Conference 7.286::digital

    Frank Kilsdonk's note is an important one... why aren't we using
    DVN more?

    [The following suggestions are from a field slant; I'm not
    trying to ignore mfg. and engineering...]
    
    How about a weekly or monthly broadcast (1/2 hour to 1 hour)
    live with top VP's or KO telling about exciting directions that
    the company is going...  or new products (just announced)
    that are good and will bring more business? Or testimonials from
    sales reps that have won a convincing victory over the
    competition? (testimonials could be live video, tape video or
    live audio from the sales reps' lips!) Or announcements of
    changes in programs such as equipment warranties, software
    licenses, etc.
    
    Live stuff could be up front, 'canned' stuff that was previously
    produced would follow the live stuff.
        
    Many employees would go out of their way to catch the live
    broadcast... and it could be taped for inclusion in meetings
    that would be held later.
        
    What kind of facilities does DEC have for doing somthing like
    this? None, I would venture a guess. Digital should build a TV
    studio to facilitate these kinds of live broadcasts.

    Yes, I know we have to lease a time slice on a transponder on a
    particular satelite to bring these programs. Yes, it costs
    bucks. But how much could we save/gain compated to having masses
    of people come to the Boston area for large conferences? A bunch
    I would wager. Course outlines could be mailed or notes-posted
    before training courses or meetings... everyone could have a
    copy in front of them when the broadcast begins.
    
    DVN is a form of networking that (in my opinion) has been
    underutilised within Digital. I know of a very large
    (non-computer) company with 200,000 worldwide  employees that is
    doing everything that I mentioned above..(and more). As a result
    employees have a very informed and up to date picture of what is
    happening within the company as well as hearing about success
    stories from all over. The company is dependant on their
    sattelite downlink network as we are on our Easynet- i.e. it is
    an integral part of their business.
    
    Is there more that DEC can do videowise? I certainly think so.
    
    Lee
    

    DVN does that kind of thing all the time.  Or at least they were doing
    it in 1986.  The studios and production facilities are in place.  They
    even can handle telephone call-in questions during the show.
    
    One of the few buildings that is set up to efficiently distribute DVN
    programs is MKO, where *every* conference room has a cable TV
    connection.  I rarely see it used.  The guy who designed it and had it
    built left in disgust a while ago.

    re: .1
    
    Excellent idea, but there is a tremendous up-hill battle to fight
    here.  Even if we get the needed (IMHO) programming, will we get
    the people to watch it?
    
    Example:
    
    About 3 months ago, there was the DVN broadcast of the
    State of the Company meeting highlights.  I put out
    out a notice about it twice in our local NEWS system
    (serves one complete SWS District and parts of 3-4 others).
    
    When the day came, (as I recall) there were only two of the three
    local DVN facilities carrying the broadcast (one was down due to
    technical problems).  I went to the first broadcast (one at noon,
    the second one at 4:00 I think).  There were about 10 people
    in the room.  This is in a complex which (last I heard) supports
    about 1800 Digital employees.  I saw no one whom I recognized as
    a manager.
    
    I left the DVN broadcast feeling good.  It was refreshing to hear
    a little of KO's view of Digital.  It was the first time in the
    two-plus years at Digital that I heard KO speak for more than 20
    seconds.  I encouraged as many people as possible to attend the
    afternoon showing.  I know of no one who attended.
    
    There is a serious problem here.  People don't seem to see the value
    in something like this.  People talk about having work to do.
    Residents can't afford the time to be off-site.  Many managers don't
    even communicate to their employees that the broadcast is at hand.
    
    It seems we can't see the forest, because we're too busy tending to
    the trees.
    
    IMHO,
    
    -- Russ

    For the same reason that we don't use those new things called computers
    very well either......there is little or no management backing or
    interest.........and there is never any money.
    
    Our data bases and admin systems are a disgrace.  Can you see Generous
    Motors waiting six weeks to find out how many cars it sold last month?

        RE: .2 --

>    One of the few buildings that is set up to efficiently distribute DVN
>    programs is MKO, where *every* conference room has a cable TV
>    connection.  I rarely see it used.  The guy who designed it and had it
>    built left in disgust a while ago.
        
        Until VERY recently, there was no way to view a DVN broadcast
        in MKO, but I am pleased to report that JUST THIS WEEK local
        (NHAS) LiveWire began listing a local DVN contact, instead
        of listing all the OTHER DVN sites in the corporation.
        
        Tom

        DVN, is not available in several foreign subsidiaries, including
        Australia...
        
        q
        

re:             <<< Note 926.5 by DR::BLINN "Bashed but unabashed" >>>
                          -< At last, DVN is in MKO! >-

>        Until VERY recently, there was no way to view a DVN broadcast
>        in MKO, but I am pleased to report that JUST THIS WEEK local

    I'm not sure I understand this, Tom. It's been almost two years since
    I left MK and they certainly did have DVN capability in a lot of
    (although not all) conference rooms in the facility before I left
    (at least at the south end, 2nd floor or MKO1). There were selected
    conference rooms which had the coax jacks to the broadband. The way
    it worked when I was there was that even if the site coordinator
    wasn't handling something publicly, you could still get a monitor
    in a conference room and watch, as the signal was on the wire if
    a broadcast was taking place (all passive reception).

re: .2

>    connection.  I rarely see it used.  The guy who designed it and had it
>    built left in disgust a while ago.

    Just so as not to confuse the issue, if you're thinking of the same
    guy I am (initials "RP"), he didn't actually leave in disgust over
    this issue. He took an LOA and is now back.

   -Jack

    I have, as a spokesperson for a group of SWS Managers, sent up the
    line a proposal that KO appear on DVN on a regular basis to talk
    to the masses. The proposal was 'detoured' and I'm not sure what
    happened, although Ken was on DVN two months later.
    
    The group I represented felt that we (Digital) needed to hear from
    Ken on a regular basis, for Morale, for Guidance, etc. The feedback
    we got was that Ken would speak on whatever he wanted to and would
    not necessarily say whatever the handlers wanted him to say (loose
    cannon). We said so what, he is the Founder isn't he?  Anyway,....      
                                                                      
    I do not understand why they do not broadcast the state of the company
    meetings. Also, why don't they broadcast around the world regularily?
    The last I heard most of our revenue was from outside the US.
    
    I do believe that regular LIVE broadcasts of Ken would be good for
    the company. It would be even better if we could phone in questions.
    Think of the problems that could cause!     
    
    Let's start a campaign for Ken on DVN.

    There has been a DVN receiver antenna at MKO for some time.  And
    everything that comes over it often turns up on the cable.  (Unless
    someone has gone and unplugged the tranmitter.)  And not just
    "selected" conference rooms, but every one of them.  Bidirectional,
    too.
    
    I was working at MKO during the last SotC meeting.  I tried to reserve
    a conference room and TV to watch, but they were all booked.  So I
    walked over to the MKO1 library, hooked one of their idle TVs to the
    outlet (the library has jacks too), and scanned the channels until I found
    something.  There was the whole thing, gavel to gavel, live.  (this
    was not a DVN feed, but direct from the conference in the MKO2
    cafeteria.)

        RE: .7 -- I only wish someone in MKO had bothered to communicate
        this information, instead of keeping it a deep, dark secret.  In
        the past, the DVN information for MKO LiveWire NEVER even hinted
        that you could view DVN broadcasts anywhere in MKO. 
        
        Perhaps I should have asked in ASKENET or here, instead of taking
        it on faith that the people preparing the DVN screens for MKO
        LiveWire were communicating useful, accurate, and complete
        information :^) 
        
        Tom

    In October, Silicon Valley startup Aapps Corp will be shipping
    MicroTV, a circuit board that plugs into an Apple Macintosh II
    and displays television images in miniature on the computer
    screen. The hardware accepts TV signals from videotape, laser
    disk, or camera and presents B&W images in 1.75x1.3 inch
    window. Other video cards are available, but cost a few thousand
    dollars. MicroTV's $395 price may help bring "multimedia"
    computing to hobbyists and consumers. Aapps of Mountain View
    California, was founded by Nolan Bushnell, who hired several
    former Apple engineers to design the TV on a board. They are
    working on a $595 version for year-end that will produce images
    four times as large. 
    {Business Week Sept 4, 1989}

    The MicroTV does more than just take video in.  It includes a complete
    cable-ready tuner.
    
    I've seen it and it works.  You can also copy the picture out of the
    little TV screen and paste it into any other document.  (128 grey
    levels)

    Just to clear the record....DVN in MKO has gone through a transition;
    the baton, for ensuring rooms are scheduled and other admin stuff,
    has just been passed from the Ed Svcs Media Group to NHAS.   You
    are entirely correct when you say that no proactive advertising
    of the service occurred for quite some time...Jan/Feb 89 through
    July 89...but this was do to shift in the Media Groups priorities
    rather than willful neglect.
    
    I am glad to say that this should no longer occur and that people
    should be able to count on DVN being available.

    One thing I don't understand at all is the lack of initiative in using
    the technology to solve our greatest problems, specifically TRAINING
    and COST OF TRAINING.  Why send thousands "out east" when you can
    easily send training materials to DVN sites and broadcast the training
    session?
    
    I just don't get it.  The cost of travel time (away from office),
    flying, boarding, feeding, and training one person at something such as
    D.U. has to be phenominally greater than the cost of a broadcast to
    that person.
    
    I was really excited when they hooked up the satellite dish on the 
    roof of our facility a couple years ago.  Now I say, "Big deal.".
    
    
    Jim

    For those of you wondering where to watch DVN in your local sites,
    I would suggest finding out who your DVN site manager is.  If, for
    example, MKO has a dish, then MKO most likely has someone who is
    supposed to be the site manager--the one who advertises, gets a
    room for and turns on the dish, so to speak.
    
    I am a DVN site manager in the Santa Clara Area.  I sent out a good
    deal of DVN info every time a broadcast is upcoming.  I also have
    posters which I post over in the other building.  As strictly a
    volunteer for this job (as all DVN site manager's are---it is not
    a job title or inherently part of a job description in most cases),
    and especially since I am located in a small (25 permanent staff)
    bulding well away from the larger buildings, this can be a hassle
    at times, but I do make sure the word gets out when and where people
    may watch a DVN broadcast, including State of the Company and various
    product and competitive training programs.  I have found that in
    a geographical area that must have 900 employees total, I average
    about 7 viewers on a 'good' day.  Other than leading them by the
    hand over here, I don't know what to do.  
    
    So I think DVN is indeed underutilized, by both by clients who can
    use it *and* the people who can watch it.  Instead, everyone wants
    a tape, which eliminates the need for the program entirely.  
    
    Just the perspective of one who is involved with the viewer end
    of DVN.....BTW, if you want to find out who your local site manager
    is, I would suggest contacting Mariann Polcari @BUO.  You can then
    get schedules from your local site manager.
    
    Regards,
    
    kim

> < Note 926.15 by JULIET::APODACA_KI "Never see what you wanna see..." >
>
>    ... As strictly a
>    volunteer for this job (as all DVN site manager's are---it is not
>    a job title or inherently part of a job description in most cases),...

How are we supposed to use a tool like this for corporate purposes
when support is on a volunteer basis?  You are saying that not only is it not
a priority, it's not even an acknowledged part of anyone's job?

- tom]

    If it is good enoug for this conference ...

Re: .16

	Tom, that type of position is called an OVERHEAD position and we
certainly don't want or need anymore of those now do we? (-;

    Re. 15?  Whoever quoted me...
    
    I did not mean to imply it wasn't a priority.  Only that the DVN
    manager is NOT a job within itself.  From the site manager's meeting
    (and we are out there  :)  most of the DVN site manager's are
    administrative staff, ie,secretaries and dept. Coordinators.  
    
    Not all site managers will hold DVN as a priority, especially when
    they have a "regular" job to do.  I happen to hold it as part of
    my "regular" job, altho it certainly does not fit in with a job
    description of a Sales/SWS Training registrar.  I put in the volunteer
    wording because many people think there is one person and that is
    ALL they do--DVN.  It's not a full time job, although it can be
    a part time headache, especially when no one comes to watch.
    
    If you want support for DVN in your facility/locale, my suggestion
    is to find out who your DVN site manager is, find out where viewing
    rooms are available and GET people to watch.  This might mean
    managerial support, or whatever.  If you dont' receive a schedule,
    ask the DVN site manager to put you on his/her mailing list.  My
    schedules are send out via a system wide notice--everyone will an
    account on the local clusters get them.  I can generally reach everyone
    in the area with an All in One account by sending it out this
    way--still, for all the people who have accounts, very few show
    up.  Which is discouraging.  And might be more so to other site
    managers who may feel (I really can't speak for them) that therefore
    DVN is not a priority.
    
    kim

    The replies here seem to indicate that DVN is a POTENTIALLY valuable
    tool - I haven't seen anything to support the contention that DVN
    should be pushed to a lower priority ...
    
    I personally think that DVN is better than sliced pizza and beer,
    but, we've yet to begin to tap it as a viable tool!!
    
    My office was in Lubbock, Texas, about 360 miles to the closest
    town, Dallas....no "big deal" since a one way ticket on Southwest
    airlines was about $70...but...then Lubbock became part of the Rocky
    Mountain District - now the resources are in Denver, Colorado. So,
    you fly to Dallas, change planes, and fly to Denver...if you can't
    spend $70 and 45 minutes to fly to Dallas, you sure aren't going
    to get $300-400 and spend 6 hours or so getting to Denver!!
    
    At that time, the cost of providing Lubbock with a down link was
    somewhere in the neighborhood of $15K.  What a fantastic idea!!
    People could *drive* the two hours or so from Amarillo, Midland,
    Odessa, Abilene, San Angelo and view a DVN broadcast ... and genuinely
    feel like they were part of the company that they work for - and
    - unquestionably learn something in the process....
    
    When I brought this subject up with management, it died a death
    at such a rapid pace as to appear not to dissimilar from being at
    ground zero at a nuclear test...

    I doubt seriously that the 40 or so people out there have yet to
    view their *first* DVN broadcast.
    
    Oh well .....
    
    Jerry

    My understanding is that the KAO DVN site videotapes all DVN broadcasts
    and makes them available for viewing by individuals or groups at more
    convenient times.  I suspect you could probably even talk the DVN
    co-ordinator into mailing you a videotape if you couldn't travel to see
    a particular broadcast, though I've never had the need.
    
    Maybe your DVN site does the same?  Of course that doesn't help for
    interactive-type broadcasts.

This topic has inspired me.

We will be giving a four day training course on VAX Vectors. I would
like to broadcast the more basic stuff over DVN. It could even be made
interactive by allowing questions to be phoned in or PHONEd or MAILed
in (assuming a terminal was made available in the viewing room).

How do I go about finding out if I can convince DVN to carry it?

How do I find out if sites involved in sales support would carry it
and make it available to their employees?

- Rich

    Re .22
    
    Contact the DVN offices in Bedford.  I might try calling Chris Rudomin
    first and ask her what it takes to get things "on the air".
    
    As for assuring viewers, you need to publicize.  That would mean
    you would need to get in touch with the appropriate people in each
    area and push your show.
    
    As for phone and mail, generally, phone-in questions are held during
    each broadcast.  Doubtful about the terminal--many conf rooms and
    site manager's probably wouldn't be able to put a terminal in there.
    
    Hope that helps, 
    
    kim

    
    Actually, DVN is CURRENTLY doing almost all of the applications
    you describe in your message.  We have a quarterly series entitled
    DQR: Digital Quarterly Report...this is a series sponsored by Corporate
    Employee Communications and features important messages and updates
    from senior Digital Managers.  We also do product announcements
    on a regular basis now........the next one being the Aquarius Product
    announcement on October 24th.
    
    DVN is installed in 74 locations across the United States and two
    in Canada.  We broadcast approximately 4 programs a month...most
    from the uplink in Bedford, Massachusetts.  We generally do not
    broadcast more than 6 programs a month, because there is a concern
    that all broadcasting is "need to know" information vs. "nice to
    know"........

    re: .24
    
    I saw the DQR on June 6.  Isn't it about time for another one? 
    I didn't see one on the September or October schedules in the DVN
    notes file.
    
    It would be nice if they would announce the existance of product
    announcement broadcasts (it isn't on the schedule I have).  Seems
    odd that only certain people "need to know" about our new products.
    
    DVN is only effective if people _know_ what's going to be on.  I
    know of _very_ few people around here who have any idea at all what
    will be on DVN this month.  And when key events are hidden (new
    product announcements) or sporadic (Digital sort-of-Quarterly Report?),
    the overall effectiveness of the medium is reduced considerably.
    
    Just my opinion.
    
    -- Russ

    Sorry if this is the wrong conference, but I've run out of places to
    look.  Our DVN/video person recently left DEC and the DVN conference is
    extinct.  I'd like to get DVN up and running again now.  Who can I 
    talk to about getting program updates, program channels, etc.?  We have 
    all the equipment, I just need a little guidance on dialing in to the 
    network.

    Thanks,
    Mike

    Try Ida Zecco at BYO