What is system integration ("SI")? Especially during the
past few years, SI has radically changed. Originally, the business was
based largely on the interconnection of various independent physical components.
Today's market requires the melding of data and data networks across multiple
hardware platforms and software applications, with software issues dominating.
SI increasingly requires a different skill set for its designers and
users, including extensive software training. One systems integrator summed
it up when he said, "Go to NBC today and compare their network operations
center with their IT [computer] department. In many ways, the two are identical."
In addition to understanding the shift toward software, people entering
the integration field must beware of its pitfalls, including the "feast
or famine" cyclical nature of the business, with cycles lasting up to five
years. The evolving systems integration business may be a challenging field,
but it's also a cutthroat one!
John will deliver some difficult news to Napa students, although we
hope they will also recognize some inherent opportunities in SI. On the
other hand, M.T. Silvia, whom we know from her work at Pixar Animation
Studios, has some rather good news for media producers. She will talk about
her new independent production, "Picardy Drive", a film about an Oakland
neighborhood. The all-digital production has received good reviews and
is scheduled to be shown on KQED-TV, San Francisco, as part of an upcoming
independent film series. M.T. produced the film for under $10,000, using
off-the-shelf digital tools, some of the very same inexpensive, digital
gear that is radically changing the world of system integration.
Attendees of past annual SMPTE-SF Napa Valley College events have enjoyed
the wonders of the area after the show, including some great nearby restaurants
and winery tours. See you there!
Welcome: SMPTEsf welcomes members and friends to attend without
charge.
Location:
Napa Valley College Telecommunications Department
2277 Napa Vallejo Highway (State Highway 221)
Napa, CA 94558-6236
Building: 900 - TV Studio: left of Theater
lobby
See the maps & link below. Signs will be posted
at the campus and building entrances.
If you're coming from theEast Bay, take I-80 north through
Vallejo. Look for the Solano County Fairgrounds and Marine World on your
left.
Take the Marine World Parkway west over the freeway toward Marine World.
Posted highway signs alternate between calling the road "Marine World Parkway"
and "Columbus Parkway".
Continue past the Marine World turn-off until you reach Sonoma Blvd. (Hwy
29). Turn right (north). Some signs may identify it as the "Napa-Vallejo
Highway".
If you're coming from Marin via US 101, simply take Hwy 37
to Hwy 29 (Sonoma Blvd.).
Once on Hwy 29, when you pass the Napa Airport exit, the road will
split; ignore the branch going to the left (Hwy 29 and Hwy 12) and continue
on what becomes Hwy 221.
You'll pass a park on your left and beyond, take the marked left turn to
Napa Valley College.
Follow the signs for the college. If you get to Imola Ave., you've gone
to far.
Once on campus, take the first right and head toward the parking lot at
the north end of the campus. (There will be SMPTE signs to direct you.)
Parking permits aren't enforced on Saturdays.
Near the buildings, you'll find three flag poles close together along the
edge of the parking lot. Walk between the flagpoles and past some bear
sculptures until you see building 900 on the right. That's the theater
building. Enter the lobby and go left into the TV studio.
