VOIP IP Telephony: July 2008

Thursday, July 31, 2008

CafeSIP, Where Java And SIP Come Together, Test Your SIP Here.

The CafeSip.org hosts a number of open-source SIP projects. These cover the areas of SIP server framework, SIP applications and SIP test tools. The idea is to provide free and open-source products for users and organizations developing or offering SIP applications and products.

Following three projects are in the works at CafeSIP and each provide unique but inter connected products and services and according to the site;

Jiplet is a framework for developing SIP server-side applications using the Java programming language. It provides a container for hosting "SIP servlets". In concept, it is very similar to a Java Servlet (web application). Instead of using the HTTP protocol, a jiplet supports the SIP protocol. The Jiplet container can be run as a standalone application or it can be run as a service inside a J2EE container. The Jiplet Container has been tested extensively with the JBOSS.
SipUnit is a unit testing tool for SIP server-side applications. It extends the JUNIT framework (http://www.junit.org) which is a popular tool for testing Java applications. Using SipUnit, one can develop test programs that simulate a SIP User Agent (a SIP phone). It provides a low-level as well as high-level API for communicating with a SIP server.
SipExchange is a soft switch application. It supports many features offered by a small switch including subscriber registration, call handling, call routing, etc. It is built at the top of the Jiplet framework and JBOSS J2EE server. It is extensible and in future, new features will be added to provide capabilities such as multi-media contact center, unified messaging, etc.
Common Projects: Consists of a set of common components used by multiple CafeSip projects. They are designed to be used by outside projects as well.

CafeSIP has announced the public release of SipUnit r0.0.7b. This is a Beta release to give users a working system to evaluate and test. Feedback from the development community is encouraged for further enhancing the system.

So far I have tested / used the SIPUnit and if that is any indication, others also must rock. I certainly will be looking into creating Jiplets to host some of our SIP ideas.

So I invite all those who are ready to get hands dirty with coding and compiling pay visit to the project site.

CafeSIP Project home page.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Skype Back Door? Do They Really Need One??

After Heise raised questions regarding Skype opening back doors to security and governmental institutes for the purpose of detection of conversations for security purposes. In other words evesdropping on Skype conversations.
This is from Heise;
According to reports, there may be a back door built into Skype, which allows connections to be bugged. The company has declined to expressly deny the allegations. At a meeting with representatives of ISPs and the Austrian regulator on lawful interception of IP based services held on 25th June, high-ranking officials at the Austrian interior ministry revealed that it is not a problem for them to listen in on Skype conversations.

This has been confirmed to heise online by a number of the parties present at the meeting. Skype declined to give a detailed response to specific enquiries from heise online as to whether Skype contains a back door and whether specific clients allowing access to a system or a specific key for decrypting data streams exist. The response from the eBay subsidiary’s press spokesman was brief, “Skype does not comment on media speculation. Skype has no further comment at this time.” There have been rumours of the existence of a special listening device which Skype is reported to offer for sale to interested states.
I think all the communications providers are required to have access points and methods to be provided to authorities if so required.
Imagine if Skype is totally secure and encrypted, introduce a anolog portion in the middle some where and the conversation becomes clear text version of VoIP. Even using Skype gateways or skype to SIP transporters could also do the trick. The authorities need to only ask for user information from Skype and ask them to route the calls through any of the above mentioned devices.
The conversation is hot on the slashdot and have even pulled out disecting Skype / reverse engineering Skype article that we wrote a few yeasrs ago.
Heise.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Rulling On Comcast By FCC Expected This Week

The ruling, will not include a fine, but will require Comcast to stop blocking or slowing traffic to peer-to-peer sites like BitTorrent. Comcast will also be required to explain to consumers and the commission how it has blocked such traffic in the past, and publicly disclose how it plans to manage its network in the future.
Wall Street Journal thinks, "The FCC decision is likely to be challenged in court; if upheld, it would affirm the agency's right to play online cop and make sure Internet providers don't interfere with online traffic. FCC officials have grown more concerned about the issue as consumers watch more online videos, which take up growing chunks of bandwidth."
Infact I would love to have a online cop, like I love to have those cops that we see everyday on the streets.

Free Unlocked iPhone 3G From Hictu

If you got turned down by AT&T for your request for iPhone 3G, There are other ways to get one. I was visiting a blog that I read regularly, Lucafiligheddu when I found a way to get one of those elusive iPhone 3Gs. Not just a iPhone 3G but an unlocked one at that,
Micro video blogging service Hictu is giving it away a this iPhone to a lucky user. So visit this site and find out how to win one!

Friday, July 25, 2008

Kiax Softphone 2.0, For Asterisk Released.

Kiax softphone that was developed to provide VoIP solutions or VoIP calls with Asterisk PBX (an open source VoIP PBX). I came across it on SourceForge in 2005. I have since used it for VoIP calls, Asterisk testing etc.
Since then it has been avialble for download from SourceForge and with major Linux distros (Ubuntu, SuSE) repositories. While it was dormant for a while, now the Kiax development is very active with the help of Forschung-Direkt and MIXvoip. Kiax ver.2 is a complete re-write of the softphone which aims to to provide a more flexible softphone architecture for extention and customization.

As of now it provides following key features and characteristics

* LGPL-licensed core, GPL GUI
* Decoupled Signaling, Storage and Visualization aspects
* Modularized, lightweight core layer
* GCC4 ready code
* Single codebase for Linux, Windows and MacOS
* SQLite as default storage backend
* QT4.4 as GUI frontend
* Webkit integration
* Even simpler (than old Kiax) to use UI
* Completely brandable
* Remote configuration
* Simplified integration with service providers (via JSON)
* Support for multiple service providers
* Support for simultaneous calls
* Registry fail-over support
* Live CDR and Contacts search
* Codecs: G711, iLBC, GSM, Speex
* Noise reduction filter
Latest binary builds for Linux, Windows and MacOS can be found on Kiax2 SourceForge download page. Current available version is Kiax ver. 2 Beta 2 for Window and Linux and Mac OS X.
* I18n support

AsterFax is Now Noojee Fax, Still Provides Faxing for Asterisk

Noojee Fax, Formerly know as AsterFax has released Version 2.0 of it's software. The name change came together with the business name change of Asterisk IT, which will be know as 'Noojee Telephony Solutions' from now on.

Noojee Fax is developed to work with Asterisk, an Open Source PABX integrating PSTN telephone lines and VOIP into a single solution, providing all of the functionality of commercial PBX. Noojee Fax builds on the services delivered by Asterisk and provides an email based Fax Gateway that will advance any company’s communication capabilities.Just like the Asterisk, Noojee Fax is available under a commercial and community license.

With Noojee Fax and Asterisk, you can send and receive faxes using your standard email client without having to install any software on your desktop. Noojee Fax simply translates a normal email message into a fax message for sending faxes and back the other way when receiving faxes. To send a fax you simply enter the destination phone number in the 'To' address, compose your email message and click the ‘Send’ button. It’s that easy.
Download:
You can download the free version from the Noojee Fax download page.

FreePBX 2.5.0 Beta Ready For Testing

FreePBX team has released the FreePBX 2.5.0 Beta with the FreePBX 2.5.0alpha1 available for download.

As mentioned it is still alpha, the feature set is not frozen yet. That means many things to many people but if you are a FreePBX user and if you want to promote any features that is important you that is still open under the 2.5 Milestone. Perhaps you wan to ask for something entirely different from the team. One way to influence them is making a donation.

But if you are just a user you may want to test and provide feedback regarding the features so that the development will get underway for final release.

The Milestone 2.5 link above and the CHANGES document that comes with every new release will show you a summary and detailed list of tickets that have been associated with this release. This is very strongly recommended.

Please note that the OTTS, Open Telephone Training Seminar, has a date change introduced, that we published earlier.

Open Telephone Training Seminar Rescheduled.

FreePBX team has announced a date change on the upcoming Open Telephone Training Seminar. When I published the above article, it was scheduled for August.

The FreePBX team has received numerous requests from possible participants to postpone the date because of vacations and other summer time activities in August. After verifying with those who have already signed up for the event, the team has set the following dates for the training seminar;

Where: Digium Headquarters, Huntsville, AL
When: October 7-10th, 2008

For a limited time, until the End of July, we will also provide an early bird discount of 15%, a $375 savings, but register early to get that discount.

Disable Skype Auto Start On MAC

Sometimes it is better that an application does not autostart on your computer. Skype when installed, by default is set to auto start when ever you restart or switch on your computer. That is because Skype assums that you need you Skype like any other important applications that auto start at the beginning of a computer session. I have one computer that has Skype auto start because I use that computer for receiving my Skype calls. But on the computers that I use skype for dial out only or use Skype infrequently, I disable auto start of the application.
It has been a bit hard to do this on a MAC than on a PC, So here is how you do it on a MAC.

To disable Skype auto start in Mac, follow the instruction below:-

* Start your Skype
* Right click at the Skype Icon at your Dock / Taskbar
* Select “Open At Login” to uncheck the tick
* Done, you have just disable Skype from auto start

Here’s the 2nd method to disable Skype auto start in Mac:-

* Go to System Preference -> Accounts
* Select your account at the left column
* Click on “Login Items” tab
* Highlight Skype and Click on the “-” button
* Done, you have just disable Skype from auto start

Asterisk versions 1.4.21.2 and 1.2.30 Released To Address published security advisories, AST-2008-010 and AST-2008-011.

The security advisories mentioned in this Two Denial of Service Vulnerabilities On Asterisk have been addressed in the following Asterisk upgrades.

"The Asterisk.org development team has released Asterisk versions 1.4.21.2 and 1.2.30.

Both of these releases include fixes for two security issues. Both of these issues affect users of the IAX2 channel driver. For more details on these vulnerabilities, see the published security advisories, AST-2008-010 and AST-2008-011.

Thank you for your continued support of Asterisk!"

Thursday, July 24, 2008

‘Green’ Unified Communications Contact Centre By PSI And Nortel.

MELBOURNE, Australia – Contact centre outsourcing specialist PCI is building a new unified communications contact centre facility in Melbourne using energy-efficient network solutions from Nortel* [NYSE/TSX: NT] and Platinum nPower channel partner Commander.

PCI delivers a wide-range of contact centre services for national and multinational clients, including some of Australia's largest telecommunications, banking, information technology and utility companies and is aiming to reduce their carbon footprint with Nortel's unified voice, data and wireless network at its Melbourne headquarters.

The 6,000 square metre greenfield site will be fitted with an all-new, fully IP-enabled network supporting 715 active agents and up to 850 concurrent users that will enable the company the flexibility to manage its contact centre agents' activities regardless of their physical location, allowing them to work from anywhere while retaining their same phone number, caller groups and access to network resources.

"As the first point-of-call for many of our clients' customers, we have a massive responsibility to be 'always available' for incoming calls, and to be able to get the right people to answer those calls as quickly as possible," says Jason May, general manager, Integration, PCI. "From a technology perspective we also have a responsibility to maintain an efficient and sustainable work environment, and as a result a major determinant of the technology we used for our new facility was its efficiency in terms of power draw and emissions."

"Moving to new premises also gave us the opportunity to extend this theme to the way we manage our call agents, taking into account things like travel time and physical location," says May. "Nortel's unified communications solutions were not only ideal for this purpose, with location-independent calling and presence giving us far more control and flexibility over agents' whereabouts, but Nortel's energy-efficiency ratings are also far superior to those of its competitors."

"As with any large-scale technology rollout one of the biggest costs is the energy to power and cool the equipment," says Phil Allan, CEO PCI. "Nortel demonstrated such a clear lead in this regard with its energy-frugal equipment that the savings in ongoing operation and lower TCO were reasons alone to choose its solution, not counting all the other benefits it offered."

"We live in an age where Hyperconnectivity – single users with multiple networked devices like PDAs, smart phones and computers – is changing the nature of the contact centre to the point where call agents can no longer limit themselves to voice and e-mail interaction to service their customers properly," says Mark Fioretto, general manager, Enterprise Solutions, Australia and New Zealand, Nortel.

"A fully integrated, unified communications network empowers the agent to field and direct any type of call from any customer, using any device or media, from a unified desktop client or mobile interface," says Fioretto.

The Nortel solution for PCI incorporates the latest Communication Server 1000E IP PBX, supported by a highly resilient Nortel Ethernet Routing Switch (ERS) network delivering Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) and gigabit speeds to every desktop. Wireless LAN coverage is provided by the Nortel Multimedia WLAN 2300 solution enabling secure wireless connectivity to all staff.

The solution also includes Nortel's Call Pilot unified messaging and Communication Control Toolkit, which enables simplified integration of the Contact Centre and PCI's line of business applications. CallPilot further saves PCI resources by providing employees with unified messaging and contact center voice services from a single server. End-to-end deployment, integration and on-going support services are being delivered by Commander's Advanced technical services team.

A recent report from Tolly Group found that certain of Nortel's network switches were more energy efficient than certain competitive products¹.

SIP / SIMPLE-XMPP Developer Workshop 2008

SIP/SIMPLE and XMPP share a lot of concepts but at the same time they differ in many aspects. At the same time, both these protocols are the leading medium for voice, video, IM and Universal convergence. The unified Communication that many are touting today is the interconnection between these mediums of communications and creating a medium bringing users together via many a paths.
There have been many a workshops for SIP and XMPP but most of the time they were held separately and the users needed to bring the knowledge together as needed. But you have a chance see both these protocols, SIP/SIMPLE and XMPP at a single workshop. The workshop aims to bring together people with large expertise in both protocols, interested in development, testing and deployment of IP/SIMPLE-XMPP solutions. Innovation, being the top mantra, the participants will be able to learn test and innovate and finally bring open source projects to private or public enterprises.

The SIP / SIMPLE-XMPP Developer Workshop 2008

Date: September 2-5, 2008
Place: INRIA, Paris, France

Main organizers:
- Philippe Sultan, INRIA - contributor to the XMPP/Jingle support in Asterisk, member of XMPP Standards Foundation
- Olle E. Johansson, Edvina - main SIP developer of Asterisk
- Daniel-Constantin Mierla. Asipto - co-founder Openser, developer of XMPP/Jabber gateway

Goal:
- kick up simple-xmpp interoperability

Agenda guidelines:
- identify common issues of simple-xmpp interoperability
- define best-practice solutions and workarounds of delicate issues
- coding sessions in existing applications such as Asterisk, Openser, Jabberd, Freeswitch, eJabberd, libraries, client applications, etc.
- testing sessions
- reports about past experiences and results of the workshop

Target participants:
- developers of simple-xmpp products
- people interested in testing simple-xmpp products
- people interested in building simple-xmpp communication environments

Cost:
- free registration (everybody pays for its traveling and accommodation)

Registration:
- via e-mail at simple-xmpp@asipto.com
- please write the motivation to participate and add bullets into agenda if you like to approach new subjects. The organizers reserve the right to select a group of people that will contribute most as this is mainly a workshop to approach issues, test interoperability and design new solutions.
- updates about the event are posted at: http://www.asipto.com/index.php/simple-xmpp-developer-workshop-2008/

Size:
- up to 20 people

As of Jul 15, 2008, participating companies are:
- INRIA - http://www.inria.fr - SIP-XMPP interoperability in Asterisk (http://www.asterisk.org)
- Edvina - http://www.edvina.net - SIP-XMPP interoperability in Asterisk (http://www.asterisk.org)
- AG Projects - http://www.ag-projects.com - MSRP-XMPP Interoperability (http://www.msrprelay.org)
- Asipto - http://www.asipto.com - SIP-XMPP interoperability in Openser (http://www.openser.org)

Nortel Heats up the Summer With Hyperconnectivity. Going Online At 100MPH.

TORONTO - From enhancing leisurely pastimes to connecting with work while on vacation, communications technology is changing the way we spend those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer. Nortel* [NYSE/TSX: NT] presents the top five ways that summer is becoming hyperconnected:

The Office is Anywhere: The allure of a summer house on quiet lake is calling out to you but there's big stuff going on at the office that you just have to keep tabs on. Rather than miss out on the chance to enjoy mid-day swims and evening marshmallow roasts you take your office to the lake with you. Unified communications and telework technologies allow you to do this by giving access to your phone calls, voicemails, e-mails and online collaboration tools like video-conferencing with the same simplicity and efficiency as if you were at the office. Even if you are only heading out of the office for lunch on a patio or a golf tournament, Mobile Unified Communications tools like Fixed Mobile Convergence Mobile Extension can transform your mobile phone into an office extension using the same number and features as your desk phone, like internal extension dialing, conferencing and call transferring. Workers can even access VoIP and video conferencing while on the go with the speedy connections offered by today's 3G wireless technologies, like CDMA EV-DO.
Rural Connectivity: Working from a summer home is one thing if you have high-speed broadband. However, if you are restricted to dial up Internet access, as is the case in 30 percent of rural Canada, it can be a frustrating and downright futile task. With the emergence of 4G wireless broadband technologies like WiMAX (which exists today) and LTE (which is expected to be in deployment by 2010), service providers can cost-effectively deliver high-speed access in areas where it would have been too costly and difficult to build wired networks. This means that in the future more hyperconnected workers and vacationers will be able to access high-bandwidth applications like VoIP and streaming video from rural areas.
Road tripping for the Hyperconnected: Getting to your vacation spot of choice leads many folks into that quintessential summer family adventure: the road trip. Luckily today there are iPods, portable video game devices, and cars with built in DVD players to that you can load up with content at home and bring along to entertain hyperconnected passengers. In the future summer road trips will be enhanced by the ability to access online content and applications right from the car such as streaming music, online gaming, and mobile TV. This is another advantage offered by 4G which has the speed and capacity to support broadband connectivity even while traveling at up to 100 km/h. Check out the drive tests that Nortel performed over both LTE** and WiMAX**.
Hyperconnected Island Hopping: A recent study conducted by Nortel and IDC showed that hyperconnected workers would take their laptop out before their wallet or even mobile phone if they had to leave their house for 24 hours. In addition, roughly 30% of survey respondents have texted or emailed while on vacation. Based on this, you can bet that many laptops, smartphones, and other connected devices, get packed for summer travel. Luckily hotels commonly offer Internet to guests but some resort and tourist destinations are starting to offer more pervasive wireless access that would please hyperconnected vacationers. For example, an island-wide wireless mesh deployment on the Greek island of Patmos** will make this vacation hot spot a wireless hotspot. The Caribbean Islands can also be a haven for the hyperconnected with service providers in several sunny destinations expanding and upgrading their networks to offer the latest in wireless services such as web browsing, streaming video and multimedia messaging.
Hyperconnected Play Time: The sun is in your eyes and you've hit a long drive right into the rough. Rather than take a one stroke penalty for the lost ball, the ball emits a radio signal** which leads you right to it. Maybe you'll also be able to better gauge your next drive with the whole course mapped out and displayed on a screen in your golf cart** through a combination of GPS and WiFi. The golf equipment is just some of a whole host of technology on the market today that makes use of connectivity to enhance leisure experiences. Technology is also making it easier to connect with friends while on the go. The combination of devices like the iPhone with GPS and social networking is making it possible to see what friends are on the same golf course, at the same baseball game or just in the same general area as you are when enjoying the summer sun.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Two Denial of Service Vulnerabilities On Asterisk

Secunia and Digium have both published two DoS (Denial of Service) vulnerabilities across Asterisk products. Please read carefully and upgrade your servers to provide continuous service for yourself or your clients. Other Asterisk based product users, please contact your vendors.
Two vulnerabilities have been reported in Asterisk, which can be exploited by malicious people to cause a DoS (Denial of Service) or to conduct DoS attacks.

1) An error in the processing of IAX2 "POKE" requests can be exploited to consume all IAX2 call numbers via multiple "POKE" requests lacking an "ACK" packet sent in response to a "PONG" packet.

2) The firmware download protocol does not require a handshake, which can be exploited to send packets having 1040 bytes to arbitrary servers via a 40-byte packet with a spoofed source address.

The vulnerabilities are reported in the following products and versions:
* Asterisk Open Source 1.0.x (all versions)
* Asterisk Open Source 1.2.x (all versions prior to 1.2.30)
* Asterisk Open Source 1.4.x (all versions prior to 1.4.21.2)
* Asterisk Business Edition A.x.x (all versions)
* Asterisk Business Edition B.x.x.x (all versions prior to B.2.5.4)
* Asterisk Business Edition C.x.x.x (all versions prior to C.1.10.3)
* AsteriskNOW pre-release (all versions)
* Asterisk Appliance Developer Kit 0.x.x (all versions)
* s800i (Asterisk Appliance) 1.0.x (all versions prior to 1.2.0.1)

Solution:
Asterisk Open Source 1.2.x:
Update to version 1.2.30.

Asterisk Open Source 1.4.x:
Update to version 1.4.21.2.

Asterisk Business Edition B.x.x.x:
Update to version B.2.5.4.

Asterisk Business Edition C.x.x.x:
Update to version C.1.10.3.

s800i (Asterisk Appliance) 1.0.x:
Update to version 1.2.0.1.

Provided and/or discovered by:
1) The vendor credits Jeremy McNamara.
2) Tilghman Lesher, Digium

Original Advisory:
http://downloads.digium.com/pub/security/AST-2008-010.html
http://downloads.digium.com/pub/security/AST-2008-011.html
Secunia Advisory

Mobile VoIP For iPhone with Vopium!

If you are done with acquiring an iPhone 3G or upgrading your first gen iPhone to iPhone 2.0, then you might have some time in your hand to explore a the options you have for your iPhone.
There are already iPhone 3G jailbreaks that allows you to install third party applications. But if you look at the bigger picture, most of the appication deveopers for iPhone, have joined Apple and now on the App Store. Where you can find free or neary free iPhone 2.0 Applications.
Recently I got to know that Vopium, A Dannish company that provide mobile VoIP to cel phone users.
They are Appe certified and they do support iPhone 3G and iPhone. You can find information on how to insta connect and make calls via iPhone here.
Usually once a free software program provided by Vopium is installed on your mobile phone, iPhone or any other supported mobile phone, whenever you make an international call, Vopium re-routes your call as a local call to a Vopium gateway and then via premium global traffic carriers to your destination providing high voice quality. You pay your mobile provider for a local call and Vopium for the international add-on.

Best of all is that you can try their service free with 30 free minutes and I think it is the best way to find out if Vopium is for you!

Vopium also supports When you send a text message (SMS) with Vopium the message is sent as a small data package over your data connection (GPRS, 3G or Wifi) via a Vopium gateway. You pay your operator close to zero for using your data connection and Vopium for the international SMS.

Fring Expands Supported Devices And Adds My Favorite, Nokia N810 to the ist

I was very happy to see that Fring has added Nokia N810 to the list of supported devices with full fring features including internet calls, chat, presence. I carry N810 where ever I go as my web tablet. When I discovered Fring more than a year ago, I had a feeing that it woud disrupt the mobile VoIP.
In addition to Nokia N810, Fring now supports more popular Sony Ericsson and Nokia phones based on JavaME (J2ME)) There is aso a new special version called minifring for these phones without VoIP Support. According to Fring, minifring users will now be able to join the ring of fringsters worldwide.
In addition to a these new capabilities, there will be new fring applications available in the fringAdd-ons catalog soon. Keep you fring on for the hundreds of newly supported devices like iPhone. The current version might not run on newer iPhones with iPhone 2.0.
Here is a video from Fring;

* See full list of fring supported devices here.

jkOnTheRun, A Mobile Communications Blog, In GigaOM Folds.

Giga Omni Media, the parent company of GigaOM, is the new owner of jkOnTheRun. jkOnTheRun blog was a joint effort by James Kendrick and Kevin Tofel that wrote about mobile everything, including mobile phones and anything ese that get you off your seat.
jkOnTheRun will become the sixth blog in the GigaOM Network.
You can find the information about the deal from James & Kevin on jkOnTheRun.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Less Crappy PC From Sony?

Tom Keating has some news on Sony releasing crapwareless PCs like their VAIO notebooks. I think it is time.
Tom's Post.

iPhone 3G Jailbreak Allows to Run Unofficial Apps.

The iPhone Dev Team has released its PwnageTool 2.0.1 that said to be jailbreaking Apple latest iPhone operating system 2.0 on all devices iPhone 1s Gen, iPhone 3G and iPod Touch. According to the post on iPhone Dev Teams blog, an unreleased exploit in the iPhone OS was used to allow non-Apple applications to run on Apple’s iPhone 2.0 platform.
“We adapted our Pwnage technique to the 2.0 firmware, using a new, unreleased exploit that we’d been keeping to ourselves in the hope that Apple wouldn’t patch it. This … enable[s] you to run all the custom software and patches you please.”
There were earlier rumors that suggested the hack would unlock the iPhones allowing users to connect the iPhone to carrier of their choice in the USA. However, the blog clarified "This software does not unlock the phone, it just jailbreaks and activates it. "
Guess people have to payup to AT&T for services for now at least!

Tags: jailbreak release for 2.0, iphone jailbreak, iPhone 3G, iPhone 2.0 Jailbroken,

PsipTN Connects Consumer Electronic Devices To Universal SIP Network

TelTel, a provider of SIP-based global network platform, today launches its enhanced Public SIP Transport Network (PsipTN) enabling consumer electronics devices to be seamlessly connected and universally interoperable over the PsipTN. Users of consumer electronics and telecommunications devices connected to the PsipTN can now easily manage all their devices, subscribe to new services and share content from a single web portal anywhere in the world.

PsipTN is a managed peer-to-peer standards-based open network platform currently connecting over 2 Million users worldwide that rely on it for voice, multimedia and audio/video content and a variety of hosted services. Serving as a layer above the traditional Internet, PsipTN acts as a global network computing cloud equipped with standards-based open interfaces to allow consumer electronics devices to be seamlessly connected to this network. PsipTN provides interoperability with all PsipTN-ready hardware, IP endpoints and soft clients.

PsipTN employs adaptive peer-to-peer media transmission to ensure the highest QoS. Furthermore, devices connected to PsipTN are assured of seamless traversal of signal and media across different firewalls and network address translators (NAT), Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) gateways and web proxies. Benefits of connecting to the PsipTN also include auto-provisioning, automatic firmware upgrade, one-button diagnostics, and anti-spoofing, which protects against packet data masked as a trusted source.

"Most consumer electronic devices are still not web-enabled, so they require complex configurations to connect to the Internet," said Jack Chang, COO of TelTel. "PsipTN is no longer just a VoIP platform—it now also provides device manufacturers including OEMs and ODMs with a network platform to support their consumer devices and services. The new features of PsipTN simplify and automate the process of connecting consumer electronic devices to the Internet and make them, in effect, plug-and-play."

TelTel partners with brand name consumer electronics device manufacturers as well as OEM/ODM device manufacturers to enable their products to be connected to PsipTN. Device manufacturers take advantage of TelTel's robust PsipTN platform and the rich repertoire of compatible value-added services resident on PsipTN to increase hardware sales and decrease customer service cost. As an open platform, PsipTN also encourages partners and developers to continually create and offer new revenue generating applications and services that can enrich the user experience of the devices.

ShoreTel, Best Overall VOIP Provider In The Nemertes PilotHouse Awards.

SUNNYVALE, CA, July 22, 2008 - ShoreTel, Inc., (NASDAQ: SHOR), a leading provider of Pure IP Unified Communications (UC) solutions, today announced that for the fifth year in a row ShoreTel has been named the Best Overall VOIP Provider in the Nemertes PilotHouse Awards for Unified Communications & Collaboration. The awards rated 24 VOIP vendors based entirely on the views and experiences of 426 customers.

ShoreTel won the Best Overall VOIP Provider award based on earning the highest average rating (4.22 out of 5) across all categories. ShoreTel was tops in:

Technology - covering underlying software, platforms, intelligence and standards compliance
Product Features - focusing on handset and switch capabilities. Customers like the architecture, built-in redundancy and ability to scale by stacking additional switches
Customer Service - focusing on response time, account service, RFP process, and warranty issues. Customers like that ShoreTel listens well to suggestions for upgrades and improvements
Value - focusing on "bang for the buck" - customers feel they received value for their expenditure. Customers like that the capital, implementation and operational costs are lower than competitors and that ShoreTel includes its Personal Call Manager desktop client with every license
Solution Experience - focusing on the ability to understand business requirements and craft solutions that meet customer needs
Ease of Installation and Troubleshooting
UC Vision - indicating the best plan and outlook for moving customers from VOIP to a full UC deployment
ShoreTel was also one of the top three rated vendors for integration capabilities, which tracks how well products integrate with third-party products and applications

"We're extremely pleased that Nemertes has provided an independent opportunity for our customers to express satisfaction with their ShoreTel UC systems," said Steve Timmerman, vice president of marketing, ShoreTel. "We understand the business and communications challenges our customers face, and we will continue to create the systems that meet their most exacting demands for high reliability, ease of deployment and use, and features that provide them with a competitive edge. We are especially proud that we have earned the top spot in Nemertes' evaluation for the fifth straight year."

The Nemertes report offered the following insights into ShoreTel and its customers.

Assessing Real Customer Experiences

"One key message from these findings is that biggest does not equate to best. Although Cisco, Avaya and Nortel have the largest market share, when evaluated across all industries and all sizes of companies, they do not score in the top three providers. This indicates market share among all sizes of companies may be more a function of marketing efforts rather than true customer experience. (It is important to note the top scores change when we segment the findings by industry and by segment size. …)"

A True Plug-and-Play Implementation

"ShoreTel's ease of installation has been a hallmark of its customer satisfaction. In fact, one of ShoreTel's highest scores (4.56) is for ease of installation and troubleshooting. Year after year, ShoreTel customers praise the product line, describing it as "true plug-and-play" implementation. Many initially had no intention to use ShoreTel, but VARs were able to do quick sales demonstrations in which they established a VOIP system in a matter of a few hours-and that impressed the prospective customers enough to buy the system. 'ShoreTel has very user-friendly, durable products,' says the telecom manager for a distribution company with 400 endpoints."

A Company That Listens

"ShoreTel customers of all sizes say the vendor is responsive to concerns or problems, and that it listens well to suggestions for upgrades and improvements. 'With ShoreTel, you don't get the run-around. They do what they say, when they say they will,' says the IT director for a non-profit agency with 200 endpoints."

System Value

"ShoreTel's customers also feel they get good value with ShoreTel's product line. The capital, implementation and operational costs are lower than most competitors."

The Nemertes Research press release we reported earlier.

WordPress For iPhone App On App Store!

WordPress for iPhone is ready for you on the App Store. Download it now and get to blogging with WordPress if that is your blogging platform. The App works with WordPress.com blogs and your own WordPress 2.51 or higher including the latest WordPress MU. As far as the iPhones, the App works with the new iPhone 3G, the first generation iPhone, and the iPod Touch. So you can now easily mix your favorite mobile tool with your favorite blogging tool.

If you run into trouble there is a page for reporting them up now. I think you might want check out a few frequently asked questions before posting thought. It lists things like known issues;

Accented characters not encoded properly
Blogs with Twitter Tools plugin installed sending Twitter links to posts that don’t exist
Display problems with toolbar for some iPod touch users
Unable to add a blog using a custom uploads location
Intermittent errors when adding blogs for some users
Some theme previews not available for public blogs

More info here

7 Cents a Day per User Unified Communications From Objectworld Communications.

OTTAWA, Canada — July 22, 2008 — Objectworld Communications Corp., a leading provider of unified communications (UC) and communications-enabled business process (CEBP) software solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses with Microsoft® Windows® platforms, announced today the most cost-effective UC solution for businesses. For as little as 7 cents a day per user, businesses can reap the benefits of unified communications including email, voicemail, messaging and fax capabilities accessible from one interface and from any device.

Objectworld’s bundled solutions based on organizational size deliver the lowest possible cost to customers and include VoIP, personal call control, conference server, unified messaging, integrate fax server, Active Directory-based administration, ODBC-enabled service creation environment, presence-based operator console and more.

With Objectworld’s UC Server Standard Edition, businesses are not required to deploy VoIP in order to reap the productivity benefits of unified communications, saving them tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands more by leveraging their existing PBX systems in the process. However, if businesses want to upgrade their existing phone system, Objectworld UC Server SIP Edition can provide an end-to-end unified communications solution for only 37 cents a day. The 37 cents per day solution includes not only software, but also new hardware such as third-party desktop phones, server hardware and gateways.

With these new capabilities, businesses can improve workforce productivity and increase responsiveness. Depending on system size, Objectworld’s UC Server can save businesses up to hundreds of thousands of dollars, demonstrating immediate business value to implement UC.

“We believe that any-sized business, especially an SMB, should be able to enjoy the benefits of a unified communications platform,” said David Levy, president and chief executive officer of Objectworld. “Objectworld can deliver UC for only 7 cents a day per user for 200 users, which is amazing considering what incumbent PBX vendors are charging for much less functionality. It’s even more remarkable considering that businesses can spend 22 cents a day for coffee services for their employees. The return on investment is very visible.”

To see a cost estimation of Objectworld’s software-based solutions, incorporating Objectworld Connect-certified and supported, third-party vendors for phones such as Polycom®, Snom® and Grandstream®, as well as a variety of media gateways, please visit http://www.objectworld.com/pricing/

Monday, July 21, 2008

WiMax Goes To Sea At Port Of Singapore.

According to a post on PCWorld, Ships that call on port of Singapore can now use WiMax instead of satellite to connect to the Internet. Singapore's maritime WiMax network will extend 15 kilometers offshore, covering its southern coastline and port, once completed. This harbor is one of the world's busiest with 140,000 ship calling in every year. The government-led project, called WisePort, is run by local operator QMax Communications and uses the same version of WiMax found in South Korea, called WiBro, that uses the 2.3GHz spectrum band.

You can read more about it at PCWorld.

Koolu to Distribute FreeRunner Open Source Mobile Phone

Openmoko Signs Koolu to Distribute FreeRunner Open Source Mobile Phone

Koolu Uniquely Positioned to Reach Significant Markets With Programmable Mobile Phone

LinuxWorld Conference & Expo

Linux Garage Pavilion booth 1234

Moscone Center North Hall booth 1625

TAIPEI, Taiwan--Openmoko, creator of the first completely open mobile computing platform, today announced an agreement with Koolu Inc., a Canadian-based company, to distribute the FreeRunner Open Source mobile phone in all of the Americas, the United Kingdom and the European Union with plans to expand globally through local partners.

"We have moved beyond the early adopter stage and are now ready to release the next generation Neo FreeRunner to markets where we are seeing early traction," said Steve Mosher, Openmoko vice president of marketing. "Key distributors, like Koolu, have relationships that reach deeply into markets that can leverage the features of this remarkable mobile device and advance it even further through software and exterior customization."

Koolu, known for its innovations in easy-to-use services such as Google Apps and Skype, will distribute the Openmoko Neo FreeRunner phone first to developers, and later to consumers as Google Apps go mobile. Koolu has created a program unique in the industry by offering free Neo FreeRunner phones in a referral program (see www.koolu.com) for Google Apps world-wide.

"Koolu will surround the phone with services and applications to lower the entry point to Internet and telephony access," said Jim Despathy, President of Koolu. "The phone will reach new markets that are presently not being addressed by traditional phones and phone companies but at the same time bring these phone companies clients they previously could not reach."

"I am very happy that Koolu chose to distribute the NEO FreeRunner," said Jon "maddog" Hall, CTO of Koolu. "As a supporter of Free and Open Culture, I know how important it is for companies to be able to change the software to meet their needs, and not be at the mercy of some large company who is keeping the code proprietary. Openmoko has created a platform that our customers will be able to use 'as is', or change to meet their specific needs. At the same time, Koolu will be there to provide support and services for our partners."

Pricing and availability

The Openmoko Neo FreeRunner has a suggested retail price of $399. Openmoko will sell the phone directly from it its webshop www.Openmoko.com and via distributors in the Americas, such as Koolu (www.shop.koolu.com), as well as Europe and India. The company will announce availability in other regions of the world at LinuxWorld Expo in San Francisco, August 5-7, 2008 where Openmoko can be seen in the Linux Garage Pavilion booth 1234 and at booth 1625 in the Moscone Center North Hall.

ITU Focuses On Telecom Impact on Climate Change

ITU Forms New Group to Focus on Telecom Impact on Climate Change

Geneva, 11 July 2008 — Responding to an industry call, ITU has set up a new group to work on standards related to the impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) on climate change. The new group will focus in particular on the reduction of ICT emissions and how ICTs can assist in cutting emissions in other industry sectors such as energy, transportation and buildings.

Since the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol, in December 1997, the number of ICT users has tripled worldwide. It is estimated that the ICT sector produces between two to three per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. But ICTs are also seen as a part of the solution to the climate change challenge.

ICTs could help cut global emissions by between 15 to 40 per cent, depending on the methodology used to make these estimates. Two recent ITU symposia on ICTs and climate change in Kyoto in April and in London in June this year drew attention to the wide variation in these estimates. A key objective of the Focus Group will be to develop internationally agreed methodologies to describe and estimate the impact of ICTs on climate change, both directly and through their application in other industry sectors.

The importance of ICT standardization to deal with this global issue was acknowledged following the very successful Kyoto and London symposia, and a study by the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) — a group comprised of key technology companies and organizations, including ITU. The reports of the two symposia were submitted to the G8 Summit held in Hokkaido, Japan, on 7-9 July 2008.

Participants in the symposia — representing ICT companies from around the world — as well as the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, called on ITU to increase its activities in ICTs and climate change. In a message to the London symposium, Mr Ban commended ITU for working with partners inside and outside the UN family to give high priority to actions in this field. "The information and communication technology sector has much to offer in creating a cleaner, greener world. But it must also apply international standards in reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions," Mr Ban said.

ITU has moved quickly to create the new Focus Group on ICTs and Climate Change, with an ambitious work plan to conclude by April 2009.

ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré said he was "very appreciative of the drive that has come from the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector on this topic, paving the way for the establishment of the Focus Group". Dr Touré went on to underline that: "Climate change is one of the major issues of our time and the key role that ITU is playing in addressing the issue has been acknowledged by the UN Secretary-General. ICTs are a contributor to global warming, but more importantly they are the key to monitoring and mitigating its effects."

Malcolm Johnson, Director of ITU's Telecommunication Standardization Bureau issued a call to arms for the world’s ICT companies and others following the announcement of the Focus Group. "We have heard from industry and from the UN Secretary-General that ITU must tackle this issue of global importance. I encourage all interested parties to participate. This group is open to all and I encourage contributions from the ICT sector as well as other industry sectors, research institutes, and any other specialists in this field," he said.

Work will start immediately using electronic means, and the group will meet physically for the first time at ITU headquarters in Geneva on 1-3 September 2008 under the chairmanship of David Faulkner of BT.

"We must remind ourselves that this is only a first step on the long road to finding and implementing global solutions to the challenge of climate change through the use of ICTs. What is important now is how we act and follow up on the momentum we have created," Mr Johnson said.

ITU is expected to conduct most of its work using remote collaboration tools to the maximum extent, and collocation with other meetings, to minimize its own emissions.

Presentations from the Kyoto and London symposia can be viewed here. The GeSI study on facilitating the low-carbon economy in the information age has been published highlighting the role that standards will play.

A webpage for the Focus Group will be made available shortly, please visit the ITU-T homepage.

For further information, please contact:

Sanjay Acharya
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information
ITU
Tel: +41 22 730 6135
E-mail

Toby Johnson
Communications Officer
ITU
Tel: +41 22 730 5877
E-mail

Sprint Upgrades IP-over-DWDM From 10Gbps To 40Gbps With Cisco and Ciena

Sprint (NYSE: S), Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Ciena® (NASDAQ: CIEN) announced today that they are implementing 40-gigabits-per-second (Gbps) network capabilities on the Global Sprint Tier 1 IP Network using a technology called Internet Protocol over dense wavelength-division multiplexing, or IPoDWDM for short. The implementation supports the needs of Sprint customers who are looking to adopt next-generation services, grow their businesses and enable their employees to conduct day-to-day tasks, simply and immediately.

Today’s announcement builds upon Sprint’s aggressive deployment of the Cisco CRS-1 Carrier Routing System. In 2004, Sprint and Cisco used CRS-1 routers to conduct the first 40-Gbps technology trial with live-production traffic. Sprint began deploying them in its IP core network in 2006. Today, Sprint CRS-1 routers are deployed in more than 25 U.S. cities, and Sprint is working to ensure this leading-edge infrastructure technology is enabled domestically and internationally.

Sprint is further enhancing its network by deploying 40-Gbps circuits and expanding available capacity for its customers. Earlier this year, Sprint completed final testing of the 40-Gbps IPoDWDM technology and enabled their first production 40-Gbps circuit. This converged solution used the Cisco® CRS-1 Carrier Routing System with built-in transponders along with Ciena’s CoreStream® Agility platform to transport the wavelength across the fiber-optic network. To date, several 40-Gbps circuits have been deployed, and those are carrying commercial IP-based services.

“Sprint’s network capabilities support the growing use of the Internet, as well as the growth we are seeing with Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) services - and our efforts to effectively migrate customers from legacy technologies to SprintLink IP and Global MPLS platforms,” said Kathy Walker, chief information and network officer for Sprint. “Deployment of 40-Gbps circuits throughout our IP core enables next-generation data, voice and video applications and allows Sprint to scale its IP network to address customer needs, as IP increasingly becomes the basis of communications services.”

As a long-standing customer of multiple Ciena platforms, Sprint began deploying CoreStream, with its 100G-ready scalable capacity and flexible design, in its Tier 1 IP backbone in 2000 and has more than 1,000 nodes deployed across its network today.

“By delivering 40-Gbps wavelengths over the existing CoreStream network, Sprint is streamlining its operational efficiency by delivering up to 3.2 terabits-per-second (Tbps) of capacity over a minimum number of wavelengths and without doing costly overbuilds,” said Steve Alexander, CTO of Ciena. “This approach underscores Ciena’s commitment to maximizing the lifecycle of our customers’ network investment so it continuously scales and adapts over time to help them capitalize on the business opportunities presented by mobile broadband, Ethernet and IP-based services.”

The implementation of IPoDWDM drives efficiencies by eliminating client connections between the router and DWDM system and increasing bandwidth four times by transmitting 40-Gbps across an existing 10-Gbps DWDM system. The integration of router and DWDM transponder components reduces network complexity and increases the scalability and resiliency of the backbone. IPoDWDM can also position Sprint to rapidly move to higher data rates (e.g., 100-Gbps) without overhauling the network infrastructure.

“Cisco pioneered IP over DWDM by introducing it to the industry in December 2005,” said Kelly Ahuja, Cisco vice president and general manager of the service provider routing technology group. “Sprint was an early adopter of both it and our IP NGN architecture to combine and distribute video, voice and data content rapidly to the benefit of its customers’ network experiences and to do it efficiently to benefit its business.”

2008 PilotHouse Awards For VoIP Service Providers.

NEW YORK, July 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Seven leading providers of Voice over IP (VOIP) services received 2008 PilotHouse Awards from Nemertes Research, based entirely on ratings from hundreds of IT executives.

"This research is a must-have for companies evaluating a new VOIP strategy, or reassessing an existing one because it relies on real experiences from real customers," says Robin Gareiss, executive vice president and senior founding partner, Nemertes Research.

As part of the Unified Communications and Collaboration research project, Nemertes received 555 ratings of VOIP providers and conducted analysis on VOIP best practices. Providers with the highest average scores in each award category won PilotHouse Awards.

IT executives rated their providers on technology, product features, unified communications vision, customer service, value, VAR experience, solution experience, ease of implementation, and management tools. Nemertes issued awards for top providers overall, which includes all scores from all rollout sizes. Additionally, because companies evaluate an average of three vendors, Nemertes segmented the ratings to include the "top tier," or a short list, for three rollout sizes.

           Nemertes Research 2008 PilotHouse Awards: VOIP Providers

  Best Overall VOIP Providers (all rollout sizes combined)
  -- ShoreTel, Inc. - Winner
  -- Siemens Enterprise Communications - Finalist
  -- 3Com Corporation - Finalist

  Top-Tier VOIP Providers - Small Rollouts (<500>2,000 Endpoints)
  -- Nortel
  -- Alcatel-Lucent
  -- Cisco Systems, Inc.

  Best Overall: VOIP Vertical Solutions
  -- Avaya Inc.

  Best VOIP: Industry-Specific
  -- Education - Avaya Inc.
  -- Financial Services - Cisco Systems, Inc.
  -- Healthcare - Cisco Systems, Inc.
  -- Manufacturing - Avaya Inc.
  -- Professional Services - Avaya Inc.
  -- Retail - Cisco Systems, Inc.
  -- State/Local Government - Nortel
  -- Transportation - Siemens Enterprise Communications

About the Research

The benchmark, Unified Communications and Collaboration, examines several key areas, including organizational strategies, Web 2.0, UC applications and strategies, implementation and management, and the business case for VOIP. Nemertes provides a complete analysis of both VOIP and unified communications awards in separate reports.

QATAR, (ictQATAR) Clarifies Its Position Over VoIP.

Doha, Qatar (July 20, 2008): Recent newspaper articles have given inaccurate or incomplete accounts of Qatar's legal position regarding Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

The following is a clarification of the legal position of VoIP technology in Qatar from the Supreme Council for Information and Communications Technology (ictQATAR), the country's telecommunications Regulatory Authority.

VoIP is a technology for the delivery of voice services using existing internet infrastructure and services. There are no laws or rules that prohibit the use of such technology within the State of Qatar.

The Telecommunications Law 34 of 2006 does, however, make it illegal for any person to provide telecommunications services to the public for a direct or indirect fee without a license issued by ictQATAR for that purpose.

Currently the only two entities licensed by ictQATAR to provide such voice services to the public in Qatar are Qatar Telecom (QTel) Q.S.C. and Vodafone Qatar Q.S.C.

In summary, the position on VoIP is:

1. Any person or business within the State of Qatar may use VoIP services for voice calls for their own use; and

2. No person or business within the State of Qatar may sell VoIP calls or services to the public or businesses without a license issued by ictQATAR. The only two companies currently licensed for that purpose are QTel and Vodafone.

ictQATAR is committed to encouraging the availability of the latest technology to Qatari citizens and residents.

Any person with further questions about Qatar's VoIP policy may contact ictQATAR by email at consumervoice@ict.gov.qa or by calling our consumer help line at +974 499 5353.

Jajah SMB, Another Side Of Jajah Business.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(Marketwire - July 17, 2008) - JAJAH, the world's most innovative telecommunications company, announced today it has expanded its SMB Solution Suite to incorporate a managed service IP telephony solution, including a fully functional 'soft' PBX. The suite of services gives every small and medium business the ability to IP-enable their existing telephony systems and make VoIP calls to over 200 countries without any additional investment.

"The days of investing in PBXs from Nokia Siemens or installing expensive Cisco IP switches are long passed," said JAJAH Co-Founder Roman Scharf. "Now every company in America can instantly switch its entire telephony infrastructure onto IP, delivering significant cost savings with virtually zero start up cost. Companies of all types and sizes are utilizing the JAJAH SMB Solution Suite, from local Greek restaurants through to Logitech."

The JAJAH SMB Solution Suite gives every employee access to:

* All devices: make or receive calls via mobile, landline and even softphone (PC-based telephone), with specific plug-ins for Blackberry and Windows Mobile phones available. Pre-paid and analog-only phones will also be supported.

* Productivity Tools: a suite of Productivity Tools gives the ability to embed telephony within Office Automation Tools, including support for Google Enterprise Apps and Microsoft Office. Features also include centralized address book, database and directory lookup services.

* Presence: flexibility to choose which phone to use to answer a call. At the touch of a button, choose whether to accept an inbound call on mobile, landline or softphone, or even to divert the call to a voice mail, which will be converted to text and delivered as an email into the employee's inbox. Employees can specify their location and availability, while the network will also make intelligent routing decisions based on last-call and office hours.

* Dial Plan & Portability: no need to change numbers as the JAJAH system fully supports number portability. The JAJAH SMB Suite also offers sophisticated dial-plans, call monitoring and limit-setting amongst other budget management tools.

* Unified Communication & Voice 2.0: Support for visual Voicemail (where voicemail is converted to text), universal messaging, SMS, conference calls, scheduled calls, call logging, and address book synchronization.

* IP-Backbone: For the first time, access to a global telephony backbone will be built in, with all calls routed over JAJAH's award-winning IP-telephony backbone. This not only reduces calls costs, but increases voice quality.

"It's simply too expensive for a business to switch out all of its existing phones, infrastructure and PBXs in favor of hardware-based IP Telephony solutions. We know from our successful consumer business that ease-of-use and low cost of adoption are key in the move to IP telephony," said JAJAH Co-founder Daniel Mattes.

"JAJAH's thousands of business customers have already told us we save them money. Now we give them the enterprise productivity tools and a platform to serve the needs of companies with up to 5,000 staff. Telephony is core in the SMB market and JAJAH's platform is an anchor for future business expansion, whether within the US or across the globe."

JAJAH's SMB Solution Suite will be available directly via the JAJAH website at www.jajahSMB.com, with a global indirect channel partner to be announced in the coming quarter.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Skype 4.0 Beta, Making It Easier To Stay In Touch.

Skype, your favorite P2P VoIP application has released a new major version of Skype. The Skype 4.0 beta version offers a completely re-designed user interface with a full-screen Skype experience.

So you are still getting all the main features with this version as well.

Free Skype-to-Skype calls.
Free video calls.
Free instant messaging.
Call phones and cells, send SMS.
System requirements
PC running Windows 2000, XP or Vista. (Windows 2000 users require DirectX 9.0 for video calls).
Internet connection (broadband is best, GPRS is not supported for voice calls, and results may vary on a satellite connection).
Speakers and microphone – built-in or separate.
To make video calls you’ll need a computer with at least a 1GHz processor, 256 MB RAM and of course a webcam.
For High Quality Video calls you will need a high quality video webcam and software, a dual-core processor computer and a fast broadband connection (384 kbps).

You can download it here.
Tags: skype, skype 4.0 beta.

Free Wi-Fi for IPhone Is Still A Pipe Dream For US iPhone Users.

If you were looking for free Wi-Fi for your not yet available iPhone 3g based on the webpage on AT&T site that proclaimed;
"AT&T knows Wi-Fi is hot, and free Wi-Fi even hotter, which is why we are proud to offer iPhone customers free access to the nation's largest Wi-Fi hotspot network with more than 17,000 hotspots, including Starbucks. Now users can relax and access music, e-mail and web browsing services with their favorite blend in hand from the comfort of their favorite location." which since have disappered,
You may have to wait even longer than the new iPhones to arrive at the AT&T counters and shelves.

When inquired about the webpage; AT&T spokesperson Seth Bloom told Ars Technica that the webpage was yet another error. "We have not made any announcement regarding free Wi-Fi and iPhone," he said. Though the page is still up at this time, Bloom told that "the webpage was posted in error and is being removed." AT&T was not yet ready to roll out free Wi-Fi for iPhone users.

"We have not made any announcement regarding free Wi-Fi and iPhone, Wi-Fi is a real differentiator for AT&T and it is our intention to make it available to as many customers as possible."
Ars Discussion.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Welcome to the new AT&T, we're currently out of iPhones, how can I help you?

I had to smile when I saw this on crave, they have even called 50 AT&T stores across 11 states and they were not even able to tell when they will be stocking up the iPhone 3G models. Link to the complete crave article after the jump.
"That's how two AT&T stores--one in Los Angeles, another in Denver--answered their phones Tuesday. But those stores are hardly alone in their lack of 3G iPhones. A CNET News survey on Tuesday and Wednesday showed that during their first week on sale, Apple's latest iPhones are playing extremely hard to get."
I guess you will not be able to unbox your iPhone 3G for a while!

Crave article

Microsoft Sells Phone Cards For Windows Live Messenger VoIP

Taipei, July 17, 2008 (CENS)--Microsoft Taiwan announced July 14 that users of its Windows Live Messenger voice over the Internet Protocol (VoIP) service now can buy value-stored cards to use the service at over 2,000 convenient stores throughout the island.

The Taiwan branch of Microsoft launched the service late June, but users have been limited to buy credits online by signing up as members. The service allows users to make local, long-distance and international calls on the Internet at much lower rates than offered by fixed-line network operators. For instance, making local calls on the service`s network costs only NT$0.66 per minute and NT$3.2 per minute for mobile calls.

Microsoft Taiwan cooperates with Chief Telecom Inc., a subsidiary of Taiwan`s No.1 telecom provider Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd., to offer the service.

The partnership is expected to threaten PChome Online of Taiwan, which is contracted to offer Skype-based VoIP service, in consideration of eight million MSN users in Taiwan. Worldwide, Skype has signed up 390 million users including seven million in Taiwan.

PChome Online`s executives pointed out that on top of the less expensive telephone service Skype had developed value-added services like voice mail messaging and call transit services, which they stressed are not offered elsewhere.

VoIP phone maker IPEVO, 30% owned by PChome Online, will offer phones dedicated to MSN format. IPEVO was formally a hardware business unit under PChome Online, but was spun off into an independent company last year and now can freely supply its products to service providers besides PChome Online.

Tags: Microsoft, OC client, office communicator, voip,

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

iPhone 3G Cracked!

Video is in Portuguese.

Despite the best efforts of Apple and AT&T, it appears that the latest version of the iPhone has been unlocked via the same method as used on the original iPhone.

A Brazilian blog, TechGuru, posted the first report of it. Gizmodo checked it out, and said the method involves using a special SIM card adapter. It tricks the phone into thinking it's on an approved network.

Via Crave.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

iPhone Line 2.0 in San Francisco!

iPhone Line 2.0 in San Francisco! Well for all that trouble, the phones did not work!

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