by Lidia Paulinska | Nov 2, 2014
Michael Ironside is best known for his long career as an actor, producer, film director, and screenwriter in many movies and TV series. He is best known for his acting credentials where he perennially playing tough guys or psychopaths like his memorable role in David Cronenberg early film “Scanners”. Some of us remembered him from the silver screen hits “The Machinist”, “Total Recall”, “Top Gun”, and “X-Men. First Class”. Others enjoyed his performances in TV series like SeaQuest 2032.
Known to the gaming community as the voice of Splinter Cell’s Sam Fisher, now he is reprising his activity in the gaming space with a new game and character by lending his deep commanding voice and ability to build a relatable character with only his voice to Colonel John Killgore for Tank Domination. Even though he confessed that he is not a gamer (his daughters are) he sees the power of communication in the gaming business and finds the opportunity.
Michael sat down for a spirited discussion covering a variety of topics – all of which he was exuberantly open and opinionated about.
On why he likes the gaming industry
MI – Over the years, I traveled all around the world, and I found out that corporations have so much control now. They control communication, they control media, and they control everything, so they can pretty much put forward what they want without being chastised for it. In comparison, the gamers communicate online together.
I remember I was talking to one kid, who was in Johannesburg, South Africa, and I said oh my god, there is something going on in this area in the world. “I don’t want to talk about it” he answered, but I said, “It’s got me frightened because I got family there”. He went on to his gaming console and was talking to some people from that place, and asked what is going on? They said, “oh no, there was a food riot. When the people get to their food stamps, they just went over. There is no big riot”.
But the press had pumped it up. So gamers get to communicate with each other and tell the truth to each other from all over the world, it is kind of a back door into the corporations and politicians. The corporations can’t control that. There is an honesty and there is kind of neutrality in the way they communicate. You can go online at any time, you are playing with someone from South Africa, from Moscow, from Johannesburg, from NY, from LA, from Sydney. They will tell each other the truth. There is integrity in that and I like that. Anything that encourages communication, even if it is under the auspices under so called violent gamers or social gaming is a good thing.
On the storytelling in games
MI – We have been telling stories to each other since mankind climbed out of the primeval ooze, put a loin cloth on, covered up their breasts, sat around the campfire, and told stories to educate their children. Games are not storytelling. Games are being part of the story. It is a interactive storytelling. This is play. This is taking the place of “tag”, this is taking place of baseball or hockey. It is a community and a group thing. Film is also a community and group thing, but it is observational not interactive. That is storytelling, that is tutoring, that is teaching. Games are different, as you get to be part of the story, interact, change it direct it new ways, and develop a personal experience that other people don’t have, it is a 1:1 real time memory that is being created – not just a replay with the same story and outcome every time. That is why we are all in trouble, guys, because so many major corporations are holding that media and directing what experience and what memory we should have. That is a problem. I’m kind of opinionated to talk about it.
On the Colonel Killgore character
MI – Scripts for gaming are generally not very good and for me it is kind of a challenge. There was some expectation of the character based on the prior work done on the Sam Fisher character, which is why, based on the scripts, I chose not to continue that character. The Tank Domination opportunity was different. It was brought to me by a friend, and did not have a finalized script. Some parts of Kilgore character are linear, and had the result that the Kilgore character is not very deep. Specifically, 70 per cent of that character’s function is to create action to manipulate a person and give them information on where they go and stuff to do. The other part of the character and script is also extremely stereotypical. The character is the hard ass kind of no-bullshit military guy. The project was fun in a couple of places to try and make him kind of human. There are a few places in the game where I am allowed in the game to say “hmmm, alright you did okay” and that is the part that I had fun.
I enjoy the ability to participate in and help tell or be part of a story. For me, the exciting part of my work in TV, Films, Commercials and gaming is – “How do you show something that is almost impossible to make human with just a voice, a look, a stance and a movement?” That is what I spend making my career doing.
by Lidia Paulinska | Nov 2, 2014
Harris Broadcast has undergone a number of big changes lately. First by being spun out from the parent company, Harris Corp, in 2012, and then this past March, splitting the iconic company into two pieces – the over-the-air broadcast portion – which is now called Gates Air (www.gatesair.com) and the connected software-based broadcast portion – which is now called Imagine Communications (www.imaginecommunications.com).
Charlie Vogt is now the head of these interdependent, yet independent companies, both of which are driving down separate paths to provide technologies for entertainment, sports, VOD content, advertising, and metrics. These tools monitor the whole environment for content delivery to a global audience and customer base
How did you get into the broadcasting industry?
CV – I got to the industry though the KORONOS, Gorsch Group, which is a private equity firm, based in LA. Senior leadership tried to recruit me for years to run one of their portfolio companies. Life is all about timing. This happened to be an opportunity that arose at a time that matched the comfort window I had about being able to leave Genband. I took that company from zero to 800 million dollars in 8 years, and finally got it to a place that I felt was sustainable.
I saw this as an amazing opportunity for me. It gave me the chance to use a lot what I have done in the IT and Telecom spaces over the last decade, and use that knowledge along with my management skills to migrate the company from antiquated technology to become the leading supplier of next generation IT technology. The broadcast industry is a very hardware- and proprietary-centric business, with a multi-generational (over 30 years active use) installed and lifecycle base.
The migration that is upon us is to an industry that is open and excited about leveraging common computing platforms and software to introduce new products and services on a customer demand basis, rather than its former glacial pace. That is something that I feel I will be able to do, and help add a lot of value to our company and the industry. Our employees are responding to the new ideas very well. I also think the industry and customers are receptive and responding very well, because they recognize that this is a path that everyone has to take.
Are you a good fit for the broadcasting industry?
CV – I believe I am a good fit because this is an industry that has to go through some pretty significant transformations. It needs leadership that is willing to make a bold decisions and bold moves. Because of the legacy and lifecycle issues, it is very easy to just be a follower, but it not easy to be a leader. Taking the position to lead the industry, especially though emerging technology phases, brings with it a lot of risk.
When you are an equipment supplier, you can’t afford to make wrong bets, because you have such a heavy investment in developing the technology. So, I think I am a good fit, because I have a long history of matching technology trends and the industry needs with companies that are capable of delivering technology solutions. I believe we are in right place at the right time. We have a well established customer base of over 3400 customers in 185 countries. These customers need help to transition the network to the next generation of software-based IP networks while maintaining their current over-the-air technology for both television (video) and radio.
I have been a CEO for 12 years. I have been running companies for some time. People ask me all the time what I do for living and I tease them and I tell them that “I am in the HR business.”
What do you mean by HR business?
CV– By being in the HR business, I mean that I slave myself to good people. It is so true, because I have been both lucky and fortunate to have fostered a great culture and great chemistry with my management teams and the other teams in the companies I have run. The employees as a whole are where I relate, and that is what I want to be part of. I tease them all the time that we could be “just boiling water” and having fun, if we do it the right way. So for my companies and our teams, we have the opportunity to develop some of the neatest and most advanced technology that will end up transforming the entire industry.
In retrospect, I do not remember a time in my professional life that I actually went to work. When you doing what you love, it become an extracurricular life, the time for fun. Mondays are the same days, 10 o’clock AM & 5 o’clock PM are the same time. That is the kind of the culture I helped create, and my team is helping bring that concept to our new company. I believe I am visionary, and that I am unique. I am been able to bring the right ingredients together to get employees to do the things that they never thought they could do. Challenging employees to do things and achieve things that they never thought they could – that is the fun.
You have fun doing the things that you doing for business, but what would you be doing if you weren’t doing this? In prior interviews, people were saying they would be a rock musician or they would work on cars, etc. What would Charlie Vogt be doing? Do you have artist hidden in, there or a novelist?
CV – I played division 1 baseball, I love paintball, I love boating, but mostly I love running companies. There is nothing else in life where you can get the most rewarding feeling than building a business with the support of employees. It is hard to explain it if you do not run a business with a large number of employees. I would tell you that there is nothing that I would do that could replace the feeling I get by being a CEO and running a company. I have an opportunity every single day to touch the lives and families of people that who otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to influence. Doing an individual sport does not give me the same rewards and pleasure that I get every day by knowing that I touch 1500 employees and their families. It is something very rewarding.
by Lidia Paulinska | Sep 30, 2014
September 18, 2014, Uplinq 2014, San Francisco, CA – At the session “Shared Responsibility in the Mobile Security Ecosystem”, five industry experts including Paul Kocher, Chief Scientist of Cryptography Research Division of Rambus; Coby Sella, CEO of Discretix; Rajiv Dholakia, VP Product Management of Nok Nok Lab; Dror Nadler, SVP, Sales and Strategic Alliances of Cellrox and Steve Singer, VP, WW Field Applications Engineering of the Mobile and Networking Security Division, INSIDE Secure, were discussing the current trends in security for mobile products. The panel was moderated by Asaf Ashkenazi, director of product management for Qualcomm Technologies.
The state of security today is pretty bad and the trends are scary – said Paul Kocher. He stated that fundamentally we do not know how to make complex software secured. We are going to see dynamic growth of different devices; growth in the value of the information and the network as well, which means more and more complexity. More devices equal more things to attack, more value equal more rewards for attackers if they are successful and more complexity means more bugs and opportunities to attack.
Kocher made these statements from a position of being in the industry for over 15 years and starting in software security. He started in software cryptology and found the software was messing it up, then the training was messing it up, and he decided that this route for cryptology was not going to save the day. He then moved over to hardware based security that can be optimized for the key use cases. That is the solution he has been providing for the semiconductor industry and mobile devices for several years.
He continued – threats that we see right now will not match the threats that we are going to see next year. Right now we are only 2-3 bugs away from a compromised software solution space. We are going to see more reasons and abilities to break into the system. Kocher does not believe that software program will find the solution for it. Based on his extended experience, he recommended giving up on the software solution, as it is a moving target; and build hardware that can be robust for these key use cases: main application, communication, and identity. He is optimistic that the prices for transistors continue to falling. As we add more cores and more area, we can devote a larger portion of that to security which will enable us to deal with some of the problems that not required the perfection in software programming.
Dholakia, who represented the software company perspective, mentioned that even though the trends are pessimistic, it is good to look at the consequences from two dimensions. One is the security dimension and the other is the business dimension where security eventually cost a friction. There are ways to shape software. We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to reshape the devices that we carry with us or slap around our wrist, to allow them to have the security characteristics that are more robust than anything that we dream of carrying with us. That makes him optimistic.
Singer noted that the mobile VPN is one of the areas of expertise for INSIDE since the mid nineties. They have taken security component and add layers above it; some of them are specifically around authentication. Our mobile devices are the gateways into a larger access, so the use of VPN authentication of who the end point is, is instrumental. One solution space area that his company does is to run all these functions within their protected silo/trusted execution environment. Singer pointed out that the audience could see the demo specifically highlighting that capability, which was showcased at the expo hall of Hilton hotel where the Uplinq conference took place.
He stated that gives them two silos approach: one thing is authentication components; the other is data encryption. Their solution for authentication is, it is something that typically happens once, but if the data is constantly and dynamically being processed we need another “envelope” to provide another level of security and validate that the algorithms are running properly. In that case the area of focus is around certified libraries. The next area of security is a device by itself that can be stolen, and the contents of the flash can become valuable for someone else. Finally the other points of challenge in security are the applications by themselves. Gartner did the report that shown that 75% of current apps do not effectively and properly address the security.
Nadler talked about the need to virtualize a device to gives it the ability to have multiple operating systems on the device. Just as the virtualization in servers was the way to be cost effective, while in mobile devices is all about usage.
Sella mentioned that when we talk about breaches, lots of them are user oriented, such as problems like poor passwords. Qualcomm built a very good solid platform with a lot of security capabilities. The challenge is to create a streamlined users experiences and also to harness the right type of financial incentives for security. Discretix was one of the first companies pointing out the importance of security of the mobile end point devices.
by Lidia Paulinska | Sep 19, 2014
What is the reason for human existence? What brings us happiness? The latest Terry Gilliam film, “The Zero Theorem”, might not give us a definite answer, but searches for one with spectacular and remarkable visual images. Gilliam, as always, is funny, witty, provocative, smart and surprising.
In a futuristic London, Qohen Leth , a computer genius, works on a mysterious project. Qohen, who talks always as “we”, identifies himself as a non-separated part of collective in the world, where everything is controlled. Big Brother, here called “Management”, is watching every step and all activity.
Qohen lives in isolation, in a burnt-out chapel, but his solidarity is disturbed by visits of flirtatious Bainsley and Management’s son, Bob. Qoen is desperately searching for love and is anticipating a phone call that will provide him the definitive answer. The Zero Theorem was shot in Bucharest, and a few other places in Romania, and brings dark and wrecked Ceausescu dictatorship era memories.
Christoph Waltz, a two time Academy Award winner, gives another extraordinary performance. This time he plays, an eccentric programmer, Qohen Leth, who is consumed by existential fears and angst. The mysterious project that he has been frantically working on is delegated by Management (Matt Damon). The role of Qohen’s sexual desire, Bainsley, a young gorgeous seductress, is adoringly played by French actress Melanie Thierry, and the role of Bob is wonderfully acted by Lucas Hedges (Moonrise Kingdom) and reminds us of Michael J. Fox, from “Back to the Future”. The always superb Tilda Swinton also co-stars as Dr. Shrink-Rom, the computer psychologist.
The amazing thing about Terry Gilman is that he doesn’t need to search for well known actors to work for him. They want to work with him. He is a member of the Monty Python team, as well as co-director of their feature films , “Monty Python and The Holy Grail” (1975), “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” (1979); and the sole director of “Jabberwocky” (1977). His post Monty Python films include “Brazil” (1985) which was given two Academy Awards nominations, and “The Adventure of Baron Munchausen” (1988), which was given four Academy Award nominations. Gilliam made his next three movies in the US: “The Fisher King” (1991), “Twelve Monkeys” (1995), and “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” (1998). In 2000, he went to Spain and shot “The Man Who Kill Don Quixote” (2002) and “The Brothers Grimm” (2005).
by Lidia Paulinska | Jul 30, 2014
July 2014 – At CosmoProf 2014, Mark Cuban, gave a keynote on innovation, investment, and what makes a good business. Mark is best known as a venture capitalist, investor, owner of NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, Landmark Theatres and Magnolia Pictures. Recently he added that he is one of the stars of the TV series Shark Tank that gives small businesses an opportunity to speak to influential investors to help them grow their business.
In the keynote, Mark referred to one of the companies he recently invested in through the show that was represented at the conference. The company is Simple Sugars, and the CEO, inventor and founder of the company is Lani Lazzari who just recently turned 19. Mark indicated that the interest in the company was not necessarily the cosmetics angle, but that the business had the key points he looks for in an investment – a unique product that addresses a market gap, passion from the founders about the product and it possibilities and most importantly a business model that is realistic and fiscally sound.
He found all of these in a company that was created out of necessity and was being presented by a teenager who not only believed in the product, but made a plan as to why it was a business. At the show, I had a chance to talk to Lani in her role as CEO of Simple Sugars.
Lani operates the company he founded – Simple Sugars – from her hometown of Pittsburgh, Pa. Her business produces handmade, all-natural skincare products such as Green Tea Facial Scrub, Strawberry or Coconut Body Scrub that were placed prominently in the center of the booth for the largest distributor at the show. Even though she is young, she has a few years of experience in business under her belt, and most importantly, is open to learning and getting assistance from those more seasoned in the business such as her distribution partners and the advisors available through the investment from Mark Cuban. Just like teenagers talking about their daily lives, she talks passionately, freely, and quickly about her business with an open bubbly personality.
How did you start the company?
Lani explained that in 2005, when she was 11 years old, her mother suggested that she and her two youngest brothers were not going to buy any Christmas gifts at the store. Instead everyone in the family needed to make them. She chose to make a body scrub that was free of color and preservatives. She used this scrub for herself as well as giving it to the rest of the family, and they both loved it and used it. Based on encouragement from her family, just a short 2 months later on Valentine’s Day, she was ready to open her own business operating in her parent’s basement.
This effort and story that was discussed in the local media got her going out and pitching her business to others which get her the opportunity to appear on Season 4 of the American reality television series “Shark Tank”. Her efforts and alignment with his investment criteria got the attention of Mark Cuban who invested $100,000 in the Simple Sugars Company. Following this highly publicized investment she got recognition as an emerging teenage entrepreneur in many publications including Forbes.
Why did you feel you need to make this product?
I started Simple Sugars because I have very sensitive skin, and I had eczema every since I was a baby. So I was looking for solution for my own problem. I was always at the dermatologist and I couldn’t find any product that worked for me. I figured there were also a lot of other people with this same issue, so I did some research how to make my own product and Simple Sugars was born.
Why did you decide to turn this into a business?
I was inspired to be an entrepreneur because I watched my mom, and she had a very bad experience in the corporate world. I was very discouraged about a standard corporate career, particularly as a woman. One day, I had the realization that I don’t want to work my whole life, be extremely successful and good at something that I enjoy, only to have someone take it from me as soon as I decide to have a life and my family outside of my job. This was the impression that I had of my mom’s situation. I saw entrepreneurship as the only way to be responsible for my own success. That why the entrepreneurial spirit drove me and I was able to take Simple Sugars as far as I have.
Why did you decide to run your own company versus license it and sell to someone else?
The long term goal for Simple Sugars is to create a fantastic job place where people love their jobs and love coming to work every day. I realized that you can’t do that if you outsource everything.
by Lidia Paulinska | Jul 5, 2014
June 2014 – For one afternoon Palo Alto was the host for the Poland Demo Event at the Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati offices. Poland is turning Silicon Valley and San Francisco on its ear by bringing more and more startups and established companies to the area, and is continuing the effort to do so. The government in Poland has already launched two programs and announced the next one – Polish Silicon Bridge starting this this summer.
While the event in Palo Alto was focused on IT technology, it is not the only sector that Poland is bringing to the world. The Minister Henclewska just last week was a patron for a strong Polish presence at the Bio International Convention in San Diego, a global event for the Biotechnology industry. Poland has a strong presence in this space as well , and activity is ramping for the global market.On Thursday, June 26 Mrs. Grazyna Henclewska, Under Secretary for Poland’s Ministry of Economy opened the Poland Demo Event. She pointed out that the Polish IT/ITC sector is rapidly growing and Polish companies are getting more visibility in both Silicon Valley and Europe. The week before the event, the Polish team won the First Computer Coding Championship held in Finland. A similar program for Polish tech companies will be run in future in other places in the United States as well as on the Asian markets. Ms Henclewska also announced the new Polish Silicon Bridge program. It has been launched by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development in cooperation with Polish Silicon Valley Accelerator Center and US-Mac in San Francisco. The Minister was accompanied with Justyna Gorzoch, from the Department of Innovation and Industry from Poland, and Pawel Pietrasienski, Minister Counselor of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland. There were also representative officials from neighboring countries ,Richard Pivnicka, Czech Republic’s Honorary Consul General, and Peter Kmec, Ambassador of Slovakia.
The companies at the event each gave a short presentation followed by table discussions and demos set up for the evening’s reception. The reception had an enthusiastic crowd that was free to interact with the founders and gain more details and go “in-depth” by raising further questions about their products and services that were shown in the presentation.
1. Bizlynq
Bizlynq is a cloud-based integration platform for business that helps automate business processes from anywhere on any device. It can be used both as a PaaS (Platform as a Service) or SaaS (Software as a Service) solution, so you can use it anyway you prefer: completely cloud-based or installed behind your firewall.
2. MobiMalls
MobiMalls creates mobile solutions for Shopping Centers. Shopping center managers are provided with mobile communications channels to get to know their customers’ preferences and respond to their needs in a customized way. The users can get one application that contains all the shopping malls in your city and get indoor maps, best deals, and coupons.
3. BeeeBaaa (Be3Ba3)
BeeeBaaa is a booking management system for artists, clubs, venues and promoters. It helps artists and club owners manage their events. Functions include selecting artist/ club, negotiations and generating agreement, and finding substitutions in case of force majeure.
4. Autoplug.in
Autoplug is a small hardware device that informs about the problems in the vehicle. It constantly monitors the car’s computer while driving.
5. Amodit
Amodit is an innovative workflow system, which implements a patent-pending method for adaptive modeling of workflows. Using artificial intelligence techniques with dynamic dataflow analysis and prediction of user behavior dramatically reduces costs of deployment.
6. Enspirion
Enspirion the first company in Poland to provide aggregation and management services for electricity demand reduction (Demand Response). Enspirion is part of the Energa Group. The demand response service adjusts aggregated demand and smooths out the electricity supply and demand.
7. Enteye
Enteye is a Platform as a Service that provides all tools and hardware infrastructure for deploying Internet of Things devices based on microcomputers with embedded linux. Th platform has a free version for developers, and device software code is open source.
8. KanBo/ObjectConnect
KanBo combines the elements of Kanban with social communications and the Microsoft SharePoint. KanBo provides workflow visualization inside of organizations.
9. Pixel Technology
Pixel Technology specializes in applying informatics in medicine. The company provides solutions designed for radiology and public health administration.
10. Quantum Lab
Quantum Lab wants to teach computers how people feel by tracking, measuring, and analyzing emotions and moods using different methods and technologies based on science and psychology.
11. Robotics Inventions
Robotics Inventions develops preproduction prototypes (including Bill of Material) in 6months. They focus on fully- and semi-autonomous robots and vision systems. They supply software modules for autonomy called RI SPIRIT, a robot swarm management system called RI FLEET, user interfaces and various components. They have a dedicated production facility, as well as robotics professional services.
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