Blank

April, 2005

SILICON EAST REPORTS FROM THE ORIENT

Last month I was privileged to spend 12 days in Asia as a participant in the Realcomm Asia NextGen Real Estate Tour. RealComm’s mission is to provide a venue through which industry leaders can come together to discuss, analyze and debate the latest innovations in technology that are impacting the real estate industry. The mandate for the tour was to identify and bring back to the US for deployment best practices from the Asian real estate industry. The fact is that the level and sophistication of technology finding its way into new construction in the Orient by far surpasses what is happening in the United States. This is sounding alarms in many quarters as smart living, learning and working space is absolutely critical to national productivity, and if left unchecked, the current trend could affect our country’s global preeminence and competitiveness. This tour was a critical element in bringing these real estate technology best practices home. So briefly let me relate to you what I learned. First, the amount and quality of construction going on in Asia far surpasses that in the Western world. And the technology being deployed in these buildings is extraordinarily advanced – unquestionably the most advanced in the world. And maybe surprising and maybe not – virtually all of the buildings are being designed by American architects. Their dreams that went unfulfilled here are being realized there. We traveled to Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore. We visited office towers, residential complexes, technology incubators, shopping malls, hotels, and schools and universally we saw technology being deployed that might not be seen here for 20 years – if ever. Before this experience I had a very US-centric worldview, today it’s very clear to me that we all need to do much more to stay competitive in this twenty-first century global economy. If we fail to do so, we will suffer, our children and their children will suffer, and our country will undoubtedly lose its preeminent status in the world. I’m trying to do my part to deliver this message and motivate others, and have already delivered in-depth briefings with many slides and hundreds of photos to several of our clients. I hope that you will share my concern and request that I brief your organization as well. Or consider taking the trip of a lifetime – due to strong demand Realcomm returns to Asia for a second tour this fall. And to whet your appetite, here’s but one photo of a small piece of the Shanghai skyline:

Small Business Bets on Technology

This past Wednesday the New York Times reported a great story on the positive impact that technology spending is having in improving the profitability of small businesses just like our clients. I’ve said it before, and want to reiterate – across every industry studied capital spending on computer technology provides the highest return of any capital investment a business can make.

Windows Media Center

I know I’ve written about Media Center before and what we’re doing at the leading edge of deploying this technology. If you’re thinking about Media Center you may want to act now, especially if you own or plan to buy a high definition television. On June 1 FCC rules will change with respect to HDTV tuners. Current tuners are “unlocked” meaning that you can tune in to any program available. Beginning on June 1^st, all tuners sold in the US will be locked, meaning that what you can and can’t watch can be controlled or charged for. HDTV tuners integrated within a Media Center will be likewise locked down. We can only buy unlocked tuners for a few more weeks, and they are universally on back-order. Most importantly, an HDTV tuner in a Media Center is literally thousands of dollars less than one integrated in a TV – making Media Center the only way to go. So if you’re thinking about HDTV and/or Media Center, May is the month to call us.

And our Media Center efforts have not gone unnoticed. Silicon East is the subject of a feature story in the April issue of Digital Connect magazine:

http://www.digitalconnectmag.com/showArticle.jhtml;?articleID=159904159

RED ALERT: Wireless Security

I’ve said this before, but the problem is exploding and is worth another warning. You cannot connect anything wireless to your business computer network. If you do, it is a virtual certainty that you will be hacked. Secure wireless is a complex challenge, and for sure not a do-it-yourself project. If you have connected or know of a rogue wireless access point – disconnect it now. And if you are connecting to your business network from home, the same warning applies – you are putting your entire business and everyone’s livelihood at risk!

Thanks for reading,

Marc