February 2008 Archives

OK, this one came as a surprise but not really. I have seen many companies patent technologies invented elsewhere and then use these patents to sue companies without patents. It happens all the time -- especially in IP communications.

I am (maybe a bit) surprised however to see that RIM has applied for a patent on the HTC 6700, 6800, etc. Check out this patent photo and one of the HTC 6800.





In fairness, engadget does point out that the RIM device has a trackball while HTC does not.

So here is the deal on this device. The reason I use the XV6800 is because of this slider keyboard design and the wider screen that goes with it. I would likely switch from Windows Mobile to a Blackberry if this device ever came out. Why? Because I don't like to reboot my phone on a daily+ basis.

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If you want to get an idea of what Yahoo! could possibly look like after a Microsoft acquisition, it may be useful to look at Tellme, a company Microsoft acquired last year. It is worth pointing out that Tellme was able to keep its corporate culture and DNA. Microsoft seemed to realize it was better to keep the company intact and while providing it with the resources it needs to grow.

I do remember my first visit to Tellme offices about seven years ago. I was surprised by the open warehouse style of the office, the desks and dogs in the office.

Today, I came across a great article comparing the Tellme acquisition with Yahoo and I thought it worth sharing.

Here is an excerpt:

Tellme's warehouse-like office located along some railroad tracks about six miles north of Yahoo's Sunnyvale headquarters looks pretty much like it did during a visit seven years ago. Some workers dart down the aisles on scooters and patio-style umbrellas loom over desks made out of doors bought from Home Depot.

"We were a little skeptical when Microsoft first bought us, but they really do seem to value our talent and the DNA our of our company," said Sarah Caplener, a Tellme employee since she got out of college seven years ago.

Caplener and other employees aren't thrilled with the added layers of bureaucracy that the Microsoft ownership has wrought. There are also regular trips to Redmond, Wash., a journey some would rather not have to make.

But Microsoft's executives sometimes make it easier by coming to Tellme. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates even paid a visit last August and spent several hours swapping ideas with the Tellme engineers responsible for programming a system that provided voice-automated responses to about 2 billion phone calls last year.

The Gates session is just one example why Tellme employees believe they are helping Microsoft develop technology that's more elegantly designed and easier for customers to use, said Peter Monaco, Tellme's director of application engineering. "We feel like we are having as much of an influence on Microsoft as they are having on us."

McCue's background made it seem unlikely that Tellme would ever end up being sold to Microsoft.

Before starting the company in 1999, McCue struck it rich as a vice president of technology for Netscape Communications, the Web browser pioneer that helped open up the Internet to the masses.

Netscape fell on hard times, though, after Microsoft began bundling its Web browser into its ubiquitous Windows operating system, relying on tactics that a federal judge later determined were illegal.

Bain and Huawei are changing their bid for 3COM in a manner that does not change the financial elements of the deal but it minimizes Huawei's access to certain Ethernet technologies.

Last week, the parties pulled their application with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., or CFIUS, a 12-agency government panel amid concerns it would be rejected. A number of members of Congress had expressed concern about the security implications of allowing a Chinese-owned entity to exercise influence over the technology company.

If this transaction does go through, I believe it will increase the number of Chinese companies investing in US-based companies.

This may lead to more consolidation in the market but just as important, it is possible the Chinese will have the deep pockets needed to help grow a number of US-based technology companies at a time when capital may be more difficult to come by.

More from the AP and Wall Street Journal

You may know David Yedwab as one of the leading analysts in telecom. If you aren't aware of him, then I am glad to let you know that David is now writing for TMCnet and his columns can be found here.

His first two columns are:

• 2008 - The Year for SMB VoIP
• SOA What?

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                                            An S Class Mercedes

For over a decade now we have witnessed Moore's Law in action, making microprocessors cheaper and faster. Ditto for hard drives and memory. What we haven't seen however is a dramatic improvement in battery technology.

It seems lately this may be coming to an end as Daimler has announced they have adapted lithiom-ion battery technology for a passenger car.

The new battery will be used in the series-production S 400 BlueHYBRID beginning next year. Apparently there are 25 patents held by the company which cover the battery technology being used in a car.

Here are some salient points from a company announcement:

The main advantages offered by the newly developed lithium-ion battery are its very compact dimensions and its far superior performance compared to conventional nickel-metal hydride batteries. The weight/power ratio of the entire battery is 1,900 watts per liter (W/L). What's more, the battery stands out by virtue of its high ampere-hour efficiency, long service life, and great reliability, even at very low temperatures. Its high level of safety is the equal of that provided by today's auto batteries.

Lithium-ion batteries are ideally suited for use in hybrid vehicles to help reducing fuel consumption and thus also CO2 emissions. At the same time, the Daimler engineers are investigating to what degree this technology can be applied to other vehicle concepts, such as electric and fuel cell-powered cars.

S 400 BlueHYBRID -- the world's most economical luxury sedan

The S 400 BlueHYBRID consumes only 7.9 liters of gasoline per 100 km in the NEDC. This results in very low CO2 emissions of only 190 grams per kilometer, a very low value for this vehicle class and power class, making the S 400 BlueHYBRID the world's most economical luxury sedan -- unrivaled by any gasoline, diesel, or hybrid drive system offered by any competitor. And S 400 BlueHYBRID drivers will still enjoy impressive performance: combined with the hybrid module, the maximum output is 220 kW/299 hp, and the corresponding maximum torque is 375 Nm. The S 400 BlueHYBRID accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in 7.3 seconds on its way to an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h.

While on the topic I should mention Toshiba recently had a battery breakthrough called SCiB which allows a battery to charge to 90% of its capacity in five minutes. I wonder how getting SCiB technology into cars will change the world.

I should also point out that Tesla Motors was the first company to use Lithiom Ion technology in a car. The Tesla however is more of a performance automobile touting a sub 4-second zero to sixty time.




Mercedes is differentiating itself by saying their technology applies to a passenger car. It will be interesting to see what the blogosphere does with this Daimler announcement and moreover will the German automaker come after Tesla Motors for patent infringement?

This news may not have an immediate benefit in the consumer electronics space but assuming this trend continues, the sheer volume of batteries needed by the automotive market will make these batteries much better. While a single lighter battery is great for a laptop, when you are using these batteries by the hundred in a moving vehicle, every fraction of an ounce of weight translates into worse fuel economy.

The automotive market may end up being what gets battery technology in the tech and consumer electronics market to drastically improve.     

The above graphic is a bank mashup showing all banks in Norwalk, CT -- where TMC headquarters are located. (credit: Webmashup.com)


A logical place for mashups to show up are in customer relationship management applications where they can allow field sales and support personnel to see the locations of their customers in real-time. Funny, I have been hoping for more and more business mashups to be invented and one shows up right in the CRM space.

TMCnet's own David Sims broke the story yesterday in fact.

Here is an excerpt:

SMaps automatically links addresses and locations of individuals or companies to their location in Google Maps. Viewing full contact information from their CRM database with Google's mapping functionality makes scenes from recent movies like Minority Report "a reality for companies," according to the CRM Workers.

 

The product lets users use Google's mapping capability with their CRM information such as contact details, price and order history to zoom in and make decisions.

SMaps is billed as a product to "boost efficiency of mobile workers, helping them save time and cost." The Target List functionality provides "access to geographic information to sales managers and personnel who can then use that information to focus marketing and sales efforts," explains CRM Principal Consultant for Asia Pacific David Gill.

Who knew? That supposedly clean, white snow falling from the sky may contain a bacteria surprise. Think of a snowflake as nature's Tootsie Roll Pop -- except you really don't want to eat the center of a snowflake.

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Although this is funny, I think blaming AT&T for working with the government is not fully fair.



What do you think?

I am so fed up with the synergies CEO think they have when they acquire. In many cases CEOs and other powerful executives are on ego trips and buy companies and immediately change the acquired company's name to their own company. They believe that by doing so they reduce costs associated with operating disparate brands.

Rarely if ever do these companies think through the ramifications of these actions as in many cases, acquired companies have much stronger brands in the segments they occupy than the parent.

The question seems to be, the parent made the acquisition so they must have the better name for the combined entity. Right?

Wrong... Dead wrong.

Case in point is Sprint Nextel which is on record saying it will keep Sprint as the parent name and Nextel as the push-to-talk brand.

Since the merger I could never understand how Sprint did not understand just how strong a brand Nextel was. As a by product of push to talk services the company was able to build a massive network of people who could communicate in a walkie talkie style.

But like in many cases Sprint thought they knew best and renamed Nextel stores to Sprint Nextel. The entire brand was weakened in this fashion.

The challenge for Sprint is that when you think of push-to-talk, there is no one left to think about anymore. Sprint-Nextel just doesn't have the push-to-talk aura around it.

The company would have been better off just adding a small "A Division of Sprint" label underneath the Nextel logo.

In my opinion, the two brands would have been better off living on their own and the products could have been cross-sold in each of the stores.

The crime of killing brand equity is not Sprint's alone. So many companies do this that I really feel I am the one with the problem.

There is only one company that comes to mind in the entire technology space that truly understands brands and it is Cisco. The networking leader buys small companies with limited brands and rolls out the smaller companies' products to the well-trained Cisco sales force.

But Cisco is smart enough to know when this strategy is flawed. When they picked up Linksys, they realized the company had a strong following in the consumer space and they subsequently left the company alone for a few years. Most people didn't realize Cisco owned Linksys in fact. Even today, the Linksys website still says Linksys and a division of Cisco. Ditto for Scientific Atlanta.



Oracle does acquire company after company but these acquisitions are generally in fields where Oracle is well-known already and as a result Oracle does rapidly change the names of the companies it acquires to Oracle. Furthermore, the company has a magic touch that no other companies seem to have. But look to Oracle as the exception, not the rule.

So CXOs… I implore you. Just because you acquired a company, it doesn't mean your name is the better name for the new company. I don't care how big you are. It doesn't matter. If you are huge in microprocessors it does not mean your name will resonate with people who build communications systems for example.

So before trashing years of marketing and brand equity, think very carefully. If Cisco can have their logo live underneath other brands, the idea can and most likely will work for your company as well.


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For those of you who were in telecom back in the day, you may recall that the Computer Telephony show in Los Angeles, CA had a press event where they got together with exhibitors to give away free voicemail to the homeless.

Even before CTEXPO did this, MFS Internet had the same idea.

Giving the homeless access to telephony services and free voicemail is great because it allows them to keep in touch with loved ones and also allows them the potential to communicate with prospective employers more easily.

Google will now also be giving away free voicemail to the homeless in San Francisco and although they aren't first, they will likely do it well.

Hats off to Google for doing this.

While I have been espousing telecommuting and moreover discussing frequently how IP communications enables companies to hire remote workers without losing productivity... Even I have been a bit surprised that some companies have such a large number of at home workers.

This man just received an e-mail requesting he start coming to the office


For example call center agents do not necessarily need to collaborate in a face-to-face fashion with their peers and one imagines there is no productivity lost when these workers work from home.

But other workers do benefit greatly from human interaction unencumbered by internet protocol.

So I guess my surprise comes in response to the types of positions that have been assigned to work-at-home personnel.

It seems that some of the companies who were the leading champions of telecommuting are pulling some of their workers back.

I wonder if these organizations think they may have overdone it it when it comes to telecommuting and are now pulling people back in an effort to find the right balance between the two forms of work.

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There have been a  number of reports that Comcast filled the recent FCC Forum with its employees and people off the street who were paid. By doing so, many claim the company denied access to people who had legitimate concerns.

The company acknowledges it hired people to wait in line to hold spots for Comcast employees. It seems that some of these placeholders may have made it in the building as there are photos of some people sleeping through the debate.



Then again, these could just be very bored Comcast employees. Let's face it, an FCC meeting discussing the minutiae of net neutrality is not riveting content. If you don't agree, try bringing it up at the next cocktail party you are invited to and see if you are invited back.

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I received this e-mail today from John Wind, a telecom veteran who I have known for years. When I read this message I was very moved and thought this was something worth passing along to my readers.

Thank you in advance for reading.


A healthy Alex Wind, Age 13…

Friends, You may or not be aware that during the Christmas holiday, my 13 year old son became very ill and what we would soon come to find out, deathly ill… Over a one-week period, he literally began to melt away in front of our eyes. Although he's always been thin (5' 7" - 120 pounds) he was drinking water and eating excessively. He dropped in that time to 89 pounds and could hardly get out of bed.

Although his symptoms were that of an extreme flu, I finally got him to the doctor where he was immediately diagnosed with Type-1 (also known as Juvenile) diabetes. He was in a severe DKA crash (diabetic ketoacidosis). The non medical meaning is that his body was eating itself to survive! He was immediately rushed to St. Mary's Children's Hospital in West Palm Beach and spent the next several days in ICU where they brought him back from the brink.

To keep this short, Alex skirted death right under our noses and even though we have diabetes in our family (3 of 4 of his grandparents) we didn't "get it". The good news is that he has recovered and is a whole new person, putting on all of his weight and is able to focus much better. The bad news is that this is happening all over the world, not just with obese children. Well, as you may imagine, we are now supporting the efforts to increase awareness of Juvenile Diabetes. We will be producing video's for education into the schools, churches, etc.

I am donating these services given the business that I am in.

The organization that we have aligned with is the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Int'l, a wonderfully dedicated organization. We are working with the local chapter in Palm Beach.

My wife Sherri is also contributing with a fund raiser "Walk to Cure Juvenile Diabetes" in the next few weeks. We have a goal of raising them at least $1,000 (but I think we can a lot better). Your help and support, even if just a few dollars (tax deductible) would be enormously appreciated. Every penny counts and one day when they do find a cure, your nominal contribution would have gone to saving children from a life threatening disease.

She will be walking on March 8th for the Walk to Cure Diabetes along with a half-million other people!Please visit the site to make your donation and select Walk Central, Donate and Support Walker and select Sherri Wind from the walker list.

*Here's the shortcut to the page you need.

So please, if you can, support Sherri's walk for a cure. Every penny helps! And, we all know the viral tendencies of the Web so feel free to let this email spread!

Thank you very much!

Best - John

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Greg Galitzine also posted about this letter.

Nuvio is suing Garmin over its Nuvifone product. As you probably know, Nuvio sells a hosted communications service so now that Garmin has launched this telephony product there is a serious chance for confusion.

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The Senate just passed the IP-Enabled Voice Communications and Public Safety Act of 2007 which amends the Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999 to impose on IP communications service providers engaged in interstate or foreign communication a requirement to provide 9-1-1 service, including enhanced 9-1-1 service, to its subscribers.

Furthermore, this bill requires the FCC to issue regulations granting these providers right of access to 9-1-1 components (read direct PSAP connectivity) that are necessary to provide 9-1-1 service, on the same rates, terms, and conditions that are provided to commercial mobile service providers. It further requires the providers to establish a point of contact for public safety and government officials relative to 9-1-1 service and access.

Finally it authorizes the FCC to delegate enforcement authority to state agencies or programs with emergency communications jurisdiction.

This is good news for IP communications market as providers will no longer be second class citizens when it comes to providing 911 service. Moreover, the stigma that VoIP providers are less secure than traditional carriers will in theory go away.

What needs to happen now is that pure VoIP providers need to provide bullet-proof service to their subscribers. This in my opinion is a great day for IP communications.

See Also:

Senate Passes VoIP Enhanced 911 Bill