Sign me up for one of those biometric scanners at the cash register. I’m tired of having to scavenge around for my wallet, extract my debit card, slide it through the card scanner, and punch in all the codes and buttons. Let me just press my finger on the reader and be on my way with my groceries.And I won’t mind punching my size 36 x 30 into a kiosk if lights begin flashing to guide me to my correct size in Lee jeans. I don’t mind giving up the hunt each time I’ve got to rummage through 20 pairs of jeans to find my size. Read More »

In the past week and a half or so, because of our suit against Apple for infringing on our iPhone trademark, I’ve nearly spent more time on other blog sites than I have in the previous two years since I started blogging at Cisco. I’ve come across a lot of very interesting and thoughtful bloggers (as well as some very funny ones) and thought that I’d highlight a few of them for your reading pleasure. This is, in no way, an exhaustive list and if your favorite tech blog isn’t listed, please comment and I’ll publish it. As a nominator for this year’s Bloggies I may or may not have voted for some of the blogs listed below. It’s a secret ballot, so I’ll never tell.TechCrunch -- Most of you already know this blog, but I still highlight it as a quality resource for learning about technology trends and culture.GigaOm -- DittoSiliconValleyWatcher -- DittoThe Secret Diary of Steve Jobs -- very well written and very funny.”Between the Lines” blog at ZDNET with Dan Farber and Larry Dignan -- In the know and a good read. Ed Burnette should also be called out for his analysis work on his ZDNet blog as well as covering “software, gadgets and games.”ValleyWag - well described as a “tech gossip rag.”Crunchgear - Ditto to #1.And, last but not least, of course the ever utilized and ever useful Technorati and Digg.Thanks for the good reading, bloggers, and keep up the good work.

We’ve been following our iPhone trademark issue in the blogosphere closely and it’s been interesting to see the commentary from some posters suggesting that somehow Cisco either in the US or Europe didn’t meet the requirements to maintain the iPhone trademark. Our response is pretty simple: We have met all elements required by all authorities to maintain our mark. We’ve been pretty direct about the fact that we’ve been shipping the iPhone since last spring.

First, a very brief recap. Our property (the iPhone trademark) is being used without our permission. We filed suit to stop this. It is as simple as that.Now, to clarify some questions that are out there: 1) Has Cisco maintained its rights to the iPhone trademark? Cisco has used its iPhone trademark in all ways necessary to maintain it and keep it valid. We are not a litigious company, but we will act when our property is used without our permission.2) Cisco has been saying that this dispute with Apple wasn’t over money but over the desire to be more interoperable with Apple. What does that mean? Let’s be clear…this issue is about infringement on Cisco’s trademark. On interoperability, in general, we were asking for the two companies to work together to make our products and technologies more interoperable. Cisco has been a longtime proponent of interoperability within the high-tech industry for the benefit of the companies involved and, more importantly, the end-users of those products and technologies. Interoperability is important because, as we’ve said, we see the potential for convergence of the home phone, cell phone, work phone, and the PC as limitless and we see the network as the foundation for innovation that allows converged devices to deliver the services consumers want. Read More »

Cisco CEO and chairman John Chambers painted a compelling portrait today of the future connected home and the connected consumer at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. In this future we will see the convergence of all forms of human expression across any device, anywhere at anytime, and that Cisco will be a dominant player in this market. To achieve this exciting future, Chambers insisted that siloed applications that now rule the home will be destroyed. Video will be the killer application. But it will converge with voice, data and mobility across the intelligent network. To succeed, this network and future environment must be open, simple for the consumer to use, safe and virtual (available anytime, anywhere, on any device). Read More »

Scientific Atlanta, a Cisco company, will be much in evidence at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Scientific Atlanta gear will be a key part of The Connected Home, Cisco’s evolving vision to provider consumers at home access to all types of content (premium video, photos, music, data, voice and home video) on televisions, personal computers, cell phones and mobile devices. Scientific Atlanta will also demonstrate Direct to Disc. This product concept will enable consumers to purchase on-demand video, music or software from their service provider and then--using Scientific Atlanta’s DVR with built-in DVD set-top--record the content to a disc. Read More »

Extending the power of presence technology to mobile IP phones, two of the new seven iPhones that Linksys introduced today at CES integrate popular communication clients, Skype and Yahoo! Messenger with Voice, into the handset. These new iPhones allow you to see when friends or family are online and ready to receive a call. What’s more, these client-enabled iPhones free you from having to sit at your PC to talk and also free you from having to keep the PC always-on to make calls over the Internet. In addition to enabling mobility and voice calls, the Dual-Mode Cordless Phone for Yahoo! Messenger with Voice allows access to Yahoo information services. Skip hunting for the phone book or returning to your computer to search for a phone number. Do it from the phone and also check weather forecasts directly from the phone’s display.
Read More »

At CES, John Chambers will be speaking about the Connected Home, Cisco’s vision for the future. On the News@Cisco site, Chief development officer, Charlie Giancarlo, discussed how networking technology is changing digital communications and entertainment. Cisco launched its Second Life presence in December, and is now bringing the connected home to life in Second Life. At CES, as Cisco talks about its view of the future, Cisco is presenting its view of the future in Second Life with the Cisco Connected Home. Read More »

Given Apple’s numerous requests for permissions to use Cisco’s iPhone trademark over the past several years and our extensive discussions with them recently, it is our belief that with their announcement today, Apple intends to agree to the final document and public statement that were distributed to them last night and that addressed a few remaining items. We expect to receive a signed agreement today. Penny Bruce, Director, Corporate Public Relations, Cisco

In a follow-up article to the Cisco announcement of the acquisition of leading messaging security vendor, IronPort, ChannelWebNews quoted the CEO of Atrion Networking, which works with both Cisco and IronPort, on the ideal timing of the purchase.”œWe’re seeing a number of people that I would call early adopters [replacing their mail security solutions] in the last year and really looking for more manageable, easier-to-use, higher-performance solutions. You’re going to see an explosion of anti-spam/mail security-type solutions being purchased and replaced in the next few years.” Read More »

Based on the first day here, I’d say this is a really well done analyst conference. People are well looked after, and the WiFi access is pretty good. Cisco has mixed up the format and made things a bit more interactive and conversational, instead of straight up presentations.The overall content has been fairly high level, but still some good takeaways. I only cover a small amount of Cisco’s world, so I can’t really comment on everything in detail.I also got some photos and a video clip to post, but I don’t have the tools with me to upload to my PC unfortunately. I’ll get those up here when I get back on Thursday.John Chambers gave the opening presentation, and he sure is fun to watch. He knows how to work the room, and roams all over, constantly moving, and never misses a beat. If you want to see for yourself, come back in a couple of days when I get my video clip posted.If anyone can build a field of dreams -- and sell you on the vision, it’s Mr. Chambers. As you’ll soon see, I mean this both literally and figuratively. Read More »

A key idea that emerged from the C-Scape Conference in San Jose was that Cisco’s future will be inextricably linked to video. Numerous bloggers picked up on this concept in their blogs about the conference.GigaOM Chambers: Video is the killer appInformationWeek Blog Cisco’s Telepresent FutureVoIP Service Solution The Future is Bright for Video

Cisco CEO John Chambers spoke passionately at the opening event of the two-day Cisco-sponsored C-Scape Conference in San Jose, describing the culture of change and innovation that Cisco and countries, governments and businesses worldwide are embracing.”In India, the country is on fire, the most optimistic young people anywhere in the world are in India, you can see the confidence building,” said Chambers.”In Singapore, they are thinking 10 years out, building the gateway to the future. They are changing models, building infrastructure to provide a gig to the home. Cisco is partnering uniquely with these key players around the world.” Read More »

With the launch of Cisco’s latest Integrated Services Router (ISR) Empowered Branch launch, Cisco has taken its first step into Second Life. Our first foray in Second Life was the launch of the new ISR product, but this is just the beginning of the Cisco’s campus in Second Life. For Cisco, it is about the Human Network. Part of that is becoming part of communities in Real Life, and now, in Second Life. We opened the Cisco campus to better explain and show who we are, what we are about, and how we are powering the Human Network. And, that means more than just showcasing products (or, giving away T-shirts and virtual Cisco phones in Second Life). It means working with the community, becoming part of the community. Read More »

Consumers are getting to enjoy increasingly higher quality video images, and a driver of that experience is Scientific Atlanta, a Cisco company, and its continued development of products that enhance home entertainment. This week, the Consumer Electronics Association cited Scientific Atlanta’s MPEG-4 HDTV Advanced Compression Encoder (Model D9054) as an International CES Innovations 2007 Design and Engineering Awards Honoree. “Scientific Atlanta’s new Model D9054 HD Advanced Video Compression Encoder is the first single-slice per picture AVC encoder, setting an unprecedented benchmark in HD video quality at low bit rates,” the award citation said.