branding confusion.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It’s infected with bureaucracy, complexity, and irrelevance,” industry analyst
Dean Bubley wrote in 2015. He called RCS a zombie: dead,
but somehow still ambling around. “I meet virtually nobody in the industry who
thinks that RCS anything other than a joke,” he wrote, “apart from a couple of
tired-looking vendor representatives.”
Google sees it differently. For the company with seemingly
thousands of messaging platforms, each one with different features and
different audiences, RCS presents an opportunity. It could help Android compete
with WhatsApp and Facebook, as well as with Apple’s iMessage. iMessage is so
appealing because it’s so simple: you just send a message, the same way and in
the same app for everyone. It either sends with stickers and balloons to
another iPhone user, or gracefully reverts to a simple text message for
everyone else. The only difference is the bubble color. iMessage is one of the
best (and hardest to leave) features of iOS, a reason lots of people pick
iPhone in the first place. Google can’t simply build the same thing and force
its success: if it goes to carriers and demand they use it, they may just say no. Since manufacturers can customize Android to
their liking, Google has to woo them one by one as well.
Fortunately, Android’s marketshare is so large, particularly in
developing countries, that anything supported across all Android devices would
effectively be universal. If Google can convince everyone to play along, RCS
offers all the new-fangled features users want, with a fallback to SMS for
those who can’t use it. It could be effortless and foolproof. Just like
iMessage. Just like texting.
Sweet Talk
Google bought Jibe, a startup focused on this exact issue, in
2015. Jibe’s up-until-then CEO Amir Sarhangi was promptly placed in charge of
making RCS happen. The team worked with a new implementation of the GSMA
standard called Universal Profile, powered it with Google tech and integrated
it into the Messenger app. Then they started talking to carriers about
integrating the new tech. Ordinarily, Sarhangi says, a carrier has three or
more different vendors dedicated to making messaging work. “We walk in and say,
‘Mr. Carrier, we just need a couple of integration points with you around
authentication, and then it’s a matter of working with the product and
marketing teams to get ready for the launch.'” Convincing carriers to work with
them is much harder than actually implementing anything.
Many carriers see messaging as one of the three pillars of service
they provide, along with voice and data. They also see it as a place they can
differentiate. Sarhangi and his team’s challenge has been convincing those
carriers and manufacturers that messaging is not a place to try something new
and funky and exclusive. Everyone could roll out their own GSMA-approved
version of RCS, but that would likely lead to stagnation and fragmentation the
way SMS did. Google believes everyone has to use the same version of RCS for it
to work. “No single carrier can make this be a big hit,” Sarhangi says. “Even
if one carrier is completely devoted to it and launches it, they can’t move the
industry.”
App Factor
The Messenger app is the key to the whole equation, since it’s
where users will actually engage with all these new features along with the old
SMS and MMS messages. It’s no longer called Messenger, by the way—it’s now Android Messages. It’s very important to Google that
this app is seen as an Android thing, not a Google-specific thing. Google’s
working with mobile manufacturers around the world to pre-install Messages on
all their phones rather than let those companies build their own texting apps.
Google also recently put Messages in the Play Store, so it can be updated without
waiting for huge Android updates that often never come to existing phones. “On
older devices, we will continue to upgrade the experience to give people new
experiences,” Sarhangi says. Plus, this puts the onus for improvement on
Google, rather than the carriers. Which is probably good news.
It’s easy, and
probably right, to be skeptical of Google’s plans. Carriers are not notoriously
great at working together or producing innovative technology, and Google’s
track record in messaging is, well, bad. There are still lots of carriers not
on board with the RCS plan, and lots of versions of the standard floating
around. Google is a hugely powerful player in the mobile world, but it can’t
just snap its fingers and change things. In the US alone, one of the world’s
biggest SMS markets, it’s a mess: AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint all have
different ideas about how RCS should be implemented and supported, and Verizon
has no support for the platform at all. If this is going to work—and that’s a
real if—it’s going to take a while.
Still, for once it feels like Google’s on the right path in
messaging. More than 8 trillion SMS messages are sent every year, despite the
tech’s antiquity. Texting won’t die until something comes along that’s radically
better and just as painlessly universal. If Google, the carriers, and the
manufacturers can pull that off, messaging could be easy again. And this time,
we won’t have to remember how to type on numerical keypads.
Interop Technologies™, a specialist in advanced communication
networks and managed IP services, now holds severas U.S. patent on Rich Communication Services (RCS) technology.
. Interop’s RCS solution is part of CorePlusX℠, a complete IMS Core and IP
services suite that was designed to integrate and work with traditional and
advanced messaging, as well as with Voice over LTE (VoLTE), Voice over WiFi
(VoWiFi), and Voice over Data (VoDO). Each solution can be deployed
independently and in any order, and RCS can be deployed in a pre-IMS or full-IMS
environment.
Dr. Rob Longwell
May 5, 2017
MicroTokens Newest advance in Cybersecurity by Secure Cloud
By Dr. Rob Longwell
May 1, 2017Secure Cloud Systems, Inc. has developed unique, patent-pending software solutions that provide “ultra” cybersecurity for industrial controls and mission-critical national security applications. The Company has been awarded $19.5 million in Army research appropriations to secure autonomous vehicles and systems and is strategically positioned for military orders exceeding $200 million by 2020. SCS is similarly poised for significant commercial expansion in high-growth critical infrastructure sectors associated with the Internet of Things (IoT).
Technology
SCS has
developed a revolutionary approach to securing commands on distributed
connected systems. Instructions between
controllers and paired digital devices are conveyed as MicroTokens, or
command-level encrypted messages. Each
discrete command between a controller and a device is uniquely tokenized. The tokens are strongly secured through
various techniques and contain no actual data; proprietary information is never
transmitted or exposed to potential interception. Even if a breach were to
occur in a network where SCS protects command data, the tokenized data stream is
unrecognizable and impervious to so-called man-in-the-middle or malware attacks.
Numerous additional security measures
are employed: tokens can only be used
once and become instantly obsolete. Valid
tokens containing encrypted messages are hidden in flows of false “digital
chaff.” And randomized packet sizes,
time stamps and advanced hashing procedures assure the integrity of command
libraries and data transfer against manipulation and potential backdoors. SCS’s lightweight footprint can be deployed
on embedded systems such as microprocessors or as a software-only solution. Critically, SCS’s data-level and command-oriented
security solution is compatible with existing firewalls, identity management solutions,
network protocols and encryption algorithms.
It can be installed on a wide variety of systems, platforms and devices.
SCS has three patents pending thus far.
Defense
The U.S.
Army Tank Automotive Research and Engineering Center (TARDEC) has selected SCS to
provide a comprehensive security solution to enable autonomous operation of
heavy- and medium-weight battlefield transport vehicles. The company has been awarded a Research,
Development, Test and Engineering (RDT&E) appropriation of $5.54 million in
fiscal year 2016, with anticipated extensions of $7 million in FY17 and FY18,
for a program total of $19.54 million.
The RDT&E process is slated to achieve type approval known as
Technology Readiness Level 9 (TRL-9) in approximately 18-24 months. With final acceptance and testing, SCS and
its partners project equipping over 20,000 vehicles by 2020 with a target price
point of $12,500 per vehicle. The
five-year program is estimated to yield sales exceeding $200 million. With TRL-9 approval, our solution can be
incorporated on numerous additional platforms such as UAVs and remote weapons
systems, including for other military and government departments. SCS’s partner for TARDEC is PD Systems, one
of four DoD prime contractors on the $3.7 billion Army Technical Services 3 (TS3)
contract. Further, SCS has a teaming agreement
with MicroTech, a prime contractor for the $5.7
billion Air Force NETCENTS-2 contract, to pursue related opportunities.
Commercial
SCS’s commercialization
strategy focuses on high-value critical infrastructure sectors in which
national security and public safety are paramount. Management believes that its military
experience will create a “gold standard” for secure industrial applications,
and that corporate revenue opportunities will approach or outweigh the sizable
potential for defense. In addition to software licensing, in the commercial
sector we will introduce a SaaS business model to provide secure updates to
remotely connected devices. The
automotive sector is a leading priority where we expect to leverage our autonomous
military vehicle expertise and significant industry relationships. The electric utility power grid is highly
vulnerable to cyberattack and accounts for up to 40 percent of all commercial IoT
spending. Strong near-term potential also
exists in medical devices and smart city applications. Secure Cloud has begun strategic
conversations in each segment and will accelerate efforts post funding through
the acquisition of a senior business development team and articulation of the channel
partner strategy.
Revenue Potential
SCS recently received an RDT&E
contract from the Army totaling $19.54 million from March 2016
through October 2018. Potential revenues after successful completion
could reach over $320 million by 2020. Successful commercial applications have to potential to move revenues into the billions.
Futuristic Home Security Technology is Here Now
April 30, 2017
By Dr. Rob Longwell
The need for security is as old the history of man. But
recently some truly amazing hi-tech
sophisticated solutions have been developed
to guard our homes and business. Some of these devices even surpass 20th
century sci-fi fantasies.
Home security has been a growing industry for years. For the
past hundreds of years, standalone security has relied on mechanical devices
like padlocks and pin tumbler locks. In the 1700s, lock makers had to become
increasingly sophisticated because Criminals began learning the skill of
lock-picking.
What once was futuristic is now becoming common in home
security.
Early security systems involved bells on a
door or cans tied to a string that made a loud sound when a door was opened.
These were effective until someone figured out how easy they were to remove.
The predecessor of the security systems we know today came
about by tying a pair of wires to the localpolice station's
alarm panel via telephone lines. Ultimately, this system was updated and they
became the norm in households everywhere. Today, wireless security systems are
popular, easy to install and don't rely on a hard-wired phone line.
Security cameras took security to a whole new level.
Originally they were simply surveillance. When the video cassette came along,
surveillance cameras were adopted by businesses. Today, the Internet and
wireless devices have reduced the cost of materials and installation. As a
result, home security camera systems are no longer considered a luxury.
Early motion detectors that were part of alarm
systemhardware relied on sound waves to detect changes in an environment.
This meant regular household sounds like the swishing of a dishwasher or the
ca-chunk of a heater kicking on set it off and caused a lot of false alarms.
Infrared technology eventually replaced the ultrasound, and
now it's most commonly found in motion detector floodlights. Motion detectors
sense the presence of body heat and reward the intruders with a bright
spotlight in their eyes.
In science fiction retina
scans became a symbol of the future. Now that technology actually exists today,
even on common cell phones. It's called biometrics. In addition to your eyes,
it can scan your fingerprints or recognize your voice. Digital door locks with
integrated internet and cameras offer a an easy and affordable home security
option. Digital door locks can be opened with an electronic "smart
key" or a remote, or you can open them by typing numbers on a pin pad.
These locks are almost impossible to pick.
From door locks to digital entry, here are the top new
innovations in home security
Frontpoint
Frontpoint is one of the leading wireless home security system providers in the
nation. Let's take a look at Frontpoint's equipment and service and see how
they stack up against other home security options.
At the heart of the Frontpoint system is GE Security wireless equipment. There are a variety of
sensor types you can have with the system, including:
- Door sensors
- Window sensors
- Glass break sensors
- Smoke detectors
- Carbon monoxide detectors
- Motion detectors
- and more
Each of the wireless sensors communicates with the control
panel to create the secure area. The sensors are high-quality,
tamper-resistant, and difficult (if not impossible) to disable.
The control panel gets regular signals from the sensors.
Depending on the configuration of your system, you might have more than just
one control panel, but one is fairly common.
Monitoring and response
When the Frontpoint control panel gets a tripped alarm signal
from one of the sensors, it immediately sends a secure signal via the cellular
network to the monitoring center. That signal is encrypted, meaning that it's
almost impossible to disrupt it.
You have your choice of monitoring packages from Frontpoint.
There are monitoring plans for a number of contingencies, including burglar,
fire, and more.With the Interactive Monitoring plan, you can add another layer of
protection. The system can be configured to send you a text (SMS) message
whenever it detects a triggered alarm.
Frontpoint's alert system is fast. Many traditional home
security systems have a delay between the time the alarm is triggered and the
time they receive the signal. During that delay, a burglar could compromise the
system, preventing a singal from being sent.
With Frontpoint, a signal is sent every time a door is open when the
system is armed. It then gets a signal when you disarm, as well. If they don't
get the disarm signal, they know something is up.
Frontpoint will even work for a home that doesn't have a
landline for telephone service. It can use an all-cellular signal and VoIP
technology to keep your system humming right along.
Add in the remote access technologies that the system
offers, and you have some of the latest advances in home security. You can
actually view the real-time status of your home security system via a
smartphone app, giving you instant access to your home's information.
ADT
ADT seems determined to offer customers the greatest sense
of security and value possible. For over a century, ADT
has provided 24/7 coverage to all sorts of homes and businesses, completely
revolutionizing home security equipment in the process. Giving you up-to-the-minute status reportsand total control over your
security system with ADT Pulse, the company can offer security and comfort.
Vivint
Vivint is a relatively new name in the home security system marketplace,
but the solutions they provide have been around a while. Vivint used to be known as APX Alarm Security
Solutions, but in 2011 they decided to seek investment funding and expand their
home security business into the home control market. This has only enhanced
their position in home security.
Protection 1
Protection 1 offers home and business security systems
including intrusion detectors for homes and businesses; cellular backup allowing wireless signals when land
based phone lines are disabled or unavailable; and wireless security systems.
The company also offers LifeLock Identity Theft Protection, a variety of controls
and keypads for home security systems, wireless smoke detectors, and the
eSecure option that allows remote home security monitoring from smart phones or
computers
__________________________________________________________________
Advanced Integrated Cell Phone Technology eyed by Navy and GoDaddy
by Rob Longwell
December 22, 2016
Voxox's
Cloud Phone Service can provide a robust PBx type service for small
business and offices. It is also a low cost, high quality solution for
indivuals and international calling. The system allows for up to 10
telephone numbers to work as an extension for that single telephone
number. It also provides many other great features.
This story has been in the works for some time, but yesterday, it finally hit the major news wires, including the NY Times, ABC News, CNBC, Fox News, the Washington Times, and a handful of others.
For well over a year, Voxox has been touting its growing list of high-profile partnerships and strategic alliances.
Companies
like GoDaddy and Hewlett Packard are on that list, but now, another
entity joins the fray — one that few would have considered a likely
candidate: the United States Navy.
What
started as an experiment has now turned into a viable solution to a
major, albeit little talked-about, problem faced by naval personnel
serving both domestically and abroad.
Drunk driving.
An
American sailor has tapped Voxox's cloud-based technology for mobile
phones to make it easier to have volunteers take turns driving drunk
friends home, an initiative that has curtailed drunken driving among the
Navy ranks.
The effort, as stated in the NY Times,
tested at the Naval Sea Systems Command in Charleston, South Carolina,
from February, also has the potential to ease tensions on the
southwestern Japanese island of Okinawa, where most of the U.S. troops
in Japan are assigned.
Public outrage has flared on Okinawa because of the perception that the large military presence has led to more crime.
In
the past month, a civilian worker and a sailor at an Okinawa base were
arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after their cars crashed.
That followed an arrest of a former U.S. Marine, suspected of raping and killing a woman on Okinawa.
Petty
Officer Michael Daigle started his Saferide service, using San
Diego-based Voxox's Cloud Phone, which charges a small monthly fee for
complete phone service.
"It
has been very successful so far," and Daigle expressed hopes it will be
used throughout the Navy, including aircraft carriers that may dock at
various ports around the world, as well as overseas bases.
"In
the military, DUI tends to be a big issue mostly because it ruins your
career and so we end up losing a lot of sailors," he said in a telephone
interview Tuesday, using the acronym for "driving under the influence"
of alcohol.
Across the military, a person caught drinking and driving can get kicked out, he said.
The
technology works like a hotline, allowing intoxicated sailors to call a
single number, which has been set up digitally so that the call goes to
the various numbers of those sailors on standby who have volunteered
ahead of time to drive.
The
volunteers are rewarded by getting better parking spaces. Other perks
are being considered such as gift cards for gas, Daigle said. The system
allows for up to 10 telephone numbers to work as an extension for that
single telephone number.
Saferide
is handy for the Navy because sailors aren't allowed to have mobile
phones on the job. And so it has been hard for them to call up friends
or colleagues to pick them up from bars or other places after a night
drinking.
"The
Navy has discussed it on a higher level about potentially in the long
run considering implementing it Navy-wide, based on its success," said
Daigle.
Daigle
experimented previously with an outside taxi service, but that proved
difficult to monitor, and service members were misusing it for other
purposes, such as rides to airports.
The
problems in Japan caused the U.S. military on June 6 to ban off-base
drinking, but on Tuesday the U.S. Naval Forces Japan lifted the ban,
noting "the performance of sailors across Japan has been outstanding."
Drunken
driving is a serious problem, both in and outside the military, being
behind more than 10,000 crash fatalities a year in the U.S. and costing
nearly $50 billion in damages, according to the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration.
Daigle
said five or six drunken driving cases were found over the last year at
his naval command. Since Saferide started, there have been no cases.
Ron
Kinkade, vice president of marketing and product strategy at Voxox,
said Daigle was not a typical customer, which tends to be small
businesses, such as online sellers, consultants, realtors, marketing
services, and others needing an easy-to-manage cloud-based system to
connect remote employees.
To watch a video clip of the ABC News report, Click here.
The New Secure
Blackphone
If
you wish your smartphone had more security and privacy features, you might soon
be switching to the Blackphone, co-developed by secure communications provider
Silent Circle and hardware developer Geeksphone. Several thousand of the phones
were pre-ordered, according to the Blackphone's makers, and the phone is
already sold out.
Announced
this past January, the Blackphone will cost $629 USD and be available on a
number of service providers in the Americas and Europe. It has a number of
privacy and security features, including encrypted phone calls, texts and video
chats, a custom Android-based operating system and a Virtual Private Network to
anonymize users' Web traffic.
The
Blackphone is billed as a high-end smartphone that puts privacy and security
ahead of everything else.
The
Blackphone was created to address concerns over the National Security Agency's
widespread surveillance, as revealed by former NSA employee Edward Snowden. Its
privacy and security features also go a long way to protecting users from
cybercriminals and hackers.
The
phone has a 4.7-inch 720p screen, 16GB of storage, an 8-megapixel rear camera
and a 5-MP front camera. Google Play Android apps are compatible with its
custom Android-based operating system, PrivatOS.
The
encryption used on Blackphone is end-to-end, meaning that even when
communicating with less secure phones, users' content will be encrypted from
their own Blackphone to Silent Circle's servers.
But
even then Silent Circle can't read the messages sent through its servers,
because the keys that "lock" the encryption reside only on individual
Blackphones. This means that even if a government orders Silent Circle to
disclose any or all of its records, the company will only be able to hand over
encrypted and therefore unreadable data.
The
Blackphone comes with three one-year subscriptions to Silent Circle's encrypted
communications app that users can hand out to their friends. This is to ensure
that conversations are entirely encrypted between the communicating phones. The
price also includes a two-year subscription for encrypted cloud storage
provider SpiderOak, and two years of the Disconnect Secure Wireless VPN mobile
client.
NSA-Proof? I guess we will soon be finding out if the Blackphone is
truly NSA proof.
Many
VOIP fans claim Skype is equally secure, but that is not a direct cell phone
service.
By Dr.
Rob Longwell
________________________________________________________
Consumer demands for Privacy and Security lead to Innovative New Solutions Virtual Clouds and Communication Technology
New Emerging Communications technology has the
potential to completely disrupt the direction of virtual clouds. Technology is emerging that allows users to generate their own system of clouds and gateway the own
version of integrated-IT to front their Internet connection. This could completely change how
users work on the Internet with full-privacy and security – on their facilities
not on someone else’s.
Why Would Someone Change and actually pay for small Cloud technology?
Internet
security and privacy is of national importance and given worldwide attention.
But, much of the protection has been applied to securing/protecting the data
against theft during a transaction. However, the Internet has driven technology
to a new level if desiring personal “privacy” since the state of being free
from being observed or disturbed by other people is wide-open through the
Internet.
The
need for personal Internet security is also needed to maintain the state of
being free from danger or threat. Users
need to have a degree of resistance to or protection from harm as it applies to
any vulnerable and valuable physical asset which includes the asset of their character
and reputation. For this level of protection users require resident IT with a
system of multiple modes of localized integrated IT to front their broadband
connection. Here are some of the warnings from industry experts-
§ Apple
co-founder Wozniak sees trouble in the cloud…“ I
really worry about everything going to the cloud," he said. "I think
it's going to be horrendous. I think there are going to be a lot of horrible
problems in the next five years." - …By Robert MacPherson | AFP – Sun, 5 Aug, 2012 –
§ Facebook
co-founder Saverin worried about privacy on Facebook… ” I don’t like showing my privacy,” - By Fox News | Published May 29, 2012 –
§ The
Wall Street Journal reports….The National
Security Agency's surveillance network has the capacity to spy on 75 %t of all
U.S. Internet traffic, ….By Fox News / Reported August
21, 2013-
What is the Technology?
What Products?
The
proprietary technology is a simplified system of integrated multi-hosts—registered
as IT-in-a-Box®. It provides a powerful IT system – not a system of virtual services
– each addressing a single IT function at another gateway. The IT-in-a-Box
appliances produce end-points (“clients”) that work as hosts to protect privacy
and security on powerful local “virtual machines”. Our IT-in-a-Box® appliances
provide a local gateway instead of relying on remote cloud services– which divides
down cloud-sessions/links for services on an offsite gateway.
This technology upgrades clients to system of servers/specific hosts - at
the end-point. The integration/application applies IT-in-a-Box to specific
market segments...
- Small Busniess, Home and Family use
- Virtual Machine
- Point of Sale
- Sales, CRM
Specific application can be developed for doctor office/hospital, lawyer home/office,
agent/real estate office, etc.
agent/real estate office, etc.
The potential market is approaching 1 billion potential clients. The full market reach is possible under software licensing and through building strategic relationships for bundling and branding appliances – fully expanding sales/distribution with other resources.
Where is the Competition?
They are in systems of cloud services with
their own software offering –building business with virtual connections. Netmaz acquired the last system appliance development – continued after Sun
Microsystems ended their romance with multiple host-integrated small appliances
after acquiring the Cobalt Cube for $16 billion @ 200:1+ on sales of $60
million. The appliance hardware for these clients is made up from routers/modems
and a few single end-point private sharing devices that work through on
addressable IPs from routers.
By Dr. Rob Taylor
_______________________________________________________
ipCLOUD INTERNET PRIVACY APPLIANCE
secure transport and hosts private access of files, mail,
social networking and more…
Pensacola, Florida, --- August 25, 2014 – Netmax Communications today has launched its campaign to raise public funding for advancing its proprietary Core Vista operating system “OS” technology into a consumer hosting appliance for full “internet privacy (ip)”. Netmax clouds include the integration of multiple Information Technology (“IT”) servers simplified for home/small business use. It’s a cloud system with facilities. Through its web interface it supports local users on site in their LAN, and provides them the ultimate level of security/privacy for mobile users operating off-site. The system is designed to provide personal privacy protection unavailable with commercial broadband routers and cloud services.
iPCloud can deliver private modes for web surfing, email, social networking, file sharing, secure remote access and voice over internet.
Unlike online and cloud storage providers, the more services you require, the more you pay, and most have restrictions on how they handle data including the size and type of files you can store. There is a real cost in holding these files for immediate/future use. With ipCLOUD, you own/control the data storage which you can share “by invitation” and control how and who uses them. The access and hosted sign-in is at no cost –you can access/share thousands of files “privately” of any size or type with yourself or anyone else. Your files are stored in ipCLOUD, and under your control. In the “super-ipCLOUD appliance” all networking operations are brought to the highest-level of networking imagined under a Virtual Machine (“VM”) – delivering virtual “in-your-home” or “in-the-office” networking on the LAN and through the Internet.
The planned ipCLOUD system is headless (no video) with network browser control for configuring across a local network or accessing remotely. It operates quietly and fanlessly. ipCLOUD is housed in a small plastic case with several LEDs for status, and stands upright on a pedestal base, very attractive in the home or office – without requiring an equipment room for the installation. There are storage expansion options for central storage.
Several Perks are being offered to supporters of iCLOUD, through Indiegogo. For a limited time the Classic IT-in-a-Box® is being offered. This appliance bundled into Techie Perks, and gifted for Silver through Platinum level contributions. This system provides “do-it-yourself IT” capability: “Learn Classic IT using the Techie Bundles: Build IT knowhow with the Award Winning IT-in-a-Box appliance. Disrupt “techie’s” control of IT. Educate yourself with IT hosts/modes. Setup your IT-center at home or in your small office”.
ipCLOUD on Indiegogo is scheduled for 60 days – starting March 5, 2014. A new flagship website on “consumer internet privacy” www.iwantiprivacy.com supports the project and is immediately available for review…
By Dr. R. Taylor Longwell
Bars & Nightclubs Reduce
Costs with Keg Wine
Restaurants
and bars reduce costs with wine on tap
More and
more bars and nightclubs are serving wine from kegs instead of uncorking
traditional glass bottles. Keg wine reduces time, waste, and costs associated
with bottling, packaging, delivering, and storing wine. Keg packaging
eliminates bottle shock and glass recycling, reduces labor costs, and minimizes
the wine wastage involved with corked bottles and stale wine. Kegs preserve
freshness and speed up serving time. Kegs can also be attractive and unique. Even
better, the cost savings is not at the expense of quality; many of these keg
wines are surprisingly good. Often a keg wine may even taste better than the
same wine in a bottle that has been opened and stored.
More
and more restaurants and bars, especially in California and New York, are
putting kegs of wine behind their bars, pouring wines by the glass from a tap. Wineries,
restaurants, bars and consumers alike discover that the wines are good and well
preserved. There are economic and
environmental benefits to kegs. Even some Whole Foods now sell wine in mini-kegs.
What
you can get on tap varies widely, as do bottles, but there are some very good
wines being poured from kegs, including Saintsbury Chardonnay Carneros 2009 (86
Wine Spectator points), Miner Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2008 (85 points)
and Clif Family Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley 2009 (86 points). It’s also popular
for restaurants and bars to contract for house blends—separate keg brands avoid
potential conflicts with a winery's distributor who can more easily wholesale
excess inventories in private label kegs without conflicting with its retail
brands.
Why would anyone want wine on draft? The main
benefits for consumers is freshness and cost savings. In a standard wine-by-the
glass program, restaurants often keep an opened bottle around for hours or
days, increasing oxidation. Better venues discard bottles after a day, or use
storage systems to keep the wine fresh. But that's not a concern with kegs,
thus allowing the bar owner to pass savings on to the customer. Draft wine
comes in stainless steel kegs, connected to the taps by plastic tubing
containing inert gas that pushes wine through the lines. This inert gas also
protects the wines from oxidation by keeping the air out. Bypassing the bottle altogether
not only eliminates bottleing costs but also eliminate concerns about bottle
variation, bottle shock and faulty corks.
Kegs cut down on waste and costs. Bottles, corks,
cartons, labels and capsules can add up to $2 to $3 per bottle. Kegs are
reusable, which is more environmentally friendly than glass recycling. Wine in
kegs weigh less than an equivalent amount of wine in bottles, which reduces
transportation costs. Because of that, many keg wines are sold at a discount by
as much as 25 percent off of the wholesale bottle price, discounts which are
passed on to the consumer.
With kegs, restaurants can more easily sell wine in
different sizes, giving consumers more options, from small, taste-size pours to
liter-sized carafe servings. Breakage is not a concern, and kegs take up less
space than cases of wine—a typical keg holds the equivalent of 26 bottles.
Keg wine is not a new idea. The containers are
often used to store wines in wineries before bottling, and in Europe it's not
uncommon to serve wine directly from kegs or casks.
Keg wine is starting to appeal to a younger
demographic who are open to trying new tastes and presentations. Another reason wine on tap is growing is
because people are figuring out how to do it right so that the wine you order
on tap is going to taste fresh, whether it's the first glass or the last out of
the barrel.
The Kegs,
Installation and Maintenance.
The most commonly used kegs
are stainless steel. They are usually filled directly from the blending tank
at the winery and immediately sealed under
pressure using inert gas to prevents oxidation and spoilage. The wine will
remain fresh for six months or longer as long as it remains under pressure.
Proper washing, filling and sanitizing technology
is now widely available. Inert gas to can clean and sanitize kegs as well as
the dispensing tube inside the keg.. Inert gases like nitrogen and argon
protect the wine from oxidizing. But wine on tap
also needs small amounts of carbon dioxide, like that produced in a bottle, to help
a wine's aromatic and fresh qualities. This is similar to what is used when
Guinness is poured on tap. Once the proper equipment is installed and staff is
trained, the system can be relatively maintenance free.
Cost
Savings
Kegging mean less packaging and production costs (labels, corks,
bottles, bottling, boxes, storage) and easy low-cost recycling. Those savings can
be shared between the owner and the customer. The keg system preserves
freshness, reduces variability and helps guarantee. The overall savings can
result in more than 25% savings over bottled wine.
While keg wines offer quality, value and green
values, they will not replace bottle wine for table service and high quality.
But a wine-by-the-glass program can be simplified and improved by serving wines
on tap, and wine lovers are embracing the idea.
by R. Taylor Longwell
Necomimi Cat Ears Invade Los Angeles on
Night of Launch Party
Night of Launch Party
Guests sported the latest trend in electronic fashion, brainwave monitoring cat ears, at Necomimi’s L.A Launch Party at the exclusive SoHo House in West Hollywood on July 20.
by Nicole Galasso.
(Los Angeles, California) – Guests at the recent Necomimi Launch Party at SoHo House in West Hollywood sparked conversation by wearing the brainwave monitoring headsets all night, some even leaving to attend other events with the ears still in motion.
On July 20, partygoers were fascinated by the headsets, which move according to the user’s brainwave patterns and emotions. Ears perk up when the wearer is alert, droop down when the user is relaxed and wiggle up and down when the user is “in the zone.” Those in attendance were also able to speak with members of the Necomimi team, David Westendorf, Vice President of Marketing, and Stanley Yang, CEO, who explained the technology behind the headsets.
Necomimi first became popular within the anime and costume communities in Japan because of a viral YouTube video by Neurowear, a fashion electronics company. Since then, audiences have been eagerly awaiting the US launch. To view the YouTube video and see how Necomimi works, please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=w06zvM2x_lw.
Necomimi is great for parties, tailgating at sporting events, bachelorette parties and can be used anytime to entertain friends and family. The product became available for $99.95 beginning July 12th through select authorized resellers, retail partners and on www.necomimi.com. Necomimi is available for guests to try free of charge at the Hotel Casa del Mar in Santa Monica.
)
)
)
)
)
See a video of this technology in action at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w06zvM2x_lw&feature&noredirect=1
How To Change Your Facebook Email Address Back to Your Own Email, Not Facebook’s
Tech Tip
-
You may have heard that Facebook recently made a change to the default email address they display on members’ “About” info-pages. By default, most (if not all) users of Facebook now show a Facebook email addresson their “About” page - one that ends in facebook.com.
While it is nice to know I have a facebook email address, should I ever want to use it, I have a gmail address that I use daily and give out to all as my main address. That gmail address used to be shown as my email address on Facebook, but when I went to my About page today it showed the facebook.com email instead!
What people are up in arms about is the lack of warning about this change. Facebook has done this before, changing stuff without telling its users. I never saw a warning that this email change was about to happen, and it appears that others are in the same boat. Fortunately, I learned about the change while listening to podcasts and reading tech websites.
But there is good news: it is very easy to change your default email back to the way it was on Facebook. Here’s how:
STEP 1
Go to your ABOUT page on Facebook.
There is a link to it on your main page.
STEP 2
Scroll down to the box titled CONTACT INFO.
You will see your email (what is currently displayed) inside that box.
STEP 3
Click EDIT.
STEP 4
In the area marked EMAILS, click on the far right down-arrow next to the Facebook email address, and select the option “HIDDEN FROM TIMELINE”.
For the email you do want to show, select the option “SHOWN ON TIMELINE”.
Scroll down and click the SAVE button.
For most people, that’s it! Done.
If the email you want to show is not there (that is, you don’t see it as a stored email address yet), just click the ADD link, and make sure you select “SHOWN ON TIMELINE” for it.
Note that there is also an option that lets you decide WHO sees your email; you don’t have to let everyone in the world see your email address, unless you want that. You have the power to just let Friends see it, or the entire Public, or Close Friends, etc.
-
So, to sum up: Facebook made a change, and they didn’t clearly warn people upfront, but it is really easy to change things back to how they were before. Now, people on Facebook just need to KNOW about this! Please spread the word.
Animation Techniques in ParaNorman
By: Dr. Rob Taylor, journalist
Animated movies attract
many people and gain more popularity than ordinary movies. The principal reason
is their ability to take us to a world of fantasy. We see the manifestation of
our fantasies in animated movies and hence we are attracted more to those
movies. The pleasing characters and their pleasing movements appeal more than
real characters do. Animated movies are loved by people of all age groups.
Making an animated movie is a painstaking experience and hence needs a longer
time than the time needed for making ordinary movies. A small error in any part
could become a serious flaw and affect the movie badly. There are a lot of
complex things happening behind the screen in the process of production of
animated movies or shows. Let’s know about some of the animation techniques.
Stop-motion
Stop-motion
Stop-motion is a kind of animation in which each move of the show is photographed. Every minor movement of the characters is photographed separately. These photographs are strung together in order to make the tiny movements appear as actions. It is a time consuming process as the toys and other puppets have to be arranged in a different way for each movement and photographed. Though it is called as the simplest form of animation, it is a complex process which needs more accuracy and attention. A few movies made using this technique are Fantastic Mr. Fox, ParaNorman, and Frankenweenie.
Cutout and Collage Animation
Cutout and Collage Animation is the kind of animation in which the pictures are cut out from magazines or newspapers. The pictures are then arranged as a scene and each movement is reflected by rearranging the pictures in the required way. Some characters, the background, and some things are drawn out. This is similar to the stop-motion technique, the only difference being the usage of collage techniques to prepare the set. The photographs for each movement are arranged and the animation is produced.
Rotoscoping
The next technique is rotoscoping. It is used to capture realistic movements of people in order to reflect real human movements. Usually there are no lip movements shown in this technique. The movement of arms and legs are the major focus. Some of the movies produced using this technique are American Pop, All Dogs Go to Heaven, Fantasia, Fire & Ice, Cinderella, Flashbeagle, and more.
Cel Animation
This is the kind of animation technique that is used to make cartoons. Cel is a special kind of transparent paper used to draw animation. It is a time consuming process and a greater degree of concentration is needed than for the other techniques. A dope sheet is created to keep track of the frames to be arranged in a particular order. The animation frames are drawn and streamed together to generate actions. Every artist draws a part of the frame and frames are created for different miniscule movements of the characters. Each frame thus drawn is photographed in the order according to the dope sheet and the photographs are streamed.
Computer Generated Imagery
This is a 3D form of animation and is gaining more popularity lately. This technique is not only used for making a whole film but also for small effects in other types of films. There are various types of software applications available to create a 3D animation. These applications have made it so easy that anyone can make an animated film or show at home. Shaders, modeling techniques, and textures are also used to give a realistic look to the scenes. Some movies produced using this technique are Toy Story, Up, Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, and The Incredibles, among others.
Top Tools for Streaming and
Broadcasting Internet Video
By Dr, Rob Longwell
This year millions of Americans have joined the trend to tune their
computers and other unique electronic devices to watch what used to be content
that belonged to exclusively to television broadcast. Why did these Americans
turn to the internet instead of their broadcast providers?
The answer lies in streaming video. Streaming video is fast
growing Internet technology that allows nearly anyone to broadcast video to a
worldwide audience. Newer dual core processors in computers and inexpensive
streaming devices coupled with the availability of improved broadband have made
streaming popular with an ever widening audience. The ability of almost anyone
to produce and broadcast video content has created an explosion in both short
and long entertainment as well as educational content. Another reason is to
save money. Cable service averages $50 to $100 per month while internet
streaming can be free or $8 to $15 per month with subscriptions to a growing
number of streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Vudo, Blockbuster and
Pandora.
A variety of new hardware is available that allows consumer to
stream directly to their televisions in both Analog and digital formats. Google TV, Apple TV, The Roku Streaming Meda
Player and The Boxee Box By D-Link are currently the leading electronic devices
that provide both wired and wireless streaming to a variety of televisons.
Broadcasting devices such as the sling box also play an interesting role in
this electronic viewing revolution.
For the majority of people who don't have the high-speed Internet
connection needed to serve streamed video, many companies will serve your video
for you. You may not get the huge audience that popular movies and TV shows
draw, but with streaming video, it's possible for just about any home
videographer to set up a virtual home broadcasting studio to make videos
available to the world without having to deal with broadcasters, public
television stations or the FCC. In short, it's a wonderful opportunity for
video to become more democratized than it ever has been in the past.
For example, YouTube allows anyone to Broadcast their own videos. 48
hours of video are uploaded every minute, resulting in nearly 8 years of
content uploaded every day. Hundreds of millions of users from around the world
view this content. YouTube also broadcasts
7,000 hours of long-form content on, including thousands of short films and
television episodes and hundreds of full-length movies.
The rights to broadcast are also dispute. The traditional
broadcast channels to do want to lose viewers so they play along with internet
streaming partially, often offering only limited content, while the cable
providers argue that the broadcast rights should require a cable subscription.
Go figure this logic. But is is possible the cable services could prevail through
bizarre legislation or pressure on the content providers channels to slow the transition.
In this article, we will evaluate which streaming video products you
may prefer and what technologies can provide the content you want and why. You
can use this information to help decide what type of streaming software will
best fit your needs. Along the way we'll look at the streaming video
marketplace--companies that currently make the technology available, and some
of the features of each. In this way, we hope to assist you in using this new
technology to reach a wider audience than you ever thought possible.
Technical Issues
Before we get started, let's cover a few basics of streaming video
technology as it exists today. Right now, if you have Internet access, you can
easily download a variety of plug-ins for your Web browser that allow you to
play streamed video on your computer. Most of them are absolutely free, and
require no technical expertise beyond the ability to download and install a
program on your computer. Once you install the software, you're ready to sample
a few streaming video sites. Almost every broadcast channel (CNN, ABC, Fox,
CBS, NBC) offer downloadable viewers. (See the Sidebar for links to viewers).
As you surf the Web, you will notice that different sites use
different types of streaming video technology. Some make use of RealNetworks'
RealMedia software, while others use Xing StreamWorks or Microsoft NetShow
software. This is because streaming video is a relatively new concept. Just as
home video technology had its Beta/VHS and different DVD format wars, streaming
video technology has yet to settle on a single standard for Internet video
transmission. The issues of limiting downloads, copying and copyright
infringement also affect the selection of the electronic technology.
After you've viewed several streaming videos on the Web, you'll
note that the technology is far from mature. Small screen sizes and low frame
rates still plague the software for many users. Many of the people interviewed
for this article expressed frustration with the existing data transfer speeds
of the Internet. As the internet speed increases, viewers expernience
smoother-playing videos with better-sounding audio.
Current, the main products available for serving streaming video
to audiences are Vivo Software's VivoActive, Microsoft's NetShow, Xing
Technology's StreamWorks and RealNetworks' RealMedia with RealMedia and NetShow
being the dominant players. For most videographers, setting up and maintaining
a highly-technical Web server capable of streaming video would be an expensive
and time-consuming task. Luckily, there are companies that specialize in
providing hosting services for streamed video. If you have a Web site, your ISP
may already support one of the streaming formats.
Server? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Server
As we just mentioned, streaming video works best if you use a computer that is especially set up to serve video. They call this computer a streaming server. It is usually a separate computer than the Web server computer, because transmitting the video can require a serious amount of computer horsepower, and a streaming server can take advantage of more methods of transmitting information over the Internet (called protocols) than a Web server. However, if you don't plan to have a large number of viewers, you can stream video from a regular Web server.
Programs such as VivoActive VideoNow and Geo Interactive Emblaze
VideoPro, in fact, do not even use a streaming server. Emblaze VideoPro doesn't
even use a player, it automatically loads one using Java when a viewer starts a
video.
VideoNow works on any Web server using the HTTP (Hyper Text
Transport Protocol) protocol that the Web uses. This means that you can simply
add your VideoNow files into your Web site. This method has some drawbacks in
terms of playback quality and number of users that it can serve; nevertheless it's
the easiest way for anybody with a Web site to stream audio and video to the
world.
RealNetworks, the makers of RealMedia, acquired Vivo Software a
few years ago. The two products are distinct, with VideoNow being an
entry-level serverless product, and RealMedia offering a professional-level
multiple-viewer product. RealNetworks Inc also operates the Rhapsody music
streaming service.
Streaming MPEGs
One of the first companies to offer a streaming media solution for the Web was Xing Technology. Xing Technology's early success in the field of MPEG video and audio encoding led to the development of StreamWorks. Unlike most streaming applications, which require you to convert your video from a QuickTime, MPEG or Video for Windows file into a proprietary streaming format (such as Microsoft's Advanced Streaming Format, or RealNetwork's RealMedia Format), StreamWorks streams MPEGs. StreamWorks supports MPEG-1 video, MPEG-1 Layer 3 audio (.MP3s) and MPEG-2 audio.
To get an idea of how the StreamWorks software operates in
practice, we spoke with some of the techies at Internetwork Broadcasting (www.internetwork.com),
a company that helps corporations, organizations and individuals place their
streaming audio and video programming onto the Internet. Current clients of
Internetwork Broadcasting include the College Radio Network (an all-audio
offering) and Junior Dub's Irie Reggae page, which regularly streams live
reggae events to the world. On the whole, Internetwork's employees reported
that Xing's StreamWorks Live software is easy to use, and provides a
high-quality stream--especially in the audio realm.
Xing uses a pricing structure based on the number of people you
want to be able to serve at one time. Xing's StreamWorks Live costs $3,000 per
50-seat license (or 50 simultaneous users). For each additional 50 seats, Xing
charges an additional $1,500. This pricing structure is reflective of the
company's current marketing goals: corporate and educational intranets. The
production of streaming video files for Web or intranet delivery via
StreamWorks is very simple and inexpensive. To use the StreamWorks encoder, you
need to convert your existing QuickTime or Video for Windows files into an
MPEG-compressed file. This can be done using Xing's MPEG Encoder or any of the
other MPEG encoders available on the market. If you plan to stream video, and
don't want to have to deal with converting your video into a non-MPEG format,
finding a Streaming Video Provider that uses StreamWorks could be your best
bet.
Competion Between The Players
Since the introduction of streaming video, many things have changed in the market. The most obvious change is in the corporate playing field. While two years ago there were 10-15 companies with streaming software, that number dwindled through corporate buyouts. Microsoft bought Vosaic, and RealNetworks, at the time known as Progressive Networks, bought VivoActive. VDOLive, the first company to offer streaming of live events shifted focus to videoconferencing, while other companies failed to gain enough users to gather a foothold in the market.
RealNetworks' grouped together their highly successful RealVideo
and RealAudio streaming technologies under the single name of RealMedia. Now, a
series of corporate partnerships and power-plays has helped place RealNetworks
in the forefront among streaming video software companies..
RealNetworks offers a variety of products--from the free
RealPlayer browser plug-in, to a full line of RealSystem G2 server software
packages. To get started right away learning how to stream video or audio,
RealNetworks offers their Basic Server and RealProducer Encoder software as
free downloads from their Web site. The Basic Server can handle up to 25
streams of RealAudio and/or RealVideo. Upgrading to the Basic Server Plus
($695) increases the number of available streams to 40, and includes several
software enhancements. The Basic Server Plus includes RealProducer Plus, a
content creation and publishing application. The Basic Server Plus also offers
optional support for RealFlash animations for an additional fee.
RealNetworks also offers a number of pre-configured software
solutions for a variety of specific streaming media applications: the Classroom
Solution, the Intranet Server, the Hosting Solution and the Commerce Solution.
(Prices for these applications vary widely, from $1,895 for the Classroom
Solution to $21,595 for the full-blown Internet Solution, which includes
support for up to 400 simultaneous streams.)
On the content-creation side, RealNetworks offers RealProducer
Plus G2 software ($150). This software incorporates scalable data rates and
encoding for a wide variety of file types (including real-time sources as well
as .AVI, .WAV, .MOV, .QT, .AU, and .MPG files). This software also includes the
ability to create animation, video or audio content fully embedded in the HTML
code. This allows for the triggering of HTML commands as the video or audio
content streams--including the display of new pictures and text information at
specific times.
According to Jo Sager of JamTV, one of the most appealing aspects
of RealNetworks' software is accessibility. In her words, "It is fairly
user friendly, and can be learned quickly and easily by just about
anybody." Jo also had the following advice for those who are thinking of
going the streaming-video route, "Experiment with all the tools and
gadgets out there to see what works best for you. Also, don't forget to test,
test, test." JamTV is a hip
music/streaming video site (www.jamtv.com)
which offers a wide variety of streaming audio and video content, as well as
music and entertainment news, tour dates, live webcasts and other information
for the music enthusiast..
Of course, any great change in the Web-based digital media
creation and delivery marketplace must include the world's biggest software
production company--Microsoft. Their creation and promotion of Advanced
Streaming Format (.ASF), a single standard streaming-media file format, has
become a significant part of the recent Microsoft anti-trust lawsuits. The fact
that Microsoft offers the tools to create .ASF files from existing audio or
video content as a part of its free Windows Media Player software has gotten
plenty of media-creation software companies up in arms. To further the debate,
Microsoft also offers NetShow Services as a free upgrade for owners of Windows Server,
thus enabling anyone with a video capture card and a capable server to create
and stream NetShow content for free.
NetShow Tools includes additional tools for encoding .asf files
and creating scripts for embedded HTML commands. Also available for purchase
from Microsoft is the Netshow Theater Server, which allows broadcasting of
high-quality MPEG and MPEG-2 content over a high-bandwidth network. The
potential applications include education, video-on-demand for hotels and
airlines, and corporate intranets.
If you have access to the video-capture and server technology you
need, it's possible for you to create your own streaming video files for little
or no initial investment. So get out there and start building your own
streaming video programs today while the open market completion makes this both
affordable and possible.
Microsoft Kinect for Xbox 360 at E3
Kinect is a truly creative breakthrough that replaces the
conventional Xbox controls with your live hands, body and voice! Formerly Known
as Project Natal, the Kinect non-controller was released on the eve of the
Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles (E3) with a dazzling Cirque du
Soleil performance that exhibited the sense of new found freedom and unlimited
connectivity in a 360 wireless world. As said about being controller-free so
poetically in the show: might the next object (in our evolutionary path) be the
absence of an object?
The Kinect night-vision style sensor plugs into any Xbox
360, turning the Xobx experience into a kind of superhero with X-ray vision.
Kinect contains a camera, audio sensors, and infrared type motion-sensors that
track 48 points of movement on the human body. Amazingly, it can recognize and
remember face structures and voices. The little box can follow you around the
area and tranlate your voice and motion commands into activities that range
from live-action games to music, video, photos, chats and social interactive
websites. As you interact and move around on the WWW, Kinect can follow you
with full-motion tracking of the human body at 30 frames per second. It isnt
affected by what a user is wearing or what type of furniture is around.
The Kinect presentation creates a sense of awe. One is
struck with the idea that this is a turning point in the gaming industry, a
milestone in entertainment history.
With Kinect, you are the controller…You simply step in front
of the sensor and Kinect sees you move, hears your voice and recognizes your
face said Mike Delman, corporate vice president of Global Marketing for the
Interactive Entertainment Business.
Hollywood stars, VIPs, and media from around the world
gathered at LAs Galen Center to witness the unveiling. This 45-minute
experience, which Cirque du Soleil spent five months developing and producing,
was presented Sunday night, with an encore performance set for Monday. Along
with a 76-person cast of dancers, musicians, acrobats, and clowns, show goers
were surrounded by an awesome setup featuring 25-foot-high projection screens
totaling more than a football field in length, a gigantic 9-foot-tall elephant
puppet housing projection screens and two artists, and a 40-foot-diameter steel
structure that rotates on its axis. The experience is designed to generate a
sense of connection and togetherness, interactive, imaginative and socially inclusive.
You can see the event broadcast in a 30-minute, special
broadcast on MTV on Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 3:30 pm ET, and on Nick at Nite,
mtvU, MTV Hits, and Logo at 9 pm ET.
Kinect for Xbox 360, with roaring rapids, wild tigers,
mountainous obstacle courses, and zooming racecars will be available November
4, in time for the holiday season.
The E3 Expo starts this week, and much more Xbox/Kinect news
is expected to come out of that. More details will be here at Real Star News.
Adobe Max awards
Adobe presented its greatest new breakthroughs at the Max
awards. Top winners ranged from
extremely helpful improvements for programming formats, called Typography, to
search features that can seach audio-video files for specific scences that
contain, say, kisses or female voices.
Breakthroughs in Photoshop can instantly convert drap photos
to professional shots based on classical themes. They say photoshop now even convert blurry
photos from shakey cameras into clear crisp images. The conversion shown here is faked to show
the effect. But can Photoshop bring
stautes to live? It would seem so at the
afterparty.
Latest Adobe AIR for Mobile Devices Supports NFC with 3 plug-ins
by Dr. Rob Longwell
Adobe recently released a new version of
Adobe Air that provides a way for developers to add support for technologies
such as NFC (Near Area Communication).
Air is a superset of Flash and is designed to allow developers to build
standalone client applications that can be run on multiple platforms, including
mobile and tablet operating systems
Developers will have
exciting opportunities building Adobe AIR applications for cellular devices
that integrate Near Area Communication sensors. AIR version 3
now permits software programs access to hardware data like vibration
management, magnetometers, light sensors and NFC.
The API will certainly
lead to some exciting capabilities. Picture all the accessibility and elegance
of Adobe AIR, blended with the true-globe spot and frictionless information
transfer capabilities of NFC.
Adobe has already published five native
extensions for iOS and Android devices, allowing access to gyroscope data,
battery level information and other device features. Ultimately, the company
sees the technology allowing developers to create plug-ins to "tap into
unique software and hardware capabilities including access to device data, vibration
control, magnetometers, light sensors, dual screens, near field communications
and more."
E3 Expo in Verse
The screens have been turned off, the banners rolled up, and the booth babes have showered. Indeed, E3 has come to a close. What better time to take a lighter look at the press conferences that were.
Here’s how the Microsoft E3 2012 Media Briefing went down:
There will be a game called Halo 4,
A franchise with fans that adore.
Multiple visors this time,
Looks like Metroid Prime
But what was all that FMV for?
A franchise with fans that adore.
Multiple visors this time,
Looks like Metroid Prime
But what was all that FMV for?
Tom Clancy’s Sam Fisher is back,
With gadgets and clad all in black.
They said goodbye to stealth,
To increase their wealth,
And opted for broad daylight attacks.
With gadgets and clad all in black.
They said goodbye to stealth,
To increase their wealth,
And opted for broad daylight attacks.
Joe Montana showed off Madden at E3,
Convinced by an appearance fee.
Hike with some lag
Is a bit of a drag,
But for a rich sports star: novelty!
Convinced by an appearance fee.
Hike with some lag
Is a bit of a drag,
But for a rich sports star: novelty!
Fable, Gears, and Forza next with quick hits,
Spurred interest, but only a bit.
Where’s the gameplay?
Is that all you can say?
Oh, more dubstep … time to throw a fit.
Spurred interest, but only a bit.
Where’s the gameplay?
Is that all you can say?
Oh, more dubstep … time to throw a fit.
Pushing forward the system with SmartGlass,
To look up cast info quite fast.
Inspired by Nintendo,
Their manufacturer foe,
I suppose they couldn’t steal StreetPass.
To look up cast info quite fast.
Inspired by Nintendo,
Their manufacturer foe,
I suppose they couldn’t steal StreetPass.
Time for a break to go pee,
Or maybe catch up on some Z’s.
The conference was boring,
But they thought they were scoring.
When they introduced a web browser: IE?
Or maybe catch up on some Z’s.
The conference was boring,
But they thought they were scoring.
When they introduced a web browser: IE?
Tomb Raider was next with Lara Croft,
Holding her legacy aloft.
Lo and behold,
It’s Year of the Bow.
An arrow to the knee, not so soft.
Holding her legacy aloft.
Lo and behold,
It’s Year of the Bow.
An arrow to the knee, not so soft.
Matter, LocoCycle, Ascend New Gods.
Three new IP, what are the odds?
What’s on the go?
It’d be nice to know,
If we have reason to applaud.
Three new IP, what are the odds?
What’s on the go?
It’d be nice to know,
If we have reason to applaud.
Next up was Resident Evil Six.
Another apocalypse to fix.
Action-packed,
And to pick up the slack,
They’ve filled it with Quick Time Event tricks.
Another apocalypse to fix.
Action-packed,
And to pick up the slack,
They’ve filled it with Quick Time Event tricks.
Wreckateer is a made up word.
One of the silliest I’ve ever heard.
Medieval Castles,
Apparently a hassle.
Knock ‘em down with a Kinect Angry Bird.
One of the silliest I’ve ever heard.
Medieval Castles,
Apparently a hassle.
Knock ‘em down with a Kinect Angry Bird.
An RPG in the world of South Park.
4 boys against the powers of dark.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone
Made fun of smart phones.
Finally! Someone hit the mark.
4 boys against the powers of dark.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone
Made fun of smart phones.
Finally! Someone hit the mark.
Usher performed his new Scream.
Now he’s on Harmonix’s team.
Cynicism aside,
It was quite the ride.
Made the ladies (and some of the men) cream.
Now he’s on Harmonix’s team.
Cynicism aside,
It was quite the ride.
Made the ladies (and some of the men) cream.
Black Ops 2 rounded out the show,
A game that all gamers know.
Gunplay melodrama,
Explosion-o-rama!
But don’t you dare go against the flow.
A game that all gamers know.
Gunplay melodrama,
Explosion-o-rama!
But don’t you dare go against the flow.
No comments:
New comments are not allowed.