January 2006 Archives

Either the spammers are either very stupid or they have figured out a way to hack the visual captcha plugin (created by James Seng) I installed in my Movable Type blog (sample image to right). The reason I say this is that my blog has been receiving spam comments over the past several months that are the exact same text and I've seen this exact text on other blogs as well.

The spam text reads:
I totally agree with what you're saying. I wish more people felt this way and took the time to express themselves. Keep up the great work.

<name>
<website>

The spam text is "generic" enough and even complimentary to the blogger that a naïve blogger that hasn't some across this spam may let the comment stay on the blog. In any case, it's always this exact text, but the IP address varies (could be open proxies) and the website is always different which indicates multiple spammers using the same script & text template. It could be one spammer with hundreds of domains, but it seems to me that this comment spam text is so common that there must be some sort of script out there that can get around the captcha. James Seng's captcha is pretty popular, so perhaps a hacker/spammer has devised an OCR (optical character recognition) algorithm to detect the numbers and created a script to automate this?

I Googled this spammy text with a portion of it in quotes (exact match) and found at least 114 results. A slightly less strict search reveals 765 Google results. Now granted, the spammers could be simply copy/pasting their script into the Comments body and then manually entering the random numeric captcha code. But if they are going to go through the effort of copy/pasting to dozens of blogs in hopes of raising their Google Page Rank, why not come up with 10 text templates instead of just 1 text template? (not that I should be giving them any ideas) Eventually, even the naïve blogger is going to catch onto this spam text and delete it. So why waste the effort? You'd think a spammer smart enough to hack the captcha code would modify his/her text template. Then again, if a script does exist to hack the captcha, it's probably script kiddies borrowing the hacker's original script and so damn lazy they don't even change the text.

Actually, I've also seen some slight variants on this spam such as these:
Hello! You have very interesting blog! I enjoy reading you blog... keep it up guys! Respect you. Good luck you!

This one is interesting, because if you Google it by clicking here, you will see the "variants" of the exact text with the only text changed being the part in RED. Could be one spammer with hundreds of domains, who knows?

Thanks for this great post. You've got some really good info in your blog. If you get a chance, you can check out my blog on {copiers} at http://www.XYZ.com.

Some of the "red" keywords include: free credit reports, inkjet printer ink, mortgage brokers, donate, and more.

You gotta love the poor grammar they use by the way. I actually find it
amusing to read such tortured English. Though I hope this isn't
Americans using such poor grammar. After all, isn't the controversial No Child Left Behind supposed to help with that? And yes, I know I used the word "gotta".

We have two possibilities here.
1) spammers are using a script that can visually see the numbers in the captcha code and the script automatically posts a comment using the same text template.
2) spammers aren't "hacking" the captcha but rather they are manually entering their crap on people's blogs and manually entering the captcha code (if installed) and using the same damn text template. My only question is "Is this one annoying spammer or dozens doing this?"

Either option makes these spammers (spammer?) look like the dumbest spammers that ever walked God's green Earth. Thankfully, spammers tend to be the bottom of the genetic gene pool and are more "lucky" than "smart" when it comes to making money on the Internet. Their "shotgun" approach to spamming the entire Internet as opposed to using a more refined "sniper rifle" attack just might be a blessing. Just imagine if they actually had some intelligence in their spamming methods. Might make spam filters irrelevant, which would really suck since I spend at least 30 minutes a day going through spam on my blog and email accounts.

That reminds me - you know those stats that tell you you spend X number of years sleeping, X number of years in a car, X number of years eating, etc.? I wonder how many years the average person loses dealing with spam. I loathe spammers. Ok, I'll end my Friday morning rant against spammers.

Ronald Lewis interviewed Mark Spencer, Asterisk founder/guru this morning. I listened to the podcast while simultaneously trying to read and respond to email, surf the Web, and prepare for Internet Telephony Expo next week. Unfortunately, my multitasking skills aren't what they used to be since I only absorbed probably 30% of the entire interview. I could tell there were some good questions posed by Ronald and interesting answers by Mark making it worth checking out the podcast. Maybe I'll go listen to it again. I know Mark discussed the history of Asterisk, the release of Asterisk v1.2, the whole SIP vs. IAX protocol debate, and some other stuff.

Ronald Lewis and Mark Spencer no doubt used VoIP to record the podcast using a combination of Asterisk and Gabcast, which supports IAX Asterisk trunking and which I just blogged about yesterday. In fact, I detect one little "blip" in the sound quality in one part due to some dropped packets in one part of the interview. But overall, great voice quality and some good content. Go check out the Gabcast recorded interview.

Update: I called this a "podcast" interview, when technically it doesn't play on your iPod but rather on the web. You can of course view the HTML source to figure out the MP3 filename and then manually download to your iPod, but Gabcast doesn't feature the typical automatic seemlessly "podcast" integration. At least, not that I can see from the website.

With Verizon recently announcing its own music store -- V CAST -- that will enable that service's users to download high-quality digital music on its cell phones, it's little wonder that Apple seems to be advancing in its own march toward an iPod phone.

Seems Apple recently submitted a bunch of trademark applications, but this a whole new world for Apple. Can they reinvent the cell phone? Will that be a Top 10 story of 2006?

We'll be taking an up close and personal look at V CAST in the next couple of weeks ... Stay tuned.

I've always been a big fan of Palm's products, and the T/X is everything a handheld organizer (remember those buzzwords?) was meant to be. Big and black, it's a sleek looking unit with a beautiful TFT screen (320x480) that almost fills its entire size! Fast too!

The T/X has got everything you need in a handheld -- except the phone: calendar, contacts, tasks, memos, DataViz Documents To Go Pro for Word, Excel and PowerPoint compatibility, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support, VersaMail email, SMS, web browser, Pocket Tunes for MP3 playback, Media for photos and videos and even Solitaire! (of course).

How do they ever fit all of that into a $299 gadget that's basically the same size as a 3x5 card?

I can't believe it's just 5 days till Internet Telephony Expo. While I'm excited to be leaving behind cold Connecticut for warm Ft. Lauderdale, Florida there is so much going on at this next show that I don't know how I'm going to visit with all the vendors I want to on the show floor, moderate my "Managing Your Network for High-Quality Voice" panel, attend a few of the interesting conference sessions, and attend all the pre-briefings I have scheduled. On top of it all, I still haven't replaced my cell phone that I lost in a taxi at the last Internet Telephony Expo, so it will be tough to juggle or change my schedule on the fly. Being the gadget lover that I am I just can't decide whether to get a Treo 650, Treo 700, HP iPAQ hw6515, or some other smart phone. I'm usually pretty decisive about these things, and just buy whatever the hell I want, but with a baby on the way, my gadget shopping-spree days are over.

In any event, I just wanted to let everyone know that the TMC team is continually trying to improve the education that goes on at Internet Telephony Conference & Expo. Even with the show just 5 days away, TMC has added an exciting new educational session to Internet Telephony Conference & Expo. According to Rich Tehrani's blog post, "Asterisk certification" has been added to TMC university. Rich writes, "Be sure to check out the Asterisk certification at Internet Telephony Conference & Expo next week. We are very proud to be expanding TMC University’s certifications into a new area. If you are interested in getting certification in open-source VoIP be sure to come to ITEXPO next week and partake in the learning and certifying!"

Here's an interesting third-party Skype application from WizzTones that lets you create customized "talking" alerts in a computer-generated, life-like male or female voice, in up to 10 different languages. You can also create ringtones using your own voice & microphone. According to Wizztone you can select a favorite song, a special announcement, a celebrity ringtone, a unique sound effect or create a customized ring tone, and then assign a different sound to each person on your Skype Contacts list!

They are also running a few beta tests for some Speech Recognition and text to speech apps in the coming year and are looking for beta testers to download their app and provide feedback.

SIPThat's popular blogger, Erik Lagerway pondered in a blog post last year if the Sony PSP would one day run a VoIP (Voice over IP) client. In fact, he hinted while working at Xten (now CounterPath) that they could should be able to "hack together" a softphone for VoIP on the PSP handheld gaming console. Erik wrote in May 2005:

Looks like Sony has their crosshairs clearly focused on providing a feature-full portable communications and entertainment system. Since we can browse the web on this thing, and it has a USB port, Wi-Fi and a TCP stack you would think we should be able hack together a softphone for VoIP. Video will come later, camera attachment. I will keep you posted.

Thinking more about Saturday Night Live on the video iPod from yesterday -- too bad you can't get a transcript of each skit. Oh wait! Yes, you can!

The site Saturday Night Live Transcripts goes back to the very first skit on the very first show -- "Wolverines" -- with Michael O'Donaghue and John Belushi (10/11/75).

Lots of fun to read all about it! (But can't believe it's 30 years ago ...)

Just thought I'd share Yahoo's survey on VoIP, which Yahoo! Search Marketing recently commissioned by the National American Testing Organization, to explore how consumers use Internet search in researching and purchasing VoIP service. The findings include helpful insight for service providers in how to drive subscriptions using search advertising techniques that deliver both information and branded value messages to consumers.

Highlights of the VoIP study, summarized in the press release below, include this key statistic: two thirds of the survey respondents said Internet search was "an indispensable research tool." In other words, Yahoo! has VoIP (Yahoo Messenger) and Yahoo is a leading search engine. Hmmm, Yahoo is a leading Search Engine + Yahoo has VoIP = Yahoo becoming leading VoIP service provider?

Actually, they are simply saying using Yahoo can help you find other VoIP service providers. Though you have to wonder when the search engines start offering VoIP and other non-search related services if they will start giving their own services a "top ranking" in their search results sparking anti-competitive cries that will make Microsoft look like a saint and turn the EU's attention away from Microsoft. Perhaps 2006 will be the year Google truly breaks their "Do no evil" mantra by promoting their own services in the search results and Yahoo and the other search engines follow suit? Maybe I should add that to my 2006 predictions? It's probably unlikely this would happen due to the firestorm it would create, but never say never.

Consumers Turn To Internet Search to Research VoIP Products and Services

 Yahoo! Survey Finds Two Thirds of Respondents View Internet Search as an "Indispensable Research Tool"

Burbank, Calif., January 18, 2006 - Yahoo! Inc., a leading global Internet company, today announced key findings from a new survey commissioned by the National American Testing Organization exploring the role Internet Search plays in the research process for consumers seeking VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) calling solutions. The survey, conducted in August of 2005 using a nationally representative sample of US adults with high-speed connections at home, found Internet Search to be the most trusted, essential information resource for consumers researching VoIP calling services.

Key findings of the study include:

• The Internet and Search play leading roles in the consumer research process for VoIP services. Close to 90% of the people surveyed used the Internet to obtain more information about VoIP services. Of those users, 67% turned to Internet Search as their primary tool for research followed by internet provider or phone company Web sites at 49%.
  
• Search is the most relevant and trusted resource for conducting research. Nearly 80% of those who used Internet Search to research said it is the best source for obtaining information regarding VoIP services and 66% said they "couldn't make a good decision without it". The vast majority of VoIP researchers (70%) will use Internet Search the next time they research VoIP services.
  
• Search is highly valuable throughout the entire buying cycle. Although Internet Search is prevalent in all stages of the buying cycle, it is strongest as a research and comparison tool where consumers are looking to learn about the technology, discover VoIP brands and as a critical tool in determining differentiation between competitors. However, 48% of those who used search to research said they did so to learn how to sign-up and start using VoIP.
  
• A multi-channel approach is best for driving maximum awareness. The results of the survey showed traditional media (31%) and the Internet (28%) as the two primary sources used to drive initial awareness of VoIP technology, products and services. Television spots (14%), banner ads (14%) and newspaper/magazine ads (10%) held the top three spots.
  

Gabcast is an interesting new service that lets you instantly create podcasts for your blog with integration with your blogging software. While, this in itself is nothing new, AudioBlog has been doing it successfully for awhile, the neat thing about Gabcast is that it supports calling their service both via the PSTN and VoIP. Yep, that's right, just launch your favorite SIP softphone and dial the SIP address: 422@sip.gabcast.com. They also support Pulver's FWD service (dialing FWD #702681). But most "geek of all", they even support calling via an Asterisk IAX trunk line! (for quick 3-digit dialing)

If you are using AMP (comes with Asterisk@Home), then simply create a Trunk and a Route. You do this simply by creating a trunk called "gabcast", then add a peer called iax.gabcast.com", and finally add a Dialing Pattern called "422" and then select the "IAX2/gabcast" Trunk Sequence. When you want to dial the Gabcast audioblogger service you simply pick up an Asterisk line and dial 422! Cool stuff. Really shows the power and flexibility of the Asterisk IP-PBX.

If you aren't using the Asterisk Management Portal (AMP), then you can create a dial command in extensions.conf like:

Dial(IAX2/iax.gabcast.com/gab)

Similar to the previous steps, if you want to dial 422 to access gabcast, then you would add something like this:
[internal]
exten => 422,1,Dial(IAX2/iax.gabcast.com/gab)

I should also mention they provide a free 800 number for U.S. residents to call the service free of charge. As far as I can tell from their website which doesn't mention any fees in their FAQ, their service itself is also free, where as Audioblog charges $4.95/month, but I'll have to confirm that.

[Hat tip to Ronald Lewis, a prolific audio blogger and VoIP-fan/consultant who pointed out the Gabcast service.]

Update:
I couldn't remember the other audio blogging service and Ronald refreshed my memory by mentioning Odeo. Then I recalled Eric's SIPThat blog mentioning Odeo and thinking it was cool.

Ronald also had some other interesting insights and reasons why he likes Gabcast vs. other audioblogging solutions. Here are his 5 reasons he likes Gabcast:
1. To my knowledge, it is the only podcasting site which uses Asterisk at the core (for recording from PSTN and VoIP). This alone instantly sold me.

2. You can podcast in two ways -- From POTS or a VoIP soft/hard client (via an Asterisk dialplan, FWD, etc.). Personally, I have an extension in Asterisk to connect directly to Gabcast via IAX. The recordings couldn't be clearer compared to POTS and cell users.

3. Free account holders can host conferences up to 3 (or 4) users. Users can also record these conferences as podcasts (group meetings, discussions, etc.) The conference rooms are actually virtual Asterisk MeetMe extensions. This is how I will interview Mark tomorrow (he'll be dialing through Gabcasts's toll-free POTS number).

4. It's uniform, and easy to use given all of its 'bells & whistles.'

5. It's fast. In under 3 seconds, Gabcast converts your episode from a native audio format (not sure if they're using GSM, Speex, Wav, etc.) to an MP3 for instant publishing.

As of yesterday, Google Talk now federates with other XMPP services. Google announced "open federation" for the Google Talk service allowing people on different IM/VoIP clients to "talk" to each other. Google Talk currently support open federation with any service provider that supports the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) standard. This includes Chikka, Earthlink, Gizmo, Tiscali, MediaRing, as well as universites, corporations and individual users that setup their own XMPP-compliant servers.

Google Talk's Gary Burd "flipped the switch" to connect the Google Talk service to the public XMPP network and gleefully takes pride in the fact that he got to "throw the switch" (good thing he doesn't work for the prison system! ) Gary Burd writes in the Google Talk blog, "I'm proud to have worked on this, and to be the one that got to turn on something that lets Google Talk users talk to millions of other users out there."

The Google Talk blog writes:

I flipped the switch to connect the Google Talk Service to the public XMPP network this morning. Google Talk users can now chat with users on other XMPP services and vice versa.

If you want to connect your service to the Google Talk Service, you should know that Google Talk uses the dialback protocol as described in RFC 3920.

Please post to the Google Talk Open Group if you have any questions or problems with interoperability on the Google Talk Service.

I'm proud to have worked on this, and to be the one that got to turn on something that lets Google Talk users talk to millions of other users out there.

Dinosaurs are back!!!  Scary, very scary!!!!

Actually, it’s just my son playing with the Roboraptor, an advanced fusion of technology, personality and fear. Wth its advanced artificial intelligence personality, realistic biomorphic motions, direct control and autonomous free-roam modes, the 32-inch long Roboraptor is like a creature from the Earth’s distant past.

Here’s what the tech/personality/fear fusion is all about: 

• Fluid bi-pedal motion -- walking, running and predatory gaits
• Realistic body movements -- turning head and neck; whipping tail actions
• Three distinct moods -- hunter, cautious and playful
• Autonomous environmental interaction -- responds with mood specific behaviors and sounds
• Mood dependent behavior -- aggressive/hunting mood, nervous/cautious mood and friendly/playful mood
• Multi-sensory -- touch sensors in his tail, chin and mouth; sonic sensors
• Infra-red vision system detects objects in his path or approaching him
• "Laser" tracking technology trace a path on the ground and he’ll follow it
• Powerful jaws that play tug-of war games, bite and pull
• Oh! Sounds that are truly frightening

Available at many stores, from Best Buy and The Sharper Image to Wal-mart and Target at an approximate retail price of $119.  (Look for pricing at $99 or so.)

www.wowwee.com

I recently learned about a VoIP-capable PDA-like phone from IP Thinking that runs Skype on a Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition "Pocket PC-like" device. Think of this as a phone handset slapped onto a PocketPC. Called the IP-Thinking VoIP phone, it features a PDA-based architecture, which allows it to work seamlessly with all Windows Mobile Edition programs, such as Skype and other VoIP applications. I am told that in addition to Skype it will support other VoIP softphone applications, such as SJLabs. According to IP Thinking's Henrik Warrer, "Right now we are designing it with combined software client (supporting) VoIP and PSTN." If a future release of this device can act as a Skype-to-PSTN bridging/conferencing that could be a really cool feature. Simply taking both inbound PSTN calls and inbound SkypeIn calls on one phone is a nice capability. No word on whether the device supports audio recording, but there are third-party apps that do. I also wonder if it can act as an answering machine so you can have both your PSTN and SkypeIn messages on one device.

The IP Thinking VoIP phone features an Intel PXA272 processor at 520 MHz, Bluetooth for wireless connectivity for the handset and other peripherals, a 3.5" high-brightness transflective TFT LCD Touchscreen (65,536 colors) with 240 x 320 (QVGA) resolution. Memory includes 64 MB for user applications, storage and system operation and the Flash ROM supports 64 MB of flash memory for operating system, embedded applications and storage.

Pros:
- standalone Skype (PC-Less) not chained to PC
- wireless handset/wireless VoIP
- Runs other Windows Mobile 2003 apps
- View/listen to videos, MP3s
- It's fairly thin and can stick on shelf (as shown below)

Cons:
- Price? Not sure how much this device is and if people are willing to pay a premium for a device that runs Windows Mobile 2003 but isn't mobile at all - it's designed to be stationary. I inquried about pricing but still waiting on an email reply.
- Not the latest Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system

Here are some other photos:

How much can we write about the iPod!  Lots, because there is simply so much news about Apple's little wonder. Under the "Now Here Is Something Really Useful" category comes news that Apple will sell a limited number of old Saturday Night Live skits through iTunes for $1.99 each. The skits can be viewed on video iPods or PCs.

Couple of funny skits in this limited collection, but let's bring out the really classic classics -- Dan Aykroyd's "Bass-o-Matic," "Two Wild and Crazy Guys" with Steve Martin and "Samurai Deli" with John Belushi (all skit names are approximations, but you know which ones I mean!). The older the better ...

Let me know what sketches you want to see made available! Let's make it "Really Useful."

With Internet Telephony Conference & Expo next week, the flurry of new product and new service announcements is sure to come. I just wanted to share this piece of news from XConnect since this is more of an educational slant than a new product pitch. XConnect plans on sharing their VoIP peering expertise at several industry conferences over the next few months, including next week's Internet Telephony Conference & Expo. VoIP Peering is a HUGE genre within the VoIP space and growing exponentially, so if you are looking to learn more about VoIP peering, below lists where XConnect will be speaking and educating about the VoIP peering phenomenon. I know a lot of my blog readers have asked me where they can learn more about VoIP and even potential business opportunities with VoIP. Attending VoIP conferences is certainly one of the best ways to educate yourself, whether TMC's conferences or some of the others listed by XConnect.

XConnect, the largest neutral VoIP peering provider worldwide servicing more than 75 VoIP service providers in 20 countries, announced today participation in the following upcoming events in the first quarter 2006.

VoIP peering allows operators to "identify" VoIP calls and exchange them end-to-end across IP networks, facilitating zero-cost settlement while preserving value-added services and advanced features for the benefit of subscribers.

Interested parties can view details of these events at www.xconnect.net

January 15-18, 2006. Hugh Goldstein, Business Development Consultant, will present at the Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC) in Honolulu, HI.

January 24-26, 2006. Gary McDonald, VP, Sales, EMEA, will speak at Marcus Evans' Wholesale Interconnection Forum in London, UK.

January 24-27, 2006. Eli Katz, Founder & CEO, will present about VoIP Peering on two separate panels throughout at the Internet Telephony Expo in Fort Lauderdale, FL. XConnect will also be exhibiting at the show.

January 25-27. Gary McDonald, VP, Sales, EMEA, will speak at Marcus Evans' Strategic Pricing for Telecom Services and Content in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

February 9, 2006. Eli Katz, Founder & CEO, will present at the IP Voice Meeting in Lisbon, Portugal.

March 13-16. Eli Katz, Founder & CEO, will speak about ENUM at Pulvermedia's Spring VON conference in San Jose, CA. XConnect will also be exhibiting at the show.

March 21, 2006. Eli Katz, Founder & CEO, will present at the VentureOne Summit, a Dow Jones Conference, in San Francisco, CA.