Beyond VoIP

Global IP Sound (GIPS) is making a GIPS VoiceEngine Mobile Lite software platform available for free to the GIPS Developer Community.

Based on the VoiceEngine Mobile platform, VoiceEngine Mobile Lite includes some components of the core GIPS technology used by many leading VoIP solutions providers including Skype, Tencent, and Inter-tel. With VoiceEngine Mobile Lite, developers can implement GIPS codecs as well as NetEQ, an advanced jitter buffer and packet loss concealment module, without having to license the solution. GIPS VoiceEngine Mobile Lite today supports Windows Mobile 2003, Windows Mobile 5.0 and 5.0 Smartphone devices with real-time performance Wi-Fi.

GIPS is partnering with a number of companies to offer additional mobile VoIP development tools. Continue Reading...

All self-respecting geeks know about the great value and selection of tech products that are available at newegg.com -- the site is a bonanza for deals, especially if you're a DIY (Do It Yourself) type of person. I've bought countless gizmos, cables and adapters, printers, and other essential and just plain cool tech items from them for years, and I think they have the best and deepest selection in many hard-to find-categories. The site is also a treasure trove for customer ratings, feedback and tips relating to the products in stock.

After checking the latest deals, I came across some great VoIP Open-Box specials (products that have been opened or returned but work just fine) -- specifically the NETGEAR SPH101 Skype WiFi Phone, on sale for $209.99 -- a savings of about $100.

Get 'em while you can! Continue Reading...

Snom recently demonstrated compatibility with it's SIP-compliant IP phones and Microsoft's Exchange Server 2007.  What do users gain? Simply, users can access Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 services and hear messages with the touch of a key on a snom phone. The automatic speech recognition function lets users remotely control all features, and provides users with the ability to listen to e-mails, journal entries, contact data, and calendar entries through the snom phone.

Om Malik has built up quite a little blog empire, and for good reason: he consistently comes up with timely and interesting posts.

One such post back in September caught me eye, as it is an explanation, in large part, as to why Vonage and other "third-party" broadband VoIP service providers are having such a tough slog in the consumer marketplace (exempting Skype and other PC-based IM/Web telephony services).

According to Cable Data News, and reported by Om, North American cable operators (including those from North of the border) are signing up nearly 11,000 customers a day, and now have close to 4.7 million subscribers. Other notable stats include losses at AT&T of 426,000 lines due to this migration to broadband VoIP service. Continue Reading...

If you were just getting comfortable with all the terminology, features and benefits related to Intel's Core 2 dual core processors, get ready to get uncomfortable all over again: Intel has just introduced it's first version of a quad-core processor -- the high-end Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700.

At a suggested retail price of $999, the QX6700 is mainly for ever-tech hungry early adopters and power users. The chip boasts four cores running at a  2.66GHz-per-core clock speed, and two separate 4MB L2 cache allotments -- giving each pair of cores a 4MB cache pool to draw on.

On the heels of the chip announcement, Dell and Gateway let loose that they are building two PCs that incorporate the QX6700. Dell's system is the Quad-Core XPS 710 -- basically the same system as the dual core XPS 700, but with a more turbocharged graphics setup and, of course, the new chip. The new Quad-Core Gateway FX530XL boasts a superb array of components for a sticker price apparently under $4,000.

According to Intel's quad-core release schedule, we should see more plebian, and less expensive, versions of the chip for sale sometime in the first quarter of 2007 -- and a host of new home and business PCs incorporating the technology. Continue Reading...

In an effort to serve up information about new gizmos entering the rapidly expanding Skype product ecosystem, the company has created a new blog called Skype Gear, dedicated exclusively to the world of Skype-related hardware.

A cursory look at the site reveals some useful news, comments, reviews and behind-the-scenes information related to some of the more interesting Skype gadgets, including the new Belkin WiFi Skype Phone, the cordless Philips VOIP841, and NetGear's SPH101 WiFi phone.

A huge milestone was reached this past October, according to Internet monitoring company Netcraft. According to the company, there are now 100 million Web sites with domain names and content on them, with about half that many rated as "active" sites that are updated on a regular basis.

And the pace of Web growth appears to be only accelerating: When Netcraft began keeping track of the Web in August, 1995, there were just 18,000 sites in existence. It took until May of 2004 to reach the 50 million milestone, and then only 30 more months to hit the 100 million mark this past month.

Netcraft credits the low cost, and ease of domain registration and new, powerful Web site builders that have taken the complexity out of building Web sites. Much of the growth is attributed to small business, personal and yes, new blog-related sites. Continue Reading...

According to a new study from Insight Research entitled “IP-Based Application Services Market 2006-2011" a wide array of new Internet-enabled communications services geared to the needs of consumers is expected to generate nearly $265 billion for phone companies and other telecommunications carriers worldwide over the next five years.

These new Internet-enabled services include residential video telephony; fixed-mobile convergence; file sharing services; streaming services; location-based services; and presence-based services.

What's more, the study notes that wireless and mobile telecommunications carriers seem to be making the most headway when it comes to offering these new services, mainly because they tend to have greatest amount of control over the content in their networks as well as more flexible billing platforms. Wireline carriers expect operational and infrastructure savings by deploying the new IP-based services, and are initially choosing to rollout the new services as an overlay on their existing network.

For more info, including an excerpt, table of contents, and ordering information, go to: http://www.insight-corp.com/reports/ipapps06.asp.
Continue Reading...

For those of you who thought mainframe computers were completely passe, washed away in the wake of a flood of powerful, cheap servers -- surprise! Far from disappearing from the IT ecosystem, mainframes are in fact making a big comeback, according to an interesting piece on CNN.com today.

In fact, according to the piece, IBM's mainframe revenues are up 25% this quarter -- to an estimated $2.3 billion for the first nine months of the year -- which makes it the fastest growing division for the company after microprocessors!

Who'd a thunk that?!

Blip.tv, a leading hoster and distributor of Internet TV shows and videoblogs that gained a good deal of traction due to its embrace of online video phenom Amanda Congdon, has come out with a redesigned homepage that reinforces the site's position as a major destination for online video content.

Perhaps more interesting from a Web 2.0 perspective -- as well as from a distribution angle -- is the site's new "cross posting' feature that allows show creators to quickly and easily send videos hosted by blip.tv to their MySpace friends with one click.

Blip.tv's MySpace integration allows content creators a new way to distribute videos throughout the Web for maximum exposure and enhances blip.tv's existing distribution platform that allows users to send videos to Wordpress, TypePad, Movable Type, Flickr, iTunes, del.icio.us, Upcoming.org, Dabble and a number of other Web services.


Continue Reading...

A new Java-based click-to-talk solution from Mexuar Communications, a private UK company, promises to deliver browser- and platform-neutral, free IP call capabilities for commercial websites.

The Corraleta Technology SDK enables development of click-to-talk functionality on any website, allowing visitors to use their Web browser and PC to make free calls and talk with sales or contact center support staff. Other possible applications include click-to-call buttons that trigger callbacks from support staff to a specific telephone number, emails embedded with click to call functionality, and pay-per-call online banner advertising.

The Corraleta SDK uses Java to deliver VoIP across multiple browsers and 3rd party, white-label applications, providing platform-agnostic integration between traditional phone systems and core business applications, whether on the company internal network or on the Web. This contrasts with rival solutions that use ActiveX and work only with Windows platforms and the Internet Explorer browser.

In addition to enabling IP calls, the Corraleta SDK can also delivers information about the user’s online experience to the merchant’s customer service agent when the call is initiated. The agent software can display this information directly or use it to trigger lookups in company databases to retrieve details such as customer records, purchase histories, etc.
Continue Reading...

Only three VoIP players "made list" on the current Deloitte 2006 Technology Fast 500, a ranking of the 500 fastest growing companies in North America.

To determine the fastest growing companies, Deloitte calculated the revenue growth percentage over five years, from 2001-2005.

Cbeyond came in at #22, M5 at #54 and Broadsoft at #99. M5 made the list in no small part due to its blazing revenue growth of 4,445% -- more than double the average increase of 2,145% among the 500 companies on the list.

The VP of Engineering of a company that will remain nameless here has contacted me looking for an consulting expert who is hands on and up-to-date with regards to how broadcast TV or studio signals are moved over the Internet to a CDN for distribution over an IP wired or wireless network.

This company is seeking an individual who has strong experience using existing equipment/protocols/systems to solve real-world problems, and not someone who specializes in designing next gen networks.

Knowledge of the following is required:

• Relaying video signals over IP channels
• IPTV architecture
• ATM vs. IP for video transfer
• Knowledge of current standards, including codecs, formats, QoS, and Protocols
• Knowledge of current industry practices, including popular hardware for signal relay over IP, bandwidth issues, integration best practices, and SLAs.

If you are such an individual, or know of someone who would make a good candidate for this assignment, please contact me directly and I will put you in touch with the company. Continue Reading...

 

With TeleGeography's new Enterprise Network Pricing Service, companies will be able to get an accurate breakdown of WAN service costs and find out how competitive their price is, and carriers can determine how their prices compare to the competition, where their best margins are hiding, how to create a discount structure, and find out at what price customers will upgrade to a VPN service offer.

The Enterprise Network Pricing Service delivers current market rates for MPLS VPN services, dedicated Internet Access, and Retail Private Line services on a global basis. This analysis provides insight into typical network pricing structures, levels of customer interest, leading service providers, and varying conditions across the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

Continue Reading...

Packet Island recently introduced a new software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution designed to target the VoIP lifecycle management needs of VARs and SMBs deploying the open source-based Asterisk IP-PBX. The PacketSmart for Asterisk solution is based on Asterisk software agents and purpose-built micro-appliances that work with the highly scalable PacketSmart SaaS platform, hosted at a Tier-1 data center. The solution has three distinct functions, including network assessment for VoIP, VoIP troubleshooting, and ongoing VoIP SLA monitoring.

The Asterisk software agents perform continuous monitoring of all VoIP calls terminating at the PBX, while the micro-appliances are complementary to the software agents, and can be easily moved around the network to isolate and troubleshoot network issues affecting VoIP quality.

During the deployment planning phase, the micro-appliances can be used to simulate live VoIP traffic on an SMB's network, to identify and fix problems before the Asterisk VoIP deployment. After Asterisk deployment, the Packet Island software agent that is left installed on the Asterisk PBX continues to collect detailed quality metrics that can be used by the SME and VAR for SLA monitoring and to isolate and troubleshoot transient VoIP quality issues. Continue Reading...