hello 3

There has been a major development in the world of 'two-way television' in the last month.  I knew this day would come eventually, the day that an idea passes from theory into reality.  Who ever thought that something like two-way television would ever be buyable in a store like Best Buy in 2010?  I certainly did not.  But that is exactly what happened on November 15, 2010, when Cisco brought out a new kind of TV called "Umi" (pronounced 'you-me').  After I saw how the TV operated I had to double-check my senses.  I drove over to the next nearest Best Buy store in the Philadelphia suburbs and said, "Could I take a look at the new two-way TV that just came out?"  


The salesman replied, "I'll check but I never heard of that."  More polite back and forth and he said, "Oh the you-me (Umi)."


There it was, the same unit as in the other store.  It's not exactly what I had in mind but, then again, my own money wasn't behind this TV.  Cisco, once a company larger than Apple or Microsoft at the height of the dot.com boom, was.  In entering the consumer market, Cisco was departing into mostly-new territory, but their deep pockets should mean that the Umi will survive.  If I'm right, you won't have to go looking for it; it will come looking for you.  I mean that in the best sense, in the same way that iPod and Kindle came looking for all of us, two groundbreaking devices which heralded major shifts in the way we get our music and, for the Kindle (from Amazon), our books.  I've already seen advertisements on television for the Umi TV with Ellen Page, the young, Canadian, Oscar-nominated movie actress appearing in them.  Or log onto cisco.com/umi where seven short videos await you demonstrating it.


What exactly is it?  Well, it's a TV that lets you video-chat with someone else from your own living room.  The other person could be in Starbucks sipping a latte, sitting in front of a webcam built into their laptop, or could be sitting at home on the couch with their spouse.  You really must visit cisco.com/umi.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and these promotional videos from Cisco present the new Umi better than I could describe.  But I will sum it up this way: I remember in 1951 at the age of 7 my father carrying our first TV in the door.  We were the first house on the block to have it.  Overnight I became the most popular kid in the neighborhood as our living room filled up at 5:30 PM every night to watch Howdy Doody, a puppet show.  The launch of the new Umi is an event which could be as significant as the first black-and-white TV.  The picture entered our living room in 1951; in 2010, it left.  That is a major feat of engineering when the picture quality and sound are this great.  Congratulations to Cisco for what they have accomplished.  (Silent 'awesome' respectfully inserted here)  Who knew what lay ahead for the iPod when it first appeared?  It is possible that there is a place in most everyone's home for a TV that lets them video-chat with family and friends.  We will have to see if Sony or LG follows with a competing product of its own.


Those of you who have been to my own website...twowaytelevision.org...or two-way-tv.com...or two-way-television.com...all 3 web addresses go to the same home page...will know after checking out the Umi at Best Buy that two-way television is still alive and well.  There are some singular differences between us.  For instance, there are no number-buttons on the Umi's remote control.  The idea to allow TV viewers to dial telephone numbers of their friends on the same numbered keypad of the remote that now selects TV channels is an original idea of mine who's time will come.


Hats off to Cisco.  Your own comments welcome.


James Connor