By Graham K. Rogers

One of my former students sent me a message overnight with a picture of Tim Cook, writing, "Saw this guy and suddenly thought of u". He is currently in Las Vegas and at the event he was attending, Cook announced a link with CISCO, the well-known networking and router company.

Cook likened this to a marriage, although in a personal reference added that he couldn't talk about it much when it comes to that, which amused many in the audience. Coming only a week before Apple's own Event (9 Sep) at the Bill Graham Center, this is bound to add to the speculation about what might be announced then.

With the wide-use of CISCO devices in the enterprise, this is a pitch by Apple for better connectivity of iOS devices and computers within businesses. Writing on Seeking Alpha, Eric Jhonsa comments that the companies intend to "create a "fast lane" for iPhones/iPads - communicating via Cisco's networking hardware".

Also in the announcement were comments on better links between Apple devices and CISCO's teleconferencing products. Other positives from Johnsa's comments include a reminder of the IBM partnership and more enterprise-focused iOS apps from developers.

The article made a reference too, to the Apple TV which many sites are beginning to sense may be in next week's announcements.

All Photos by Pakorn Tientongtip

Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs. He is now continuing that in the Bangkok Post supplement, Life.