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Oxford Hair Academy Selects Freetalk Connect

March 16, 2011


Recently, I installed the FREETALK Connect Skype-enabled IP-PBX for my sister Kellie Steeve's salon and hair academy businesses (Body Shoppe & Oxford Hair Academy) located at the renowned and purportedly haunted Carousel Gardens. Carousel Gardens was a mansion that was originally built in the late 1800's by William Wooster and later was converted into a restaurant in the mid 60's. Ruth Wooster was the last surviving Wooster to live in the mansion and is said to haunt the location still to this day. Many harmless paranormal activities are said to happen within this mansion that my sister purchased and renamed.

Skype Video on iPad 2!

March 14, 2011

You can indeed make Skype video calls on Apple's iPad 2. I made a test call from my Windows 7 PC to Larry's iPad 2 that he picked up this past weekend. There is no native Skype app optimized for the iPad just yet, but it does work. No word from Skype on when an iPad-optimized version of Skype is forthcoming.

All you have to do is install the iPhone version.

Google Voice <strike>Supports</strike> SIP

March 8, 2011

We all heard the buzz surrounding Google killing off Gizmo5, including some peeved users like Todd Vierling. However, Todd Vierling then discovered that Google added SIP support to reach any Google Voice number. For instance, if you Google Voice number is 203-555-1000, anyone can now call you for free via SIP simply by dialing [email protected].

A bunch of bloggers picked up on Todd's discovery. Dan York, writes "Wouldn't it be great if you could call a Google Voice number directly via SIP?

ClearOne Launches Speakerphones For Microsoft Lync & Skype

February 28, 2011



 

ClearOne today launched its two latest USB speakerphones designed for use with Microsoft Lync or Skype for audio conferencing. The CHAT 70-U (for Lync) and CHAT 60-U (for Skype), both feature integrated call controls, including an end-call button on the device. They also include the propriety ClearOne technologies enabling natural conversation without the clipping, echo, noise or tinny sound many people associate with speakerphone use.

Both models feature raised, push-button controls for speaker volume, mute, and call hook and include a blue LED which lights when a call is in progress. 

Bandwidth.com Acquires Dash - Google Voice, Skype & Others Impacted

February 23, 2011

Bandwidth.com, a nationwide supplier of VoIP network services to Voice 2.0 innovators such as Skype, Pinger, and others, today announced the acquisition of dash Carrier Services (dash), a North American-based provider of tier-one emergency services and wholesale carrier voice solutions. The acquisition provides Bandwidth with a definitive competitive edge, as it will now tightly couple additional advanced services, such as E911 calling, with its core voice and SMS offerings to deliver a stronger experience for customers who would otherwise need to cobble together these services in much less efficient ways. The deal was all-cash, and the combined company is now projected to generate over $100MM in revenues this year.

Voice 2.0 innovators will increasingly need to add services like E911 calling as VoIP adoption continues to accelerate, and Bandwidth.com can directly address this need through its now expanded portfolio of solutions.

Mozilla Blocks Skype Toolbar - Crashes Firefox

January 21, 2011

Today, Mozilla announced it would be "soft" blocking the Skype toolbar, which auto-detects phone numbers on web pages and lets you dial them via Skype. The problem is that Skype Toolbar drastically slows down Firefox.

More details from the Mozilla team:
The current shipping version of the Skype Toolbar is one of the top crashers of Mozilla Firefox 3.6.13, and was involved in almost 40,000 crashes of Firefox last week. Additionally, depending on the version of the Skype Toolbar you’re using, the methods it uses to detect and re-render phone numbers can make DOM manipulation up to 300 times slower, which drastically affects the page rendering times of a large percentage of web content served today (plain English: to the user, it appears that Firefox is slow loading web pages).


ITEXPO Named Top 50 Fastest Growing Tradeshow

January 19, 2011

TMC's ITEXPO was named one of the fastest growing trade shows by Trade Show Executive in their Fastest 50 Awards. I've been with TMC since 1994 - right out of college and I've seen this company grow from 15 employees to over 65 employees. It's been an amazing ride. TMC's ITEXPO has had some stellar companies participate over the years, including Asterisk, Avaya, Cisco, Microsoft, Packet8, ShoreTel, and Skype.

TMC CEO Rich Tehrani said, "Much thanks goes to all of TMC's readers as well as our sponsors, attendees, partners, vendors who supply us decorating services, audio/visual, etc and of course the tireless TMC team who works around the clock to over-deliver for customers.

FaceFlow Video Conferencing Uses Just a Browser

January 11, 2011

Wouldn't it be great to have a free group video call using just your browser? Forget downloading Skype! Besides, Skype charges you for group calling. Well, look no further than FaceFlow, a new startup that offers P2P video calls leveraging Flash.

First, some background...

New Business Version of Skype for Windows Gets Group Video Calling

January 10, 2011

Last week, group calling for Skype's regular consumer client launched. This week, the same group calling feature is launching for their business Skype client. Most people don't know there are actually two Skype clients - one for consumer and one for business. Probably because many businesses deploy the regular consumer Skype version still.

Skype Group Calling Launches - Meh...

January 7, 2011


The group video calling feature is out of beta with the release of a new version of Skype and alas group video is no longer free. Just one more way Skype is looking to monetize before their IPO. As I wrote back in May 2010:

_______________________________

Here's the kicker though from Skype's blog:
Group video calling is just one in a set of new premium features you'll see us roll out during 2010. We haven't set prices for these premium features yet, but rest assured that we're still absolutely committed to bringing you free voice and two-way video calling.
I bolded the relevant portions.





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