AT THE CENTER
The electronic newsletter of the
Silicon Valley World Internet Center
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
The Silicon
Valley World Internet Center thanks its Sponsors for their continuing
support:
EXECUTIVE
SPONSORS
Amdocs, Inc. Cable & Wireless
Deutsche Telekom Fujitsu IBM Corporation
SAP Sun Microsystems
KNOWLEDGE
NETWORK PARTNERS
Halleck IC Growth, Inc.
Market Wire Incucomm Xterprise
Past copies
of Newsletters and
Directions
to the Center are available on the Web site.
All programs
are held at the Center unless otherwise noted.
To join our
community, click on this link: http://center.infopoint.com/join.php
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HOLIDAY POWER PUB:
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2003
"SENSORS AND HOMELAND SECURITY: WHO'S GETTING
REAL TODAY?"
Pub Master: Mr. Jim Hurd, Director, Nanoscience
Exchange
5:00 p.m.: Networking
5:30 p.m.: Pub Exchange
6:30 p.m.: Networking
7:30 p.m.: Pub Closes!
Open to the Public. Fee: $15 (cash or check, payable at the door).
Note: Black tie is not required. Holiday attire highly encouraged.
More information below.
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STRATEGIC ROUNDTABLE:
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2003
"HOMELAND SECURITY IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA"
Invitation only. Further information below.
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SUMMARY: POWER PUB:
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2003
"BROADBAND WIRELESS: A CHANGING LANDSCAPE"
Pub Masters: Mr. George Sidman, President, Monterey
Network Center
& Mr. Les Laky, Co-Founder, Fiber
Internet Center
Summary Below.
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HOLIDAY POWER PUB:
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2003
"SENSORS AND HOMELAND SECURITY: WHO'S GETTING
REAL TODAY?"
Pub Master: Mr. Jim Hurd, Director, Nanoscience
Exchange
5:00 p.m.: Networking
5:30 p.m.: Pub Exchange
6:30 p.m.: Networking
7:30 p.m.: Pub Closes!
Open to the Public. Fee: $15 (cash or check, payable at the door).
Note: Black tie is not required. Holiday attire highly encouraged.
With the call for technologies to support solutions geared toward
Homeland Security from the Federal and State governments, the Valley
community is asking what specific technologies are going to be considered
-- and will be viable for implementation -- by Homeland Security
offices and initiatives around the U.S. Please join us for a Power
Pub Exchange led by Pub Master, Mr. Jim Hurd, around the specific
area of sensor technologies -- including bio-sensors, wired and
wireless sensors -- for use in Homeland Security solutions. The
driving questions for this informal, townhall-style discussion will
be:
- What are the key types of sensors important to Homeland Security?
- How effective are these sensors today? And how effective could
they be 6-12 months from now?
ABOUT JIM HURD
Jim Hurd is the Director and Founder of the NanoScience Exchange,
a "Think & Do" Tank for venture-backed start-up companies, based
in San Francisco, CA. The NanoScience Exchange facilitates action
between the six stakeholders of nanotech - - start-ups, corporations,
government agencies, national labs, universities and investors.
Mr. Hurd also consults for nanotech start-ups in building strategic
alliances and rounds of investment. Previously, he consulted with
companies to build strategic relationships, rounds of investment
and hire key individuals for leading technology companies in wireless
and semiconductor markets. From 1992 to 1997, Mr. Hurd was President
of Up Software, Inc., which produced innovative transferable skills
software training used by corporations, universities and job training
centers around the U.S. Mr. Hurd grew up in Washington, D.C., and
graduated from George Washington University.
This is the final Power Pub for 2003. We will extend the networking
time after the Pub Exchange to allow for celebrating the end of
the year, welcoming the new year, and cheering on the holidays.
We encourage holiday wear and ornaments to hang on our cross-cultural,
pseudo-"tree." Come for a great discussion and a lively party!
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STRATEGIC ROUNDTABLE:
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2003
"HOMELAND SECURITY IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA"
Invitation only.
The Silicon Valley World Internet Center is conducting an invitation-only
Strategic Roundtable Session around the area of research opportunities
and funding sources in the State of California for Homeland Security.
On Tuesday, December 9, 2003, the Center will convene a group of
18-20 representatives from the Office of Homeland Security for the
State of California and other government representatives, along
with research institutions, and potential high technology partners.
SAP Corporate Research is sponsoring this session.
The objectives of this Strategic Roundtable Session are to:
- outline the research agendas according to Homeland Security
for the State of California;
- define a strategy on how to accomplish and transfer research
results in this area; and
- discuss funding models for public-private partnerships to share
resources and risks appropriately.
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SUMMARY: POWER
PUB: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2003
"BROADBAND WIRELESS: A CHANGING LANDSCAPE"
Pub Masters: Mr. George Sidman, President, Monterey
Network Center & Mr. Les Laky, Co-Founder, Fiber
Internet Center
Summary below.
The mighty duo of Pub Masters, George Sidman and Les Laky, kept
a lively discussion hopping with an overflow crowd of 65. The townhall-style
discussion hovered around 5 main questions:
- Can use of unlicensed frequencies remain interference free?
- Is security adequate?
- Will wireless at hotspots be free?
- Aren't the market projections too optimistic?
- Is wireless performance adequate in the corporate environment?
The crux of the Power Pub Discussion centered around, as one participant
put it, the "inherently crappy" nature of broadband wireless and
several major security issues. The general consensus was that security
is not yet adequate.
The debate continued at the Pub about timeline for mass consumption
of fixed wireless, which some participants were putting at about
3 years out. Several folks declared broadband wireless as a "lost
leader," being given away essentially for the sake of bringing in
other revenues to the provider. Several speculated that eventually
hotspots would be free, but for now people are simply, as one participant
put it, "hitch-hiking on coffee cups," at local cafés, paying for
overpriced libations to get access to the Internet.
Pub Master George Sidman called for an application layer to manage
the relationship between fixed wireless and other components of
the communications package, pointing out that the industry just
has not evolved to that point yet. As much as there was enthusiasm
for the decrease in the cost of processing power which affects this
market, the wrap up comment from one participant summed up a fairly
skeptical tone heard throughout the evening based on the claim that
the numbers around the boon in broadband wireless are far too optimistic
and we need to get a hold on the reality of the current market.
ABOUT GEORGE SIDMAN
George Sidman is a proven entrepreneur with a 20 year track record
in launching and growing successful software companies in the information
sciences. In 1984, he founded INLEX, Inc., which quickly became
a leading provider of library automation systems worldwide. He is
the Founder and President of Nousoft, Inc., (1994), a software company
specializing in very large-scale object management technologies.
Mr. Sidman also is the founder of Arista Systems, Inc., (1997),
a venture capital funded distance-learning company.
Currently, he is Founder & President of Monterey Network Center,
a regional web commerce provider. In this capacity, he provides
leadership for company formation and growth, technology development,
marketing, and sales. Mr. Sidman has conducted successful financings
in public and private markets. Among his other accomplishments,
he is a licensed architect and developer of award-winning sports
facilities; and a consultant and public speaker to the information
sciences community. In total, Mr. Sidman has started 7 companies
over the last 25 years, all of which are operating successfully
today.
ABOUT LES LAKY
Les Laky (http://www.leslaky.com)
is the CTO of New Access International, a fixed broadband wireless
service provider with operations in the United States and South
America. He is Co-Founder of the Fiber Internet Center of Palo Alto,
intent on reducing the cost of connecting to the fiber optic network
and upgrading customers to the faster speeds.
Mr. Laky was also one of the founders of MediaCity, a successfully
Palo Alto ISP acquired by SoftNet in 1996. He is a telecom and Nortel
veteran, a pioneer in cable modem technology, and an active participant
and advisor to several start-up ventures as a co-founder of Internet
Inventions. In addition, Mr. Laky is the Keeper of DomainKeep, a
private domain name registration service.
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For further information on the Center's Sponsors and Knowledge
Network Partners, visit their Websites:
EXECUTIVE
SPONSORS
Amdocs, Inc. http://www.amdocs.com
Cable & Wireless http://www.cw.com
Deutsche Telekom http://www.dtag.de/english/index.htm
Fujitsu http://www.fujitsu.com
IBM Corporation http://www.ibm.com
SAP http://www.mysap.com
Sun Microsystems http://www.sun.com
KNOWLEDGE
NETWORK PARTNERS
Halleck http://www.halleck.com
IC Growth, Inc. http://www.icgrowth.com
Market Wire http://www.marketwire.com
Incucomm http://www.incucomm.com
Xterprise http://www.xterprise.com
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To join our
community, click on this link: http://center.infopoint.com/join.php
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