Could Big Data and IP video uncover clues on Boston Marathon bombings?

April 16, 2013 -- Writing in USA Today, former national security analyst Scott Sigmund Gartner speculates on how Big Data (specifically, IP-based security and personal video) could be used to uncover clues on the Boston Marathon bombings.

"The lack of privacy in American big cities and at major public events is concerning," admits Sigmund Gartner. While owning up to the truth that by "analyzing trillions of images and data points, big data does more than threaten our privacy, it creates such detailed individual-level profiles that it literally strips us naked, exposing our values and desires to information's highest bidder," the analyst, who is currently a professor at Penn State's School of International Affairs and Dickinson School of Law, contends that "in this case, the same technology that reveals our shopping patterns and likely friends on Facebook may come through and help to expose a killer."

[Ed. note. -- It must come through -- if not, what is the point of this technology?]

The editorial goes on to place stock in recognition of big data's "positive side" -- noting how "by feeding thousands of cell phone, media and security camera video into massive computers capable of sorting faces, times and locations...authorities [will] put together a comprehensive picture of the comings and goings on Boylston Street."

"Crunching an unimaginable amount of data through social network, facial recognition, geographical information systems and other analytical algorithms...will reveal who seems to be there for the race, for business, or possibly for evil intent," continues the piece.

Link:  Big data could uncover clue on marathon: Column (usatoday.com)

Celebrating you

Well we’ve gone ahead and done it. We tabulated a list of 20 people (well, 18 people, one association and one profession as a whole), as nominated by our audience at large, who have made significant, positive impacts on the cabling trade over the past 20-plus years.

Creating lists like this one is kind of an old trick in the publishing/internet/media business. It’s a virtual guarantee that everyone who looks through it will think of at least one person who deserved to be included and wasn’t. (In many cases the reader’s reaction could be, “Hey, why wasn’t I on that list?!”) I say it’s an old trick because oftentimes one of the main objectives of those producing the list is to elicit just such a reaction. The more people talk about it, the more attention it gets. In today’s media environment, attention equals website page views. Website page views make our bosses happy. Hence the “old trick”—create a list just to get people talking.

That wasn’t the intent here. This list of the cabling industry’s positive contributors was conceived and developed as the most appropriate way to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the first issue of Cabling Installation & Maintenance magazine. I’ve always kind of snarkily shaken my head at people who plan their own birthday parties. Actually, make that, adults who plan their own birthday parties. When you’re a kid, the most important days of the year are your birthday, the last day of school, and for us who celebrate it, Christmas. I’ve always kind of believed that once you turn oh, I don’t know, somewhere in your early 20s, the whole birthday thing should take a back seat. If someone else wants to throw you a party, great. Consider yourself a success for being important enough to someone that they want to do something nice for you on your birthday. But planning your own party kind of reminds me of the Brady Bunch episode when Peter planned a celebratory party for himself after he saved a girl from harm. Everyone he invited thought up reasons not to go. It was kind of sad, actually. In the end, the people who gathered to celebrate his good deed were his family members—the very same people who would throw him a birthday party because they care about him for who he is, and who were there for him before he was basking in the glow of his heroic act, and after that glow had faded.

So, as Cabling Installation & Maintenance was about to turn 20, the thought foremost in my mind was that I didn’t want to have a “Peter Brady Party” in which we spend pretty much all our energy asking, and answering, how great we are. That sentiment doesn’t come from any type of modesty, but rather from the reality that the cabling industry was humming along quite well before we showed up on the scene. Have we been an overall asset to the industry in our two decades of existence? I like to think so. But at the same time, we don’t embrace the pre-Copernicus mindset that the rest of the universe revolves around us. We’re happy to be one of the figures that floats around what’s really at the center of this industry—a combination of hard work and competence. And, I also like to think, whatever gravitational force we have helps to keep the whole thing in balance.

But it’s that core of the industry, the competence and hard work, that we have chosen to emphasize as a commemoration of our 20 years in business. Like any industry, ours has people, products and practices that span the full spectrum. Many times the structured cabling industry as an entity in and of itself has been challenged to garner an appropriate level of credibility, both from the information technology/networking industry of which it is an integral part, and from the construction industry of which it also is an integral part. While that challenge has been met and overcome in many cases, it remains dogged in others. Still, the complete “food chain” of players—from product design and manufacture, to distribution, through system specification, installation and maintenance—has the opportunity every day to fortify and enhance the credibility of the trade we call ours. In doing so, they (you) have earned recognition.

Yet the structured cabling industry doesn’t really have a platform to, a la Peter Brady, throw a party for itself. So on the occasion of our birthday (we’re in our early 20s now so the time for self-celebration has passed), we’re taking our hats off to all those who advance the industry in a positive direction—the few who we call out on our list as well as the many whose names don’t appear here but whose competence and hard work remain the central lifeblood of the industry. Our thanks to all of you.

Klein Tools looking for the oldest pair of its side-cutting pliers

If some of the tools in your tool belt are older than you, you just may be in luck. Klein Tools is holding a promotion through which it will provide a $2,500 cash prize as well as approximately $2,500 worth of its merchandise to the person who produces the oldest pair of the company's side-cutting pliers.
"Customers can see if their pliers are eligible by determining if their tool is the standard side-cutting type, bears the original Klein trademark and has the 'code markings' that will be found inside the handle," the company explained when announcing the promotion.
Specs and details of the contest, including tips on how to identify your pliers' manufacture date, can be found here.
Members of Klein's engineering staff will select the winning pair of pliers using the above-mentioned criteria. May 31 is the deadline by which entrants must submit a completed entry form and photos of the pliers being entered.
The company's channel sales manager Thomas Barton said, "Klein tools are known for their quality and durability. Our customers are very loyal and some have tools that have been handed down from one generation to another. So we thought it would be interesting to see exactly how long our pliers soldier on."

Thoughts on the “Blackout Bowl” -- from a data center cabling perspective

By Josh Taylor, CABLExpress -- I cringed during the blackout that occurred at the 2013 Super Bowl in New Orleans. The reaction was not due to the delay of the game, nor the effect it may have on the teams’ momentum. It was due to the fact that I know all too well what was going on behind the scenes. DOWNTIME! Sheer panic!

The impact was huge. Everyone was talking about it, which created embarrassment for the city of New Orleans. According to TV blog reporting from the Washington Post, it even appears to have affected the ratings. Bottom line is that this blackout cost the city and the NFL money… big money!

That is why I cringed when I saw this happening. I knew this was going to cost lots of money, and potentially some people’s jobs! Even when things are going right 99.9% of the time, with power and facilities wiring there is always the potential for something catastrophic to happen at the worst possible time. This is what we saw at the “Blackout Bowl.” When all is said and done, no excuses are accepted. The blackout happened and heads will roll!

I have seen this in my line of work far too often. I work directly with data center staffing to help design structured cabling solutions for their data centers. Too often, customers have approached me for help after they experienced downtime due to a faulty piece of cabling infrastructure.

It is a tough lesson that many have experienced. You are only as strong as your weakest link! It seems that, no matter what the facility, the focus is always on the hardware and too little attention -- in both an economic and a planning sense -- is paid to the cabling infrastructure.

Related:  CABLExpress offers free data center structured cabling guide

When the cost of downtime is so high, and can even result in job terminations, it is amazing to me that people focus on “costs” of a job and skimp out on the cabling infrastructure! Think of it this way – would it be worth saving $5 on a fiber-optic patch cable that ends up failing after being plugged in for the third time? Consider that this patch cable failing could cost your company $XX per minute! The initial savings on the patch cable could be very insignificant compared to the impact of 5 minutes of downtime!

Having respect for Layer One is critical in any data center. With a well-planned infrastructure, downtime related to cabling can be reduced drastically.

Do yourself a favor - look for the weakest links within your cabling infrastructure and address them immediately! Also, don’t allow cabling to be purchased on price alone. Do some research and find the best overall value for your situation.

Also, put pressure on your cabling supplier to provide documentation on certifications and testing procedures (or lack thereof) that ensure you won’t experience downtime due to a cabling failure!

Josh Taylor is a Senior Product Manager with CABLExpress (www.cablexpress.com)

WiGig coattails on 802.11ad, Wi-Fi

A new market insight opportunity (i.e. report for sale) from ABI Research investigates the industry situation now that WiGig is officially part of 802.11ad and Wi-Fi.

See also:  WiGig issues version 1.1 spec, setting stage for 60-GHz multi-Gigabit Wi-Fi

"As early as 2009, ABI Research called WiGig as the 60 GHz technology that would beat out competing 60 GHz solutions," writes ABI Research analyst Philip Solis. "WiGig was exactly what the Wi-Fi Alliance was interested in to expand to include a 60 GHz solution. The WiGig Alliance knew that becoming a part of Wi-Fi would allow it to hang on the coattails of the most ubiquitous connectivity technology in the world."

Find out more about the research.

Lightning Round: Q&A on the cabling industry's hottest topics

Watch the flagship episode Cablinginstall.com's Lightning Round, a stand-up Q-and-A of selected experts on the cabling industry's hottest current topics of news and technology advancements. Below, I interview Cabling Installation and Maintenance's chief editor, Patrick McLaughlin.

Here are the Lightning Round's questions:

1.)  Which news from the world of cabling standards in 2012 will have greater implications for network infrastructure professionals going forward in 2013 – the approval of the TIA-606-B data center standard, or the recent announcement of the TIA’s Category 8 designation for next generation of twisted-pair cabling specifications?

2.)  Which IT CEO legend made the following prediction in a nationally known IT technology publication of circa 1993 – and I quote – “Wireless computing will flop – permanently.” Was it:

a. Oracle’s Larry Ellison
b. Apple’s Tim Cook
c. Ethernet inventor Bob Metcalfe
d. Cisco’s John Chambers

3.)  What will be the bigger “game-changer” for network cabling deployments in 2013:  the preponderance of pre-terminated fiber systems -- or the rise of distributed antenna system, or DAS, technologies?

Watch the Q&A Lightning Round

Was Apple the best IT hardware, networking stock for 2013?

As reported in a Business Insider article posted at the San Francisco Chronicle's SFGate, certain capital investment experts are tilting "mega-bull on [Apple], despite the 30% collapse of the [company's] stock since September" -- due specifically to the company's exisiting and expected influence in the IT and networking space, globally.

Brian White, an analyst at Topeka Capital, says, "our top large-cap stock pick in the 'IT Hardware & Networking' group for 2013 is Apple. The negative sentiment around the stock has reached epic levels that we haven't seen in recent memory and yet we believe the product portfolio has never been stronger."

Smartphones and tablets are "still going to be huge this year [and] no company is in better shape to take advantage of the growth of mobile [networking] than Apple," adds White.

RELATED STORY:  Apple currently seeking data center professionals

On the logistics end, the effect of supply chain cuts for the iPhone itself are deemed insignificant. Never mind that; Apple is forecasted to strike a massive mobile wireless and telecom provider deal with China Mobile. "If every China Mobile wireless subscriber had an iPhone at the current ASP, this would represent ~$450 billion in sales for Apple," estimates White.

Stateside, the impact of the long-awaited Apple TV -- to be broadcast to customers over the company's "digital grid" -- is as yet unknown, but is almost certain to be "amazing," contends the analyst. Ultimately, Apple TV "will allow [the company] to tap into an entirely new $100 billion market opportunity" in the IT and networking sphere, predicts White.

Not all analysts are as bullish as Topeka Capital's on Apple's prospects here; elsewhere predictions are being made that the company's iPhone business is "going to be dead in the water."

SEE ALSO:  Aerial photos reveal Apple's Oregon data center site

Full story:  Here's What The Last True Believer In Apple Has To Say About The Stock Getting Destroyed (AAPL) (sfgate.com)