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IPTV: More Content, Choice and Flexibility

Brad Baldwin — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 16:06:53 +0000

As broadband connectivity spreads around the world, IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) is beginning to reshape the industry. In 2007, the number of households using telco/IPTV services grew to over 14 million worldwide (Parks Associates, April 2008). That number is expected to grow to more than 80 million households by 2011 (Strategy Analytics, January 2007). Providers who wish to survive must have the ability to deliver compelling IP based content, services, and high definition video.

Broadcast International’s President and CEO Rod Tiede gives a high-level overview of the IPTV market and the opportunity for broadcaster and cable operators, satellite, and even mobile and wireless providers. Broadcast International and its CodecSys compression technology leverages the limited bandwidth typical of the DSL networks many consumers access, and makes it possible to send up to four times the video channels over the same connection, with no loss in video quality.

Tags: Brad Baldwin, Broadcast International, CodecSys, compresssion, IPTV, RockyMountainVoices, Rod Tiede, video

Designing and Implementing a Scalable Virtual Desktop Deployment, part 2

editor — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 03:00:04 +0000

This podcast is the second in a series covering the basic design considerations that customers of all sizes should be mindful of as they begin to explore the many benefits of VDI. John Dodge takes a pragmatic, layered approach in working towards a framework in designing flexible, and scalable VDI deployments, as is discussed in this podcast. From Thin Clients, to PC’s, to connectivity and networks, to security, DMZ, and firewall considerations, to connection broker topology, then into the host, hypervisor, storage, operating system, and lastly application and user profile layer - all combine to provide a best practices model for elegantly designing new desktop architectures using VMware VDI and Thinapp.

Speakers:
J. Tyler Rohrer, Sr. Product Marketing Manager, VMware
John Dodge, Worldwide Release Engineer, VMware

Tags: VDI, John Dodge, Thin Clients, Thinapp, VMware, virtual desktop deployment

Mobile WiMAX Technology - Intel Chip Chat - Episode 30

editor — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:14:16 +0000

Ubiquitous mobile broadband connectivity is the next revolution in mobile computing. Listen-in as Intel Fellow Siavash Alamouti explains how Mobile WiMAX will make this happen.

Tags: Intel, Siavash Alamouti, WiMAX

Intel Announces Centrino 2

Paul Lancour — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 00:59:01 +0000

Intel this week announced the release of its newest mobile technology, Centrino 2. Centrino 2 features an enhanced CPU utilizing Intel’s 45 nanometer technology, new graphics and chipset, and more powerful wireless connectivity. This latest version of the Centrino platform will lead the way as consumers continue to demand more hi-def video, longer battery life, and greater mobility, and as businesses look to securely manage a workforce on the go. In this video we hear from Mooly Eden, vice president and general manager of the Mobile Platforms Group, and from Erik Reid, director of marketing with the Mobile Platforms Group, both speaking at the launch event in San Francisco.

Tags: Intel, Centrino 2, 45 nanometer, mobility, Mooly Eden, Erik Reid

Connectivity Is Key To Development

Jason Lopez — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 01:50:50 +0000

Broadband connectivity is rapidly becoming a bottleneck issue for economic development around the world. As nations move into knowledge-based economies, an emphasis on information and communication technologies, or ICTs, is critical to addressing poverty and development concerns ranging from health and education to economic and industrial growth. Knowledge is the driving engine for economic growth, social development, cultural enrichment, and for political empowerment, according to Abdul Waheed Kahn, assistant director-general for communication and information at UNESCO. In this video podcast, he makes the case that enabling a knowledge workforce increasingly requires reliable access to information. As Intel’s John Davies explains, more and more, that means bringing broadband to parts of the world where even basic economic development remains a challenge. IICD Communication Coordinator Hilde Eugelink explains how even simple, relatively small investments in education can have a significant impact on communities and economies.

Hilde Eugelink is communication coordinator with the International Institute for Communication and Development and John Davies is vice president of Intel’s sales and marketing group and the general manager of Intel’s World Ahead initiative.

Tags: Broadband connectivity, economic development, ICTs, Abdul Waheed Kahn, UNESCO, Intel, Hilde Eugelink, Hilde Eugelink, John Davies, World Ahead

GK3 Video: Alcatel-Lucent and Intel to Collaborate on Developing World Issues

Jason Lopez — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:00:49 +0000

Broadband access for the developing world was a key topic at the Third Global Knowledge Conference, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in December 2007. Attendees there called for action items to to bring underdeveloped nations - including populations sometimes referred to as “the next billion” - into the connected world. Broadband services are an important component in the United Nation’s Millenium Development Goals and have been identified as essential for social and economic development. Without broadband, PCs are useless. Without PCs, broadband is less needed. In this video podcast: broadband provider Alcatel-Lucent and chipmaker Intel forge a partnership at the GK3 Conference to help bring connectivity and PCs to the developing world.

Tags: Broadband access, developing world, Third Global Knowledge Conference, the next billion, Broadband services, Millenium Development Goals, economic development, Alcatel-Lucent, Intel, connectivity

HP iPAQs, Notebooks Help Small and Medium Businesses with Mobility

Catherine Girardeau — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:00:28 +0000

In this video podcast, find out how HP’s line of handheld PCs and business notebooks bring mobility and connectivity to SMBs, and how HP Total Care helps business users get the experience they need from their mobile devices.

HP’s notebook portfolio has expanded, with offerings designed for small business users with a fresh look. These new standard-series business notebooks round out HP’s comprehensive portfolio of mobile offerings. Their sleek, silver-finished style underscore the company’s focus on delivering design-savvy products. The 2710p offers the functionality of an ultra-light notebook plus the flexibility of an ultra-slim tablet. Featuring widescreen displays, the latest processor technology and multiple wireless technologies, the HP Compaq 6720s and 6820s Notebook PCs offer a balance of mobility and value. They come with the latest Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processors, WiFi certified WLAN, integrated Bluetooth, ExpressCard 54 (vs. PC Card), 3 USB ports (vs. 2), and security, reliability and ease of use features. For security, HP offers Device Access Manager for HP ProtectTools, HP ProtectTools Security Manager, and HP Disk Sanitizer. For reliability, HP Drive Guard protects from shock and data corruption. And for ease of use, the notebooks feature an integrated Secure Digital (SD) Card reader to easily transfer files to other digital devices and the optional DVD+/-RW SuperMulti DL LightScribe Drive to burn custom high-quality labels and artwork on to your disc.

HP Total Care is a broad portfolio of support, services and solutions to help small and medium businesses get the most out of their technology choices and focus on what they do best – run their business.

The iPAQ 100 and 300-series bring reliable handheld productivity and connectivity tools to SMB customers. The HP iPAQ 110 Classic Handheld is a stylish personal organizer to keep your emails, calendar, contacts and tasks up-to-date. The HP iPAQ 310 Travel Companion is a sleek personal navigation system that provides a unique 3D travel experience. The high resolution 4.3-inch touch screen display and high-performance GPS technology make it as beautiful as it is helpful.

Tags: HP, HP Total Care, HP Notebook, 6720s, 2710p, iPAQ, HP Protect Tools Security Manager, HP Disk Sanitizer, HP Drive Guard

Mobile Internet Devices Make a Splash at CES 2008

Catherine Girardeau — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 17:00:25 +0000

Intel continues to develop smaller and smaller microprocessors, and to fit them into elegant platforms to run just about any kind of computer, from sophisticated server arrays to a brand-new class of ultra-portable devices, known as Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs). MIDs created some genuine buzz at CES 2008 in Las Vegas. Intel’s MID bar at the show was packed with consumers eager to get their hands on these ultra-portable devices, which Intel said combine performance, battery life and wireless connectivity to deliver the “full Internet in your pocket”. Adding everything you can do on your laptop or desktop to lifestyle features, like cameras, messaging, music and video-sharing, the seven brand-new MIDs at the Intel show will be manufactured by various Intel partners and are slated to hit the market by mid-2008. Intel MIDs are powered by the latest in Intel technology in a platform codenamed Menlow, based on a 45-nanometer microprocessor known as Silverthorn and a chipset codenamed Poulsbo. The Menlow platform will deliver state-of-the-art performance to an impressive variety of ultra-small devices, from iPhone-like touchscreen models from Aigo and Clarion, to devices resembling PDAs with slide-out keyboards, to some combination of the two, such as the Samsung, Toshiba, and Lenovo MIDs.

PodTech spoke with Warner Crocker, of GottaBeMobile.com, who posted his own report on the sixth iteration of Samsung’s Q1 Ultra Premium UMPC, (which features Intel technology), as well as Kevin C. Tofel, of jkontherun.com, which also covered Intel’s MID display in a post from the CES show floor.

Tags: Intel, microprocessors, server arrays, Mobile Internet Devices, MIDs, Menlow, 45-nanometer, Silverthorn, chipset, Poulsbo, Warner Crocker, Kevin C. Tofel

GK3 Malaysia: Connect Now

Jason Lopez — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:02:56 +0000

Broadband connectivity is crucial for emerging communities and markets. Until recently, many governments turned a deaf ear to the calls for infrastructure in many of the world’s poorest cities and in rural areas where outreach was almost non-existent. But the urgency has been made clearer as communities, technology companies and non-governmental organizations have begun partnering in initiatives to bring the Internet and other broadband services to the world’s people. At the Third Global Knowledge Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (December 11-13, 2007), many activists say the effort can’t happen without corporate cooperation. Alcatel Lucent’s Valerie Faudon says such meetings help galvanize projects like Broadband for All (BB4ALL). PodTech’s Jason Lopez filed this podcast from Kuala Lumpur.

Tags: Broadband connectivity, Third Global Knowledge Conference, Kuala Lumpur, Alcatel Lucent, Valerie Faudon, Broadband for All, BB4ALL, PodTech, Jason Lopez

LSI Networking - Connecting People and Information

Paul Lancour — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 00:55:15 +0000

In this podcast, you get a perspective on how LSI’s PC connectivity, home and business device and service provider-targeted products enable not only the functionality of the devices that serve these markets, but also facilitate the ongoing convergence of the networking world, bringing together people and content through digital access and transport.

Tags: LSI, PC connectivity, convergence, digital access

ICT Access for Africa: Intel, UN and ITU Efforts to Globalize Broadband

Jason Lopez — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:44:35 +0000

Broadband, connectivity, Wi-Fi, accessibility and education efforts are all priorities for the ongoing efforts in developing nations and regions around the globe. Intel, along with the United Nations and International Telecommunication Union (ITU), among others, is participating this month in the Connect Africa Summit, which aims to bring together human, technical and financial resources to speed development and improvement of Africa’s Information and Communication Technology, or ICT infrastructure. Expanding broadband, wireless and mobile access technologies is the current push, after indications that Africa’s general ICT development is lagging behind its unprecedented adoption of mobile phone technology (400 percent in just a few years - well ahead of projections).

Dr. Hamadoun Touré is secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union. His call for what he refers to as a “Marshall Plan for ICT infrastructure development in Africa,” has been heard by the United Nations, and particularly by Intel Chairman Craig Barrett who, leading the UN’s Global Alliance for ICT and Development, or UN GAID, is working to bring the leading ICT companies in Silicon Valley and around the world to the challenges in Africa.

The United Nations’s Millennium Development Goals are driving innovation around the world, as the challenge of reducing global poverty by half by 2015 looms. The Connect Africa effort brings together private enterprise and non-governmental organizations for a two-day summit in Kigali, Rwanda, beginning on October 29, hosted by Rwanda President Paul Kagame and John Kufour, president of Ghana and chairman of the African Union.

Intel’s World Ahead Program, established in May 2006, has already seen the chip maker pledge more than $1 billion over five years to bridge the digital divide and bring full access to technology to the developing world.

WiMAX: Pervasive Connectivity - Intel Chip Chat - Episode 13

editor — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 22:46:57 +0000

Explore how Intel is working to enable new freedoms in mobile information, interaction, user-generated content, and social networking with WiMAX broadband wireless technology.

Wrap-Up News From IDF: Virtual Worlds and the 3D Internet

Michael Johnson — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 21:44:50 +0000

Users are looking for a richer, more cinematic experience from the Internet, according to Justin Rattner, Intel chief technology officer and director, Corporate Technology Group. Rattner gave the final keynote of the Fall IDF in San Francisco, focusing on virtual worlds, which are evolving into what he referred to as the “3-D Internet,” in a keynote titled, “Research and Development: Virtual Worlds - The Rise of the 3D Internet.”

Rattner, who spoke with PodTech’s Michael Johnson to give a preview of the Fall IDF, wrapped up the annual developer conference by acknowledging Wired Magazine’s prediction that, as social media and user-generated content hit the mainstream at the same time as the rise of broadband and increased connectivity (and mobility), the coming year could see 60 million participants in online virtual worlds.

Rattner was also joined onstage by Greg Nuyens, CEO of Qwaq, who demoed virtual worlds for the enterprise. Outside of business applications, virtual surgery (especially as a training tool) suggests that realistic virtual environments are already a significant force in some communities.

The larger message that Rattner left the crowd with was that the computing power that will be necessary to deliver this rich 3-D experience will have to be substantial, especially given the demand that real time or “frame rate” visual experience for the 3D Web will demand.

Tags: Justin Rattner, Fall IDF, virtual worlds, 3D Internet, social media, user-generated content, Greg Nuyens, Qwaq

Live from IDF: WiMAX and the Future Wireless Broadband Internet

Catherine Girardeau — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 22:00:35 +0000

Keynotes from two Intel executives — David (Dadi) Perlmutter and Anand Chandrasekher — kicked off Day 2 at Intel’s Fall IDF in San Francisco. First up, Dadi Perlmutter, Intel senior vice president and general manager of the Mobility Group. He covered the latest trends in mobile computing, touching on the key elements for mobility — performance, battery life, form factor and wireless communications. Mobile WiMAX will play a big role in wireless networking connectivity, as he explains in this keynote podcast.

In other news, Intel will launch Santa Rosa Refresh in January 2008. It’s an update to Intel Centrino processor technology that includes the next-gen 45nm high-k mobile processor (codenamed Penryn).

Perlmutter also showed the next generation Montevina processor technology that is set to roll out in mid-2008, which includes the Penryn mobile processor and the next-generation chipset with DDR3 memory support. This is notable for being Intel’s first Centrino processor for notebooks to offer the option of integrated Wi-Fi, WiMAX wireless technologies for greater wireless broadband access.

Anand Chandrasekher, Intel senior vice president and general manager of the Ultra Mobility Group, discussed the personal mobile Internet, and Intel’s “silicon roadmap” that will deliver radical reductions in power requirements and package sizes. He also announced a range of leading industry players working with Intel to establish the MID and ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) categories. In a talk entitled, “Unleashing the Internet Experience,” he also covered the upcoming Intel Menlow platform (including a new processor, codenamed Silverthorne - lots of detail can be found on John Spooner’s blog), and the Intel “Moorestown” platform — System on Chip plus a Communications Hub.

The talk also amounted to a check-in after last April’s announcement at IDF Beijing of the MID Innovation alliance with Asus, BenQ, Compal, Elektrobit, HTC, Inventec and Quanta. Chandrasekher was able to show working prototypes from many of the partner companies, emphasizing the significant progress that’s been made over the past six months.

Also announced were strategic collaborations for MID and UMPC efforts — a step forward for Intel’s “Full Internet in Your Pocket” vision.

And the keynote included what Intel billed as the “world’s first demonstration of Adobe AIR Application on Intel Menlow-based platform” — designed to extend the reach of rich Internet applications.

Go Mobile - Click Here for MIDs and UMPCs

Tags: David (Dadi) Perlmutter, Anand Chandrasekher, Fall IDF, Dadi, mobile computing, WiMAX, networking connectivity, Santa Rosa Refresh, 45nm, mobile processor, Penryn, Montevina processor, Anand Chandrasekher, Ultra Mobility, ultra-mobile PC, UMPC, Intel Menlow, Silverthorne, Moorestown, System on Chip, MID Innovation, Full Internet in Your Pocket

Will the Internet Still Be Here in 20 Years?

Aron Pruiett — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 05:36:40 +0000

From AlwaysOn Stanford Summit07, Grieg Coppe (managing partner, Accenture) asks Andy Bechtolsheim about the future of the Internet. After a brief recap of the Internet’s early days, we are quickly brought into Andy Bechtolsheim’s perspective of the larger picture.

Is non-service provider connectivity to wireless access tomorrow’s Internet? Is software service a solution over running data centers in enterprise? Will business models of yesterday be compatible with the new standards in the Internet’s future?

Tags: AlwaysOn, Summit07, Grieg Coppe, Andy Bechtolsheim

Verizon: New Mobility Offerings for Workers-On-The-Go

Michael Johnson — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 11:00:46 +0000

In this podcast, sponsored by Verizon, Mike Marcellin, Verizon’s VP of product marketing, announces new offerings for Fixed Mobile Convergence. PBX Mobile Extension, Wireless Office, and Mobile Conference Connection; mobile solutions for enterprise that enable connectivity and ease of access for wireless and business users.

Tags: Verizon, Mike Marcellin, Fixed Mobile Convergence, Wireless Office, Mobile Conference Connection

Rohit Agarwal on his New Book on Innovation

Kiruba Shankar — Wed, 23 May 2007 21:15:26 +0000

Rohit Agarwal is the founder and CEO of techTribe Networks, a software company that enables current and future professionals to connect with others to enhance their careers.

Rohit recently co-authored a book along with Patricia Brown, titled, How Innovators Connect.

“How Innovators Connect” is an attempt to showcase innovation through the experiences of more than 40 successful innovators in Silicon Valley and India. Innovation is a process that demands connectivity, and cannot be performed in a vacuum. Based on numerous conversations, the authors discovered that each of the successful innovators shared connectivity traits. Although they all had different approaches, there were common sets of principles. The book explores the core principles of connectivity that form a framework for innovation, and contains learning from:

Jawad Ansari (Miven Ventures), Jan Baan (Baan, Cordys), Eric Billingsley (eBay), Marc Benioff (Salesforce.com), Drew Clark (IBM), Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande (Sycamore), Tom Erickson (Systinet), Stuart Evans (Cambridge University), Ashish Gupta (Junglee), Umang Gupta (Keynote, Gupta Corp.), Mark Hanny (IBM), Dan Harden (FrogDesign, Whipsaw), Mark Hoffman (CommerceOne, Sybase), James Hong (HOTorNOT), Bradley Horowitz (Yahoo), Subrah Iyer (WebEx), Kiran Karnik (NASSCOM), Guy Kawasaki (Apple), Emmett B. Keefe III (iRise), Jerry Kennelly (Riverbed), Joe Kraus (Excite, JotSpot), Audrey MacLean (NET), Phaneesh Murthy (iGate), Ram Mynampati (Satyam), Mark Lewis (EMC), M.R. Rangaswami (Sand Hill Group), Rajeev Samant (Sula Wines), Manoj Saxena (Webify, Exterprise), Ram Shriram (Google), Ashmeet Sidana (Foundation Capital), Vishal Sikka (SAP), David Skok (Silverstream), Louis Teto (Taleo), and many more.

For Rohit, the book is not a commercial effort, but part of his passion for spreading the message of innovation in India.

Tags: Rohit Agarwal, techTribe, Patricia Brown, How Innovators Connect, Silicon Valley, India

NETGEAR Announces New ProSafe Smart Wireless Switch

Paul Lancour — Tue, 22 May 2007 12:00:02 +0000

Vivek Chugh of NETGEAR visits PodTech in this podcast focusing on the NETGEAR’s new ProSafe Smart Wireless Switch. Introduced this week at Interop, the ProSafe Smart Wireless Switch is a great solution for small- and medium-size businesses looking to keep costs down and allow for future growth while effectively managing all their wireless connectivity.

Tags: Vivek Chugh, NETGEAR, ProSafe, Interop, wireless

Intel Releases the New Centrino

Jason Lopez — Wed, 09 May 2007 17:00:16 +0000

Intel has released its newest Centrino technologies for notebook computers. The company says the new hardware and software platform has improved processor and graphics performance, wireless connectivity, battery life, startup and loading time, as well as enhanced security and machine management for IT departments.

The new technologies are Centrino Duo, for consumer machines, and the Centrino Pro, for business notebooks. The release of the new laptop technologies comes four years after Intel first launched the platform that made wireless connectivity and mobility a standard characteristic of notebook computers. “It really was a tipping point,” said Karen Regis, a manager in Intel’s Mobile Platform Marketing Group. “It really became the new norm. People expect to be able to sit on their couch and be on the Internet.”

“Now, what we’re doing is we’re just raising the bar on ourselves with what people can do with that wireless,” she added. Regis says the new technology allows people to use their laptops at home or in business in ways that are more seamless. “Once you have that kind of throughput, coverage and reliability, you can start doing interesting things like high definition content.” The rise of Internet-delivered video is one of the factors in the design of new Centrino technologies. Both the Centrino Duo and Pro technologies are based on Core2Duo chips.

Centrino Pro laptops are designed to work within Intel’s vPro environment where I.T. departments can more easily manage fleets of PCs and stay on top of security issues.

Related Stories:
IntelMobility
IntelBusiness

More Information
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Tags: Intel, Centrino, notebook, Centrino Duo, Centrino Pro, Karen Regis, IntelMobility, IntelBusiness

IDF Beijing: Dadi Perlmutter on Mobility

Catherine Girardeau — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 19:00:37 +0000

To open Day 2 of the Intel Developer’s Forum (IDF) in Beijing, David (Dadi) Perlmutter, Intel’s Senior VP and GM, Mobility Group, described the latest trends in mobile computing. Perlmutter said that personal computing is increasingly going mobile, noting that notebook growth is projected to outpace desktop by 2010. He highlighted forthcoming Intel platforms for notebooks including additional details on the Santa Rosa platform slated for May 2007, as well as preliminary information on the Montevina platform slated for 1H’08. Perlmutter also discussed the future of wireless networking connectivity, including mobile WiMAX.

Tags: Intel Developer’s Forum, IDF, Beijing, Perlmutter, Intel, Mobility, Santa Rosa, WiMAX

Medical Training and Connectivity

Paul Lancour — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 16:00:18 +0000

Certain enterprises are ideally suited for Web conferencing and for delivering training materials via the Internet, and Darco International is one of them. As a designer of medical products, demonstration and training is an integral part of the company’s success. The advent of increased connectivity world-wide has been an important part of Darco’s growth. In this podcast George Borak, vice president of sales and marketing for Darco, discusses the company’s history and the importance of Internet connectivity to Darco’s success.

Tags: Darco International, medical, George Borak

Making Mobile Productive and Secure for Small Business Travelers

Catherine Girardeau — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 13:00:47 +0000

Mobile technology isn’t just cool; it’s essential for today’s small business. Our experts separate the hype from the hard truth when it comes to getting business done securely on the road. Join Anita Campbell, founder of Small Business Trends and small business thought-leader; Jeff Zbar, “The Chief Home Officer” and nationally-recognized expert in living the home-office lifestyle; and Pamela Baker, technology guru for Success Magazine, as they share their insights into making mobile technology pay off for you.

This podcast was commissioned by Success Magazine.

(more…)

Tags: Mobile, Anita Campbell, Small Business Trends, Jeff Zbar, Pamela Baker, Success Magazine

Silicon Valley to Host Historic Meeting

Jason Lopez — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 23:04:58 +0000

The United Nations is embarking on something new: a partnership with the private sector to address some of the developing world’s most vexing issues in areas such as education, health care, economic development and government. Craig Barret, the chairman of Intel, has been appointed to chair the UN initiative called the Global Alliance for ICT and Development. GAID meets with Silicon Valley leaders for the first time at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif., for a series of panels and discussions about the ways IT solutions can help the U.N.’s efforts. PodTech’s Jason Lopez spoke with Sarbuland Khan, executive coordinator for GAID.

The podcast was made possible by Intel.

Juniper Networks Master of IT, Paul Schopis: OARnet

Paul Lancour — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 02:07:49 +0000

Eighty-eight colleges and universities. Two-and-a-half million downstream users. Paul Schopis is associate director of OARnet, based at The Ohio State University, and as such he oversees an expansive network for users with a wide range of needs. In this podcast Paul discusses the challenges he faces in building and maintaining such a network, shares some knowledge learned in his ten years at OARnet, and explains the fish problem.

This Juniper Networks podcast is part of the Juniper Networks Master of IT program.

(more…)

Tags: Paul Schopis, OARnet

The Motion C5: Mobile Computing for Health Care

Michael Johnson — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 23:46:26 +0000

In San Francisco, Intel, with Motion Computing and the University of California at San Francisco Medical Center, announced the launch of the Motion C5 mobile clinical assistant, a lightweight tablet computer specifically designed for use in hospitals, for nurse patient care. It features a camera, barcode scanner, interoperability with medical devices like blood pressure monitors and EKG machines, bluetooth and 8.211 wireless connectivity.

More photos available at Flickr

This is an Intel podcast.

Related Stories: IntelDigitalHealth

Transcript:

Host: Michael Johnson – PodTech
Guest: Scott Eckert - Motion Computing
Guest: Dr. Michael Blum – UCSF

Dr. Michael Blum – UCSF
It’s one of the first times I’ve seen an information technology be put into the environment and the nurses are smiling about it and they’re saying, “This is helping me do my job”.

Michael Johnson – PodTech
This is Michael Johnson. In San Francisco, Intel along with Motion Computing and the University of California at San Francisco Medical Center, announced the launch of the Motion C5, a lightweight tablet computer designed specifically for use in hospital, for nurse patient care. It features a camera, barcode scanner, interoperability with medical devices like blood pressure monitors and EKG machines, Bluetooth and 802.11 wireless connectivity and it replaces what’s sometimes referred to as the COW (computer on wheels) basically a laptop on a cart. After the initial announcement by Intel’s Paul Otellini, I spoke with Motion Computing CEO, Scott Eckert. Motion Computing designs computers for health care use and I asked Eckert, how the C5 project began?

Scott Eckert - Motion Computing
We first talked with Intel at IDF for about a year-and-a-half ago and heard the initial idea. I think they might have had the wooden model at that point probably not much else, but a vision to actually make this a reality and we engaged very quickly as health care has been Motion’s primary market from the outset. Here is an opportunity to take a market we were already serving and try to do something very different and unique with Intel and their breath of vision and willingness to start from scratch with end user input was a terrific way to get started in this industry and we were interested in engaging with them. So it was a pretty short conversation about how quickly we would start working with Intel.

Michael Johnson – PodTech
What is it about this particular form that has been working for people that are working with it?

Scott Eckert - Motion Computing
The slate form factor is intuitive for the end user because it feels like a clipboard, a piece for paper that they would have carried, maybe a scratch pad, and navigating the computer with a pen, also feels very natural. So, what we’re trying to do is make a computer that mimics the way that the end user — inclination in health care environment for instance — it mimics the way they actually work and so they can almost forget the fact that they’re using a piece of technology because its just like they’re using pen and paper. That’s the market we’re going after and if the software works really well with the hardware device, that’s the type of experience they have and they see enormous increases in productivity because they’ve replaced pen and paper with a computer for the very first time in most of our applications.

Michael Johnson – PodTech
Now, I know that this sort of looks like I think some of the model of where computing is going in general, not just for health care. Where people are working with thin clients not much resident on the device itself but it’s sort of in the cloud, in the background. Tell me a little bit about what some of the challenges would be for security with this particular device because I know it operates on XP and also on Vista as well, the two platforms, but then tell me a little bit about security concerns.

Scott Eckert - Motion Computing
For clarity and whether it’s implemented in a thin client or a thick client it’s often at the end customer’s request. They can do it either way and we have examples of both. What we focused on from a security standpoint is authentication, having multiple levels of authentication. So, finger print log on or RFID badge log on and having that authentication tied to a TPM module. So, you can have inscription within the device and then we also have a technology called Computrace that is often known as Low Jack for laptops that allows you to track if the device actually leaves the premises, you can scramble the hard disk.

So, there are a bunch of different safeguards around capturing the data on the device and making sure that the device doesn’t carry the data outside of the building. Then how you implement security for the data in the cloud or in the backend becomes the feature of how that software or that backend architecture is implemented.

Michael Johnson – PodTech
Now where do you see this going in as far as deployment within the next few years, I know the question was asked earlier about why has all this sort of converged now and where do you see it in five years?

Scott Eckert - Motion Computing
Part of the reason, it’s converged now; if you think back in the last five years, we’ve now got the ability to do thin and light mobile computing platforms. We’ve got an operating system from Microsoft that enables tablets, we’ve got high performance wireless that even a few years ago 80211 was just getting started and we’ve got a push from Intel into the health care industry to embrace the software vendors that are making clinical information systems.

So, there is a number of different technology factors that point to why now, for this class of product in this particular market, the health care market. If I look forward over the next five years, we’re just getting started on getting these devices into the hands of clinicians and health care. We now have the right device, we’ve just now got the software that works with this device, so now it’s a matter of taking examples like UCSF Medical Center where we are right now and doing similar sorts of deployments in a number of different health care institutions across the US. Today, as it stands, we have 40 customers lined up to do trials and usability studies just like what we’ve seen at UCSF and that’s just the beginning of how big the opportunity could be.

Michael Johnson – PodTech
Are any of those trials happening in other places other than the United States?

Scott Eckert - Motion Computing
Yes, there are trials in the UK, there are trials in Singapore. We have some trials in Canada and over time I would expect many, many more. Our focus is US, Canada, all major European markets, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand. So, all those markets are areas where the Motion C5 product will be launched effectively now and we’ll be shipping in a couple of months into 25 different countries.

Michael Johnson – PodTech
That was Motion Computing CEO, Scott Eckert. I also spoke with UCSF’s Chief Medical Information Officer Dr. Michael Blum, about the development of the C5 from a medical practitioner and administrator’s point of view.

Dr. Michael Blum – UCSF
We’d worked with motion on some of their previous products and got together with a group of clinicians in an advisory capacity to really review the functionality and the features that they were talking about including and really work together to say how would this work in a clinical environment? Where were they on the mark? Where were they missing the mark? And what they really needed to do to introduce the concept of infection control and how important that is in the environment today. And really that’s some of their early beliefs about infection control. For example, the original thought was that the thing had to be — the device actually, had to be completely submersible to be disinfective which turns out not to be true. It actually needs to be wipable and that led to a lot of further modifications in the design. Things such as reducing any of the cracks and crevices came out of those sessions.

We also worked a lot with them around the importance of the software vendors, the applications really being customized to take advantage of the mobility and a lot of the team members brought their particular software providers, the GEs, the McKessons, the Cerners and the Siemens to really work with Motion and really developing their application specifically for it and that took the better part of the year, year-and-a-half until we ended up but today where the launch happened.

Michael Johnson – PodTech
It’s a pretty massive structure in which to deploy this, I mean, this is a world known campus here. Many people come here from all over the world to study medicine and also to get treated as well. What were the challenges, some of the main challenges you had in deploying such a device in such a large infrastructure as UCSF?

Dr. Michael Blum – UCSF
So one of our goals in designing the device was actually to make it so that it was as lightweight as possible from the infrastructure’s perspective, from the organization’s perspective that you didn’t have to go back and do a major change. So, it runs on common wireless infrastructure which we have deployed here and it runs on typical Windows platform.

So there is not a tremendous amount of re-work and learning. Having said that, it is a culture change and a technology change to move from a typical Notebook computer that people know how to work and so on, to bring them to using hand writing recognition, to using a bio metric sign on requires some training of the nurses and we’ve gone through that process and found that the nurses readily adopted this technology because it’s easier to use as opposed to when you try to do that kind of culture change and something that’s a challenge and you train and you train, and you train.

This is a pretty quick training cycle and the nurses adopted pretty well. Some of the other challenges are building the images, which way the software’s loaded onto the tablet so that you don’t have to touch each tablet individually, it requires a little bit of a specific build for the tablet, so we went through that hurdle. It was not nearly as bad as everyone had feared and it adopted a pretty standard image pretty well and the connectivity with the wireless has turned out to be excellent as well. The next step will be how are we going to plan to acquire and deploy them throughout the facility as we get some more experience up here.

Michael Johnson – PodTech
I know that we’ve been reading a lot of newspapers writing about security concerns with their laptops being stolen from the VA, the FBI and then you know hundreds of thousands of documents and records being on the individual laptop. What’s the situation with the motion C5 as far as it being for I guess to develop thick client or thin client? How much information is resident on the C5 as you walk around with it?

Dr. Michael Blum – UCSF
So, that’s an excellent point and tremendous concern of ours is the protection of the patient information and the patient privacy and it’s a focus of everything we do. The way it’s been designed is that no patient information is resident on the device itself. The entire client application and all the other applications are running off backend servers so that if this device was taken out of the environment, or broken, none of the information would be lost or would be taken out of the environment. In those situations, where you do have thefts of the devices, if there is patient information there, it’s a huge problem and as you point out the VA and several of the Universities of California have run into issues, so we’ve designed it and that was another part of the measure feedback from the clinician design team was that no information should need to be resident on the device in the environment.

Michael Johnson – PodTech
So, we’re not going to see a C5 on eBay any time soon?

Dr. Michael Blum – UCSF
Well, I’m sure you will, someone will steal one of these as soon as they can. As it was pointed out earlier today, a couple of things were built into it, the RFID locationability so we can see where they’re tracking through the environment. There is also platform features that are built in. So, should it be taken out of the environment? It can become disabled. There is essentially low jack for computers that you can’t employ things like that but people are going to steal anything that they can. Our goal was to make sure that if they do steal it, they don’t get any patient information with it.

Michael Johnson – PodTech
So, what’s the most exciting thing about this implementation for you?

Dr. Michael Blum – UCSF
I think it’s really the nursing satisfaction, the nursing adoption and the fact that we’re actually making it easier for the nurses to care for the patients. It’s one of the first times I’ve seen an information technology either a software application or a device, we put in the environment and the nurses are smiling about it and they’re saying, “This is helping me, do my job.” That’s a tremendous sense of satisfaction.

Michael Johnson – PodTech
That was Dr. Michael Blum, Chief Medical Information Officer for The University of California at San Francisco. We also heard from Motion Computing CEO, Scott Eckert. They spoke at the launch of the Motion C5 Tablet Computer for nurse patient care developed with Intel and UCSF. In San Francisco, this is Michael Johnson.

Tags: Intel, Motion Computing, tablet, IntelDigitalHealth