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I really excited to speak at the Illinois Institute of Technology Rice Campus for the VoIP Conference and Expo 2009. This will be my first time to this event and interestingly the third time in recent weeks in which I am in Chicago instead of Vegas for a show. Maybe the city didn't get the Olympics but they certainly seem to have gotten all the shows - WiMAX World, Supercomm and now this event.

Getting back to my talk - I am moderating a Keynote Panel titled: Are the "Bells" ringing for Carrier VoIP? And my panelists include Carl Ford, Crossfire Media; Anne Lee, ALU; Gaston Ormazabal, Verizon and Henning Schulzrinne, Columbia University at 4:00 pm this Thursday 10/29/2009. I hope to see you there. Here is the schedule with my panel in yellow at the bottom.

Here is the website for details.

Attention Blackberry Users: you can now quickly and immediately jump on and off over 100,000 hotspots around the world without the painful process of entering a user name and password. Boingo, a global provider of WiFi service has become a friend while I am on the road. The company provided me an account over a year ago and since then I have been able to enjoy rapid access to hotspots in hotels, around town and in airports all over the world. I consider this type of service a must have for anyone who wants to stay connected to broadband networks on the go. Yes I have EVDO and also 3G from AT&T via an iPhone but I have found most Boingo networks to be lightening fast and when you are uploading photos or downloading large attachments speed is an issue.

On a laptop, Boingo software alerts you to when you are in range of a hotspot you can gain access to automatically. You see this is an important feature as Boingo has relationships with many other hotspot vendors and there is no way you are going to memorize them all. On an iPhone - since there is no multitasking you must manually launch an application when you think you are in an area where a Boingo associated hotspot might be. If the software detects you can logon, you can press one button and quickly connect.

Obviously on the iPhone you run into many situations where you could have connected to Boingo had you known to run the software. Thanks to a simple concept called multitasking which every smartphone in the world allows except Apple, you can now run Boingo software on your favorite RIM device and be alerted automatically when you can jump on a WiFi network. Bravo. Oh and to be fair, the iPhone does allow multitasking - but only for Apple applications.

A few notes of interest:

• The Boingo Mobile application will initially be available for the BlackBerry Curve 8900, BlackBerry Curve 8320 and BlackBerry Bold smartphones. Boingo will announce support for additional BlackBerry smartphone models as they become available.
• Boingo, and its Concourse Communications Group subsidiary, operate wired and wireless networks at 55 airports worldwide, including 29 of the top 100 North American airports, as well as the WSDOT Ferries Division Wi-Fi network.

If you like this entry, check out my favorite tech tools post.

Yesterday I discussed TMC's evolution to a company growing rapidly by building communities in a number of new topical areas. One such space is the smart ecosystem market which focused on the rich relationships between partners in various markets. For example the iPhone app store is a huge ecosystem as is Avaya's DevConnect program. I also mentioned yesterday that TMC is partnering with experts in other areas to combine our community building technology and infrastructure with the absolute best content available.

Our smart ecosystem industry site is called SPEC and this stands for Smart Products Ecosystem Connections and our partners on this initiative are Mary Cronin, professor of Boston College and Crossfire Media. Mary is a well-respected authority on the subject of intelligent ecosystems and we are thrilled to be working with her and her team.

There is some incredible and thought provoking content coming from Mary and others and you will want to visit the Smart Products or SPEC page on a regular basis to stay informed. One of the most interesting recent articles I came across discusses Neustar and NeoMedia and their relationship in the 2D barcode space which has the potential to link print and product codes to rich media and consumer engagement.

Here are where all of Mary's articles live - I hope you find her writing as excellent and useful as I do.

Here are a few more articles of interest from the site:

• Local Nets Are Sprouting Smart Connections
• Memo to Michael Dell: Strategy for Winning Smartphone Wars
• Smart Mobile Health Connections for Better Patient Care
• T-Mobile Gets Clean Power from Medis

I conducted dozens of videos this week at Supercomm and many were done in the TMC newsroom. I posted a few of them below for you to see. Feel free to check out the complete list of Supercomm video interviews performed by the TMC news team and others. Expect them all to be posted by October 30, 2009.

I wanted to alert my readers to some exciting news happening at TMC. As you likely know TMC is among a handful of media companies growing at a time when the media landscape is in dramatic decline. As you might imagine this growth is primarily online. Over the last decade and especially in the last few years we have focused on building online communities (Channels and GOCs) for customers who sponsor these areas as they rapidly attract focused decision-makers from around the world.

The visitors who come to these communities benefit from a massive amount of free content which helps them make informed purchasing decisions. For example people looking for products in Call Recording, Smart Data Centers, IP communications, HD Voice, Fixed Mobile Convergence or Next Generation Communications can come to the respective communities focused on these topics and have access to hundreds and in most cases thousands of TMC written articles detailing the news in their specific area of interest. Our business model is straightforward; aggregate massive amounts of focused and quality content using custom-built content targeting technology - make it relevant and pertinent so as to attract the right readers who need this information as they research the products and services they are looking to buy.

For our sponsors, these communities allow them to rank high organically on search engines to get their message out to a focused audience while simultaneously being able to measure the traffic to ensure they can justify their spend to the sales and executive management teams.

Basically, this suite of communities replicates the trade show model online and just like a trade show that attracts more attendees as the exhibitor base grows; the 120 monthly sponsored communities on TMCnet attract a massive audience which in turn attracts more sponsors.

In short, I am very confident we can continue to provide free quality content in all the areas we enter. Meaning while other media companies are beginning to charge for their once free content and many others are reducing their editorial teams, TMC is adding to its editorial, sales and marketing teams as we have a model which works exceptionally well for our readers and sponsors.

We are growing our team as we enter a slew of new markets with our business model of providing laser-focused content - backed by over a decade of proprietary content targeting technology; essentially building targeted online communities which rank high on search engines as they attract large amounts of focused traffic.

Here is my quote from a press release we put out today mentioning the hire of a brand new position - VP of Business Development. Matt Weiner is filling this position and his background of working for Penton and Yahoo! make him a good fit for the position."Over the last decade, TMC has invested in the technology and people necessary to build a next-generation media company which creates communities online, in-print and in-person," Tehrani continued. "By providing our audience with top quality news, training and information, we have attracted global purchasing decision-makers to our communities. As TMC's global communities have increased in size and quality, they have attracted hundreds of advertisers and sponsors who receive regular measurable results for their marketing and SEO budgets. Our future strategy involves continuing to build communities which draw large amounts of targeted traffic as we continue to connect buyers and sellers -- and adding Matt to the team is an integral element of that strategy."

Aside from Matt, we have added a number of other positions and just as importantly we continue to ink partnership after new partnership as we enter new spaces where we leverage our community building engine in combination with the thought leadership of individuals and/or corporations in new markets.

Thank you for continuing to support our rapid growth - thanks to our readers and existing and news sponsors - we look forward to helping all of your companies grow with ours.

Yesterday I mentioned some negative comments about the new Motorola Droid. I have never seen the device and I mentioned that in my blog entry. I did see photos which I said were boxy. And quite frankly I have little confidence in Motorola as I have seen them release disappointment after disappoint across multiple product lines. Ironically the people I meet at the company always seem to be top notch. Perhaps it is a management issue. This is just speculation on my part but there is obviously a systemic problem when the company not only seems to be driving itself out of business, it sent some of its top people to Nortel to help do the same.

Today at Supercomm I had a chance to speak with a highly respected Verizon executive who does not work on the wireless side of the house. He has used the Droid and says it is hip and lightening fast. He said specifically that the browser came up immediately and web pages did the same.

I thought it makes sense for my readers to know this as I do not want to negatively influence you by presenting my early thoughts without appropriate balance. I trust my source was speaking truthfully (but there obviously could be inherent bias) and I was asked by another Verizon representative to not disclose the name of my source.

So there you have it. Maybe Motorola with its back against the wall has come out swinging with a phone which will be a solid competitor to the iPhone. One other comment - the phone is supposed to feel heavy - which is not a surprise when you consider all of the high tech chips packed into a slim form factor which includes a real keyboard.

Here is an extremely informative overview of the challenges facing NSN from Caroline Gabriel. It leads off discussing the fact that Siemens is thinking of pulling out of the joint venture. The article points out where the company has been successful and where it has not. One area which is worth delving into is a mention of NSN pulling out of WiMAX without having significant LTE business. While the two areas are obviously related, pulling out of WiMAX was likely a decision based on the potential revenue available in the market based on current analyst estimates. In other words, would it make sense to keep spending millions on WiMAX R&D until the LTE business takes off? Probably not - it makes sense to put your best and brightest on the product area with the most potential.

Having said that, I am a huge fan of Rethink and their analysis is always thought provoking. I look forward to reading it each weekday. If I get a moment I have to remember to have someone on my team reach out to them to see if they want to blog or write articles on TMCnet.

Is Steve Jobs smarter? Is he just more detail-oriented or does it come down to simply managing a small stable of products with a laser-focus on usability. This is what I thought about as I read this blog post (some profanity included) which tears apart the Pre for being full of problems and most importantly being  too slow to be useful. This entry came from an obvious Pre fan and that is why it is so scary and important that Palm deal with the problems mentioned. I should mention I do know a few happy Pre users and I don't see enough of them around to confirm the problems mentioned in the above post. Still, the device is obviously not the iPhone killer some thought it would be. Far from it.

I have followed Palm for many years. They invented the useful handheld computing space and they were a decade ahead of the game. At some point they became exceedingly arrogant - approaching them at trade shows was a painful experience as I recall. They had a high-flying stock and were a Wall Street darling for a while. Did the success just go to the management's head?

Over the years, many people at the organization have come and go and some of Apple's top people have come from Palm. But you have to wonder, why is the magic of Apple so tough to duplicate? After all, these top people seem to be doing better at Apple than they did at Palm. Is it management? Culture? Is it years of getting kicked in the teeth by Bill Gates that built immense character?

Perhaps the most simplistic answer to Apple's success is focusing on a few items and making sure the products the company develops are really different and better than what is on the market.

You could argue that in many ways, the Pre is better than an iPhone as it has an easier programming interface, a keyboard, allows multitasking, etc. But the Pre feels clumsy when you pick it up. It is a cool looking device and almost as slick as an iPhone at first glance but it is obviously something Apple wouldn't let out its door. So too with the new Droid from Motorola... Apple wouldn't produce it. I haven't even used the phone but a glance at the photo and you realize no one has "thought different" as Apple's marketing tells us.

If Apple made cars - would anything on the street today measure up? Probably not. Why is that the case and why aren't more companies learning from Apple?

I wonder, would Apple's competitors - or any company for that matter be better off if they just didn't release their products until they were able to confidently answer the question affirmatively, would Apple let something like this out their door?

I am here in Chicago for Supercomm 2009 where I have numerous video interviews and meetings set up. I will be attending a few receptions and the first one is this evening in celebration of Genband's 10-year anniversary. We have a booth at the show where we will be filming live interviews with industry executives and thought leaders and we are excited that TMC's Paula Bernier will be participating in the conference portion of the event. Genband is participating on the panel she will be moderating and will be sending out a press release which I feel objectively describes the session. Hopefully you will get a chance to stop by and see Paula in action.

Here is a photo of Supercomm 2009 Chicago exhibit hall and the release:

GENBAND to Participate in Transcoding Panel with Verizon, Nokia Siemens Networks at SUPERCOMM 2009

Conference session explores transcoding requirements, challenges, insight for voice and multimedia interplay

Plano, TX, October 19, 2009 - GENBAND Inc., a market-leading developer of next-generation IP infrastructure solutions, today announced it will join with Verizon Communications Inc., and Nokia Siemens Networks for SUPERCOMM 2009's programming session: The Transcoding Path to IP Network Interoperability. Taking place on Wednesday, Oct. 21 from 3:10 p.m. - 3:55 p.m. in room W183b, the panel will discuss interworking complexities at network borders and how the industry is addressing these challenges through transcoding.

"As challenges arise from managing and routing VoIP and multimedia sessions, service providers are increasingly using transcoding to address interconnections at network borders," said Paula Bernier, Executive Editor at TMC and moderator of the session. "I look forward to discussing this timely topic, including both the service provider and equipment manufacturer perspectives as they supply and deploy transcoding solutions across IP networks. We will discuss successes and challenges of implementation as well as the roadmap for transcoding and its relationship to trends such as IMS and FMC."

Ms. Bernier will moderate a panel comprised of Tim Dwight, Principal Member of Technical Staff in Verizon's Core Network Technology organization; Al Young, Account Director at Nokia Siemens Networks; and Andrew Bender, Vice President of Technology at GENBAND.

SUPERCOMM 2009's conference program focuses on broadband solutions, in the form of real-world examples and case studies that feature the users of technologies and services as presenters, along with the service providers implementing the technologies in their networks and deploying the applications those technologies enable.

The Transcoding Path to IP Network Interoperability session will explore the requirements for transcoding and the strategies to resolve challenges that arise from combining networks with varying voice and multimedia traffic types.

Carrier consolidation, the convergence of fixed and mobile networks, and the prevalence of all-IP network architectures are all driving a growing need for transcoding in today's communications networks.

The traditional approach to connecting IP networks uses gateways to convert traffic to a common TDM format, which resolves media compatibility but increases cost and can impair voice quality. GENBAND offers a unique solution that avoids these issues by enabling direct IP-IP transcoding with support for fixed, mobile, and satellite codecs.

I am a bit of a watch nut and especially a lover of watches which are rich in technology. As of today I don't wear one because my mobile phone has pretty much replaced it but the last one I loved to wear was the Tissot High-T which was a Microsoft SPOT watch allowing me to keep up to date on news and my calendar. Microsoft SPOT technology used FM frequencies to send data signals to a range of devices from watches to coffee makers which kept you informed of changing weather. What was amazing about the Tissot was the fact that it alerted me 15 minutes before every meeting I had. At a trade show where I had to hop from booth to booth, the watch reminded me with a subtle vibrate function that a meeting was imminent. A quick glance at the watch let me know where I had to go.

The High-T stopped charging so I sent it back to the factory to have it fixed. Tissot kept the watch, told me it was discontinued and then gave me a credit towards a new watch which by the way sits unopened in my house in its original box.

I read with great enthusiasm that inPulse will have a new watch designed to work with Blackberrys and it will likely function a lot like the old SPOT watches (the service was also discontinued) but even better as it will alert you to messages, callers and other bits of information tucked away on your device. Why would you want to use this watch? Well, you could glance at it to check Caller-ID before you take a call. Or you could scan the subject line and sender information of your e-mail before taking out your smartphone. Another benefit is it will not need a $10/month service plan as it should just use Bluetooth to work with the information on your Blackberry.

Photo courtesy of Crackberry.com

 In short, I think this watch is something people who are on the leading edge will jump on but the average user may find this solution to be bulky and geeky. I am looking forward to seeing it in action. If they get this thing to work with an iPhone I will likely buy one.