Zen Communications

Amsterdam

2011-06-08T02:08:00.000-07:00

I'm in Amsterdam. Blogspot comes up in Dutch... Slow internet connection.

But, I've had sex with (8) women in the windows and smoked tons of hash in the cafes... And I have a bridge over the canal I'd like to sell you.

More when I get time and a faster connection.

More on Social Networking

2009-04-21T13:13:00.000-07:00

Just as enterprises and communications vendors enthusiastically embrace social networking into their product base comes the backlash. Starting to see articles about the 20 something generation giving up on Twitter and Facebook. Too demanding (duh!). Why would anyone want to spend their day constantly checking Facebook or Twittering their breakfast? Who would want to follow such drivel?

And some young folks are starting to figure it out... there is a life beyond communications immediacy. They are giving it up.

Wonder if it has anything to do with the revival of vinyl records... Yep, lots of releases, found even in mainstream stores such as Fred Meyer, on record... real records! CDs are dead, downloads are dying. Vinyl lives! Curious.

Personally, I have nothing against CDs. I have tons of old records and no matter how well cared for, they still provide annoying clicks, pops, and wear. Of course, CDs, perfect forever, are exploited by producers using every computer trick in the book to mangle digital data into overly compressed and squashed dynamic range music releases that tire the ears by the second cut.

No wonder the flight from digital music. Analog sources (reel to reel tape has an enthusiastic following as well) are just more comfortable to listen to, noise issues aside.

I'm waiting for my Princess phone to command a premium price on Ebay. Cell phones and VoIP with their interference and drop outs are doomed to their own backlash as analog phone lines and equipment become prized possessions.

Social Networking in the Enterprise

2009-04-21T13:04:00.000-07:00

A recent voicecon email concerned itself with social networking as enterprise communications. How to use Twitter and Facebook to maintain (sell to) customers. I'm thinking, this is how interesting new technologies, especially communications technologies, get destroyed, by soul sucking corporations who invade personal interrelationships to cash in on those relationships. And I mean "cash in", as in "sell". Just like email.... check all the spam, not just the African scams or Viagra offers, but all the junk mail that arrives from any product source a buyer may have investigated in the last 10 years. All the crap that invades the inbox as a result of bots that follow web surfers' every click. The complete rape of privacy.

So now Facebook and Twitter are absorbed by the same forces of desparate commercial evil that have completely co-opted the web for their own economic gain.

Junk. It's all junk.

Death of SOA?

2009-02-11T09:31:00.000-08:00

My goodness, so much technology is dying! Last month it was the death of VoIP. This month, the buzz is about the death of Service Oriented Architecture. And I guess I've driven a stake through traditional telecom in past posts.

SOA is really about focusing IT/telecom technology around the services an organization desires to provide its customers, particularly as so many services move even further to a web based presentation. Seems simple enough, but because of traditional siloing within an organization, SOA becomes quite difficult, and expensive. A major reorientation of the organization is required. This is often defeated or stalled because of corporate culture. Roles, expectations, obsolescent viewpoints, (and just plain idiocy!) prevents organizations from creating the environment necessary to employ technology in a manor that enhances the goals of the organization.

Much easier to form a new company and develop SOA from the ground up. This is why many startups are so nimble and can make significant inroads into traditional markets.

Anyway, now we are looking at organizational behavior, and have drifted from the technology. But, obviously, it's all related.

And, yes, the tanked economy is certainly a major reason for the death of SOA. Who wants to make the necessary investment (with questionable results) in SOA within such a dubious economic environment? Yet, perhaps now is the perfect time. Investments improve the economy in general (note Intel's call to infrastructure investment), as well as preparing the organization for a future improving economy.

The real problem with new technology, from VoIP to SOA to FMC (fixed mobile convergence) is the necessity to make big investments financially and organizationally. Paradigm shifts, to drag out an often overused but still relevant term. There are no quick investment returns, no short term balance sheet improvements (the ugliest phrase in business... "short term").

The consultant who created the "death of SOA" headline expressed the situation well:

"If you want spectacular gains, then you need to make a spectacular commitment to change."

WOMBAT

2009-02-04T16:32:00.000-08:00

waste of money, brains, and time

So true, standard corporate (government) disaster.

Even More Telecom Obsolescence

2009-01-27T12:37:00.000-08:00

So I'm at this recording studio last weekend. There's 50-60 CDs on the wall representing projects recorded in this studio. I'm attracted to one with an old picture of a 60's secretary standing by a desk making a call. The title of the CD:

"When Phones Had Cords"

More Telecom Obsolescence

2009-01-22T13:47:00.000-08:00

A lot of talk lately about the "death of VoIP"... which, of course, is just a hype headline to stir up some controversy in a slow market economy. If you can't sell it, it must be dead... discuss...

On the other hand, I've read a couple things lately that suggest that telephony itself may be dead. And it's a generational thing, again, since it's the 20 somethings who are communicating differently these days, employing new technologies in novel ways. I generally pick up a phone if I need to contact someone... but apparently, that's so last century...

Zeus Kerravala of the Yankee Group writes that his company has consumer survey data indicating "when given a choice, the 25 and under crowd prefers almost any communications method to voice. "

"So what does this mean for the communications industry? IBM and Microsoft have clearly focused product direction and innovation with application integration across their software suites in mind. They approach the market slightly differently, IBM much more "PBX vendor" friendly, but ultimately both paths lead to the same place. Communications infrastructure becomes a commodity that sits below the software layer. Product leadership will be driven by developer support, openness and adherence to standards. Unlike days past, having 800+ features and your own phones isn't going to be the criteria for winning or losing deals. I know it's conventional wisdom that phones do drive a lot of phone system sales, and they have in the past. The fact is, though, that corporate desk phones get used less and less every day. Many users I talk to say they really only use their desk phones to pick up voicemail (unless they have UM, then the phone sits idle). With the smartphones getting more feature rich and the quality of mobile networks improving, we're not far from the day when workers have a laptop and mobile phone to work with, and all the stuff on the desk is gone. Even for many task based workers, having the phone capability built into the PC allows for better integration to the other tools that the user needs, creating a more productive environment."

Another article by Melanie Turek of Frost & Sullivan revealed a 9 year old who uses YouTube as first choice for Internet search, over Google, Yahoo, or other search engines. "When nine-year-olds start choosing to get research information via video; in doing so, they are changing the nature of the format--what purpose it serves, and how it impacts daily life."

"If that's true, it's not a stretch to assume he will likewise be more receptive to communications via video as well; after all, what is communications if not the sharing of information? And if that's true, companies better start offering next-generation employees access to video conferencing on demand, on any device, and whenever they need it. Given Taylor's age, those companies have some time to deploy the necessary endpoints and infrastructure. But given Taylor's habits, the time when a call must include a video conference may come sooner than we think."

A comment about that article mentioned another youngster doing the same thing. The suggestion was the return of oral tradition, versus reading. Curious...

Oh the horror! No phones, no books... But, this is my obsolescence... for the young, the communications future's so bright, you have to wear shades! (thanks Cake).

Google Phone

2009-01-14T10:13:00.001-08:00

Finally got my G-Phone via T-Mobile. Nice device, but larger and heavier than my old Nokia. Can't have everything I guess, or, should I say, in order to have everything (on the phone), one must accept a size increase. Now I have email, IM, Internet, music, photos and probably a zillion other features I haven't tried or don't need... yet..

Otherwise, the phone works well. Only Edge in SLC, but the 3G switches in quickly when in SoCal. I have GMail, plus a configured client to get my .mac (MobileMe) email. Internet works fine, but is so small ( as expected)... I'm too old for small, I guess. Need to scroll around (via touch or scroll wheel) to see everything. Some odd ways to get a new URL, haven't figured out the smoothest methods of feature use. Sort of fumbling around with things. The keyboard is a nice feature, but keys still too small for my (not large but untrained) fingers. The lit keyboard dims too quickly when typing an email in a dark area. Possibly adjustable...

The GUI is fine, more app icons pop up easily. Best is having my Calendar available. The phone is fully configurable for synch Google apps such as Calendar and Gmail.

Some hassle getting the phone to initialize with the network. Took some hours before things started working. Can't use anything on the phone until this network synch happens. Replaced the micro SD card (this was a thrill, difficult to get PC to see the new card and format it). I downloaded lots of docs on the phone, but there are still many, many questions about how to do things. Thankfully T-Mobile has a forum for the G-phone, and lots of good info there.

I connect to the phone mostly with my Mac. I'm able to create folders on the SD card for music, phones, tones, etc. Music works fine, not as slick as iTunes, but not bad. Haven't done tones, yet. Gotta have Thelonious Monk for a ring tone!

So I'm still early into this. I really need a Text app (the one I downloaded won't browse for files... worthless). I need some simple text files available with tech info in case I'm traveling and something comes up.

Eventually I guess I'll get everything integrated. But it will take a while. In the meantime, I'm popular with the 20-something programmers at work.

Cell Phone Service

2008-12-03T09:02:00.000-08:00

Stick Together, I guess that's loose marketing talk for some sort of unified communications. Anyway, certainly mobility is a big part of unified communications, and attempts at single number access to anyone. A great idea, actually single number connectivity has been around decades, it seems, (I remember a big paper from Nortel on this at least 10 years ago). So I've ordered a Google phone from T-Mobile. Try out this smartphone stuff (I'd rather have an iPhone, but I prefer T-Mobile cell service).

Yes, cell phone service, does anyone have good service? First, call quality and connections, cell phones, all of 'em, pretty much suck, don't they? Are any vendors really any better at this? But then, I'm spoiled, used ISDN for years, the absolute Nirvana of voice communications. So cell phones are sort of like MP3s, a degradation of quality. Yet, a necessity (and, yes, I have an iPod... but prefer a lossless algorythm for music storage).

OK, we put up with cell phone calls. What about customer service? Another issue where vendors compete. If we all get dropped calls from all vendors, maybe customer service will differentiate between the competing cell phone companies. Recently, a noted columnist in a noted industry mag slammed T-Mobile for it's customer service. I had to write him immediately, because customer service is why I stick with T-Mobile. Here's some of what I sent him, three incidents that keep me a customer:

Initial Sign Up:

My son was moving to LA in a couple months, so when we wanted to get cell service here in Utah, we requested an LA phone number. Several companies I talked to said it was not possible to get an LA phone number, or acted like they had no idea what to do. Made me quite cynical about the level of competence of the representatives. We walk into T-Moble, me carrying a
chip on my shoulder from the previous experiences. The T-Mobile rep says "no problem" and about 30 seconds later we have a 213 Area Code number while still in Utah. And all other cynical questions were completely answered. Unbelievable! Somebody knew what they were doing. Besides, she was incredibly cute... cute and competent, a combo that really drives me wild (but I digress...).

Phone Replacement:

A couple years after the intial contract, we sign up again. My son gets a new Razr. After about 6 months, the keyboard craps out. I note we have a 1 year warranty, but my cynical side girds for a war with T-Mobile. We walk in, the rep says no prob. The only kink, we are led over to a computer hooked up for a video conference with customer service back at the main T-Moble ranch. Way cool! I'm into video. Another cool babe comes up on the screen, asks us a few questions, looks at the phone via an auxillary camera, and we are in biz. New phone on the way, just make sure to send back the old one. And she winked at me (my son says she winked at him!), but I digress again...

Billing Resolution:

This summer, we got a bill with lots of expensive extra minutes. I noticed that a large block of minutes was actually from the previous month. A phone call to T-Mobile got me a very responsive and helpful agent who spent quite some time examining the bill, and, while having a excuse for the previous month's minutes, did give us full credit, removed the excess minutes charge, and gave me some helpful suggestions to reduce the overall bill in the future. I'm sure she was cute and winking, although I guess I once again digress.

I guess YMMV, but I'm happy. So on to the Gphone...

one-X

2008-11-18T12:13:00.000-08:00

Got a demo of Avaya's UC strategy. Some good things, some not so good. Lots of open source, some consolidation of servers, single client for H.323, SIP, and video, integration with SameTime and Microsoft. Yet no unified management (third party was suggested), and no client for Mac OSX and Linux (other than a web portal application... more servers and more management interfaces and, just a web function... cheap excuse for development). At least SameTime has a Mac client, so they have seen the Zen light if not just the UC light.

Yes, Zen hovers over UC like some sort of spiritual presence (super presence?) waiting for all this telecom to enter heaven. Agnostics in heaven. Such a concept! Now I'm blogging about telecom philosophy... Back to Avaya...

Did really like the one-X mobile app. Works on most cell phones including iPhone. Has a GPS feature that will direct your preference based on location. Located in the office? Office phone rings. Located elsewhere? Cell phone rings. If this works, it's a tremendous feature, overcomes manual preference changes (forwarding) for those of us who never remember. Besides, way cool!

Voicecon SF 08

2008-11-14T11:45:00.000-08:00

Just back from Voicecon in San Francisco. The weather was incredible, hard to stay inside for sessions. But good stuff. Mostly, food for thought more than direct information. The biggest deal for me was "generations", and this whole idea of the new workforce and what they expect in the workplace.

I'm old, over the hill, but I hope I still have a toe dipped in the new telecom culture pool. No problem with a monochrome display on my Avaya 96xx set, I hate Bluetooth dongles hanging off my ear (and the erie look of others who wear them), and 100 Meg Ethernet more than handles my data transmission needs.

But Alan Sulkin (another old telecom fart, with an AOL email account of all things!), provided the head's up, the shift in thinking... color, GigE, and Bluetooth, and of course, social networking. The new workforce won't even think of working for a company that doesn't provide these technologies. They may be techno jaded, but they are also way ahead of we traditional workers.

This generational transition was reinforced by a walk through SOMA on Thursday afternoon to meet the son of an old friend for lunch. He works for a 2.0 company, and the whole south of Market area of SF is populated by young workers attached to Facebook, Linked In, and other 2.0 companies. Amazing to wander amongst them, and try to accept the fact I'm soon out to pasture as they take over.

There was a morning session, with reps from the big companies, Avaya, Cisco, Microsoft, etc. All in suits or nice slacks/sport shirts. Then there was the pres of Digium, in a hoody and t-shirt. Held his own in the session. I then had a vision of all the "suits" headed north into the financial district to beat each other up to land a large corporate account. But Mark of Digium was probably headed south to the 2.0 companies, and cleaning up providing their communications needs. Open source, cheap, extensible, write your own features... the new telecom.