A year ago we chose to showcase our strategy for UC and Collaboration.  For the first time, probably in its history, NEC attended this show without any “racks” of equipment.  The show moved from be “voice” centric to being “Unified Communications” centric. We shifted our story from what we can put in racks and on butting of phones to the end-user experience and all software that can operate from the cloud – hence we didn’t have any server racks on the show floor. This year was time to show how that strategy came together in execution as we launched our new brand for our software platforms, UNIVERGE 3C.  The sheer number of features that have been added to the platform in the past year is arguably 4-5 times the previous year, and the most important part is that it is truly more integrated as a OneNEC platform than every before.

The roving EnterpriseConnect video team came by the booth to capture a quick interview – see it HERE.

Our demonstrations illustrated the ease at which you can engage in collaboration meetings, using IM, voice, video, screen sharing, document sharing, remote controls, and more.  Perhaps the leader in driving a common user experience across desktop, tablet, and mobile we were able to demonstrate this to everyone who took the time to visit our booth.  The other proof point in our progress was the results of the annual RFP held at the show.  This year we participated in two, one of standalone UC and one for UC with a  PBX.  As I heard one of the moderators kicking off the panels announce a congratulations to NEC for substantial progress in the past year it further solidified the busy year of work behind the scenes at NEC.

Its pretty clear that the game has move to software, the cloud, the focus on enabling mobile and tablet devices, and how to deliver a common user experience to enterprise users.  Next year, there will be yet another key shift – but you’ll have to wait until next year to see that one.

NEC also broke some barriers in its approach to marketing our UNIVERGE 3C product this year, while we launched this story to hundreds of countries and included our announcement in 8 different languages, we also took an opportunity to try something uniquely different at this event.  Following one of the Keynotes, and just before lunch we launched dozens of dancers onto the crowd in a Flash Mob.  It became a point of conversation for quite a while and live on in a video on YouTube, take a look for yourself:

It’s exciting to see the experience as we showcase the any clients, all with a common user experience, common login credentials, common security, common status, contacts, meetings rooms, and more.

It’s funny actually.  Funny as in odd.

Every day we push through the clock.

Every week, every year.

But every now and then we ponder where the time goes.

Did I do all the things I wanted to do. Go the places I wanted to go.

Spend time with the people I wanted to spend time with.

This is just life.

Every now and then we are forced to ponder.

That thing totally opposite of life , an event that hits you like a ton of bricks.

Stops the clock. Freezes your brain. Makes you think.

“I have some sad news…”, it begins.

For minutes, maybe hours – the sound disappears from your ears.

Urgencies from your brain, the pen from your fingers.

The weight of the day gone, and you stare.

Unexplainable vacuum consumes thought as if a forced silent tribute to life is upon you.

Mountains become superfluous. Glimpses of time flash forward for reflection.

Answers sought. Precious are the moments.

This is just death.

—-

A tribute to a friend I could say I barely knew. We both push through the clock, his chose to stop.

Ramsey – Rest in Peace my friend.

When your wife says this is the movie she wants to go see you can rest assured it won’t just be a pure chick flick.  In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see such an even blend of romantic junk, comedy, and shoot ‘em up action all rolled up into one show.  Just enough to keep the action seeking ‘ole man happy, and of course with a little Reese Whitherspoon to boot(y)!

Of course its loaded with ridiculous stunts that we love because they could never really happen in practice and it includes the use of all kinds of high tech agent-gizmos. All utilized out of context by these two agents for the sole purpose of either swooning Lauren (Reese) or creating distractions in each others attempts to lure her in as they battle to get the girl.

Okay, but your wife will have to endure the idea of two good looking’ lads on the hunt for one gal, and you will need to hear her say, “oooh” every time to take their shirts off.  Geeeez!  Start shooting something again already!!

Overall, go see it if you like plenty of action with a twist of comedy and a tad of romance, but don’t expect anything complicated – this is a “no thickening plot” show so you won’t have to think to hard.  I ring it up as The Hybrid Flick that you can bring your spouse to!

These carts capable of 35 MPH (or more) and remember, you are sitting a few inches off the ground.  To make it feel even more thrilling they suit you up in racing garbs (a one-peice suit with lots of cool sponsorship embroidery) and a full-face helmet. The cart is lightweight, using chrome-moly tubing and alloy wheels. A 200CC Honda 4-stroke motor can rev up to 5500 RPM.  They scoot you right along!

If you’re competitive then it will take some finesse to get this thing around the track at top speeds without spinning out.  The trick, it seems is to master the speed into each corner to avoid sliding as much as possible – keeping your average time around each lap to a minimum. Of course that won’t be enough the get you to a top finishing spot.  Since the race is based on finish position you’ll need to figure out how to pass those in front of you.  That may actually be where most the fun is and by the way bumping each other like you do at the local adventure go-carts doesn’t help – either you’ll spin out with them or worse you could end up in Sin-bin ( a penalty box that’ll cost you a position or two). Once you get the corners figured out you can actually drift right through the corner, but off by just a bit and you spin out or bounce the wall and it costs you speed that you need to recover.

This is a first class facility with two tracks 700 feet long that can be combined into one that is 1400 feet.  A great place for groups and corporate events it has a bar and food with an observation deck overlooking the track.  Oh – no drinking and driving, they take it very seriously and allegedly keep breathalyzers on hand.

Lastly, each cart is equipped with monitoring so every lap is measured and you get a very nice print out (or go online as well) of your race results.

CLICK HERE to see some pictures of our outing or visit their site for more info.  Just click on the logo above and it’ll take you there.

More Photos

Cheerleaders. My daughter is one. I’m sure by her definition she is an athlete and if you every watch her and the squad of other cheerleaders perform in a competition you would agree that cheerleaders are athletes. Yes they are strong and can jump into the air and flip over and land back on their feet just like Jackie Chan. They can flip each other into the air and then catch them into a “basket” of arms, saving them from what would be an undoubtedly painful landing to the floor. What they do in 3-5 minutes takes athleticism, no question.

If you watch Cheerleaders you realize there is so much more than athleticism.  Imagine I tell you that some friends and I are going to through you 10 feet into the air and catch you when you come down – do you trust us?   Imagine running towards some other people and starting to flip over and over, hoping they will be out of your way before you get to them.  I don’t know about you, but you have to develop quite a level of trust in your teammates (your squad) to do this with a smile on your face – and smile is just what they do! All the while that are executing hundreds of moves as one synchronized machine, constantly in a near miss of one another. The funny thing is the way they are smiling they seem happy about it! No, not really – I think it is just part of their training, their artistry, their showmanship.  In fact, their expressions are as much fun to watch as the their routine. They are true show[wo]men and put 150% into a show for around 6 -8 people – the judges.  They know every nuance of their routines and at that exact moment they know how to strike a pose.

To achieve this level of cheerleading you must be committed. Few get onto the mat to perform and many less ever get into a state sanctioned competition such as the Illinois High School Associations (IHSA) State competition. For the annual IHSA State Competition around 338 teams enter, but somewhere around 80 will make it though sectional competition to get to State Competition and many less to the Finals. It is a significant achievement to even get to State, if you are within the top ten after State then you are a very small percentage. Recognizing the challenge to be the best means recognizing a regimen of strength training, gymnastics, dancing and choreography, and regular practices with your team to perfect the show. Commitment – to say the least!

Athletes work hard to be the best, to excel, to win. Cheerleaders are like any committed athlete, they are passionate about their sport. They are there to win, and if they don’t they are not happy about it – if you have ever been an athlete you understand. My daughter was a competitive swimmer for many years, until an injury pulled her from the pool.  I loved to watch her swim in competition – she is an athlete and put everything into each race. You could see it in her pre-race preparation, both physical and mental, and you could see her passion when she won and when she didn’t do so well.

I love that my daughter is a Cheerleader and an athlete. I love that she is so committed and deeply passionate about it. If you have a cheerleader – watch them, carefully and intently.  What they can do is simply awesome!

See Megan and the Grayslake North High School Cheerleaders perform in Finals Competition at the 2012 IHSA State event HERE.

The real moral of this is also heard in the video below.  Some of you have heard, “Love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life”.  Perhaps that is what Steven is saying here.  Nonetheless, I think it is the responsibility of every adult to make sure that words like, “Go into computers I hear you’ll make a lot of money” is NOT the recommendation for our youth.  Money doesn’t matter, if you are doing what you love then everything else will come together!  Enjoy…