Leslie Ellis's blog

The Gateway and the CableCard

By: Leslie Ellis Feb 25 2013 - 11:30am

The “gateway” — half cable modem, half set-top box — is slowly advancing into U.S. living rooms as part of the gigantic transition to Internet-protocol-based video distribution.

That’s jargon for “through the cable modem, to screens that connect that way,” in addition to through the old-fashioned juncture between the set-top box and the television.

And that raises this question: Will cable operators be required to keep buying boxes with a CableCard slot, and spending $50 per CableCard, as set-tops morph into gateways?

Where’s Your Chaos Monkey?

By: Leslie Ellis Feb 11 2013 - 10:54am

Maybe this is happening to you. You’re in yet another conversation with a software-side person. You find yourself slightly aghast about a mindset. You quickly cover your naiveté with that neutral, knowing face that says, “Of course that’s the way it is. Sure. Duh.”

Last week, it was this doozy: “chaos monkey.”

That’s monkey as in wrench.

A Deeper Dive On 'Curation’

By: Leslie Ellis Feb 4 2013 - 1:19pm

In last week’s mail was a note from reader Ed, who wanted to go deeper on the matter of the overworked term "curation."

“It’s understandable that writers sometimes have cause to view ‘curation’ as code for ‘plagiarism,’ ” but there’s a whole other connotation to mine with respect to ‘curation’ and ‘TV Everywhere,’ ” he wrote.

Weird and/or Overused Tech Lingo Roundup

By: Leslie Ellis Jan 28 2013 - 3:45pm

Usually, the International CES serves up at least a few new buzzwords.

Last year, Samsung coined “phablet” to describe a device that’s half-phone, half-tablet. The “superphone” entered the tech lexicon, briefly, but never really stuck. Apparently it’s better to be “smart” than “super.”

This year, only one new term popped out of CES — but plenty are venturing out from the world of Wi-Fi. This week’s translation is a roundup of weird, overworked, and new tech lingo.

DOCSIS 3.1 in '13

By: Leslie Ellis Jan 21 2013 - 2:30pm

By now, hopefully, you’ve heard that there’s a new chapter coming in cable modems. It’s the latest iteration in the specification known by technologists as “DOCSIS 3.1” for “Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification.”

DOCSIS 3.1 is a doozy — both in terms of what it will do for broadband capacity and the sheer density of the tech talk that surrounds it.

Notebook Scribbles: CES 2013

By: Leslie Ellis Jan 14 2013 - 12:48pm

 

The International CES is in full swing at this writing, and — as a person who arrives early and leaves late — here are a few observations.

1. It’s a hypochondriac’s paradise! A wide corridor in the South Hall pulsed with electronic tools for a thinner, fitter world. The digital pedometer wars are on, for starters, and as someone addicted to 10,000 steps/day (year four!), it got my attention. (Especially because my new Nike Fuel- Band conveniently broke on the first day of the show.)

2013: The Year of DAI?

By: Leslie Ellis Dec 22 2012 - 9:21am

Far be it from us to declare anything the year of anything. It’s usually a fruitless exercise, fueled by the revenue yearnings of a vendor community, and it almost always turns out wrong. As the venerable Bob Miron, retired head of Advance/Newhouse Communications, once said: “The difference between early and wrong is indistinguishable.”

This column succumbed, incorrectly, to the allure of “year of” hype at last three times over the last decade: In 2001 (VOD), 2006 (OCAP) and 2010 (EBIF). In chronological order: Early, wrong and wrong.

What Tech People Want for Christmas

By: Leslie Ellis Dec 19 2012 - 10:31pm

With one shopping week until Christmas, in a year festooned with "connected devices," it seems like a good time to check the wish lists of the industry's tech aficionados. Here goes:

A DSLR and a Dream

By: Leslie Ellis Dec 10 2012 - 10:21pm

Some of you may know that outside of my working passion for technology translation, I’m big on honeybees, and just finished making a documentary film called “Bee People.”

For that reason, this week’s translation focuses on the technologies that enabled it to happen. As my colleague and the director of the film, David Knappe, puts it: We had a DSLR and a dream.

DSLR? Digital Subscriber Line, Right?

What Tech People Want for Christmas

By: Leslie Ellis Dec 19 2012 - 8:42am

With one shopping week until Christmas, in a year festooned with "connected devices," it seems like a good time to check the wish lists of the industry's tech aficionados. Here goes:

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