I mentioned attending John Chambers' keynote at CES in January. We've just published an in-depth analysis of Cisco's consumer strategy following other interviews and discussions with Cisco personnel. Of course one can always be cynical about the real intentions of any CEO speech. Boosting the share price is usually fairly high on the priority list; in this case rallying the many Cisco troops in the audience also seemed to be an objective. But one way or another a company is reflected in the leadership that comes from the top, so Chambers' vision, while it may not be shared to the last letter by every one of his employees, is worth listening to for a statement of where the company might be heading over the longer term. Our analysis (published to clients here) suggests one major disconnect in the open standards vision offered by the CEO and the reality of one of his key consumer division's long-time business model. Scientific-Atlanta (S-A) has always pursued a vertical strategy in the best interests of its core client base, the cable industry. So it is not quite clear how a world of open IP-based consumer technologies will match with S-A's traditional business model. Nevertheless the Cisco perspective is a compelling one and major CE players should watch the company closely for any signs that it is making progress. Current industry leaders like Sony, Panasonic, Samsung and Apple would be the first to suffer if Cisco turns its Human Network vision into commercial reality.