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This article appeared in my old blog at http://www.bloglines.com/blog/wsodeman?id=206

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2006/tc20060208_760555.htm?chan=rss_topStories_ssi_5

Peter Burrows of Business Week reports on Cisco’s recent performance. Cisco is the dominant vendor of networking equipment worldwide. I think of Cisco as the Internet’s plumber. Your packets moved through a Cisco switch or router at some point in their journey.

If you use a Linksys router or network appliance at home, you’re using a Cisco product. Cisco purchased Linksys in 2003, and has been integrating operations and marketing ever since. Linksys is positioned as an entry point for SOHO (small office and home office) users who need networking equipment, and who may need higher-powered Cisco equipment when their business expands. At the same time, Cisco engineers have been remaking the Linksys line, using best practices from Cisco’s enteprise networking equipment.

A virtuous cycle occurs when a company moves from one “favorable circumstance” to another over time. Amazon, eBay, Microsoft, Intel, Google and Apple have all benefited from the creation and maintenance of their own v-cycles.

One might argue that Nintendo and Sony are risking their v-cycles, at least in the video game market. Wii and PlayStation 3 each have their own issues.

Cisco has apparently built its own v-cycle around advanced networking technologies, including VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol). VoIP telephones are connected to an RJ-45 jack, not a telephone RJ-11 jack. Remember that RJ-11 also provides electrical power for telephones.

So how does a VoIP telephone get enough power to operate? Users could plug the telephone into an AC outlet, but there’s a neater way. Through a handy protocol called Power over Ethernet (PoE), special switches can connect these phones to the network and deliver 13 watts of power, which is enough to keep a telephone and a small display screen running.

PoE can’t deliver enough power to keep a laptop computer running, which is one reason why laptop computers need their own power source - either AC current or batteries.

PoE features aren’t built into most older network equipment, so any company that wants to deploy VoIP in its offices has to buy PoE switches from Cisco, Foundry or another hardware vendor.

PoE and VoIP adoption are powering Cisco’s virtuous cycle - at least for now.

From Business WeekThe worldwide recall of Sony lithim-ion laptop copmuter batteris now involves 7 million batteries and 6 computer manufacturers, including Apple, Dell and Lenovo.

The Lenovo recall follows an incident in which a ThinkPad T43 caught fire Sept. 16 at Los Angeles International Airport.

See news.com for more details.

Of course, getting consumers to return their defective batteries can be difficult, even when the value of each fresh replacement battery is well over US$100, according to analyst Roger Kay:

The recall acceptance rate is really, really low. People just don’t do it. They say, ‘It’s too much of a pain, I don’t want to deal with it, I don’t have time.’ So if these guys get a 20% to 25% response rate, that’s a big deal…

This article first appeared on my old blog at http://www.bloglines.com/blog/wsodeman?id=46

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060814/ap_on_hi_te/dell_battery_recall

“The [Consumer Product Safety Commission]. knows of 339 incidents in which lithium batteries used in laptops and cell phones — not just Dell products — overheated between 2003 and 2005, Wolfson said.”

When we’re talking about overheating, we’re talking about explosions and fires.

Last week, British officials banned laptop computers and audio players as carry-on items, following the gel bomb arrests.

A UPS cargo plane was destroyed by fire last February in Philadelphia. The blaze may have been started by a crate full of laptop computer batteries.

This Dell recall may inspire airlines or the FAA to draft tighter restrictions on laptop computers, iPods and cell phones in commercial airplanes. Lithium-ion batteries are commonly used in both devices, as they perform well and last longer than other rechargeable batteries.

Passengers may not be happy. I always carry my electronic devices in my carry-on bag when I fly, simply because I don’t want them jostled and fondled in my checked baggage.

See the chapter on computer hardware in the IS 6100 textbook.

Laptop computers require a large amount of electrical energy. While it is possible to power a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone from an RJ-45 network jack, this only needs about 5 watts of electrical power.

You may be familiar with the watt, as it’s the standard measure for household light bulbs.

Five watts not nearly enough to power a laptop computer. Even the smallest laptops use much more powerful batteries.

In comparison, a AAA battery delivers only a few watts, and for a limited amount of time.

August 15: Here’s some additional information from Engadget, which has been covering this story for several months. Check the multiple links regarding explosions in this article. A reader posted a link to Dell’s statement here, including instrucitons on replacement batteries.

The New York Times reports that Sony management confirmed that the company manufactured and sold the affected batteries to Dell. The batteries were shipped to Dell customers in computers sold between April 2004 and July 18.

CNN reported on August 15 that Sony is paying most or all of the recall costs. While this minimizes Dell’s direct losses, they will see an immediate drop in sales revenue as customers choose Dell’s competitors.

The Houston Chronicle reports that customers are hammering Dell with e-mails and phone calls as news spreads about the recall.

Engadget reported on August 6 that an Apple PowerBook exploded. Apple has already mounted a recall for some PowerBook and MacBook models, and Sony batteries are involved.

Sports: The New York Times > Business > Ball Club Drives an HDTV Bandwagon: “But as good as the pictures and audio are, cable providers, broadcasters and television makers have struggled to convince consumers that the service is worth higher monthly cable fees and the high cost of the sets. Cox Communications and Sony are hoping to make their case to consumers by teaming up with the San Diego Padres to promote high-definition television to a specific audience. ”

Tech: Walkman vs. iPod / Sony takes aim at Apple with new music players: “The first Sony Walkman went on sale in Japan on July 1, 1979, introducing both a new concept in music and a device that would become an icon of modern pop culture — a personal, portable stereo. Twenty-five years later, Sony Corp. finds itself in the unaccustomed position of playing catch-up against the hottest thing in portable music and digital pop culture — the iPod from Cupertino’s Apple Computer Inc.”