Meraki buy more than cloud Wi-Fi to Cisco

Could be Cisco's basis for broader cloud networking offers

Even though Meraki made a name for itself in cloud-based WLANs, Cisco's long-term goals for its new acquisition go beyond just Wi-Fi.

Cisco acquired Meraki on Sunday for $1.2 billion. Meraki is a privately held company that specializes in cloud-based management of wireless LAN, security appliances, and mobile devices for midmarket companies.

HOT MARKET: Top Tech M&A deals in 2012

But analysts see Meraki's infrastructure playing a much broader role at Cisco over time. Indeed, Meraki becomes Cisco's new Cloud Networking Group.

"Meraki is to become the new 'Cloud Networking Group,' which would imply more than just Wi-Fi," says Mike Spanbauer of Current Analysis.

Mark Fabbi of Gartner agrees.

"It's pretty clear Cisco bought Meraki because of their ability to manage cloud infrastructure and Meraki has proven that the model works and is robust," Fabbi says. "I would expect that it will become the platform for Cisco to offer different delivery and management models to a much broader product and customer set."

Cisco Senior Vice President Rob Soderbery said Meraki will appeal to midsize companies that have the same IT needs as larger organizations, but without the resources to integrate complex IT systems. Meraki's infrastructure is already used by thousands of customers to manage hundreds of thousands of devices, he said.

Zeus Kerravala sees Meraki playing a key role in Cisco's Cisco ONE programmable networking strategy and its onePK API set.

"It's more cloud management than Wi-Fi," says Zeus Kerravala of ZK Research. "It's software control pushed into the cloud. It's a front-end to onePK on the back-end. Cloud networking is actually the long term value."

Jon Oltsik of Enterprise Strategy Group sees Meraki as a delivery model for some Cisco technologies that currently require on premise hardware.

"I see Meraki as the managed networking part of the cloud strategy," he says. "Think of Cisco technologies like TrustSec, ISE, QoS, WLAN, etc. Cisco makes these things work with its own hardware and software to offer solutions with central policies, reporting, etc. The problem is that not everyone wants to buy or operate this stuff. I can manage network policy in the cloud or on-premise and it's likely that Cisco will integrate the two for a common solution."

Fabbi says that even though Meraki will be anchoring the new Cloud Networking Group, it won't be Cisco's only cloud offering. They already have cloud-based WebEx conferencing, unified communications and IronPort security services.

But Meraki could very well become Cisco's biggest cloud offering, he says.

"They wouldn't have spent over $1 billion for some WLAN bits and pieces," Fabbi says.

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Wearable computers: The next generation

Wearable computers: The next generation
Computing devices you can wear are still in their infancy, but a host of clever new designs are in the works. Get a peek at the brave new world of wearable computers, from sensor-laden surgical gloves to workout clothes that monitor your moves.
Think your tablet or smartphone is the utmost in personal computing? Soon you could be wearing your digital electronics -- from shoes that can guide you to your destination to electronic tattoos that monitor physiological conditions.

While there are several wearable computing devices already available, they're just the tip of the technological iceberg. Dozens of new designs are popping up that take these ideas to a new level. There's no saying if or when the devices that follow will be developed into commercial products, but all are working prototypes that show what's possible -- and some you can make yourself today. Think of this as a virtual fashion show for the near future.

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Four (or more) eyes: Lumus OE-31 and Google Project Glass

There's a lot of action going on in augmented reality headsets these days, such as the Lumus OE-31 prototype (far left). Its chunky black frames house dual 640-x-360-pixel see-through displays with superimposed videos, email, directions and more. There could be a commercial version for around $500 next year.

But Google's Project Glass (near left) gets the most attention, particularly after models wore prototypes at New York's Fashion Week in September. Details are scant, but the sleek aluminum wraparound frames trade lenses for a tiny color display near the right eye. The screen overlays a digital image on top of the wearer's field of view or pops a menu out on the side. Google hopes to release the glasses next year at $1,500.

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Computing on a Wimm: Wimm One

What if you wore your computer like jewelry? Wimm Labs has put together an open-source microsystem that just might become part of your apparel.

Based on heavily modified Android software, the 1.5 x 1.5 x 0.5-in. device weighs just 0.77 oz. and can be clipped to a bag strap, put on a shirt collar or worn like a pendant. The tiny system, called the Wimm One, offers 32GB of storage space, has a 1.4-in. multitouch screen and supports Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

Wimm hopes developers will extend both the hardware and software to create new devices and simple apps that run on them. Currently available apps focus on simple, personal tasks like getting Twitter updates and tracking how many calories you burned working out.

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On the right path: No Place Like Home GPS shoes

As soon as you see these shoes, you'll want a pair. Designed by artist Dominic Wilcox and custom-made by Stamp Shoes, this digitally aware footwear houses a GPS chip, a pair of microcontrollers and an antenna. The left shoe points you in the right direction with a compass-like circle of LEDs on its toe, while the right shoe's row of LEDs indicates progress to your destination.

Before setting out, you'll need to figure out your route on a computer, transfer it to the shoe with a USB cable and then click the heels together to start the journey. Saying "There's no place like home" is optional. These bespoke shoes cost £1,100 (about $1,750); we can only hope for a mass-produced version someday.

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Wave your hands in the air: Sixth Sense

Developed at the MIT Media Lab, Pranav Mistry's Sixth Sense system can augment our five natural senses with a digital one. Worn around the neck like a very large pendant, Sixth Sense includes a tiny projector and mirror that can shine an image onto just about any surface, as well as a camera that reads your hand gestures.

You'll have to wear color-coded finger bands so that the camera can make out what you want, but this nano-computer is perfect for interacting with a projected map, flicking through projected photos or dialing a phone number on a projected keypad (see video). While you can't buy Sixth Sense yet, Mistry says that you can build one for about $350 in parts.

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A touch screen anywhere: Wearable Multitouch Projector

You run the risk of looking like the Borg from Star Trek, but wearing Hrvoje Benko's shoulder-mounted Wearable Multitouch Projector lets you make your own touch interface on any surface. Created at Microsoft's corporate research lab, Benko's machinery uses the company's motion-sensing Kinect hardware and a micro-projector to create a virtual zone of interactivity.

You control the projected images using familiar gestures such as tapping, pinching and zooming to do anything from making a phone call to getting directions from mapping software. The good news is that Benko thinks the ungainly rig can be miniaturized to something that's smaller, lighter and less reminiscent of an alien invader.

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Good sports: Workout clothes with BioModule sensor

Today, sensors that measure a person's physiological conditions are typically adhered to the skin or strapped to the body in a setup like Zephyr Technology's BioHarness. But soon they'll be incorporated into athletes' workout wear. Zephyr's BioModule circular chest sensor weighs less than an ounce and snaps into a compression shirt like Under Armour's E39 (coming in 2013), which was demonstrated at last year's NFL Scouting Combine.

The 1-in. disk measures heart and breathing rates as well as skin temperature, while an accelerometer monitors the player's movements and speed. It transmits its data as far as 1,000 feet to a PC running Zephyr's Windows-based OmniSense software, which can track up to 50 athletes simultaneously.

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Extra sensory perception: Sensor-laden fingertip tubes

We spend a lot of time touching keyboards, mice and screens, but John Rogers of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign wants to bring the interface directly to the finger. That's the idea behind his prototype finger tube (PDF). Micro-thin sensors on the surface detect things like acidity, and layers of gold circuitry melded into its thin silicone material process the data.

When it finds what it's looking for, the circuit transmits a small electrical signal that feels like a tingle to the wearer's skin. Rogers is working on integrating the finger-tingler into surgical gloves that, with the help of an MRI or X-ray image, could guide a surgeon to a hidden tumor or injury.

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Tattoo you: Epidermal electronics

Temporary tattoos may be all the rage, but Todd Coleman of the University of California at San Diego has created functional tattoos. Called epidermal electronics, these ultra-thin electronic patches bend and stretch with the skin while sensing a patient's skin temperature, brain waves or heartbeat patterns and transmitting the data wirelessly to a hospital computer. A grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is allowing Coleman to complete a fetal monitor patch that sits on a pregnant mother's belly and monitors the baby's heart rate, oxygen level and other vital stats.

Nokia could take this idea in another direction with its recent patent filing for an e-tattoo that would silently alert you to an incoming call or text with a vibration.

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Light up my life: Flora kit

Digital DIYers take note: Adafruit's Flora kit computer can open new horizons for innovators. Only 1.75 in. across and weighing less than 0.2 oz., the circular circuit board has a 16MHz Atmel ATmega32U4 processor and 2.5KB of memory. Currently in beta, Flora uses open-source code that is loaded via a USB connector; it works with Macs, Windows PCs and Linux systems.

Flora can control hundreds of LEDs sewn into clothing for a fashion-forward look. With GPS, an accelerometer and a digital compass, it can react to where you are and what you're doing. To make an impact at a party, for instance, program Flora to light up your shirt when you enter the room. (More ideas in the included tutorials and projects.)

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Second sight: The Tacit Project glove

A serial inventor, Steve Hoefer is working on helping the blind see with sound. His Tacit Project is a fingerless neoprene glove that uses sonar and haptics to help the wearer avoid physical obstacles. It can sense objects up to 10 feet away with an array of transceivers that measure the time gap between sending out ultrasonic pulses and receiving their reflection.

The 3 oz. glove translates the data into a virtual map of what lies ahead, applying gentle pressure on the wrist to alert the wearer that something's ahead. You can't buy it, but you can build one yourself for roughly $90 in parts.

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The Benefits of Cataract Lens Surgery

There is plenty of help available for people who are affected by cataracts. In the early stages when the cataract is small there are eye drops that can help delay the process of the cataract spreading. Even some lifestyle changes like improvements to diet can help stem the expansion of the cataract. Ultimately, however, if no surgical treatment is received, the cataract will spread across the eye and cause blindness. Having surgery may sound very daunting, but the procedure is, in fact, very straight forward, safe and quick. Plus, there is very little recovery time needed. This is a guide to the main benefits of cataract lens surgery.

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Benefit 1. The cataract is dealt with
There is no denying that cataract surgery removes the cataract instantly. But if you are thinking of having cataract surgery you should also consider refractive lens exchange which will not only remove the cataract but also correct your vision, which is ideal for those over the age of 50. It works by removing the existing lens of the eye where the cataract has formed and replacing it with an artificial lens.


Benefit 2. The cataract cannot come back
As well as removing the cataract altogether, the artificial lens cannot be affected by cataracts in the future. The artificial lens can never become hardened or become cloudy in the way that a natural lens can. Once your cataract has been removed and your eyesight has returned, you can be sure it will remain clear and bright long into the future.

Benefit 3. Eye sight is fully restored
Many patients do not realise quite how bad their cataract was and when their sight is returned to them they cannot believe the difference. A cataract can cause sensitivity to bright lights. It can also cause double and blurred vision and halos to be seen around lights. They can even cause complete blindness if left untreated. Once the lens has been replaced however all these problems will instantly disappear.

Benefit 4. No more wearing glasses
If you have had to rely on glasses or contact lenses for any period of time you will know what being able to get rid of them for good will mean. If the cataract is removed during a refractive lens exchange procedure other eye problems such as long and short sightedness, also known as refractive errors, will also be corrected and eye sight is completely restored so any glasses or contact lenses can be disposed of for good. This form of cataract surgery truly brings a new lease of life to anyone who undergoes treatment.


Benefit 5. Recovery period is very short
It takes just a few days to recover from cataract surgery. Patients are often back at work in a few days. Sometimes there may be some swelling or redness following surgery but this can be helped with some eye drops that the surgeon will provide. A good rest is necessary immediately following surgery and of course no rubbing or touching of the eye, but normal life returns literally a couple of days following the surgery.

Benefit 6. Suitable for people with astigmatism
Refractive lens exchange is a treatment which is also suitable for people with astigmatism which many forms of eye surgery aren’t. Astigmatism is an irregularity in the shape of the cornea, so instead of being round it is oval and can cause images to focus on the retina incorrectly normally distorting them and causing blurry vision at all distances.

People considering cataract lens surgery should also seriously consider refractive lens exchange as they will be able to fix their eyesight aswell in the same surgery and prevent the cataracts from returning. The surgery puts an end to eye problems immediately. The procedure is very similar to a standard cataract operation procedure except that the patient will get a lens which also corrects their vision. It is quick, just 20 minutes per eye.

Self-Adjustable Eyeglass Lenses

In developed countries, getting glasses is a simple matter: Visit an optometrist, get a prescription and have it filled at a corner store. Not so in the developing world, where there are few optometrists and little money for luxuries like eyeglasses.

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Enter Joshua Silver, an atomic physicist at Oxford with a penchant for tinkering. “I like to experiment,” he said. “Take things apart and figure out how they work.”

In the 1980s, he began a do-it-yourself project making lenses whose focusing power could be changed by the user. He designed and built a liquid-filled packet made of two flexible transparent membranes — a liquid lens. Adding or draining liquid changes the curvature, making the lens stronger or weaker.

“I realized after a few months that I could make a very good lens — good optically, but not for glasses,” Dr. Silver said. “I started some dialogue with the World Health Organization and found the director of the program for the prevention of blindness. I asked him how many people in the world needed glasses and don’t have them. He said it was about a billion.”

Working with a British government grant, Dr. Silver developed a practical pair of adjustable eyeglasses. The two lenses are filled with clear silicone fluid, and there is a dial on each arm. The user puts on the glasses and then twists each dial until vision in both eyes is satisfactory.

The glasses do not correct for astigmatism, Dr. Silver said. “Many people, if you just correct their spherical refractive error, you get vision good enough to function.”

The glasses are not beautiful. The thick frames resemble those worn by Jean-Paul Sartre. But the dial and pump can be removed after adjustment. More than 30,000 pairs are in use by adults worldwide, and a study financed by the World Bank is testing a version for use by teenagers.

Dr. Silver is director of the Center for Vision in the Developing World, and his goal is to see a billion people wearing the eyeglasses they need by 2020. “We are trying to reduce the cost both by design and increased volume,” he said. NICHOLAS BAKALAR

Keeping the Sun at Bay and the Water Away

SUN rays reflecting off the ocean can be blinding, not to mention harmful to one’s eyes. Still, surfers have long resisted wearing protective sunglasses or goggles because they were too easy to lose, too likely to become foggy or waterlogged.

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But now there is ventilated, draining eyewear made to be worn while surfing, windsurfing, kayaking and jet skiing. Adjustable straps keep them secure during spills.

Some of these impact-resistant frames for watersports have long been available. Just as it took a long while for surfers to start wearing zinc-based sunblock, said Chris Coté, the editor of Transworld Surf magazine, they are only now starting to wear sunglasses to protect against cataracts and pterygium, a fleshy growth on the white part of your eye caused by prolonged sun exposure.

To see if watersport glasses made a difference, Katie Coryell, a professional surfer and instructor at Surf Diva, a school for women and girls in La Jolla, Calif., wore them on the water for a week. She was eager to try them, she said, because “some of my contemporaries already have eye problems, and I have a lot of years of surfing ahead of me.”

FCC OKs on-body medical networks

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission adopted rules at a meeting on Wednesday to allow wireless networks of microstimulators designed to treat paralysis and other conditions.

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The agency approved the use of MMNs (medical micropower networks) in four blocks of the 400MHz spectrum band despite opposition from broadcast engineers who say they are concerned about interference. One of the frequency blocks is used by trucks that send live media reports back to TV and radio stations.

Microstimulators implanted next to nerves can stimulate those nerves through electrical charges, causing muscles to contract and limbs to move. MMNs can link dozens of those stimulators to devices that take in signals from the human nervous system, bypassing areas of the nervous system that have been impaired by strokes or spinal cord or brain injuries.

The Alfred Mann Foundation (AMF), which has developed prototype MMNs, sought access to the spectrum for these systems in 2009. It did not seek exclusive access to the frequencies and said the new networks could coexist with other users. In a press release on Wednesday, the FCC called the new rules an example of how "spectrum-agile" radios can make more efficient use of scarce spectrum.

In a related development, the agency's Office of Engineering and Technology issued an order allowing Second Sight Medical Products to sell a retinal prosthesis that uses wireless transmissions to restore sight to the blind through a miniature video camera mounted on a pair of glasses. The camera sends images to a video processing unit, and the video is then sent wirelessly to a neurostimulator implanted on the eye. It is designed for people with advanced retinal degenerative disease.

Expert information on the condition or health of your eyes

In Great Britain, there are college and university courses which can supply ophthalmology degrees. Educational institutions offering these include the Royal College of Glasgow, The Royal College of Ophthalmologists and Royal College of Edinburgh. A qualification from one of those universities must be held by ophthalmologist to carry on their career in the UK. When the postgraduate has passed their course, the majority of the students usually obtain a placement within the NHS to develop practical skills and experience. In fact, many of the major laser eye specialists run programs to help people become entirely qualified ophthalmologists. However, most of the time these are vocational courses, which are taken after acquiring a postgraduate qualification.

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The specific technology being used by ophthalmologists will change depending on the eye condition being treated. For an invasive cornea surgical operation a Ziemer LDV Femtosecond precision laser is used. This piece of equipment enables a surgeon to operate on an eye without the need for a blade. A new form of non-invasive imaging technology, OCT (Ocular Coherence Tomographer), is being used increasingly for mapping the shape, size and contours of an eye. For more complicated and specialist ailments there is also treatments such as Anti-VEGF drugs and Fluorescein angiography. These are only a few examples of the procedures and equipment currently in use by professional ophthalmologists.


Lasik eye surgery is a style of refractive surgery used to correct hyperopia, myopia and astigmatism. This form of surgery is usually one alternative to wearing lenses or corrective glasses, which many people do not like to wear everyday. In certain aspects the procedure is similar to other surgical corrective procedures such as refractive surgery and photo-refractive keratectomy, making it a quick fix solution to eye sight disorders. In the procedure the cornea is reshaped and remodelled. The possibility of the eye rejecting the surgery does exist and it could revert back to its original state, however any other side effects will be at a minimum.

Patients require a cornea transplant or graft when their cornea becomes permanently possibly through disease or external damage. If for instance a person develops Fuchs dystrophy (a degenerative corneal disease which affects both of the eyes) or Keratoconus (a disorder which affects the structure and shape of the cornea) then a cornea transplant is the final solution. This is where donated corneal tissue is grafted onto a damaged eye to restore the eye back to full health - the graft coming from a donor who has just passed away. cornea transplant or Keratoconus surgery are often the final option for corneal diseases - in the vast majority of cases, the conditions can be easily treated by simply wearing corrective lenses.


There are a variety of surgeries within a number of locations. On the whole the surgeries for eye treatment take place in big cities like Sheffield, Newcastle or Cardiff. It makes sense to look at laser eye surgery in London for any treatment centres close by for eye surgery. The surgeries are extremely reputable, often leading to longer waiting lists. A positive aspect of this is that the treatment clinic staff have a huge amount of experience. In particular cases, they may be coupled with officially recognised opticians so a simple suggestions is to have a chat with your own optician for their recommendations prior to speaking to an eye surgeon.

Macular degeneration is a painless condition which leads to a gradual loss of vision in the macula because of damage to the retina. When it develops the disease can affect vision when reading and recognising faces, however side vision or peripheral vision is usually unaffected. There are two main types of the progressive disease; dry and wet. The first is caused when cellular debris accumulates behind the retina, whilst wet macular degeneration is regarded as more serious and is caused by an abnormal growth of blood vessels behind the retina. As the effects of macular degeneration can usually be halted by taking vitamins or mineral supplements eye surgery is usually not necessary.