LVX system

Tonight on KARE 11 I heard an exciting report about LVX System base in St. Cloud.  They're installing a lighting/communication system for the City of St. Cloud that also provides a wireless signal allowing computers to pick up an Internet signal and other wireless communication.  It uses LEDs to provide the signal. Cutting edge new idea.

This could be a new power source to receive communications and so much else.  There could be some security issues, but if St. Cloud is using it they must have looked into these issues.

I see this really taking off if they can increase the speeds. Public/Private partnerships to provide this type of service in public buildings or schools would benefit both citizens and this new MN business.

Cool stuff going on by private companies in MN.

Census Data and Public Information Transparency

Now that the Census has announced their findings I'm wondering if money could be made available for Minnesota to apply for. We could then use the funds to migrate state data over so it can be transparent and used in coordination with census information.  This would allow for census information and state information to be used by the public.

This would be a good thing to look into.

Inspirational

Last Thursday Dec 9th I attended the 29th Government IT symposium at the St. Paul River Center. During the conference I attended two workshops on The New Cloud computing agreement between MN and the Office of Enterprise Technology and also a presentation by Cisco on Data Center consolidation.  Both presentations were interesting, informative and I continue to learn more about how MN government can take advantage of technology to improve services to employees and to Citizens. 

I want to thank Terek Tomes for his work on the Microsoft agreement and his presentation to the symposium.  He did an excellent job of outlining how this enterprise wide agreement will benefit the state. He did make it clear that this agreement will cause no layoffs and that it will save millions over the 6 years the agreement is in place.

The keynote speaker for the day was Michael Hingson a 9-11 survivor and much much more.  He ran a small tech company on the 78th Floor of the World Trade Center when it was hit.  He is also a blind man who has overcome more than most and this was just one more incident in his life.  His story was inspiring to all of us who listened.  On the horrific day being blind and having his guide dogs was actually an asset that most of us would not have understood.  When no one around him could see, yet he was able to lead people into safety. 

He spoke about the importance of trusting the team around you.  With trust you know that the others have your back. He trusted the team of workers he hired and he trusted the dog "Roselle" who lead them all to safety.  What a great story.  His book will go on sale soon and can be pre-ordered at Amazon.com.