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July 30, 2007

Will the Linksys brand become Cisco?

There have been some questions lately about whether the Linksys brand would be folded into the Cisco brand.

Here is our response: "Linksys consumer and SMB products will continue to be marketed under the Linksys brand and co-exist in the market with Cisco branded connected home products over the near term. We will continue to examine our branding strategy going forward (as we have to date) and make changes if and when these changes add value to our customers' decision making processes and our channel partners."

Posted by John Earnhardt at 11:33 AM Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

July 27, 2007

How InTouch Health uses RP7 to Communicate With and Treat Patients

              Duration: 2 min. 49 sec.

Yulun Wang, Ph D., Chairman and CEO of InTouch Health, and Frank Grant, Director of healthcare sales for Cisco, present and discuss the InTouch RP7 Remote Presence System from Netwokers at Cisco Live! The system allows doctors to visit and treat their patients remotely, using the highly advanced RP7 and enabled by Cisco networks.

Posted by Wilson Craig at 02:17 PM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 26, 2007

KISS weighs in on The Connected Life at Networkers at Cisco Live!

              Duration: 1 min. 18 sec.

Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley from KISS, who entertained the Networkers at Cisco Live! crowd Wednesday night, weigh in on the current state of The Connected Life.

Posted by Wilson Craig at 12:13 PM Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Networkers at Cisco Live! Arrives in the Virtual World of Second Life!

Cisco is featuring two live events in Second Life today:

Join us from 10-11 AM PT for a live Data Center roundtable with Peter Linkin, Manager, Data Center Solutions (Cisco avatar PeterL CiscoSystems).

From 12-1 PM PT, Chuck Fishman: Manager, Media and Entertainment (Cisco avatar ChuckF CiscoSystems), will host a live Q&A about The Digital Revolution and the Empowered Consumer panel.

To participate, please visit Cisco Systems SIM1 Stage 1.

Posted by John Earnhardt at 08:20 AM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

John Chambers' Private Press Conference at Networkers at Cisco Live!

              Duration: 2 min. 32 sec.

OK! You asked for it, so now we are really getting behind the scenes, with a seat at a private press conference John Chambers held Tuesday with about 15 members of the global press in a small conference room here at Networkers at Cisco Live!

This really has the blogging feel too, as I was in the back of the room with a lousy mic, the AC was blasting, and I was watching the exchange (with cam) like a spectator at a tennis match. Unscripted, largely unedited (I did edit out the questions themselves and the attending press, as I did not have their permission to film them), but I have added caption slides throughout that explain what the subject is. I’ve cut it into eight parts and am posting seven (in true newbie blogging style I screwed up part 3).

Part 1 begins with John discussing Cisco’s changing role in the data center, how the same principles will apply to the home, and where he sees the security market and Cisco’s place in it.

Turn UP the volume (and maybe get some headphones) and enjoy!

(To see all segments, click the Read More link below.)

John Chambers' Press Conference - Part 2 - 4 min. 24 sec.

Press Conference Part 2 – John speaking on Cisco’s transformation from a plumber (a very honorable and lucrative profession, as you know) to… You’ll see.

John Chambers' Press Conference - Part 4 - 3 min. 22 sec. (I botched part 3)

In part 4 of the press conference series (I botched part 3) John talks specifically about Cisco’s role in healthcare transformation, as well as the need for fast action to drive broadband penetration (and a redefinition of the term) in the U.S.

John Chambers' Press Conference - Part 5 - 3 min. 38 sec.

Section 5 in the series has John speaking on how data center automation concepts and practices will be transferred to all networks (including the Connected Home) and how TelePresence is changing the way we collaborate.

John Chambers' Press Conference - Part 6 - 3 min. 58 sec.

In the sixth installment of our ongoing press conference saga, John responds to questions about Cisco’s three-part growth strategy (build, partner, acquire), as well as adding more on the TelePresence revolution and the shifting competitive landscape.

John Chambers' Press Conference - Part 7 - 4 min. 11 sec.

In this segment (total run time 4:11) john gives the group the 411 (ha) on his views on Net Neutrality as well as the “Green” movement and Cisco’s philosophy and commitment to it.

John Chambers' Press Conference - Part 8 - 1 min. 44 sec.

In this closing segment, John talks about his role at Cisco, how long he will be here and what he might (or might not) do next.

Posted by Wilson Craig at 06:30 AM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 25, 2007

Cisco talks with James Simkins on the beneficial impacts of IP convergence

              Duration: 3 min. 47 sec.

James Simkins, Executive Vice President of MTM Luxury Lodgings, discusses the beneficial impacts of IP convergence on the hospitality industry from Networkers at Cisco Live!

Posted by Wilson Craig at 01:55 PM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

TIBCO on the Significance of Cisco's Data Center 3.0 Annoucement

              Duration: 3 min. 26 sec.

Rob Meyer, of product marketing at TIBCO, discusses the significance of Cisco’s data center 3.0 announcement and how TIBCO and Cisco are working together to make the “Network the Platform”.

Posted by Wilson Craig at 01:35 PM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Chip Freund, Verizon Business @ Networkers at Cisco Live!

              Duration: 3 min. 2 sec.

Chip Freund, Director of Managed Services Product Marketing for Verizon Business, discusses drivers for growth in the sector from Networkers at Cisco Live!

Posted by Wilson Craig at 01:29 PM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Cisco CEO: Phase II of the Network: Collaboration and Web 2.0

You can now view a replay of Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers' keynote presentation at Networkers at Cisco Live which took place yesterday in Anaheim, CA. He talks about Web 2.0, changes in IT and Phase II of the Network. Please view the keynote, entitled "The Network as The Platform to Ignite Innovation."

You can also watch yesterday's press conference on transforming the Data Center with Cisco SVP Jayshree Ullal.

Posted by John Earnhardt at 10:04 AM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Peggy Abadie Discusses How Technology is Transforming the Classroom Experience

              Duration: 2 min. 32 sec.

Peggy Abadie, Executive Director of IT for the New Orleans Public School District, explains how IT and IP will help her and her staff address major challenges for their students and themselves in the coming year. (From Networkers at Cisco Live!)

Posted by Wilson Craig at 07:45 AM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 24, 2007

Cisco Unveils Plans to Transform the Data Center

              Duration: 1 min. 48 sec.

Jayshree Ullal, Senior Vice President, Data Center, Switching and Security Technology Group, Cisco, discusses the launch of Data Center 3.0 from Networkers at Cisco Live!

More information regarding Cisco and its Data Center 3.0 vision can be found on the News@Cisco website.

Posted by Wilson Craig at 08:17 PM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Cisco, Duke University and Apple's iPhone

In early July, Duke University began seeing portions of its wireless network reset and come back online 10-15 minutes later. After a preliminary investigation from Duke's IT staff, it was determined that Apple iPhones were likely involved with Cisco wireless access points relating to Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) requests. Duke reached out to Cisco and Apple for assistance to help find the root cause and to determine how to mitigate this issue.

The specific issue occurs in certain environments when Cisco equipment incorrectly processes ARP frames sent by the iPhone. Because this issue has the potential to cause a denial-of-service (DoS) response from the network, Cisco has prepared a security advisory for its customers and partners. Because there have been numerous reports in both tech and business media, Cisco felt the need to set the record straight. This was done because the majority of coverage to date has been centered on Apple and Duke.

Cisco takes interoperability and security issues very seriously. We follow well-established processes to ensure that we address issues in an open and constructive fashion. At this time, the situation at Duke has been resolved. There have been no recurrences since, and we have not seen widespread issues of this nature across our customers’ networks.

We’d like to acknowledge Duke for being a tremendous partner and helping in the resolution of the issue. Cisco is 100 percent committed to continually improving the security and reliability of our customers’ and partners’ networks.

Cisco has proactively addressed this situation and published a security advisory with full details. There is a software fix available, and customers should follow the instructions on the security advisory for details on downloading and installing fixed software.

Duke's update on this issue.

Posted by John Earnhardt at 10:15 AM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 23, 2007

Networkers Video Blog - Rena Hu, HP

              Duration: 4 min. 12 sec.

Networkers at Cisco Live! Video Blog with Rena Hu of HP on why she attends the show and what HP and Cisco are doing to further IP convergence.

Posted by Wilson Craig at 11:31 PM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Networkers Video Blog - Nahom Ayele, City of Bardstown, KY

              Duration: 2 min. 39 sec.

Networkers at Cisco Live! Video Blog with Nahom Ayele, City of Bardstown, KY on the value of IP convergence to deliver the triple play of voice, video and data services in small communities.

Posted by Wilson Craig at 08:59 PM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Networkers Video Blog - Victor Martinez, Independent Film Maker

              Duration: 3 min. 48 sec.

Networkers at Cisco Live! Video Blog with Victor Martinez, Independent Film Maker, on the value of digital technology in revolutionizing the film industry.

Posted by Wilson Craig at 06:43 PM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Networkers at Cisco Live! - Video Blog Intro

              Duration: 0 min. 26 sec.

Networkers at Cisco Live! Video Blog introduction with Christie Miranda of Cisco Public Relations in Anaheim, California.

Posted by Wilson Craig at 05:35 PM Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

The Platform: The Official Cisco Blog

Just as the Internet is here to stay, it seems that blogging is as well. As such, to make it the "official" corporate blog, we have renamed our News@Cisco Notes blog: The Platform. To me, blogging is kind of like standing up on a soapbox and speaking your mind in the town square...people can listen and engage with you or simply keep walking and ignore you. A person's or company's platform is much the same. And, as the network more and more becomes the platform for all communications, it made sense to name the "official Cisco blog," The Platform.

We've been blogging at Cisco for nearly two and half years and have certainly learned a lot about the blogosphere since...and, of course, there is much more to learn. We will be rolling out some new blogs in the coming weeks and months on various and sundry subjects that interest us, but The Platform, this blog, will remain the official corporate blog, so put it in your RSS feeder, subscribe to it if you have an aversion to RSS and let us know your thoughts on what you'd like to see blogged about. And, thank you for your continued interest.

Posted by John Earnhardt at 03:27 PM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Networkers at Cisco Live For the First Timer

Post by Chris Beveridge, Senior Manager, Technical Marketing

This morning I had the honor and privilege of being on the interview panel for Networkers at Cisco Live Orientation, and as I was commenting to the audience I was reminded of how powerful my first impressions were of Networkers 11 years ago when I was a "newbie." I am always struck by the sheer size and spectacle of this event, especially this year as we roll out so many new and different elements.

My impression from the start of my experience with Networkers has been how much of a "melting pot" this event always becomes -- people not only meet and learn from Cisco, they meet and learn from (and make new friends of) their peers at other companies. Even better, I ALWAYS learn from the customers at Networkers, and look forward to new perspectives, challenges, off-the-wall comments, new ways of thinking about problems, etc. -- it's all here -- and for me the buzz centers around this incredible group of customers and the discussions we get into every year.

I like to refer to Networkers at Cisco Live as a "knowledge transfer" event -- that it's more than training, it's getting to really dig deep into challenges and issues in the learning process so the attendee (all of us) get a meaningful learning experience beyond the simple understanding of a technical issue, protocol, architecture or troubleshooting detail. We are constantly challenged by the needs of our customers, and hopefully we respond with the freshest, most immediately relevant information, and Networkers at Cisco Live is a golden opportunity for all of us to interact in real time for that purpose.

If I have any advice for a new attendee, it's this: take advantage of this unusually rich and substantial community of VERY smart and experienced networking professionals, from Cisco and from all of the companies that are represented in our attendee mix. If you have trouble meeting up with the right folks, try logging into Cisco Live CONNECT and join the social networking community. I promise you that there will be many varied and interesting conversations, and hopefully that's one of the experiences that you have that you remember for a very long time from Networkers at Cisco Live 2007!

Posted by John Earnhardt at 11:32 AM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 20, 2007

Cisco "Connected Life" Contest: Who Wants to Be A $10,000aire?

Step 1: Are you an "idea person" and have access to a video camera?
Step 2: Would you like $10,000?
Step 3: Enter Cisco's "Help Design Your Connected Life" contest.

Are you an aspiring filmmaker? Are you an entrepreneur trying to get traction around an idea? Are you in film school and know how to tell a story? Are you in business school and you've created a great technology product, but don't know how to bring it to market? You can now have your video skills and business creativity contribute $10,000 to your bank account. The Cisco Service Provider Marketing organization is sponsoring a fun contest called "Help Design Your Connected Life." They are inviting entries from people (ages 13 and older) from US, Canada, Australia, Japan, and the UK to participate. 

The idea behind the contest is to generate innovative ideas for a connected life (for example: using your cell phone to pay for your Starbuck's coffee...or, in my case, Peet's coffee). But don't dilly-dally with your entry, the contest runs through September 14, 2007. The grand prize is $10,000 , but there are also ten runner-up $1000 prizes being given away as well. We are requiring written entries and you can also submit a video, but, hey, let's be honest, a video entry is a lot more fun. (In truth, video submissions will not be judged and are not required to enter or win.)

You can find more information here or view a video from NXTcomm with attendees talking about their "Connected Life."

If you need addtional help getting the creative juices flowing, check out this video effort.

The "official rules" are here. Please note that Cisco employees (and their families) are not eligible to participate in the contest...because, like, I would totally win otherwise.

Posted by John Earnhardt at 11:00 AM Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

July 19, 2007

Attend Networkers At Cisco Live VIRTUALLY

Have you always wanted to go to Anaheim, CA and interact with your favorite Cisco executives, partners and professionals and talk about networking and industry trends? The answer, of course, for most people is absolutely YES!! That's where Networkers at Cisco Live is taking place next week. Sadly, we can't all be there. Alas, summer vacations, travel budgets and other obligations sometime get in the way. However, I have the next best thing for you...WATCH THIS SPACE!

We'll have video dispatches and blog posts all next week from the hustle and bustle. Cisco's Senior Vice President Jayshree Ullal will host a press conference via live video Webcast on Tuesday, July 24 from 10:00-11:00 a.m. PT. Attendees will hear Ullal outline the company's vision for transforming the data center and unveil new technology that supports the evolution. For the live video Webcast of the press conference, register here.

You can also view video our Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers' keynote after 6PM PT on Tuesday, July 24. Go to our News@Cisco site for access.

And last, but not least, Second Life residents can experience Networkers at Cisco Live by visiting Cisco's virtual campus to attend live discussions with Cisco experts, learn about newly announced products and watch keynote replays throughout the week (in Second Life look for "Cisco Systems").

So, if you cannot be there, please watch this blog, attend or view our virtual press conference, float around in Second Life, and tune in to hear our CEO's keynote. I won't see you in Anaheim, but I hope to see you on the web.

Posted by John Earnhardt at 01:52 PM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 18, 2007

Localization, Dow Jones and The Human Network

With this internet thing seemingly around to stay, a lot of people are struggling with the business model for newspapers and magazines. The potential sale of Dow Jones, as well as RIF's at our local San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury News have highlighted this for me of late. Some blame Google Ads or Craig Newmark for the decline in newspaper revenue. Others say that the news business model is flawed and that printing presses are a thing of the past and that there is no business sense in giving away content for free.

On their home page, Wall Street Journal* (Dow Jones newspaper) gives you the gist of the news, but you have to pay to get the full story. Back in May, Walter E. Hussman, Jr., the publisher of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, bemoaned the business model of giving away content for free. His op-ed (in the you-have-to-pay-to-read Wall Street Journal, of course) was entitled "How to Sink a Newspaper" and his lead paragraph states, "One has to wonder how many of the newspaper industry's current problems are self-inflicted. Take free news. News has become ubiquitous, free, and as a result, a commodity. Anytime you are trying to sell something that becomes a commodity, you have lost much of the value in providing that product or service."

Newsgathering is expensive and you don't have to poll any newsroom in the world to know that what is being asked of journalists is changing. They have to blog, they have to appear on camera, they have to do podcasts, they have to take their own pictures for their stories. They are becoming multimedia engineers as well as journalists. Some of this was recently discussed at Cisco's New Media Summit. (Note: a free conference.)

In a word, the media landscape is changing. The ability of the Internet (and blogs) to personalize the information you want to get is making it tough for an analog business (newspapers and magazines, see: Business 2.0) to attract the ad dollars when the eyeballs are increasingly turning digital.

Wired magazine recently allowed subscribers to be on the cover of their magazine (see picture below)...which, I would argue is one step better than putting a mirror on the magazine and calling "You" the person of the year. Wired argues that localization of the web, through google maps and other mashupable (is that a word?) sites, is allowing individuals to create their own personalized web experience...or share it if they like. At this point, I should plug my gradeschool buddy Andy's company, Nearby Networks, which mashes up Google Maps, Craigslist, Amazon, Ebay and other sites in order for you to find goods and services or auctions near where you are. (If I'm getting that wrong, I'm sure Andy will comment on this entry.) This could easily be done by local news and local targeted ads could be attached to those looking for local news. Far smarter people than I are already working on this business model...and others.

Part of the answer and my larger Cisco plug is that people now contribute content for free to the network...or human network, if you prefer. You may have heard of Yahoo and Reuters efforts here and more seem to be catching on. To be sure, professional journalism needs to continue and flourish and we, as a society, should support it with our pocketbooks because an independent press is vital to our checks and balances system as well as our speaking-truth-to-power system (see; Dowd, Maureen.)

The answer to how news continues and flourishes in the future hasn't yet been figured out, but as Mr. Hussman points out in his commentary, "The newspaper industry wonders why it is losing young readers. Those readers might be young, but many of them are smart, not to mention computer-savvy. Why would they buy a newspaper when they can get the same information online for free?" Please note that we have no current plans to charge for the content on this blog. : )

(Please also note that I am a paid subsciber to online Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times and a few other vertical publications, so I'm trying to do my part. The Washington Post, San Jose Mercury News and San Francisco Chronicle are free. And, I'll admit I have a problem, but at home we subscribe to Fortune, BusinessWeek, New Yorker, Sports Illustrated, Vanity Fair, Portfolio, New York, Wired and The Week. And, yes, we recycle.)

*If the Dow Jones sale does go through to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, it will be interesting to see if some of the MySpace (NewsCorp Company) functionality is brought to Dow Jones and the WSJ.

Recent cover of Wired Magazine
(Yes, I'm getting a lot of play out of this picture.)

Posted by John Earnhardt at 03:10 PM Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

July 13, 2007

Blogging and Your Colonoscopy

Nice article on executives blogging in the WSJ today. I've since been downgraded from a high-ranking executive by the paper, but, alas, sometimes reality is harsh. I wonder if my arch-nemesis Murdoch is behind this!! : )

Blogging has made the cover of business magazines and it seems there is nearly the same amount of people talking and writing about blogs as people blogging (this entry is both, of course), so blogging is still hot. What we talked about at our New Media Summit last month was that the traditional way to communicate with readers is changing. We've (the collective we) been talking about personalized news and papers for a long time and blogging and syndication gets us one step closer...we get pushed to us what we want to read.

You can look at the right nav bar of this blog and see what blogs many of us at Cisco are reading (please note I am an avid reader of Fake Steve Jobs blog, but it is not listed on our blog roll...I know it is beneath Fake Steve to request to be added, but if he were to do so how could I say no). However, the fact is, and as noted above, we can have whatever content pushed to us...which is the beauty of the technology behind the content of blogging that nobody really talks about.

I, for instance, am not that interested in reading about Mark Cuban's colonscopy. Quickly approaching the age of 40, perhaps I should be. However, there ARE people interested in reading about that...and they have. Cuban, if you haven't read him, is smart, opinionated and writes well and you should check out his blog. He clearly writes his blog, while I have suspicions about other CEOs listed as active bloggers...maybe that's just me, however.

Our CEO has started an internal blog following the walk-before-you-run model. It is written and in video (which is his preference for communication and something that you clearly can't have someone else do for you.) We'll see if we can get him to do some public blogging (likely vlogging) in the future...as he is ALL about Web 2.0, I don't think we'll have to twist his arm too hard. I'll keep you posted on that front.

So, happy blogging and happy Friday the 13th.

Posted by John Earnhardt at 09:43 AM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 12, 2007

Cisco's "Take Your Children to Work Day"

Children of Cisco* employees (age 8 and older, I believe) were invited to come to work with their parents today. There is a big tent in the side parking lot next to our HQ building and our CEO John Chambers talked to the children and parents earlier this morning. I'm usually a forgiveness rather than permission type guy and I would have used my super-cool Web 2.0 phone (Nokia E61i - just got it yesterday...so far, so good) to video part of his talk, but it was an internal event and I didn't think it would be fair to take advantage. I did take a picture of the banner welcoming the kids...(see below).

I'm a new parent...my five-month old son is coming in to work later for a little ice cream gathering for our team (no age restrictions) - but what I don't understand about this event, however, is why aren't the kids working? This is "take your kids TO WORK" day, right? The only kid I've heard or seen working so far is Nicky Palka, son of the inimitable Marty Palka in our Investor Relations group who gives us our each-morning market update. Nicky gave the update this morning and did a great job. Other than that, the kids I've seen haven't been that productive. Maybe it's a legal or HR thing?

I ran into a friend's kid named Ryan (age 11) and I asked him what he was doing for work while he was at Cisco today. He explained that he and his dad were re-purposing some legos with stickers on them and then would maybe sell them on eBAY. Super cute kid - he kind of looked like a young Harry Potter - but, HELLO!!, how do legos contribute to Cisco's productivity? AND, he wasn't even doing it onsite!! I appreciate the entrepreneurial spirit, but while he's on Cisco's campus he really should be more of a contributor. Same thing with Claire, a five-year year old of a colleague. I asked her what work she was doing today at Cisco and she just smiled, looked at her mom and shook her head like I was the one who was crazy for asking the question.

As mentioned, my son, Jack, will be here a little later today and just so I'm not hypocritical about my whole "take your children to work" stance, I'm definitely going to put him on the floor when he gets here and instruct him to eat the lint or crumbs off the carpet...or something. He's gotta learn young.

*And, no, that's not like Children of the Corn.

Posted by John Earnhardt at 12:04 PM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 09, 2007

Vegas and the Network: Lucky Number Seven

I thought I should highlight a once in a lifetime occurence. This past Saturday was 07-07-07...a date that won't happen for another hundred years. The number "7," of course, is known for being lucky which is why so many couples rushed out and got married this past Saturday. My theory is not because it was seen as lucky, but because the groom could easily remember his anniversary date.

"Seven," of course, is lucky in Las Vegas as "7" is a good number in a game of craps...and slot machines. There are seven days in the week and on the 7th day, we rest, so that is good. In baseball, we have the 7th inning stretch. 7 was Mickey Mantle's number and also the favorite name for a child for George Costanza. There are also seven colors in a rainbow, seven ancient wonders of the world, seven deadly sins, Steven Covey gives us seven habits and James Bond, of course, is 007. Seven is a prime number and also the number of spots on a common ladybug. There were seven brides for seven brothers and a seven year itch, but seven is also significant to Cisco and networks. There are seven layers of the network in the OSI model

And, there are also seven letters in the word network...also, a good movie, by they way, if you are mad as hell and not going to take it anymore. What's my point? I really don't have one. But, if you are lucky, I may just have an entry on August 8th of next year on the significance of 8....or maybe not...

Posted by John Earnhardt at 03:24 PM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 06, 2007

What is Real Broadband?

I've asked this question before, (and, more than once) but what made me think of it again was Pew's report on Broadband Usage in the U.S. that was released today. (Adobe document). Pew is a great organization and there are some compelling data and charts in the report - you should really check it out. What I couldn't find -- and, I'll be honest, I didn't read the 14 page report word for word, but I did search for "Mbps" and "broadband definition" -- was how they defined broadband. My best guess is anybody with always-on, high-speed internet connectivity. Don't get me wrong, that's a great start. But, what is "high-speed"?

As I've said before, the FCC defines high-speed as 200Kpbs. So, I can only assume that Pew is measuring this as high-speed. On this measurement, the U.S. is doing just fine, thank you. On a REAL broadband measurement, when we're dealing in Mbps, not Kpbs, the picture isn't so rosy, as my colleague Jeff Campbell says here, "Japan at 61 Mbps, France at 17 Mbps and Canada at 7 Mbps."

And as our CEO John Chambers said recently at "D: All Things Digital", we really should be talking in terms of 100Mbps to every home.

So, congrats to all of us who have broadband at home or at work, but let's hope that we have a report soon that measures broadband in Mbps, not Kbps.

Posted by John Earnhardt at 02:14 PM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What I did on my summer vacation, Part 2

Posted by Johanna Fry, Public Relations Intern

During my summer internship on the public relations team at Cisco, I am able to get an insider’s view of what it means to be a part of Cisco and the Human Network. The Human Network is the ability to connect to anyone in the world through integrated technology.

I am a Facebook and MySpace subscriber, but Cisco’s version of networking poses a much more attractive format to stay in touch with the people in my world. I want to stay in touch with friends, family, work and school contacts. I don’t want to be startled by loud talking robot heads trying to sell me ring tones.

Telepresence, as an example, enables you to look a person in the face and connect with them in a way not possible over the any other medium. Since I started my PR internship a few weeks ago, I have attended meetings in Chicago, San Francisco and New York via telepresence. I may not have traveled to do those meetings anyway, but a face-to-face virtual meeting with a colleague is so much better than just a conference call. And, with TelePresence, the person on the other end of the "phone" is life size and in high definition. Thankfully, like most innovative ultra-cool devices, a version that I can use every day and in the home isn’t too, too far away.

What is important to me is the ability to connect; a visual holds much superior significance and resonance than any text or voice. I don’t have TelePresence in my living room at home, but I can gladly use a Linksys Wireless-G Internet Camera supported by the network in the mean time.

I have to admit, the fact that I can see my Nana in Tyler, Texas is feeling as good as she says she is, and I can smile at a friend in Sydney does make me feel like a small part of the Human Network.

Posted by Cisco PR at 07:04 AM Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

July 03, 2007

Smashing Pumpkins Part of Human Network

I'm outside of Asheville, NC this week visiting my parents and other family and was able to score some tickets to last night's Smashing Pumpkins show at the Orange Peel. They are on a mini-tour and playing 9 shows in Asheville, NC and the same amount (I think) in San Francisco, CA. Anyway, it was a good show...only about 900 of us there...but what struck me was ALL the digital cameras...still and video...in the crowd. I'm exaggerating only a little when I say that my brother and I were some of the only ones not capturing the concert digitally.

As an experiment, I checked Flickr and Youtube to see if any of the photos and videos were up from last night. They aren't yet...or I couldn't find them, but there are many photos and videos from previous night's shows.

So, Smashing Pumpkins' fans are clearly part of the human network and what better way to market than to have others do it for you...much like this blog entry is doing. Pumpkins, you are welcome. : )

Addendum: The Asheville Citizen-Times set up a microsite called "Smasheville" for the Pumpkins extended visit and there is video of the July 2nd show. You will see that I wasn't exaggerating about the digital video and pictures being captured.

Posted by John Earnhardt at 11:48 AM Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)