January 2006 Archives

For those of you who fear no beta and love to be the first one to get your hands on anything new, Microsoft is making a beta preview of its upcoming web browser, IE 7, available to developers and enthusiasts at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/ie7/default.mspx.

(You may call this product by its full name, Internet Explorer 7, too.)

IE 7 offers dynamic security protection and makes everyday tasks easier with improved platform and manageability (at least according to Microsoft). I'm sure they have listened and learned from all of those error reports they receive daily. (I wonder what they've learned from Firefox and Netscape.)

If you do go for it, let us know how you like -- or hate -- it ...

If you’re like me, you’ve got digital photos stored on all sorts of media – Compact Flash, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Secure Digital and Smart Media. Getting all of those out of a digital camera and onto a PC just isn’t that easy.

Now, with Mobile Edge’s 12-in-1 USB 2.0 Card Reader/Writer, you can read and write to 12 different media – all of those I’ve already mentioned as well as Multi-Media and IBM Micro Drive. With an adapter, you can add Reduced Size Multi-Media, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro Duo, Mini Secure Digital and Mini SD. (Who even knew there were this many formats!)

The compact, portable design features over-current detection and protection of each port; high-speed USB 2.0 transfer rates of up to 480mbps; and true plug-and-play and hot-swap.

If that wasn’t enough, it’s on sale through the Mobile Edge site for $24.99, reduced from its regular price of $29.99.

Wallet Flash is the world's first wallet friendly credit card sized USB Flash Drive supporting sizes that include 64MB, 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, and 2GB. Created by Walletex, the Wallet Flash is made of double laminated unbreakable plastic, it combines the memory in a slim chic body and a durable platform that is even waterproof. It also features a double sided USB connector so it fits hard to reach USB ports and supports UsB 1.1 and 2.0.

Here are the Wallet Flash's list of features from the Walltex website:

* Stylish credit card format - goes conveniently into wallet
* Large storage capabilities – can hold up to 2GB of instantly accessible data
* Double sided USB connector - Makes it quick & easy to connect

Built to last

* Strong and robust – will remain serviceable for years
* Water proof – resistant to spills and other accidents
* Temperature tolerant – unaffected by heat such as being left on dashboard

Nifty and Innovative

* Cutting Edge - reinventing and customizing UFD for your marketing needs
* Ultra slim - Slimmest USB device in the market
* Unique- world's only wallet friendly electronic gadget

High Visibility and Frequent Exposure

* Large double sided branding area – more than any other UFD
* Daily use – your brand is out every time it’s used

In case you missed it, Skype and Warner Music Group partnered yesterday to offer ringtones for the Skype client. Now I get the fact that ringtones on cellphones are a multi-billion dollar business, but ringtones on Skype? Actually, come to think of it, I don't get how ringtones on cellphones are a multi-billion dollar business. Multi-million maybe, but multi-billion? Teenagers have way too much disposable income to be blowing on rintones in my opinion, but I digree here. As I was saying, Warner Music Group announced it will make available master recordings from WMG’s roster of recording artists as ringtones to the more than 74 million registered users of Skype. Their roster includes Madonna, Green Day, and more.

There is a major difference between purchasing and downloading ringtones to cellphones and downloading ringtones to a PC application (Skype). That difference is a the user's mindset - a Skype user that is already using a PC that is already preloaded with gigabytes of his/her favorite MP3 tunes isn't necessarily going to want to pay for a short little ringtone snippet that they already have on their PC's hard drive somewhere. You can simply open Audacity, an open-source MP3/WAV editor or any other editor and "cut" your own ringtone for free and then import into Skype. Not only is it free to use your own MP3 collection, but you can choose the exact section of the song that is your favorite part. Sure, it's a little work, but teenagers, the vast purchasers of ringtones are pretty tech-savvy and not beyond penny-pinching. The mindset of a cellphone user on the other hand is that it's probably easier to pay for & download ringtones directly to the cellphone without the hassle of hooking up a data cable between the PC and the cellphone to upload ringtones. (Most cellphone users probably never even hooked up their data cables and they're still in the original box.)

I should mention that before this deal Skype had been selling their own set of ringtones for $1.20 each. I'll be interested to learn out of the 74 million Skype users how many actually pay for Skype ringtones - I just know I won't be one of them. Well, gotta run, I think I'll go make myself a "Don't Stop Believin'" ringtone .

Today Microsoft Corp. is merging the Exchange and Real-Time Collaboration (RTC) Groups to form the Unified Communications Group (UCG) to reside in Microsoft’s Business Division led by Jeff Raikes. The combined group will be led by Anoop Gupta, current corporate vice president of the RTC group. Anoop has spoken at several ITEXPO tradeshows and has always maintained the vision of converged communications. The reorganization is part of Microsoft’s commitment to effectively align the company and its three distinct business units. Microsoft has been quote successful at making the Exchange platform a very popular messaging platform and its corresponding Outlook client one of the most popular email clients. Microsoft has been trying to extend Exchange beyond just email to become a "central communications hub" that includes IM, collaboration, VoIP, and video, and more. With the merging of Exchange and the RTC groups, Microsoft aims to achieve this goal.

Microsoft stated, "With the mission critical nature of email and the rapidly increasing use of instant messaging, VoIP, Audio/Video/Web Conferencing, customers are asking for an integrated communications experience that enables them to intuitively and seamlessly communicate across all modes of communication." They added, "The merger of the teams aligns our efforts internally and allows us to more rapidly and effectively address these customer needs. This new organization will aggressively drive forward and sustain the momentum of existing Exchange and RTC businesses. There will be no changes to the timing or feature sets for the next generation of products currently under development."

Check out this interesting Q&A from PressPass.which is very heavily VoIP-focused and convergence-focused.

PressPass: Why did Microsoft decide to form the Unified Communications Group?

Gupta: Our vision for Unified Communications (UC) stems from two primary drivers. First, customers have told us about the pain and loss of productivity they experience everyday due to multitude of silo’ed communications tools – e-mail/calendaring, IM, voice-telephony, audio/video/Web conferencing, etc. – across multiple devices. It is not unusual to see people first calling "office#," leaving voice mail, then calling "cell#," (saying, "I left message on office#"), then sending the person e-mail, when it should have been clear from calendar information that the person is unreachable at an offsite. Second, UC is driven by the technological convergence that is driving all communications technologies – IM, VoIP-telephony, SMS, audio-video-Web conferencing) to be IP-based. For example, the move from TDM (time-division multiplexing) voice to VoIP itself is driving a major industry transformation as evidenced by news stories everyday.


Unified Communications is about breaking down today’s silo’ed communications experiences and instead providing rich communication capabilities that allow people, teams, organizations to communicate simply and effectively while integrating seamlessly with business applications and processes. It will enable the millions of information workers using our products to communicate seamlessly across different communication modes and devices, while at the same time reducing the cost and complexity of our customers’ communications infrastructure, providing compelling business value to our customers. The formation of the UCG further represents Microsoft’s commitment to rapidly deliver on this vision for our business customers and for our partner ecosystem.

PressPass: Why is Microsoft combining the Exchange and RTC groups to realize this vision?

Gupta: With the merger of the Exchange and RTC groups, the new UCG will drive the delivery of an integrated business communications portfolio that spans e-mail, calendaring, voice mail, instant messaging, audio/video/Web conferencing and integrated voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) solutions for customers. The merger brings together key assets related to UC in a tightly connected team, making it easier to ensure we have well-aligned priorities, an integrated R&D platform, and the best partner ecosystem to rapidly deliver innovative solutions that address key customer pain points and provide the highest business value.

By combining the Exchange and RTC groups, Microsoft is showing a strong commitment to our business customers that the company is focused on delivering innovative, unified communications solutions that not only make life much easier and more productive for information workers, but also allow companies to further leverage their existing infrastructure investments, lowering TCO.

With this organizational change, we’re continuing to bring together Microsoft’s business-productivity assets under Microsoft Business Division, which include desktop applications, servers, software services and solutions, under the leadership of Jeff Raikes.

PressPass: How does this announcement impact existing products?

Gupta: Despite the fact that Exchange and RTC have existed as separate organizational entities at Microsoft, these groups have a great record of collaborating to ensure people who are trying to communicate across these various technologies can do it effectively. Exchange, Live Communications Server, and other offerings in our portfolio will remain available as separate products to enable more options for customers.

The merger of these two groups simply ensures our customers will see even deeper, more seamless experiences among our products in future releases. As we bring our unified communications vision to fruition, we will continue the momentum of existing Exchange and RTC businesses. This announcement does not affect the timing or the feature sets for the next generation of products currently under development. The next version of Exchange is a major release for us that will reduce the cost and complexity of the messaging system by providing more control for IT administrators, more value and expanded inbox access for end users, and increased security and compliance for organizations. It remains on track to release to manufacturing in late 2006 or early 2007. Additionally, Speech Server 2007 – the next version of Microsoft’s interactive voice response platform – remains on track to release to manufacturing in the latter part of 2006. Similarly, the next generation of RTC products will maintain their release schedule to ship as part of Office "12".

PressPass: Can you provide more detail as to how Voice over IP plays into this vision?

Gupta: Microsoft’s vision for Unified Communication includes VoIP as a key mode of communication. Just as we have driven innovation around email and IM, we are entering a new era where Microsoft – working with our partner ecosystem – will deliver innovation with VoIP and introduce important new usage scenarios for business voice applications. These new scenarios will dramatically improve productivity of information workers as well as overall total cost of ownership of such solutions. Businesses should take a close look at their current and planned telephony investments and rationalize that with their PC communications investments.

PressPass: How will this reorganization affect Microsoft's industry partners?

Gupta: E-mail, voice mail, instant messaging, conferencing and business VoIP solutions have previously resided in relatively fragmented industry segments, thereby yielding limited pockets of innovation and fewer opportunities for partners. Microsoft’s vision for unified communication presents a large and compelling opportunity for our Exchange and RTC partner ecosystem – which today consists of systems integrators, VARs, OEMs, and telecom service providers – to deliver richer solutions for their customers. We believe this is a significant opportunity that goes well beyond what e-mail or RTC segments could have offered alone.

PressPass: With Exchange moving out of the Server and Tools Business (STB) group, what do these organizational changes mean for that business group?

Gupta: This organizational change is about aligning our structure to best meet a critical customer need. STB’s strategy and business operations will remain essentially unchanged, and we absolutely expect the growth of the business to continue.

PressPass: How significant is this announcement for Microsoft?

Gupta: We are very excited about this change. Bringing together Microsoft’s broad portfolio of communications assets under the same umbrella positions us to deliver a significant wave of innovation in unified communications for our business customers.

Look for SuperBowl ads from advertises like Pepsico and Anheuser-Busch to be appearing on a cell phone or iPod near you. Check out the article in USA Today to read more about it. You can also catch a still from some of the spots -- now we have news about the ads before the ads run (oh boy!).

Still can’t get over end-of-year reports about how the recording industry is hurting. Album sales reports from the recording industry portray a gloom and doom scenario, with the headline – “Album sales hit nine-year low in 2005.” How about this info: “U.S. music album sales last year slid to their lowest level since 1996, squelching any hopes that the recording industry's long downward spiral may have bottomed out.” Remember the words "album sales" (as in CD).

Hello! Let's make the numbers say what they want ... How about Nielsen SoundScan reports that overall music sales, which include albums, singles, music videos and digital tracks, jumped 22.7% to more than 1 billion units last year.

What do you think everyone is doing with those iPods?  Maybe it’s not $12 for a CD at the "brick and mortar" retailer, but at 99 cents a song, the ka-ching can get pretty loud!

This reminds me of a combination of the old, very old "which came first joke" (aka chicken vs. egg) and the sales/marketing axiom of "giving away the razor to sell the blades."

This has really nothing to do with Samsung's new Sprint phone -- the SPH-a900, nicknamed the "Blade."  It's almost a clone of Motorola's Razr, which established itself as the "it" phone last year.  (That's where the earlier thoughts came in.)

It features Bluetooth wireless technology, a high-speed connection for web surfing at broadband-like speeds, a 1.3 megapixel camera to capture digital pictures, a stereo speakerphone for music or hands-free gabbing and advanced voice recognition to launch applications or dictate text messages.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

The all-in-one home media center in one central location with different media streaming to different rooms in the house is the Holy Grail of home entertainment. The problem has always been that it's just too difficult to do.

Linksys and Yahoo! have developed a new plug-in for the Yahoo! Music Engine that works directly with the Wireless-G Music Bridge (WMB54G), which retails for $99, that enables users to stream music directly to a home stereo with the click of a button on the Yahoo! Music Engine interface.

Sitting by your home stereo, the Wireless-G Music Bridge connects to it using standard consumer electronic cables.  It also connects to your home network by Wireless-G wireless networking or via standard 10/100 Ethernet cabling.  Software creates a virtual sound system in your PC, which sends the Yahoo! Music audio output to the Music Bridge and the stereo system.

The free Yahoo! Music Engine music management software and Yahoo! Music Unlimited subscription service can be accessed from http://music.yahoo.com. Yahoo! will be providing a $20 rebate on the Wireless-G Music Bridge when users sign up for a one year subscription to Yahoo! Music Unlimited.

Play on!

Did you hear about Bubble, the new film from Steven Soderbergh (Sex, Lies, and Videotape), that's opening tomorrow? Seems that it's going to be released in theaters the same day it's available on HDNet, the movie channel started by Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban (he who knew when to cash in his Internet chips at the right time, speaking of bubble).

Even more interesting is the fact that is will be available on DVD only a few days later, rather then the usual few months (or more) later, when you've forgotten all about the movie -- or can't remember it's name when you're at your local video store.

Will be a good test to see if film or HD viewers go for the DVD too or if viewers just go for the DVD instead. Will there be more film/DVD or HDNet/DVD combinations? Will there be any film/HDNet/DVD combinations?

Just think of the endless possibilities as we get more screens, such as cell phones ...

This is the new Grandstream GXV-3000 H.264 based SIP video phone launched at ITEXPO and which I promised to post a photo. This is the phone I told you about yesterday during my chit-chat with Digium's Mark Spencer. Based on completed interoperability tests conducted by engineers from Grandstream and its partners, GXV-3000 works seamlessly with SIP soft client from Counterpath, IP-PBX or softswitch products from Digium, Netcentrex, and Pingtel.

"With the exciting release of GXV-3000, Grandstream solved 2 critical issues that prevent video communications over public Internet from becoming a mass phenomenon: high cost of hardware terminal and delivery of high quality 2-way real-time video over modest bandwidth," said David Li, Grandstream's CEO. "GXV-3000's DSP optimized implementation of the latest H.264 video codec ensures high fidelity video quality at bandwidth between 64kbps and 1Mbps. Its attractive price point (MSRP $295) and broad interoperability with various 3rd party SIP products further makes this product stand out from the rest of the crowd. "

"The Grandstream product is one of the sleekest and coolest video phone products out there today," said David Michaud, CEO of Netcentrex, Inc. "It combines sound design with features that are fully supported by our market leading video calling VoIP application servers and frequently requested by our growing base of joint customers."

Digium, the original creator and primary developer of Asterisk, the industry's first open source PBX, is currently offering technical demonstrations of video conferencing with the GXV-3000 and its upcoming version of Business Edition, the professional grade version of Asterisk.

"The launch of the GXV-3000 video phone underscores the reality that video and VoIP are here," said Mark Spencer, president of Digium and creator of Asterisk. "We see open source playing an integral role in making VoIP video conferencing an easy and cost-effective method of communicating face-to-face over distances."

"Pingtel's SIPxchange ECS is designed to handle enterprise real time communications and the new Grandstream GXV-3000 just worked out of the box", said Al Brisard, VP of Marketing of Pingtel, Inc. "Standards based SIP is the enabler of interoperability but the real value to the enterprise is ease of use, ease of deployment, and unprecedented choice of end points and capabilities."

"We are excited to provide H.264 communication ability between Grandstream GXV-3000 and CounterPath eyeBeam softphone users. Carriers and businesses now have access to the latest technologies and optimal performance when selecting video communication solutions," said Donovan Jones, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, CounterPath Solutions Inc.

The new GXV-3000 features an adjustable advanced VGA resolution camera sensor (with 1-touch ON/OFF switch for privacy control), a razor-thin 5"6-inch TFT color LCD with stunning picture quality (2-dimensionally rotatable to allow nearly all viewing angles), 5 navigation keys, 3 line indicators (each of which supports independent SIP account), visual voice/video message indicator, hands-free speakerphone with advanced acoustic echo cancellation, dual 10M/100M Ethernet ports (switch or router mode configurable), 2 USB ports, 2.5mm headset jack, and RCA style audio/video output jack to allow simultaneous video output to TV.

In addition, it also supports video call Hold/Transfer/Forward, 3-way conference, audio mute and camera block, video phone book, mirror camera, picture-in-picture, 4xzoom (2xoptical plus 2xdigital), on-screen-display, auto focus and auto exposure, anti-flickering, video capture & save, configurable screen-saver pictures, downloadable music ring tones, and intuitive graphic user interface.

Grandstream is in the process of completing its' interoperability & compatibility tests with other major soft switch vendors. Notification of completion will be given on the appropriate vendors web sites or through their Partner Programs.

Here are some more photos taken yesterday at ITEXPO ... Amazing attendance at the sessions, the keynotes, and the exhibit hall. Keep in mind yesterday wasn't even the "big day" for the exhibit hall (today is) yet the hall was jammed packed. Yesterday, the exhibit hall was open from 6pm-8pm which included a networking reception (free food + drink) within the exhibit hall.

Although there were lines for the food and drinks, the lines were almost as long to speak to the exhibitors. In fact, I was only able to meet with 5 vendors last night, partially due to the long lines and partially due to the fact that the exhibitors want to spend some time talking to me. I had several exhibitors recognize me and try and pull me into their booths, but I had scheduled appointments so I had to tell them I'd be back later. Guess it's good to be in such high demand, but I promise to not let it go to my head.

Sangoma Technologies Corporation announced at ITEXPO that it is now shipping its A200 analog FXO/FXS PCI cards for use in the popular Asterisk open-source IP-PBX..

“There is still a huge demand and need for FXO/FXS technologies in many countries around the world,” says Sangoma Technologies President and CEO David Mandelstam. “Not all telephone systems require the latest VoIP technologies, but still require robust analog capabilities to maintain quality of service. We understand this need and are taking an industry lead by providing a price/performance solution that our competitors will now follow.”

The A200 solution supports any combination of up to 24 FXO or FXS connections. A single PCI slot host connection for all ports ensures common synchronous clocking for all channels. The base AFT architecture is shared with Sangoma's A101, A201 and A104 and soon to be released A108 cards ensuring common 3.3V/5V, high performance PCI compatibility. The A200 is firmware upgradeable and they offer an optional low density hardware-based echo canceller for the A200 series.

Thought I'd share from photos from the show. The big day is tomorrow, but already a lot of VoIP news is happening with lots of VoIP announcements tomorrow and Friday. The first photo is Ron Insana from CNBC giving his keynote address. I'm off to the networking reception in the exhibit hall which starts in about 15 minutes.

Covad and CompUSA have announced a deal to offer Covad's broadband in 168 stores nationwide. CompUSA and Covad have created what they are claiming is "a total technology solution for the very small business market". According to Covad, small business specialists will be present in each store to help the customer find the best solution for their needs. Covad will be powering a Digital Services demonstration kiosk in each CompUSA store that will allow the customer to experience the service before purchasing.

Covad will be offering an array of broadband choices from shared line DSL to a T1 connection. With this deal, Covad opens a new sales channel (retail), and combines its expertise in the small business market with that of CompUSA. It isn't totally clear from this news release, but it appears they will offer Covad's VoIP business offering. I'm not convinced IT guys/gals will walk into a retail store and buy their SMB VoIP phone system. Maybe a small business owner who has no IT staff might buy a VoIP phone system at retail, in which case I could be wrong. Somebody should do a research study on the success (or failure) of residential VoIP offerings (Packet8, Vonage, etc.) sold at several retail outlets. The research statistics may give a picture of the potential for VoIP business offerings sold at retail.

Here's the actual news release discussing this.

CompUSA and Covad Sign Deal to Offer Business-Class Broadband in 168 Stores Nationwide

Dallas TX and San Jose, CA - Jan. 25, 2006 - Covad Communications Group, Inc. (AMEX: DVW) and CompUSA, Inc. announced an agreement today to offer Covad's business-class broadband services in 168 CompUSA stores nationwide.

"With this deal, CompUSA is strengthening its commitment to being the one-stop technology shop for small businesses," Larry Mondry, president and CEO of CompUSA. "Total package offerings in a retail setting are a real need for the small business market. According to TechInsights, a survey by CompUSA, 76 percent of small business owners buying technology want service, support, and broad product offerings all from the same retailer."

"We are excited by the opportunity to offer Covad's small business broadband products through CompUSA, one of the nation's most recognizable and trusted business brands for technology solutions," said Charles Hoffman, Covad president and CEO. "Placement of Covad's business-class broadband services in selected business-focused retail locations represents an important addition to Covad's distribution channel strategy. Partnering with CompUSA will extend our reach into the key small business market."

CompUSA will be offering a full range of Covad broadband access services, from shared-line DSL suitable for a small or home office all the way up to full T-1 connections. CompUSA has chosen Covad's broadband service to power its Digital Services demonstration kiosk in all 168 supported store locations, powering a variety of voice and data products. In 112 of the Covad-supported stores, CompUSA has established dedicated business services sales areas staffed with a business-focused sales force that will help customers ascertain their needs and make Covad a part of a total office technology solution. Covad's business-class broadband services will also be available for purchase through the Digital Services section of CompUSA's on-line venues: www.compusa.com and www.compusabusiness.com.

CompUSA will begin offering Covad services in mid-February. A 10-market road show introducing CompUSA's entire line of broadband data and voice products will help familiarize CompUSA associates with Covad's business-class broadband services. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.