The Copper Wire

We at the Copper Wire apologize for the slow couple of weeks, but the batteries have been recharged and we are now excited about the arrival of 2007. The new innovations hitting the market, along with more widespread adoption of IP technologies promise to make 2007 a year of advancement in telecommunication technologies.

What would the New Year be without some early predictions:

1. There is bound to be a sharp increase in technologies like Skype and VoIP. The adoption rate for these services are hitting a growth stage and as one collegue said to me, “It is not too long before everybody has this peer-to-peer chat on their computers.” This also means companies are going to have to pay closer attention on how to monitor this activity, similar to instant messagining.

2. It will also be the year we see an increase in video as more prevalent form of communication. Suddenly the Jetsons does not seem so far fetched.

3. Finally while 2006 was the Year of the Blog and social networking sites, we think 2007 promises to be the Year of the Podcast, taking blogging to a more interactive (and spontaneous) level. Now sure Podcasting as been around for awhile, but much like blogging, the explosion is Podcasting is right around the corner.

Check in as the Copper Wire continues to cover the changing world of how we communicate.

Posted by andrew at 10:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We here at The Copper Wire have been focused on writing about the way we cope with the changing world of communications. In the world of video games, this is never more apparent. Last night people in the Northeast braved a severe storm and stood online for hours to only get a chance to purchase the new Sony PS3. While game system itself is sure to revolutionize the gaming industry, the impact it will have on continued use of the Internet will be significant. Considered a novelty with PS2 and Xbox systems, the ability to use the Internet to play people around the world has changed the way we play video games. Whether this is a good thing is for debate, in terms of the amount of hours we spend playing video games. What is clear is the Internet’s impact as a platform to communicate and socialize is more prevalent.

Posted by andrew at 03:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Oakland A’s have announced a deal with Cisco Systems on the naming rights for their new stadium. While this does not seem like a big deal, since almost every ballpark now has a corporate sponsor, Cisco will be using the field to showcase new interactive technologies. Digital tickets and personalized advertising are just a few things that are planned. Let’s just hope the focus is still on America’s Pastime, and some of the features include beaming live player stats and out of town scores to our cell phones, or the ability to order a hot dog. One thing is clear, that communication technologies are revolutionizing even our experience at sporting events.

Posted by andrew at 09:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Scenario: You receive an invite to visit a webpage and are prompted to sign up for their monthly sweepstakes promotion. All you need to do to win your fabulous prize is enter your name, address, birth date and a few other questions and you’re on your way to being a winner. But before you click submit, you could be on the losing side the identity theft game.

Personal information is constantly being sent and received through the internet. Users may not realize that this information can jeopardize their identity, making it easy to become a victim of identity theft.

At one time, running a credit report was the hallmark of ensuring a valid credit history; however, the ease of online identity theft has required that consumers ensure proper handling of their personal information.

Avivah Litan, an analyst with Gartner, recently quoted in PC Magazine that identity scoring will “overtake credit report monitoring” by 2009.

The best protection, above and beyond any identity monitoring services, is to use common sense. Before sending any information through a website, look for the Verisign symbol, this ensures that there can not be third-party interception. It is easy to protect your identity if you are prudent but it is excruciatingly, difficult to recover your identity once it’s been stolen.

Posted by andrew at 04:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It is an understatement to say that the process of validating invoices on a monthly basis for a large enterprise is a daunting challenge. However, increasingly the ability to validate invoices on a monthly basis is becoming more of a priority based on increased consumption of telecom services. In the past it was extremely difficult for large enterprises to have a true picture of its assets. With invoicing that was largely rooted in paper and did not provide much detail, enterprises were more or less left in the dark.

Electronic billing data is changing that and allowing companies to literally step into the light. By using electronic billing feeds companies can build a billed inventory to create a complete view of their telecom assets and resources across the entire enterprise. By extracting this data from the billing feeds, companies then have a starting point for creating a complete inventory of assets.

Posted by andrew at 10:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Much of the focus around the Web (or Web 2.0) has been around the growth and functionality of “on-demand” applications. As we have been writing about, it can be argued that the success of on-demand applications (or Web 2.0 for that matter) has been fueled by increased bandwidth and enhanced networking technologies that allow for the development of better applications. And it appears there are even more cutting edge technologies that are on the way that will accelerate the corporate WAN. These types of new technologies will be able to increase data rates, optimize bandwidth, and enhance operating systems.

And behind these new technologies that improve the corporate WAN, comes the increased importance on the overall management of the network. Much of these new initiatives aimed at supporting an ever increasing remote workforce, that utilize these on-demand applications, will place more emphasis on knowing which employee has what, is accessing which applications, and the types of connections being utilized.

Posted by andrew at 09:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We all know that the famous line in the play “Little Shop of Horrors” about a plant that would not steep eating. Well the Internet is requiring that it be fed with more and more bandwidth – which is a good thing. The days of dial-up are slowly fading away and more interactive technologies are being utilized on the Web that require higher speed connections. In addition, on-demand applications are growing a fast clip as corporations become more comfortable with hosted solutions.

Much of the anticipation around increased bandwidth is centered around fiber optics. Once fiber reaches homes, it will be a whole new ball game in terms of the types of services that can be delivered. It is also going to impact who connects us to the Internet. A recent article in today’s Wall Street Journal discusses the impact fiber is going to have in terms of cable’s ability keep pace.

It is also a safe bet as we have more access to bandwidth, even more technologies will evolve to enhance the way we communicate.

Posted by andrew at 03:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It began in 1876 across a copper wire. Little did Alexander Graham Bell know that his invention would help fuel the information age and revolutionize the way we communicate. While the days of calls being placed across plain old telephone lines may be dwindling, whether its cell phones, Voice Over IP, or Wi-Fi, these new technologies are the engine that drives the flow of information. This blog is a tribute to the orginial technology that helped touch off the information age and a discussion of how we manage, cope , and use these new technologies.

Posted by andrew at 04:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)