Tom Keating : VoIP & Gadgets Blog
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Apple

Nimbuzz launches Video calling for iPhone and PC

October 13, 2011

Nimbuzz today launched video calling for the iPhone and PC. You can download them here:

The Nimbuzz video calling works over 3G/4G as well as WiFi. Interestingly, they are also offering video chat, which is the same as video calling except no audio. Be sure you've got good miming skills if you plan to video chat with no verbal communication!

With Steve Jobs' Passing is Flash for the iPhone/iPad Now Possible?

October 11, 2011


Everyone in the technology world - and the world in general - mourns Steve Jobs' passing. My Facebook News Feed is still filled with friends who changed their profile photo to something Apple or Steve Jobs related. But I do have a bone to pick with Steve Jobs' decision to block Flash on Apple's iOS devices.

Steve Jobs gave his thoughts on Flash back in 2010. When Steve Jobs and Apple blocked Adobe Flash from Apple's popular line of mobile devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch), Steve's main claims against Flash were that it was too processor-heavy, a battery hog, security issues, performance issues, and that HTML5 was a better standard for the future.


Millions Change Facebook Profile Picture to Honor Steve Jobs

October 6, 2011

Millions of Facebook users have changed their Facebook profile picture to honor Apple co-founder Steve Jobs who died yesterday from pancreatic cancer. According to Facebook, 628 million active users changed their Facebook profile picture to a real Apple, the Apple logo, or a picture of Steve Jobs.

Actually, I made that number up. Well actually, I did a rough calculation based on my Facebook Newsfeed which shows that 11 out of 14 (78.5%) users in my Friends' list changed their profile picture to something Apple or Steve Jobs related.

11/14 * 800 million active Facebook users=628 million

I'm sure this is nowhere near accurate, but it does show the love that Steve Jobs has. Below is a screenshot taken at 10:30am today.





New Xirrus XR Wireless Array - Faster Wi-Fi with Modular Pricing

October 5, 2011


Steven Wastie, Xirrus's Chief Marketing Officer informed me that Xirrus ($70 million annual revenue) today released their next-generation wireless platform, the XR Wireless Array, which is their 3rd-generation Wi-Fi modular wireless switch. Xirrus's goal is to ensure high performance wireless networks, whose explosive growth is being driven by mobile devices including laptops, mobile smartphones and tablets, such as the iPad. Xirrus products are used at high-attendance conference and events, including Dreamforce, ITEXPO, and others.

Unlike traditional APs which use omnidirectional radios, Xirrus combines directional antennas with multiple radios together with a virtualized controller in a unique modular architecture that allows you to go completely down to the number of radios installed. The It enables you to have anywhere from 4 to 16 modular 802.11n Access Points with 450Mbps throughput Access Points. Modular XR platforms supports up to 32 total internal plus external remote radios for extended coverage.


Apple iPhone 5 Coverage Brings down Engadget

October 4, 2011

Don't Let Wi-Fi Device Onslaught Bring Enterprise Wi-Fi To Its Knees

September 30, 2011


If you are an IT or network administrator, you already know you've lost the battle against users BYOD (Bring-Your-Own-Device) to work. Now your job is to support everything from the Apple iPad, to Blackberries, to Android devices, to new tablets like the Amazon Kindle Fire. Good times, right? You're probably stressing over whether your WiFi enterprise network can handle all these new devices entering the workplace and you're not sure you have the knowledge or tools to deal with the explosion of personal Wi-Fi devices brought into the office.

Well, I have some good news for ya.


Amazon Kindle Fire - Hot or Not?

September 28, 2011



The Amazon Kindle Fire 7-inch tablet aims to take on the Apple iPad, but will the Fire catch fire with consumers? Amazon has loyal Kindle e-reader users, but part of its draw is the e-ink screen which works in direct sunlight for beach book reading. It's the one-up Amazon had over the iPad which doesn't do so well in direct sunlight.

The new Kindle Fire is a color screen and not e-ink, so it loses that advantage. Further, the new Kindle Fire doesn't have a camera!



New Skype for iPhone & iPad Released

September 27, 2011


Today Skype announced a new version of Skype for the iPad and iPhone with the coolest new feature being a anti-shake software algorithm that smooths the video even if you have a shaky hand. It only works with the rear-facing camera however.

Update:
I neglected to mention an important new feature in this release. The new version adds support for Bluetooth headsets, a feature that users have been clamoring for. Good timing to add BT support in the same release they're adding mobile ads.



Apple iPad - Your Next Desktop Phone?

September 22, 2011


I've been thinking about how the Apple iPad could really disrupt the VoIP space and become your next desktop phone. Think about the impact to companies such as Cisco, Polycom, Aastra, snom, Grandstream, and others. While these companies do offer low-end IP desktop phones, they have higher margins on the high-end large color screen IP phones that sport advanced features like RSS feeds (weather, news), collaboration, and video conferencing.

Take for instance the Aastra BluStar media phone, which sports a 13" touch screen that achieves true HD 720p video conferencing at a rate of 30 fps or the Polycom VVX 1500, which sports a a 7" color touch-screen and 2MP camera. Both IP phones are over $650, while the latest iPad 2 can be had for $450 (16GB model).


XSS Exploit in Skype Lets Hackers Steal iPhone Address Book

September 20, 2011


If you are using Skype for iPhone or iPod Touch, your Address Book can be compromised and stolen using a simple chat message. It leverages a Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability within the "Chat Message" window in Skype 3.0.1 and earlier versions for iPhone and iPod Touch devices.

How does it work? Skype does not properly encode the incoming users "Full Name", allowing an attacker to encode malicious JavaScript code that runs automatically when the victim views the chat message, thereby giving the attacker access to the user's file system. Apple iOS does offer some protection via a sandbox to prevent access to the core operating system's critical files.


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