Lili's Think Telecom Blog

The LIDO Organization Inc, and the CompTIA Educational Foundation Now Offer Free Telecom Training to Transitioning U.S. Vets, Individuals With Disabilities, Youth-At-Risk, Women, Minorities, and Displaced Workers!

Hello everyone - I hope you have all enjoyed a good summer, and are now realizing the holidays are just around the corner!   Time appears to be moving faster, and indeed it is - due to the wonderful world of new media and telecom technologies. 

In my previous post I referred to recent research that indicates that information workers are living a 36 hour "network day" - due to multitasking and passive or ambient networking. Indeed, our sense of time is shifting as a function of the hyperconnected web we've spun.  Personally, I was delighted to find this recent analysis of several independent studies - it provided evidence for why I was feeling that 24 hours sure seemed shorter than is used to!

The 36 hour network day, and more, are part of a larger work, one that all new media thinkers should indulge in reading and analyzing according to your role in 2.0 technologies and . - Cisco's Visual Networking Index: Forecast and Methodology 2009-2013 , http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns341/ns525/ns537/ns705/ns827/white_paper_c11-481360_ns827_Networking_Solutions_White_Paper.html.  

As with any research, use your own experience to form your conclusions, but you will find a vital range of statistics provided in this paper – but the key to unlocking their meaning is contained in your having a good understanding of telecommunications.

And that brings me to the purpose of this email.  To inform you of a program for transitioning U.S. vets, minorities, women, youth-at-risk, individuals with disabilities, and displaced workers - offering an opportunity for free telecommunications training and exam vouchers, leading to the CompTIA Convergence+ certification.   

 
In May 2009, LIDO and CompTIA issued a press release, announcing LIDO’s donation to the CompTIA Educational Foundation Creating Futures program.  The complete press release is at available at http://www.telecomwebcentral.com/PR_LIDO_Donation_to_CF_Press_Release_Final.pdf

With LIDO’s donation of 100 single-user licenses, qualifying Creating Futures participants have access to LIDO’s software and web-delivered eLearning program which includes 34 hours of dynamic multimedia lectures, simultaneous transcripts, accompanying slide shows and clickable links to supporting educational resources, as well as quizzes to test student understanding.  LIDO Telecommunications Essentials are a CompTIA Authorized Quality Curriculum (CAQC) for the CompTIA Convergence+ certification, allowing Creating Futures participants not only to learn telecom, but also use the eLearning to prepare for certification.  CompTIA Convergence+ validates the knowledge and skills in the area of Communications Technologies (ICT), where data communications, telephony, video and broadcast multimedia technologies combine into a single IP-based delivery system.  The certification recognizes a technician’s ability to design, implement and manage both data and voice networking.

As a telecommunications educator and advisor for the last 29 years, I understand the critical role telecommunications plays in realizing the potential of not just information technology, but the growth of nations, industries, businesses, and individuals.   I really do feel, very strongly, that all professionals and individuals involved in the study, deployment or application of ICT need to build a strong base of telecommunications knowledge – and I have committed to supporting at least 100 eager telecom students who might otherwise not have an opportunity to receive world-class education, as well as the CompTIA Convergence+ exam voucher – all free of charge for qualifying applications. 

I encourage you to spread the word on the CompTIA Creating Futures program, and the availability of free telecommunications  training for transitioning U.S. Vets, minorities, women, youth-at-risk, individuals with disabilities, and displaced workers.   In addition to the telecom curriculum and Convergence+ certification,  the Creating Futures program also offers a number of  IT certifications and the courses required to prepare for the exams!   Learn more about the CompTIA Creating Futures offerings, and to apply for the program, go to http://www.comptia-ef.org/training/futures.aspx

And you can learn more about the LIDO Telecommunications Essentials eLearning series, upcoming  seminars, and books by going to www.telecomwebcentral.com.  

In closing - do check out the Cisco study noted above – you will find a wealth of information on trends in IP, mobile, and video communications.

Happy Learning!
Lili

Next Gen Mobile Devices - A Revolution in Evolution!

Greetings Telecom Thinkers!   I hope you’ve all had a good summer, with memorable vacations or staycations, as the case may be - or just enjoyed great outdoor moments throughout the whole season!

I wonder how much technology was involved in each day you spent on holiday – no doubt, at any given moment, you were under the guidance of hundreds, if not thousands, of sensors…..most people do not realize how much they depend on machines in their day-to-day lives  - until they fail, that is.    With the evolution of PAN technologies and wireless solutions - including RFID, UWB, and NFC, and widescale deployment of embedded intelligence, there are more machines running your life than you can imagine!   But that is a story for another post – I have other intentions for this note.

Today I wanted to share with you what is truly happening in the world of mobile, which today, means it touches just about every aspect of your life!  Think about it – what is the main characteristic of mobility that is so compelling to just about every sentient being – it’s a concept that so many have fought for, prayed for - since the beginning of time – that concept is Freedom!  

To understand how education, and knowledge building and transfer, are going to dramatically change in the coming years, you must also understand how mobile devices and communications are going to change within 5-10 years.   And the teacher and mentor in me says - you must take a look at the work going on in R&D labs and key universities - in the areas of nanotechnology, tangible interfaces, fluid interfaces, embedded intelligence, and wearables.    I also believe you must look at what is being developed as applications in the worlds of healthcare, military/warfare, and entertainment – but that’s a different conversation for another time.  Back to the hyperconnected universe of mobile……..

The array of concept phones and prototypes being developed and studied is absolutely the most fascinating peek into the future of communications  - it is a veritable crystal ball!   I'm preparing for my fall seminar tour, 3 Day MBA in Telecom,  and have been having the pleasure of researching this arena - and due to  the visual metamorphosis we're in - there are videos available to allow us all to truly visualize and experience the potential! 

We all know the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words”,  so  I’m truly happy to direct you to videos that will provide you a great additional depth in understanding just how mobile devices and applications are evolving !  I encourage you to view these videos as soon as you can - you'll quickly see that today's smart phones will soon be considered archaic and cumbersome.

Let me provide you with three of my favorite projects.....
You have to see Ericsson's Exciter device, which will enable teleportation, through 3D holograms http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYCycOSoPfQ,  - just imagine how your life will change in 7-15 years - which is coming faster than you know!  In fact, recent research reveals that we (information workers)  now live a 36 hour network day, due to the impact of multitasking and ambient (passive) networking, - each adding 6 hours of additional activity to our day -  and it will be a 48 hour network day by 2013! 

Nokia's Morph phone concept is a study in the application of nanotechnology to mobile devices – in the application of wearable communications devices -  http://www.nokia.com/about-nokia/research/demos/the-morph-concept/video.   

And, I very seriously recommend that you view Pattie Maes, of MIT's Fluid Interface Labs discuss and demonstrate the SixthSense device – this presentation will simply astound you!   Wearing the device enables it to 'see‘ what the user has in front of them. The projector can then project data onto the surfaces or objects in front of the user - meaning the device  has no physical screen but uses anything at hand, including the user’s own hand or a blank piece of  newspaper.  And , as if this were not enough, Patti predicts that the SixthSense device will be available as a brain implant in 10 years - now that is mobile!  The video is at at http://www.ted.com/talks/pattie_maes_demos_the_sixth_sense.html.    The demonstrations they conduct during this 9 minute video are not mock-up productions, or animations, or “concepts” – you will see a working prototype engage in a wonderful range of applications, and I bet there will be one or two that you have not thought of!

After you view just these three projects, your view of mobile phones, or more truly, your view of “communications”  will never be the same - and this is just three of the dozen we'll be covering in LIDO's Master of Telecommunications seminars.  The process of learning and teaching, as well as knowledge transfer and exchange, are undergoing tremendous change, enabled by Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).  

One parting thought for you – to bring us back to the immediate timeframe – did you know? - today's high-end smart phones and netbooks generate as much traffic as 450 standard mobiles!!    Which is why telecommunication infrastructures will continue to grow and evolve, and why anyone involved with knowledge building had better understand their telecom essentials!

I hope you enjoy the look into your near-term future - and Happy Learning!
Lili