December 2008

You are browsing the archive for December 2008.

Did I Mention Turtle Soup is Huge Here?

December 31, 2008

There is a great turtle farm here on Grand Cayman. It has returned
tens of thousands of sea turtles to the ocean and 10% of the turtles
are supplied as food for soups, hamburgers, etc.

Posted in IP Communications

Solar iPhone Case is Handy and Useful

December 31, 2008

New case from mobile.brando.com.hk is a perfect iPhone companion for the sun

I'm always looking for that killer story idea - you know - the one which has all the elements of interest and buzzwords... Like iPhone, green, gadget, etc. When I learned there was a new solar leather case for the iPhone 3G out of Hong Kong, I had to get my hands on it. I received this case a few weeks back and to be honest, I didn't think the current weather in Connecticut was good to be testing anything outdoors.

Posted in AT&T, Apple, Consumer Electronics, Gadget, Green, Technology, Wireless

Tagged: battery, green, iphone, ipod touch, leather case, mobile.brando.com.hk, solar : Related Tags: fully charged, iphone, charge, story, under, charged

Can Cisco Become a Consumer Electronics Company?

December 29, 2008

To Cisco's competitors and there are many, the company is a monster. Almost impossible to compete with on a level playing field. In the past I have mentioned how the way Chambers and company acquires and integrates new companies into the fold is better than just about any other company and only Oracle is as talented.

Om Malik does point out a severe weakness the company has... Its inability to compete in the consumer electronics business in a serious way.

Here is my favorite part of his post:

How does a company that gets big fat margins from selling expensive equipment (and paying its sales team accordingly) live with the razor-thin margins of consumer entertainment gear? For Cisco this would like climbing Mount Everest without an oxygen tank.
Om says Cisco is best served by joining forces with another company in a partnership allowing the companies to more easily move media around the home.

Posted in Broadband, Cisco, Consumer Electronics, Gadget, Technology

Tagged: ce, cisco, consumer electronics, gigaom, iptv, media, om malik, tmcnet, tv : Related Tags: consumer electronics, cisco change, minds consumers, electronics company, change minds, cisco

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Broadsoft Officially Acquires Sylantro

December 29, 2008

It is official and Greg has the details.

Posted in Financial, IP Communications, Merger/Acquisition

Tagged: acquisition, broadsoft, financial, m&a, merger, sylantro : Related Tags:

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UPS Driver Hurls Package

December 28, 2008

When you have 425,000 employees, some will definitely do things which embarrass headquarters. Such is the case with this UPS driver who seemed to try to make a basket with this package. No word on how many points he will get for this one but odds are he received at least one pink slip followed by the words, "Don't let the door hit you in the rear on the way out."

He is pretty lucky in fact the resolution of the video is not great enough for him to be recognized.

This is yet another example of how the web can take over a company's branding and messaging in ways they cannot control. Viral videos like this have to be the worst nightmare for those in public relations and I would estimate this video is worth millions of dollars in negative publicity.

Posted in CRM, Consumer Electronics, E-Commerce, Financial, Gadget, Technology

Tagged: broken, delivery, driver, package, publicity, UPS : Related Tags:

Excommunicate Madoff From the Jewish People

December 27, 2008

I came across an article which details why Bernard Madoff should be ex-communicated from the Jewish people. Excommunication is not something I hear about too often but perhaps that is a mistake. I think organized religion should have the responsibility of policing its people.

Although I hear Madoff did not attend a Synagogue (no surprise) excommunication would send a powerful message. No Rabbi would marry him or bury him - he will go down in history as a villain the likes of which the world has rarely seen.

As I Jew I feel very comfortable in saying this and moreover I think the reason Madoff should be kicked out of our re
ligion is not because he swindled Jews but because he stole from people on a scale never before seen.

Posted in Financial, Personal

Tagged: Bernie madoff, jew, Jewish, Judaism, rabbi, rabbi hammerman : Related Tags: jewish organizations, american jewish, american jewry, jewish community, religion should, jewish

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How The Madoff Scandal Affects Philanthropy

December 27, 2008

I received this press release on how the Madoff Ponzi scheme is affecting charities and I thought it made sense to pass along as a public service. I realize it has nothing to do with my normal coverage areas but during the holiday season, perhaps it is a good time to reflect on those who are less fortunate. Moreover, we should realize the devastating impact this scandal may have on charities and their ability to raise money going forward.

IMPLICATIONS OF MADOFF FRAUD ON PHILANTHROPIC COMMUNITY

- - Friends of ALYN Hospital Spearhead Philanthropic Coalition --

NEW YORK, NY, December 23, 2008: Cathy Lanyard, Executive Director of American Friends of ALYN Hospital, a non-profit organization, held a press conference today to discuss the "Implications of Bernard Madoff on Fundraising and Non-Profit Organizations."

Madoff's alleged $50 billion Wall Street fraud, one of the largest in U.S. history, has devastated non-profit organizations across the United States, particularly Jewish charities.

Posted in Financial, Personal

Tagged: charity, financial, fraud, madoff, philanthropy : Related Tags: philanthropic coalition, philanthropic community, madoff fraud, profit organizations, nonprofit organizations, charities

Cuil: Lack of Money, Not Focus?

December 27, 2008

I have mentioned in the past that Google has a tremendous advantage in search over Microsoft and Yahoo! because it is able to focus better as it has less going on. If that were true, now that Google has become as much of a web portal as Yahoo, a new competitor Cuil, which made a big splash in the search engine market some months ago, should be kicking Google in the rear.

As TechCrunch reports, the new search engine is really not doing well at all and comes up short on searches for TechCrunch. By the way, I wasn't impressed when I "Cuiled" TMC or Tehrani.

The company got $33 million in funding which I would argue is woefully inadequate to compete with Google. You would need to add at least a zero to the above number for me to think there was any competitive chance.

Posted in Google, Microsoft, Search, Technology, Yahoo

Tagged: Cuil, financing, google, Microsoft, search, techcrunch, tmcnet, yahoo : Related Tags: compete google, search engine, google, search

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Why Verizon Just Did The Web a Huge Favor

December 26, 2008

The Web's Gain is Google's loss

This is an important time of year for cybersquatters as one of them just lost a $33.2 million dollar case against Verizon. The details are as follows... A company called OnlineNIC was ordered by a court to pay $50,000 per bad-faith name registrations too similar to Verizon's domain names.

Here is an excerpt from a Wall Street Journal article on the matter:

Complaints about cybersquatting -- or setting up a Web site using a trademarked name and then profiting by selling the name to the trademark owner -- surged to a record in 2007, according to World Intellectual Property Organization, a watchdog group.

Anyone can register domain names for a nominal fee, but cybersquatters claim popular domain names with the intention of selling them at a profit when the real owners of the names come calling. More recently, Internet entrepreneurs have set up Web sites using famous names -- or even versions with typos in them -- and setting up per-click ads leading to the entity's official site.

And this is why the news is good for all of us.

Posted in AT&T, E-Commerce, Google, Search, Technology, Verizon

Tagged: bad faith, court, cybersquatter, cybersquatting, ebay, google, governer, lawsuit, meg Whitman, sprint, tmcnet, Verizon, wall street journal, wsj : Related Tags: domain names, browsing experience, syndication networks, names, google, domain

Google Android vs. Apple iPhone

December 26, 2008

Trying to find a reason to purchase an Android-based phone instead of an iPhone? If so, check out this article which describes the state of Android, the future and finally some applications you just can't get on an Apple-powered phone. At least not today.

If by the way, Android phones from HTC are not your cup of tea, rest assured Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Samsung and maybe others will be coming out with their own Android devices as well. Oh, and don't forget the ZZZphone.

To me, the plethora of Android devices may be confusing for customers and for application developers. I am unsure how applications for example will look on various screen sizes and form factors.

Posted in AT&T, Apple, Consumer Electronics, FCC, Gadget, Google, IP Communications, Microsoft, Technology, Wireless

Tagged: android, appls, cellular, Christmas, device, g1, gadget, google, htc, iphone, Motorola, msnbc, oha, Samsung, sony ericsson, tmcnet, wireless, zzzphone : Related Tags: android apple, android devices, android, apple, iphone, phone

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TMC and Objectivity

December 25, 2008

Objectivity is the subject of today's thoughts - primarily because I came across a pretty harsh criticism of me being biased towards a particular vendor. I was going to link to the posts where an anonymous individual decided to skewer me but I then realized that the poster could be a short seller of the stock of the company in question or perhaps a disgruntled former or present employee.

Seldom, I do get criticism from people saying I am biased towards or against companies. They say I brownnose or they say I am in the pocket of this company or that. Sometimes they even say a company is not a customer and that is why I mention negative rumors I hear, etc.

Here is the reality.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Apple, Avaya, Blackberry, Broadband, CRM, Call Center, Cisco, Conference, Conferencing, Consumer Electronics, E-Commerce, FCC, Fax, Gadget, Google, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, Merger/Acquisition, Microsoft, Nortel, Open Source, SIP, SaaS, Security, Skype, Social Networking, Speech Technologies, TMCnet, Technology, Unified Communications, Verizon, Video, Virtual Worlds, VoIP, Vonage, WiMAX, Wireless, Yahoo

Tagged: 4gwe, conference, customer interaction solutions, daw, expo, internet telephony, itexpo, longevity, ngn, objectivity, rich tehrani, Tmc, tmcnet, unified communications : Related Tags: million pages, biased towards, pages viewed, readers, month, company

TMCnet For iPhone on Apple's Site

December 24, 2008

I just learned that Apple has listed the new TMCnet for iPhone link on their site.

This is really great and I have become accustomed to seeing TMCnet on my 3.5" Apple-powered smartphone screen. If you want to enjoy the power of TMCnet on the go and have an iPhone or iPod touch, just navigate to i.tmcnet.com or check out the Apple site yourself for details.

I should mention the TMCnet for iPhone site is really an alpha product in my opinion but we will be improving it gradually over time and may even develop a full-fledged standalone application for the iPhone in the future.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Apple, Avaya, CRM, Call Center, Cisco, Conferencing, Consumer Electronics, Fax, Gadget, SIP, TMCnet, Technology, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: app store, apple, call center, consumer electronics, crm, gadget, ip communications, iphone, itunes, smartphone, tmcnet, voip : Related Tags: tmcnet iphone, tmcnet, iphone, apple

Why Doesn't Free Public WiFi Work?

December 24, 2008

Did you ever search for an available WiFi AP only to be confronted with "Free Public WiFi" as the SSID? After clicking on this network did you find you don't get internet access? Well if this has happened to you -- and it has happened to me, you want to check out this article which explains how Microsoft's ad-hoc network setttings and the irresistable idea of getting free WiFi combine to spread an SSID which causes lots of wasted time.

The good news is if we all stop clicking on this SSID, it will eventually go away. You know, like when your teachers told you you had to learn the metric system and you ignored them and after a few years they forgot. Well except for soft drinks and toilet bowls. I still haven't figured that one out.

Posted in Broadband, Microsoft, Technology, WiMAX, Wireless

Tagged: about.com, access point, ap, free public wifi, ssid, wifi, wireless : Related Tags:

Madoff Tragedy Escalates

December 23, 2008

Terrible news in the world of investing and being a good human being. Not only did Bernard Madoff bilk charities, widows and many non-profits out of billions, the latest thing he may have taken is a life.

The founder of a hedge fund which invested with Madoff was found dead in his New York City office. Although suicide hasn't been confirmed as the cause of death, it wouldn't be at all surprising.

As the largest Ponzi scheme of all time unravels, there are more victims and more tragedies.

Posted in Financial

Tagged: bernard madoff, ponzi scheme.hedge fund, suicide : Related Tags: madoff

iPhone Apps: First Microsoft and now HP

December 23, 2008

Is there no end to the Apple competitors developing iPhone apps? Moreover... Once the genie is out of the bottle, can they get it back in again. I think not. HP's latest photo printing app should be a quite useful way to print your photos from your Apple smartphone and Microsoft's Seadragon is a fantastic way to rapidly view volumes of photos on the iPhone in high resolution.

To be honest, lots of reporters are making a big deal out of the news that competitors are developing these iPhone apps - and I guess I just did as well.

Posted in Apple, Consumer Electronics, Gadget, Microsoft, Technology, Wireless

Tagged: app store, apple, hp, Iphone, ipod touch, itunes, Microsoft, photosynth, printing, seadragon : Related Tags: desktop publishing, competitors developing, developing iphone, iphone, apple, printer

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CIOs Prefer Suits

December 22, 2008

Attention out of work techies. You may want to consider buying a suit and cutting your hair. It seems 35% of CIOs prefer suits followed by 26% for khakis and a collared shirt.

The survey I cite here was done by Robert Half Technology and consists of interviews done with 1,400 CIOs from companies across the US. The companies all had 100 emplyees or more.

Formal business suit 35% Khakis and a collared shirt 26%

Tailored separates (e.g., skirt and blouse, jacket and dress pants)

24% Jeans and a polo shirt 9% Other 1% None in particular 2% Don't know/no answer 3% 100%

iMenorah

December 22, 2008

What other holiday besides Chanukah has three or more ways to spell it? That's right, your favorite 8-day gift-giving and receiving holiday now has its very own iPhone app which allows you to go on vacation and leave the candles at home. Not only is this app safer because there is no chance of fire, it has a lower carbon footprint and look Ma, no smoke.

Will your Rabbi sanction this new iMenorah application? I am not sure but what I do know is technology never ceases to amaze me and I just paid $1.99 to download this app as I am headed on a vacation tomorrow and now don't need to explain to the TSA why I have matches, candles and other potentially suspicious looking items in my bags.

See Also: ZDnet

Posted in Personal, Technology

Tagged: apple, candle, Chanukah, imenorah, iphone, zdnet : Related Tags:

TMC Holiday Shots 2008

December 22, 2008

Please enjoy these TMC 2008 holiday shots. We certainly had a lot of fun and wish you all a wonderful holiday and new year.

Posted in IP Communications

A Newspaper Thrives Against All Odds

December 22, 2008

A little known fact that reading print publications can make you look more attractive (well at least to traditional media companies)

I came across a great article on how a small newspaper in New Jersey is thriving in an environment where most paper-based media products are losing ground to web-based competition. The way it was done is by having a low circulation and 3.5 employees allowing rates to be low that virtually anyone can afford a full page ad.

In addition, none of the newspaper's content lives online which is pretty amazing. In my opinion, TriCityNews of Monmouth County, N.J. has an opportunity to charge $10/year for subscribers to have an online viewing option - if for no other reason than it allows people to forward interesting articles to others electronically.

I am glad I came across this piece because it reminds me of the most ironic part of the media business.

As you may know, over the years, TMC has built itself into a diverse media company with the world's most popular site focusing on communications and technology.

Posted in Google, Technology

Tagged: advertising, magazine, Marketing, Monmouth County, newspaper, online, print, TriCityNews : Related Tags: diverse media, media company, print publications, online, print, newspaper

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Silicon Valley Closes for Christmas

December 22, 2008

While the tech industry was immune from much of the slowdown in this recession during the first part of the year, the economic crisis which took hold in September of certainly changed all that. Now, many Silicon Valley companies are closing for an extended time during the holidays and obviously there have been many layoffs.

My take?+ If things do pick up next year and this is a short-lived slowdown, it may be a good thing to have extra time to spend with your family. My advice? Enjoy the time off. We all have our fingers crossed that things will roar back to life in the near future.

Moreover, this crisis which we are still in -- is still partially a crisis of confidence.

Posted in Broadband, Cisco, Consumer Electronics, Gadget, Google, IP Communications, Technology, Unified Communications, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: chip makers, cisco, financial times, google, holiday shutdowns, layoffs : Related Tags: silicon valley, crisis

A Tale of Bribery, Cockroaches and Raid

December 21, 2008

One of the most fascinating articles I have read in a long while is about the Siemens global bribery scandal where the company spent $1.4 billion on bribes from 2001 to 2007. Of that, get this - telecom accounted for $800 million or 57%! Consider the company also had divisions in industrial, transportation, control systems, healthcare and other areas and you see just how out of whack the telecom bribery spending was.

This leads one to wonder a few things... What would have happened if $800 million in telecom bribes weren't paid during this time period? Would Nortel, Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya and others have done better? One would imagine they would have.

Would the terms of the Alcatel-Lucent deal have been different? How about Avaya being taken private - would the valuation had been higher if the bribery by Siemens didn't take place?

Then there is product development. Did it suffer over the past decade? Did Siemens need to innovate if it was selling more product than it should have? Is its innovation behind others?

Furthermore, if other companies were selling less, did they in turn have less money to put back into their own R&D?

Did Siemens in fact cause innovation in global telecom to slow?

Then there are the myriad distressed acquisitions that took place over the past five plus years.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Avaya, Broadband, CRM, Call Center, Cisco, Communications Developer, Financial, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, Microsoft, Nortel, Optical, SIP, Security, Speech Technologies, Technology, Unified Communications, Verizon, Video, VoIP, WiMAX, Wireless

Tagged: Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, bribery, call center, cisco, Comdial, contact center, Huaweii, ip pbx, mitel<, Nortel, pbx, Siemens, Vodavi, zte, Zultys : Related Tags: billion bribes, alcatel lucent, bribery, siemens, bribes, scandal

We're No Shrinking Violet Says Nortel's Carrier Chief

December 20, 2008

Nortel is an interesting company from the perspective that they have an inherent advantage in their product development as they cater to two separate markets - enterprise and carrier, which need similar products. The company can afford to easily sell carrier-class products to enterprise customers making them more reliable than what many competitors offer.

But all the advantages in the world don't mask the company's recent earnings which were below expectations with carrier revenue down 24% and they certainly can't easily offset the billions of dollars of debt the company has.

I said this in a recent post:

By not meeting with people on this side of the "house" I am now wondering in hindsight if part of the problems in the service provider business has to do with lack of leadership and the absence of a highly visible spokesperson/evangelist.

Recently I did get a chance to speak with Richard Lowe (pictured), Nortel's President of Carrier Networks. And Lowe did a spectacular job addressing my questions and seems to be a great spokesman for the company. Also on the line was Bruce Gustafson, Director of Marcom, Carrier Networks.

Posted in AT&T, Avaya, Broadband, Call Center, Cisco, Consumer Electronics, FCC, Fax, Gadget, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, Microsoft, Nortel, Open Source, Optical, SIP, Social Networking, Speech Technologies, Technology, Unified Communications, Verizon, Video, VoIP, WiMAX, Wireless

Tagged: 1xrtt, 36, 4g, alcatel lucent, broadband wireless, bt, carriers, cdma, china, cisco, class 4, class 5, earnings, ericsson, evdo, france telecom, gsm, hosted uc, huweii, india, ip centrex, Lte, motorola, Nortel, nsn, pstn, r&d, sip trunking, sonus, sprint, tdm, trunking, uc, umts, unified communications, Verizon, wideband cdma, wireless, zte : Related Tags: further explained, alcatel lucent, enterprise carrier, carrier business, advantage company, company

HD Voice Gains Traction

December 20, 2008

As companies look to differentiate themselves in a competitive telecom marketplace, pushing HD Voice is bound to help them gain a competitive edge. TMCnet's Michael Dinan recently covered how Alteva is promoting their hosted communications service which supports Polycom's line of HD voice phones.

I would imagine all resellers should be looking at these solutions to sell and they should be positioning HD voice as the future of communications.

Posted in SIP

Tagged: alteva, hd voice, hd voip, high definition voip, michael dinan, polycom : Related Tags: voice

Turn an iPhone into a Hard Disk

December 20, 2008

Although I have yet to try any of these suggested methods, this article should be very helpful for those of you who don't think your iPhone is useful enough as just a music player, GPS device and pocket computer. There are indeed six ways cited in this piece which can help you take advantage of any unused space on your iPhone to store whatever data you see fit. Enjoy.

Posted in AT&T, Apple, Consumer Electronics, Gadget, Technology

Tagged: apple, gps, hard disk, Iphone, ipod, itunes, make use of : Related Tags: iphone

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Vonage Executive Compensation Out of Line

December 19, 2008

I received an email after my post on Sylantro wondering why I don't bring up companies like Vonage when I talk about corporate failures. Specifically I was sent a link to Vonage VP/CFO/Treasurer's page on Forbes where they show his annual compensation to be just under $2 million dollars.

Attached to the link, the following thoughts:
It is because of this man that the company has never made a dime and artificially depressed VoIP prices to kill off competition and ensure the VoIP industry remains under pressure for years. This is a very difficult accomplishment .

While we can't blame John Rego for all the problems over at Vonage, I can't understand how anyone at any company can be taking home this kind of money when the stock price looks like a ski slope. C'mon Vonage, even ski slopes have muguls.

Posted in Broadband, Consumer Electronics, Gadget, IP Communications, SIP, Technology, VoIP, Vonage, Wireless

Tagged: executive compensation, ip communications, john rego, mogul, performance, stock, Sylantro, voip, Vonage : Related Tags: vonage

NY to Boston $29 Wow!

December 19, 2008

Travelzoo just sent an email telling the world that JetBlue has fares from Boston to New York City for an amazing $29. Greyhound, the nation's leading bus company costs $20 for the same trip. You need to book quickly to get this deal though.

Granted, on the bus you don't get the same humiliating body and cavity searches you do when you fly - but hey, at least traveling by plane means missing the various "bus-borne" aromas which may remind you of a locker room or the less memorable parts of your college days.

I think the falling price of oil will be good for those of us traveling to ITEXPO Feb 2-4 in Miami. I did a quick search and found direct flights cost just $127 from New York! This is the lowest fare I have ever seen to Florida.

Posted in 4G, Broadband, Communications Developer, Conference, FCC, IP Communications, ITEXPO, SIP, Technology, Unified Communications, VoIP

Tagged: 4gwe, communications developer, greyhound, itexpo, jetblue, miami, travelzoo : Related Tags:

Oracle Does it Again

December 19, 2008

Oracle is amazing. They reported their numbers last night and although they said future sales will be down around 10% their stock is up 6% as of this writing.

According to Dow Jones:

Revenue for the quarter was lower than Wall Street expected, reflecting both the currency impact and weaker information-technology expenditure, but cost control and a strong flow of maintenance support revenue helped Oracle hit its quarterly earnings per share guidance.

For the quarter ended Nov. 30, the Redwood City, Calif.-based business- software giant reported net income of $1.296 billion, or 25 cents a share, down from $1.303 billion, also 25 cents a share, a year earlier. The stronger dollar cut 4 cents a share from the latest quarter's per-share earnings.

Excluding stock-based compensation, restructuring and acquisition-related costs, earnings rose 9% to 34 cents a share.

Posted in Broadband, CRM, Call Center, Communications Developer, IP Communications, Microsoft, Technology

Tagged: call center, crm, dow jones, hosted, on demand, Oracle, ovum, saas : Related Tags: fixed exchange, oracle stock, second quarter, market companies, billion cents, oracle

Broadsoft Near Sylantro Acquisition

December 19, 2008

There have been rumors floating for a while about the acquisition of Sylantro by Broadsoft. A great source for this info is Fierce where they have been following the matter closely. According to my sources, there has been weeks of negotiations over the price of the deal which will be "shockingly low."

Apparently the reason for the fire sale is Sylantro investors are fed up with the company and want out.

I don't blame them. Sylantro is a company that was early to the VoIP application server space and produced solid products but was plagued by some of the worst business people and marketing teams I have ever met.

Posted in Broadband, Communications Developer, IP Communications, Open Source, SIP, Technology, Unified Communications, VoIP

Tagged: application server, broadsoft, deature server, doug mohney, fierce, ip communications, Sylantro, voip : Related Tags: marketing teams, sylantro investors, media relations, sylantro execs, sylantro broadsoft, company

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TMC Holiday Party 2008

December 18, 2008

A great time. Happy holidays and New Year to all.

Posted in IP Communications

Please Obama Tell Us You Won't Raise Taxes

December 18, 2008

We have an economy where many consumers don't want to spend. Today on the way back from lunch I ran into and spoke with a friend who works at one of the major shipping companies in the US and he tells me volume is way way down. Things are just not being shipped he complained.

After that conversation I saw a big banner on the corner saying there is a sale on live lobster at a seafood store. I think it was $5.89/lb.

Posted in Personal

Tagged: lobster, obama, president, rich, tax hike, taxes, wealthy : Related Tags: raise taxes, taxes anyone, taxes, people, spend, income

LTE Being Rushed Out

December 18, 2008

The fight between the WiMAX and LTE camp is heating up and WiMAX seems to be on the back burner according to wireless experts like Harald Braun and others.

This is an excerpt from a recent article in fact:

I asked about the WiMAX/LTE competition and he said for his company, WiMAX was always a bridge technology towards LTE but today it seems carriers have stepped up their roll outs of LTE technology. "Now the gap is closing," he said. He continued, "I would have thought we would have more WiMAX deployments by now and I don't see it."
My take? LTE does have the inherent advantage of being provided by the equipment companies the carriers are familiar with and moreover it has the advantage of copying the best of WiMAX. Finally it gets the benefit of being pitched as an upgrade to existing equipment instead of rip and replace.

The battle isn't over mind you -- no -- in fact it is just getting started.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Broadband, Cisco, Conference, FCC, Gadget, IMS, IP Communications, Nortel, Technology, Verizon, Video, VoIP, WiMAX, Wireless

Tagged: 3g, 4g, 4gwe, carl ford, conference, dave rodriguez, fujitsu, greg galitzine, harald braun, harris stratex, scott kargman, wimax : Related Tags: wireless evolution, crossfire media, communications technology, evolution conference, internet telephony, wireless

Secret Santa at TMC

December 18, 2008

Today is Secret Santa day at TMC. Also known as secret snowman to be
more PC. You wrap and bring a gift - then pick a number.

You pick wrapped gifts in numerical order and open the gift. A twist
this year is the next person has a choice of opening a present or
taking an item that is opened already. And the first person gets to
choose from the last person.

I chose #1 this year and got a corkscrew set. Is Andy Abramson
involved with this?

Posted in IP Communications

Comments

One in Six Households Wireless Only

December 18, 2008

Consumers are cutting the cord, making it more important than ever to have a wireless strategy which is solid. As it continues, the cable companies are at the biggest disadvantage.

Over the past years it seems the FCC went out of its way to penaliize the cable companies while giving the phone companies a free ride -- you know -- killing the CLECs, encouraging mergers, etc.

I kind of understood the thinking of the FCC (not the killing the CELCs part) as the triple-play was becoming popular and cable companies were far ahead of the telcos.

Now however the phone companies have the advanatage -- as consumers move to wireless networks and give up landlines.

One wonders if the FCC will change its stance now that the balance of power is shifting rapidly towards the telcos. We will see what happens next year when Kevin Martin moves on.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Broadband, FCC, Fax, IP Communications, SIP, Technology, Verizon, Video, VoIP, Vonage, Wireless

Tagged: cable, clec, fcc, kevin martin, triple play : Related Tags: cable companies, phone companies, companies, cable, wireless

The Why of the Storm

December 18, 2008

I have noticed the Blackberry Storm has improved a good deal over past weeks but this it seems is not enough to keep people from returning these handheld computers at a record clip. While it is impossible to know for sure if the Storm return rate is higher than it is for other devices, Silicon Valley Insider says it is surprisingly easy to find people sharing their device return intentions on Twitter.

Here is what I am hearing. People find the device difficult to use and confusing. There is a learning curve and if people get past it many do seem to like the device.

The biggest problem for RIM? Simple.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Apple, Avaya, Blackberry, Broadband, Communications Developer, Consumer Electronics, FCC, Gadget, IP Communications, Microsoft, Nortel, SIP, Technology, Verizon, Video, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: Android, apple, at&t, att, avaya, blackberry, brendan reed, court, france, iphone, job arnold, Microsoft, nortel, orange, Palm, rim, Storm, Symbian, Windows Mobile : Related Tags: windows mobile, applications important, device, iphone, storm, people

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1.5 Million Asterisk Downloads in 2008

December 18, 2008

How do people offset a slowing economy? They increase their productivity with more efficient communications systems which embrace IP communications, presence and collaboration.

Often they even do this at no cost as witnessed by the 1.5 million Asterisk downloads this year!

What does one say about such massive numbers? I suppose I could start with "Wow."

CTI and the promise of openness was what drove huge growth and innovation in telecom in the nineties. In this decade it is open source, IP communications and UC which are carrying the torch first lit by the promise of open communications platforms which first excited many of us two decades ago.

Posted in IP Communications, Open Source, Unified Communications

Tagged: asterisk, cti, digium, ip communications, ip telephony, open source, voip : Related Tags: million asterisk, asterisk downloads, internet marketing, communications, internet

Comments

Happy Birthday Jaime and Natasha

December 18, 2008

We had a big birthday week at TMC -- celebrating both Natasha and Jaime's birthdays.

Posted in Personal

Tagged: jaime, natasha, tmc : Related Tags:

Get Ready for the iTax

December 17, 2008

Happy with your iTunes songs and movies? If you are, you better download all the music and other content you can before the proposed "iTunes tax" begins in New York. It seems that Governor David Paterson feels it isn't depressing enough being surrounded by tens of thousands of out of work financial executives and once high flying hedge fund titans... He wants to make sure the same misery you deal with in public - when perhaps you run into ex-Madoff fund investors, follows you back home into your apartment.

So when you click to confirm that download - regardless of the service, you will likely soon be hit with a new tax.

Tell me once again, why do people choose to live in New York?

Perhaps the only good news is the tax is only 4% a thankfully, the tax on purchasing CDs will remain the same.

Personally, I just hope they don't find a way to add fees to Pandora.

Posted in 4G, Apple, Consumer Electronics, Gadget, Technology, Wireless

Tagged: apple, David Paterson, Governor, Itunes, new york, tax : Related Tags: people, download

Comments

SEC Turns its Back on and/or Aids People Who Defraud Investors

December 17, 2008

Wall Street executives, politicians and the SEC - does anyone give a damn about doing their job with pride anymore? I have a thought on the global economic crisis and where it stems from... From people being consistently lazy and taking the easy way out.

Oh - and consider this a relative complement as it only applies to the executives, politicians and government workers who aren't corrupt.

More.

Posted in Personal

Tagged: madoff, sec, wall street : Related Tags: executives politicians

Visionary Harald Braun Says Telecom - Especially Wireless - Best Industry to be in

December 17, 2008

Smartphone Increase Leads to Significant IP Mobile Backhaul Adoption

One of the most charismatic and energetic people in the carrier equipment market has to be Harold Braun (interview) the CEO of Harris Stratex, the largest independent supplier of wireless transmission systems in the world. The company supports broad frequency coverage from 4-38 GHz and capacities up to 1.2 Gbps. Their product lines consist of the TRuepont, Eclipse and Constellation among others.

I recently had a chance to catch up with this globe-trotting CEO and he was quite happy as he told me the market for mobile backhaul is growing at 6-8% and when you look more closely you see the majority of this growth is in IP.

You may recall I have spoken about Braun in the past when he was CEO of NSN. As he pointed out to me this week - he oversaw the transition to IP at Nokia Siemens networks and now has moved to Harris Stratex where he is able

to transition the wireless market to IP.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Broadband, FCC, IMS, IP Communications, Technology, Verizon, VoIP, WiMAX, Wireless

Tagged: 2g, 3g, 4g, Alcatel-Lucent, apple, at&t, att, cell phone, ceragon, Constellation, dragonwave, Eclipse, Ericsson, Harris Stratex, herald braun, ip wireless backhaul, iphone, lte, NEC, nokia Siemens networks, NSN, smartphone, TRuepont, Verizon, vzw, wimax, wireless backhaul : Related Tags: harris stratex, mobile backhaul, looking reduce, company wimax, upgrade networks, braun

It's Snowing in Norwalk, CT

December 17, 2008

Originally sent to blog last night -- somehow clogged up and dislodged this morning.

Wild weather swings lately from temps in the teens to a high of 60 yesterday and now snow. Was working on a big interview tonight - will post in the morning as I want to check it one last time for accuracy.

Posted in IP Communications

Poked by the Long Arm of the Law

December 16, 2008

In Australia there are some cases in which you can send legally binding documents to people via social networking sites. Is this the future or what? Of course in the US, we still vote with a pen and paper.

Posted in Social Networking, Technology

Tagged: australia, facebook, legally binding, voting : Related Tags:

iPhone WiFi Goes Global Thanks to iPass

December 15, 2008

Back in 1999, experts at pre-merger Lucent's Bell Labs head predicted a communications skin would engulf us, allowing us to seamlessly connect with various networks. Over the years this prediction has come true but we are far from able to seamlessly connect to them all. If anything, connecting to many of these networks is a major barrier when you consider entering credit card and other information can take five minutes or more.

But there are ways you can overcome the barriers which are artificially placed between you and the wireless network you want to use. I am of course referring to user names and passwords and contact information you must enter when you want to use a wireless network.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Apple, Broadband, Consumer Electronics, Gadget, IMS, IP Communications, Technology, Verizon, Video, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: app store, apple, boingo, Devicescape, Easy Wi-Fi, ipass, iPassConnect Mobility Service, Iphone, iphone, itunes, Rick Bilodeau, wifi : Related Tags: names passwords, various networks, seamlessly connect, wireless network, connect various, networks

Hey Wait A Sec... Where is Jon Arnold?

December 15, 2008

Good news. For those of you looking for Jon Arnold's blog and that well thought-out content which helps service providers, enterprises and the blogosphere alike... I have found it. You see, this past weekend, Jon's blog moved.

Jon has a way of analyzing the situation which I do find unique. I could go on and on but his work speaks for itself.

Posted in 4G, Call Center, Communications Developer, FCC, IP Communications, SIP, Skype, Social Networking, Technology, Unified Communications, Verizon, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: analyst 2.0, Blogosphere, ip communications, IP Communications Insights, J Arnold and Associates, Jon Arnold, marc robins, sbc, voip : Related Tags:

Why We Need To Help Brianna Sharp

December 15, 2008

I recently came across the story of Brianna Sharp, a young girl involved in swimming and Irish dance who was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor called "diffuse intrinsic pontine brain stem glioma."

The brain stem consists of the midbrain, pons and medulla located deep in the posterior part of the brain. Tumors that arise along these structures are called brain stem gliomas. Most brain stem gliomas occur in the pons ("pontine gliomas"). The pontine tumors have a poorer prognosis than the less common midbrain and medullary gliomas.

Posted in Personal

Tagged: brain stem glioma, brain tumor, Brianna sharp, Jennifer Sharp, Matthew, Pontine, Proton Radiation Therapy : Related Tags: brianna sharp, pontine gliomas, brianna, brain, sharp, pontine

Comments

The Best Viral Marketing Campaign of the Season

December 15, 2008

Beware of the Doghouse

There are viral videos and then there are viral videos. Here is one which was sent to me from two different people and shows a company many consider to be stodgy and from the last century (well technically they are, right?) can be as leading edge as any organization out there.

Hats to JC Penny for coming up with a viral ad campaign which is creative and gets people talking.

If they can do it, you can too -- right?

Oh and by the way -- room for improvement. How about a way to embed the video in blogs?

Posted in Call Center, E-Commerce, IP Communications, Technology, Video

Tagged: jc penny, jewelry store, marketing, sales, tmcnet, video, viral, web 2.0 : Related Tags: viral videos, viral, videos

Comments

Google Scraps Net Neutrality Push?

December 15, 2008

Om Malik has some interesting analysis of Google and its stance on Net Neutrality. The genesis of the story is a Wall Street Journal article discussing Google and how it is looking to peer its caching devices directly with network operators. This would allow Google's content to get to you faster than other content and would reduce the bandwidth requirements for carriers.

What is Malik's take on Google after reading this story?
Given how close President-elect Obama is to the current Google management, I can only fear the worst. Many startups might skip over this issue, which I constantly bring up, but they need to wake up and realize that in the end they are all going to be impacted if network neutrality is backstabbed to death.

Posted in AT&T, FCC, Google, IP Communications, Microsoft, Technology, Verizon

Tagged: Gigaom, google, Microsoft, net neutrality, obama, om malik, wall street journal, wsj : Related Tags: street journal, google, story, network, neutrality, content

Comments

Nortel's Web.Alive Brings Virtual Worlds to Business

December 14, 2008

While Nortel faces financial struggles and unprecedented debt, there are bright spots in the company's portfolio which most reporters will ignore because - well good news doesn't sell. I for one think it is always worth exploring the silver linings in every dark cloud - even if the notion seems unpopular.

Recently I participated in a virtual world demo with Nortel where they showed me what they call web.alive -- a business oriented virtual world. Complete with avatars, this immersive experience is similar to Second Life but without the need to download software.

You simply go to a web page and logon and you are immediately transported into a virtual 3D world where you are able to really simulate reality.

How a typical web.alive staff meeting could look

While it is easy to dismiss the notion of virtual worlds for business as Second Life seems to be an environment where people want to escape work (and everything else), I can tell you that I remain impressed about the future of this technology. I imagine it will be bigger in a decade than we can currently imagine but in the near term, I am not sure how popular such an environment will become.

As you know from my prior writings there is full DiamondWare 3D stereoVoIP technology built-in.

Posted in Avaya, Broadband, Cisco, Conference, IMS, Nortel, SIP, Social Networking, Technology, Unified Communications, Virtual Worlds, VoIP

Tagged: avatar, avaya, cisco, collaboration, ibm, Microsoft, Nortel, powerpoint, project chainsaw, video, virtual worlds, voip, web.alive : Related Tags: virtual worlds, virtual world, worlds business, virtual, people, nortel

Comments

Thanks to Dubya - No Free Wireless Internet

December 14, 2008

I am deeply saddened by the fact that the Bush administration pressured the FCC to cancel a meeting on a vote which would have put free broadband in the hands of hundreds of millions of Americans. This is my opinion is perhaps one of the most damaging things the Bush administration has done to date and it is shocking that they don't have the capacity to see the potential of giving free wireless internet to all.

I guess this is what happens when you have a person who really doesn't use the internet in charge of the country. It's scary really.

I was not an Obama fan. Since he was elected I have been happy with most everything he has done.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, FCC, IMS, IP Communications, Merger/Acquisition, Nortel, TMCnet, Technology, Verizon, Video, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: 3g, 4g, bush administration, censorship, Fcc, free internet, vote, wireless : Related Tags: wireless internet, internet access, important point, greatest quality, federal taxes, internet

Comments

Amazon Ink Matching Program is Genius

December 14, 2008

I was in a rush and entered hp 88 ink package into Amazon's search box so as to quickly find a set of inks which match my home printer. Last time I ordered inks from Amazon, each box of cyan, magenta, yellow and black came in a different package with lots of packaging material. Not only not green, but a terrible waste of money.

This time I hoped to find a package of all 4 inks.

The search results showed a package of inks and I clicked to learn more. Then I noticed this program running which tries to ascertain if the inks go with my printer.

Wow.

Posted in IP Communications, Technology

Tagged: Amazon, cost savings, economy, efficiency, ink, ink matching, printer, productivity, program, recession, software, tech, technology : Related Tags: waste money, amazon, package, program, printer, search

Grandstream GXV3005 Videophone Supports PSTN and VidTel

December 13, 2008

Grandstream makes a solid and well-regarded videophone in the GXV3000. What's not to like? Low price and solid features like a The new model - the GXV3005 does everything the GXV3000 does and adds PSTN support allowing the phone to be more useful if either network is out or perhaps if you want to have a backup to your VoIP line.

As of this writing you can get the GXV3000 from 888VoipStore.com, IP Phone Warehouse, VoIP Discount Warehouse, The VoIP Connection or Telephony Depot for about $220 or so.5.6 inch TFTP adjustable LCD screen, a VGA camera which rotates independently of the screen and support for 30 FPS video using the H.264/H.263 standard. Moreover there is support of bandwidths as low as 32kbps and up to 1Mbps.

The newer GXV3005 retails for $325 and I am told also supports the excellent VidTel service.

Posted in Broadband, IP Communications, SIP, Technology, Unified Communications, Video, VoIP

Tagged: David Li, from 888VoipStore.com, Grandstream, GXV3000, GXV3005, h.263, h.264, ip communications, IP Phone Warehouse, pstn, scott Wharton, Telephony Depot, The VoIP Connection, videophone, Vidtel, voip, VoIP Discount Warehouse : Related Tags: support, vidtel

Comments

You Just Thought of Making Profit Now?

December 13, 2008

More calls, more CEOs, more problems. There seem to be more and more companies coming out of the woodwork who now realize they need to focus on sales and marketing in 2009 for their survival. It seems these companies founded themselves for the sole purpose of being sold to Cisco and other solid companies and now those dreams have slowed or in some cases vanished.

Yes, the big tech companies are still purchasing but if they don't pick you up now, there are limited opportunities for future funding.

I get these calls and all I can think is "You're waiting until the middle of the recession to start thinking about how you get customers?" I could say more but the sheer lunacy of the whole situation doesn't allow me to articulate without peppering my writing with obscenities.

Moreover, now is the time I am hearing more than ever that PR alone isn't cutting it for companies (did it ever?). The complaint is there is too much noise and editors/reporters are being laid off around the world by the hundreds of thousand meaning few reporters to even pitch to.

So now, these unknown companies are cash-strapped and need to sell something in 30 days.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Apple, Avaya, Blackberry, Broadband, CRM, Call Center, Cisco, Communications Developer, Conference, Conferencing, Consumer Electronics, E-Commerce, FCC, Fax, Financial, Gadget, Google, Green, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, Merger/Acquisition, Microsoft, Musings, Nortel, Open Source, Optical, Patent, Personal, Podcast, SIP, SaaS, Search, Security, Skype, Social Networking, Speech Technologies, Technology, Unified Communications, Verizon, Video, Virtual Worlds, VoIP, Vonage, WiMAX, Wireless, Yahoo

Tagged: communications, Marketing, technology : Related Tags: companies, company, marketing, communications, products, engineers

Comments

TMCnet Visitors Cautiously Optimistic About 2009

December 13, 2008

For those of us in telecom and tech, there is obvious concern about where the economy is headed - just like any other industry. The difference for us is we have seen a recent bubble burst and don't have the excess in our markets which other markets do. In fact in 2000, the dotcom bubble burst in March and the telecom bubble in November.

Most CEOs I speak with in our industry tell me tech and communications are among the best industries to be in for 2009 and beyond.

This of course does not mean we will see runaway spending next year. Company execs tell me they are cautiously optimistic.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Apple, Avaya, Blackberry, Broadband, CRM, Call Center, Cisco, Communications Developer, Conference, Conferencing, Consumer Electronics, FCC, Fax, Financial, Google, Green, IP Communications, Microsoft, Nortel, Open Source, SIP, Speech Technologies, TMC Team, Technology, Unified Communications, Verizon, Video, VoIP, Vonage, WiMAX, Wireless

Tagged: 3g, 4g, ip communications, ip pbx, mobility, networking, pbx, purchasing, recession, research, sbc, session border control, softswitch, survey, Tmcnet, voip, wireless : Related Tags: tmcnet visitors, solutions percent, percent budgets, percent located, bubble burst, percent

How To Classify Kevin Martin

December 12, 2008

Boy it is tough to classify a person who is advocating opening up the internet for all when we also know he is at least in part responsible for the dire straights Nortel is in today. Friend or foe of open markets the consumer's interests?

History will be the judge.

Posted in FCC

Tagged: fcc, kevin martin : Related Tags:

TMCnet iPhone Site Launches at i.tmcnet.com

December 12, 2008

If you are an iPhone or iPod Touch user and have been wondering when... Oh when will Rich Tehrani get an iMac in the hands (we are a PC shop) of his talented development and design teams so you can take the best of TMCnet on the go? Yes, we have a mobile site already at mobile.tmcnet.com but this is not really iPhone friendly.

Fear not - we are almost ready. Well I would say in soft Alpha really. The Interface looks good in my opinion but some pages are still not "pinchable" or expandable and there are some other formatting glitches we are working on.

There are a number of reasons for this but keep in mind we have thousands of various sites and millions of total pages.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Apple, Broadband, Call Center, Conferencing, Consumer Electronics, Gadget, IP Communications, TMC Team, TMCnet, Technology, Unified Communications, Video, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: apple, call center, communications, crm, gadget, Iphone, mobile, news, tmc, tmcnet, voip : Related Tags: tmcnet iphone, tmcnet, iphone

Comments

My Thoughts on The Free Wireless Internet Argument

December 12, 2008

Michael Dinan has written a great article on the AWS-3 clash between FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and various government officials. It contains some salient quotes from me. I have mixed emotions on this matter as I want in no way to hurt wireless providers or equipment manufacturers.

On the other hand I see massive potential in having free wireless internet for all to use. This could create an immense productivity leap we can't even fathom today.

Many people in our government are against free internet access for the masses.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Apple, Blackberry, Broadband, Cisco, Consumer Electronics, FCC, Financial, IP Communications, Technology, Verizon, WiMAX, Wireless

Tagged: 3g, 4g, aws-3, evdo, fcc, gsm, iphone, kevin martin, michael dinan, wifi, wimax : Related Tags: american people, wireless internet, wireless broadband, government officials, wireless, government

Interviewed By Kitchen Table Entrepreneur

December 11, 2008

I was recently interviewed by Jackie Rogers the host of the Kitchen Table Entrepreneur and I really enjoyed our talk as it focused on Gen Y/Millennials. If you have to ask - they are people who could be your kids or the kids of your kids.

Why might listening to this interview be of interest? Well the first reason is you get to absorb the best ways to reach to your customers as they become more technologically savvy. There is a huge generation gap and now more than ever it is crucial to know how to communicate with a generation who not only may have different values but a totally different way of communicating with one another and you.

Here is the most interesting point for you to consider when wondering how much things are changing... In two independent studies of this generation - this is what people answered when asked when they would use email.

1) To respond to one of my friend's parents 2) To communicate with a teacher/professor

Text messaging and social networks are the primary way these people communicate btw.

Posted in IP Communications, Personal, Social Networking, Technology, Virtual Worlds

Tagged: generation y, interview, jackie rogers, Modavox, Modavox Central, rich tehrani, Stream Syndicate, The Kitchen Table Entrepreneur, WebcastWizard : Related Tags: jackie rogers, table entrepreneur, kitchen table, technology marketing, marketing corporation, rogers

Comments

Learn From Nortel's Woes

December 11, 2008

Yesterday I spent a good deal of time filming my opinions on the latest news in the TMC Newsroom and didn't get time to blog at all. Rest assured, I was sharing my opinions - but in this case on camera and not PC. Sadly it still takes time to produce videos so hopefully by today; all or most of this content will be available.

Perhaps the most shocking news I discussed yesterday is the Nortel bankruptcy exploration first reported by the Wall Street Journal. While Nortel has done an admirable job in the enterprise space, the service provider business is off a cliff and having 4.5 billion dollars of debt in this day and age is a severe liability to say the least.

Nortel has been marred by an accounting scandal and financial restatements in the past but in the last few years it seems things were turning around.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Broadband, Cisco, IMS, IP Communications, Microsoft, Nortel, SIP, Speech Technologies, Technology, Unified Communications, Verizon, Video, Virtual Worlds, VoIP, WiMAX, Wireless

Tagged: 3g, 4g, alcatel-lucent, Alvarion, avatars, bankruptcy, cdma, earnings, financial, ibm, joel hackney, Microsoft, mike zafirovski, Nortel, optical, uc, umts, unified communications, virtual worlds, wimax : Related Tags: service provider, doing better, provider business, cultural issues, nortel, company

Comments

Skype Mobile 2.5 Beta Now Available

December 9, 2008

The latest version of Skype for mobile devices including Windows Mobile is the beta version - 2.5 which is supposed to be more stable and also look more like its cousin which runs on your PC or Mac. I tried the beta just now and was impressed with sound quality on my HTC XV6800 phone running on Verizon EVDO.

I did notice the interface did look much more like a PC and while the sound quality was good, I couldn't figure out why the call seemed to default to my speakerphone with no way for me to stop it from doing so. I should also mention that I tried the call with echo cancellation turned off and I noticed there was no echo on the particular call I made.

This is the default setting and if you change it, you will likely slow the device and chew up processing horsepower. Overall this beta is impressive and I hope the next Skype app I download is for the iPhone.

Posted in Broadband, Communications Developer, Consumer Electronics, Gadget, IP Communications, Microsoft, Skype, Technology, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: apple, beta, ip communications, iphone, Microsoft, Skype, voip, windows mobile : Related Tags: skype mobile, sound quality, skype, mobile

Comments

SaaS in the Contact Center Webinar Starts Soon

December 9, 2008

I am moderating a webinar on SaaS in the contact center and it starts in 20 minutes. You can listen live or get the archived version. I am looking forward to it.

SaaS in the Contact Center an Attractive Alternative
During a Down Economy

Tuesday, December 9, 2008, 2:00pm ET / 11:00am PT

Customer service is a hot topic in boardrooms everywhere. This reflects today's harsh economic realities, with fierce competition, demanding customers, and cost-cutting mandates, yet it also represents an unprecedented opportunity for the contact center industry.

Posted in CRM, Call Center

Tagged: contact center, crm, saas : Related Tags: contact center, editor chief, center industry, customer service, management positions, contact

Technology and Terrorism

December 9, 2008

Any technology can be used by criminals and terrorists and the more useful it is the more the need for concern. The recent terror attacks which struck Mumbai, India are an example where the terrorists not only used Google Earth but also VoIP.

But while it may be a knee-jerk reaction to blame the technology for the acts of terror, it makes more sense to think the matter through and realize that in some cases, having this technology means there are much richer trails for law enforcement to investigate. It is just that law enforcement officials need to be looking.

The New York Times has a well-balanced article on the matter which may be of interest.

Posted in Broadband, IP Communications, Skype, Technology, VoIP, Vonage, Wireless

Tagged: google earth, ip communications, Jeremy kahn, Mumbai, New York Times, security, terrorism, voip : Related Tags: technology

Call Centers Still Hiring

December 8, 2008

While layoffs take place in the hundreds of thousands, at least one industry has some bright spots in terms of hiring. Thomas L. Cardella & Associates is adding 55 full-time jobs at its Keokuk call center to handle a new outsourcing contract.

In the recession of the early nineties, hundreds of thousands of new call center jobs helped the economy rebound more quickly. For better or for worse, about half the call center jobs were for outbound calling otherwise known as telemarketing.

While the Bush administration was responsible for effectively killing outbound telemarketing via FCC and FTC regulations, it seems it gets no credit for doing so.

In my estimation and after consulting with other industry experts I would say anywhere from 1-2.5 million outbound telemarketing jobs have vanished due to these regulations.

Posted in CRM, Call Center, FCC, Technology

Tagged: call center, cardella, contact center, do not call, fcc, ftc, recession, Telemarketing : Related Tags: outbound telemarketing, hundreds thousands, center, industry, outbound, philippines

Comments

The FBI Accidentally Drizzles on Digium's Parade

December 8, 2008

There has been some recent madness in the open source communications world and I thought I had to get involved to get the matter settled properly. Some media outlets reported on the fact that the FBI put out a vague statement via the IC3 regarding how Asterisk may be susceptible to vishing attacks or caller ID spoofing via VoIP.

Before commenting I waited to hear back from Digium's John Todd who explained that there were some methodology and editorial process issues in this alert - basically no one checked with Digium before going public. As it turns out, after checking with Digium, the FBI quickly revised their statement and everything is fine.

The details are that there was a bug which Digium found in March of 2008 and subsequently patched in version 1.2 and 1.4. Version 1.6 is not affected.

Posted in Broadband, Call Center, IP Communications, Open Source, SIP, Security, Technology, Unified Communications, VoIP

Tagged: asterisk world, caller id, fbi, Ic3, ip communications, ip pbx, phone system, security, sip, spoofing, tmcnet, vishing, voip : Related Tags: source communications, digium, security, asterisk

Let's Ban Friend Collecting

December 8, 2008

Social networks have great potential but there are some things that bother me about them. Recently I accepted an invite from someone who is in the industry.

The next day I received an email from a childhood friend asking why this other person from the communications industry was trying to connect.

Connecting to any and every breathing person on social networks is called fried collecting and to be honest it makes me uncomfortable when it is being done to my friends and business partners.s

Am I too sensitive? What's your take?

Posted in IP Communications, Social Networking, Technology, VoIP

Tagged: facebook, friend collecting, linkedin, myspece, plaxo, pulse, social media, Social networking, twitter, youtube : Related Tags: social networks

A Shot of me and SaaSy

December 8, 2008

Yes I posed with SaaSy. So what. You might have done the same. :-)

Taken at SalesForce.com's cloudforce event in Manhattan.

Posted in IP Communications

SaaSy Debuts

December 8, 2008

I kid you not, SalesForce.com has a real live mascot named SaaSy.

Posted in IP Communications

Heading to SalesForce.com News Event

December 8, 2008

I am heading into NYC to a SalesForce.com event where some big news
will be broken. It seems this company has more events than most others.

I regularly go to their NY conferences and TMC's Greg Galitzine was at
one of their Boston events a few months back as well.

Is keeping in touch regularly with the media a big part of their
success? I think so.

Posted in IP Communications

SalesForce.com CloudForce Event in NYC

December 8, 2008

Here is a pre-keynote shot of the conference. The warmth and
excitement of the ballroom is in stark contrast to the bone and body
organ numbing temperatures outside.

Posted in IP Communications

Dialogic Officially Acquires NMS

December 8, 2008

Dialogic has officially acquired the communications platforms division of NMS as of Friday evening and I had the opportunity to speak with Dialogic's Senior Vice President of Marketing Jim Machi about the acquisition and the future of the company. You may recall, I first reported on the news back on September 12th.

Before I get into the conversation with Machi, it is worth pointing out that the major competition in the CTI space between Dialogic, NMS and Brooktrout has finally come to an end this past weekend.

These companies were at each other's throats in decades past but as they competed, the industry thrived. More importantly, this rivalry caused the communications market to open to the point where a high school kid can develop telephony apps in the cloud with no knowledge of underlying telephony networks. CTI was a huge step towards openness in telecom and as these building blocks which were used for computer telephony integration began to be applied to IP communications and more specifically, VoIP - the world changed.

The opportunity for companies like Dialogic is changing and while VoIP is a big part of the company's business, video is a strong part of the future.

Posted in AT&T, Apple, Avaya, Blackberry, Broadband, CRM, Call Center, Cisco, Communications Developer, Conference, Conferencing, E-Commerce, FCC, Fax, Gadget, IP Communications, Merger/Acquisition, Microsoft, Nortel, Open Source, Patent, SIP, SaaS, Social Networking, Speech Technologies, TMCnet, Technology, Unified Communications, Video, Virtual Worlds, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: acquisition, Brooktrout, brough turner, call center, cantata, Cti, dialogic, fax, ip communications, jim machi, merger, nick jensen, nms, value added services : Related Tags: added services, value added, mobile devices, mobile value, dialogic officially, dialogic

Heading to SalesForce.com News Event

December 8, 2008

I am heading into NYC to a SalesForce.com event where some big news
will be broken. It seems this company has more events than most others.

I regularly go to their NY conferences and TMC's Greg Galitzime was at
one of their Boston events a few months back as well.

Is keeping in touch regularly with the media a big part of their
success? I think so.

Posted in IP Communications

Plantronics Calisto Pro Review Update

December 7, 2008

I wrote a pretty positive review of the Plantronics Calisto Pro series phone and headset a while back. I don't use the phone that often and recently I needed a headset but didn't have any in the house except the one that comes with the Calisto.

I remembered that this device connects to Skype via a USB cable. I connected the cable, downloaded the software and was talking in a few minutes with incredible clarity and mobility.

The one room for improvement is the need for a color screen which with today's technology wouldn't really kill battery life or the budget.

For the SMB or home that wants a solid phone and headset and also wants to be able to use it to connect to VoIP calls, this is a great solution.

Posted in Broadband, Consumer Electronics, Gadget, IP Communications, SIP, Technology, Unified Communications, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: Calisto Pro, headset, ip communications, phone, phone system, Plantronics, skype, smb, voip : Related Tags: plantronics calisto, phone headset, calisto, plantronics, headset, phone

Comments

SIP Trunking Resources

December 6, 2008

Acme Packet's Jim Slaby writes an extremely informative piece on SIP trunking and it is a must read if you are looking at SIP trunking as a way to cut down expenses while increasing your disaster preparedness. Another good point Slaby makes is SIP trunks save power over PRIs. There is more but I don't want to steal all his thunder.

If you want to learn more about SIP trunking, you can also check out this webinar taking place in four days and/or attend live SIP trunking sessions at ITEXPO (see the session in action from the last ITEXPO in Los Angeles below) Feb 2-4, 2009 in Miami.

Posted in AT&T, Broadband, Call Center, Cisco, IP Communications, SIP, Technology, Unified Communications, VoIP

Tagged: Acme packet, article, conference, itexpo, James Slaby, jim slaby, sbc, session border control, sip, sip trunking, voip, webinar : Related Tags: trunking

Microsoft Response Point Podcast With Richard Sprague

December 5, 2008

Microsoft's Response Point is an SMB phone system with big features. Priced reasonably and supplied by partners who make the hardware, this small business phone system has big features like voice recognition and a lot more.

But more importantly, this IP-PBX is designed from a small, hard-working division of Microsoft and is used by the group that has invented it. And Microsoft has been staying close to customers - using constant feedback to make the product better through a series of rapid updates.

Now on service pack 1 or SP1, the Response Point system is actually in TMC Labs at the moment and will be imminently reviewed by Tom Keating. To get perspective on Response Point and its future, I had a podcast interview with Richard Sprague (pictured), Senior Director, Marketing for Microsoft.

In our conversation I had a chance to learn how Response Point is part of the company's startup business accelerator program designed to bring products to market more quickly.

Posted in AT&T, Broadband, Call Center, Conference, Consumer Electronics, FCC, IP Communications, ITEXPO, Microsoft, Nortel, Podcast, Technology, Unified Communications, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: Aastra, clearone, conference, interview, ip communications, itexpo, Microsoft, podcast, quantum, response point, Richard Sprague, smb, software, tmc, tmc labs, voip, windows mobile, xd huang : Related Tags: response point, microsoft response, richard sprague, phone system, division microsoft, microsoft

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How Obama is Already Changing The Presidency

December 4, 2008

Love him or hate him, president elect Obama is already changing the
presidency by sending emails to communicate with his followers before
even taking office. Since he was elected he has sent a few emails
including a thank you, a survey and requests to join various support
groups.

The ability for president elect Obama to reach out to groups of
Americans based on survey data with specific messaging via email makes
him quite different than prior presidents.

It is worth pointing out that Karl Rove had direct mail experience and
this helped Bush a great deal as he campaigned. President Bush though
ignored the Internet as a communications mechanism.

It is safe to say from this point onward, politics has changed for the
better allowing closer interaction between leaders and their various
groups of followers.

Posted in IP Communications

Heading Back From Indy

December 4, 2008

I think the tiny plane here is mine. The new airport is spectacular.

Posted in IP Communications

He Killed Careers and Brands and Now Ebbers Wants a Pardon

December 4, 2008

Last I checked if you go to jail for accounting fraud in the billions of dollars where you were directly responsible for the loss of thousands of jobs and the destruction of some of the best telecom and tech brands, you should stay there and serve out your sentence. The mere fact that Ebbers is asking for a pardon by Bush before he leaves office and one is being considered should be disgusting to anyone involved in tech and telecom that plays by the rules.

Not only did Ebbers wreak havoc on the lives of thousands as he rolled up telecom companies and laid people off... Customers saw service levels decrease during the transition and in the end, fraud killed the company and made the entire telecom industry toxic to investors for many months.

Even worse, Ebber's fraudulent accounting practices forced competitors like AT&T to waste billions as it changed strategy to compete with Worldcom more effectively. The problem is - the Worldcom books were cooked.

Posted in AT&T, Broadband, FCC, Fax, IP Communications, Technology, Wireless

Tagged: Bernie ebbers, bush, fraud, mci, pardon, worldcom : Related Tags: should, telecom, worldcom, ebbers

In Meetings Today in Indy

December 4, 2008

I am in meetings for part of the day and then onto the airport. Will be back soon.

Two pieces of news of note -- AT&T has announced 10k 12K layoffs and Nokia sees less mobile phones being sold.

While both pieces of news are important and I obviously feel terrible for people who lose jobs, this is not unexpected news.

It will be very interesting to see how Apple does in a slowing handset market.

Posted in AT&T, Apple, IP Communications

Tagged: apple, at&t, layoffs, nokia : Related Tags: nokia

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Sangoma Explains Launch of B600 Line of Analog Voice Cards

December 3, 2008

Sangoma recently unveiled a new line of analog voice cards dubbed B600 and I was curious how the company sees these cards helping the industry. As you may know, Sangoma is a well-known quality Asterisk-compatible board maker. More recently the company has expanded into the UC space.

To learn more about this line of cards and what Sangoma sees in its future, I interviewed company VP Sales and Marketing Doug Vilim via email and this is the result.

What is the reason for these new cards to be introduced?

Some of our OEM customers; those who are building IP PBX appliances Empowered by Sangoma, often do not require the modularity, port customization and single slot expandability that our A-Series analog cards provide. Also, four PSTN lines and one fax connection is a common configuration that creates economies of scale, which can lead to a substantial cost savings for these customers when purchasing in larger volumes.

Solution partners and integrators who cater to small businesses can also benefit from this line, as it is a great starting point for their end customers to become familiar with Sangoma quality and ease of use, while not investing in expansion capabilities they do not yet need. And the B-Series hardware still comes with Sangoma's Wanpipe® High End System Diagnostics, Drivers and Utilities, so there is no difference there.

Why now?

In early 2008 we saw subtle shifts coming from our large OEM customers. These customers were grappling with going to smaller custom designed embedded appliances that would lock them into a design or a lower cost of analog hardware that they could count on for longevity.

Coincidently, with the current economic conditions now is also a time when all customers are really starting to look carefully at their expenditures.

Posted in AT&T, Avaya, Broadband, Call Center, Cisco, Communications Developer, Conference, Fax, IP Communications, Open Source, SIP, Technology, Unified Communications, VoIP

Tagged: Analog Voice Cards, asterisk, B600, bri, Cutting costs, david mandelstam, doug vilm, Echo Cancellation, fax, FXO, FXS, ip pbx, linux, netborder, oem, open source, sip, t1, tdm gateway, voip : Related Tags: netborder express, analog voice, coming months, economies scale, require modularity, sangoma

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E-mail Self Destruct Flag Needed

December 3, 2008

I desperately need an email self-destruct key. You see, I have many emails
which trigger ideas in my head. I want to write about them for example. The
problem is my eyes are bigger than my blogging time allotment which means I
end up with hundreds of emails I want to blog about but don't get around to.
I wish I could tag such emails with a self-destruct flag.

This would be similar to those Mission Impossible movies where the message
blows up -- just a lot cleaner and neater.

The way it works is as follows.

Posted in IP Communications

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Just Landed in Indianapolis

December 3, 2008

Great people and great steak... What a wonderful combination. I love
Indy - albeit more in the spring and early fall.

Here is a shot from the plane as we took off from New York.

I am on a nearly empty plane. Four of us from TMC are onboard out of
13 in total.

For about five years there have been few empty seats on planes but now
the planes all seem to be emptying to various degrees.

Here is the problem for airlines...

Posted in IP Communications

Click Fraud Still at 16%

December 3, 2008

Despite a tremendous amount of dollars being lost, efforts to thwart click fraud have not reduced it by much. In fact there was a miniscule 0.2% drop in click fraud this quarter over last according to Click Forensics. 16% is still high of course but I have heard advertisers compain about rates of 30% in the past.

As long as there is an incentive to create fraudulent clicks -- and it seems there always will be, click fraud will present a large drag on the pay per click or PPC industry. Sadly, search engines make money when click fraud exists and some advertisers question how hard the search engines are really trying to clean this problem up.

Posted in E-Commerce, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo

Tagged: click forensics, click fraud, google, search, yahoo : Related Tags: click fraud, search engines, click, fraud

Your Tax Dollars Go To Union Benefits

December 3, 2008

Does it make sense for Americans who don't have amazing benefits (in some cases no benefits) to be taxed and see their hard-earned money go to automakers who in turn will funnel this money to their workers who have benefits which are much better than industry averages? If automakers want this money and want to stay out of bankruptcy, they need to work with the UAW and get rid of collective bargaining which has made costs spiral out of control.

Maybe prepackaged bankruptcy is the way to go.

If you think I am nuts, consider that the competetion in the auto business is just getting started. Wait till the Chinese cars hit our shores. Do you think you can afford to pay gold-plated union benefits and compete against the Chinese?

I am not against unions, I am against having one country have them and others not. If China has strong unions and ALL other countries do as well, then the playing field is level.

Posted in Personal

Tagged: automakers, bankruptcy, detroit, uaw : Related Tags: country unions, bankrupt companies, having country, unions bankrupt, playing field, unions

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I Am Traveling Today to the Midwest

December 3, 2008

I am off to the midwest today and am looking forward to the trip. As long as I don't get snowed on (too much) I will be happy. On a seperate note it is amazing to me that Detroit is going to get all those billions. In 100 years or so they haven't figured out a viable business plan but now with the assistance of politicians they will be successful? This I gotta see.

Having said that, I have become quite impressed with the Cadillac brand over the past few years and the quality of American cars does seem to have improved dramatically.

Posted in Personal

Tagged: automakers, Cadillac, gm : Related Tags: years

Vidtel Brings Consumer Video over IP Communications to the Masses

December 2, 2008

In meetings with companies in the communications industry such as Polycom and many others, they tell me sales of video products have done very well these past years. Distributors and resellers tell me this category of product outsells just about everything else. This was especially true as fuel prices were increasing and travel budgets were being cut.

Although travel costs are receding, travel budgets will likely not be reinstated in a major way for some time. And during this economic slowdown, many expect video conferencing and telepresence to do considerably well as it allows people to communicate remotely in a manner that is similar to being live.

Consumers too are getting the hang of video and Skype execs tell me often about their increased video penetration.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Apple, Avaya, Blackberry, Broadband, Cisco, Consumer Electronics, Gadget, Google, IP Communications, SIP, Skype, Technology, Unified Communications, Video, VoIP, Vonage, Yahoo

Tagged: 8x8, at&t, att, broadsoft, brooke schulz, consumer electronics, Daniel goepp, darren sandford, gadget, ip communications, Logitech, mariette wharton, mike loftus, packet8, Skype, smb, tmcnet, travel, tv, Verizon, video, videoconferencing, Vidtel, vocaltec, voip, vonage, wayne wills : Related Tags: consumer video, video products, should mention, phones talking, category creator, video

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Thoughts on Blackberry Storm and Verizon HTC Touch Pro/XV6850

December 2, 2008

After my Black Friday trip to the mall in Connecticut, I made another trip to the Westchester Mall in White Plains, NY. I was surprised to see the light customer turnout but this could have been because of the freezing rain and snow. Speaking of storms, I dropped by the Verizon Wireless store to take a look at another Storm from Blackberry.

As you recall, my last Storm experience was all wet. I am happy to say this Storm performed better than the last one I used in Connecticut.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Apple, Blackberry, Broadband, Communications Developer, Consumer Electronics, Gadget, Google, IP Communications, Microsoft, SIP, Technology, Video, VoIP, Wireless

Tagged: android, apple, at&t, att, blackberry, blackberry storm, consumer electronics, gadgets, google, Htc, iphone, oha, open handset alliance, rim, t-mobile, touch pro, TouchFLO, Verizon, wireless, xv6800, xv6850 : Related Tags: windows mobile, mobile devices, white plains, blackberry storm, mobile, storm

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TMCnet Gets a Redesign

December 2, 2008

While many of you were busy in the malls this past weekend or trying to find the best price on that new digital camera yesterday on Cyber Monday, the dedicated team of designers and programmers here at TMC worked day and night and night and day to bring you a new look and feel.

Over the past years, many of you have told me that you love to come to TMCnet on a daily basis and the hundreds of stories and blog entries we write on a daily basis contain everything you need to navigate the telecom and tech worlds. At the same time, many of you have told us the interface TMCnet has looks busy. Others have told me it is not clear that 50-100 writers contribute to TMCnet on a daily/weekly basis.

Our new redesign is meant to adress all of these great requests and we hope you enjoy the new TMCnet.

One last point... Thanks to the 2-3 million communications and technology decision makers who visit TMCnet monthly and thanks to the TMC team for doing such a great job on this redesign.

Posted in 4G, AT&T, Apple, Avaya, Blackberry, Broadband, CRM, Call Center, Cisco, Communications Developer, Conference, Conferencing, Consumer Electronics, E-Commerce, FCC, Fax, Financial, Gadget, Google, Green, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, JITC, Merger/Acquisition, Microsoft, Musings, Nortel, Open Source, Optical, Patent, Personal, Podcast, Rates Technology, SIP, SaaS, Science, Search, Security, Skype, Social Networking, Speech Technologies, TMC Team, TMC Video, TMCnet, Technology, Unified Communications, Verizon, Video, Virtual Worlds, VoIP, Vonage, WiMAX, Wireless, Yahoo

Tagged: black friday, cyber monday, tmc, tmc team, tmcnet : Related Tags: daily basis, tmcnet, redesign, daily, basis

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Virtual Worlds Virtually Dead?

December 1, 2008

First Google kills Second Life competitor Lively (well truth be told it was overly cartoonish looking for my taste anyway) and then Reuters pulls out of Second Life.

Are the problems of the real world so outlandish -- financial challenges, terrorism, an amazing US election, etc -- that it is bringing back people from the world of fantasy to reality?

Posted in Broadband, Google, IP Communications, Nortel, Social Networking, Technology, Virtual Worlds

Tagged: avatar, google.lively, reuters, second life, virtual worlds : Related Tags:

Almost 10K App Store Programs And Counting

December 1, 2008

About 9,700 iTunes App Store applications are in existance (as you read this sentence, ten or more were added) and the popularity of this store keeps growing. About 25% of the applications you can put on your iPhone and other Apple devices are free and an even greater percentage of applications like the ever-popular turn-your-iPhone-into-a-flute program, the Smule from Ocarina cost $.99.

For more detail on what's happening in the wild world of the App Store, check out this detailed article with charts and graphs even.

Price distribution on the iTunes App Store from EdibleApple:

Posted in AT&T, Apple, Broadband, Communications Developer, Consumer Electronics, Gadget, IP Communications, Technology, Wireless

Tagged: app store, apple, iphone, ipod, itunes, ocarina, smule, steve jobs : Related Tags: store, applications

Absorbing Cyber Monday Deals

December 1, 2008

I have been swamped all morning just perusing all the Cyber Moday emails I have received from companies like Think Geek, Buy.com, Hello Direct, TigerDirect and more. It is truly amazing how low prices on electronics can go and one of the more interesting things I saw today is part of the new Geek Kids addition to the Think Geek website.

Items on this site range in suitability from newborn to 13 years of age and I am specifically interested in the Microcontroller Experimentation Kit which allows you to write programs and upload them to this device which has onboard sensors for light and temperature among other things. It also has a microphone, buzzer, diodes, resistors and more.

The product comes with a manual which has over 100 experiments and should be fascinating to play with. I wish I had one of these now when I was a kid.

Posted in Consumer Electronics, E-Commerce, Gadget, Science, Technology

Tagged: Buy.com, cyber monday, Hello Direct, Microcontroller Experimentation Kit, Think Geek, TigerDirect : Related Tags: cyber monday, cyber

Communications and Technology Blog - Tehrani.com

December 2008