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Category Archives: Networking

Home Renovation: What Tech Do I Need?

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My wife and I bought a house a few months ago, and it needs some renovation work (read: holy crap, we’re practically gutting the place, what the heck were we thinking???). One aspect of said work is redoing the entire electrical system, which gives me the opportunity to put in all sorts of cool new tech.

Things I know I want for sure:

  • Sonos as my distributed audio system of choice. We’ll be putting in-ceiling speakers in a few rooms, and they’ll be wired to Sonos units which we’ll have clustered in two locations. I debated putting iPod docks in the walls, but they’re pricey, we don’t currently use iPods, and don’t allow for multi-room distribution.  Plus this’ll give me a chance to check out their new hardware!
  • NETGEAR/Infrant NV NAS to serve media (this replaces my Maxtor Shared Storage Plus which appears to have just died, gah!). In my current apartment I’m a bit leery of the NV as it’s loud and we don’t have a place to hide it away, but this won’t be a problem in the new spot.
  • Current Panasonic plasma + Xbox + Pioneer receiver all move into “JT’s Cool Room (no girls allowed!)”. But the Bose speakers go “buh-bye” and my Definitive towers return! FTW. I’ll probably also hook up a Mac Mini with Boxee on it for photo/Internet streaming. The only other TV in the house will be a smaller (25″-32″) flat-screen in one of the sitting rooms – yes, we’re actually going to make the living room a place where people don’t watch television!

Things I know I don’t want for sure:

  • Central Vacuum. We thought this would be great, but after a little digging in, seems like they are consistently underpowered poorly designed products. Pass.
  • Video Intercom Front Door System. The day I move into my 15,000 square foot mansion I’ll consider it, but until then, I can run down the stairs to see who’s there. Plus I’m going to try to jury-rig something myself with a Bug Labs setup.

Things I am on the fence about:

  • RJ45 (Ethernet) outlets in every room.  Seems like a waste.  When I ask my friends, the overwhelming reason for it is “to stream 1080p video around your house”.  Now that is really just not a good reason in my opinion, but I do like the idea of future-proofing.  Plus I guess it’ll be easier for hooking up printers or other networked devices where wireless is not built-in… ?
  • Insteon (or other) smart lighting systems.  I’m not a fan of home automation systems (wait, for only $50K I can have my lights turn on and off and I don’t even have to get off the couch?  where do I sign up?), but Insteon is fairly inexpensive and the platform is open enough to hack around with.  From what I’ve read, however, I can always add it after-the-fact, so I’ll probably save the $ now, then do some tinkering down the road.

Anyone have any recommendations here, or notice anything I’m missing?  Would love some thoughts ASAP  as wiring starts in ~2 weeks!

Wireless HDTV R&D Update: Tons of Spending, Tiny Market

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Saw a thread on Techmeme this morning about wireless HDTV technology. Looks like some big companies are banding together to provide (yet another) wireless HDTV service. Over at Crave I read that while it’s a year away (read: 2-5 years away), it’ll be fairly low-cost, as in ~$100 (read: ~$500) per set to enable the technology. There’s also multiple competing standards, and as MG points out, two of the companies involved are participating in both platforms (updated: now both PCMag and Ars weigh in as well). This is a lot of big companies spending big budgets to build multiple technologies and standards in the space.

I ask “why?”.

Seriously. What’s the point here? So people can one day wirelessly stream video from a hard drive/PC in one room of their house to the plasma display in another room? Really? Don’t get me wrong, it sure sounds like a fun idea, and there’ll be some percent of the market willing to do it, but most definitely not the majority.

The other argument for it is just to have a short range, enabling me to “cut the cables” from my plasma to my HD set top box. Only one catch here: very few people will be willing to upgrade both their boxes and sets just to hide one cable, especially considering they still need the power cord! While the WAF is certainly a powerful force in every home, I don’t think anyone can argue that a plasma should be replaced to reduce a single cable.

I’m sure I’m missing some points here, but having spent the better part of 8 years working with organizations like UPnP and DLNA, it seems like neither the “connected home” nor “interoperability” are initiatives which win (ask Apple how interoperable the iPod is). There’s a lot of money being spent on R&D labs for this type of technology. Whenever it gets out of the labs it will need to go into *massive* testing before any cable company even considers distributing a box with new technology (ever wonder why it took Comcast 3 years to ship a DVR? it wasn’t a lack of technology, it was testing, and even then they still did a mediocre job with it). As a final point on the market opportunity here, just remember how well this must be testing in focus groups…

Would you like it if your plasma display worked wirelessly (not including power), and only cost $100 more?

Golly, sure I would!

Would you be willing to replace your cable box if you could get one that didn’t need any wires to hook up to your plasma?

Gee whiz, absolutely!

Anyone notice that the #1 seller of plasma TVs is not a participant here? Considering how well Vizio’s taken over the market, it seems pretty clear that customers are trying to save $100 by purchasing a brand they’ve never heard of before. But $100 for wifi HDTV streaming to/from nebulous devices with multiple standards? Yeah, that’ll happen.

Any NAS recommendations?

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My Maxtor Shared Storage is starting to die, so I’m looking into a new NAS solution (mom, NAS stands for networked attached storage, and it’s basically like computer memory except attached to the network.  it’s not actually computer memory at all, but that’s not important right now).  I have an Infrant ReadyNAS NV+ I use at work, and while I think it’s a great device, it’s a little too loud for my home.  I’m considering the DroboShare option as well, except I use that at the office too and feel that it plus the drives is more than I want to spend right now for a second unit (disclosure: I have consulted for Drobo in the past).

Here are my needs:

  • No software install required for use
  • Mac and Windows support
  • Browser-based configuration
  • 500+ GB HDD
  • Power save mode – I don’t want the drives spinning 24/7 for both conservation and longevity purposes
  • UPnP support – must be able to stream to my Sonos, preferably to my Xbox 360 as well
  • Quiet – it’s going to be out in the open somewhat, I’d rather not have to hear it at all
  • Automated backup – optional, I don’t mind doing this manually

My Shared Storage does all of the above, but from user reviews on Amazon, the modern replacements seem to get terrible writeups.  I haven’t really researched it, but I assume I cannot simply swap out the drive (I will definitely check into this more as well).

The two I’ve found so far that seem to be the best fit are the Iomega 33455 and the Buffalo LS500GL LinkStation Pro.  CNET doesn’t seem to have any clear winners in the category, so that wasn’t much added info.  I tried retail, but Best Buy barely stocks any (there was ONE unit in the local store), CompUSA is busy selling the shelving of their fail, and I am just scared of OfficeMax.  Anyone have any input/recommendations?

ps – per a great conversation I had with Robert Scoble and Rafe Needleman tonight, I’m going to try to write a daily post with no influence from TechMeme whatsoever.  It’s not to say I won’t chime in on some widely discussed topics, but I think I had more satisfaction from the ol’ days.  But that could also be some early senility setting in.  This post counts.

See you at Lunch two point oh today

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In case you missed it on my guest blog post, NETGEAR is hosting a “Lunch 2.0” event today.  I’m heading down there in my new used car (thank you AutoTrader.com), though on 2.0 hours of sleep (thank you baby), so if I babble incoherently, I apologize in advance.  If you haven’t signed up, details are here (there are some pre-reqs, so read up before you just drive on down!), and I hope to see you there.  I know the company is excited to meet a lot of “new tech folks” and show off the latest networking equipment.  They’ll also be touring the new & improved (as opposed to old & inferior) Digital Lifestyle Room, and giving away an extreme network makeover to some lucky winner.

ps – if you can’t make it today, don’t forget to mark down June 28th in your calendar for the upcoming Under the Radar (one point oh) event, where I’m participating as a judge (no wig).  If your company fits the profile and wants in, shoot me an email – no guarantees on results, but I will pass the information along to the right people.  I’ll blog more about this event soon!

Video: Netgear's Digital Lifestyle Room

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Still no RSS over at the official NETGEAR blog, but I really liked the videos I shot while I was at their HQ a few weeks ago, so I am cross-posting them here. Big thanks to David Henry for spending the time with me. I’ve distilled the video into 5 chunks, each only a few minutes long. I like to think some editing is better than none!

The Home Office

Clip shows the Powerline HD kit as well as a wireless print server/router.

The Kids Room

Clip shows a wireless game adapter and discusses next-generation wireless security technologies.

The Kitchen Nook

Now I may not have a nook in my kitchen in my SF apartment, but I do remember what one looks like! This clip shows the Wifi Skype phone.

Showing the Skype DECT Phone

The Living Room

Features a walkthough of the EVA8000

Want to get your own tour of the room? Sign up for the Lunch 2.0 event at the end of May! Hope to see you there.

Differentiating The Two NETGEAR Skypephones

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IMG_4009 sph101 sph200dI live in the San Francisco Bay Area.  If there was a country called “Hightechistan” this is it’s capital.  There is so much technology innovation surrounding you here it’s effectively impossible to stay ahead of everything going on.   While it’s true that much of the innovation is Web-based or infrastructure services (such as the demos at the Web 2.0 Expo being held this week, which you won’t see me blog about any more than this due to them not giving me a press pass.  Although I may blog about exactly that once more, we’ll see) there’s also new gadgets and gizmos coming out fairly frequently.

Sometimes, gadget makers seem to build model after model, leaving consumers in a bit of a lurch to determine which one is right for them. In the past two years, NETGEAR’s introduced two different Skypephones, the original (but first) not-so-memorably named SPH101 and this year’s similarly named followup SPH200D model.  With my fun role as their “guest blogger” I have had the chance to use both for the past couple of weeks.  In an interesting twist, there actually is a reason to have two different models on the market at the same time, as they serve two different purposes!  In a nutshell:

  • IMG_4005 sph101 no emergency!If you want a Skype Phone that you can use at home or carry around with you and use WiFi networks, you want the SPH101.
  • If you want a Skype Phone to use only when at home, and would enjoy the convenience of using only a single handset for both Skype and regular phone services, you want the SPH200D.

Over on the NETGEAR blog (nope, still no RSS), I put up a post that explains the difference between the two models.  If you are in the market for a Skype phone and want to know about their units, take a read.

At home, both my wife and I are using the units.  She has the DECT phone (which doubles as a home phone as well), and I’m using the Skype-only SPH101 handset.  I haven’t really put them through the paces yet, but some quick thoughts and observations:

IMG_3430 sph200d componentsPros: easy to use, setup/configuration worked well right out of the box, the handsets feel nice and are lightweight, bright LCD screens, lots of advanced options for geeks like me, sound quality generally good enough

Cons: poor-to-bad battery life, sound quality occasionally dips into unacceptable range

More photos on Flickr. SPH101 on Amazon. SPH200D on Amazon.

Putting the fun back into networking

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As the old saying goes, you can’t spell “networking” without F-U-N.  Oh, well, no, that’s wrong.  Actually you can.  In fact, if we were to do some word association game with “networking” my hunch is the word “fun” only comes up when the occasional masochistic IT guy plays.  In fact, if you Google “networking” you get about 200,000,000 results, but if you Google “networking -fun” the number of results climbs an additional 14,000,000.  Weird. 

Anyhow, check out this week’s NETGEAR blog posting to see some suggestions I have for how to add a little entertainment to your home network.  As always, I would love to hear your feedback on this post, as well as the whole “NETGEAR guest blogger thing” in general…

A bit about a byte (and a bit)

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I’m about a month into the Netgear blogging efforts, and having a lot of fun with it.  Unfortunately, they don’t have their blog serving RSS feeds yet (although loyal readers’ll notice the titles got updated to reflect content instead of dates – hey, we’ve gotta crawl before we run people!), hence my cross-posting over here.  Anyhow, here’s an excerpt in which I quote.. me!

I might be wrong, but in my opinion one of the most technically confusing areas of consumer technology is trying to figure out how to buy a computer.  For example, I constantly get asked “how much memory should my computer have?” Now the “correct” answer right now is “about a gig, maybe more if you plan to do some gaming or video editing”  But what they are really asking is “how big a hard drive do I need?”

The next most confusing thing in personal tech, in my opinion, is helping make sense of the bits and bytes.  So I’ll start with a couple of simple definitions (and these might not be absolutely perfectly technically accurate to an engineer, but are pretty reasonable to the rest of us):

Enthralled?  I knew it.  Read “How Fast is 1.21 Gigawatts Anyway?” at the Netgear blog, in which I answer such questions as…

  • What’s a Bit?  How about a Byte?
  • Does an 802.11b router provide a fast enough connection to my DSL service?
  • Is it true that Gigabit Ethernet is a leading cause of tooth decay? fast?
  • What actually happened in that Wicker Park movie, because the preview looked a little interesting, but it came and went really quick, and I never really grab it at Blockbuster because it just doesn’t seem that exciting, although I’ve heard good things.
  • And more.

Explaining Routers, Switches, and Hubs

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Does this sound familiar: “Hey, I want to get online, but I don’t know if I need a router or a hub?” or “JT, do I need a switch for getting my office networked?” (well, your version probably doesn’t have the JT in it).  I get asked the question multiple times per month.  So, in my stint as a guest blogger with Netgear, I decided to get some official answers from Sanjay Kumar (the one who isn’t about to go to jail).  Sanjay spent a while with me, explaining a lot of the nuances to how networking works.  So, if you’d like to learn more, read on…

Australia's Broadband Drought……. Caused by?

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So the broadband problem in Australia is “getting worse”, according to a propaganda message by Telstra yesterday at their Back Telstra – Campaign Don’t-Hate-Us campaign. Which I definitely agree, that our broadband adoption rates are falling that behind of even emerging countries, yet alone against the developed ones.

Now We’re Talking

Some key points to note in the meeting were:

– They said: We’re not a monopoly in the market. I point out:(Telstra has 65% market share)

– They said: There are several hundred service providers in the market I say:( (Yes, and Telstra leases lines to 98% of them)

– They said: Talks regarding broadband de-monopolisation broke down because of the regulators I say:( (Well obviously because you didn’t want to let go of your market share!)

Then he went on whinging about how Australia needs to adopt broadband faster and no one’s doing anything about it. As you can clearly see, if you were the Monopoly, you have to make the first move and stop blame shifting it on everyone else.

And what’s worse! This happened: Telstra Raises Prices- AGAIN

I’m amazed at the irony where a service provider who owns the copper lines, can also compete in the market where they provide products to resellers, and then compete against them. It surely doesn’t separate Telstra’s power to, “Hey! Let’s screw everyone and raise the cost of our Leased Lines so that we can compete”. And they go ahead and compete against these resellers by selling broadband, fixed line services and mobile services.

Well then, if Telstra had a mum, she’d cane him for this nonsense.

SMB/SOHO Resources for Useful Technology

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IMG_3335 SOHO JTA friend of mine is putting together a small company (SMB) and I was out looking for some helpful pointers to select some technology, and couldn’t find anything all that impressive.  I then did the same type of search for people like myself (SOHO). Again, bupkus. 

So over at the NETGEAR blog today, I put up a post with some good tips for anyone who needs a little help selecting some basic technology for their new company.  Click to read “Useful Tech Tips for SMB/SOHO“.

Guest Blogging for Netgear

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Back in December, Netgear tried an experiment in which they invited anyone who was interested to become their “blogger in residence” for CES.  The winner was ushered off to Monte Carlo Las Vegas on a private jet coach seat where a 30-foot stretch limo picked them up they grabbed a cab to the penthouse suite at the Bellagio Marriott.  They selected Dave Zatz as their guest blogger, and I thought he did a pretty bang-up job for them.  Looks like I’m the next one up to bat for them.

Ready to hear how small a world this is?  If you hadn’t heard, Dave recently joined Sling Media. Guess what he’s doing there…  Blogging, community relations, interaction with the blogosphere, etc.  In honor of this interesting confluence, I am going to recommend to Dave that we relaunch both our blogs – I’ll be ToesNotFunny, and he’ll become ZATZdigitally.

I’m looking forward to the blogging with Netgear, as I’ll have pretty open access to their executive team for the next few weeks (of course, I will have to drive all the way down to Santa Clara, which ain’t pretty).  One topic definitely on my mind is to see how the company’s doing with regards to revenue-per-employee (back in 2003 they were making $1.4 million per employee), and hear about how that scales (or if it does).  I’m also looking forward to catching up with CTO Mark Merrill (who I knew from when I worked for Mediabolic a few years back) and CMO Debbie Williams (we met at CES).

So, I hope you get the chance to follow the action over at the Netgear blog (it won’t be all-interviews, I have some other stuff to talk about too!).  I think the company’s approach to bringing in external voices is a very interesting (and very welcome) approach to corporate blogging.  Finally, in the spirit of open disclosure, I will say I have a strategic consulting relationship in place with the company, and I’m being given a lifetime supply of routers.