Category: Current and Future Trends

Internet away from home having to satisfy new expectations

simonmackay 28/10/2013 Current and Future Trends, Hotel and Accommodation Industry, Travel-related issues No Comments

Article

How Fast Is Your Hotel Internet Connection? || HotelChatter

My Comments

The bandwidth available in the Wi-Fi service provided at these hotels may have to meet new realities

A reality that is starting to face travellers is a requirement for increased bandwidth while one is on the road. This is more so as we see the increased availability and cost-effectiveness of portable computing equipment that we don’t want to be without.

Here the hotel industry is having to adapt to this as more guests check in with at least two or three Wi-Fi capable gadgets per room and have these gadgets work with the Wi-Fi public-access network.

This HotelChatter article has raised the issue not just of the cost of the Internet service but also the kind of bandwidth that is provided. Typically, these places have a huge demand placed on their Internet connection by both the guests and the staff. This reality will become more intense as the quality for digital images and online video increases, along with the increased popularity of online video services.

Larger city business hotels may typically use what is expected for a big business’s head office with the high-bandwidth connections whereas smaller outer-urban and rural properties may use broadband of a grade similar to small-business or “enthusiast” residential setups. As well, Wi-Fi wireless setups may have access points shared by multiple rooms, thus you might find that the quality-of-service may not be there at times such as whenever someone is downloading or uploading a large quantity of data such as some video content. In some cases a multiple-SSID access point ends up “divvying up” bandwidth between devices on the “public-guest” SSID associated with the Wi-Fi service, a similar “event” SSID for a Wi-Fi service associated with people renting out conference facilities along with the staff / business SSIDs relating to the hotel’s line-of-business Wi-Fi segment.

According to an infographic that was in the article I am referencing. they reckoned that 1 Mbps would work well for email, Web surfing or audio content (Internet radio, Spotify and the like) with reasonable quality of service. Then they reckoned that 2-5Mbps would work well for Skype, Facetime and similar videocalls; along with video content with reasonable quality of service. More than this could see quick VPN activity, quick Dropbox transfers and excellent multimedia quality-of-service for Skype or streaming audio and video.

Of course, there are situations where the bandwidth available across a hotel can be “maxed out” at peak occupancy and usage times such as 8pm to 9pm most nights as I learnt from someone who lived in a rural area but effectively “lived out of” one of the larger downtown hotels when he was in town. Here, this is when most of the younger guests would be concurrently streaming video content from various video-on-demand services which they subscribe to or uploading a quantity of photos to one or more online services like Facebook, Instagram, Google+ or Dropbox.

The article was asking guests and staff in these places to speed-test the public Internet connection available to the guests and assess the bandwidth that these services provided. They were reckoning that apps like the SpeedTest app for Android and iOS would work as a benchmark tool for this situation.

Here, I would look at a bandwidth goal of preferably 2-5Mbps per room plus a similar capacity or more for public areas like the bar and lounge areas. Similarly, I would pay attention to any login environments that simplify the setup and login experience that clients have to encounter. Here, improvements like use of Wi-Fi PassPoint would benefit the user experience.

I also have raised the issue of the availability of Wi-Fi-based gadgets like wireless speakers, Chromecast modules and digital cameras that don’t work well with browser-based login routines that these public-access networks implement. Here, guests are likely to end up wanting to use these gadgets to the full potential while they travel the “switched-on” way and the industry will have to look at ways to support these “gadget clusters” especially in the guest’s own “domain” which is their room while keeping the data on these “clusters” private to that “cluster”. This also includes support for technologies like Wi-Fi Passpoint and other so-called “Hotspot 2.0” technologies that allow automated or “browser-free” login to these guest-access networks.

For that matter, when I review hotels, I would provide some commentary on the guest-access Internet service. This would encompass not just the cost of the service as well as the bandwidth and quality-of-service that the network provides as well as the login experience.

Skully to develop a motorcycle helmet with heads-up display

simonmackay 16/10/2013 Current and Future Trends, Mobile Computing, Network Lifestyle And Activities No Comments

Articles

Skully demonstrates GPS, rear-view camera in motorcycle helmet | The Car Tech blog – CNET Reviews

Skully fits heads-up display into motorcycle helmet | PC World

From the horse’s mouth

Skully Helmets

Home Page

My Comments

Those of us who use cars often take features like GPS satellite-navigation and rear-view cameras for granted. But motorcyclists feel left out because there isn’t a way to implement these technologies in a safe manner that works well for two wheels.

If a motorcyclist wants to use GPS navigation while riding their bike, they have to buy and use an expensive portable navigation device that is designed for motorcycle use and mount this to their machine’s handlebars. Or they have to seek out and purchase a smartphone dock that is designed to mount on a motorcycle’s handlebars and install their smartphone in that dock. Some of these accessories may not even look the part on certain bikes such as European-style scooters or “open-style” tourer bikes such as the Harley-Davidsons or Yamaha Viragos.

Now Skully have developed a motorcycle helmet that has an integrated GPS and rear-view camera. Here, this device uses a heads-up display that works independently of how you position the helmet’s visor to show the navigation graphics or the picture from the rear-view camera.

It has a Bluetooth link to your smartphone for updating map data but also provides access to telephony, music and voice-control features that your smartphone offers. THink of having a long ride while listening to your favourite music then telling your smartphone via Siri, S Voice or Google Voice to call the people whom you are seeing to let them know you’ll be there.

The Android-driven helmet has a battery runtime of 9 hours and can be charged using a microUSB data/charging cable connected to a computer or USB charger. It certainly shows that this is an invention that solves a problem many motorcyclists face and brings them on an even par to car drivers.

High-resolution file-based audio–a few gaps need to be filled here

simonmackay 14/10/2013 Current and Future Trends, Network Media Devices, UPnP AV / DLNA No Comments

Linn Klimax DS network media preamplifier

As I saw in the Australian Audio & AV Show 2011, there has been interest in the idea of high-resolution file-based audio as a way of conveying music that is fit to play on the latest high-end amplifiers and speakers. Equipment like the Naim NDX or Linn DS series of network media players where playing 192khz 24-bit FLAC files was second nature were being exhibited there.

Lately, Sony used the Internationaler Funkaustellung 2013 trade show in Berlin to premiere a series of hard-disk media players and music systems which are about reproducing these digital-audio files, alongside digital-analogue converters and Walkman portable media players that work with the high-resolution audio files.

Some of the recordings available in this form are either copies of the high-grade studio masters associated with new recordings or remastering efforts of classic recordings like Miles Davis’s “Kind Of Blue” or Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side Of The Moon” where the reference recording was the classic open-reel mono or stereo tape or PCM-701ES / PCM-1630 videotape (a digital recording made using a PCM adaptor and videocassette recorder) that the recording studio turned out as a master. It is an attempt to raise the standard of high-grade audio recording and reproduction above what was acceptable in the late 70s and early 80s.

Typically these files are delivered as WAV waveform files or losslessly-compressed files to the FLAC or ALAC standards. In some cases, efficient lossy formats like WMA or AAC may be used for this kind of recording. The specifications for most of these “master-grade” recordings are stereo or, in a few cases, multichannel 24-bit files with 88.2, 96 or 192 khz sampling frequency.

Downsampling and conversion for less-capable equipment

Some of the setups that I saw were based on a DLNA-based home network but the problem with most of the media servers out there is that they could only work reliably with equipment that provided inherent support for the FLAC, ALAC or similar files at the high sampling frequencies. This would typically be relegated to the high-grade equipment that would serve the main lounge area and is part and parcel of the functionality offered by most network-capable home stereo systems but there is the reality that you may use cheaper equipment for casual listening such as in the kitchen, bedroom or den.

One main feature that I would like to see would be to have DLNA media servers which are supplied with network-attached-storage units support downsampling to “CD-grade” quality for the cheaper equipment such as most of the network speakers. This could be to make available a stream that is a 16-bit 44.1khz or 48khz PCM or MP3 format for this equipment. These streams are exposed and discovered according to UPnP AV standards in order to provide best-case listening according to the equipment’s capabilities.

It is something that is part of the TwonkyMedia Server software but not all NAS devices implement the software or carry through this functionality even though were as seeing a lot of these devices have the processing power of an 2009-era netbook.

As well, if these servers offer DLNA-assisted “syncing” of music files to automotive or portable devices, they could perform the downsampling to this grade during the file transfer process if the user so wishes. This is more so as these devices become part of the home network when it comes to handling digital content.

WAV and similar PCM-grade files to carry metadata

As for the PCM-grade WAV file which is a common carrier for linear PCM audio, this doesn’t support any metadata in its current form. Of course, this format is highly cherished by people who value high-quality sound reproduction but you work around this either with a file-folder structure that represents your content or a sidecar file which carries the full metadata.

This could be helped through the implementation of the ID3v2 in-file-metadata standard for WAV and similar PCM files. Here, you avoid the need to kludge with folder structures and don’t need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to recording and replaying WAV files.

Timecode and synchronisation issues for prosumer video

The high-resolution audio file formats will be of interest to serious video hobbyists and people who make money from film or video projects. Here, recording equipment that exploits these formats will need to work with standard SMPTE time-code data in the files along with exchanging the timecode through a small network including a Wi-Fi Direct segment.

This is important as we see the “prosumer” photography and video equipment that is valued by the hobbyists, the small-time wedding / corporate videographers and community TV groups become increasingly equipped with WI-Fi networking abilities. Additionally some of the video projects encountered by these people like weddings are anchored around musically-rich content such as live music performances, religious services or reception dances and the high-resolution audio files could do justice to this music.

This has to be easy to implement for the serious video hobbyist or small-time operator who is starting to get to grips with the concept. For example, an audio-recording device connected to a mixing desk to record a presentation or wedding could serve as a time-code master while two or more cameras with on-camera audio are used to capture video but referring to that time-code signal as their time-code.

Conclusion

As we see serious hi-fi buffs, people involved with the recording and reproduction of music and video content, along with musicians and music historians become aware of these high-grade file formats for sound data, the issue of backwards compatibility and searchability of content on the network domain will become real as these formats evolve.

An electric kettle that uses the Wi-Fi home network to let you know it’s ready

simonmackay 09/10/2013 Current and Future Trends, Home / building automation and security No Comments

Article

A Wi-Fi Kettle That Messages Instead of Whistling When It Boils

My Comments

We are seeing more of the so-called “app-cessories” become available for most of the household appliances that are part of our lives. These have the household appliance and other devices gain Bluetooth to a mobile device or use the home network to link to the same mobile devices or regular computers and implement an app to add the extra functionality to these appliances. It will become the way where your iOS or Android device will become crowded out with the apps that are part of the “app-cessory” trend.

Now the electric kettle or jug has bitten this trend with a base that connects to the home network via Wi-Fi. Here, the “iKettle” electric jug works with a smartphone app that and your home network to add certain functions that drop in to your lifestyle.

For example, if you like to make that cup of tea late at night while you catch up on a favourite TV show lingering on that TiVo device or “prowl around” Facebook on that iPad on the kitchen island bench, you don’t have to worry about the loud whistle that it makes when the water’s boiled waking the rest of the household up. Instead, it effectively “pages you” through your mobile device.

Similarly, you could set it to start boiling at a known time so that the water’s ready so you can make that pot of plunger coffee when you have surfaced for the day. This is achieved using the same app exposing a timer function. This function also includes the ability to set up particular temperatures such as the 95 degrees Celsius ideal for making coffee and tea; or 55 degrees Celsius setting for water you quickly boil up for washing dishes because the water heater packed it in.

A problem that I see with the “app-cessory” concept as it is that most manufacturers can create their own islands and not allow the devices to be exposed to control and monitoring applications and setups other than their own setup. This can avoid the idea of creating environments where a device can respond to another device in a manner to create the “lifestyle mood” or assist its users. For example, having a kettle like this could interlink with a screen to guide a person with dementia through the process of making a cup of tea or similarly, if you have your kettle full before you leave home, you could have it start boiling when you enter your alarm code to disarm your house alarm as you arrive.

At least there is the flourishing concept of making a smartphone work with appliances as a lifestyle device.

Sonos’s days as the wirelessly-distributed music system are numbered courtesy of Samsung

simonmackay 07/10/2013 Current and Future Trends, Network Media Devices No Comments

Articles

Samsung looks to topple Sonos with launch of $399.99 Shape M7 wireless speaker | The Verge

Samsung Shape wireless audio system | Engadget

My Comments

Bang & Olufsen had offered a few pieces of equipment that were to put Sonos on notice, in the form of a music system, a single-piece “dish” speaker and a speaker adaptor for their Beolab “design-piece” speakers, all able to work in your home network using DLNA in some way. This includes the ability for some of these devices to be controlled by any DLNA media controller app on your smartphone, tablet or computer. As well, most of the good network-capable speaker docks and wireless speakers like the Marantz Audio Consolette and the Boston Acoustics MC-200 Air are offering this same level of controllability.

But Samsung are now joining in by offering an AllShare-based music system with an optional hub that supports Bluetooth with NFC, or Wi-Fi ability as the one who can seriously place Sonos on notice. Of course the problem with these Wi-Fi-based systems is that Wi-Fi and other packet-based technologies aren’t really good with synchronous playback although there is work with Ethernet AV to improve this situation.

So most of these companies typically require the use of their own solutions to provide the synchronous playback over these small networks whether this is with a “mesh” approach as with Sony’s Party Streaming method or a dedicated hub which the speakers are linked to like what Samsung and Sonos are using. Once work is fully done to improve synchronous playback across a typical Ethernet-driven heterogenous small network, this could open up a path for these kind of systems to flourish.

This technology would have to work across a single logical network no matter the different media used on that network and if the idea is to implement it in to existing equipment, it may require firmware updates to provide a heterogenous operating environment.

Similarly, it will also be about elegant single-speaker and multiple-speaker music systems that can be controlled using a common standard like DLNA using software the either runs on a dedicated controller or software that runs on a device that works on a common regular or mobile computing platform.

RCA to deliver an Android-powered three-piece AV system

simonmackay 07/10/2013 Current and Future Trends, Network hardware design, Network Media Devices, Tablet Computers No Comments

Article

RCA’s Internet Music System blends detachable Android tablet, boombox | Engadget

My Comments

RCA is intending to turn the classic 3-piece bookshelf music system design on its head by using a touchscreen tablet as the centrepice of the system’s design.

This unit has what is expected for a bookshelf music system such as a CD player, an FM broadcast-radio tuner as well as a line input for other audio devices. But it usies an Android-powered 7” dockable tablet with access to the Google Play Store as its key feature.

When you detach the tablet from this music system, it implements a Bluetooth wireless link for sending the sound to the speakers while this tablet can link to the home network via Wi-Fi wireless technology. There is also an HDMI output so that one can put images or video like those YouTube videos or Facebook or Instagram pictures on a large flat-panel display.

Installing apps like Twonky Mobile or Bubble UPnP to this music system’s tablet will allow you to play what is on the NAS using the DLNA technology while adding TuneIn Radio, Spotify or last.fm brings online music services to the music system’s speakers.

From what I see, who know who else will put up a small music system that allows for this customisability through the use of an Android tablet.

Samsung to launch a media-hub NAS that is part of their ecosystem

simonmackay 07/10/2013 Current and Future Trends, Network Media Devices No Comments

Articles

Samsung ‘s HomeSync Android TV box hits stores October 6th for $299 | Engadget

Samsung’s HomeSync box connects Galaxy devices to TVs | CNet

Samsung HomeSync: Sync, Share and Stream All in One | Mashable

My Comments

Samsung is intending to launch a media-player / NAS that is powered by the Android operating system. The HomeSync device is intended to work with Samsung’s Galaxy mobile devices and is driven by Android. It is not really a headless device but connects to any TV, making the set effectively become a “smart TV”.

The HomeSync has 1Tb storage on board but supports 8 user accounts for managing the storage. More or less, it is being described as an “Apple TV” for the Samsung faithful.

Of course, there are a lot of questions to be raised about this devices. Firstly, does it support DLNA functionality in any way whether to pull in content from an existing NAS or serve the content it holds to other DLNA-capable devices on the home network.

As well, if someone was “full-on” faithful to the Samsung ecosystem, could they see full integration of their Samsung Smart TV or video peripheral with the HomeSync device? To the same extent, could the device support the video-on-demand services like Netflix, which is a feature highly valued in the USA for a full “cord-cutting” experience?

Issues that can be raised further with devices like the HomeSync would be the availability of a TV tuner module. This would, along with an electronic programme guide make these devices work as a full-flight personal video recorder which has plenty of room for many TV shows especially long-running serials. They could also work with a video-on-demand service by offering “download now, view later” playback to avoid the “congested viewing” problems that occur with streaming-based video-on-demand / catch-up TV services.

Once TV manufacturers make their own entertainment NAS / media-player devices, this could open the path for smart-TV platforms to offer video-on-demand or “download-to-view” video-content services along with robust PVR platforms.

Western Digital’s latest NAS more as a personal cloud storage

simonmackay 03/10/2013 Current and Future Trends, Network hardware design, Network-attached storage, UPnP AV / DLNA media-server hardware No Comments

Articles

WD Tightens Focus On Home Personal Clouds | SmallNetBuilder.com

WD Asks: Why Are You Paying Dropbox for Cloud Storage? | Mashable.com

WD announces My Cloud, an external drive that connects to your home network for $150 (video) | Engadget

WD embraces C word* and hews HDD handles from NAS kit | The Register

From the horse’s mouth

Western Digital

Press Release

Product Page

My Comments

Western Digital have issued new iterations of their consumer network-attached-storage drives but have placed heavy focus on them being the heart of a “personal cloud”. Here, they branded this lineup of 2Gb, 3Gb and 4Gb book-sized NAS units as “MyCloud” and have supplied refreshed desktop and mobile companion apps as “MyCloud” apps.

They were pitching these drives more or less as part of a multi-tier storage system for personal or home data i.e. alongside your device’s built-in or directly-attached storage and any storage space you rent or have for free with a service like Dropbox. I had written about this concept in a previous article when WD were pitching storage management software that worked alongside a recent-issue NAS as well as online storage services.

The software will work alongside Google Drive, SkyDrive and Dropbox online storage services and work the NAS as an “overflow” for these services. As well there is a semblance of data aggregation functionality in the software. The problem with the iOS version for this software at the moment is that if you want to offload photos from your device’s Camera Roll to the MyCloud resources, you have to do this manually – there isn’t yet an automatic backup or file sync for these devices.

As for network-local functionality, this unit ticks the boxes for SMB/CIFs file transfer and DLNA and iTunes media serving. The DLNA function has even been improved with TwonkyServer 7 being supplied as standard. This includes the ability to use the DLNA specification to upload content like digital images to the NAS, which comes in handy with DLNA-capable Wi-Fi digital cameras and advanced smartphone apps.

An issue worth raising with these so-called “personal clouds” is the ability to maintain multiple MAS devices in a “personal cloud”. This encompasses situations where you purchase a new NAS because you outgrew the existing NAS and you move some data to the new NAS, or you have another consumer or small-business NAS in another location and want to have a copy of some or all of the files in the other location either as a safeguard or for quick access. There could be support in the WD MyCloud platform for these scenarios especially as those of us who make use of these devices end up filling them with data.

The first door lock to exploit Bluetooth Smart technology

simonmackay 30/09/2013 Current and Future Trends, Home / building automation and security, Mobile Computing 1 Comment

Article

Lock Your Doors with Bluetooth Smart Technology | Bluetooth Blog

From the horse’s mouth

Kwikset

Product Page

Press Release

My Comments

Kwikset have released the first door lock to exploit the nascent Bluetooth Smart technology that is part of the iPhone 4 onwards as well as an increasing number of Android and Blackberry smartphones.

Like most of these “cutting-edge” electromechanical door locks, this unit is a “bore-through” cylindrical deadbolt, most likely because this form-factor is considered very popular on the American house’s front door. From the outside, the Kevo deadbolt looks like any other lock of this type but has a distinct blue ring that lights up under certain circumstances. This, and the fact that it still works with the regular key, keeps a perceived aesthetic and useability comfort zone that householders have valued with these locks.

But the Kevo deadbolt implements a proximity-based operation technique where you have a supplied key fob or a smartphone running the Kwikset Kevo app acting as the virtual key fob releasing this lock when you are near it from the outside. This will light up the blue ring on the outside and you touch the lock’s bezel to cause the bolt to retract/

Like most, if not all. of these “smart-locks”, the Kwikset deadbolt is its own access-control system with the ability to log when a person has opened the door. It also supports time-limited and “one-shot” keys so you can limit when a person has access to the premises, which is a boon with most of us who engage tradespeople, carers or even want to have friends and family around and factor in early arrivals. This even supports the ability to allow a user to send a key via email to another user which can play its part in many different ways such as a family member or friend who is lodging at your house while they are in town.

But the Kwikset Kevo deadbolt is more or less standalone in nature and not able to work with a home network. Personally, I would like to see this and other locks of this kind support the integration with home networks and home-automation systems either at purchase or through an aftermarket kit that exposes these functions to the network technology that you are using at a later date. The reason I support the use of an aftermarket kit is the fact that these products can be in service for many many years and upgrading towards newer network functionality should avoid the need to junk a perfectly good lockset.

This is one of many trends that are affecting the residential door lock and bringing this device towards the online and mobile era.

HP and others use Mopria to advance driver-free printing for mobile devices

simonmackay 25/09/2013 Current and Future Trends, Network Printers and All-in-ones No Comments

Article

HP, allies launch Mopria to keep printers relevant in mobile era | Mobile – CNET News

My Comments

HP Envy 120 designer all-in-one inkjet printer

A common reality with the desktop printer is that you need to implement drivers on a desktop computer in order to have the printer work properly with that computer. This has confused many people who simply wanted to “walk up and print” at another location or install a newer printer. The situation is very difficult for mobile and embedded devices where these devices require limited memory space or hard-to-adapt software.

There have been various attempts at providing driver-free printing for mobile and embedded computers. One of these was UPnP Printing which allowed one to print a JPEG image or XHTML-formatted document on a suitable network printer but this was only followed through by HP with their consumer multifunction desktop printers and Nokia with their Symbian-based feature phones. HP also took this further with their ePrint “print-by-email” setup which just about every consumer and small-business HP desktop printer is equipped with.

Apple made a bit of headway with this issue by implementing AirPrint for their iOS devices and Macintosh computers running MacOS X Lion. Here, this was totally “driver-free” and more printer manufacturers came on board offering it for newer printer ranges or as “field-update” firmware for some of their existing models.

There needed to be an effort that is centred around one or more existing standards and augmented by a logo-driven marketing platform in order to provide driver-free printing to other regular, mobile and embedded computing platforms. No doubt, as Apple and their fanbois have their faith behind the AirPrint ecosystem, the Mopria ecosystem will be offered as a complementary system for other “open-frame” computing platforms.

The Mopria platform is recognising the idea that the smartphone or tablet that runs a mobile operating system is serving users as either a sole or anciliary computing device. But I would also like to see Microsoft and the open-source community adopt Mopria as a driver-free system-wide printing solution for Windows and Linux respectively in order to provide the true “walk-up and print” ability to regular computers that run these operating systems.

The embedded device community could place value on Mopria as a way to add network printing to all sorts of dedicated devices. For example, the smart TV or set-top box could exploit Mopria for interactive TV’s printing needs such as coupon printing. Similarly, devices like energy meters or “wellness” devices could use the technology to print trend-based charts for energy used or personal-wellness stats.

This may be early days yet but by using a device standard with a distinct customer-recognisable logo, Mopria could be in a position to provide driver-free printing for most applications. They also need the help of other industry standards groups like DLNA or Blu-Ray Disc to provide leverage for Mopria in the embedded-device space.