RSS
|
||||||||||||||
  Every Party Needs a Pooper March 8, 1999
I'd like to thank everyone who came and I'd like to blast those who didn't show, in particular Lucent, Cisco, Symantec, Nortel, Cabletron and Packet Engines (Alcatel). Sprint and MCI called me at home around dinnertime, but never showed up.
Greg Yerxa, who takes a sneak peek at Alteon's ACElerate 5.0 (page 30), found a balm for his troubled soul: "I've been using a similar product called Beer Magnet. It's a towel-like vest that you wear whenever binge drinking. It's superabsorbent and reduces your laundry costs. And if you want, you can ring it out for optimal beer consumption." We took the party on the road, too. Crowds at ComNet in Washington watched technology managing editor David Willis and contributing editor Eric Hall present an analysis and demonstration of voice over IP (VoIP). RADCom, never one to come to a party empty-handed, brought some gear that let us tap H.323 calls. Our demo area was standing room only (much to the chagrin of Lucent and Cisco, who decided not to provide equipment), though I suspect some attendees were interested in the slinky booth babes RADCom had stationed nearby. Afterward, attendees walked into a soundproof booth to conduct a VoIP call with our sister publications in the United Kingdom and Germany and evaluated the call quality. The results can be found in our VoIP cover story (page 34). Plans from Sprint and MCI, however, cannot be found. (To those attendees who dialed the "900" numbers, RADCom will be sending us the call logs. We'll be in touch.) Technology editor Joel Conover's Layer 3 switch test (page 52) was another party highlight, despite reluctance from Nortel, Packet Engines and Cabletron to participate. Nortel said its silicon didn't stack up against some of the competition's newer hardware. A little truth serum in the mixers never hurts. If only all vendors would imbibe. But forget Layer 3. HydraWeb Technologies asked Joel if he'd like to hear about a "Layer 7" router. The HydraWeb folks told Joel that HydraHydra extends load-balancing recursively. "Layer 7 routing. Whoopie!" Joel exclaimed. "I like the name...recursive extensions...HydraHydra...recursive extensions...rec...oh, sorry." I remember my first beer, too. While contributor Philip Carden was evaluating antivirus products (page 68), Network Associates was still revamping its product and did not participate. In surely unrelated news, I received the following press release: "Symantec Corp. today announced the release of Norton AntiVirus for OS/2..." Turn out the lights, Symantec, that party's over. They weren't the only ones. We also got this heart stopper: "LAN Market, the leading online order desk...today announced the grand opening of its E-commerce site. Through an exclusive strategic agreement with SMC, LAN Market is now the ONLY source for SMC Arcnet products." OS/2, Arcnet. I suppose that makes this party kind of retro. Or recursive. --Fritz Nelson, fnelson@nwc.com |
Here
Here
Some came uninvited: HydraWeb, Holontech and CNET, for example, as well as Dye Magnet. Our product developer Mike Lee received the following letter: "Dye Magnet does not cure cancer, relieve ennui or bring balm to troubled souls. It is far more prosaic than that. Instead, it simply causes the loose dye and discoloring minerals found in most wash water to permanently adhere to its surface. Whites come out whiter and colors come out brighter. If you find the product to your liking, a kind word in your publication would be much appreciated."
