April 2006 Archives

BridgePort Networks is making some interesting announcments at the CTIA Wireless show. Most importantly they are demonstrating how they leverages SIP and IMS to demonstrate seamless handover based on 'VCC' technical requirements. If you're not familiar with IMS or even if you are, you should subscribe to TMC's newest publication, IMS Magazine which covers IMS exclusively. IMS is going to be a huge driver of VoIP and mobile applications in the next couple of years.

Also at the CTIA show they are introducting a USB MobileSTICK product that turns a laptop into a mobile phone. The MobileSTICK solution enables users to place and receive calls from their PC or laptop using their mobile phone numbers. The MobileSTICK application is housed in a USB key, contains an embedded SIM card, and can be branded by the service provider. Cool stuff!

Here's the news from their release:

BridgePort Networks, the leader in MobileVoIP convergence, introduced to the North American mobile industry several significant breakthroughs at CTIA Wireless 2006.

"The action in the Fixed Mobile Convergence arena is moving from plumbing and standards to applications that can drive top line revenue for service providers," said Mike Mulica, President and CEO of BridgePort Networks. "Our theme at CTIA is to show innovative FMC applications for mobile and broadband service providers that illustrate the path to profitability that FMC creates."

BridgePort Networks Executive Speaks Out @ CTIA 2006

Steve Blumenthal, BridgePort Networks' CTO and Senior Vice President, will be a featured presenter on a panel entitled, "Fixed/Mobile Convergence: The Future Discussed Today." Scheduled for Wednesday, April 5, 2006, from 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM, in room N113, Blumenthal will address the market opportunities as well as technical issues.

Openwave & BridgePort Networks Expand Fixed Mobile/IMS Intellectual Property Relationship

Openwave Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:OPWV), the leading provider of open software products and services for the communications industry, today announced an expanded relationship with BridgePort Networks, the leader in MobileVoIP convergence, on intellectual property rights (IPR) in the emerging area of fixed mobile convergence (FMC).

The agreement extends an original Openwave patent license with BridgePort Networks, and fosters a combined intellectual property portfolio that represents landmark innovations in the broad field of FMC applications.

Additionally, BridgePort Networks will have an exclusive worldwide license to the combined patent portfolio, and both companies will collaborate to further stimulate FMC open systems industry innovation.

BridgePort Networks' Fixed Mobile Convergence Applications Showcased

BridgePort Networks will be showcasing a variety of MobileVoIP applications at their booth #3500 that demonstrate the ongoing maturation of Fixed Mobile Convergence:

IMS Voice Call Continuity (VCC)

The world's first implementation of the emerging IMS standard for "Voice Call Continuity." The solution, currently in market trials, enables operators to offer single phone number voice services that maintain an in-process voice call across both cellular and Wi-Fi networks. Providing a true business case for IMS deployments, BridgePort Networks' IMS Convergence Server (ICS) implements VCC, supports both GSM and CDMA networks, and is available for commercial deployment this year.

Additionally, the solution is supported by a variety of devices and client software companies that have implemented support for single number dual-mode telephony, SIP-based VoIP, security and seamless handover, including BridgePort Networks' partners: E28 and PCTEL.

Kyocera and Boingo Wireless Dual Mode MobileVoIP Telephony
Kyocera and Boingo -- also members of MobileIGNITE -- have collaborated with fellow member BridgePort Networks to showcase a Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) solution that ensures interoperability and a seamless user experience. The trio of companies will demonstrate a BREW-based dual-mode handset, with integrated public Wi-Fi roaming, addressing the growing market for WLAN-enabled handsets.
BridgePort Networks' NomadicONE Network Convergence Gateway connects the VoIP and CDMA network environments to enable the use of a single mobile number for voice calls and messages across both environments.

The demonstration can be viewed at the Kyocera booth #5426 North Hall 2 and the BridgePort Networks booth #3500 Hall C1/C2.

MobileSTICK Turns Laptop Into A Mobile Phone
BridgePort Networks' MobileSTICK application, based on joint collaboration with Oberthur, turns a laptop into a mobile phone. The MobileSTICK solution, targeted at the mobile workforce, enables users to place and receive calls from their PC or laptop using their mobile phone numbers. The MobileSTICK application is housed in a USB key, contains an embedded SIM card, and can be branded by the service provider.

MobileSTICK leverages BridgePort Networks' SoftMOBILE solution, and a partnership with Oberthur Card Systems, to make users always reachable over an Internet connected endpoint (i.e. soft client, IP phone, etc.) or mobile phone using a single identity without a separate VoIP or landline number.

Microsoft (R) Live Communication Server Integration

BridgePort Networks and 724 Solutions -- both members of MobileIGNITE -- will demonstrate their combined MobileVoIP solution, which bridges a person's mobile phone number identity, presence, phone calls and messages to the user's desktop running Microsoft Office Communicator 2005 client software, extending the reach of Microsoft Live Communications Server 2005.

Remember my Bluetooth Headsets Everywhere entry, where I discussed how Bluetooth headsets are becoming more prevalent as well as a "fashion statement"? Well, on a much related note, the Pama Diamante Bluetooth headset gets rid of the old boring grey over the ear headset piece by adding some Bling Bling to it. Yes ladies, now you can compliment your "blinged out" mobile phone and your diamond stud earings with this stylish Bluetooth headset. Guys too can compliment their diamond stud earings with this headset as well, but don't get me started on men who pierce their ears, nipples, nose, or any other body part. It's just wrong - wrong I say!

Apple fans can now dual-boot into either Microsft Windows XP or the Macintosh operating system (Mac OS X). Today, Apple announced the beta release of Bootcamp, a boot-time utility that lets you create a 2nd partition to hold the Windows operating system. Then at bootup you simply hold the option key which will then give you a choice of which operating system to load into. Now that Apple is using Intel processors, there is no need to use virtual emulators which use software to emulate Windows programs. Now Windows software can run in its native format using the Intel processor. Mac users are a loyal bunch, but wouldn't it be ironic if Mac users all of a sudden found themselves booting into Windows more often than the Mac OSX operating system since there are more applications for Windows than Mac? Ok Mac users, flame away!

In the meantime, check out what Apple has to say about this beta software:

More and more people are buying and loving Macs. To make this choice simply irresistible, Apple will include technology in the next major release of Mac OS X, Leopard, that lets you install and run the Windows XP operating system on your Mac. Called Boot Camp (for now), you can download a public beta today.
As elegant as it gets

Boot Camp lets you install Windows XP without moving your Mac data, though you will need to bring your own copy to the table, as Apple Computer does not sell or support Microsoft Windows.(1) Boot Camp will burn a CD of all the required drivers for Windows so you don't have to scrounge around the Internet looking for them.

System Manager
Optional alt. At startup, hold down the option key (alt) to choose between Mac OS X and Windows.

Run XP natively
Once you’ve completed Boot Camp, simply hold down the option key at startup to choose between Mac OS X and Windows. (That’s the “alt” key for you longtime Windows users.) After starting up, your Mac runs Windows completely natively. Simply restart to come back to Mac.

I splurged on a Uniden 5.8GHz TRU8885-2 phone system with digital answering machine, support up to 10 handsets, Caller ID, handset-to-handset calling, baby monitor feature, and more. "Splurged" probably isn't the appropriate word, since it was a $119 necessary purchase I had to make - wife's orders and all . She was sick and tired of the old Sony cordless phone/answering machine which was incompatible with Vonage causing the answering machine to play a fast-busy tone for up to 3 minutes (maximum record time) the majority of the time the remote caller hung-up. The damn Sony answering machine had a problem detecting the remote hangup or the fast busy so it wouldn't drop the line and would play an irritating fast busy over the Sony answering machine speakerphone for 3 minutes. The other problem with the Sony cordless phone was that it used 2.4Ghz, the same as my wireless router and Linksys Media Extender, which caused major interference issues.

So last night I hooked up the Uniden TRU8885-2 which comes with 2 handsets, plus I purchased a 3rd handset separately so that we could have a cordless phone in the bedroom, downstairs family room, and the kitchen. The included two phones automatically registered as Handset 1 and Handset 2. To register the third phone purchased separately I simply places the handset on the base station charger for 5 seconds.

After hooking up the phone system I made a test call from my cell phone to my home number. All the phones rang once, I could hear something "seize" the line and then I was hung up on. Thinking perhaps my cell connection died, I tried again - same result. One ring - line seized, hung up on. I then turned off the Uniden answering machine, tried once more and the same result. Frustrated at this point, I tried calling again but this time answered on the first ring and it worked. I was able to have a test conversation without getting hung up on. However, all attempts to let the phone ring more than once caused the line to hang up.

So I reconnected the Sony phone system to see if the Uniden system was causing the problem. Maybe I had a defective Uniden unit? I made another test call and the same thing happened with my ORIGINAL configuration. Now I'm like "What the heck is going on here?" Did the Uniden system somehow "fry" my Cisco ATA-186 ringer voltage generator? So I reset my Cisco ATA-186 by disconnecting it for 10 seconds and tried again. No change.

At this point there were two possibilities.
1) The Uniden system somehow sent incorrect voltage into the Cisco ATA-186, which "partially" broke the ATA.
2) Vonage was having service problems.

The 2nd option seemed implausible since what are the odds that JUST as I installed a new phone system that Vonage is having service issues? It just can't be I thought to myself. But then I remembered Murphy's Law and all the times I encountered one problem, I think I have the problem fixed only to have something coincidentally occur at the exact same time which causes the original problem to persist. Don't you just hate that?

So at midnight last night I told my wife "Well, I have the phone system hooked up, but it's hanging up if you don't pick up before the 2nd ring. My guess is that it's a Vonage service issue." I suspected the problem would go away by morning. Sure enough, the problem disappeared on its own this morning. This is the first time in the 4 years I have had Vonage that I have encountered this issue. I wonder if anyone else has seen this - if so post a comment. In the meantime, if you're looking for a good expandable (up to 10 handsets) phone system with integrated answering machine, 100 memory phone book, distinctive ring by CallerID, and a plethora of other advanced features, then the Uniden 5.8GHz TRU8885-2 phone system might just be for you!

Later this month, I'll be heading to the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Convention in (where else?) Las Vegas.

The NAB is the annual convention where all of the world's top broadcasters get together to see the latest gear in production and post-production gear (cameras, monitors software, storage, etc) to create all of the shows we see on TV, cable, via satellite (and now on much smaller screens, too, like cell phones). It's a huge show.

File-based workflow is big as facilities look to optimize their work with video -- so many new formats, channels and of course an ever greater demand for High-Def (HD) content. (Funny how the equation works -- more HD content = more demand for HD TVs = more HD content. etc., etc., etc.).

Let me know if you have anything you'd like to know before the show about where the future of broadcast -- and more entertainment -- is heading.

(Anybody out there going to the show?)

Is Hollywood embracing digital downloads of digital high-quality movies in the popular DVD format? Can this be? I just received an email from Movelink, which states, in part: As a reader of VoIP & Gadgets, I wanted to make sure you've heard Movielink's latest news. For the first time in the U.S., consumers can legally download to own movies from major Hollywood studios, such as King Kong, Good Night, and Good Luck, Hustle & Flow, East of Eden, The Sting and To Kill a Mockingbird. For the first time ever, titles such as Brokeback Mountain will be available to download day and date with DVD. This is a major step forward for the entertainment industry, as the Internet proves to be a viable distribution platform for delivery of premium content. It's also a major advancement for consumers who can now build their own personal digital movie libraries, stream movies around the house, and watch movies whenever and wherever they want.
I hope you'll visit www.movielink.com to see what's new.


So I did some more research. The broadband video-on-demand service Movielink announced that it is expanding its service to enable customers to buy digital-quality movie downloads online, in addition to the company's existing rental service. They've signed onboard several Hollywood heavyweights, including MGM, Paramount, Sony, 20th Century Fox, Universal, and Warner Bros. Brokeback Mountain will be the first major title released the same day the film hits DVD (tomorrow). Films debuting today with the launch include King Kong, Good Night, and Good Luck, Walk the Line, Memoirs of a Geisha, Hustle and Flow, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This marks the first time the Hollywood studios will sell major blockbuster movies online the same day they become available on DVD.

The films available on Movielink can be stored indefinitely on a computer hard drive or transferred to as many as two other computers. A copy can be burned to a DVD as a backup, however these DVD discs can only be played on up three PCs authorized by Movielink - they cannot be viewed on a standard DVD player because of special security encryption. Studios are being extra cautious about selling films online in part because DVD sales produce more profit than theater box office receipts. Still, this could be a deal breaker for many users that don't have a PC hooked up to their large-screen TVs. Who wants to watch a DVD on a teensy 17" or even 21" PC monitor?

Being able to download digital DVD quality movies over the Internet is a step in the right direction for Hollywood, but they still have a ways to go. I'm afraid the Bittorrent P2P users who get their movies for free (illegally) won't be jumping ship if they can't play these "legally" downloaded Movielink movies on their home surround sound theater setups.

If Hollywood makes it easy for users to download and play movies on their television, they could make a killing. Just look at what Apple iTunes did after everybody said that no one would pay for music in the "Napster age". Apple proved them wrong. Hollywood could do the same if they make the user experience as easy and simple as Apple did. If the Hollywood studios make a killing now on DVD profits, just imagine when they cut out all the manufacturing costs for the DVD disc, the cost of the packaging materials, the damn impossible to remove cellophane with security tape, as well as the distribution costs and paying retail outlet stores a "cut" of the revenue. Hollywood could get a much bigger piece of the pie if they offer digital downloads since the cut all of these expenses out. Eventually Hollywood will see the light. I hope...

How about Google buying a small stake -- 5% -- of AOL? Not all that long ago, the great merger of AOL and Time Warner was going to rock the industry; about the only thing that got rocked was the stock price -- and all those many sad shareholders ...

What is Google going to do next? The phone lines are open ...

Iotum, winner of Internet Telephony’s Product of the Year Award and DEMOgod at DEMO 2006 has announced today the beta availability of the iotum relevance engine integration with the popular open-source Asterisk IP-PBX.

iotum's Asterisk integration module connects its call management applications to Asterisk IP-PBX's to assist users in prioritizing which calls are more important, and which can wait, based on who’s calling, and what the user is currently doing. This non-commercial beta will allow Asterisk users to filter, rank, and prioritize incoming calls using iotum as well as offer users the ability to easily schedule conference calls from within Microsoft Outlook using iotum's Pronto Conference Calling feature.

iotum's unique "Web 2.0" relevance engine which helps to prioritize calls has certainly garnered attention and awards from several media outlets. Certainly by integrating with Asterisk, iotum will garner plenty more attention, especially from the Asterisk community.

Look how far technology advertising has come in 30 years! This is the first ad for the first Apple Computer, the Apple I, which was introduced 30 years ago this month.

Once again, thanks to the great Apple-History.com web site (so much to read on it!)

On Monday, EarthLink will lean on a brand from the past, namely MindSpring to launch yet another VoIP softphone client. Seems like a new VoIP client is laaunched each week. I remember when TMC had a few dial-up MindSpring accounts before Earthlink merged with MindSpring. Apparently, they're now planning on using the MindSpring brand name to leverage VoIP. Yes, because when I think of MindSpring, I think of a VoIP leader? I think of cheap dial-up. Anyway, the "new MindSpring" is EarthLink's free VoIP product that combines VoIP and instant messaging on a consumer's PC.

The MindSpring software includes voice calling capabilities, real-time text (instant messaging), access to free voicemail and EarthLink Webmail combining a single online identity for all of these communication types. PC-to-PC calls are free, and customers can also dial traditional telephone users at the reduced rate of 2¢ per minute. New MindSpring users will also receive 30 free minutes of calls to traditional phone lines.

EarthLink’s MindSpring is available to high-speed Internet users running Windows XP or 2000, with or without an existing EarthLink account. Sorry Mac & Linux users. It is built on the SIP standard, which makes it compatible with any other open SIP-based network and in fact they claim to be compatible with Google Talk. MindSpring is live today at http://www.mindspring.net/.