Science

TMCnet Continues to Grow

February 19, 2008

Thanks once again to our loyal TMCnet readers. Because of you, TMCnet has broken more online records. In January of 2008 TMCnet experienced 38,368,961 page views (meaning total number of web pages viewed on TMCnet in January alone.

The total number of unique visitors on our site in January was 2,446,403 which is not an all time record but it is higher than recent months. Average Visit Length per person on TMCnet in January was 28 minutes and 59 seconds this past month.

Posted in Apple, Broadband, CRM, Call Center, Cisco, Conferencing, Consumer Electronics, FCC, Google, Green, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, ITEXPO, JITC, Microsoft, Musings, Open Source, Patent, Personal, Podcast, Rates Technology, SIP, Science, Security, Skype, Speech Technologies, TMC Team, TMC Video, Technology, Unified Communications, Verizon, Video, VoIP, Vonage, WiMAX, Wireless

Sony's VoIP Headsets

February 18, 2008

Sony may be a decade or so late to the game but certainly it is better to be late than not in the game at all. So welcome Sony to the world of VoIP headsets. The top of the range of this new line-up is the DR-EX230DP, which has in-ear silicon headphones in three sizes, an in-line microphone and travel case.

There is also the DR-220DRPV - which has added volume control - and the collapsible DR-G250DP, which is designed for travel use.

Tom Keating recently wrote about the company's PSP Skype headset as well.

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Posted in Apple, Broadband, Call Center, Conferencing, Consumer Electronics, FCC, Microsoft, SIP, Science, Skype, Speech Technologies, Technology, Unified Communications, Video, VoIP, Vonage, Yahoo

SMBs Embrace FMC

February 17, 2008

Huge news comes from Nortel as they recently commissioned a survey which found SMBs are more technically savvy than some might have imagined. SMBs seem to be screaming for FMC solutions and unified communications -- especially as it relates to integrating mobile devices with traditional computer solutions like laptops, etc.

900 SMBs responded to a web survey to generate these results. Unfortunately this skews the survey a bit as the people taking the survey had to be web savvy and also it is unclear what site users went to find the survey.

Still, this is a good sign that at least web-savvy SMBs are looking for the absolute latest in communications products and services. For vendors, it is just a matter of figuring out how to position your solutions in the most appealing fashion possible while ensuring that the leading edge features are in your products.

Only a marriage of excellent R&D coupled with effectively targeted marketing/PR/branding and positioning will guarantee vendors can effectively penetrate this market.

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Posted in Broadband, Call Center, Conferencing, Consumer Electronics, FCC, Google, IMS, IP Communications, SIP, Science, Security, Technology, Unified Communications, Video, VoIP, Vonage, Wireless, Yahoo

Dying Bats+Dying Bees=Trouble

February 17, 2008

First there was colony collapse disorder where bees were dying off by the millions. Now it is the bats that are dying in the northeast of the US which means more mosquitoes and other flying insects await us all this spring.

Alan Hicks, a wildlife biologist with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, said he fears a catastrophic collapse of the region's bat population and is urgently enlisting experts around the country to find the cause.

Scientists think perhaps humans are spreading the bat killing disease from cave to cave. The dead bats which number in the thousands so far have a ring of white fungus around their nose and scientists do not know if this is a symptom or the reason the bats are dying. Some surmise however the fungus could be a result of the bats being too sick to groom themselves.

Hopefully scientists will be able to find the cause and cure for this problem.

Posted in Science

Living Forever

February 16, 2008

I just couldn't help but think that those people who want to live forever should be aware that researchers are finding that mutated DNA in the mitochondria could be the reason for many age-related diseases from those that afflict the heart to cancer and diabetes.

If you recall back in biology class you likely learned that mitochondria are actually an organelle and are the power-plants of the cell, converting food to energy.

Scientists have found that even a few mutations in mitochondrial DNA can have catastrophic consequences in a living organism. By finding ways to reduce these mutations we could indeed increase lifespans dramatically.

Hopefully other researchers will be able to duplicate these findings and work can get underway to extend our healthy lives.

I know just what you are thinking.

Posted in Science

Most Accurate Clock

February 16, 2008

Reuters reports on the world's most accurate clock. How many ticks per second does such an endeavor require? Try 430 trillion!

Its pendulum uses thousands of strontium atoms suspended in grids of laser light. This allows the researchers to trap the atoms and measure the movement of energy inside.

My question is, how do I get one of these on my wrist and moreover, is there something it can do to get me to my meetings on time?

Posted in Science

Regulators Reshape the Internet

February 15, 2008

It is pretty amazing to see how many separate issues are surfacing that could affect the future of the internet. The FCC and government have their plates full deciding what to do with telcos and their potentially anti-competitive practices.

The first issue at hand is net neutrality. Congressman Edward Markey (D-Mass.) introduced the “Internet Freedom Law” this week.

Rather than detailing specific regulations, the new Markey bill calls on the FCC to conduct a “thorough inquiry” to determine “broadband policies that will promote openness, competition, innovation, and affordable, ubiquitous broadband service for all.” Part of the commission’s task is to conduct an “Internet freedom assessment” to determine whether or not service providers are adhering to “the Commission’s Broadband Policy Statement of August, 2005,” which prohibits actions that might interfere with users’ ability to access or use lawful content and services over the Internet and to attach any legal device that does not harm the network.

Next up is the case of BitTorrent and specifically, the fact that Comcast has been caught throttling traffic from this peer to peer file sharing network often used to send and receive videos. Comcast says they are within their rights to throttle bandwidth as needed to ensure things like voice get the proper quality of service while others are concerned that throttling bandwidth relating to applications violates the concept of net neutrality.

Finally, the issue of short codes has surfaced once again as Verizon has denied the use of these codes to Rebtel, a competitive service provider and others.

This month could be looked back upon as a pivotal one in the world of Internet freedom and the shaping of the world's net policies.

Posted in Apple, Broadband, Call Center, Cisco, Consumer Electronics, FCC, Google, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, Microsoft, Open Source, Patent, SIP, Science, Security, Skype, Speech Technologies, Technology, Unified Communications, Verizon, Video, VoIP, Vonage, WiMAX, Wireless

Increase Marketing Spend in a Recession

February 14, 2008

I just couldn't help but sharing this article about how companies who increase their marketing spend in a recession come out of it doing better than when they went into it. I am not advocating that there is a recession mind you but even in a slow down, the companies who remain consistent in their messaging do better than others who wait for phones to ring by themselves.

What are your thoughts?

New VoIP Security Problem

February 12, 2008

Tom Keating alerted to me a new phone hack which is for now targeting SNOM IP phones.

The big hack involves the ability of some VoIP phones to make phone calls from the Web interface using a simple web POST request. The Snom 32x supports this feature which along with some security vulnerabilities is what GNUCitizen exploited to have some real fun, like ya know, making an outbound call using a spoofed CallerID.

Hackers will need the IP address of the phone being targeted to launch the attack, but using a simple scanner they can use a cross-site scripting attack to hack the phone’s built-in management interface.

Illegal stuff a hacker can do:

Steal the phone history from the logs including any other details attached to the calls via XHR.
Poison the address book with a persistent XSS - the name is encoded correctly but not the phone number.

Posted in Broadband, Consumer Electronics, IP Communications, Microsoft, Science, Security, Technology, Unified Communications, VoIP, Wireless

Mobile World Congress Key Terms

February 10, 2008

As you may know, Mobile World Congress kicks off this week and to get the ball rolling the event has put out some of the key terms you will be hearing more about this week. I have posted them here with their definitions in case you need to brush up on your acronyms.

Also be sure to check out the Mobile World Congress News Page to stay up to date on the show.

3G, or third-generation, is loosely defined as offering high data speeds, always-on data access and greater voice capacity, enabling operators to offer customers fast internet access, live, streaming video and other multimedia or "converged" applications over a wireless network. There are several 3G technology standards.

Posted in Apple, Broadband, Call Center, Consumer Electronics, FCC, Google, Green, IMS, IP Communications, IPTV, Microsoft, Patent, SIP, Science, Security, Skype, Speech Technologies, Technology, Unified Communications, Video, VoIP, Vonage, Wireless

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