January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing...

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January 2013 Volume 34 Dear Subscribers, Happy New Year! It is only 17 days into the new year and we have already been buried in news and product announcements. The big story this month: Polycom and AT&T have joined forces! AT&T originally built their business exchange around Cisco Telepresence becoming one of Cisco’s original customers and managed service partners for the technology. The business exchange connects over 130 customers for inter-company telepresence and videoconferencing including over 1/3 rd of the Fortune 100. They have connectivity to about 4,000 rooms. Now they are joining forces with Polycom, offering Polycom equipment bundles, adding Polycom video network infrastructure, and connecting Polycom customers to the business exchange. What does this mean for Cisco? Andrew Davis at Wainhouse Research kicked off a flurry of speculation when he predicted that Cisco will leave the hardware-based videoconferencing market in 2013. Cisco had been hit with mass defections of TANDBERG employees including CEO Fredrik Halvorsen, President Geir Olsen, CTO Hakon Dahle, and others leading industry pundit David Danto to speculate that 2013 will be the year that the entire country of Norway will resign from Cisco. AT&T says the Polycom deal is strictly additive and good for customers and they remain committed to Cisco. Time will tell if Cisco remains committed to hardware-based telepresence and videoconferencing or drops it like Umi… and Flip… and Eos… Reminder: We are gearing up to continue our coverage in the next issue of Telepresence Options Magazine which will be printed in late February and put into the mail on March 1 st for delivery to 100+ countries this year. This year is a double issue with the print version of our recently redesigned Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog. You can subscribe for free at www.TelepresenceOptions.com/magazine. If you are interested in advertising in the issue, we just kicked off our 2013 advertising program. Thanks for reading, Howard S. Lichtman Publisher - Telepresence Options

Transcript of January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing...

Page 1: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

January 2013 Volume 34

Dear Subscribers,

Happy New Year! It is only 17 days into the new year and we have already been buried in news and

product announcements. The big story this month:

Polycom and AT&T have joined forces! AT&T originally built their business exchange around Cisco

Telepresence becoming one of Cisco’s original customers and managed service partners for the technology.

The business exchange connects over 130 customers for inter-company telepresence and videoconferencing

including over 1/3rd

of the Fortune 100. They have connectivity to about 4,000 rooms. Now they are

joining forces with Polycom, offering Polycom equipment bundles, adding Polycom video network

infrastructure, and connecting Polycom customers to the business exchange. What does this mean for

Cisco? Andrew Davis at Wainhouse Research kicked off a flurry of speculation when he predicted that

Cisco will leave the hardware-based videoconferencing market in 2013. Cisco had been hit with mass

defections of TANDBERG employees including CEO Fredrik Halvorsen, President Geir Olsen, CTO

Hakon Dahle, and others leading industry pundit David Danto to speculate that 2013 will be the year that

the entire country of Norway will resign from Cisco. AT&T says the Polycom deal is strictly additive and

good for customers and they remain committed to Cisco. Time will tell if Cisco remains committed to

hardware-based telepresence and videoconferencing or drops it like Umi… and Flip… and Eos…

Reminder: We are gearing up to continue our coverage in the next issue of

Telepresence Options Magazine which will be printed in late February and put into

the mail on March 1st

for delivery to 100+ countries this year. This year is a double

issue with the print version of our recently redesigned Telepresence and

Videoconferencing Catalog. You can subscribe for free at

www.TelepresenceOptions.com/magazine. If you are interested in advertising in the

issue, we just kicked off our 2013 advertising program.

Thanks for reading,

Howard S. Lichtman

Publisher - Telepresence Options

Page 2: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

AT&T & Polycom Partner on Telepresence and

Videoconferencing - What does it mean for Customers and

Cisco? January 16, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq.

We appear to be at a turning point in the

history of visual collaboration. Internal use of

business videoconferencing is now becoming

commonplace, and the challenges preventing

full ubiquitous video in business to business

are being attacked with a renewed energy.

One of the success stories on the B2B front

has been the AT&T business exchange which

includes over 130 organizations globally. AT&T

appears to be building on this with a new

working agreement with Polycom. The new

agreement includes a few elements, such as AT&T offering service bundles including

Polycom products, the use of Polycom infrastructure at AT&T, and the use of AT&T MPLS

services by Polycom. Continue reading...

Page 3: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing

Catalog Is Live Online!

January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq.

We are pleased to announce the launch of our all new and updated on-line Telepresence and

Videoconferencing Catalog for 2013. The new TPO Catalog is the most comprehensive third party

sourcebook of telepresence, videoconferencing, and visual collaboration solutions on the web. Unlike

similar efforts, the TPO Catalog does not require sponsorship for basic inclusion. This means the catalog

can include every company of interest. As a result of basing entry on relevance, rather than sponsorship,

we hope to create a truly valuable public resource for the visual collaboration community.

On March 1st, we will be publishing a print version of the catalog which will be mailed out with the next

issue of Telepresence Options Magazine to 100+ countries and distributed at every major tradeshow

and industry conference. Please click through to learn more about how you can receive, and/or be

included in both the online and physical version of the new catalog. Continue reading...

Telepresence Options is now on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Xing, RSS, and YouTube

Page 4: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

CES 2013: Hands On With The Oculus VR Rift, Virtual

Reality's Greatest Hope

I spent some time and got a little dizzy with the impressive Oculus VR Rift head-mounted display.

By Will Greenwald PCMag

LAS VEGAS--I don't know if I've seen the future of virtual reality, but I do know I've seen its best chance

in decades of amounting to anything. This renewed hope comes from the Oculus Rift from Oculus VR,

and my short time playing with it has convinced me that it can make first-person games immersive to an

unforeseen extent.Continue reading...

What is New and Cool at the Consumer Electronics Show

David Danto is the former head of telepresence, videoconferencing, and

multimedia at JP Morgan Chase and Lehman. Now he is the Principal

Consultant for Multimedia, Video, and AV at systems integration

powerhouse Dimension Data. David is on the ground at the Consumer

Electronic Show and is providing the most sophisticated analysis of

what is new and cool found anywhere on the Internet. David will be

reporting daily and we will be updating this page daily with his breaking

reports.

Continue reading...

Page 5: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

PanaCast: The Next Generation of Full Room Video

Coverage

January 7, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq.

Here at Telepresence Options, our focus has always been on applying and adapting videoconferencing

technology in ways that provide a more natural and immersive meeting experience. We have come a

great way from the dark ages of pixilated postage stamp sized images. Today's top of the line

telepresence systems address many of the more distracting elements of remote meetings, by providing

full sized images, improved eye contact, proper room layouts and screen positioning, high quality audio,

etc. However, even the best systems still have a few limitations that take away from the natural meeting

experience. One such limitation is the fact that with most solutions it is not easy (and in many cases not

even possible) for the remote participant to simply look around the room.The PanaCast, from Altia

Systems, solves this problem with a novel and elegant approach. The concept is certainly resonating.

The company reached their Kickstarter goal three times over, and expect to start shipping soon, as they

continue to add new features and capabilities.Click through to see how PanaCast solves the room

coverage puzzle. Continue reading...

Page 6: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

Arkadin Acquires Novasight as Acquisitions of

Videoconferencing Managed Service Providers Continue

January 1, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq.

Arkadin has acquired Novasight, with a focus on rounding out their existing service offerings with

Novasight's ability to support traditional videoconferencing environments. We recently covered this

continuing trend of larger service providers and organizations acquiring VC MSPs. It appears that

videoconferencing is no longer such a special and separate beast, and it can now live happily in the same

stable as the rest of your IT menagerie.

November 2012: Arkadin Aquires Novasight

October 2012: SPS Acquires Providea

April 2012: Yorktel Acquires First Connections

February 2012: IEC Acquires G2J

January 2012: Arkadin Acquires ConferencePlus

January 2012: AVI-SPL Acquires Iformata

June 2011: Polycom Acquires HP Halo

April 2011: AVM Acquires VC-Net

February 2011: Carousel Acquires Omni Presence

February 2011: Presidio Acquires Blue Water Communications

September 2010: Dimension Data Acquires mvision

April 2010: Viju Acquires CityIS Continue reading...

Page 7: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

TPO Interview: Theo Economides - Videoconferencing

Adoption

December 27, 2012 | David S. Maldow, Esq.

Here at Telepresence Options we have often touched upon the particularly trenchant adoption

problems in the videoconferencing industry. Unfortunately, once someone is turned off to video, they

tend to stay turned off, as the phone provides a ready alternative. In my opinion, the biggest turn off for

potential adopters of VC happens when they are forced to suffer through a failed meeting, or even a

compromised meeting experience.In the past, experience compromises were difficult to avoid due to

technology limitations. Today, the technology has more than caught up, so with a comprehensive

adoption strategy including planning, training, support, and expectation management, you can expect

real results. In order to share some unique expertise and insight into the adoption puzzle, we spoke with

good friend Theo Economides (above left), who is a lecturer and consultant focused on helping clients

deal with, and overcome, the adoption hurdles endemic to the VC arena.

Continue reading...

Page 8: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

Telepresence Options: New Articles and Stories

From our on-going review of the most important stories on telepresence

technologies and reporting on the telepresence industry.

Browse the New Articles and Stories Archives

Subscribe to receive new articles via RSS or via e-mail.

AT&T Allows FaceTime for Limited Data Users. What

About Unlimited?

By BRIAN X. CHEN

Bits

AT&T said on Wednesday that it would allow more of its iPhone

customers to use Apple's videoconferencing app, FaceTime,

over its cellular network. But customers with unlimited data

plans are still left out.

AT&T published a blog post that said it was letting customers

with its tiered, limited data plans use FaceTime over the

network. Previously, it had reserved this privilege for customers

who subscribed to its newer shared data plans.

Continue reading...

Living on Video in Las Vegas: Steelcase at CES

By UCStrategies Staff

Last weekend in Las Vegas, Steelcase changed the way workplaces

view video conferencing. Their concept was just one of many on

display throughout the week at this year's International Consumer

Electronics Show.

This giant of the global furniture market company is showing their

solution to physical appearance and acoustic issues with video

conferencing with its new Living on Video conference setting.

Continue reading...

Page 9: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

Alex Doyle Joins Vidtel By Dave Michels UC Strategies

Recently Alex Doyle took on the role of VP of Marketing at Vidtel. If you are not

familiar with Vidtel, it offers a variety of cloud-based video conferencing

services including meet-me conferencing bridge services and an any-to-any

service that traverses video through most firewalls. For its unique and

innovative contributions, the firm was featured last year in the Enterprise

Connect Innovation Showcase.

Continue reading...

TeleStrong Delivers Allied Health To Aged Care Remotely

Written by Kate McDonald, Pulse ItinShare

Allied health services provider HealthStrong has launched a new

telehealth service to provide healthcare by video conference to the

aged care industry.

HealthStrong has provided allied health services such as physiotherapy and podiatry to residential aged

care facilities for over a decade under the company's former name Clinicall. It has now branched out

into providing some of those services through its telehealth arm TeleStrong, as well as setting up

CareStrong for the community care sector. Continue reading...

Attack of the Telepresence Robots!

Rick Lehrbaum, BYTE | January 11, 2013 11:30 AM

Devices: Bring Your Own Human!The growing trend

toward telecommuting and outsourcing has driven

companies to seek ways for remote workers and

teams to communicate and collaborate more

efficiently and effectively. This need has inspired a

handful of innovative high-tech startups to create a

new market: remote telepresence robots.Although

remote workers and contractors have depended on

real-time audio/video communications tools for many years, including Skype, Facetime, Google Talk,

and various dedicated video-conferencing equipment and service, nothing truly offered a "being there" -

- or better yet, "moving around there" -- experience. What was lacking was the ability to work within the

remote environment, chatting with managers and staff, attending both scheduled and spontaneous

meetings, and solving problems encountered through those interactions. Continue reading...

Page 10: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

Google Fiber-Inspired SightDeck Brings Hollywood Effects

To VC Pitches And Telepresence Meetings By Ben Paynter Fast Company

Part corporate meeting telepresence, part

stand-alone film studio with baked in special

effects, the system is backed by Kansas City,

one of the first chosen for Google's Fiber

project.One of Kansas City's first city-backed

ventures to capitalize on the speed of Google

Fiber is set to officially launch next week.

Fittingly, it's from a company that could help other entrepreneurs speed up how they pitch their own

products. Continue reading...

Romo gen 3 Gains Lightning Connector, We Go Hands-On

(video)

By Myriam Joire EnGadget

Remember Romo, the adorable iPhone-faced track-

equipped robot? We met up with Romotive in Vegas at CES

2013 to play with the 3rd generation model that was

recently launched on Kickstarter. The company also gave us

an exclusive first look at a 3rd generation prototype with

Lightning connector. We sat down with CEO Keller Rinaudo

to discuss the new robot and catch up on what the team's

achieved over the past year. Continue reading...

112th Congress Finished Its Term By Taking Away More of

Your Privacy, In The Worst Possible Way By Trevor Timm EFF

The 113th Congress was sworn into office last week and will start regular

business later this month. They'll have a huge, and perhaps

unprecedented, slate of Internet related legislation in the next year,

including potentially taking up a dangerous new Internet surveillance bill--

which we will detail in the coming days and weeks.But before they do,

they should take a lesson from the 112th Congress on how not to conduct business. In their final official

week of existence--and the cover of holidays--the 112th Congress used underhanded and undemocratic

tactics to pass two bills that have terrible effects on your online privacy. Continue reading...

Page 11: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

Microsoft's IllumiRoom Projects Images Beyond your TV

ISPR [From Gameranx] by Alex Co on 9th Jan, 2013

IllumiRoom Projects Images Past Your TV, Looks Stunning

Microsoft's research labs have just released a trailer for

IllumiRoom, which projects images beyond your TV! You

need to watch it to believe it.

During Samsung's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) keynote,

Microsoft demonstrated one of the projects they're working on and this one has a gaming slant to

it.Microsoft's Research lab calls it "IllumiRoom," and it projects images outside of your TV while you're

playing games. According to the official site, IllumiRoom " is a proof-of-concept system from Microsoft

Research. It augments the area surrounding a television screen with projected visualizations to enhance

the traditional living room entertainment experience." Continue reading...

Silent Skype Calls Can Hide Secret Messages For your eyes only (Image: Patrick Sinkel/AP/PA)

By Paul Marks NewScientist

Got a secret message to send? Say it with silence. A new technique

can embed secret data during a phone call on Skype. "There are

concerns that Skype calls can be intercepted and analysed," says

Wojciech Mazurczyk at the Institute of Telecommunications in

Warsaw, Poland. So his team's SkypeHide system lets users hide

extra, non-chat messages during a call. Continue reading...

Tely Labs Signs Gem To Distribute Video Conferencing

Solutions By Greg Lockley, PCR

As part of its on-going UK expansion plan, the firm has appointed Gem

Distribution to promote and sell its Tely HD video systems.Tely Labs'

products include the telyHD and telyHD BE, which are designed with

business users in mind to offer complete and comprehensive video

conferencing solutions. telyHD Business Edition incorporates high-

quality, multi-party video calling, desktop sharing and document

collaboration into a price range accessible by businesses of any size

base. Sreekanth Ravi, CEO of Tely Labs, said: "Gem is one of the largest

hardware and software distributors in the market place and will provide substantial reach to our target

audience. Continue reading...

Page 12: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

Why Video Is Better for Closing Deals By admin

Over the last few years, video chat has become the newest addition in

the effective salesperson's toolbox. As the technology has improved

by leaps and bounds, it's become better at recreating the nuances of

in-face communication - yet even as video chat has progressed to

perfectly replicating face-to-face conversation, it still requires just a

fraction of the time of a traditional sales trip. That means in-person quality for over-the-phone time

commitments. Imagine being able to make personal, highly effective sales calls at the "speed of phone"

and you've got an idea of just how big a game-changer video chat has become. Continue reading...

CES: Plastic Logic Shows Off Papertab, A Tablet As Thin

And Flexible As Paper

Touts a 10.7in plastic touchscreen display

By Lee Bell The Inquirer

LAS VEGAS: A FLEXIBLE TABLET that is as thin as a piece of paper

has been shown off at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) today,

touting a fully interactive 10.7in plastic touchscreen display.

Developed by Plastic Logic, which has worked with Intel Labs and Queens University to develop the

technology, the tablet is powered by a second generation Intel Core i5 processor and aims to replace the

need for paper. Continue reading...

Wainhouse Predicts Cisco Videoconferencing Exit in 2013

and Other New Year Prognostications

Via the Wainhouse Research Bulletin

As we move into 2013 some of our analysts couldn't help taking the

bait I offered and put their names on the line. "Take a stance," I said.

"Be wild." Note that many of these are pure speculation, our once-a-

year chance to have fun thinking about the sublime and the ridiculous

-- or what is truly happening (depends on the analyst). From the likely to the daringly provocative, here

are some Wainhouse Research analyst predictions for the coming year. Continue reading...

Page 13: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

Is Archos' $130 TV Connect too good to be true? Sort of, but

its tablets aren't bad

By Ryan Waniata, Digital trends

Archos' TV Connect claims to pack a lot of functionality into a tiny 0

box, including access to Android apps and video conferencing, but the

final product remains rough around the edges. Meanwhile, Archos'

tablets aren't too shabby.

Despite yesterday's wave of 1080p smartphones, Ultra HD televisions and OLED wonders, we came to

CES 2013 excited to check out the humble Archos TV Connnect. The Android-powered device offers to

turn your "dumb" TV into a smart one and deliver video conferencing for a reasonable $129.99. It also

includes access to all of Android's apps, voice recognition, and a controller-driven user interface with a

full keyboard, which is supposed to feel more like you're using a tablet than a controller. Unfortunately,

our hands-on experience did not live up to our initial expectations. Continue reading...

Federation Bridges Video Conferencing Sales Gap

By Kelly Tea, Channel Partners,

Hamstrung by tight IT budgets and global workers using mismatched

endpoints, businesses are demanding flexible video collaboration that

runs on mobile devices, desktops, laptops, TVs and room-based

systems. But that's not all -- they want platforms of all kinds to talk to

one another -- Skype to Polycom, Facebook to Cisco, Google Talk to

LifeSize, for instance. There's little patience left for walled-garden conferencing. Continue reading...

The Future's Bright, Says Nimans

Channel Pro,

Distributor says acquisition of videoconferencing specialist will help

resellers gain foothold in growing market. Nimans has said its recently-

announced acquisition of videoconferencing specialist Videonations will

open the door to a multi-million-pound industry to resellers. The

Manchester-based distributor claims the purchase of the

videoconferencing specialist will offer "a new world of...sales opportunities" to the channel. Continue

reading...

Page 14: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

Immersive Telepresence: Microsoft To Add Hugs,

Handshake, Even Anxiety To Teleconferences

The boring teleconference may become more touchy-feely if

Microsoft has its way.

Lesley Ciarula Taylor Staff Reporter at the Start

Microsoft has won a patent to add real hugs, handshakes,

document handovers and even a touch of anxiety to virtual

meetings. The patent covers a variety of systems with

separate components that can add or subtract features. Among them: a cultural component that blocks

one person from sending culturally inappropriate feedback (a tap on the shoulder, for example) to

another. Continue reading...

QNX Bringing HTML 5, 4G LTE, Video Conferencing to

Future Cars

By Daniel P. Howley, LAPTOP staff writer

One of the biggest names in car technology, QNX, is here at CES

2013to show off its new QNX CAR application platform 2.0. The

system represents a huge upgrade to the company's current

offerings and includes such features as in-car 4G LTE, HTML 5

compatibility and more. Continue reading...

New Panasonic Televisions Watch You By Glenn Derene, Popular Mechanics

Last year, TV manufacturers introduced sets with built-in gesture and

voice controls. The interfaces were clunky and felt stapled on--both

journalists and customers responded with an enthusiastic "huh?" It's easy

to see why TV makers would conclude that gesture and voice have a

natural place in the television user interface, after all, TV menus are getting

more and more complicated as "smart sets" try to do more and more. Plus,

Microsoft's Xbox 360 accessory, Kinect, showed that people really can get

excited about gestural interfaces. But the Kinect shines primarily because

of its value as a gaming device. But do people really want to talk to their TVs and wave their hands

around just to change the channel? Continue reading...

Page 15: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

Double-Speed USB 3.0 To Arrive Next Year

The first devices that take advantage of the new standard's

10Gbps data-transfer speed should arrive in 2014. Too bad for

Thunderbolt.

by Stephen Shankland CNET

USB 3.0 became mainstream in 2012, and a double-speed version

is due arrive in late 2014. That could mean Thunderbolt stays a rarity. Computing industry powers are

doubling the data-transfer speed of USB 3.0 from today's 5 gigabits per second rate to 10Gbps. The

move will uncork speed bottlenecks of external SSD storage devices, open up options such second

monitors, and help confine the even faster Thunderbolt interface to a high-end niche. But it won't

happen immediately. The specification should be done in mid-2013, which "will enable initial products

to appear in late 2014 with a much broader availability of products in 2015," according to the USB 3.0

Promoter Group, which announced the faster Universal Serial Bus work today at the CES show.

Continue reading...

How Fast Does "Virtual Reality" Have To Be To Look Like

"Actual Reality"?

Low latency is important to an effective VR display but might not be everything.

by Kyle Orland - ARS Technica

For decades now, virtual reality has been a pipe dream concept, well ahead of the technology needed to

realize it. Generating a convincing 3D world that precisely and instantly matches the head-tracked

position of a player's gaze was well beyond the headsets that proliferated in research centers and on the

market up through the '90s. It has only been recently that products like Sony's prototype gaming

headset and the upcoming Oculus Rift have seriously attempted to create believable virtual reality

headsets using modern head-tracking and display technology. But there are some who think the

technology in these systems still hasn't been developed far enough to create a truly believable, head-

tracked virtual reality. Valve's Michael Abrash laid out this case in a detailed blog post last weekend,

suggesting that VR headsets need a "Kobayashi Maru moment" to solve the inherent problem of display

latency that plagues current and upcoming headsets. Continue reading...

Page 16: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

Apple TV Predicted to Have FaceTime Videoconferencing

By Aabha Rathee Wallst Cheat Sheet

If there's talk about Apple's rumored television, Piper

Jaffray's Gene Munster can't be far behind. The analyst told

PC Magazine's Sascha Segan that the probability of the

iPhone maker releasing a TV product in 2013 was very high.

Continue reading...

Telemedicine Startup Drishti Eye Care Raises Funding From Lok Capital

What not to wear in a video conference call

Build Your Own Google Glass

Facebook Tests Free Voice Calling in Messenger App

Video-Conferencing Firm Nuvixa Changes Name To Personify

Iowa Implementing Face Recognition Program To Track Sex Offenders

Congress Disgracefully Approves the FISA Warrantless Spying Bill for Five

More Years, Rejects All Privacy Amendments

Student Creates Device To Capture Aroma Of Meal On a Postcard

The Story of Dropcam, a Little Hardware Start-Up With Its Head in the Cloud

(Video)

The New Informatics: Productivity Meets Collaboration

Microsoft Patents Long-Distance Virtual Handshakes, Hugs

Six Predictions for Cloud Collaboration in 2013

71 Percent Of Businesses Not Collaborating Effectively

Telehealth Is A $620m Video Conferencing Black Hole

Giant Burning TV Log Sends Fire Crews Scrambling

Page 17: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

Telepresence Industry Press Releases

Check out the latest news from the companies on the forefront of

telepresence technologies, telepresence managed services, and inter-

networking telepresence.

Browse the Industry Press Release Archives

Subscribe to receive new articles and stories via RSS or via e-mail.

Frontier Capital Completes Growth Investment in

ConnectSolutions January 14, 2013

Frontier Capital is pleased to announce its investment in ConnectSolutions, Inc., a

leading private-cloud service provider of Unified-Communications-as-a-Service

(UCaaS) solutions for large enterprise and government organizations.

Continue reading...

Page 18: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

Cloud Videoconferencing Management Solution from your

iPad & iPhone. MyEasyVision will be Featured at Team

Polycom 2013 in Vancouver, BC Canada - February 4 - 7,

2013.

MyEasyVision is a Software-as-a-Service Videoconferencing &

Telepresence Management Solution for Telco Carriers,

Video/Telepresence Managed Services Providers, Audiovisual

Integrators, Network & Hosting Providers. G2J Videoconferencing

Management Solutions, delivered via cloud-based MyEasyVision

platform are securely accessible via any network (private/public) and

fully technology-agnostic. With its carrier-grade, multi-tenant MyEasyVision platform built in-house, G2J

provides monitoring & management services that increase the utilization of videoconferencing

deployment by ensuring all systems are on, all the time, and calls start on time with the highest possible

quality. Continue reading...

Videoconferencing Users Group, VCI-Group, Points

Members to Elliot Gold's TeleSpan 18th Annual Predictions

for the January VCI-G Live

Minneapolis, Minnesota (PRWEB) January 14, 2013. The VCI-Group

schedules and plans a monthly live webinar, called VCI-G Live, to help

educate and inform the 500+ companies and over 5000 individuals in their community on cutting edge

market and technology trends in the videoconferencing industry. This month however, VCI-Group is

encouraging its membership to attend TeleSpan's 18th annual prediction event in lieu of their normal

"VCI-G Live" event. Continue reading...

AT&T AND POLYCOM TO ADVANCE INNOVATIVE

VIDEO CAPABILITIES

DALLAS and San Jose, Calif, January 15, 2013 - As organizations of all

types look to accelerate the adoption of video-based communications

and video-enabled business processes, AT&T and Polycom, Inc.,

(Nasdaq: PLCM) announced today a strategic agreement to personalize,

mobilize and virtualize video meetings. Enabled by the industry-leading AT&T Business Exchange, MPLS,

Internet and mobility networks and the Polycom RealPresence Platform, the agreement will create

greater availability of cloud-delivered video communication capabilities - giving customers unmatched

choice in when, how, and where they collaborate. Continue reading...

Page 19: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

Glowpoint Names Peter Holst President and CEO

Glowpoint Inc., (NYSE MKT: GLOW), a leading global provider of cloud and managed

video services, today announced that its Board of Directors has named Peter Holst

president and chief executive officer, effective today. It is anticipated that Mr. Holst will

also join the Board of Directors. Holst succeeds Joe Laezza, who is stepping down as

President and CEO and resigning as a member of the Board. To facilitate a smooth transition, Mr. Laezza

will continue to serve as an advisor to Mr. Holst and the Board for the remainder of the first quarter of

2013. Continue reading...

DVE Telepresence Recognized for Ultra Realistic VC by C-

Suite Quarterly Magazine's Winter Edition

IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 14, 2013 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Video

Enterprises, Inc. (DVE) today announced that is has been

recognized by C-Suite Quarterly Magazine (www.csqmag.com) in

its 2012-2013 Winter Edition as a special innovation of note

among other leading innovative companies and academic

institutions in Los Angeles. Continue reading...

Revolve Robotics Enables Video Collaboration For Business

SAN FRANCISCO - Jan. 10, 2013 - Revolve Robotics, an emerging leader in

mobile-controlled personal robotics, today announced that Kubi, their easy-

to-use robotic tablet platform for video collaboration and telepresence

applications, is now interoperable with leading enterprise video conferencing

solutions. Kubi enhances existing conferencing tools by giving remote users

control of the tablet through swivel, pan and tilt actions, enabling them to "look around" and interact

with remote environment as if they were actually in the room. Continue reading...

Sony Xperia Z - Sony's First 5.0-inch Full HD Quad-core

Phablet with Android Jelly Bean and 13MP Camera

Sony Xperia Z is the first Full HD and Quad-powered Android phablet introduced by Sony in

its Xperia series. It is now available for pre-order from MobiCity, Australia's best online

mobile phone store.The IP55 & IP57 certified water and dust-resistant device exhibits a

super sleek 7.9mm thin rectangular bar form make featuring a 5.0-inch Full HD Reality

Display having a screen resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels and an extremely high pixel density of 443ppi.

Continue reading...

Page 20: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

Steelcase - Video Is Impacting The Way We Live, Work and

Learn

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- As video becomes a dominate

communication tool in the workplace and in the classroom, challenges such as

inadequate space, lack of privacy, and concern over physical appearance are making the transition

difficult for many people. Steelcase, a global leader in office and education environments, is displaying

concept spaces and technology, this week at the HigherEd TECH Summit at CES, that better address

these key barriers and create a more intuitive, dynamic, and natural videoconferencing experience.

Continue reading...

MCU1.com Launched Following Successful Beta Test

Media Network Services (MNS) today announced the public launch of MCU1.com

following a successful beta test period involving 100+ beta testers from around the

world. MCU1.com is now operational and present with Multipoint Control Unit

(MCU) infrastructure in Americas, APAC and Europe. Continue reading...

InfoComm Releases New AV Systems Performance

Verification Checklist

FAIRFAX, VA - January 10, 2013- InfoComm International, the trade association

representing the commercial audiovisual industry, is pleased to offer a member-

developed resource which will provide owners, consultants and integrators with

comprehensive verification criteria to determine if the AV system achieves the client's objectives and is

performing in accordance with the system design. Continue reading...

ScienceLogic Named InfoWorld 2013 Technology of the

Year Award Winner

RESTON, VA--(Marketwire - Jan 10, 2013) - ScienceLogic, a

leading data center and cloud management software vendor,

announced today that the company has received the 2013 InfoWorld Technology of the Year Award.

Selected by IDG's InfoWorld Test Center editors and reviewers, the annual awards identify the best and

most innovative products on the IT landscape. Winners are drawn from all of the products tested during

the past year, with the final selections made by InfoWorld's Test Center staff. All products reviewed by

the Test Center are eligible to win. Continue reading...

Page 21: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

HealthSpot Sets Out to Reinvent Healthcare Through

Technology

Las Vegas, NV - CES Booth Grand Lobby-3 - January 7, 2013 at 5:00

AM PST - At CES 2013, you will be able to experience the crossroads of

healthcare and technology into a better healthcare system for

tomorrow. HealthSpot, a pioneer in patient and provider-driven

healthcare technology, has developed a breakthrough telehealth

system that provides high-quality medical diagnostic technology to

patients anytime, anywhere. Being unveiled in the Grand Lobby, CES attendees are invited to

presentations and live demonstrations of patients receiving care from across the US. Continue reading...

GestureTek Systems Inc. Is Appointed The Distributor of

DISPLAX SKIN Multi-Touch Product for the USA and

Canada

Toronto, Canada, Jan 8, 2013, GestureTek System Inc. is proud to announce

that it has been made the exclusive distributor for the Skin Multi-touch

product for the USA and Canada by Displax Interactive Systems. This

innovative product is a thin transparent film that can be easily placed on

glass, windows, monitors, or virtually any surface to allow that surface to

enable multi-touch interaction by one or more users.. Continue reading...

Yorktel Taps Dan Missbrenner to Lead West Coast

Operations

Eatontown, NJ (January 9, 2013) - Yorktel (@Yorktelcorp), the global leader in video

managed services, today announced the appointment of Daniel A. Missbrenner as Vice

President of Commercial Sales for the Western Region (U.S.). In this capacity, Dan is charged

with extending the company's worldwide footprint in Western US target markets, and will also oversee

operations for the region. Continue reading...

Page 22: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

AVI-SPL Expands International Presence With New Offices

in the UK and Canada

TAMPA, Fla., - January 8, 2013 - AVI-SPL, the world's leading video communications partner, is pleased

to announce further international expansion with the opening of four new offices outside the U.S.,

including London, Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto. "AVI-SPL is committed to being a truly global

provider," said AVI-SPL CEO John Zettel. Continue reading...

Vidyo Selected by HealthSpot as Exclusive Video

Conferencing Partner at CES 2013

HACKENSACK, N.J., Jan 08, 2013 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Vidyo, Inc., the first

company to deliver personal telepresence, today announced its collaboration

with HealthSpot(TM), a pioneer in patient and provider driven healthcare

technology. HealthSpot has integrated Vidyo technology into its cutting-edge

telehealth system that provides high-quality medical diagnostics to acute

care patients anytime, anywhere. Anchoring the telehealth system is the HealthSpot(TM) Station, a

private, walk-in kiosk that offers patient access to diagnosis and treatment by board-certified doctors,

via Vidyo-powered HD videoconferencing and interactive digital medical devices. HealthSpot will

demonstrate the Vidyo-enabled HealthSpot Station in the Grand Lobby (booth 3) at this week's

Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Continue reading...

Soglowek Selects SURF's Orion Video Conferencing System

Surf Communications Solutions (SURF), a global leader in multimedia

processing and applications, announced today that Soglowek, Israel's

leading producer of food products, has selected SURF's Orion enterprise

video conferencing solution for company-wide use. Continue reading...

Phoenix Audio Technologies Chosen by Vidyo to Provide

Audio Solutions for Vidyo Users Worldwide

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Phoenix Audio Technologies, a world leader

in real time audio solutions, today announces enhancing the partnership with

Vidyo Inc. a world leader in personal telepresence and video conferencing

solutions. "We are very proud that Vidyo has chosen to add the Duet PCS as a

recommended personal audio solution for Vidyo users worldwide" Continue reading...

Page 23: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

Fortemedia's Latest Voice Processing Technologies Bring a Better Voice

Recognition Experience to Lenovo Laptops

Draper Introduces Video Conferencing Accessories at ISE

Videxio Adds Support For Microsoft Lync To Its Video As A Service Platform

GEO Semiconductor Completes Acquisition of Maxim Integrated Digital Video

Processing Business

LG Begins Rollout Of Eagerly Anticipated OLED TV

Jell Networks to Distribute SoliCall Pro Software

Businesses Could Save On Travel Costs By Better Utilising Audio Or Video

Conferencing, Says The Remark Group

Call: ECLAP 2013 - Conference on Information Technologies for Performing

Arts, Media Access and Entertainment

Vci-Group Continues To Grow Past Polycom Users Group, And Elects New

Officers And Expands Vendor Communications With Circle Of Leaders In 2013.

Subscribe for free at: http://www.TelepresenceOptions.com/magazine

Page 24: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

Telepresence Options is now on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Xing, RSS, and YouTube

Telepresence People

Name Company New Title

Adi Regev ClearOne VP of Videoconferencing Business

John Latini Polycom Director Global Accounts

Alex Doyle Vidtel VP of Marketing

Bob Kiszka Vidyo Regional Sales

Brett Busch Whitlock Global Account Executive

Daniel Missbrenner Yorktel VP Commercial Sales (Western US)

Telepresence Industry Professionals -Now Over

3,600+ Members!

Telepresence Industry Professionals (TIP) is our telepresence industry

association on Linked In which is now over 3,600+ members! We like to call it "the

telepresence industry's cool kids club" because so many of our favorite folks are on-

board. The group is a superb venue for discussion, networking, and industry news and information.

There is a Jobs board for organizations looking for talent and for folks that are in the market for their

next gig.

Page 25: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

On The Bench A Breakdown of Industry Talent in the Market for their Next Opportunity

Interested in Appearing in “On the Bench”? Send 1 short paragraph

overview, headshot, and LinkedIn URL to [email protected]

with “On the Bench” in the subject line.

Telepresence Options Seeking Managing Editor &

Writers

Over the past year we have focused on growing the publishing

side of Telepresence Options into the largest identifiable audience in

the world interested in telepresence and visual collaboration. We

have more than doubled the website traffic from an average of

747 session per day in 2009 to 2014 2500+sessions per day as of

March 2012 and growing! The subscribers to our newsletter, the

Telepresence Options Telegraph, have grown from 2861 to

4724 5500+. 6300+ We launched a new website the Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog

which has become the Internet's most comprehensive and intelligently-organized overview of

telepresence and visual collaboration solutions. Recently we have launched Telepresence Options

Magazine and we are now looking for a talented editor and some writers to help us take both the

website and magazine to the next level.

Please email [email protected] if interested.

Page 26: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

Telepresence Industry Jobs

New Jobs on the Telepresence Industry Professionals Job Board - Must

be a Member of TIP to view

Page 27: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

Telepresence Industry Calendar

Page 28: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

About Telepresence Options

Telepresence Options follows telepresence, videoconferencing, unified

communications, and the companies that make up the visual collaboration

industry. We profile new telepresence and visual collaboration systems,

telepresence and video managed service providers, and telepresence inter-

networking solutions. Telepresence Options content is available for free on the

internet and The Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog and Telepresence

Options Magazine are available to subscribers.

Interested in Sponsoring the Telepresence Options Telegraph or Telepresence Options?

Telepresence Options traffic is from 190+ countries!

Telepresence Options is the leading publishing firm covering telepresence, videoconferencing, and visual

collaboration. The site attracts over 30,000+ unique visitors per month from 190+ countries and

represents the largest identifiable audience in the world interested in telepresence, telepresence

managed services, and internetworking telepresence. The Telepresence Options Telegraph is published

monthly and has over 6,400+ subscribers. Please contact [email protected] for

sponsorship info or http://www.telepresenceoptions.com/sponsorship/

Telepresence Options 2013 Program TPO Magazine May 1st 2013

Page 29: January 2013 Volume 34 - Telepresence · The All New 2013 Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog Is Live Online! January 14, 2013 | David S. Maldow, Esq. We are pleased to announce

The New Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog

The new Telepresence and Videoconferencing Catalog is the most comprehensive third party sourcebook of telepresence, videoconferencing and visual collaboration solutions anywhere, and is brought to you by the analysts at the Human Productivity Lab and editors at Telepresence Options.