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Hill
Associates Telecom Newsletter
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Welcome to 2007 and let the games begin!
It seems that the AT&T merger approval at year-end coupled with the newly installed democratic-controlled Congress has placed net neutrality on the stove once again. I am sure that this will be an exciting year as we attempt to figure out what will happen in the upcoming months. Of course, we are not alone in our attempts at predicting the future, and January is the month for the pundits to give it their best shot.
I am intrigued with the convergence of cable TV and telecommunications and wonder if true multimedia applications will be part of the 2007 landscape. Thus far we have managed to bundle all forms of media over the single broadband pipe but true multimedia applications are still lacking. Perhaps the boatload of neat new things that were presented at CES or Macworld will provide the impetus for multimedia applications. I am sure that the convergence of cable and telecom will produce a new level of industry competition.
One thing is sure, the popularity of sites like MySpace and YouTube will create new challenges for IT organizations. And, the iPhone might just be the device that melds our personal and professional lives. Finally, given the amount of storage on flash drives, you will be able to carry a library of our newly released PodSnacks in your pocket!
Paul
President & CEO |
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| In
the News
2007 vs. 2006
At this time of year, many articles try to predict what will happen for the upcoming year, in comparison to what happened the previous year. 2007, as well as lots of looking back at what happened in 2006. Business Week compared the trends over the past 12 months. Trends include blogs, Wikipedia articles, the number of Google employees, and Second Life Marketing—what’s not to love?
Seven strange, but true scenes from CES
January is the month for big tradeshows and announcements of cool products. This year the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and Macworld not only had a lot of hype but also some seriously cool products. Follow this link to see a stranger side of CES. I personally like the butt-kicker theatre seats and the mound of music CDs representing the potential for lost data off a missing PC.
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| Industry
Analysis
Multimedia does not always mean traditional media companies
As the world moves to the realm of multimedia, how will companies cope with the amazing amount of information to be transported, stored, secured, searched, and archived? This article examines the operations of MySpace.com, which now has some 26 million users and 40 billion page views per month. One reader asks an interesting question: “Is MySpace the future of corporate communications?” Are MySpace and YouTube the models of a multimedia corporation? Moreover, will multimedia change businesses in the same way that the Web has? How should traditional media companies deal with YouTube?
If you do not think that multimedia will become part of your workplace, you also probably think the iPhone will not become part of the corporate culture. The author of this article could not disagree with you more.
Traditional media uses new delivery
Wish you had the time to sit down and read a book? Do you spend much of your professional and personal time reading email? Two websites have merged these activities. The first is Daily Lit, a simple service that emails users public domain books in a series of small, manageable pieces. Users can choose the books they want to read, how often they want to read them, and when the emails are sent to them. The second is DearReader, where users choose a theme (e.g., science fiction, nonfiction), and every day, every other week, they will receive via email a 5-minute section of a book. Two great ways to fit reading into our busy lives!
Has the U.S. lost its edge in innovation?
In his book The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman describes innovation as one of the most important things that the U.S. provides the world. In this article Reed Hundt, the former FCC chair, is not at all optimistic about our ability to continue being the world’s innovator. In fact, he believes that we are losing this competitive edge to China. However, the WSJ reported on a recent survey by a European business school that found the U.S. to be the world’s most innovative nation. The two articles provide an interesting contrast between where we are today and where we could be in the future. What’s your take on innovation in the U.S. both today and in the future? |
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| Tech
Talk
Hungry for technology but have little extra time? Hill Associates has the answer.
Hill Associates has launched a new Podcast series called PodSnacks! (PodSnacks are short (5-6 minutes or less) information snippets that focus on a particular word, phrase, or concept and explain it in simple, easy-to-understand terms. Each PodSnack is associated with information on our new (and growing) Wiki. Take a PodSnack with you on your next coffee break, the walk to your car, or your commute to work. You can even request a topic by sending us an email to podsnacks@hill.com. Subscribe to the PodSnacks RSS feed here.
What’s in your pocket?
As laptops become older, they are more at risk for hard drive failures and other problems. One website allows users to create a bootable flash drive to store their important files. In fact, total operating systems can be stored on a flash drive, including applications. This is a little more complex than the U3 drives discussed in a recent podcast. At any rate, users can carry one of each, just in case. So yes, you can carry an entire operating system in your pocket! |
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