Comments on: Microsoft's telephony software gains railroad ties

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway says it will use Redmond's unified communications software to try to attract the next generation of workers.

[42istheanswer]

Out with the old, in with the new. No offense, boomers, but it's time to move on and stop slowing the rest of us down.

[umbrae]

Its not boomers or technology groups. Its resistance from executives and lawyers.

[zyxxy]

No offense taken, in spite of the offensive nature of the remark. When I was in my early thirties I shared an office with a very productive engineer who retired when he was 67. I plan to last at least that long, good luck keeping up.

[chabig83]

" ...in the end, it was the PC software experience that sealed the deal for Microsoft."

Obviously this quote was written by a PR person.

"Microsoft owns the desktop"

Doesn't BNSF own their own desktops?

[Super2online]

There refering to the OS. not the hardware.

[hladikraft]

microsoft is a bit late. google has already come up with video chat that alows you to see and talk to the person you want to. all you need is a gmail acount and to download the audio video patch to make everything work. i have it and it works. i can see my brother in tenn, and talk to him like he never left chicago. plus did i mention that gmail video chat is FREE.....

[BDA21]

MSN Messenger was doing free voice and video while Google was still in diapers. Consumer grade conferencing has been free and available for years. This is secure, corporate communications. Huge difference.

[ducttape36]

and even before msn messenger there was microsoft netmeeting, back when you had to direct dial someone's computer like a fax machine.

[rapier1]

You have no idea what unified telephony in the enterprise environment is about do you? Its like hearing that some company spent $40 million on a supercomputer and asking why didn't they just get a netbook instead.

[cnet_user_0]

this dude is living in the Google bubble ... lol

[kieranmullen]

Have you guys used MSN messenger for video? Its horrible! It plays friggin video ads before it connects the other party! Googles system is vary less spammy.



KieranMullen
[CNET editor's note: Prohibited content deleted.]

[CaribDigita]

Glad I dont live near one of those railyards. Wait til the worms, viruses, trojans or hackers hit. "Hold on my train isn't responding. I just got a bluescreen and need to reboot my train."

[hafenbrack]

This is in the offices, not on the train, maybe you should completely read the article??

[csg7]

Wow, i can't imagine that the same comment of "not responding and blue screen of death" is used anywhere you guys see Microsoft. Did you even read the article ?
My iPhone does not respond has has 'black screen of death' sometimes, does it mean i add the same comment to every Apple article regardless of whats it about.
Grow up !

[Vegaman_Dan]

@CaribDigita:

I'm not sure why you would have worms, viruses, trojans, or hacked trains. Perhaps you are not aware of the railroad industry or is technology. You can start your education by reading TRAINS, CTCBOARD, MAINLINE MODELER, MODEL RAILROADER magazines for a casual reference. There's plenty more to go through.

Locomotives today from EMD, GE, and others are indeed computerized, but those computers ae no more in control than they are of your car. Mostly they deal with traction control, engine management, and MU setups. In the end it is still one person with their hand on the throttle in Run-8 down the line.

If you would like, I can go into full detail on railroad operations, but while it would serve to put you in your place as an ignorant troll, it might bore other people who are not railfans.

[umbrae]

As far as trains, Microsoft should be the least of your worries.

[dennisl59]

Trainwreck?....Allow me to introduce you to Trainwreck. May you live happily ever after. FUBAR

[Vegaman_Dan]

Your comment was lost in the noise. Care to try again with a cogent comment?

[Vegaman_Dan]

Point of Fact: Microsoft does not make or sell the physical hardware for the IP telephony setups. Microsoft only handles the software which works on a variety of equipment from different manufacturers including Cisco and Polycom. Polycom is the primary company that makes most of the hardware such as handsets wile Cisco handles the back end.

OCS (Office Communicator Suite) is a really impressive bit of technology if you ever get a chance to try it out. I can use it to make and receive calls on my laptop while traveling or have calls ring through to my desk phone. Video chat is available, as is tight integration with Global Address Lists, email, etc. From a business standpoint, it becomes a highly valuable tool.

It is not likely this technology would be used in railroad communications with actual trains though. It's not impossible, of course, but you'd need a reliable network connection with bandwidth to handle it and that would mean satellite since a traveling train would not be able to keep a good signal between cell towers, or in remote areas where there is no cell service at all.

[kieranmullen]

Will this actually make the aging US Railway system more productive and more efficient??

(most likely not)



Will this help the railways prioritize passenger traffic over freight traffic as is done in the rest of the world instead of the way it has been done in the USA in the past thereby increasing efficiency, lowering costs and making passenger travel more attractive? (probably not)



Is this a money pit? (Probably)



KieranMullen
[CNET editor's note: Prohibited content deleted.]

[sroussey]

I'm not convinced it is all for the benefit of their workers:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/62534/message/1207011781/Rail+Line+Can%92t+Force+Web+Site+to+Reveal+Critics

[NoVista]

Heh, there are a few people here who take themselves all too seriously, can't recognise snark and obviously need a personality transplant, at least the humour module.

Aside from that, maybe the train system there is different -- but I worked on the technical documentation for one state railway that specified total computer interlinking of ALL facets of the operation, data and voice/audio to trains, etc.

@ 42ita ... I reckon the real need is a new generation of oldstyle managers -- people who actually knew what their business was about. Obviously, you're perfect ... in not wanting to be slowed down, better start at the top, eh?

As for us old, slow duffers -- I started in electronics before the transistor, had my first data processing course on the old IBM EAM equipment. As a broadcast engineer, I worked in several states and two contract jobs overseas -- where I encountered gear truly from the Dark Ages. I transitioned from the RCA domination to the Sony era In later years, I worked in the computer field as field engineer, workshop supervisor, chief engineer of a facility.

I've had one book published on computer telecommunications (co-author), which was on recommending reading lists at the tertiary level.

I wrote a column for a national computer magazine, freelanced in various areas, writing on entreprenuers and technical types, including George Westinghouse, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Charles Steinmetz -- had some articles on poor company management problems published, and a few science fiction stories.

I recently had an insight into the proper design of the next generation of digital cameras which I am pursuing.

That's just the highlights, even though I have to blow my own horn; call it an object lesson as assistance to you, no thanks needed.

Have a nice day.