November 2004 Archives

I meant to share this interesting news release a few days ago. As a Blackberry fan, this is good news for International travellers.

Roadpost Launches Full-Functional International Blackberry Short- and Long-Term Rental Services

Highly flexible and affordable new service creates seamless delivery of full range of BlackBerry voice and data services for travellers

Toronto, ON (November 8, 2004) – Roadpost Inc., a leader of global voice and data communications solutions for the international traveller, is pleased to announce the availability of a new range of short- and long-term international rental services for RIM (Research In Motion) BlackBerry services. This new offering from Roadpost is one of the most flexible and comprehensive in the market, providing existing BlackBerry users seamless delivery of unlimited roaming data services for over 55 countries and voice services for more than 200 countries at significantly less cost than other options. Among other innovations, Roadpost is the only provider to bundle unlimited data into its rental solutions.

"This is a significant breakthrough for the international traveller," says Morris Shawn, president and CEO of Roadpost. "No longer are they forced to enter long-term agreements for GSM devices – or rent voice-only devices with only limited functionality for overseas travel. Instead, they can have full BlackBerry functionality for the short- or long-term. No other supplier can offer this combination of BlackBerry functionality, coverage, competitive rates, flexibility of terms and support services. With the BlackBerry bundles we offer, we have put control back in the users' hands."

Unlike most other international BlackBerry services that charge on a per megabyte basis, Roadpost charges a flat daily fee for unlimited data usage. Long-term rental customers are not charged for days when the device is not in use, since Roadpost provides the option to turn data functionality on or off via a web-based gateway. Voice services are based on Roadpost’s highly competitive oneRoam World basic rates. This flexibility allows users to rent on a short or long-term basis, while maintaining communications with their enterprise server. It also allows organizations to maintain BlackBerry pools for multiple users, since units can be deactivated when not in use to reduce costs.

"It's an 'always on' solution," says Shawn. "Travellers can access their email any time without having to worry about the amount of data coming in or unexpected expenses. Added to that is our comprehensive 7/24 support, and services to help the business traveller get up and running - including personalized email and business cards to send contact information while travelling. Not to mention that Roadpost offers the broadest country coverage than just about any other service provider. This new offering is just another example of how Roadpost leads the industry in understanding the international market and needs of the business traveller."

The Blackberry short-term rental package includes: a voice-enabled BlackBerry 7320 with all accessories, rental fees at $129 (US) for the first week and $10 (US) for each additional day, unlimited roaming data, optional loss/theft/damage insurance, and voice calls at standard rental rates. Roadpost also provides free 24/7 technical support for its international BlackBerry device.

Long-term rental packages are available for $249 (US) for the first month and $10 (US) for each subsequent month, plus $6 (US) per day for unlimited data. This package also includes a Web-based gateway to allow customers to activate/deactivate data services.

Roadpost's service portfolio also includes a variety of rental and subscription packages for international cellular, satellite and worldwide internet services.

About Roadpost Inc.
Founded in 1991, Roadpost (www.roadpost.com) provides customized global communications solutions to individuals and corporations. The company's comprehensive portfolio includes International Cellular, International BlackBerry, Iridium satellite, Thuraya satellite and Remote Internet Access communications services providing complete global coverage, no matter where the destination. Alliances with industry leaders such as mmO2, Transatel, Swisscom, Telecom Italia Mobile, TIM Hellas, Vodafone Bell Mobility, Telus Mobility, Iridium, GoRemote Communications, Motorola and Nokia allow Roadpost to deliver reliable and secure communications with the largest network of worldwide coverage. In addition, affiliations with loyalty programs American Airlines Aadvantage, Aeroplan® and United® Mileage Plus provide customers with an opportunity to earn loyalty points when using Roadpost’s services.

According to MSNBC, the next multibillion-dollar surprise in the cellular business will be "ringback" tones.

Instead of the usual ringing tone that people hear when calling someone, callers to Verizon Wireless subscribers may find themselves listening to a song until the phone has been answered.

Say it ain't so! I have enough of a beef with obnoxious ringtones. Ever see someone intentionally let their phone keep "ringing" just so they could hear the rest of their damn ringtone? I just want to say to them, "Pick up the damn phone. Nobody cares about your music tastes."

I don't want to dial someone's cellphone and have to listen to music I may not care for or may even be offended by. I suppose if teenagers want to use this feature, that's fine, but I pray this does not take off in the business world. When I make a business phone call I don't want to know the other person's music tastes, their political affiliation, or their religious affiliation.

What's next? Music dial-tone?

I just got an email invite for CES which discusses a new Motorola Peer-to-Peer two-way adaptor, which I cannot find anywhere in Motorola's press release archives, i.e. Motorola Mediacenter - Press Releases

Nevertheless, I thought I would share the appropriate excerpt of the email message since it involves peer-to-peer (P2P), VoIP, FRS, and GMRS.

If I read this email correctly, it sounds like you hook up this adaptor to your PC and then using one of Motorola's two-way radios, you can communicate with your PC (via the adaptor) which then initiates a VoIP call to the 2nd two-way radio you are trying to reach. This helps get around the 5 mile limit on two-way radios as well as other benefits. Here's the excerpt:

Motorola New Peer-to Peer Two Way Adapter - lets you go beyond the 5 mile barrier. You can now talk with friends and family almost anywhere. Radio users can talk for free over the Internet to anyone else on the network by connecting almost any FRS or GMRS two-way to a computer and then transmitting the user's voice over VoIP. The users send voice data packets to and from each other, directly, in a true peer-to-peer fashion resulting in an evolutionary next generation of Motorola's industry-leading hand-held two-way radios.

If anyone finds out more info on this product, feel free to post a comment. It may even be an upgrade of an existing product that I was unaware of, but I doubt it.

In keeping with my Media Center Extender review (in conjunction with Microsoft's Media Center Edition 2005) that I blogged today, I just got this press release today, which discusses the growth that Gigabit Ethernet video routers will bring. (Some people prefer to call them "Media Gateways") It's interesting that in this digital age how important organizing and gaining easy access to your digital media has become. This research report/press release below is indicitive of that. The report mentions the convergence of voice (VoIP), video (including HDTV), and other media.

Gigabit Ethernet Video Routers Bringing the Digital Revolution to the World

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., November 29, 2004 - The market for Gigabit Ethernet Video Routers is on the verge of rapid growth due to their ability to deliver a new generation of digital TV services, according to In-Stat/MDR (http://www.instat.com). This market, at about $63 million worldwide in 2004, will soar to more than $930 million during 2008, the high tech research firm reports.

"The capabilities of Gigabit Ethernet Video Routers are expanding to support advanced audio and video compression methods, and widening their features and functions to provide fully converged Internet Protocol networks that are capable of delivering an extended range of multiple services that go beyond the so-called 'triple play' of just video, voice, and high speed data," says In-Stat/MDR analyst Gerry Kaufhold. "These multi-play services include HDTV, local ad insertion, network PVR, switched broadcast, games-on-demand, and future services that will be developed for digital TV."

A recent report from In-Stat/MDR also found:

Gigabit Ethernet Video Routers are attractive to service providers that must deploy ever-increasing HDTV services over an infrastructure with finite bandwidth resources. Using Intelligent Video Network approaches, a Gigabit Ethernet infrastructure helps network operators future-proof their systems to deliver HDTV services for many years.

Gigabit Ethernet video routers make it easy for a digital TV service operator to segment its large systems into distinct zones of operation that permit a single headend to provide customized video programming services with unique programming choices for each zone. Gigabit Ethernet Video Routers greatly improve the business case for Video-On-Demand (VOD) and all other customized video, voice, data and other services.

Because Internet Protocol and Gigabit Ethernet are already widely deployed in the corporate, business, and government worlds, the long-term growth opportunities for Gigabit Ethernet Video Routers are very positive.

The report, "Gigabit Ethernet Video Routers Enable "Multi-Play" Services For Cable and IP TV Delivery Systems" (#IN0401261MB),contains analysis and regional forecasts for four categories of Gigabit Ethernet Video Routers from 2003-2008. The report also contains descriptions of vendors and their strategies, and examines the complexities in managing bandwidth in a digital headend. To purchase this report, or formore information, please visit: http://www.instat.com/catalog/Ccatalogue.asp?ID=39 or contact Erin McKeighan at 480-609-4551; emckeighan@reedbusiness.com.The report is priced at $3,295.00 U.S. Dollars.

We all know VoIP and wireless networks are hot, so Azimuth's Voice Over WLAN testing platform which is a testing tool for VoIP over wireless will no doubt be the first of many VoWLAN testing tools to hit the market.

Check out an excerpt of the release…
Full Suite of Benchmark Tests Validates Both VoWLAN Handsets and Wi-Fi Infrastructure for Application Robustness

Azimuth Systems, innovators in scalable, automated wireless network test systems, today announced a new benchmark test suite specifically designed for testing VoIP in the Wi-Fi environment. Azimuth's W-Series wireless LAN test platform is the leading system test solution for 802.11 network vendors, providing a reliable, scalable and automated test environment for performance, functionality, interoperability, conformance and certification testing.

Azimuth's new test suite focuses on two key VoWLAN system components. The first component, the VoWi-Fi Benchmark Test for Wireless VoIP Handset, validates the 802.11 behavior of the client handset during motion – ranging and roaming – and analyzes this behavior relative to the voice quality as measured by both MOS and R-Factor. The tests can be run with and without background data traffic. The second component, VoWLAN Benchmark Test for Wi-Fi Infrastructure, focuses on test of the wireless access points. Using the Azimuth testMAC™, the system emulates multiple voice calls in conjunction with best effort traffic, and studies the ability of the wireless LAN backbone to deliver quality of service and protect the voice call integrity.

"VoIP and Wi-Fi are the mix of two enabling technologies that represent only the tip of the iceberg. If successful, the need for application validation in wireless environments will grow considerably," said Fanny Mlinarsky, Azimuth's founder and CTO. "Mixed Wi-Fi and cellular networks, along with multimedia distribution, are the next emerging applications. It is critical for the industry to know that the technology exists to precisely validate mobility versus the Quality of Service in these media rich applications."

The Wi-Fi Alliance recently released its QoS certification WMM, which is based on the 802.11e standard that enables interoperability of devices in the Wi-Fi network to deliver the QoS critical to VoIP. Azimuth's W-Series is an ideal environment to create the network conditions and traffic stress to test QoS in real-life network scenarios. Azimuth's client emulation and virtual positioning technology, coupled with a controlled RF environment, are designed to allow precise and repeatable testing of this functionality.

The Azimuth W-Series is the industry's first standardized test platform for system level testing of 802.11 wireless access points, clients and other devices. Designed from the ground up as an off-the-shelf, wireless LAN test platform, W-Series systems provide the ability to configure an entire WLAN network in a bench top chassis designed for complete Radio Frequency (RF) isolation and control. The flexibility and programmability of the W-Series allows for the thorough evaluation of wireless LAN equipment under varying mobility conditions and traffic patterns, as well as precise analysis of the results. The system offers an ideal environment to perform software design validation and to test advanced wireless functionality and performance including the latest IEEE standards.

About Azimuth:
Azimuth Systems, Inc. (www.azimuthsystems.com) is an innovator in wireless data communications test solutions. Azimuth's W-Series, the industry's first 802.11 test platform, sets the standard for wireless data test solutions by allowing system and semiconductor vendors to provide their customers with higher quality products in a shorter time-to-market. Based in Acton, Massachusetts, Azimuth is a leader in defining widely accepted wireless data communications performance metrics and test environments. Founded in 2002, Azimuth is backed by prestigious investors, including Kodiak Venture Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners.

Last week I received a Sony VAIO RA920G Desktop PC running Microsoft Media Center 2005 (MCE) as well as the new Linksys Media Center Extender (MCX). The Sony VAIO RA920G has some cool features including an advanced liquid cooling system and enhanced acoustic technologies that make it virtually silent. This is perfect for my family room home theater setup -- after all you don't want the sound of the PC's fan spoiling the DVD movie watching experience!


Of course, I also have a Linksys Media Center Extender (MCX) which "wirelessly" extends the PC to allow me to have the PC and the TV located in different rooms in my home, thus negating the concern about noise from the PC. Media Center Extenders (MCXs) transmit the audio/video over 802.11a or 802.11g wireless networks. Essentially, you use your Microsoft Media Center Edition PC (MCE) as the central repository for all of your media, and then use a Media Center Extender (MCX) as an access device placed wherever in your home you want to enjoy that content. Thus, your PC can reside in the den or computer room, but you can watch your recorded TV shows in the family room. You simply point the included remote at the Linksys MCX and the familiar Microsoft MCE 2005 interface appears. Then you choose the function you want (live TV, recorded TV, music, photos, etc.), and the content is streamed wirelessly (or via an Ethernet cable) to the Linksys MCX which is connected to your TV. Depending on the horsepower of your Media Center PC, it can host up to five Media Center Extender devices. I wasn't sure if MCE 2005 (within the MCE interface not the Windows desktop) or the LinkSys MCX could support VoIP applications or not, so I looked at that as well.
Here's the contents of the LinkSys Media Extender box sprawled out on my kitchen floor.
Here's an interesting photo because it shows the "scale" of the LinkSys Media Center Extender - I used a pen placed on top of the MCE to show the scale. When I first researched the LinkSys MCE and looked at photos online, I thought for sure it was no more than 6 inches wide, but it is indeed much bigger than that. Still, the unit is quite thin so it slid quite nicely into my home theater cabinet. I opened the unit and there is a lot of empty space in the unit, so it's too bad they didn't shrink it down. Although, I suppose if they make it smaller, it would make it more difficult to balance/position other A/V equipment on top of the MCE.
This photo shows the back of the LinkSys Media Extender unit. (Note all of the various inputs and outputs, which include Digital Audio Out, S-Video, RCA composite video/audio jacks, component video outputs, and more. There is also an Ethernet port and even USB ports - though the manual is unclear what this are supposed to be used for. Future use I would assume. In theory the USB ports could be used for a USB keyboard and mouse giving you keyboard/mouse access to the Desktop, but I doubt Microsoft would want that. More on that later.)
This is a photo of the LinkSys Media Center Extender sitting on my kitchen table with the lights dimmed for "effect".. Note the green glow.. ohhhh the glow...so mesmerizing. so pretty... oooohhh ahhhhhhh…
Here's the LinkSys Media Extender installed in the downstairs family room and located in my home theater cabinet sitting on top of an Apex DVD player which sits on top of a Denon AVR-4800 receiver. The next shelf down holds an Xbox and a Denon POA-5200 amplifier (gives me two extra channels for Dolby Digital 7.1 Surround Sound).
When I first booted-up the LinkSys Media Center Extender, the Mitsubishi 65" rear-projection TV displayed this screen, which includes a unique setup key. This setup key gets entered into the LinkSys software which must be installed on the Media Center PC before the MCX will work. This ensures that your MCE is only sharing content with the extender device in your home. I installed the software, entered in the setup key, and then went back to the television to see if I was good to go.
Before I get into whether it worked or not, here's a screenshot of the wireless signal strength for determining if deploying a wireless solution in your house is going to work. If signal is poor, you are better off snaking an Ethernet cable from the Media Center Extender to your home router. Fortunately, in my case, the distance between the router and the Media Center Extender was only 5 feet, so as seen in this photo, the signal strength was very good. Media Center Extenders can operate over wired Ethernet, or 802.11g wireless or 802.11a wireless. So what is going over the network? Essentially it's a remote desktop connection that's sending out a DirectX application along with the streaming raw video feed that is transported alongside the RDP connection. The higher the video quality, the more bandwidth it consumes. I had no problems with my 802.11g network, but you may get better performance and less interference using an 802.11a wireless network.
Ok, now down to the nitty gritty. Everything "in theory" was hooked up correctly. Cross my fingers, changed my TV's input signal to Input 2 and ... Woohoo! I could access My Videos, My Pictures, My TV, My Music, and Radio. The screenshot to the left is a screenshot captured via software from MCE 2005's interface and not the LinkSys MCX. I did this since the interfaces look nearly identical and I couldn't capture a "screenshot" from the MCX - I'd have to take a photograph of my TV screen which is of poorer quality. The other screenshots below are also from the MCE 2005 PC and not the MCX, but again they are nearly identical, so the screenshots are still applicable. In any event, let the fun commence. First, I should mention that the Media Center Extender logs onto the MCE machine as its own special user with its own set of special permissions to access Shared Pictures, Shared Videos, etc. It took me awhile to figure out the exact security setup created by the MCX software, but it wasn't too difficult. Ok, now here are my tests of the important features available from the LinkSys Media Center Extender.

Play DVD & Play CD

What I noticed right off the bat was that the "Play CD" and "Play DVD" options were missing from the menu options. Apparently, the MCX respects and enforces digital rights management (DRM), so DVDs and CDs can be played only on the host PC. Yeah, like I'm going to wirelessly share my CD music or DVD movie collection with all my neighbors - c'mon, gimme a break! First of all, my neighbors would need a $299 MCX as well. Secondly, they would have to be within a 100 foot range or so of the WiFi access point. And lastly, they would have to watch the SAME DVD I was watching. Can you imagine the neighbor feuds? For instance, suppose I am sharing Star Wars and I need to take a bathroom break and pause the DVD? All the neighbors would have to wait for my return to "unpause" it. Not only that, but you'd have to call all your neighbors just to inform them which DVD you plan to play. It's just too much of a pain to go through all that effort. It would be easier to just lend your neighbor the DVD or have them over to watch it. So I just don't see wirelessly sharing DVD or TV content with your neighbors as an issue.

I hope Hollywood can see the folly of locking down a short-range wireless multimedia transmitter as stupid and let technology proceed unhampered. Further, I should point out that some premium content providers such as HBO have marked their content with a CGMS-A (Copy Generation Management System-Analog) flag which Microsoft respects and therefore limits the playing of premium content, including Video on Demand (VoD) to the host Media Center PC. Thus, I was not able to view HBO on my Media Center Extender. However, I've been told that a software update to be released in late December for the Media Center Extender will allow MCX's to view this "flagged" content.

Additionally, I was a bit surprised and disappointed that the Media Center Extender does not support transmitting the PC's Windows desktop GUI, only the MCE 2005's media interface (My Pictures, My Videos, Live TV, etc.) is supported. Thus, using MCE I can not surf the Internet, or even initiate a VoIP call using Vonage's softphone client or Skype - which I had planned to do in my testing. It did seem odd that the Media Center Extender can transmit fast moving, high frame-rate television pictures -- but it can't stream a simple 1024x768 resolution desktop that barely moves? What gives? My only theory is that if the Media Center Extender lets you access the Windows Desktop, then you will be able to launch other applications, such as WinDVD or PowerDVD and be able to wirelessly stream your DVDs thus bypassing copyright protections. Also, by using a $299 MCX and Fast User Switching technology, you can essentially build "inexpensive" Terminal Server clients, which may be why Microsoft doesn't want it.

Nevertheless, the advantages and benefits of an Media Center Extender far outweighs the disadvantages. In my tests using the Sony Media Center 2005 PC, I was able to record TV while simultaneously playing music or viewing photos - all streaming the signal over a 802.11g wireless connection. I temporarily moved the MCX to an upstairs TV to test the effect of distance on the wireless connection (and thus the video quality) and I did not notice any degradation in the video quality. I should point out that I only had a single-tuner, so I wasn't able to test recording a TV show while simultaneously watching a separate TV program, however I have seen this work on other Media Center 2005 PCs.

The video quality was very good. I did find that it tended to be darker with more saturation and more contrast than when I used a direct composite video connector from the MCE 2005 PC to the TV. Thus, skin tones for example seemed a bit redder and slightly darker, but in some ways this has a "warming" effect. I then tried an S-Video connector, which in theory would have higher video quality. The video still seemed to contain more red tonality. Next, I tried the component video connectors (3 video cables), which in theory would have the best video quality. Unfortunately, the "red" component connector port on the MCX wasn't working, so everything on my TV screen had a bluish tint to it, so I couldn't gauge the quality of the component video output on the MCX. (I know the component cables were OK, since I just pulled them from my DVD player.)

My TV

I tested both Live TV and Recorded TV on the MCX and played around with the various playback controls for both, i.e. pause, fast forward, rewind, etc. It performed very well, however, I did notice that when I first clicked the fast forward button when watching a recorded program, the TV screen would go black for a split second. It was almost as if the MPEG encoder in the MCX needed time to catch up, or it missed a "key frame". I'd rather see the unit simply "freeze" on the last frame rather than "blacking out" for a split second. I'm sure this is a simple firmware fix to do. Also, when navigating recorded shows, specifically when skipping through commercials it was a bit trickier using the MCX than using MCE 2005. For example, in MCE 2005, pressing the Skip button (30 second fast forward) 5-7 times will quickly skip through all the commercials and if you overshoot it, you simply hit the rewind button. Using MCX you can also do this, but since there is a slight delay in response time, between clicks and seeing the resulting video on screen, it can make finding the right spot a bit more difficult.

Regarding "Live TV" in MCX, it is streamed from the MCE PC's tuner card. In a scenario where you have either another MCX trying to change the channel or someone sitting at the MCE 2005 PC changes the channel, and thus are in "conflict" with one another for the same tuner, you will be notified. You can then choose which channel "wins" the channel fight. The notification is "key" since you may be recording something or watching something and don't want it accidentally interrupted. If the kids, husband, wife, etc. decide to override the channel anyway, they can't blame an accidental key press since it required a confirmation key press on the remote control (or mouse-click on the PC). One neat feature of MCE 2005 and supported on the Linksys MCX is the ability to receive instant messages (via MSN Messenger) while watching TV. Of course, if you plan on watching a movie and don't want to be interrupted, you can simply logoff.

Playing Videos

The MCX unit actually decodes video locally, and as such is limited to the formats that it recognizes. MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and WMV video are supported. However, don't plan on watching your Divx or Xvid video files on the MCX unless you transcode the file first to the aforementioned file formats. (See Update below for a cool on-the-fly transcode method) One really cool feature is that if you are playing a video file and decide to watch Live TV, surf the Web, or any other task that requires you to stop the video, you can actually resume the video where you left off - it remembers. Even if you play other video files and stop them, it remembers the last view point in each video file, so you don't have to worry about remembering where you left off. This is also true for recorded TV video files as well. Many times I would be playing a recorded TV program, see that something else on live TV was about to start, I stopped the video and then played it after the show or even a few days later.

Online Spotlight

If you upgrade from MCE 2004 to MCE 2005 you will notice a new feature called Online Spotlight, which presents third-party content including Napster, CinemaNow, MSN TV, and more. This content includes digital on-demand movies, digital music distribution services, and games. Some of it is free, some subscriber-based, and much of it comes from third-party developers. The photo to the left is of MSN TV, which normally required a paid subscription. Apparently Microsoft decided to be generous and grant all MCE 2005 users "free" access to MSN TV. Or maybe my "free" MSN TV will prompt me in a few months to start paying? We shall see. Nevertheless, I did find myself enjoying MSN TV's videos which include "Play Top Videos", a smorgasbord of the hottest videos covering everything from news to technology.

My Pictures

The My Pictures feature worked very well from the MCX with superb picture quality. The only caveat was that the "transitions" (various effects when switching to the next picture) do not function on the MCX. But since transitions are only "icing" on the cake of picture viewing, I didn't have a problem not having them. I have to say watching all my digital photos from my digital camera on a 65" TV screen has become a family experience. This is not like breaking out the photo albums and boring family members to death showing them photos. Watching photos on the TV is a whole other experience that other MCE users have also commented on. For instance, I read one MCE 2005 user saying his kids enjoy watching vacation photos on the TV when in the past they could careless about looking at photo albums. That in itself may be worth considering a MCE 2005 operating system over Windows XP Professional or Home Edition! (MCE 2005 is only nominally more expensive than XP.)

My Music

This feature also worked equally as well from the Linksys MCX as from the MCE PC directly, but again with one caveat - you can't use the visualizations feature. So no psychedelic colors warping around on my 65" TV screen! Yet another feature I don't particularly miss, but still worth noting since many people enjoy the music visualizations. What you do get is the default album cover art, track info, and the big background "elapsed time". Surprisingly, you can't fast forward or rewind songs using the remote control, however you can skip tracks using the remote's forward or backward buttons.


Conclusion
Overall, I loved the LinkSys Media Center Extender - not only was it easy to use, but it allowed me to extend my Media Center 2005 PC multimedia content to any TV in my house without having to drill holes in the walls to snake Ethernet cabling. Not drilling holes in the walls and snaking wires no doubt saved me a few days in my wife's doghouse as well. There is a Microsoft SDK to add other software programs to the MCE 2005 menu interface (which the Linksys MCX will also display). In fact, I added one popular add-on to the menu called "Weather" and it worked flawlessly on the MCX interface as well.

However, I'd like to see some native support for VoIP applications on MCE 2005 & supported by the MCX, such as the Vonage softclient or Skype. Although this would require wearing a microphone or headset connected to the PC's sound card. If you sit far from your TV and PC, you'd need a pretty lengthy headset cord. For the truly tech savvy you could have a Polycom audioconferencing unit (excellent audio acoustics even at a distance) in your TV room and connected to your PC. Then you'd be able to make and receive VoIP calls using MCE/MCX headset-free! Or you could just use a Bluetooth headset as well. Now imagine being able to receive SIP-based video calls on your plasma television set. Ah yes, a guy can only dream

Also, since the wireless MCX unit could be fairly far from the main TV room, maybe the MCX unit itself could embed a high quality microphone in the unit itself or even in the MCX's remote control. Again, this is part of my wish list for a future Media Extender. I should state that it took a few days for the WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) to truly kick in, but now she's just as addicted to Tivo-like functionality as me, especially the ability to fast forward through commercials, as well as the ability to show our photo album to family and friends. In fact, we've become so addicted to the MCE 2005 PC and Linksys MCX, it is not uncommon for her to say to me "Can you fast forward this?" when a commercial comes on. My response is often a chuckle followed by, "Sorry, this is live TV. Can't fast forward this." Enough said.

UPDATED! 01/06/2005
Just got an important email from Linksys / Cisco, which states: Microsoft has released a new version of the firmware for the WMCE54AG. The firmware can be found here: http://www.microsoft.com/mcxsupport for the firmware.
This firmware fixes:
- Allows viewing and playback of protected TV content (e.g., Premium movie channels such as HBO, Cinemax, etc.)
- Fixes issue where some audio or video files do not play correctly.
- Fixes issue where pressing skip on recorded TV sometimes causes screen to go black.
- Fixes issue where waking from standby causes video errors.
- Fixes issue where watching video over wireless for extended periods of time will cause video glitches. This firmware is also be posted on Linksys's website shortly.

You can also click here for the Linksys MCX firmware update:
Microsoft MCX Support for Linksys and HP

Update:
There is now a software solution that enables the playback of unsupported video over Xbox 360 and Media Center Extender devices, including DiVx. So now you CAN play DiVx videos on Media Extenders. The transcoding software is called Transcode 360.

I use it - works great. You just have to right-click a video from the MCE Extender interface and choose the transcode option and voila! It will transcode it on-the-fly. IF you want the ability to fast-forward, rewind, etc. you have to give the transcoding time to transcode more of the file. You can simply pause the video and let it transcode for awhile and then you'll be able to fast-forward up to the part where it has finished transcoding. Or you can wait for it to transcode the entire file, so you can fast-forward to any part of the video, but that can take awhile. In most cases you'll just want to watch it through, in which case transcode360 works just great.

Here's a claim for "free VoIP calls over dial-up". I don't have time to analyze this too much this evening since it is late (just got back from seeing Alexander the movie - my pick for one of the worst movies of the year and definitely the most hyped and disappointing film of the year), but this release was worth sharing...

btw - they misspelled VoIP as VoiP in the release, but I'm leaving it as is. Also, this is probably more "dial-up VoIP" hype than anything else, but I'll have to investigate further...

New Patented Technology Will Allow Free Phone Calls Even Over Dial Up Connection.

VoiP Technology Companies offer their services to broadband users only. Now using a new patented technology anyone with an Internet connection can use VoiP to make free phone calls.

November 27, 2004 -- VoiP ( Voice Over Internet Protocol ) An exploding new technology that was only suitable for broadband users is now finally available to Internet users using ordinary dial up connections thanks to an company in Ireland.

Thanks to a small technology company based out of Ireland the option of using VoiP soft phones over a dial up connection successfully has arrived. Until now pc users around the world could not avail of the new Voip technology as it was only workable over broadband connections leaving 2/3 of the world Internet users behind.

The Superior VoiP company have just launched their very special patented technology to the world market and already thousands of dial up users are flocking to the service. This new service is set to explode in global sales very quickly as the service allows pc users to make perfect quality phone calls free anywhere in the world to others who have the same voip software phones installed.

The key benefits for anyone using this technology is you can make free calls to other users for free and you can also make perfect calls to landline and cell phones around the world with savings of up to 80% off your normal call rates.

For many years VoiP companies have tried to perfect call quality over dial up and failed with poor results every time. Thanks to Superior VoiP software which is powered by the 3WTel Technology LLC everyone can now enjoy perfect free phone calls to anywhere in the world with other users of the same software for free 24/7.

A seven day free trial of the software phone is available for anyone to try at the company website below.

The company based out of Ireland have already secured Media deals with a USA TV channel Cornerstone TV. The company is expanding at a rapid pace through it ever growing team of Distributor. The Ceo Patrick Mc Cann has stated that the quickest way to get your product and service into the global market is through the referral marketing methods.

As a Distributor option the distributors are given a full VoiP marketing portal and full International resellers right to this patented technology making it one of the hottest selling software products of all times. Ceo Patrick Mc Cann shared with us that the company are enjoying rapid growth and by sharing the profits with its distributors makes it even more exciting for everyone involved.

A company sharing it patented technology with online marketers makes this a dream opportunity for those who are in search of the perfect home based opportunity. For more details please view the site link below.

http://www.superiorvoip.com/pr-release.htm

My fellow co-worker and VoIP journalist, Johanne Torres broke the news about Kazaa offering Skype embedded within the Kazaa P2P client. Go check out the article.
Kazaa Now Offers Skype's Free Web Calls

Deltathree today announced the launch of six new Broadband Phone consumer and business calling plans for its retail division, iConnectHere. Each calling plan includes local, long distance and international calling with advanced features such as voicemail, caller ID, 3-way calling, call forwarding and real-time call records. The service also provides end-users with a choice of phone numbers from the United States, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel or the United Kingdom. The new iConnectHere Broadband Phone calling plans are available today and include a free adaptor.

The iConnectHere calling plans include unlimited in-network calls, advanced calling features, selection of telephone number in the United States or Europe, unlimited inbound calls, and a set of minutes to make calls.

An example of one of the new plans is the iCall Unlimited plan, which includes unlimited minutes to call the United States and Canada for US$29.99 a month. The iCall North America plan includes 800 minutes to call the United States and Canada for just US$15.99 a month. For businesses, iConnectHere now offers BizCall Unlimited which provides businesses located anywhere around the world with unlimited calling to the United States and Canada for US$49.99 a month.

Dov Yarkoni, deltathree's Retail Group Director, stated, "We are excited to roll out a new range of feature rich Broadband Phone calling plans for consumers and businesses located anywhere around the world. These new plans offer our customers new flexibility to turn any broadband connection into a phone with a pricing plan that meets their needs, rather than a one size fits all approach. Our new plans are designed to save our customers money and allow users to get more out of their high speed Internet connection through the power of Voice over Internet Protocol."

In addition to the new consumer and business calling plans, iConnectHere is releasing the Open Access Plan. This plan is geared towards advanced VoIP users who want to mix and match various components of the iConnectHere service. One common complaint amongst tech-savvy VoIP users is that they are "stuck" using a VoIP provider’s hardware and when they switch providers, the devices are "locked" preventing usage with a competing VoIP service. Well, customers who select the Open Access Plan can use their own SIP devices and can combine various components of the iConnectHere calling plans, including outbound bundles of minutes as well as telephone numbers in the United States or Europe.

You can view the new iConnectHere Broadband Phone calling plans at http://www.iconnecthere.com

Important news story from MacWorld.

A proposed Pennsylvania law (supported by Verizon) is now on its way to the governor's desk that could pose a hurdle for the city of Philadelphia's ambitious plan to provide broadband service throughout the city via Wi-Fi.

One provision of House Bill 30 (HB30), a wide-ranging telecommunications regulation bill that earned final approval by the state House and Senate on Friday, would prohibit a government or any entity it creates from offering broadband for a fee.

Philadelphia's city government is studying plans to deploy Wi-Fi wireless LAN access points throughout the city, each offering IEEE 802.11b access and linked to others via a wireless mesh network, said Dinanah Neff, the city's chief information officer. Deployment is set to begin in June 2005 and should be completed by June 2006.

The US$7 million to $10 million project is intended to encourage economic growth and help poor residents access the Internet with a broadband service priced at an estimated $15 to $25 per month, she said. About 60 percent of Philadelphia's neighborhoods, primarily poorer neighborhoods and less densely populated ones, don't have access to broadband services, according to Neff.

The language on government-supplied broadband in the bill would hand a big favor to Verizon Communications Inc., the incumbent regional telecommunications carrier in Philadelphia, according to Gary Tuma, press secretary to state Senator Vincent Fumo, a Democrat who opposed the bill. Verizon has fallen short on its promises to build a more up-to-date network over the past 10 years, contributing to the lack of broadband availability, he said.

I was sent a quote from Todd Myers' CEO of the Airpath Provider Alliance and Airpath Wireless. Todd said, "If this PA law passes, it will be in direct conflict with the FCC's broadband initiatives and may slow, but will not stop metropolitan roll-outs. We believe that if the PA governor signs the Verizon-sponsored bill, the FCC and perhaps the FTC will certainly want to chime in to remind the states who has control over wireless broadband regulation."

Certainly, Verizon sees the "writing on the wall". If "free" or low-cost city-wide WiFi is successful in Philadelphia, WiFi users will be able to sign-up for inexpensive VoIP phone service from Verizon competitors such as Vonage, CallVantage, Packet8, etc. Or worse, current Philadelphia Verizon customers could just download Skype and make free Skype-to-Skype phone calls and low-cost PSTN calls via SkypeOut. Verizon obviously doesn't like that and hence their "lobbying" efforts to prevent "fee-based WiFi". The war between the carriers and competing broadband providers is heating up and VoIP is just adding fuel to the fire!

Check out the full story here:
Macworld

Radcom gave me advance notice on this release announced today regarding their next-gen cellular testing solution through a partnership with Comarco, Inc. They have partnered to collaborate on the development of a next-generation testing solution that integrates both companies'
core technologies for service monitoring of 2.5G and 3G networks, including GPRS, UMTS and CDMA2000. (by the way, I've used several of Radcom's testing products and I liked all of them.)

With networks converging and "touching" each other in ever more complex ways, the ability to diagnose, test, simulate, and troubleshoot problems becomes increasingly important. With VoIP now being added to just about every type of network you can think of, latency testing and voice quality measurements are critical. RADCOM hopes to address these needs with their line of testing products used in conjunction with partnerships that offer value-add to their testing line of products, such as the one announced today...

Here's the release:
RADCOM AND COMARCO PARTNER TO DELIVER NEXT-GENERATION CELLULAR TESTING SOLUTION

Tel Aviv, Israel -- November 23, 2004 - RADCOM Ltd. (NASDAQ: RDCM), a leading network test and service monitoring solutions provider and Comarco, Inc. (NASDAQ: CMRO), a leading provider of wireless test solutions, today announced a partnership agreement. The collaboration will allow development of a next-generation testing solution that integrates both companies'
core technologies for service monitoring of 2.5G and 3G networks including GPRS, UMTS and CDMA2000.

The next-generation solution will allow service providers and vendors to improve efficiency and end-to-end analysis of cellular networks. The solution will correlate network abnormalities by combining Comarco's Seven.Five radio frequency (RF) technology with RADCOM's Cellular Expert solution, which relies on hardware probes for its network data. This will enable service providers to validate the end-users' quality of service by performance monitoring of the entire network from the RF through to radio access, core signaling and IP. Furthermore, the combined solution will simplify troubleshooting of jitter, packet loss, jerkiness, noise and audio/video synchronization problems across data, voice and video telephony. It will help mobile device vendors and network operators to build and maintain networks that consistently provision high quality services such as video telephony, video streaming, and E-mail.

"We are confident that combining forces with a market leader such as Comarco will produce a sophisticated and comprehensive solution for service providers and vendors," said David Ripstein General Manager of products and technologies at RADCOM. "Comarco's advanced all-in-one architecture is the perfect match for RADCOM's network analysis solutions. Our affiliation is bound to generate new criteria for cellular quality management solutions."

"As competition amongst service providers worldwide grows, the demand for quality of service test and optimization solutions increases," said Greg Maton, Senior Vice President of Comarco. "We are certain that with RADCOM's technological advantages, this next-generation testing tool will be a powerful solution, offering service providers and vendors an array of benefits."

About Comarco

Based in Irvine, Calif., Comarco is a leading provider of wireless test solutions for field test applications, ChargeSource(R) universal mobile power products and wireless emergency call box systems. Comarco's industry-lead ing Seven.Five(TM) wireless test system for field test applications allows cellular telephone system operators to improve the quality of their cellular phone service through voice, video and data benchmarking and system optimizatio n using advanced QoS algorithms and a unique multi-technology RF scanner.
Seven.Five's open architecture supports both current cellular operating system technologies and the new 3G systems being implemented in international markets.

Based on reported year-to-date sales data, ChargeSource is the largest selling line of products able to recharge and power a variety of mobile devices, including laptop computers, cellular telephones, digital cameras, PDAs and other handheld devices, through a single power source.

In addition, Comarco's call box systems are in place on most major highway systems throughout the United States and are used by motorists to contact local authorities for rapid assistance. More information about Comarco's product lines can be found at www.Comarco.com, www.wi-fianalyzer.com and www.chargesource.com.

About RADCOM

RADCOM designs, manufactures, markets and supports network test and quality management solutions for service providers, developers and enterprises worldwide. The company specializes in comprehensive performance measurement and voice quality management systems for VoIP and cellular converged networks as well as in a line of high quality, integrated, multitechnology WAN/LAN/ATM test solutions. For more information, please visit www.RADCOM.com.

Just a quick VoIP conferencing product announcement to share.

New SPIRIT software provides more talk at better clarity and lower cost
November 23, – SPIRIT (www.spiritdsp.com/voip), the leading supplier of embedded software products for telecom and VoIP, announces Multi-PASS - a new software product targeted for PC-based VoIP communication.

SPIRIT Multi-PASS is an advanced conferencing solution providing both server-based and serverless peer-to-peer and multipoint conferencing. SPIRIT Multi-PASS enables any number of conferences and unlimited number of participants per conference without degradation of speech quality and user experience. So speech clarity is preserved even for multi-user conferences, as in a face-to-face conversation.

SPIRIT Multi-PASS is based on Prosodic Active Speaker Selection (PASS) algorithm. Analysis of prosodic speech characteristics combined with dynamic utterance modeling makes speakers activity estimation more accurate. The analysis is performed on each speaker’s side and does not load server CPU. In accordance with the compact PASS info, conferencing engine directly passes voice data from active speakers to other participants. SPIRIT Multi-PASS doesn’t require participants to have broad bandwidth. Due to smart traffic channeling, voice traffic and channel usage are optimized to reduce CPU load.

SPIRIT Multi-PASS ensures that each speaker is getting the best chance/time to speak, to be heard, and to hear all the meaningful speech of others.

"SPIRIT PC-based VoIP solution is targeted to offer better-than-PSTN quality at low cost", - says Andrew Sviridenko, founding CEO of SPIRIT. "Following this strategy, SPIRIT Multi-PASS is an additional feature to provide executive-level conferencing quality, optimized traffic and channel usage, and reduced costs of multi-user support. All these features significantly cut operator and enterprise expenses"

SPIRIT VoIP PC-based conferencing

The GNUP registry is now live, so you can go register for a number. Since I was one of the first to register, I figured i'd get a really cool number or one east to remember, like "(8844) 1000000002", alas it was not to be... I got (8844) 4294967281. Ah well... I guess I can't have everything now can I?

I should point out that the softclient still doesn't appear finished as I ran the PTInspector again and the softclient still hasn't downloaded, but they promise me it's coming shortly.

here's the confirmation email you get from Popular Telephony when you register a GNUP number:
_______________________________
Hello, !

This is confirmation of your registration with www.gnup.org. Thank you!

We're pleased to tell you that your GNUP Number request has been processed successfully. For your convenience we've provided your with Number and Password below.

GNUP Number: (8844) 4294967281 (Note: you can call me at this # once it goes live)
Password:

When GNUP is uploaded to your computer by PTInspector, simply tape in your Number and Password, follow the instructions and.... Become Accessible!
Communicate your GNUP to your friends and enjoy the chatting, using any VoIP client software you choose!

CAUTION: Protect Your Password - you should never give your GNUP password to anyone!

If you didn't register at www.gnup.org, please disregard this E-mail.

If you forgot your number or password, please email to: ooups@gnup.org.
In case of any other problems, contact us at support@gnup.org.

Thanks again for joining the GNUP!

THIS IS AN AUTOMATIC MESSAGE. PLEASE, DO NOT REPLY.
_______________________________

Finally, here's the link to go register for a GNUP number.
Register for GNUP

Got this release over the weekend with some interesting VoIP industry statistics I thought I'd share.

Carrier VoIP Equipment Market Up 69% Year-over-Year in 3Q04

BOSTON, Massachusetts, November 22, 2004--Worldwide next gen voice product revenue totaled $452 million in 3Q04, up 13% from 2Q04 and up 69% year-over-year, according to Infonetics Research’s quarterly market share and forecast service, Next Gen Voice Products. Annual revenue is projected to grow from $1.3 billion in 2003 to $4.8 billion in 2007, representing a strong CAGR of 39%.

"Most equipment categories saw sequential growth this quarter," said Infonetics Research's Kevin Mitchell, directing analyst and co-author of the report. "Voice application servers, session border controllers, and softswitches, especially Class 5 licenses and revenue, grew the most. This indicates that service providers are really beginning to change gears, from investing in infrastructure to investing in next gen equipment that will allow them to offer new services."

3Q04 Market Highlights

Class 5 softswitch revenue was up a remarkable 34% to $76 million
Nortel is the revenue share leader in the Class 5 softswitch space with almost half the worldwide revenue; Siemens is second

The worldwide media gateway market grew 5% from 2Q04 to 3Q04, with most growth coming from the ATM switch-based voice gateways
Cisco leads in worldwide media gateway revenue market share, but most sales are due to their universal port RAS and are not solely used for VoIP; Sonus is second
Next Gen Voice Products tracks media gateways (Class 5 packet switches, RAC VoIP gateways, ATM switch voice gateways, and packet voice gateways); media servers; session border controllers; softswitches (Class 4 and Class 5 applications); and voice application servers. Forecasts are updated quarterly and cover all regions (worldwide, North America, EMEA, Asia Pacific, and CALA).

Companies tracked in this service include Acme Packet, Alcatel, AudioCodes, BayPackets, Broadsoft, CIRPACK, Cisco, Convedia, CopperCom, Ericsson, Huawei, IP Unity, Italtel, Jasomi, Kagoor, LongBoard, Lucent, Marconi, MetaSwitch, Mera, Netrake, NexTone, Nortel, Nuera, Pactolus, sentitO, Siemens, Sonus, Sylantro, Tekelec, Ubiquity, UTStarcom, Veraz, VocalData, and others.

For the table of contents, log on to Infonetics Research’s Information Portal at www.info.infonetics.com.

Infonetics Research (www.infonetics.com) is an international market research and consulting firm covering the data networking and telecommunications industries in North America, Europe, and Asia. Infonetics helps companies develop, market, and sell products and services by providing objective analysis of end-users, service providers, and product manufacturers. Infonetics has offices in Silicon Valley, the Boston Metro Area, and London.

With oil and gas prices through the roof, the interest in electric cars has certainly increased. However, the knocks against electric vehicles is that they are not fast, have terrible range, and take a long time to recharge. Well, the Eliica, short for Electric Lithium-Ion battery Car boasts a 0-100kmh time of just four seconds and a 0-160kmh time of seven seconds, which means the Eliica accelerates faster than a Porsche 911 Turbo. While they haven't solved the recharging time or the range, since I'm a bit of a speed freak, this car certainly piqued my interest with its excellent performance numbers.

Check out the full story here:
Drive.com.au Electric car shock: it's faster than a Porsche 911