Some new VTC Test Sites

Posted on August 13, 2011 by J Scott Christianson

All information related to H323 and SIP Test Sites and Numbers can now be found at it’s permanent home: http://www.kalvideo.com/test-sites

 

 

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Mid-Mo Broadband Access Results

Posted on August 13, 2011 by J Scott Christianson

All respondents were within Boone County.

1. Your Organization: How do you use the Internet or other network services at your organization? Thinking about the work that you have done over the last year, were there instances when your Internet or broadband service or Internet service provider made all the difference in whether those projects were successful or not?

  • I remotely support my customers computer/network systems. My only broadband choice is satellite which, due to latency and general slowness, usually adds 25 to 50% more time to resolving problems and often precludes a remote solution.
  • We use the internet all day. Just about everything we do uses it.
  • I operate a small computer repair company. I typically work from my home but also work from client’s homes. This work requires a good internet connection 99% of the time. Downloading things like OS updates, software, anti-virus updates, etc. is critical to my work.
  • The Internet is critical to our business. Our national HQ is here, and we have 10 store operations and 35 rep firms all accessing our servers here.

2. Your Organization: Have you attempted Continue reading →

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Nmap scripts for troubleshooting Video

Working with Scott Glass last week to diagnose firewall issues with a Tandberg/Cisco VCS expressway and controller. Scott shared a couple of nmap commands that will scan for all the open ports that you need for the control and expressway to work. See below:

nmap -sS -sU -p T:22,23,80,636,1720,2776,2777,5060,5061,7001,U:53,123,500,1719,2776,2777,3478,4371,5060,5061,6001 -T4 -A -v –reason 208.81.149.59 -Pn

nmap -sS -sU -p T:10000-10210,40000-49999,4369-4380,15000-19999,25000-29999,U:50000-52399 -T4 -A -v –reason 208.81.149.59 -Pn

Posted on August 9, 2011 by J Scott Christianson | 3 Comments

Mid-Missouri Broadband Access and Use

Posted on August 6, 2011 by J Scott Christianson

I am currently working with others on the Mid-Missouri planning team to develop a plan to provide high-speed Internet services to 95% of Missouri’s citizens; other planning teams around Missouri are working within their regions. We are trying to get information back from our industry sectors about their internet use/needs/demands.  As such, I am trying to get survey my colleagues who provide computer services and equipment to customers and clients in the mid-missouri area. If you are, or work for, a service or equipment provider in the mid-missouri area, I’d greatly appreciate your input.

POLL CLOSED

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Introducing the CB2000 Videoconferencing System

Posted on August 5, 2011 by J Scott Christianson

One quick glance through the VTCtalk discussions and you can easily tell that for most customers, standard videoconferencing units are way, way too complicated. Someone setting up a standard videoconferencing unit might be required to connect a few wires, set an IP address or even read a few pages in the manual !!

But no worry no longer, my friend. Help is on its way. The days of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a new videoconferencing solution–and apparently nothing for training, installation or pre-sales consultation–are over. Introducing the CB2000, the world’s first zero configuration, zero user-interface videoconferencing solution. Just look at the tech specs for the CB2000 and you’ll see why it is selling like crazy, and I do mean crazy.

  • Network requirements: None. Works via wireless word-wide wide-band telekinesis network.
  • Lighting requirements: None. Can operate in complete darkness or in 500,000,000 lumen environments  via the CB autoluminate mutilens technology.
  • Multipoint capacity: Infinite. Allows for ad hoc and scheduled conferencing with 0 to an infinite number participants. (Note: conferencing with 0 participants requires the oblivion license key, $14,000.95 retail).
  • Power requirements: None. The worlds first self-powered VTC system. Makes calculating carbon footprint a breeze. In addition, CB2000 is LEED gold certified.
  • Microphone pickup: 0 to infinity. 45 million individual carbon atoms in the CB2000 have been specifically tuned to act as the most sensitive of microphone receivers, capable of receiving and reliably transmitting the loudest thunderclap, or the faintest trace of the cosmic background radiation.
  • Camera: 360 degree camera allows the CB2000 to gather visual information in every direction. No more of all the stupid panning, tilting, zooming, etc.. Combine with the X-Ray license key ($643,000 retail), and the CB2000 can see through clothes!

Setup is a breeze. Just hold the CB2000 in your hand, close your eyes and instantly connect with whoever you want to, living or dead. For additional tech support, visit our training partner web site, which is filled with training exercises to help you start making your CB2000 conferences happen today.

Priced at $.10 the CB2000 is guaranteed to last a lifetime if properly cared for, and offers the best ROI in the telepresence market today. Need to add another CB2000 after you purchase your first? No problem, just tear it in two and give the other half your colleague. Installation is just that simple. And more importantly, you will not have to spend on dime on wasteful items such as training, installation support, or consulting fees.

As part of our announcement we are selling a bundled package of 200 CB2000s at a steep discount of $2.29. To order click here.

Posted in Ideas, Resources, Reviews, Videoconferencing Tech | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

VCS Starter Pack, the Missing Step

Posted on August 5, 2011 by J Scott Christianson

If you talk to just about any field tech who works on Cisco/Tandberg gear, they will laud the technical abilities of the equipment but always offer the admonishment: “Don’t follow the manual.” I don’t know if it is because it is so hard to keep such a volume of technical “how tos” up-to-date or because the technical writers who edit the manuals are operating in such a “clean,” non-production environment, but in general the specific steps listed in the manuals will not work in most environments.

The one exception to this has been the Cisco VCS Expressway
Starter Pack Deployment Guide. However, with the release of VCS 6.1 software, this guide is no longer accurate. The one additional step that must be included is to change the authentication settings for the DefaultZone (NOT Default SubZone) to Check Credentials.

If you don’t do this you will see 403 or 404 errors in the log, but you will never see any attempted registrations in the provisioning log.

 

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Lessons from a Pathfinder Install: Part I

Posted on July 28, 2011 by J Scott Christianson

Part I: How to install a Radvision Pathfinder server.

Introduced in 2005, the Radvision Pathfinder is a H323 firewall traversal device. It can work as a standalone device or use H.460 traversal (H323 devices inside–or even outside–can register with the Pathfinder as if it was a gatekeeper). The pathfinder device can also be used with the pathfinder client, which is a client that can be deployed at remote networks and then connect back to the pathfinder server.

The map below shows a typical pathfinder installation (Click for a larger version). This is probably one of the most simple ways that a pathfinder can be deployed. For more advanced configurations, consult the Radvision Pathfinder User Guide and the Radvision Deployment Guide.

Here is my step by step guide to configuration. Use at your own risk.


Continue reading →

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Why we need the National Popular Vote

Posted on July 23, 2011 by J Scott Christianson

Our electoral college system skews the Presidential vote in some weird ways. First, not everyone’s vote counts equally. Votes in the electoral college from less populous states are given more weight. For example, if you live in Nebraska, Rhode Island or Vermont, your vote counts about twice as much as our votes here in Missouri.

Currently, all but two states (Nebraska and Maine) give ALL their electoral votes to the state-wide winner. If your candidate didn’t win state-wide, your vote is essentially discarded. So Presidential candidates are wise to avoid campaigning in states where the race is not close. Bush was smart to not campaign in California– he couldn’t win the state and a million more votes there would not have helped him win the presidency. Likewise, Kerry didn’t try to get more votes in Texas, because in the final tally it wouldn’t matter.

There are now only five to eight “battleground” states where the election is close. Presidential candidates Continue reading →

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Another 15 minutes of fame, this time in the Columbia Business Times

QR codes put businesses in touch with cell phone owners

By Tim Kridel
Jul 22, 2011
The QR code on J. Scott Christianson’s business card looks like a piece of abstract art, and it often prompts the same question: What is it?
Short for “quick response,” the QR code is a thumbnail-size graphic that, when scanned with a cell phone camera, automatically provides Christianson’s contact information.

“If you can get people to integrate your contact information into their CRM [customer relationship management] with one click instead of just putting your card in the pile until they have time to enter the information, that is a clear business advantage,” said Christianson, owner of Kaleidoscope Videoconferencing. “QR codes are very cheap and easy compared with other means of electronically transferring your contact info: smart cards, mini CD-ROMs in the shape of a business card, magnetic strips, etc.”
…..
Read more at http://www.columbiabusinesstimes.com/12300/2011/07/22/qr-codes-put-businesses-in-touch-with-cell-phone-owners/

Posted on July 23, 2011 by J Scott Christianson | Leave a comment