Home Automation

Right click to download

Recent reports predict that the home automation industry will be worth more than $45 billion by 2016, which is not surprising if you saw the items from Iris, Wink, Nest and Lyric that were front-and-center in stores and commercials this past holiday shopping season. But since these connected devices depend on residential Wi-Fi/broadband, service providers are typically first in line to be blamed if something goes wrong for their subscribers – even if it’s an unrelated equipment issue, app problem or simple user error.

While the traffic impact of these devices isn’t drastic, they do add increasing complexity to home networks as well as introduce a whole new level of importance to subscribers (e.g., heat in winter, locking doors, security cameras, etc.). As a result, many operators are faced with one of two options: they can either let subscribers go the DIY approach with the devices listed above, or take control with their own smart home services (as in the case of Comcast’s Xfinity Home solution). But in both cases, without the ability to see inside the home gateway, there is a limit to how much troubleshooting these service providers are actually able to do… potentially opening the door to customer dissatisfaction and churn.

Stephane Bourque, founder and CEO of Incognito Software Systems, has provisioned 110 million subscriber devices worldwide and is here to provide insight into the ramifications of home automation that consumer electronic manufacturers, service providers and end-users should take note of.

Stephane Bourque is the technological inspiration behind Incognito Software Systems’ provisioning solutions. As CEO, Stephane has built an elite team of dedicated engineers and championed Incognito’s development of high performance, multi-platform IP service enablement solutions. Originally from Montreal, Canada, and educated at Concordia University, Stephane applied his computer engineering background at Banyan Systems to design enterprise network management systems for Fortune 1000 companies like Bell Canada.

Week In Review

---

1. Police union leader demands Google disable cop-locating Waze app
2. Smartphone Theft Down in SF, NY, London as ‘Kill Switches’ Spread
3. Facebook ‘Legacy Contact’ Will Manage Your Account When You Die
4. Microsoft fixes a serious 15-year-old bug
5. Dell Delivers Education-Focused Chromebook 11 For Accident-Prone Students

Controlling Your Email

Right click to download

Overwhelmed by email? Worried about what’s buried in your inbox? Certified Professional Organizer Susan Kousek of Balanced Spaces will share organizing and time management techniques for handling your email, plus some great shortcuts in Outlook 2010 that will save you time.

Susan Kousek is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Balanced Spaces in in the Washington DC metropolitan area. She’s an active member of the National Association of Professional Organizer, and currently serves on the national board as secretary.

Since 1990, she has helped thousands of people learn how to become better organized. She works with busy professionals in their offices helping them set up systems to stay organized, and teaches seminars and workshops on organizing and time management.

She’s been a software trainer, teaching classes in Outlook 1997 through Outlook 2010, and currently offers a seminar called “Control Your Email.”

Week In Review

---

1. City College starts program to promote women in tech
2. An App Called Happy Offers Discounts for Drinkers
3. Twitter Says Apple Mobile Software Bug Caused It to Lose Millions of Users
4. Anthem hack: what you need to do to protect yourself
5. Apple Is Talking to TV Programmers About Its Own Web TV Service

Windows 10 and More

Right click to download

This week Tony Bradley joins us to talk about the Recent Windows 10 event and some of the surprising announcements that came along with it.

Tony Bradley is editor-in-chief of TechSpective.net, and is a respected authority on technology. He has authored or co-authored a number of books, including Unified Communications for Dummies, Essential Computer Security, and PCI Compliance. He has been a CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) for over 10 years, and he has been recognized by Microsoft as an MVP (Most Valuable Professional) in Windows and Windows security for 9 consecutive years.

Week In Review

---

1. Two million vehicles recalled for air bag fix
2. Supercomputer Watson teams with Institute of Culinary Education to create recipes
3. Andrew Cuomo talks creation of high-tech, state-run weather system following winter storm
4. Marriott is no longer fighting for permission to block WiFi hotspots