The second day is about to start. Here are shots of the packed room which is still filling up.
Blogged Live and Wirelessly from PEAT World 2008 in San Francisco 
April 2008 Archives
You've definitely heard me go on about voicemail transcription and just how amazing it is to have your voicemails transcribed and e-mailed to you so you never have to dial into your mailbox again.
One of the companies leading the charge in voicemail to text or voicemail transcription is SimulScribe and they have just changed their name to PhoneTag.
As company founder Jamie Siminoff describes, the new name is much easier to remember.
Will this new name change the company's fortunes? It is unclear but the name certainly is easier to equate to what the company does. Personally I liked the old name -- but then again I also like to blog before the sun rises. Obviously I am not the average target customer.
One of the companies leading the charge in voicemail to text or voicemail transcription is SimulScribe and they have just changed their name to PhoneTag.
As company founder Jamie Siminoff describes, the new name is much easier to remember.
Will this new name change the company's fortunes? It is unclear but the name certainly is easier to equate to what the company does. Personally I liked the old name -- but then again I also like to blog before the sun rises. Obviously I am not the average target customer.
Blogged Live and Wirelessly from PAETEC World 2008 in San Francisco 
Shots from the reception of night one.
Blogged Live and Wirelessly from PAETEC World 2008 in San Francisco 
As a bonus to my thoughts, opinion and analysis of the communications and technology sectors, today I bring you something a little bit different. After all, who wants to write about these subjects when your laptop is crammed like an Oreo between you and the reclined seat 12 inches in front of your face? 
So what is a Virgin America flight like anyway? If you are like me, you hear great things about this new airline… And what’s not to like - new planes, stylish designs and a leading-edge entertainment center that’s yours - all yours.
The first thing that strikes you when you enter the cabin is the purple neon-like lights and the shiny white plastic mixed with that of the purple translucent variety enveloping the first class and rear areas of the plane.
There is a state of the art entertainment center located in the seat backs which handles your TV, radio and food ordering needs. Want a sandwich and a Coke? You simply order it and swipe your credit card (non-alcoholic beverages are free).
The system is full-featured although I did have trouble getting all the services to work. There is a chat feature you can use to speak with others on the plane but my in-seat controller was broken. Also, for the first few hours of my flight the music skipped excessively making it difficult to listen to the system at all. I also noticed the volume changed abruptly - to the loudest setting in my case. This happened twice to me. This particular feature was not compatible with the nap I tried to take but it did prove the vibrations from the human heart can rival those emanating from a jet engine.
This volume problem could be the result of my elbow inadvertently pressing against the controller which lives peacefully (most of the time) in the arm rest. While focusing on the design - I am wondering if the controller is best housed in the armrest as the hole which is placed above the controller puts great pressure on resting elbows. In addition, the plug for the headphones is on the side of the armrest and would be better positioned on the end where it doesn’t dig into your leg.
In an effort to write a complete review, I scanned the menu of options thoroughly and found there are a number of video games you can play but as they require access to the controller I couldn’t test them.
Some of the features not yet available include shopping, e-mail and reading - which I take to mean an e-book option. The seats are cramped - equivalent to American Airlines and if you happen to sit in the row in front of the exit row your seat does not recline.
Unfortunately this punishment is not shared by the occupants in the row in front of you. I learned this as I closed my eyes for a moment and suddenly realized the seat in front of me reclined and my laptop screen was in my mouth.
Offsetting these minor quibbles were flight attendants who were friendly on my way out to San Francisco. On a separate and unrelated note and I must admit the pearly-white material used in the seat backs reminds me of some sort of space-age toilet.
Strangely, the toilets were not space aged at all.
Something I haven’t seen in coach in a long while is pillows. Yes… The flight had a bunch of these onboard and I snagged one mid-way through the flight.
I cuddled mine for a while. I just can’t believe how much I missed pillows on flights. (I am sure some other airlines still have pillows on their flights as well - no need to send me a pillow-correction nastygram)
I ordered a turkey sandwich and it was of great quality and came within a few minutes after ordering. As a bonus there were a few Ghiradelli chocolates which I reluctantly consumed in the interest of writing the best review possible.
Room for improvement has to be having more legroom but with the price of jet fuel hitting new highs it is tough to imagine this happening soon. In addition, I would suggest having more radio stations - currently there are four and I got none of them to work.
Aside from the music skipping problem I would also suggest someone toy with the user interface of the entertainment system a bit to make it easier to use. For example when listening to music you sometimes get into a mode where you can’t figure out how to get easily get back to the artist/album you were listening to.
Other than that, it is really great to be on a new airplane after my usual flights on airplanes which were built when I was in diapers.
If you don’t require a large laptop you will be quite happy on Virgin America.
It will be interesting to see how Richard Branson’s new baby does over time. This particular flight had few empty seats so it seems, so far so good.
So what is a Virgin America flight like anyway? If you are like me, you hear great things about this new airline… And what’s not to like - new planes, stylish designs and a leading-edge entertainment center that’s yours - all yours.
The first thing that strikes you when you enter the cabin is the purple neon-like lights and the shiny white plastic mixed with that of the purple translucent variety enveloping the first class and rear areas of the plane.
There is a state of the art entertainment center located in the seat backs which handles your TV, radio and food ordering needs. Want a sandwich and a Coke? You simply order it and swipe your credit card (non-alcoholic beverages are free).
The system is full-featured although I did have trouble getting all the services to work. There is a chat feature you can use to speak with others on the plane but my in-seat controller was broken. Also, for the first few hours of my flight the music skipped excessively making it difficult to listen to the system at all. I also noticed the volume changed abruptly - to the loudest setting in my case. This happened twice to me. This particular feature was not compatible with the nap I tried to take but it did prove the vibrations from the human heart can rival those emanating from a jet engine.
This volume problem could be the result of my elbow inadvertently pressing against the controller which lives peacefully (most of the time) in the arm rest. While focusing on the design - I am wondering if the controller is best housed in the armrest as the hole which is placed above the controller puts great pressure on resting elbows. In addition, the plug for the headphones is on the side of the armrest and would be better positioned on the end where it doesn’t dig into your leg.
In an effort to write a complete review, I scanned the menu of options thoroughly and found there are a number of video games you can play but as they require access to the controller I couldn’t test them.
Some of the features not yet available include shopping, e-mail and reading - which I take to mean an e-book option. The seats are cramped - equivalent to American Airlines and if you happen to sit in the row in front of the exit row your seat does not recline.
Unfortunately this punishment is not shared by the occupants in the row in front of you. I learned this as I closed my eyes for a moment and suddenly realized the seat in front of me reclined and my laptop screen was in my mouth.
Offsetting these minor quibbles were flight attendants who were friendly on my way out to San Francisco. On a separate and unrelated note and I must admit the pearly-white material used in the seat backs reminds me of some sort of space-age toilet.
Strangely, the toilets were not space aged at all.
Something I haven’t seen in coach in a long while is pillows. Yes… The flight had a bunch of these onboard and I snagged one mid-way through the flight.
I cuddled mine for a while. I just can’t believe how much I missed pillows on flights. (I am sure some other airlines still have pillows on their flights as well - no need to send me a pillow-correction nastygram)
I ordered a turkey sandwich and it was of great quality and came within a few minutes after ordering. As a bonus there were a few Ghiradelli chocolates which I reluctantly consumed in the interest of writing the best review possible.
Room for improvement has to be having more legroom but with the price of jet fuel hitting new highs it is tough to imagine this happening soon. In addition, I would suggest having more radio stations - currently there are four and I got none of them to work.
Aside from the music skipping problem I would also suggest someone toy with the user interface of the entertainment system a bit to make it easier to use. For example when listening to music you sometimes get into a mode where you can’t figure out how to get easily get back to the artist/album you were listening to.
Other than that, it is really great to be on a new airplane after my usual flights on airplanes which were built when I was in diapers.
If you don’t require a large laptop you will be quite happy on Virgin America.
It will be interesting to see how Richard Branson’s new baby does over time. This particular flight had few empty seats so it seems, so far so good.
I am finally on the plane and it is certainly different. There are purple lights in the cabin which seem to make the plane part dance club. The boarding passes are a bit bigger than a business card and fit nicely in a shirt pocket. The leg room is less than JetBlue and about on par with an American Airlines flight.
There is a sophisticated entertainment center in the seat back which will be fun to get to play with. Signing off for now.
There is a sophisticated entertainment center in the seat back which will be fun to get to play with. Signing off for now.
I am heading out to the 2008 PINNACLE Users Conference at PAETEC World today. I had heard good things about Virgin Atlantic and am even taking one of their flights today. Yesterday I met with a company int he communications space who told me if I get the "smaller" plane I may be very unhappy as there is little leg room, etc.
I am crossing my fingers for the big plane.
I am crossing my fingers for the big plane.
According to IBM, 21 percent of consumers age 18-34 use their cell phone for mobile banking transactions, compared to about 10 percent of the general population.
Like so many new technologies, it is your kids -- or for some of us our kids' kids who jump at the latest technologies first.
A new iPhone, iPod, social networking, twittering, etc are all things the younger generation embrace while often times their parents scratch their heads at it all.
So why should banking be different? Well -- it seems it isn't and since kids seem to be more connected to their mobile phones than they are to anything else, it only makes sense to use these gadgets to send and receive payments and do all the things some of use use to have to visit a teller to do.
I still remember a time when ATMs were new and I had to go to someone called a teller if I wanted to deposit or withdraw money. Fast forward a few decades and now kids may not even need ATM machines in the very near future.
The challenge of course will be ensuring these mobile devices are secure. Certainly secure SMS services like those supplied by CellTrust can help
Like so many new technologies, it is your kids -- or for some of us our kids' kids who jump at the latest technologies first.
A new iPhone, iPod, social networking, twittering, etc are all things the younger generation embrace while often times their parents scratch their heads at it all.
So why should banking be different? Well -- it seems it isn't and since kids seem to be more connected to their mobile phones than they are to anything else, it only makes sense to use these gadgets to send and receive payments and do all the things some of use use to have to visit a teller to do.
I still remember a time when ATMs were new and I had to go to someone called a teller if I wanted to deposit or withdraw money. Fast forward a few decades and now kids may not even need ATM machines in the very near future.
The challenge of course will be ensuring these mobile devices are secure. Certainly secure SMS services like those supplied by CellTrust can help
Phishing and other methods of theft are getting more sophisticated all the time. While many companies are affected by this practice, it is really up to the major sites in the industry to do something to minimize the threat.
Thankfully, PayPal is on the case and may even stop working on browsers which do not support the latest in security methods. See Paypal to Block Unsafe Browsers (But Not Safari) from TMCnet's Zippy Grigonis for the gory details of security methods, browser versions and operating system types.
Thankfully, PayPal is on the case and may even stop working on browsers which do not support the latest in security methods. See Paypal to Block Unsafe Browsers (But Not Safari) from TMCnet's Zippy Grigonis for the gory details of security methods, browser versions and operating system types.
I recently wrote about how I thought Skype should be sold to Google and in response I received a very well-worded response from Skype PR representative Chaim Haas. Here is an excerpt:
The point was basically, my comments may be premature. It is very tough to argue with logic like the above so I want to go on record saying I was likely too harsh on Skype and we should give the CEO more time.
Having said that, this past week I did get a chance to speak with Don Albert, VP and GM of Skype North America about a number of new initiatives at the company. In the conversation, I learned a great deal about the company's new initiatives.
In fact, Skype is now offering flat-rate international calling… This announcement marks the first time Skype has offered a single, monthly flat rate subscription for unlimited international calling to 34 countries worldwide.
In case you are wondering - like many other service providers - the word unlimited has a definition as it equates to fair use. According to the company, all calls are subject to Skype's fair usage policy which is set at 10,000 minutes per month (which equates to more than 5 hours of calling per day). Calls to premium, non-geographic and other special numbers are excluded.
In addition, there is a new calling subscription for calls to Mexico is now available, including unlimited calls to landline and cell phones in the U.S. and Canada, and to landlines in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey.
The three subscriptions now available to consumers in the U.S. and Canada include the following:
Part of our discussion was announcements about what Skype customers are up to. For example, the company's users logged 14.2 billion Skype-to-Skype minutes in Q1 2008 and in Q1 2008, SkypeOut minutes reached an all-time high of 1.7 billion.
An added bonus for each plan is that each subscription also includes a Skype To Go number, which lets users make international calls at local rates from a cell phone or landline phone. A user dials an assigned access number and the call is connected by Skype to overseas numbers. Calls are charged at standard Skype calling rates.
Part of our conversation also centered on how successful the company's video service has become. In fact Skype sent me this graph so you could see how the percentage of video users is growing. In fact 28% of Skype to Skype calls are of the video variety. The graph below details the quarter over quarter growth in fact.
It seems in fact that Oprah Winfrey is responsible for part of this growth as she has started using the service on her daily talk show and we all know that everyone seems to want to do what Oprah does.
Oh and I almost forgot… From now until June 1st, 2008 Skype will offer a 33% off discount on 3-month and 12-month subscriptions.To purchase one these subscriptions, simply go to Skype's subscription page for more details.
[On] yesterday's eBay Q1 earnings call, where it was announced that Skype earned $126 million in revenue (it's 5th straight profitable quarter) and added another 33 million new registered users in the quarter (there are now 309 million registered Skype users around the world). Keep in mind that, after 4.5 years in business, Skype's entire revenue for 2007 puts it just about where Google was at the same stage of its growth.
In addition, Skype's new CEO is on the job for just over 3 weeks (he started on March 24th), so his vision for the company has not yet been shared publicly.
The point was basically, my comments may be premature. It is very tough to argue with logic like the above so I want to go on record saying I was likely too harsh on Skype and we should give the CEO more time.
Having said that, this past week I did get a chance to speak with Don Albert, VP and GM of Skype North America about a number of new initiatives at the company. In the conversation, I learned a great deal about the company's new initiatives.
In fact, Skype is now offering flat-rate international calling… This announcement marks the first time Skype has offered a single, monthly flat rate subscription for unlimited international calling to 34 countries worldwide.
In case you are wondering - like many other service providers - the word unlimited has a definition as it equates to fair use. According to the company, all calls are subject to Skype's fair usage policy which is set at 10,000 minutes per month (which equates to more than 5 hours of calling per day). Calls to premium, non-geographic and other special numbers are excluded.
In addition, there is a new calling subscription for calls to Mexico is now available, including unlimited calls to landline and cell phones in the U.S. and Canada, and to landlines in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey.
The three subscriptions now available to consumers in the U.S. and Canada include the following:
- Unlimited U.S. & Canada: Unlimited calls to landline and cell phones in the U.S. and Canada. ($2.95 per month)
- Unlimited Mexico: Unlimited calls to landline and cell phones in the U.S. and Canada, and to landlines in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey; up to 80% off normal SkypeOut rates to landlines in the rest of Mexico and up to 40% off normal SkypeOut rates to all Mexico cell phones. ($5.95 per month)
- Unlimited World: Unlimited calls to landline and cell phones in 34 countries including the U.S. and Canada, as well as Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey; up to 80% off normal SkypeOut rates to the rest of Mexico landlines and up to 40% off normal SkypeOut rates to all Mexico cell phones. ($9.95 per month)
Part of our discussion was announcements about what Skype customers are up to. For example, the company's users logged 14.2 billion Skype-to-Skype minutes in Q1 2008 and in Q1 2008, SkypeOut minutes reached an all-time high of 1.7 billion.
An added bonus for each plan is that each subscription also includes a Skype To Go number, which lets users make international calls at local rates from a cell phone or landline phone. A user dials an assigned access number and the call is connected by Skype to overseas numbers. Calls are charged at standard Skype calling rates.
Part of our conversation also centered on how successful the company's video service has become. In fact Skype sent me this graph so you could see how the percentage of video users is growing. In fact 28% of Skype to Skype calls are of the video variety. The graph below details the quarter over quarter growth in fact.
It seems in fact that Oprah Winfrey is responsible for part of this growth as she has started using the service on her daily talk show and we all know that everyone seems to want to do what Oprah does.
Oh and I almost forgot… From now until June 1st, 2008 Skype will offer a 33% off discount on 3-month and 12-month subscriptions.To purchase one these subscriptions, simply go to Skype's subscription page for more details.
I just started using the Slacker website to stream music and I remain very impressed at how good the service is. You are able to listen to a number of predefined stations or make your own. You can also customized existing stations by banning artists, etc.
The service is ad supported but you can choose to subscribe so that you don't have to deal with the ads. If you do this, you also get to save some songs to your hard disk, get support for slower broadband connections and the ability resize your Slacker window.
In addition you can merge your own MP3s into custom playlists you create on the Slacker service.
There is also an associated portable music player which can synchronize with stations you create on your PC.
I have found myself listening to Sirius and Pandora in the past but now I have added this service to the mix. If you like Pandora (and I definitely do) this service is sort of like Pandora but seems to be more flexible in some ways. The user interface is not as nice as Pandora but what it lacks in simplicity it makes up for in flexibility.
Since Slacker is free, I suggest you give it a try
The service is ad supported but you can choose to subscribe so that you don't have to deal with the ads. If you do this, you also get to save some songs to your hard disk, get support for slower broadband connections and the ability resize your Slacker window.
In addition you can merge your own MP3s into custom playlists you create on the Slacker service.
There is also an associated portable music player which can synchronize with stations you create on your PC.
I have found myself listening to Sirius and Pandora in the past but now I have added this service to the mix. If you like Pandora (and I definitely do) this service is sort of like Pandora but seems to be more flexible in some ways. The user interface is not as nice as Pandora but what it lacks in simplicity it makes up for in flexibility.
Since Slacker is free, I suggest you give it a try
If you are interested to see how the world of ecommerce will merge with virtual worlds, you should check out the Hunter Douglas website as it uses Adobe Scene7 technology to allow some serious visualization. You may be expecting a cartoonish environment but instead you're presented with real looking rooms in a house allowing you to visualize how your blinds will look before you purchase.
Interestingly just last week a friend was telling me she purchased expensive blinds for her house based on a salesperson's promise they would look good. Later she was disappointed when she saw them in her house.
I suppose this sort of technology will increase sales and reduce returns and the percentage of unhappy customers.
Adobe has really done an admirable job of positioning itself in areas of the internet where the static meets the dynamic.
I also think Scene7 technology is worth watching closely as it intersects with virtual worlds to grease the wheels of online commerce.
See also:
Virtual Customer Interactions written last fall by yours truly
Disclaimer: It is worth mentioning the 5-6 times I visited the Hunter Douglas site this weekend, I received an image server error. This could be due to high volumes of users due to the recent publicity of this site.
Interestingly just last week a friend was telling me she purchased expensive blinds for her house based on a salesperson's promise they would look good. Later she was disappointed when she saw them in her house.
I suppose this sort of technology will increase sales and reduce returns and the percentage of unhappy customers.
Adobe has really done an admirable job of positioning itself in areas of the internet where the static meets the dynamic.
I also think Scene7 technology is worth watching closely as it intersects with virtual worlds to grease the wheels of online commerce.
See also:
Virtual Customer Interactions written last fall by yours truly
Disclaimer: It is worth mentioning the 5-6 times I visited the Hunter Douglas site this weekend, I received an image server error. This could be due to high volumes of users due to the recent publicity of this site.
Are CRM and SFA tools only as good as the data they contain? You bet they are. This is exactly why I invited Dan Hughes the co-founder of Broadlook Technologies on a TMCnet podcast so I could learn more about how the company's innovative technology helps companies benefit the most from their systems.
Hughes says those people who are not satisfied with their CRM systems should consider they may be in a situation similar to buying a nice car and not putting oil and gas in it and expecting it to run.
This is where Broadlook Technologies comes in... As their company's solutions allow you to scour the Internet for information that can help your company be more successful.
And anyone who has ever used a corporate database knows it is always out of date. Tools like those from Broadlook help all companies keep their databases up to date and optimize effectiveness.
Hughes says those people who are not satisfied with their CRM systems should consider they may be in a situation similar to buying a nice car and not putting oil and gas in it and expecting it to run.
This is where Broadlook Technologies comes in... As their company's solutions allow you to scour the Internet for information that can help your company be more successful.
And anyone who has ever used a corporate database knows it is always out of date. Tools like those from Broadlook help all companies keep their databases up to date and optimize effectiveness.
Apparently reporting the news is as depressing as watching it. This might explain why CNN News anchor Richard Quest was caught with a small bag of methamphetamine in his pocket.
In case you are curious about this particular drug, Wikipedia has this to say:
Apparently Quest was loitering as he was walking in New York's Central Park in the early hours of the morning when the park was officially closed. A search is standard procedure in such situations.
Although Quest will not be going to jail over this incident we can expect CNN competitors to try to highlight this news in an effort to detract from the news company's reputation.
In case you are curious about this particular drug, Wikipedia has this to say:
Methamphetamine is a potent central nervous system stimulant which affects neurochemical mechanisms responsible for regulating heart rate, body temperature, blood pressure, appetite, attention, mood and responses associated with alertness or alarm conditions. The acute effects of the drug closely resemble the physiological and psychological effects of an epinephrine-provoked fight-or-flight response, including increased heart rate and blood pressure, vasoconstriction (constriction of the arterial walls), bronchodilation, and hyperglycemia (increased blood sugar). Users experience an increase in focus, increased mental alertness, and the elimination of fatigue, as well as a decrease in appetite.
Apparently Quest was loitering as he was walking in New York's Central Park in the early hours of the morning when the park was officially closed. A search is standard procedure in such situations.
Although Quest will not be going to jail over this incident we can expect CNN competitors to try to highlight this news in an effort to detract from the news company's reputation.
Picture this... You say something and you really didn't mean it. Perhaps it was that you can see see US troops in Iraq for 100 years or that snipers were attacking you in some far away country.
In the past, you could count on "unfriendly" TV news programs to perhaps play these quotes for a few days after you made them. Some quotes have longer lives of course -- things like "Reading lips and no new taxes," and of course "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky."
But still -- Until now...It was generally TV that repeated these things for a few weeks or more.
Now it seems Google too has gotten into the act. As of today, they will place quotes above a person's name when you search for them on Google News. For example a News search on April 19, 2008 with the words Hillary Rodham Clinton gives the following quote, "An attack on Israel would incur massive retaliation by the United States."
Google for its part says these quotes are facts and it seems you will be able to search quotes more deeply than ever before. In fact on Google's blog, they had this to say:
So there you have it... Your quotes will now live on forever and ever. So just be careful what you say as your great-great grandchildren will likely be able to find your words as easily as they find their surgically implanted Apple iPhones of the future.
In the past, you could count on "unfriendly" TV news programs to perhaps play these quotes for a few days after you made them. Some quotes have longer lives of course -- things like "Reading lips and no new taxes," and of course "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky."
But still -- Until now...It was generally TV that repeated these things for a few weeks or more.
Now it seems Google too has gotten into the act. As of today, they will place quotes above a person's name when you search for them on Google News. For example a News search on April 19, 2008 with the words Hillary Rodham Clinton gives the following quote, "An attack on Israel would incur massive retaliation by the United States."
Google for its part says these quotes are facts and it seems you will be able to search quotes more deeply than ever before. In fact on Google's blog, they had this to say:
As part of Google's mission to organize the world's information, we've been hard at work making quotations in news articles easy to search and browse. You can now more easily keep track of what your favorite politician, actor or sports star is saying. You can even search within their quotes for specific topics.
So there you have it... Your quotes will now live on forever and ever. So just be careful what you say as your great-great grandchildren will likely be able to find your words as easily as they find their surgically implanted Apple iPhones of the future.
