August 2006 Archives

Looks like today's blogging is all about more and more.

Now we have Universal Music, home to artists such as U2, planning to make its catalog of recordings and music videos available for free on an ad-supported Web site that will launch later this year.

According to the buzz, SpiralFrog.com will split advertising revenue with the recording company.

Users can download an unlimited number of songs or music videos if they register at the site. Tracks cannot be burned to a CD, but users will be able to transfer music to portable media players equipped with Microsoft Windows digital rights management software.

However, the service will not work with Apple's Macintosh computers or its market-leading iPod music players. (Is that a good idea?)

Fine reporting from The Washington Post.

www.spiralfrog.com

As if we didn't already have too many High Definition DVD formats!

Now, a third format has entered the HD DVD war to battle HD-DVD and Blu-ray for world domination -- New Medium Enterprises' High Definition Versatile Multilayer Disc (HD VMD).

(That VMD spelled out is brutal ...)

This format makes use of a red laser and multiple layers to maximize storage capacity.

Photo from Dealerscope, which has more on this perplexing development.

Aswath noticed that it appearred AOL was cancelling their TotalTalk service. When you go to www.totaltalk.com you are greeted with this message: "We are very sorry to inform you AOL® Enhanced Services ("AOL ES") has decided to discontinue offering the TotalTalk™ service. For this reason, the TotalTalk service will be terminated on or about November 30, 2006."

Andy basically says TotalTalk was killed in favor of AOL's new PhoneLine service.
Andy says that TotalTalk was basically AOL VoIP 1.0 which helped give birth to PhoneLine resulting in AOL VoIP 2.0. Some interesting thoughts by Andy you should definitely check out.

The difference between TotalTalk and PhoneLine is that TotalTalk was more of a Vonage-like solution to replace your home phone line (hardware ATA), and PhoneLine is a 100% software-based (softphone) VoIP solution that supports both outbound and inbound (DID number) dialing. PhoneLine is an interesting product, but it has to battle the "me too" factor with the likes of Google Talk, Skype, Gizmo, and others. I should point out that AOL TotalTalk was riding on the Level3 network and really didn't add much value or features that you can't get from any of a dozen VoIP providers. AOL was simply lost in the shuffle of the plethora of VoIP providers out there - many of which also ride on Level3 and with the same exact rates.

Ask any of your techie friends if you knew AOL did VoIP. I bet most didn't know. I bet many average people know Vonage does VoIP but ask about AOL and they would probably say "AOL does VoIP?" Who would have thought that AOL with one of the most well-known brand names would get lost in the VoIP marketing wars?

If AOL wanted to compete with the likes of Vonage, perhaps they should have copied Vonage's marketing model by spending millions of dollars on TV commercials with a catchy tune. Or they could have entered a price war and offered $10/month unlimited VoIP service just to attract customers. Sure they'd probably eat millions of dollars in the first year, but they needed to do something drastic to stand about the "me too! me too!" VoIP service provider crowd.

Who am I kidding? In the end, even if AOL spent millions, the cable and phone companies are still going to win the war against the single play VoIP providers.

Celebrities Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan are in a well-known feud that now has entered one of my favorite realms, namely VoIP. According to an InfoWorld article, (which Asterisk VoIP News reminded me about), it is alleged that Paris Hilton used a fake Caller ID seller called SpoofCard.com to hack into voicemail accounts on an un-named mobile phone network. Spoofcard.com has suspended her account along with more than 50 others.

Apparently, many mobile phone companies, including Cingular Wireless and T-Mobile simply use Caller ID to identify voicemail users without requiring passwords. Have they not heard of CallerID spoofing? Sheesh, they can't even detect that their own customer's mobile phone is dialing into their network and are instead relying on unreliable CallerID info? How pathetic is that? So all you need is a celebrities' mobile phone number and a spoofing CallerID service and then you can access their voicemail.

Interestingly enough, SpoofCard.com leverages the open-source Asterisk IP-PBX to sell US$10, 60-minute calling cards that let users call a toll-free number and type in whatever Caller ID number they want their call to display. Amazing what sort of sexy applications you can do with an Asterisk box. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go check out Nerd Vittles site. He has some interesting Asterisk projects.

Last month the New York Post reported that someone had stolen the password to Lohan's BlackBerry and sent her friends "disgusting and very mean messages that everyone thought were coming from Lindsay." Lohan's representatives hinted that Paris Hilton may have been behind it. What's this world coming to when celebrity divas can hack into other people's phones or computers? Hackers used to be an elite group, now it appears anybody can be a hacker. Of course, the real hackers call people that use well-known exploits or use easy hacking tools "script kiddies" and other not-so-flattering nicknames.

Well Lindsay, if you're looking to get some revenge with Paris, you may be interested in attending Internet Telephony Conference & Expo just 2 months away. Asterisk, the CallerID spoofing enabler will be there, along with hundreds of other VoIP companies. Not to mention all the VoIP geeks and VoIP hackers that will be attending that I am sure will be more than willing to help you get even with Miss Hilton. I'm sure there will be someone there that can help you hack into Paris Hilton's Motorola Gold RAZR or any of her other communications devices.

Not that I'm advocating any sort of criminal behavior or anything. There's nothing wrong with a little tit-for-tat game between two famous Hollywood divas, right? Just some simple pranks. No harm no foul I always say. And if it escalates to an all out cat fight, well, I'm sure people would pay good money to see that on Pay-Per-View - or simply download it on YouTube.com.

MINO Wireless, announced its new mobile application for making inexpensive international calls designed for Symbian OS phones. Symbian OS supported mobile phone, such as Nokia, Sony Ericcson, and Motorola can call any phone worldwide at rates starting from 2.2 cents per minute using MINO.

Considering the popularity of these mobile phone brands and how expensive international calls are using your mobile phone, the ability to make inexpensive VoIP calls to PSTN numbers using your mobile phone has a huge convenience factor.

MINO began offering its service in early 2006 and has signed up over 90,000 users in more than 50 countries.

In the category of "stupid human tricks" comes this news out of Finland -- A Finn takes the title in a mobile phone throwing contest!

Yes, you heard right -- Lassi Etelatalo won this year's Mobile Phone Throwing World Championship in Finland with a toss of 89 meters.

"I prepared by javelin throwing, Etelatalo said. "I haven't really practiced throwing mobile phones."

Indeed!

Don't believe me; check out Yahoo!/Reuters.

Hey, any idea what the handset was?

It's not easy being green, but gadget companies do have a sense of "eco-friendliness," according to Greenpeace, which has recently rated CE companies in its Green Electronics Guide.

Apparently Nokia's decision to distance itself from PVC resulted in high marks in the Guide, while Lenovo, which bought IBM's PC business, scored the lowest in the survey, although the computer maker defends its environmental record.

According to the company: "Lenovo meets or exceeds applicable environmental regulations globally, and we don't believe Greenpeace's ranking accurately reflects Lenovo's environmental record," according to a company statement.

Read more about it at Network World or at greenpeace.org.

 

USRobotics just launched a new cordless phone for Skype called the USR9630 Cordless Phone for Skype and the USR9631 Accessory Handset.  The USR9630 base station connects to both a traditional phone line and an available USB port on a PC running Skype. It allows up to four cordless handsets to be connected to the same telephone line. This product is somewhat similar to the Linksys CIT200 Skype phone that I reviewed, which also supports multiple handsets and also uses DECT, however, this USR product supports both Skype and PSTN phone calls, thus making it a practical home phone replacement for the entire family. Although, this product doesn't have a built-in answering machine. I suppose you could use Skype's voicemail, but that doesn't help you when people call your landline. Still, this is an intriguing product will some interesting possibilities. I might just have to do a full review of it in the near future.

Features available from the USR9630 Cordless Dual Phone and the USR9631 Accessory Handset include:

•  Ability to use Skype even when you are not at your PC
•  Up to four handsets for a whole-home/small office cordless phone solution
•  DECT 6.0 technology does not interfere with 802.11a/b/g wireless networks, Bluetooth devices, and other home appliances. 
•  Efficient power usage for enhanced talk and stand-by times
•  150 foot (50 meter) indoor/900 foot (300 meter) outdoor range
•  Integrated speakerphone in handset for hands free calling
•  LED backlit, graphical LCD display provides convenient access to Skype contacts and personal phonebook entries
•  Battery level indicator and Out of Range warning tone
•  Supports Skype Caller ID and telephone company Caller ID
•  Integrated echo cancellation and noise reduction technology delivers life-like conversation quality
•  Full-duplex operation eliminates conversation clipping
•  Supports Windows 2000 & XP operating systems
•  Compatible with USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 ports
  

The USR9630 Cordless Dual Phone will be available in September at retailers and e-tailers in North America and Europe.  The MSRP is $119.99.  The USR9631 Accessory Handset will be available in October for an MSRP of $69.99.

Roxio's Popcorn 2 is for converting movies to your iPod, PSP or 3GP phone.

(Remember when copying DVDs period was a chore?)

Popcorn 2 enables you to make back up copies of your DVDs, compress dual-layer DVDs to fit onto single-layer DVDs, play back your movies with Dolby Digital support and transfer your favorite personal video entertainment to DVD, iPod, PSP or mobile phone. (Very cool ... but don't go near those copy-protected discs.)

You can create portable compatible versions of all popular formats, including non-protected DVD-Video, QuickTime movies, MPEG files, iMovie projects and others.

To keep this simple, pre-defined settings are optimized for standard or high-quality video output or you can define your own custom DivX, MPEG4 or H.264 levels for bit rate, frame rate and image size. (Did you follow that?)

MSRP: $59.99 (now $49.99 direct from Roxio)

www.roxio.com

With all of the recent battery problems, I can't seem to stop thinking about all of the batteries that we use (and consume) in our gadgets.

If you figure that most gadgets (and toys) take two or four batteries (AA, AAA or C), that would add up to a lot of batteries.

And what about cell phones with all of their own special types of batteries?

Now what about digital cameras and all of the batteries that those gadgets eat up? (At least they're not as bad as they used to be regarding battery consumption.)

And do I need to think about flashlights, too?

This list could go on and on and on and on ...

(Neat "up close and personal" photo from GreenerChoices.org, isn't it?)

Is it just me? Why can't I stop worrying?

The Google Talkabout blog announced Google's plans to interoperate with Skype. In part it states, "Google and eBay have signed an agreement around text-based advertising and "click-to-call" advertising, in which Google Talk and Skype will power voice calls between customers and merchants." Even more interesting is this tidbit from the official press release: "Google will become the exclusive text-based advertising provider for eBay outside the United States." Wow, this is a huge win for Skype/eBay, but I'm not so sure how much of a win this is for Google - more on that later.

It is interesting that there is a caveat in the press release - Google is the exclusive text-based advertising provider for eBay outside the United States. Apparently, as part of this deal, Skype/eBay can continue to use Overture or other ad networks within the U.S. but must use Google for advertising outside the U.S. This sounds to me like Skype/eBay negotiated hard with Google and threw Google a "bone" by agreeing to use Google exclusively outside the U.S.

According to their press release, eBay and Google plan to integrate and launch "click-to-call" advertising functionality that leverage both Skype and Google Talk in each company's respective shopping and search platforms. So if I go to Skype's online store, I can expect to see a Google Talk button instead of a Skype click-to-call button? Unlikely. It seems clear from the news announced that Google and Skype wish to give the user the option of which VoIP  click-to-call application you wish to use.

Thus, perhaps Skype will modify their famous click-to-call buttons to include an image of both Skype and Google Talk on the same button. Then whichever is your default callto: application (Skype of Google Talk) will automatically be launched when the button is clicked.

The next question you are probably asking yourself is "Is it technically feasible for Skype, a proprietary P2P VoIP application to interoperate with Google Talk". The short answer is that is quite feasible. Aswath has a good run down explaining the technical feasability.

Soon, Skype will offer its users the option to download the Google Toolbar, to which Skype will add a custom button. There is no mention whether Google would add Skype to the Google Toolbar in return. This would be a huge win for Skype, but would also upset Google's fans that don't hate "bloatware". Of course, Google could offer a check box before downloading to include/exclude the Skype software.

So what's in this for Google? The New York Times states that mortgage brokers are willing to pay $8 to $15 for each call from a Web searcher, which is roughly 10 times more than they will pay for a Web site click. As part of the Google-eBay/Skype deal, money paid by advertisers for calls completed through Skype would be split between the two companies. Indeed, mortgage brokers are one such potential revenue source from click-to-call applications. However, there has to be a lot of trust between the customer and the mortgage broker. How many users, tech-savvy or otherwise, are willing to trust talking to a mortgage broker using Skype or Google Talk, especially when trying to broker a $350,000 deal? Even if the voice quality is superb, do you really want to deal with a mortgage broker whose identity is unknown due to the use of VoIP? There is a level of trust with dialing an 800/888/877 toll-free number that VoIP just hasn't earned yet. Especially with Spam over Internet Telephony (SPIT) concerns. Thus, I don't believe Google isn't going to make much "shared revenue" at all as part of this deal - at least in the short term, until some sort of "trusted VoIP source" program is instituted. People just aren't going to use click-to-call for $8-$15 click-to-call transactions. On the other hand, users might use click-to-call for ordering a pizza or some other "low-level trust transaction" - but these advertisers are probably only willing to pay $0.10/click - roughly the same as a regular advertising click. They might be willing to pay a bit more, but certainly not $8-$15/click. I can foresee the potential for massive fraud with this unless Skype/Google implement some complex billing auditing. They will need to at least track IP addresses and not charge advertisers for clicks resulting in any phone calls less than 2 minutes.

Of course, eBay through their acquisition of Paypal has their buyer protection program, which helps allieve some of the concerns over fraud. So perhaps eBay can extend their Paypal buying protection program to VoIP click-to-call advertisers. Perhaps they can "vet out" these advertisers and give the consumer a level of trust with VoIP that would not otherwise be there. That in essence is the what will give Google and eBay/Skype a future advantage in VoIP, if they play their cards right.

More:
Andy disagrees with my position that this is an eBay/Skype win and thinks Google instead got the better part of the deal.
I agree with Russell Shaw's assertion that this deal is signalling modest plans for Google Talk.

First Dell, then Apple and now Black & Decker!

(The woes of manufacturers continue!)

Just received an email from Amazon (where I bought the thing) that my Black & Decker Cordless Electric Lawn Mower "has an electrical component in it that can overheat, posing a fire hazard" (!!!!!!).

Now maybe you don't consider it a gadget (or even a toy), but it sure is neat to tool around the yard cutting the lawn without the roar and pollution of a gas-powered motor (but that threat of fire does dampen my enthusiasm).

(And no, that isn't me in the photo.)

When is it going to stop?

Here's another gadget that I wished I had inverted -- it's simply called Cordgo, and in a way that is what is does (or enables you to do).

A one hand-operated cord adjustment and storage accessory, Cordgo's durable, lightweight design fits in the palm of your hand to deliver cord control.

No more dangling iPod cords, cell phone cords, MP3 player cords; in fact, any cord up to 3mm in diameter.

Cordgo was designed to perform as an integral component between cord and digital device so it adjusts the cord automatically to "the perfect length."

It eliminates the tangling and physical interference of a cord and can be clipped to your belt, arm band, key chain, car visor, bag or slipped it in your pocket.

MSRP: $9.95 (and now with a "buy one, get one free" offer, plus free decals that can be affixed to the face of the cover)

www.cordgo.com

 

Not surprising to see Sony taking a stock hit on its 10 days of woe (Dell battery problems, Apple battery problems -- is there more coming?).

(Actually wondered why Dell got raked through the fire -- no pun intended -- when the problem was with Sony-supplied batteries.)

Marketwatch reports today on the financial hit, but what about Sony's brand image, which has been consistently ranked very high and which they have spent millions to nurture? How much of a hit will that take?

Let's hear from the people! Will you think twice about buying a Sony product?

The phone lines are open ...

You all know the symptons -- your computer starts to seem a little sluggish, then you notice it definitely IS sluggish and apps seem to take longer and longer to load.

Well, that means it's time to tune up the computer system -- even if you have been diligent about cleaning out your Internet cache and other good maintenance habits.

I've just run System Mechanic Professional 6 on my PC and the difference is amazing!  Boot up time has been reduced, apps and docs open quickly, windows open and shut without the mouse turning into that dreaded "hour glass" icon.

Here's look at what my tune-up consisted of:

• Security Optimizer Wizard finds dangerous Windows security flaws and automatically repairs them
• Startup Optimizer decreases boot-time finds and eliminates dangerous and unnecessary programs, increasing productivity and security
• Advanced Startup Manager reviews the more than 20 locations where programs hide to automatically start up with Windows. In coordination with Startup Guard technology to permanently block dangerous and unnecessary programs
• Spython integrates new, proactive, “always-on” protection from spyware, malware, adware and unauthorized surveillance software
• High-speed Disk Defragmentation Tool defragments hard drives up to twice as fast as previous System Mechanic versions and up to 10 times faster than the Windows defragmenter
• Enhanced Registry optimization technology finds and fixes even more Registry problems that cripple systems (but it's a good idea to back up the Registry first)
• Drive Medic finds and fixes hard drive problems before they can cause data loss or system failure

MSRP: Single user, $69.95; upgrade, $39.95; free 30-day trial.

www.iolo.com