CommScope Crosstalk

We bring on a new co-host and get honest about how AI is reshaping daily work, creativity, and even the way we learn. With author and trainer Mike Song, we move from AI hype to practical Copilot habits that boost productivity without ignoring security and authenticity.• Welcoming new co-host Mike Cooper and swapping music picks • Why AI feels revolutionary in daily work tools • Microsoft Copilot vs ChatGPT for real workplace use • AI as the “nail gun” for business productivity • Using AI without giving up creativity and judgment • ChatGPT as a life coach and what that changes • Attention span, deep learning, and “popcorn brain” • Mike Song on How2AI and building a simple tech strategy • Why approved AI tools matter for cybersecurity and proprietary data • Common AI mistakes, especially learning without a plan • Finding hidden settings and building better habits in Microsoft tools • Authenticity in an AI world, including avatars and training content • Power prompting, templates, and Copilot’s Prompt Gallery You can email us at info at getcontrol.net or just go to getcontrol.net and request information there For more information, go to Comscope.com For comments and questions about this podcast, send emails to Comscope Crosstalk at Comscope.com

A.I. is everywhere… you can’t be in the ICT industry without A.I. impacting you in some way these days… even if it’s just the need to stay well informed on progress, adoption, and trends.There’s currently a tremendous focus on building data centers for this new life form, but to build A.I. in the cloud, we need a different type of plane to get there.Our guest is Alastair Waite, Senior Market Development Manager for data centers at CommScope.

Earl Parsons and guest host Mike Cooper dig into fiber dispersion and next generation transmission.

CommScope Systems Engineer Mungree Singh discusses the FiberGuide Fiber Management System.

Rebroadcast from the 2024 Winter BICSI conference in Orlando, Florida.  Presented by Mike Rearden

In 1984, Rockwell released the song “Somebody’s Watching Me”… a song about a guy who feels like he’s always being watched.  But this was 1984…Fast forward to 2024, and there are cameras everywhere, making up a major element to a larger security apparatus we’ve all come to expect everywhere we go.  We even have them in doorbells today.The interesting thing is, what might have seemed a bit intrusive in 1984 has become almost comforting and reassuring 40 years later.  Cameras today don’t represent an always-watching surveillance state once feared.  They’re actually effective tools, and they do so much more than just simply watch.

Have you ever been doing something and felt like there had to be a better way to do it?  Staring at a current frustration thinking that someone should come up with product or solution to make things easier.Our daily lives continue to get better and better because smart people come up with new ways to overcome challenges.Leave it to the genius’ at SYSTIMAX Labs to come up with a way to reliably and consistently solve one of the biggest challenges facing structured cabling systems today.How to get true cat6 performance and maximum PoE power significantly beyond the 100 meter distance limitation.

What does VHS and Blu-Ray have in common?  How about the Compact Disc and LC Fiber Connectors?  What about asphalt roads and AC Power?  What do they all have in common?   They all had a competitor they beat out to become the quasi standard of their technology.  Remember Betamax?  HD-DVD?  Digital Tape?  What about DC Power?But what if we got one of them wrong?  What if the technology that was defeated was actually better suited for our modern needs?  Could we make the shift?There’s a modern day inventor working hard to show the world a better way to deliver the benefits of electricity.

The word “Partner” has become quite cliché these days.  I’m not even sure people really know what it means anymore.  It tends to be used haphazardly like the term “Trusted Advisor”, so we try to clearly define it by adding modifiers.In our industry we have channel partners, installation partners, design partners, supply chain partners.I don’t mean to sound overdramatic, but what does a partnership look like these days?

The legend of the crystal ball is famous for giving people visibility into the future.  What an amazing gift that would be.Clear visibility in general is a gift itself if recognized and utilized properly.  Take the dashboard in a car, or the cockpit of an airplane, giving you clear visibility of what’s going on with the vehicle transporting you and your passengers.  You would be limited without it, and potentially in harm’s way without even knowing.What about your network?  Are you in harm’s way?  Is your network running properly?  Is it reaching maximum capacity?  How would you know?  What if there’s a sort of crystal ball for your network?  Would you be interested?

Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, once said, “The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay”.Famous entrepreneur, Richard Branson once said “Train people well enough so they can leave, but treat them well enough so they don’t want to.”Training is so critically important.  Easily one of the most important tools you can give to your employees.  

SYSTIMAX 2.0What is that?  What does that even mean?  Let’s not speculate with a poorly written introduction.  Listen now and we'll get right to it.

“A legacy of innovation”.  It’s a catchy phrase, to be sure, but how can one determine if something is just marketing hyperbole, or an accurate way to describe one’s contributions to something?The best way is to talk with those responsible for such a legacy.  In the ICT industry there are thousands of people responsible for contributing to impactful innovations over the decades, but there’s a very short list of innovators responsible for making such a significant contribution that it can be argued they changed the entire industry for the better.Today, we’re talking to someone who happens to be on that short list, and there isn’t anyone in the ICT industry today that hasn’t been impacted by today’s guest.

If there’s one thing we learned from the way the world responded to covid, it’s the fact that hospitals need to get smarter.I mean, it makes sense.  Today we have smart phones, smart homes, smart cars, smart buildings… everything seems to be getting smarter.  It’s only logical that we consider how to make our modern hospitals “smart”.The results can literally be life changing.

Making new year’s resolutions has been a timeless tradition that often gets a bad rap because so many people fail to follow through on them, and they experience disappointment year after year.  But it doesn’t have to be that way.Today is a special episode of CommScope Crosstalk, as we talk about new year’s resolutions for the ICT professional.

Elephants, ships and transcontinental railroads… to traverse the world in 80 days.  It’s been a long time since Jules Verne dreamed up such a tale.  Today, we can go all the way around the world using only fiber optic cable… and not in 80 days.  More like under .8 seconds.  One organization that spends a lot of time improving the ICT industry around the world is BICSI.

Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple computer, once said “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”I believe most world changers remain relatively unknown to the rest of us unless we happen to be connected in some esoteric way.In our industry, we often bear witness to people incrementally changing the world through a little-known organization called iMasons.We’re joined by founder of iMasons, and CEO of Cato Digital, Dean Nelson, talking about how Infrastructure Masons and Cato Digital is making the world a better place through their sustainability efforts.

It seems like everything’s an acronym these days.  We’re losing the art of conversation to shorthand abbreviations.  And I’m not convinced we all know what we’re saying to each other.  In the ICT industry, we talk about IT, OT, IoT, IIot, IoB, AI… it goes on and on…Today, we’re connecting the DoTs of IoT.

It’s the end of the world as we know it… and I feel fine.We have seen more changes in the past three years than we likely experienced in the prior ten years… it’s tough to keep up for sure.Today, we’re facing three macro trends that are promising to bring even more changes, and if we don’t prepare now, we could end up getting left behind.Sound discouraging?  Scary?  Cynical?  Not at all.  Wherever there is change there’s opportunity.Today, we’re talking about these trends and how to navigate them with confidence. 

The LC Connector won in the 90s.  Today, there's a whole new battle going on.  Join Ken Hall as he discusses the various SFF connectors, and why the MPO16 connector will be the dominant MPO connector for data centers in the future.

Are the machines going to kill us?  In the movie Terminator, Kyle Reese explains to Sarah Conner that the machines got smart, saw humans as a threat, and decided our fate in a microsecond.Today, Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is becoming more advanced, and more useful, and as a result there is increasing concern about whether AI is truly a helper or a job killer.Today, we’re discussing AI and the many possibilities available to the ICT industry through recent advances in this technology.

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If there’s one thing that remains the same in our industry, it’s the constant cadence of change.  It can be tough to keep up.  At CommScope, we have an extremely talented team of system engineers to help the rest of us stay up to speed.  One of the best ways to learn from them is at industry events, such as the upcoming BICSI Fall conference in Las Vegas… Casey Adams joins the podcast to talk about our system engineering team and what CommScope is doing at this year’s Fall conference. 

The ICT industry is experiencing severe skilled labor shortages.  BICSI CEO John Daniels joins the podcast to discuss BICSI's response to these challenges and the many different initiatives BICSI is using to lead the industry through these challenging times.  In addition, we discuss the upcoming BICSI Fall Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Send all comments or questions to [email protected] 

Please send all comments regarding CommScope Crosstalk to [email protected].

What is Utility Grade Infrastructure (UTG) and how can it make a difference in a network's design and deployment.  Join CommScope Crosstalk host Mike Rearden as he talks with Wesco's Zac LaFever about all things UTG. 

CommScope Crosstalk host, Mike Rearden, sits down with widely known data center consultant Lee Smith to discuss modern data centers, critical incident documentation, sustainability in the data center, and the Nomad Futurist Foundation.

CommScope Crosstalk host, Mike Rearden, sits down with AFCOM Data Center World Program Chair, Bill Kleyman, recorded live from Data Center World in Austin, Texas, to discuss next gen data centers and the future of AI.