Rogue Satellite Could Interrupt TV, Microsoft gives away the Office and WebVisions 2010

Back in April a satellite known by operators as Galaxy 15 experienced what experts are calling a "solar storm". This knocked out communications to the bird floating some 22,000 miles --roughly from Portland to NYC...the long way-- above the ocean near Hawaii. Once ground controllers lost contact with the satellite, it went rogue and is headed for ultimate shutdown.

Unlike many satellites that shut down immediately upon failure, Galaxy 15 seems to be humming along, continuing its duties of transmitting cable television programming to cable television operators in the United States. (Although all services have now been shuffled off to other satellites.)

That, unfortunately, is where the story gets interesting.

While not, experts say, in imminent danger of actually colliding with another quarter-million dollar technical marvel floating around in the sky, the signals from the rogue Galaxy 15 could cause interference with those from another satellite: AMC 11.

As one might imagine, every effort is being made to steer the still-functional AMC 11 as far from it's rogue neighbour as possible-- there's still some cause for concern.

Best-case scenario? The two satellites wave as they pass by roughly between May 23rd and June 7th. Worst-case scenario? Services on AMC 11 are interrupted for the same window causing a loss of programming to viewers on the ground.

Comcast technicians are said to be monitoring the situation, while DirecTV was quick to point out their customers would not be affected.

[Update 14MAY2010 7:13AM-- Comcast spokesperson Theressa Davis tells me quite matter-of-factly, "There is no impact to us at this time and we continue to monitor this industry-wide situation." (A smart reader, such as yourself, will certainly pickup on ominous keywords: "at this time". To be fair, however, Comcast is certainly not alone in this potentially precarious situation.]

We'll see. (Or, perhaps... Not.)

Next week's "Get out of the office free" card is courtesy of Web Visions 2010. The "nationally recognized conference that explores the future of Web design, technology, user experience and business strategy" runs May 19-21 at the Oregon Convention Center.

Registration may end today, but their site will tell you much more: http://www.webvisionsevent.com

Don't forget to tune in to my reports on Newsradio 750 KXL each week for the latest in tech news and information. And if you can't wait, I'm always on Twitter: @BMW

Portland's InnoTech Tech Conference May 6 -- Free Pass!

InnoTech – The Business & Technology Innovation Conference & Expo returns to the Oregon Convention Center May 6th (with the eMarketing Summit starting the day before). The annual event brings together the area's business, IT, and social media leaders for a series of compelling sessions and thought-provoking discussions. I've personally attended most of the last dozen or so years.

For details visit their website: http://www.innotechoregon.com.

To make it even more compelling-- I convinced conference organizers to pass along some free passes to give away:

• A limited number of complimentary passes are available.
  
• Register at http://www.innotechoregon.com
  
• Use BMWKXL in the Discount Code field for complimentary admission.
  
  (This pass does NOT include the NW CIO Summit, NW ISSA Security Conference or eMarketing Summit, extra registration fee is required.)

There are a lot of great speakers... including some local rockstars such as Rick Turoczy, Jason Harris, and a host of others... Will you be attending or speaking at this year's InnoTech? Speak up!

From the conference schedule, a few of the InnoTech conference tracks & special events:

• Microsoft Technology Symposium including SharePoint 2010 and Office 2010 demos
• 
  Wireless/Mobile Applications Track including Native vs. web, mobile application panel
• Talks on Cloud Computing, iPad Demos, Social Computing, Augmented Reality, and much more
• Green IT/Clean Technology Track
• InnoTech Happy 45-Minutes (the perfect place to mingle over complimentary beverages, appetizers, live music and exhibits)
• And more!

See you at InnoTech!!

iPad Launch Day at University Village 3 April 2010 (KXL-AM)

My live report with KXL-AM's Chris Brown on Portland's Weekend Morning News on iPad Launch Saturday.

List of Riskiest Cities: Seattle #1, Portland #10

The 50 riskiest cities, according to a Norton from Symantec survey:

1. Seattle	18. Oakland, Calif.	35. Chicago
2. Boston	19. Nashville-Davidson, Tenn.	36. Baltimore
3. Washington, D.C.	20. San Jose, Calif.	37. Oklahoma City
4. San Francisco	21. Columbus, Ohio	38. Philadelphia
5. Raleigh, N.C.	22. Dallas	39. Jacksonville, FL\la.
6. Atlanta	23. Kansas City, Mo.	40. Tulsa, Okla.
7. Minneapolis	24. New York	41. San Antonio
8. Denver	25. Indianapolis	42. Milwaukee
9. Austin, Texas	26. Albuquerque, N.M.	43. Cleveland
10. Portland, Ore.	27. Miami	44. Tucson, Ariz.
11. Honolulu	28. Omaha, Neb.	45. Long Beach, Calif.
12. Charlotte, N.C.	29. Virginia Beach, Va.	46. Fort Worth, Texas
13. Las Vegas	30. Los Angeles	47. Fresno, Calif.
14. San Diego	31. Cincinnati, Ohio	48. Memphis, Tenn.
15. Colorado Springs, Colo.	32. Houston	49. El Paso, Texas
16. Sacramento, Calif.	33. St. Louis, Mo.	50. Detroit
17. Pittsburgh	34. Phoenix

Google to buy Seattle's own Picnik

Word today is that Google is buying up Seattle-based Picnik.com.

More on the Picnik blog and the Official Google Blog

You may recall we've talked about Picnik on this blog before, first in Fall 2007 when they had announced Premium features. Since then, I've enjoyed meeting CEO Jonathan Sposato at various events around town and have enjoyed watching Picnik grow.

The team has been nominated for a 2010 WTIA Industry Achievement Award-- the awards are this Thursday. Will Picnik win one last award for their online photo editing software as Bitnik, Inc? Certainly the acquisition will be the talk of the town for a few days.

Congratulations to the entire Picnik gang!

Updated 1:00PM: to include additional information, link to Google blog, and a look back at previous posts.

Disclosure: I have a personal relationship with a Google employee. This person didn't contribute to this -or any- report, nor would this employee probably even read this blog. *sigh*

Dear Google, I'm Confused.

Now, I'm (mostly) a smart guy. I consider myself fairly technical. But I have no idea what Google wants me to do in this situation. Perhaps I'll search for a solution. (Or if you can bail me out of this apparent no-winner, drop a comment.)

The Square Live at 7 - Tech Box: CES 2010 Gadgets 18Jan2010 (KGW-TV)

Sony Bloggie MP4 1080p 360degree camera Sony debuted this Flip-wannabe at CES, but not without adding useful features. Swivel head for recording your own clips, and a bundled attachment for 360-degree video after software processing. The camera uses USB to transfer videos and charge. (Buy: Amazon | SonyStyle)

Samsung TL225 Dual-view camera Taking self-portraits has never been easier. This digital point-and-shoot sets itself apart from the rest by offering a screen on the front. Tap the camera and a forward-facing screen lights up to get the perfect shot of you and your friends! No more guesswork. (Buy: Amazon)

Casio EX-G1 rugged digital camera It’s waterproof and shock-resistant. The Casio G1 takes all the benefits of the Exilim series and goes underwater! The ultimate cruise or beach camera it’s also quite slim, unlike many waterproof models. (Buy: Amazon)

Verbatim Insight Hard drive Want to know how much space you’ve got left? The integrated two-line display will title this portable drive and show you how much space you’ve got to backup your photos, videos, and other files. (Buy: Amazon)


Verbatim Tuff N Tiny memory stick Barely larger than your thumbnail and up to 8GB capacity. Built to resist dirt, water, and other elements. (Buy: Amazon)


PogoPlug at-home network attached storage Plugs into your home network, then attach any USB hard drive or flash memory stick and access those files securely from anywhere in the world. (Buy: Amazon)


Sprint Overdrive 3G/4G portable hotspot battery powered WiFi router now offers 4G speeds. Home-connection speeds from a go-anywhere device! (Buy: Amazon)

Google Nexus One Android 2.1 mobile phone $179 with T-Mobile service, $530 without. “THE” Android phone to own, it sports the latest version of Google open-source Android operating system complete with real turn-by-turn navigation. Favorite feature? “Car mode” for driving. (Buy: Google)

BlueAnt headset One of the first handsets to offer downloadable firmware, when the headset technology improves, you don’t need to buy a new one. (Buy: Amazon)

Plantronics 975 This handsfree headset comes with a battery-pack case. Slide the comfortable noise-cancelling headset into it’s cradle and it’ll top up the juice so you can talk longer. (Buy: Amazon)