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Feel the Nostalgia! Turn Rotary Phone into a VoIP Handset!

May 31, 2011


Now normally you wouldn't want to use a corded phone to make VoIP calls and be chained to a 6 foot corded talk distance. That is unless of course you want to feel the nostalgia of the early 1980s (and earlier) by using a rotary corded phone to make VoIP calls. Tyler Brainerd found an old Model 500 rotary phone at Goodwill, which he then turned into a handset for his computer.

He explained, "I am a rather heavy google voice user, and I was thrilled when google implemented calling through gmail, except for one thing. I use a desktop, which has only a token crap webcam, and not a decent microphone at all.


Facebook and Google Eye Skype

May 4, 2011



I recently griped about the lack of native VoIP on the popular Facebook website. It's such an obvious lacking feature, that one has to go "hmmm... Why don't they have VoIP?" Surely, they must be secretly developing VoIP. Well, what if Facebook has been in secret negotiations to leverage Skype as the primary VoIP vehicle on the Facebook platform?

Viber for Android Beta Launches

May 4, 2011


Viber today announced Viber, a mobile VoIP app was available for the Android. Viber lets users make free phone calls and send free text messages with their mobile phone. I've written about Viber in the past, but didn't initially see the convenience factor of using a person's regular phone number to dial someone using Viber. That is, the Viber dialer would automatically detect if the other person is also a Viber user to route the call.

Bababoo Mobile VoIP App for iPhone Saves You Money

May 3, 2011


Bababoo is a new iPhone mobile VoIP app, similar to Viber which aims to simplify dialing while saving on costs. Bababoo user-to-user calls are free. It automatically figures out whether WiFi, 3G (data), or your mobile carrier is the best way to connect. Non-Bababoo calls are 16 cents/minute.

Skype Fixes Privacy Vulnerability in Skype for Android

April 20, 2011

Skype Responds to Android Vulnerability

April 15, 2011

Skype's Chief Security Officer, Adrian Asher responded to Android Police's article on a vulnerability in the Skype for Android client. He writes:

It has been brought to our attention that, were you to install a malicious third-party application onto your Android device, then it could access the locally stored Skype for Android files.

These files include cached profile information and instant messages. We take your privacy very seriously and are working quickly to protect you from this vulnerability, including securing the file permissions on the Skype for Android application.



Google Store Launch? Look out Apple Stores?

April 7, 2011


Rich Tehrani gives his reasons why Google needs to launch what I'll call "Google Store", a direct retail competitor to the Apple Stores located in many malls and cities around the country. Only one problem with this is that Google only sells Android products to consumers. Apple stores sell a variety of products including laptops, tablets, computers, iPods, iPod/iPhone accessories, Mac software, etc.

Google only sells tablets and Android mobile phones. Their software is mostly hosted, including Gmail, Google Apps, etc.


fring Group Video Calls for iPhone and Android!

April 5, 2011

Whoah! fring today announced that their development team is finishing up on a really cool new feature - free group video calls that works on both the Android and the iPhone.

As far as I know this is the first free Group Video call feature for any mobile phone.

Google Offers $900 million for 6,000 Nortel telecom patents

April 4, 2011

Nortel's carcass continues to be picked at, with many golden nuggets discovered, making their demise all the more surprising.
Google is offering $900 million for 6,000 Nortel telecom patents covering 4G, wireless, data networking, optical, voice, semiconductors and other telecom areas, according to ZDNet.

Here's Google's official response:
The tech world has recently seen an explosion in patent litigation, often involving low-quality software patents, which threatens to stifle innovation. Some of these lawsuits have been filed by people or companies that have never actually created anything; others are motivated by a desire to block competing products or profit from the success of a rival’s new technology. The patent system should reward those who create the most useful innovations for society, not those who stake bogus claims or file dubious lawsuits. It's for these reasons that Google has long argued in favor of real patent reform, which we believe will benefit users and the U.S.



Browser Benchmark Battle Begin! Chrome vs. IE 9 vs. Firefox

March 28, 2011

Browser Benchmark Battle Begin!

It's Chrome vs. IE 9 vs. Firefox. CNET did some benchmarks comparing the browsers on memory usage, boot time, JavaScript, HTML5, and more. Browser users are a loyal bunch.

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