VoIP Blog - Tehrani.com

April 16, 2007

Apparently the Verizon patents are sufficiently broad as to not allow Vonage to have a workaround. This according to the USA Today. I was wondering myself how a workaround could take place on these patents as they seem to cover what the whole industry does and has been doing prior to Verizon even filing for the patents.

 

It would seem that if these patents are not overturned then Verizon will have a good deal of leverage over a variety of other VoIP companies as well.

 

In addition this issue could theoretically cause trouble for communications equipment providers.

 

Verizon is probably smart enough to pick on companies that are so small they aren’t a big enough threat to the patents they hold. But this story is far from over. Stay tuned.

April 16, 2007

Apparently VoIP Could grow more quickly according to a study from Forrester. The company says their research shows VoIP software is too hard to use. I have asked for the report but haven’t received it yet. I just wonder if there are any software packages that have been downloaded more rapidly than VoIP software. When you think about it, the last five years has seen an explosion in VoIP adoption.

 

Other than p2p solutions, it is tough to think of software that has propagated so quickly. For the most part however VoIP software is much easier to use than these other software solutions.

 

Can VoIP be easier to use? Yes. Is it a reason for a lack of adoption? Probably only for a small percentage of the population.

 

Sometimes research seems counterintuitive and other times it just seems like the research is wrong. In my opinion the study is somehow not taking something important into account.

 

For example, perhaps the study was of grandparents or people uncomfortable with computers. Take an average 12 year old in America and throw any VoIP package in front of them and then blindfold them. They will have no trouble using it.

 

Hopefully the study will hot my inbox soon so I can do some further analysis of the findings.

April 16, 2007

For almost 2 decades now I followed the writings of Robert X. Cringely. Admittedly I used to read his column every week between the late eighties and mid nineties. As my own publishing and writing career started to take off I spent less time reading his columns.

 

I did write about Robert earlier today and Andy Abramson pointed out the person behind Cringely is none other than Mark C. Stephens. No, I have not heard of Mark either. This is likely why he uses the name Robert X. Cringely as it is more popular than his own name and the names of most tech writers for that matter.

 

What is shocking to me is the amount of legal wrangling taking place between IDC and Stephens over this fictitious character. Moreover who would believe IDG has no lawyers on staff? A $1.4 billion company with no lawyers is an amazing feat.

 

For more information on Robert C. and IDG and the souring relationship of the two, check out this article.