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Surprise: cable companies edging closer to bandwidth exigency
We know, it was a year ago yesterday that we had this very same conversation, but apparently, cable companies aren't heeding the advice of analysts. According to yet another study, this time by ABI Research, "cable providers will soon be faced with a serious bandwidth crunch" as more and more individuals look to online gaming, video-on-demand, and IPTV for enjoying their precious moments of leisure. Compounding the problem is the growing demand for more HD channels in the lineup, and considering that the satellite operators are already raising the bar, cable carriers can only play dumb for so much longer. Stan Schatt, VP and research director for ABI Research, was quoted as saying that "digital switching is key" to releasing some of the strain on current infrastructures, and while we aren't ones to believe that the influx of online TV delivery will debilitate the internet (or cable providers), something seemingly has to give -- and soon.[Via Slashdot]
Darren Murph08.20.2007Linksys branding not dead after all
Well, it looks like Cisco CEO John Chambers spoke a little too soon last Friday when he said that the Linksys brand was going the way of the dodo -- Cisco is now saying that it will continue selling Linksys-branded products "in the near term," and that changes would only come "if and when these changes add value to our customers' decision making processes." In other words, Linksys ain't dead yet, but the axe is still mighty close.
Nilay Patel07.30.2007Cisco axes Linksys branding
Linksys fanboys, if there even are such creatures, best get used to seeing a lot more Cisco and a lot less of their favorite brand, as Cisco CEO John Chambers recently announced at a European roundtable discussion (video after the jump) that Linksys products would now sport the Cisco name. Chambers was quoted as saying that "it would all come, over time, into a Cisco brand," and he also noted that the reason the Linksys name was kept alive was because "it was better known in the US than even Cisco was for the consumer." As the firm "goes globally," he concluded, there would be "little advantage" in keeping it around. Sayonara, dear Linksys.[Via TheInquirer]
Darren Murph07.27.2007Massive WiFi network to cover 37 cities in Silicon Valley
Granted, we've seen some sizable WiFi networks in our day, and while an entire country has claimed to have nationwide internet on the brain, the largest we've seen implemented here in the states span a city or so at most. Reportedly, a group of firms (including IBM and Cisco) are looking to build a $85- to $150-million outdoor WiFi network that could connect up 37 cities in Silicon Valley. The initiative will not only provide basic, free internet to those willing to deal with the ad-supported service, but it will also dish out subscriber-based signals to residents, high-speed service to businesses, and uber-secure communications to police / firefighters. As of now, the companies plan to erect test networks in Palo Alto and San Carlos later this year, with constructions of the final network to potentially begin in 2008. Just make sure Utah doesn't get a whiff of it, capiche?[Thanks, Charlie]
Darren Murph07.24.2007Wireless problem was Cisco bug, not iPhone traffic, says Duke
As Dave noted on Friday, we expected to hear more from Duke on the iPhone-killed-our-network story, and we did -- on Friday the university released a statement that identified the problem, now resolved, as "a Cisco-based network issue" which has now been patched. The iPhone has been fully exonerated as a cause or victim of the wireless issue, demonstrating once again that correlation does not necessarily imply causation. Hey, it's not like Cisco's still bitter about the whole iPhone trademark thing, either.It seems that Kevin Miller, with Duke's IT department, jumped the gun a bit last week when he told Network World, with considerable confidence, that the iPhone was at the root of Duke's wireless problems. "I don't believe it's a Cisco problem in any way, shape or form," he said. Oops. Sounds familiar to me... network guys always bristle when someone says "it's a router problem," and the immediate (and often correct) reaction is to blame the newest devices on the LAN. Don't worry, Mr. Miller, we've got the perfect Sysadmin Appreciation Day gift for you: a fruit basket, chock full of Apples.via Macworld
Michael Rose07.22.2007Nintendo's DS Lite orders food, shows replays at Safeco Field
Those looking for a little more interaction at Safeco Field this season need only bring their DS Lite and a few extra bucks. This season, Nintendo is trialing the Nintendo Fan Network at the home of the Seattle Mariners, which enables onlookers to "order food and drinks, watch the live television feed of the game, access stats and scores, and play trivia from the comfort of their seat." The quietly introduced pilot program has brought several kiosks to the park, which uploads a program to the DS Lite and enables the WiFi-equipped handheld to take part in the bonus festivities. Eventually, the Big N hopes to expand the system into other stadiums, but for now, Mariners fans can get in on the action for $5 per game, or $30 for ten games.[Image courtesy of Flickr]
Darren Murph07.09.2007Shimo 1.0
VPNs are a staple of corporate life nowadays. They create a secure connection from your computer to your company's computers using a 'Virtual Private Network.' This allows you to access company documents via public networks in a secure fashion.Cisco is a big player in the VPN market, and luckily for us OS X users there is a Mac client that allows connections from Macs to Cisco VPN appliances. Sadly, it sucks. The interface isn't Mac like, and while it works it doesn't offer up any nice features like Keychain integration or automatic reconnects. Enter Shimo, from nexUmoja. This little program offers up an alternative UI to the Cisco client that adds a number of features including Keychain integration, Growl notifications, and auto reconnecting.All of this is great and as a user of Cicso's VPN client you would think I would use this without hesitation. Sadly, the whole point of VPNs is to make your communications more secure, and I simply don't trust a third party app sitting between my encrypted data and the Cisco VPN appliance. That's just me though, I'm slightly paranoid.
Scott McNulty05.22.2007Cisco planning "souped-up" set-top boxes
It looks like Cisco is about to make its biggest push into the consumer market to date, with BusinessWeek reporting that the company is readying a "souped-up" set-top box that'll supposedly combine a number of different products into one. Of course, as BusinessWeek points out, this shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, especially given the company's recent acquisitions of Linksys, Scientific-Atlanta, and KiSS Technology. As you may be able to surmise by that confluence of companies, the new do-it-all box will apparently be networked like nobody's business (wireless, naturally), including the ability to pull content off the Internet and distribute it to other devices around the house. It'll reportedly include its own web browser as well. While Cisco's pulling all the strings, it apparently won't be slapping its own name on the boxes, selling them instead directly to consumers under the Linksys brand and offering 'em up to various cable companies. If all goes as planned, you should be able to snag one for yourself by the end of this year or early next year.[Thanks, Mercurial]
Donald Melanson05.14.2007Adgadget: Apple - flattered and photocopied
We're pleased to introduce a new column today, Adgadget, a periodic editorial by Ariel Waldman about the advertising behind consumer technology: Functioning to flatter, Apple's marketing department continues to imitate their inspiration. While a bit lack-luster, Apple's recent commercial for the up and coming iPhone is a far cry from the originality of the product itself. As some may have seen, it was soon found that the iPhone commercial that had originally aired during the Oscars was a cut and dry ripoff of a film that had come out more than a decade earlier. While seemingly scandalous, this incident was no coincidence. Apple had approached the filmmaker earlier for permission to use the concept; no stranger to being turned down -- and similarly to the battle with Cisco over the very name of the product -- Apple went ahead and used it anyway. This time the muse happens to be experimental artist / musician Christian Marclay, who in 1995 produced Telephones, an abstract film of absurd and fragmented conversations cut up from phone scenes in movies. The film focused to comment on the relationship between sound and image by way of video; intrigued by the phone-movie mashup, Apple approached Marclay to use his work. Marclay, of course, refused Apple's advances, but Apple took advantage anyway. Since asking the source had short-circuited, Apple instead took to using extremely similar footage, making the iPhone commercial nothing short of a complete color copy of Telephones.Reminiscent of the earlier Intel chip commercial outcry that clearly ripped out scenes from Postal Service's "Such Great Heights" music video, content confiscation is nothing new to Apple. There was also the iPod incident in 2005, where blogs everywhere threw up screen grabs and expressed shock over the extreme similarity between the then recent Eminem iPod commercial and a Lugz commercial from 4 years before. But it wasn't always this way.
Ariel Waldman05.03.2007US military to launch WiFi router into space
The mysterious expanses of space have been seeing quite a lot of action lately, but rather than watching a couple of autonomous crafts tackle tasks for kicks, the US military is hoping to set their next router right beside a constellation. Partnering with Intelsat and Cisco Systems, the US Department of Defense is hoping "to test an internet router in space in hopes of benefiting civilian broadband satellite communications." Additionally, the Internet Routing In Space (IRIS) project aims to assist in all sorts of "military communications," as it routes IP traffic between space-bound sats and cuts down on the time required to divvy out information. As expected, voice, video, and data will all be supported, and once the three-year initiative is complete, "the technology will be available for commercial use" -- you know, in case you're looking to relocated your networking gear to the Black Hole.
Darren Murph04.12.2007Cisco smart bots act like rolling routers
Has this ever happened to you? You're deep behind enemy lines, about to transmit target coordinates back to your command post for a good old fashioned carpetbombing, and just as you're about to drop the longitude in, your wireless network craps out! Actually, we really hope that you've never found yourself in this position, but for those that do, Cisco has developed a set of smart robots that tag along with their master, constantly monitoring their connectivity and attempting to bridge the connection in the event of drop outs. Part of the company's "Information on the Move" initiative, the unnamed bots were revealed at this week's Military Technologies Conference in Boston, where Cisco told attendees that this tech -- if not the the bots themselves -- could eventually be incorporated in autonomous equipment ranging from UAVs to Packbots. Naturally us geeks would also be interested in these go-anywhere communications relays, but until these bots find their way onto Newegg, we'll have to continue our search for a human WiFi detector that will agree to be our wife. [Via Slashdot]
Evan Blass03.29.2007Sprint shows off Cisco ENZO EV-DO router at CTIA
While it's certainly not the first of kind, Sprint is busting out a rare American solution to the 3G router thirst as it showcases the Cisco ENZO at this year's CTIA. The EV-DO router is based around a Cisco 3G WWAN interface card and an "integrated service router (ISR)," and unfortunately, that's about all the details that are currently available. Apparently, Sprint will be aiming this at companies who could use "primary or backup access for business-critical applications," and while we can't give you any concrete dates to mark on your calender just yet, the router is currently in the testing stage and should be ready for commercialization "sometime this summer."
Darren Murph03.27.2007Apple and Cisco Settle over iPhone
MacNN is reporting that Apple and Cisco have reached an agreement over the use of the "iPhone" brand. As we previously mentioned, Cisco had sued Apple following the Macworld announcement claiming to hold the US trademark, though Cisco later granted several extensions to allow time to finish negotiations. This has apparently paid off, as MacNN says that under "the agreement, both companies are free to use the 'iPhone' trademark on their products throughout the world." There's more corporate speak about "exploring opportunities," etc., but the main news is that this little spat is cleared up, removing yet another small barrier to Apple's apparent plan for iPhone world domination.Thanks to those who sent this in!
Mat Lu02.21.2007Apple and Cisco settle! iPhone name to be used by both
Here's one we didn't exactly see coming (at least not like this): Apple and Cisco have settled that "silly" lawsuit, with Apple agreeing to guarantee the exploration of "interoperability in the areas of security, and consumer and enterprise communications" according to the WSJ. We don't know exactly what that means, but it doesn't sound fantastic for Jobs, who we're sure wanted to have exclusivity over the name without cutting a partnership with Cisco, and didn't want to have to pay a red cent for it. But this does sound a lot like what Cisco wanted initially from Apple, and might possibly wind up in some kind of SIP / VoIP solution that allows iPhones and iPhones to communicate. Apparently both will make use of the trademark in the market (i.e. Apple's and Cisco's iPhones will both continue to be iPhones), and all's well that ends non-litigious.[Thanks, Nick and Jay]
Ryan Block02.21.2007Cisco delays Apple iPhone lawsuit, again
For those of you eagerly awaiting the result of the the iPhone trademark dispute today... well, you'll have to keep waiting. Cisco extended the time for Apple's response to its iPhone lawsuit until Wednesday, February 21st. In a statement released this morning, Cisco states that they are "fully committed to using the extra time to reach a mutually beneficial resolution." With these favored children of Silicon Valley separated by just a few miles drive, you'd think they could have hammered out an agreement over a few beers by now. But with the discussion dealing not only with trademark rights, but also with "interoperability," the settlement is likely to include more than just a one-off cash settlement.
Thomas Ricker02.16.2007Engadget begins iPhone litigation crash course series: part 1 - trademarks
The litigation biz is a messy and complex one, which is why I'm thankful Engadget has rounded up law student members from the Columbia Science & Technology Law Review for a primer series covering the ins and outs of the potentially ensuing Apple/Cisco litigation. This first part covers trademarks - what they're for, how to maintain them and the available courses of action when your trademark gets the rip-off treatment.Of particular interest to me is the fact that the owner of a trademark must be vigilant about maintaining control over it and defending their turf. If a company starts lying down and letting their 'mark run rampant, they can lose the reigns entirely. This series should be a great read for anyone interested in a quickie IP law education without all the student loans and all-nighters.
David Chartier02.09.2007Apple and Cisco put iPhone lawsuit on hold to talk things over
It's good to see two major putting down legal weapons of trademark war and setting an example for the children. Forbes is reporting that Cisco has agreed to give Apple some extra time to respond to their iPhone trademark lawsuit (perhaps they know they might not have a leg to stand on?) so the two companies can sit down and maybe work things out peacefully. The actual discussions are forthcoming, but since Cisco is apparently still seeking interoperability, I'm betting these 'discussions' aren't going to last much longer than a 'chat.' Apple doesn't share a bed with another 3rd party very often, and the iPhone means they're joined at more than just the hip with Cingular already.
David Chartier02.01.2007Apple and Cisco agree to delay lawsuit, maybe hug it out
Good news on the "let's sue Apple!" front. Apple and Cisco, in a "tersely" worded joint statement yesterday, announced that Cisco has agreed to delay its iPhone lawsuit, while the two companies start up talks again to see if they can't settle this naming dispute out of court. It's unclear if Apple suddenly decided the lawsuit wasn't so terribly "silly" and decided its best shot at a cheap solution was an out of court settlement, or if Cisco was afeared that its once firm grasp on the trademark was slipping, and decided to grab the money and run. Or maybe, just maybe, the two companies decided that with all the petty bickering in the world, couldn't they just get along? Oh man, sometimes we just crack ourselves up.
Paul Miller02.01.2007The iPhone reviewed. No, the other iPhone.
While Apple's iPhone remains behind closed doors, with secretive minions putting the last touches on the software and the hardware peeps chuckling to themselves about the crappy EDGE data they've managed to foist upon the public, there's another iPhone out there that could very well spice up your communications life, and won't cost you $600 to do it. We're referring to the Linksys iPhone, of course, the CIT300 Dual-Mode Skype model of which was recently put through its paces by TheTechLounge. Other than the fact that the $90 handset requires your PC to be on to make calls (you could always pick up the $150 CIT400, which just needs a broadband connection, if that's a deal breaker for you), the reviewer had no problem with setup or operation, and the voice quality and signal range were both robust. The handset itself is well built and comfortable, and while it can work with both your landline and Skype calls, if you're willing to spring for SkypeOut and SkypeIn you could really save a bundle, and it sounds like you wouldn't be taking much of a hit on convenience.[Via The Inquirer]
Paul Miller01.24.2007Cisco fesses up to iPhone WIP300 GPL failings, is "taking steps"
Apple isn't the only one having trouble messing with intellectual property as it relates to its iPhone product. Cisco was apparently reprimanded in October by a certain Armijn Hemel over unreleased code which, under the GPL-license that the phone submits to due to its Linux underpinnings, is required to be made available publicly. After the chat in October, Cisco fixed a few of its other products that Mr. Hemel pointed out were in violation, but still hasn't come clean with certain bits of WIP300 iPhone code. "For someone talking about Apple using Cisco's property," said Hemel, "actually they're infringing on copyright themselves. So it's just a double standard." In a response on Saturday, Cisco's prolific blogger John Earnhard states: "Based on our investigation, Cisco is taking steps to resolve a single issue raised regarding this product's compliance with the GNU General Public License, or GPL." No word on when this will all be patched up, or whether Cisco's fixes will be sufficient, but for the moment it sounds like the GPL kids are going to get their way. Will the curse of the iPhone live on? Tune in next week for Pirates of the iPhone: Apple and Cisco At World's End.[Via The Inquirer]Read - Cisco's iPhone violates GPL, expert saysRead - Cisco responds
Paul Miller01.22.2007