Polycom, Aruba now lead the Cloud Video Conferencing technology

Aruba Networks and Polycom announced on August 26, 2010 that they are teaming up to deliver video features to users via cloud computing. Aruba will provide its Virtual Branch Networking (VBN) solution to its users -- typically through its cloud-based offerings -- who can then utilize Polycom's telepresence, videoconferencing and voice communications solutions.

Aruba said the joint solution will reduce the time, cost and network engineering needed to deliver the unified communications products to remote users working at home, in branch offices or on the road. Aruba said the cost involved in joint Aruba-Polycom remote access points can be as low as USD 99 per site. Aruba noted that its Virtual Intranet Client can deliver remote access points for virtually no cost to PC users while delivering security service economically to branches.

I believe, that the Aruba-Polycom technology definitely much better than Cisco-Tandberg partnership solutions. The International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) will be first end user in Asia Pacific to attain the advantage from this collaboration. IIUM has deployed its campus wide wireless infrastructure based on Aruba Network technology since 2008, which centrally managed all together 6 branch campuses. Early of this year, they have engaged with Polycom video conferencing solution as part of their digital education infrastructure.

According to IIUM technical expert; Mr. Jaiz Anuar and Mr. Hairulnizam (from IT Division), IIUM now aiming to provide a future infrastructure for virtual lecture which can be accessed by students via wireless network cloud. Both of them agreed that, the teaching methodology have to change parallel with the technology advancement. Since the Aruba-Polycom partnership focused on proliferating new collaborative communications solutions, it will help the university to realize its intention in establishing mobility campus by providing holistic ICT services for the achievement and continuation of excellence in IIUM. The experts say, many new initiative can be done in the future on Video over WLAN.

Mobile Education is the Future. In other words, the whole ecosystem of learning and communication will undergo a rather serious upheaval — much the same way campuses did when laptop computing became the standard. This will present challenges both in terms of infrastructure and pedagogy, but it will also provide rich opportunities for reinventing the academy and for rediscovering learning.

Communication preferences will also continue to evolve. Just as we have moved from letter writing to e-mail to texting, we will move next into video chat and voice texting. The Pew Foundation’s most recent study shows that “Almost a fifth of American adults – 19% – have tried video calling either online or via their cell phones. These figures translate into 23% of internet users and 7% of cell phone owners who have participated in video calls, chats, or teleconferences. Video calling has become increasingly available as camcorders have spread through the online environment, cameras have been built into smart phones, and as video-chat services like Skype, Google Talk, and Apple iChat have become a feature of the online and smart phone environment. Teleconferencing is also becoming more embedded in the business environment.”

In addition, we will see a fairly rapid evolution of software solutions for both tablets and smart phones that makes it unnecessary to have a large-form computer for all essentially learning tasks. This include better productivity apps and improved multitasking. We will also see a proliferation of integrated and add-on input peripheral devices. More important, cloud-based services like Google Docs will eliminate most of the need for standard productivity software downloaded to devices.

Polycom, Aruba now lead the Cloud Video Conferencing technology

Aruba Networks and Polycom announced on August 26, 2010 that they are teaming up to deliver video features to users via cloud computing. Aruba will provide its Virtual Branch Networking (VBN) solution to its users -- typically through its cloud-based offerings -- who can then utilize Polycom's telepresence, videoconferencing and voice communications solutions.

Aruba said the joint solution will reduce the time, cost and network engineering needed to deliver the unified communications products to remote users working at home, in branch offices or on the road. Aruba said the cost involved in joint Aruba-Polycom remote access points can be as low as USD 99 per site. Aruba noted that its Virtual Intranet Client can deliver remote access points for virtually no cost to PC users while delivering security service economically to branches.

I believe, that the Aruba-Polycom technology definitely much better than Cisco-Tandberg partnership solutions. The International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) will be first end user in Asia Pacific to attain the advantage from this collaboration. IIUM has deployed its campus wide wireless infrastructure based on Aruba Network technology since 2008, which centrally managed all together 6 branch campuses. Early of this year, they have engaged with Polycom video conferencing solution as part of their digital education infrastructure.

According to IIUM technical expert; Mr. Jaiz Anuar and Mr. Hairulnizam (from IT Division), IIUM now aiming to provide a future infrastructure for virtual lecture which can be accessed by students via wireless network cloud. Both of them agreed that, the teaching methodology have to change parallel with the technology advancement. Since the Aruba-Polycom partnership focused on proliferating new collaborative communications solutions, it will help the university to realize its intention in establishing mobility campus by providing holistic ICT services for the achievement and continuation of excellence in IIUM. The experts say, many new initiative can be done in the future on Video over WLAN.

Mobile Education is the Future. In other words, the whole ecosystem of learning and communication will undergo a rather serious upheaval — much the same way campuses did when laptop computing became the standard. This will present challenges both in terms of infrastructure and pedagogy, but it will also provide rich opportunities for reinventing the academy and for rediscovering learning.

Communication preferences will also continue to evolve. Just as we have moved from letter writing to e-mail to texting, we will move next into video chat and voice texting. The Pew Foundation’s most recent study shows that “Almost a fifth of American adults – 19% – have tried video calling either online or via their cell phones. These figures translate into 23% of internet users and 7% of cell phone owners who have participated in video calls, chats, or teleconferences. Video calling has become increasingly available as camcorders have spread through the online environment, cameras have been built into smart phones, and as video-chat services like Skype, Google Talk, and Apple iChat have become a feature of the online and smart phone environment. Teleconferencing is also becoming more embedded in the business environment.”

In addition, we will see a fairly rapid evolution of software solutions for both tablets and smart phones that makes it unnecessary to have a large-form computer for all essentially learning tasks. This include better productivity apps and improved multitasking. We will also see a proliferation of integrated and add-on input peripheral devices. More important, cloud-based services like Google Docs will eliminate most of the need for standard productivity software downloaded to devices.

Polycom, Aruba now lead the Cloud Video Conferencing technology

Aruba Networks and Polycom announced on August 26, 2010 that they are teaming up to deliver video features to users via cloud computing. Aruba will provide its Virtual Branch Networking (VBN) solution to its users -- typically through its cloud-based offerings -- who can then utilize Polycom's telepresence, videoconferencing and voice communications solutions.

Aruba said the joint solution will reduce the time, cost and network engineering needed to deliver the unified communications products to remote users working at home, in branch offices or on the road. Aruba said the cost involved in joint Aruba-Polycom remote access points can be as low as USD 99 per site. Aruba noted that its Virtual Intranet Client can deliver remote access points for virtually no cost to PC users while delivering security service economically to branches.

I believe, that the Aruba-Polycom technology definitely much better than Cisco-Tandberg partnership solutions. The International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) will be first end user in Asia Pacific to attain the advantage from this collaboration. IIUM has deployed its campus wide wireless infrastructure based on Aruba Network technology since 2008, which centrally managed all together 6 branch campuses. Early of this year, they have engaged with Polycom video conferencing solution as part of their digital education infrastructure.

According to IIUM technical expert; Mr. Jaiz Anuar and Mr. Hairulnizam (from IT Division), IIUM now aiming to provide a future infrastructure for virtual lecture which can be accessed by students via wireless network cloud. Both of them agreed that, the teaching methodology have to change parallel with the technology advancement. Since the Aruba-Polycom partnership focused on proliferating new collaborative communications solutions, it will help the university to realize its intention in establishing mobility campus by providing holistic ICT services for the achievement and continuation of excellence in IIUM. The experts say, many new initiative can be done in the future on Video over WLAN.

Mobile Education is the Future. In other words, the whole ecosystem of learning and communication will undergo a rather serious upheaval — much the same way campuses did when laptop computing became the standard. This will present challenges both in terms of infrastructure and pedagogy, but it will also provide rich opportunities for reinventing the academy and for rediscovering learning.

Communication preferences will also continue to evolve. Just as we have moved from letter writing to e-mail to texting, we will move next into video chat and voice texting. The Pew Foundation’s most recent study shows that “Almost a fifth of American adults – 19% – have tried video calling either online or via their cell phones. These figures translate into 23% of internet users and 7% of cell phone owners who have participated in video calls, chats, or teleconferences. Video calling has become increasingly available as camcorders have spread through the online environment, cameras have been built into smart phones, and as video-chat services like Skype, Google Talk, and Apple iChat have become a feature of the online and smart phone environment. Teleconferencing is also becoming more embedded in the business environment.”

In addition, we will see a fairly rapid evolution of software solutions for both tablets and smart phones that makes it unnecessary to have a large-form computer for all essentially learning tasks. This include better productivity apps and improved multitasking. We will also see a proliferation of integrated and add-on input peripheral devices. More important, cloud-based services like Google Docs will eliminate most of the need for standard productivity software downloaded to devices.

Swedish hotel use mobile phones instead of keys for door security

STOCKHOLM: Visitors to a hotel here will be able to use mobile phones instead of keys to unlock the doors to their rooms.

Assa Abloy AB, the world's largest maker of door locks, has launched a pilot in which Clarion Hotel Stockholm will lend customers mobile phones with close-range radio chips, much like devices used for contactless payments at gas stations.

Repeat visitors during a four-month trial will be able to check in through their phones before arrival and have their phones activated as "keys." They will then be able to skip the registration desk and unlock the door by holding the phone next to it.

The short-range radio technology, known as Near Field Communication, is expected to be built into smartphones in the coming years. It is also envisioned for ticketing and card payments.

Assa Abloy says it wanted to test the system before expanding it to other hotels, commercial buildings and homes.

Greger Johansson, a telecommunications analyst at research firm Redeye, said NFC is a hot technology in the mobile phone market. But he said few models have incorporated it so far and it will take "several years" before it becomes widely used.

"It's not just a matter of incorporating the technology into the phones," he said. "You need someone who can read it too. There are quite a few players involved so it will take a while until it works well."

The head of Assa Abloy's mobile keys division, Daniel Berg, acknowledged that participants in the trial may find it cumbersome to have an extra cellphone.

But once people have the technology in their own phones, he said, it will save them time at check-in and improve security because the access credentials in a lost phone can be revoked remotely.

He said the phone technology works with existing radio-enabled locks, so hotels can continue giving key cards to visitors who don't have the new technology in their phones. - AP

Swedish hotel use mobile phones instead of keys for door security

STOCKHOLM: Visitors to a hotel here will be able to use mobile phones instead of keys to unlock the doors to their rooms.

Assa Abloy AB, the world's largest maker of door locks, has launched a pilot in which Clarion Hotel Stockholm will lend customers mobile phones with close-range radio chips, much like devices used for contactless payments at gas stations.

Repeat visitors during a four-month trial will be able to check in through their phones before arrival and have their phones activated as "keys." They will then be able to skip the registration desk and unlock the door by holding the phone next to it.

The short-range radio technology, known as Near Field Communication, is expected to be built into smartphones in the coming years. It is also envisioned for ticketing and card payments.

Assa Abloy says it wanted to test the system before expanding it to other hotels, commercial buildings and homes.

Greger Johansson, a telecommunications analyst at research firm Redeye, said NFC is a hot technology in the mobile phone market. But he said few models have incorporated it so far and it will take "several years" before it becomes widely used.

"It's not just a matter of incorporating the technology into the phones," he said. "You need someone who can read it too. There are quite a few players involved so it will take a while until it works well."

The head of Assa Abloy's mobile keys division, Daniel Berg, acknowledged that participants in the trial may find it cumbersome to have an extra cellphone.

But once people have the technology in their own phones, he said, it will save them time at check-in and improve security because the access credentials in a lost phone can be revoked remotely.

He said the phone technology works with existing radio-enabled locks, so hotels can continue giving key cards to visitors who don't have the new technology in their phones. - AP

Swedish hotel use mobile phones instead of keys for door security

STOCKHOLM: Visitors to a hotel here will be able to use mobile phones instead of keys to unlock the doors to their rooms.

Assa Abloy AB, the world's largest maker of door locks, has launched a pilot in which Clarion Hotel Stockholm will lend customers mobile phones with close-range radio chips, much like devices used for contactless payments at gas stations.

Repeat visitors during a four-month trial will be able to check in through their phones before arrival and have their phones activated as "keys." They will then be able to skip the registration desk and unlock the door by holding the phone next to it.

The short-range radio technology, known as Near Field Communication, is expected to be built into smartphones in the coming years. It is also envisioned for ticketing and card payments.

Assa Abloy says it wanted to test the system before expanding it to other hotels, commercial buildings and homes.

Greger Johansson, a telecommunications analyst at research firm Redeye, said NFC is a hot technology in the mobile phone market. But he said few models have incorporated it so far and it will take "several years" before it becomes widely used.

"It's not just a matter of incorporating the technology into the phones," he said. "You need someone who can read it too. There are quite a few players involved so it will take a while until it works well."

The head of Assa Abloy's mobile keys division, Daniel Berg, acknowledged that participants in the trial may find it cumbersome to have an extra cellphone.

But once people have the technology in their own phones, he said, it will save them time at check-in and improve security because the access credentials in a lost phone can be revoked remotely.

He said the phone technology works with existing radio-enabled locks, so hotels can continue giving key cards to visitors who don't have the new technology in their phones. - AP

PerfectForms Releases Education Version of Workflow Tool

PerfectForms, which develops applications that help organizations automate paper-based processes, has created a version of its workflow management product that caters specifically to the education market. PerfectForms for Education lets K-12 and higher ed customers create custom workflows or use 58 pre-built templates to address common tasks. The templates can be customized to reflect school colors and use logos and typeface.

The program is intended to be used not just by IT staff but also by business and administrative staff. The company makes video tutorials available online to walk the user through the effort of planning how the new workflow should proceed; how the form should be laid out and constructed to do data collection; and how to add triggers, such as calculations and conditional actions.


The 17 templates specific to higher education address admissions, tuition, change requests, tech requests, and other categories. The company has also developed templates for human resources and finance.

The University of Tennessee at Martin has used PerfectForms for creating new processes in admissions, registration, and healthcare areas. One implementation involved the creation of an online student ID request form to replace a process whereby freshmen students would stand in line to have their pictures taken on move-in day and then wait for an ID to be created. Now, new students upload a picture of themselves online while registering for summer orientation; their ID cards are waiting for them when they arrive on campus.

"PerfectForms is the most user-friendly process implementation tool I've come across," said Mike Abney, process improvement facilitator at the university.

The application can be hosted by PerfectForms or on customer servers. The "starter" version of the on-demand option is $30 per month per user; an advanced version that includes report design is $40 per month. The on-premise edition is $5,000 per year for a single server license.