TechCOW - The Geek Within

It looks like CISCO came out with the latest thing to hit the SOHO market and the called it UMI (pronounced as YOU + ME) which is intended for teleconferencing and reuniting families in their own home. This probably was intended for high end consumers but if all the connections would be upgraded as specified in their specs (which calls for 3.5MBPS) it would be a huge opportunity to see people in HD quality video. Using the TV as a medium in this case was smart and people can send and receive video calls like what we do with web conference technologies. It definitely would be great for home use but the not quite so good news is you have to shell out $599 plus $25 per month in order to get one by November. It is so special since most of them have thought they'll wait for talks between CISCO and SKYPE in the beginning; but since John Chambers announced its release this week... it looks like this promising technology will be at homes in the coming months. I expect this to be a little cheaper just like any console or device that depreciates once more people have it. Tie ups from Verizon FIOS customers and Geek Squad will also make this easier to handle if they customers need help (for tech support).

As for rumors that CISCO buying out SKYPE in this particular field, that maybe still in the works because this technology wouldn't be too far behind to be enjoyed by ordinary people at home. The best thing about it is that SKYPE is free. SKYPE just got their software revved up making the video clearer and the software lighter for the ordinary PC/laptop to handle.

This package includes a camera, TV set-top box and a remote control. You guys in the US better order now at http://umi.cisco.com. I have it on my Christmas wish list now! =)

Internet connection in the countryside is scarce. Local telephone providers around our home in the province do not even reach the far flung areas where its at and people have to drive around 5 minutes to the highway just to get to a pay phone. There are so many options to get on line but I never wanted those 3G connections that depend on cell phone signals. They often are not the best things to have and stay connected. It cuts on and off and the upload and download speed is just at a snails pace. I need fast and reliable Internet since I often need to be on line and be there when work needs me. I want to make sure that there would be a good satellite provider in our area so I would not have to suffer in the long run. I will also be teaching you in this post how to hook up a ROUTER with it since that is where I am an expert of.

Satellite Internet connection feed off ground stations and reflects the signals on orbital giant machines promptly named satellites too. Digital information converted into waves the other way around make up how it travels through air. Since it is being reflected cosmically land masses like mountains or forests which comprise much of the landscape we have in our provincial house would not be much of a problem. The download and upload speed is phenomenal and performs way better than those dependent on cell phone signals. When the Internet service provider assigns a public IP address to your modem it sometimes need authentication from either the physical address of the modem itself or the primary computer connected to it. The physical address more commonly known as the MAC Address is a uniquely assigned combination of numbers and letters for a computer device/peripheral. That particular address can be cloned on the ROUTER which can act like a smart switch and access point. ROUTERS also have combined firewall and DHCP servers on it. It would definitely be easy to just have a computer connected to one of its ports or connect to the wireless network. The wireless connection can also be encrypted with WEP, WPA or WPA2 wireless security. There is also optional MAC Address filtering so only the indicated wireless MAC addresses would be able to get Internet connection.

It would be awesome to even imagine that I actually have the only wireless access point in that area. My neighbors would probably be jealous of me. I don't need to suffer crawling dial up Internet connection if I am in the outskirts of Manila. A simple blue dish on top of my roof would be the perfect solution!