Volume 14, Issue 4 — February 16, 2021

rAVe ED [Education] — Volume 14, Issue 4

February 16, 2021 | Volume: 14 | Issue: 4

Hello, this is our biweekly check-in. How is everyone doing? How are things at your respective schools, colleges and universities? You know, under the circumstances, that is. I am thrilled that each day that passes means we’re hopefully closer to trade shows! I miss meeting you guys in person. I miss having a microphone on the show floor (even though I am probably loud enough to do without). I miss hearing about everyone else’s career paths into the industry.

However, I am very grateful that rAVe has LAVNCH. This is the closest I’ve gotten to that feeling I get at every trade show. So, if you’ve reached out to me to say hey at any of our past LAVNCH events, I appreciate you. I write about all this not to be completely random but to get you in the mindset for Daniel Shatzkes’ column about the pros and cons of virtual and in-person trade shows. I’ll start:

— Pros to virtual: I get to roll out of bed and literally just show up. No driving. No rushing. No dashing around for 12 hours a day.

— Cons: I miss making friends and meeting all of you in person. I miss seeing all the newest product releases in person.

Also, this week, we have a cyberattack so nice, the BlogSquad wrote about it twice! Just kidding, the Solarwinds attack was actually horrible and kind of a rude awakening to everyone in the security realm. But why should you care in AV? First, check out Paul Konikowski’s analysis for a general understanding of what happened and how — then check out Scott Tiner’s take on why the AV community should take heed.

We also have some great product releases and updates, and a phenomenal wrap-up of End User Day of LAVNCH WEEK 3.0 by Leah McCann.

Enjoy!

— Steph Beckett

COLUMNS

+ Going Virtual [Daniel Shatzkes]

I can remember a time, long ago, when people with shared interests used to meet in large gatherings. They would travel from far and wide and journey to a single location in order to sell their wares, share stories, renew old friendships and make new connections. By day, these travelers would converge to discuss their trades, goods and commodities. By night, revelry was the norm, with celebrations of food, drink and feelings of mirth among the masses of friends and comrades. These pilgrimages were fondly referred to as TRADE SHOWS. Maybe you’ve heard of them. Maybe you even remember them.

+ Securing AV: The SolarWinds Attack of 2020 (Actually 2019) [Paul Konikowski]

While most Americans are still processing the recent attack on the United States Capitol building, many cybersecurity researchers and professionals believe the real war began online back in 2020. Some are calling it the “cyberpandemic” as forewarned just six months before at the 2020 World Economic Forum.

+ Lessons From the SolarWinds Hack [Scott Tiner]

In mid-December, news broke about a massive cyber breach that occurred through SolarWinds software. There is a chance (I hope not) that many in the AV community briefly looked at this, decided it was an IT issue and moved on. If you did, I think that was a mistake — and want to tell you why.

+ Crew Call: It’s a Jungle in Here [Joel Rollins]

Every environment has its own homegrown bugs, and videoconferencing is no different. Whether you are running the meeting, or simply sitting still, hoping your RAF (Resting Attentive Face) has convinced the meeting organizer you are paying attention, it’s a good idea to know the creatures that are waiting for you in the virtual meeting biosphere.