Cisco Is Holding A Contest For Consumers to Submit a Story

Cisco today announced a contest called Lifestyles of the Tech Frustrated, starting today through August 16, 2009 that asks consumers, who have a home network, to send in a 500 word story of their networking set up frustrations and how they solved their problems. The top 10 entries as deemed by a panel of judges will win a Flip Mino HD Camcorder.
Competition Highlights/Facts:

* The Cisco Network Magic website is inviting entries where consumers can share their stories which depict the challenges and advantages of home networking. Cisco wants to see what customers are using home networking for and what they accomplish in their lives through technology.
* Contest Story Assignment: Tell us about your home or office computer network, and any difficulties or frustrations you have or have had with setting up and using it. We’d also like to hear how you fixed the problem using Network Magic or the networking software or hardware solutions. Please submit your written story in no more than 500 words.
* The top ten stories, as judged by a Cisco independent panel of judges, will have the chance to win a Flip Mino HD Camcorder, valued at $229.99*.
* To enter the Contest, log on to http://www.networkmagic.com/techfrustrated and fill out the registration form, including reviewing the Official Rules and checking the box indicating acceptance of the rules. When finished reviewing the rules, click "Submit" and follow the instructions to summit your 500 word story.
* The contest is open from July 1 to August 16, 2009 to legal residents of the United States and the District of Columbia who are at least 18 years of age.

Network Magic Facts/Highlights:

* Cisco Network Magic is a home and home office network management software solution which helps users set up, manage and protect a home network. The software program helps enable users to connect their devices such as routers, PCs, printers, media hubs, media adapters and internet cameras etc., along with share printers and files. Users can also control access to the Internet and track online activity to ensure no users are abusing their privileges.
* Network Magic also helps protect networks with enhanced WPA security capabilities and status alerts to block intruders and warn of any attempts from unauthorized sources. Network Magic can also help to repair network and Internet connections to keep everything running smoothly and optimize productivity.


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AT&T, BT and Tata Demonstrate Industry's First Cisco TelePresence Call

Significant Milestone Achieved in Developing Global Public Cisco TelePresence Network. AT&T, BT, and Tata Communications, today took a significant step forward to deliver Cisco TelePresenceTM services globally, by conducting the industry's first multipoint, intercompany Cisco TelePresence meeting across multiple carrier networks. AT&T, BT and Tata, together with Cisco, demonstrated the technical ability for a Cisco TelePresence user to call others on any carrier network with high levels of security and reliability.
Highlights / Key Facts:

* Inter-carrier intercompany services have the potential to allow Cisco TelePresence users to call one another across participating networks, reliably and with high levels of security.
* The demonstration at Cisco Live 2009 consists of inter-carrier Cisco TelePresence connections between the following sites on AT&T, BT, and Tata Communication's networks:
o AT&T Telepresence Solution sites in Bedminster and Morristown, N.J., and Chicago, Ill.
o A BT site in Colorado Springs, Colo.
o A Cisco site at Cisco Live in San Francisco
o Tata sites in Boston and London
* This demonstration is another key step in Cisco's strategy to bring Cisco TelePresence to everyone, everywhere. It comes on the heels of recent announcements including Cisco TelePresence Extended Reach for one-screen systems over T-1 speeds, HD video conferencing interoperability, and Cisco WebExTM video interoperability.
* More than 350 organizations have selected Cisco TelePresence for more than 2,300 rooms to improve collaboration and productivity and accelerate business decisions. Cisco TelePresence is one of the fastest-growing emerging technologies.
* Cisco has also installed more than 500 Cisco TelePresence rooms on its own internal network for greater productivity and effective collaboration.

Executive Quotes:

* Marthin De Beer, senior vice president, Emerging Technologies Group, Cisco

"Today's demonstration marks a significant milestone for Cisco's service provider partners and our customers. With inter-carrier intercompany Cisco TelePresence, we're extending the power of video communications and collaboration across network service providers to bring people a new visual experience that's as easy as making a phone call."

* Bill Archer, chief marketing officer, AT&T Business Solutions

"Inter-carrier connectivity is the next step in building out telepresence for improved collaboration for businesses throughout the world. With the AT&T Telepresence Solution we are providing companies today with the ability to interact with customers or other key businesses in a highly-secure environment. Looking to the future, AT&T is committed to working with other network service providers to bring this proof of concept to market as soon as possible."

* Jeff Prestel, general manager, Video Business Unit, BT Conferencing

"To drive the ultimate value from telepresence services, enterprises need to be able to collaborate with colleagues, partners and customers, regardless of their network provider. We are delighted to participate with Cisco to help empower our customers to experience the versatile, easy-to-use and reliable communications of the future and to enable customers to maximize the return on their TelePresence investment."

* Peter Quinlan, director, Managed Telepresence Services, Tata Communications

"This proof of concept with AT&T and BT showcases how Tata Communications will conveniently support B2B sessions among any connected private and public Cisco TelePresence rooms, on the Tata Communications global network and also inter-carrier. This pioneering global service pushes managed telepresence from being a private intra-company experience to an open inter-company experience able to bring together the full ecosystem of employees, partners, customers and prospects. This open intercarrier B2B capability enriches Tata Communications' comprehensive approach to managed Telepresence services."

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Cisco's Smart+Connected Communities Provides Sustainable Economic Opportunities

Smart Connected Buildings Solution to Transform Energy Demand and Utilization. Cisco today announced Smart Connected Buildings as its latest emerging technology, a key component in delivering on its vision for Smart+Connected Communities, one of 30 key market adjacencies the company has identified. Smart+Connected Communities addresses the growing need for sustainable energy to meet the demand of increasingly urbanized populations by providing a network-enabled blueprint for successful smart cities of the future that run on networked information. The solution builds on Cisco's networked sustainability platform to further utilize the network to increase energy efficiency, create new tools for 'energy-aware' city management, and enable economic opportunity and quality of life gains for citizens.

As a key component of delivering on the Smart+Connected Communities vision, Cisco today announced the availability of the Cisco® Network Building Mediator, a Smart Connected Buildings solution that provides the intelligence to interconnect and enable building systems such as heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC), lighting, electrical, security, and renewables over the IP network to build smart and energy-efficient buildings of the future. This provides operators and owners of these buildings with new ways of managing how energy is used based on policies that make sense for occupants.

As the majority of electricity in the US is consumed in offices and commercial buildings, Cisco believes the network has the potential to create a significant impact on global energy efficiency and reduction of Green House Gas emissions by further integrating information technology into Smart Connected Buildings. By continuing to extend our networked sustainability platform, Cisco will help accelerate energy innovations over IP from energy generation across the grid to commercial buildings and all the way to the home.
Highlights / Key Facts:

* The new Smart Connected Buildings solution, Cisco's latest emerging technology, aims to enable sustainable energy reduction and the future-proofing of facilities through a flexible integration of new technologies that help deliver energy efficiency and environmental stewardship for Smart+Connected Communities.
* This represents the first Emerging Technology business unit incubated from Cisco's Globalisation Centre East in Bangalore, India. The business unit integrates technologies from Cisco's acquisition of Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Richards-Zeta in January 2009 with Cisco networking technology and concurrently develops innovative software solutions for energy management.
* Sandeep Vij, vice president and general manager, leads the team out of the Globalisation Center East, reporting to Marthin De Beer, senior vice president of the Emerging Technologies Group.
* Smart Connected Buildings first solution, Cisco Network Building Mediator, provides an extensible architecture to allow building operation managers to easily monitor, measure and act on energy systems while adding renewable technologies such as solar, wind and fuel cells as well as energy-efficiency programs such automated demand-response programs to reduce capital and operating expenditures.
* The Cisco Network Building Mediator communicates "southbound" with building systems using a variety of industry open-system protocols. It then converts the data to open XML/SOAP Services which connect "northbound" to applications, utilities, enterprise management systems and cloud services.
* The Cisco Network Building Mediator extends Cisco EnergyWise technology to deliver the most comprehensive business energy-management solution, providing energy monitoring, reporting and saving to more systems and devices in any building.
* Cisco also announced that more than 20 technology partners will join the Cisco Development Technology Program for the Mediator in bringing solutions and services to Smart+Connected Communities.
* In addition, Cisco plans to introduce an Authorized Technology Provider Program for channel partners and system integrators who will be supporting sales and services for customers.
* The Cisco Network Building Mediator is orderable now and is available in two configurations; the Cisco Network Building Mediator 2400 and the Cisco Network Building Mediator 4800. Pricing starts at USD $4995.

Executive Quotes:

* Marthin De Beer, senior vice president, Emerging Technologies Group

"Today's announcement of Smart Connected Buildings as Cisco's latest Emerging Technology highlights the strength of our internal innovation engine for identifying and developing solutions in key market adjacencies. Our aim is to create a new set of systems and solutions that take the network and extend the power of the platform to deliver sustainable energy management from information technology and commercial buildings all the way through to smart grid and the home."

* Wim Elfrink, chief globalisation officer and executive vice president, Cisco Services

"Over the next three to five years, as more people around the world migrate to urban centres, 3 billion individuals around the world will connect to the Internet. Cisco envisages a future where successful communities and cities will run on networked information, and where information technology will help the world better manage its energy and environmental challenges. Cities of the future, and many innovative cities now, are addressing the issues and opportunities of this new world by thinking about the network as the platform for economic development, better city management and an improved quality of life for citizens. Everything connected to the network in these smart+connected communities can be greener."

* David Shroyer, controls engineer, NetApp:

"Within 20 minutes of the demand-response signal from the utility, the Cisco Network Building Mediator reduces lighting by 50 percent and raises the temperature set point by four degrees, shedding 1.1 megawatts. In conjunction with other systems, the Cisco solution has helped us reduce energy consumption in our Sunnyvale location by 18 million kilowatt hours in 18 months. We have reduced our carbon footprint and have saved an estimated $2 million in energy costs."

* Peter Kelley-Detwiler, SVP, Demand Response, Constellation Energy Group Inc.

"We have created a load-response solution in which the customers get paid for curtailing their consumption during the period of high or peak demand on their systems. The way we help them is we take the Cisco Network Building Mediator and use that to coordinate with the building and send a signal to automatically shut down systems."

* Norm Campbell, manager, Metering Systems, Simon Property Group

"Organizing our energy and building systems required an equally dynamic infrastructure to coordinate meter data, EMS and external inputs in unison. The Cisco Network Building Mediator is such a platform and enables us to pursue energy efficiency, load response and sustainability while maintaining comfort for our tenants and customers."

* Achuthan Nair, vice president and business head, Wipro Technologies

"Cisco Network Building Mediator technology has an open approach in a pre-dominantly multi protocol and proprietary area. We have been able to innovatively leverage it to enable management of non-IP systems, thus bringing the rigor of IT service management to non-IT equipment. This brings tremendous value to our customers by lowering their energy consumption and reducing the service costs."

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Cisco and Colombian Government Announce Entrepreneur Institute

Institute Is Part of Agreement Between Cisco and Colombian Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism to Promote ICT Skills Enhancement for SMBs. Cisco today announced the establishment of the Cisco® Entrepreneur Institute in the Caribbean region of Colombia to help entrepreneurs from small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) improve their use of information and communications technology (ICT) to enhance business acumen. The Cisco Entrepreneur Institute in Antioquia is supported by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia and falls within the framework of the agreement announced in November 2008. The agreement seeks to further the development of SMBs through the use of information technology and knowledge sharing.

Cámara de Comercio de Barranquilla (the Chamber of Commerce of Barranquilla), an organizational member of Red Nacional de Emprendimiento (National Network of Entrepreneurship) of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, will be the second training center of Cisco Entrepreneur Institute in Colombia. It will bring courses from the institute to six centers in the towns of Barranquilla, Valledupar and Cartagena in Colombia. During the first 12 months of operation, the Cisco Entrepreneur Institute is expected to train more than 500 entrepreneurs in this region.

"ICT is a key element for entrepreneurial productivity. Initiatives like the Cisco Entrepreneur Institute, a public-private partnership, show the country's commitment and continued effort to be more competitive," said Luis Guillermo Plata, the Colombian minister of industry, commerce and tourism. "Entrepreneurs and owners of small and medium-sized businesses now have a training tool available that provides true value to their professional career as business professionals, including how to start and grow a business."

Cisco Entrepreneur Institute courses, which teach successful entrepreneurial practices, will be delivered through a combination of e-learning, in-person workshop attendance and audiovisual materials. Participants will have access to Web 2.0 technologies and advanced open-source tools such as Moodle. They will also use collaboration technologies such as Cisco WebExTM for an even richer learning experience.

Simbad Ceballos, the general manager of Cisco Colombia, said: "In Colombia the entrepreneurial spirit is flourishing, and we need to be sure we have the ability to help achieve its maximum potential by encouraging diversification and innovation. Cisco is very proud to sponsor this initiative to help build the entrepreneurial capacity of the country. Entrepreneurs are the core of economic growth, and we look forward to seeing Colombia benefit from this new program."

The Entrepreneur Institute also works in Colombia with the Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje (SENA, the National Service of Learning), which is delivering institute training courses to 115 training centers in the country. The Cisco Entrepreneur Institute expects to train about 5,000 entrepreneurs nationwide during 2009 though SENA training centers.

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DFJ and Cisco Announce Husk Power Systems as Winner of Competition

Team Will Receive $250,000 Investment from DFJ and Cisco to take Alternative Power Technology to Next Level. Leading global venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) and Cisco today announced Husk Power Systems as the winner of their first co-sponsored Global Business Plan Competition for university and business school students. Husk Power Systems designs and operates miniature power plants that convert rice husks into electricity, serving off-grid rural Indian villages. The team will receive a $250,000 investment from DFJ and Cisco to help take the company to the next stage.

This is the first time the competition was aimed at a global market and hosted in six countries, a milestone made possible by both DFJ's Global Network and telepresence">Cisco TelePresence™. Cisco TelePresence enables live, face-to-face collaboration through a set of advanced technologies and seamless network communications experience. Sixteen finalist teams across the globe presented business plans from their local TelePresence suite to a panel of San Jose-based judges composed of venture capitalists from DFJ and its Global Network Funds and executives from Cisco's Corporate Development team.

"Our mission at DFJ is to help entrepreneurs change the world. With this competition, we certainly witnessed that entrepreneurship has no borders, and we look forward to expanding it to even more universities worldwide next year," said Tim Draper, managing director, DFJ. "Deciding on just one winner was difficult, especially with this caliber of candidates. We are excited to have chosen Husk Power Systems, which is especially remarkable for its alternative power technology, and we can't wait to see how this team becomes the next game changer."

"This competition demonstrates the tremendous power of collaboration through Cisco TelePresence," said Hilton Romanski, vice president of corporate development for Cisco. "We were able to bring together 16 talented teams from 15 separate schools in six different countries, all in the course of a normal business day. It was exciting to hear from this diverse and visionary group of global entrepreneurs and to learn about their business plans. Given Cisco's focus on emerging countries and the use of innovative technology to provide enhanced essential services, Cisco's investment in Husk Power Systems is a great way for us to accelerate these themes."

The presenting members of the Husk Power Systems team were University of Virginia, Darden School of Business 2009 graduates Chip Ransler and Manoj Sinha. The team started their company in India in 2007.

"We're honored to receive this recognition and opportunity, especially considering the level of competition," said Chip Ransler, chief strategy officer, Husk Power Systems. "We look forward to working with the investment professionals at Cisco and the DFJ Global Network to make Husk Power Systems a pioneer in providing electricity to rural villages in India."

Finalists in the competition were selected and evaluated in the same way that venture capitalists evaluate start-ups. For each company, the judges considered the management teams, addressable market size, competitive positioning, barriers, capital efficiency, and financial projections. In addition to the financial investment awarded to the winner, both DFJ and Cisco will continue to work with the winner and other finalists in leading the next wave of disruptive technologies by providing mentorship and professional assessments regarding their submissions.

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Kyrgyztelecom Deploys Cisco ASR 1000 Series Router Powered by the Cisco QuantumFlow

Kyrgyztelecom's Business and Residential Customers Will Benefit From New Broadband-Based Services. Cisco today announced that Kyrgyztelecom, Kyrgyzstan's national telecommunications operator, has deployed the Cisco® ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Router as the network platform to enable a more flexible, efficient, and cost-effective delivery of broadband-based voice and data services to its subscribers. The implementation is a key element of Kyrgyztelecom's plans to build a next-generation Metro Ethernet fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) aggregation network, initially in the capital of Bishkek and then across other cities. Over the next two to three years, Kyrgyztelecom plans to connect 5 million people to broadband services.
Key Facts / Highlights:

* Cisco technologies deployed as part of the project included the Cisco ASR 1002 Router, Cisco Catalyst® switches and the Cisco Security Monitoring, Analysis, and Response System (MARS).
* The Cisco ASR 1000 Series is powered by the new Cisco QuantumFlow Processor (QFP), the industry's most advanced networking chipset, which provides processing power equivalent to 20 dual-core servers, using one-tenth of the space and 38,990 fewer kilowatt-hours per year. The Cisco QFP will help Kyrgyztelecom deliver new services, easy administration and manageability with the highest processing-to-power ratio.
* Running on Cisco IOS® XE Software, the Cisco ASR 1002 Router supports software redundancy and in-service software upgrades without redundant hardware.
* The Cisco ASR 1000 Series was introduced in April 2008, the result of five years of development by a team of more than 100 of Cisco's top engineers. It defines a new category of router with industry-leading performance, built-in services, reliability and network simplification in a compact form factor.
* The project was implemented by Terratech, a Cisco Select Certified Partner, based in Bishkek.

Supporting Quotes:

* Marat Mambetaliev, CEO, Kyrgyztelecom

"Kyrgyztelecom's mission is to contribute to Kyrgyzstan's socio-economic development by providing a world-class communications infrastructure to every citizen whenever and wherever it's needed, and by any available media. By choosing Cisco's latest innovative technologies, we are ready for the future expansion of our network, including the deployment of a next-generation Metro Ethernet FTTH aggregation network in Bishkek and beyond."

* Kaan Terzioglu, vice president, Cisco Europe East

"Kyrgyztelecom was looking for a future-proof technology solution that represents engineering excellence, longevity and strong total cost of ownership. We are proud that it chose the Cisco ASR 1000 platform and deployed this innovative technology as the first in the CIS region."


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Cisco Makes Significant Updates to Award-Winning Products

Linksys by Cisco Media Hubs are now available in a versatile drive-less configuration, include Mac installation capabilities, enhanced usability, and support for AAC file format.. Updates to the Wireless Home Audio family include the availability of Conductor, improved network performance and interoperability, additional audio format support and simplified navigation.. Cisco today announced it has made hardware, software, and firmware updates to the lines of Linksys by Cisco branded consumer products it announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

The Linksys by Cisco Media Hub product lineup has grown to include a version (NMH300) that does not include pre-installed hard drives, giving consumers the flexibility to choose the drive type and size that best fits their individual needs and allowing VARs to build custom solutions for their customers. Additionally, Media Hub products will now ship with an installation disc that can be used on either PCs or Macs. Finally, a firmware update will be pushed to Media Hub customers this week that includes several playback, navigation, and remote access improvements, along with system and file management improvements.

With a newly released firmware update, customers who have purchased products from the Linksys by Cisco Wireless Home Audio family will now experience better performance and interoperability with non-Linksys by Cisco routers, improved navigation of their available media, and support for the FLAC lossless audio file format. In addition to these updates, the previously announced Conductor (DMC350) Wireless-N Digital Music Center is now available for purchase.
Media Hub Software and Firmware Update Facts/Highlights:



* Mac Installation

Beginning this month, Media Hubs will ship with a dual-format installation disc that can be run on either a PC or a Mac. Existing Media Hub customers who did not receive the dual-format disc with their product purchase can download the installation file from their product page for their device at www.linksysbycisco.com.
* Firmware Updates

The newest firmware revision for the Media Hub offers several updates including:

Apple Support-
AAC playback capabilities from within the Media Hub Interface
Media Importer capabilities for Mac
Improved interface experience when using Safari

Playback and Navigation –
Photos
Improved thumbnail generation
Improved slideshow transitions
Ability to disable slideshow
Single photo preview
Music
Improved Album view
Support for user generated Album Art
Playlist repeat
Video
MOV file support
Optimization for videos imported from Flip Video devices
Volume Level Persistence
Recently Viewed

Remote Access to content stored on Media Hub –
File size cap removed for video playback
Guest password capabilities for access to Media
Improved web certification process
FTP username and password capabilities

System and File Management -
Extended SD card recognition
New Notifications
New drive
New firmware
Drive full
RAID failure
No need to format new disc during RAID configuration
Internet Time Sync
Ability to copy or move entire folders
Dedicated “Tree” items within File view for uPnP and USB devices
Wireless Home Audio Facts/Highlights :



* Performance and Interoperability Advancements
Enhancements have been released to address issues with establishing or maintaining a connection when using non-Linksys by Cisco routers. Customers will see greater reliability when they update to the newest firmware available for the products.


* FLAC Support
Support for the popular FLAC lossless audio data compression audio format is a key component of the latest Wireless Home Audio update.


* Improved Navigation
The new firmware for Wireless Home Audio adds several navigational enhancements, these include:
- “Quick Browse” - allows users to skip to a particular letter rather than navigating through an entire library list
- Optimized metadata look up to better present Artist, Album, and Title in addition to Album Art
- Improved integration with Linksys by Cisco Media Hubs
- Improved overall navigation within the user interface

New Products Launching and Available today:



* NMH300
As the newest member of the Linksys by Cisco Media Hub family, the NMH300 includes all of the award-winning features of its predecessors in a drive-less configuration. The full family of Media Hubs can be seen at: http://linksysbycisco.com/US/en/products/NetworkStorage


* DMC350 Conductor
The Conductor is a complete, portable, self-contained wireless music system with integrated speakers and subwoofer that can be used to bring music to any room of the home. All it needs is a power outlet. It features a seven-inch LCD touch screen for easy navigation through your music library and an integrated CD player to play those songs that you have not digitized yet. An individual IR Remote is included. The Conductor is a part of the broad range of Linksys by Cisco Wireless Home Audio products, the entire family can be viewed at: http://linksysbycisco.com/US/en/products/WirelessHomeAudio.

Previously Debuted Media Hub and Wireless Home Audio Products:



* NMH305 – Linksys by Cisco Media Hub (500GB hard drive)


* NMH405 – Linksys by Cisco Media Hub with LCD and 6-in-1 card reader (500GB hard drive)


* NMH410 – Linksys by Cisco Media Hub with LCD and 6-in-1 card reader (1TB hard drive)


* Player DMP100 Wireless-N Music Extender
Designed to allow you to access digital music from existing stereo or surround sound systems in the home. Its compact design allows it to blend well with any décor making it an ideal option to extend music to any room in the home utilizing your existing audio equipment. An individual IR Remote is included.


* Director DMC250 Wireless-N Music Player with Integrated Amplifier
Features a 50-watt per channel integrated amplifier powerful enough to be placed in any room as a more permanent solution to access digital music, and includes a line in and out to connect to speakers. Its full color LCD display makes navigating through your music library simple. An individual IR Remote is included.


* Stereo Speaker Kit DSPK50
Designed to compliment the Director - Wireless-N Music Player. Pair them to create a complete, high-quality wireless sound system and experience your digital music all around your home, at your control.


* Controller DMWR1000 Wireless-N Touchscreen Remote
Designed to control the complete Wireless Home Audio system wirelessly. It features a large, color touchscreen, thumbwheel, and engaging interface designed to let you easily control any one or every one of your Linksys by Cisco Wireless Home Audio devices, including a docked iPod, from anywhere in your home, even when they’re out of sight.


* Docking Station for iPod MCCI40
Designed to allow consumers to extend their available Wireless Home Audio library to include all of the content on their iPod, including Podcasts, Audio Books, and purchased iTunes content.

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