What difference a year can make! Can you believe that Atkins Nutritionals is declaring bankruptcy? That is like Harry Potter author JK Rowling declaring bankruptcy. Certainly Atkins and Harry Potter are two of the most popular things to talk about at cocktail parties.
The company owes $300 million in outstanding principal and interest and will focus on nutrition bars and shakes to help get them back on track.
I recently noticed that Subway took down the Atkins logo from its chocolate chip cookies and wraps so I bet the reduced licensing revenue in general took a huge hit.
The Atkins diet went from the most popular diet ever to one of the most out of favor. Boy was that quick.
I wonder if the South Beach Diet People are going to benefit from this the most. Perhaps Weight Watchers and Slimfast are the ones to watch.
July 2005 Archives
There is nothing like the collaboration on a podcast. Our most recent communications and technology podcast was full of it. Collaboration that is
Here are some of the topics we discussed this week. Not really in this order but this is a good overview. Oh and by the way we had Aculab’s “Voice of IP” David Duffet on the call. He always does a great job and is quite a natural at this Podcasting thing.
1. VoIP Developer show
http://www.voipdeveloper.com/
2. Senator Ensign Telecom bill rewrite
U.S. Sen. John Ensign Releases Telecom Act Rewrite http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-senator-ensign-broadband-investment-consumer-choice-act-rewrite-/2005/jul/1167581.htm
Ensign's Telecom Bill Protects VoIP but Also Monopolies http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-senator-ensign-telecom-bill-rewrite-voip-monopolies-/2005/jul/1167595.htm
Industry Reactions to Ensign Bill Mixed http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-ensign-broadband-investment-consumer-choice-act-bicca-/2005/jul/1168233.htm
3. Cisco Security flaw
Cisco Seeks to Quiet Software Flaw Talk
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-cisco-seeks-quiet-software-flaw-talk-/2005/jul/1168266.htm
Cisco, Security Researcher Settle Dispute
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-cisco-security-researcher-settle-dispute-/2005/jul/1168269.htm
4. Video game news
Secret sex scenes in Grand Theft Auto
Gamemaker Sued Over Hidden Sex in GTA
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2005/jul/1167907.htm
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-australia-revokes-classification-grand-theft-auto-san-andreas-/2005/jul/1168298.htm
Nancy Drew mystery game
Nancy Drew Computer Game: Probably Not a First-Person Shooter
http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/bredenberg-voip-crm/voip-crm/nancy-drew-computer-game-probably-not-a-firstperson-shooter.asp
Tracey's article: How to market video games to women?
Why Won't Broads Buy Our Products?
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-video-games-developers-marketing-vonage-/2005/jul/1166931.htm
5. Bicycle VoIP
Inveneo to Demo Bicycle-Powered VoIP at VoIP Developer Event
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-inveneo-bicycle-powered-voip-developer-/2005/jul/1168200.htm
6. FCC Extension of 911 Deadline
FCC Offers VoIP Providers Extra Time on E911
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-fcc-e911-extension-voip-voice-over-internet-protocol-/2005/jul/1167194.htm
7. Russian Spammer Murdered
Russian Spam King's Can Gets Stamped
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-spam-russia-/2005/jul/1167626.htm
8. TV Guide on VoIP
TV Guide Forays into VoIP
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2005/Jul/1167086.htm
A new planet was just discovered in our solar system. It is 32 percent as massive as Pluto and is estimated to be about 70 percent of Pluto's diameter. Furthermore it has a moon.
Apparently scientists have been getting upset that car companies such as Saturn and cartoon dogs like Pluto are taking the really cool planet names they come up with. One astronomer was overheard saying, “I wasted $21 and over two hours sitting through When Mars Attacks with my family. That will never happen again.” This would explain quite nicely why the farthest planet in our solar system will be referred to quite ineloquently as 2003 EL61.
A team led by Mike Brown of Caltech has been observing 2003 EL61 for a year but was seeking more data before announcing the discovery. Brown said today it may possibly be larger than Sedna, which has been the largest known world beyond
Sedna is between 800 and 1,100 miles in diameter. Pluto is about 1,400 miles across.
Brown figures 2003 EL61 has a diameter of around 930 miles.
Is there any chance it is bigger than Pluto?
"No," Brown said in a telephone interview. "Definitely not."
In fact, Brown's team got the new data they had been waiting for, from the Spitzer Space Telescope, last week. While not fully analyzed, he said the Spitzer observations show "absolutely" that the object is not bigger than Pluto.
Read the whole story on Space.com.
I thought this alert was worth passing along. It seems by turning off IPv6 you minimize exposure to this attack.
National Cyber Alert System
Technical Cyber Security Alert TA05-210A
Cisco IOS IPv6 Vulnerability
Original release date: July 29, 2005
Last revised: --
Source: US-CERT
Systems Affected
* Cisco IOS devices with IPv6 enabled
For specific information, please see the Cisco Advisory.
Overview
Cisco IOS IPv6 processing functionality contains a vulnerability that
could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary
code or cause a denial of service.
Cisco IOS contains a vulnerability in the way IPv6 packets are
processed. US-CERT has not confirmed further technical details.
According to the Cisco Advisory, this vulnerability could be exploited
by an attacker on the same IP subnet:
Crafted packets from the local segment received on logical
interfaces (that is, tunnels including 6to4 tunnels) as well as
physical interfaces can trigger this vulnerability. Crafted packets
can not traverse a 6to4 tunnel and attack a box across the tunnel.
The crafted packet must be sent from a local network segment to
trigger the attack. This vulnerability can not be exploited one or
more hops from the IOS device.
US-CERT strongly recommends that sites running Cisco IOS devices
review the Cisco Advisory and upgrade as appropriate. We are tracking
this vulnerability as VU#930892.
II. Impact
This vulnerability could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker on
the same IP subnet to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of
service. The attacker may be able to take control of a vulnerable
device.
III. Solutions
Upgrade
Upgrade to a fixed version of IOS. Please see the Software Versions
and Fixes section of the Cisco Advisory for details.
Disable IPv6
From the Cisco Advisory:
In networks where IPv6 is not needed, disabling IPv6 processing on
an IOS device will eliminate exposure to this vulnerability. On a
router which supports IPv6, this must be done by issuing the
command "no ipv6 enable" and "no ipv6 address" on each interface.
Appendix A. Vendor Information
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Cisco Systems, Inc. has released a security advisory regarding a
vulnerability which was disclosed on July 27, 2005 at the Black Hat
security conference. Security advisory is available at:
http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/707/cisco-sa-20050729-ipv6.shtml
For up-to-date information on security vulnerabilities in Cisco
Systems, Inc. products, visit http://www.cisco.com/go/psirt.
Appendix B. References
* US-CERT Vulnerability Note VU#930892 -
<http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/930892>
* Cisco Security Advisory: IPv6 Crafted Packet Vulnerability -
<http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/products_security_advisory091
86a00804d82c9.shtml>
_________________________________________________________________
Information regarding this vulnerability was primarily provided by
Cisco Systems, who in turn acknowledge the disclosure of this
vulnerability at the Black Hat USA 2005 Briefings.
_________________________________________________________________
Feedback can be directed to US-CERT Technical Staff. Send mail to
<cert@cert.org> with "TA05-210A feedback VU#930892" in the subject.
_________________________________________________________________
The most recent version of this document is available at:
<http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA05-210A.html>
_________________________________________________________________
Produced 2005 by US-CERT, a government organization.
_________________________________________________________________
Terms of use:
<http://www.us-cert.gov/legal.html>
_________________________________________________________________
Revision History
July 29, 2005: Initial release
The BBC reports that while Carly Fiorina supported the idea of reselling Apple’s iPOD, the new CEO Mark Hurd doesn’t necessarily agree.
"HP has decided that reselling iPods does not fit within the company's current digital entertainment strategy," said an Apple spokeswoman.
I thought working with Apple early on was a smart move so I am confused by the pull-back. Riding on Apple’s coattails is genius.
HP was responsible for selling 5% of iPods which seems like a significant number. I hope to ask Carly Fiorina what she thinks of this new direction at TMC’s Internet Telephony Conference & Expo later this year.
I am really excited to hear her speak and get her views on the VoIP market and technology in general.
Trade show keynoters usually have an axe to grind – they work somewhere and are pushing something… A product, a company, something. Even those people in the public sector that speak are looking to gain favor with those who might employ them when they leave office.
Interestingly Carly and Michael Powell, two of our major speakers are both sort of free agents at the moment meaning at least as far as I know they will be free to speak their minds on many topics.
This is unusual for a trade show. TMC has been putting on telecom shows since 1986 and I don’t recall too many times when you get a keynoter who has no reason to be biased at all yet is at such a high level in industry that they have a truly compelling message.
I wish the show was sooner but we’ll have to wait for the show October 24-27, 2005 in
We are in the golden age of VoIP where communications products and services allow us to communicate with one another like never before. The world has rapidly embraced the fact that VoIP allows less expensive calls and superior services to the PSTN.
The next phase of IP Telephony will be vastly superior to what we use today enabling us to be more productive and efficient and communicate more effectively and even less expensively.
Enabling this leap in productivity and functionality is Voice over IP.
Last year TMC launched the world's first VoIP Developer Conference because we saw a demand for a centralized location for developers and those with tools to enable this development to come together, partner and come up with tomorrow's solutions, today.
Now, one year later this show's pre-registration numbers have quadrupled and the excitement level among developers and those companies who provide the infrastructure for this development has never been greater.
Over 1,000 people from around the globe will come to
If you want to know what the VoIP market will be up to in 12 months or more, come to TMC's VoIP Developer Conference to see the pieces coming together well in advance.
Wow! What a day… TMCnet is in the top 1,722 sites in the world according to Alexa.com for today. Pretty amazing. Thanks to all of you who have helped catapult our site to this new level! Today 1 wk. Avg. 3 mos. Avg. 3 mos. Change 1,722 2,748 3,696
Here is my blog entry from yesterday discussing our redesign, Alexa and where we stood at that point.
Traffic Rank for tmcnet.com (what's this)
Just spoke with
I am moderating the following sessions:
“Host Media Processing Round Table”
DATE: Thursday, August 4th
TIME: 4:15-5:15 PM
ROOM: Bodan A & B
PANELISTS:
Rich Tehrani, President, TMC (Moderator)
Alan Percy, Director of Business Development, AudioCodes
Amir Zmora, VP Marketing & Product Management, Surf Communication Solutions
Greg Pisano, Market Development Manager for Carrier Enhanced Services, Brooktrout Technologies
Daniel LeCour, Vice President of Business Development, Envox Worldwide
David Duffet, Global Customer Training, Aculab (he also moonlights as TMCnet's "Voice of IP")
“VoIP Gear -- Build Your Own Versus Buy: What You Need to Know”
DATE: Wednesday, August 3rd
TIME: 3:30-4:15 PM
ROOM: Bodan A & B
PANELISTS:
Rich Tehrani, President, TMC (Moderator)
Bruce Young, Vice President of Engineering, LignUp
Peder Jungck, Founder & CTO, CloudShield Technologies
Frank Ferro, Director of Marketing - Cellular & VoIP Products, SyChip
Tony Downes, Principal Technologist with Data Connection
Our pre-registration is still many times ahead of last year and we are really excited about having Inveneo and their bicycle powered Linux-based VoIP system at the show. Like I said before, it is amazing that a technology like VoIP can have such a profound effect on people living in third-world countries. We are happy to have our VoIP Developer Conference be one of the first places where you can see this technology in action (unless of course you are spending a great deal of time in African villages).
The show is at the
Rumor has it that the
I add this to the rumor that is floating around about 3COM purchasing Huawei. Apparently there is an opportunity for 3COM become a 51% owner instead of 49% soon.
Stay tuned.
The response from the industry has been overwhelming and TMCnet’s redesign seems to be a huge hit. I say this based on the independent rankings from Alexa.com, a division of Amazon.com. This company has a toolbar that sits on many browsers and gives a snapshot of where the people around the world are surfing. The toolbar is pretty similar in functionality and use to the Google toolbar.
TMCnet has been steadily growing in traffic and is becoming more and more popular. Just over a week ago we launched a redesign and we weren’t sure if you would like it or not.
The response has been overwhelmingly positive with lots of great suggestions on how we can improve further.
Perhaps the most exciting effect of this redesign is the one-day Alexa ranking we received today which is usually indicative of traffic from the prior day. We were ranked 1,994 – out of all sites in the world!
A Condensed Version of TMCnet's Alexa Rank:
As a communications site, this is a staggering number and it is fact is a better number than all but a few b2b technology sites.
Our 3-month average is 3,747 and we are looking forward to it going lower soon. This number too is much better (lower) than virtually all b2b technology sites.
Although we are now hosting a massive portion of our site at various hosting facilities we are still being deluged with an onslaught of traffic. In response we are upgrading our lines to be an order of magnitude faster and if all that excessive fiber we keep hearing about was really available we would have our T3 already.
SBC tells us in a few weeks we will be up and running at which point we expect to have an even more functional and useful communications and technology site. Thanks once again for helping to make TMCnet one of the most popular sites in the world.
A while back I wrote about Inveneo and their bicycle powered VoIP solution. I really think sort of application is how we in the VoIP market can give back to society. Many of us who have made a living in the VoIP industry should be proud that this same technology is being used in third world countries to allow people to communicate with friends and relatives more easily and inexpensively.
We take telephone calling for granted but in remote villages where the residents are usually poor and even if they have the means, they have to travel many kilometers to get to a telephone. With the advent of the bicycle powered VoIP phone, these residents can now communicate with friends and relatives around the world.
We are especially proud to tell you that the people at Inveneo will be at our VoIP Developer show next week showing their bicycle powered VoIP solution for all to see.
Here is a diagram of how it all works:
Here is something unique and novel and it fills a need that we as human beings have – the need to communicate.
The VoIP Developer show is the primordial soup of VoIP It is the place where all the elements come together in the IP communications space and in so doing DNA fragments are developed which turn into VoIP applications over time.
If you want to see what is going to be exciting in the VoIP market in 12-18 months, come to the VoIP developer show next week to see it beginning to emerge. From WiFi telephony devices to softswitch application development environments.
The evolution of VoIP begins with the VoIP DevCon event next week in
What you would think would be props on the Howard Stern show: a thousand pounds of baby oil and a stainless steel tank are in fact "props" used instead by scientists to measure the Earth’s radioactivity for the first time. Excerpts from the New York Times article:
The telescope they used was designed to detect subatomic particles from nuclear reactors. The researchers simply pointed it downward, in effect, toward the center of Earth. Physicists and geologists said the measurement, which agrees roughly with geologists' calculations, was the start of a new era of being able to see inside Earth. Their findings, they said, would lead to a better understanding of what keeps the planet warm, volcanoes burbling, continents drifting, magnetic field churning - all things that contribute to enabling life.
The detector, called Kamland - short for Kamioka Liquid-scintillator Anti-Neutrino Detector - was built in 1997 to detect antineutrinos, the antimatter opposites of neutrinos, emitted by Japanese nuclear reactors. Natural nuclear reactions, the decay of uranium and thorium in Earth, also make antineutrinos that Kamland can detect.
Scientists have estimated that about half of Earth's heat comes from radioactive decay, with the rest coming from other gravitational and chemical sources. But the proportions and the total energy outflow are uncertain.
Even though this telescope has no actual connection to Stern, I bet it s just a matter of time before we see something similar on his show. I guess this sort of stunt may be too over the top at the moment so we’ll have to wait until his show moves to Sirius before he attempts such antics.
Is it true that Microsoft workers don’t like the term podcast and are using blogcast instead? Seems like a tough battle to win as the ubiquity of the iPOD make the term podcast a no brainer. Apparently while Apple revels in the term and is incorporating Podcasting into their iTunes software the
An interesting New York Times article discusses how Apple is using Podcasting as a way to sell more iPods. In addition the article points out that it is turning the music business on its ear by giving away the razor blades (podcasts are to remain free according to Apple) and charging for the razors. The article makes a good read.
In my opinion Apple has inadvertently found a way to entrench their lead in the music business. When “pod” is in the name of the hottest audio phenomenon of recent memory and you sell a product with “pod” in its name, you are in great shape.
Let’s see how much money Bill Gates and company will throw at the term blogcast to see if they can change the term in the mind of consumers. Interestingly enough my Microsoft word spell-checker doesn’t recognize the term “blogcast.” Perhaps adding this term to Microsoft dictionaries should be the first step in trying to popularize blogcast.
How depressing a thought is this? One of the most inspirational space programs NASA has ever put forth is now grounded. After analyzing the effects of debris falling from Discovery during blastoff the agency decided to put a hold on future launches. It is not clear whether any debris actually hit Discovery or the extent of any impact.
From a CNN article:
NASA was analyzing data from video and from the robotic arm, the launch and elsewhere to decide what steps -- if any -- to take next.
"We should start seeing the jury coming in on those decisions by the end of the crew's day tomorrow," Hill said. "My guess is we're not going to have a problem."
At a Tuesday news conference, NASA flight operations manager John Shannon predicted that the space agency would have enough information by Sunday to decide whether any repairs are needed and, if so, whether such repairs would be possible.
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Footage of Discovery's launch also showed a piece of debris falling from the external fuel tank at the time it separated from the orbiter,
Footage also showed that the external fuel tank's nose cone hit a bird about 2.5 seconds after liftoff -- when Discovery was probably traveling too slowly to sustain any damage, he said.
Hill said it has not been lost on controllers that this is the first mission after the
"We have seven folks living on this space shuttle and counting on us to do the right thing and keep them safe and not to get all giddy and high-fiving each other," he said.
"There's a certain amount of almost shock that we really are here, we really are doing these things that so many folks ... thought that we couldn't do."
As the orbiter approaches the international space station for a scheduled Thursday 7:18 a.m. ET docking, the station's crew will photograph Discovery to look further for any damage.
Shuttle crew members plan to test repair techniques during three scheduled space walks by astronauts Steve Robinson and Soichi Noguchi of
As part of the safety changes instituted after
It is a sad day for me as VocalTec, the company that really popularized VoIP and was the inspiration for TMC launching Internet Telephony Magazine have cut 70% of their staff leaving 30 out of a 100 people in the company. There is 2 million dollars in cash left at the company and they recently changed their focus to selling softswitches.
There is some great engineering talent at the company but it is going to be very tough to come out of this hole without some assistance either financial or otherwise.
They would be a great acquisition target just for their technology.
My hats off to the bright people at VocalTec that helped launch VoIP into the mainstream and I reiterate that this is a sad day for the VoIP market.
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