Thursday, May 27, 2010

Apple Patents "A Projector In A Macbook"

Projector In A Macbook Patented http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Even for ages, people have hooked up their notebooks to projectors, no one seem to have thought of integrating both together, until Apple's  Aleksandar Pance thought about the idea, according to Apple.
Apple says that Aleksandar Pance as the sole inventor of patent application 20100079653, originally filed in Q3 2008.
Crave

Apple Overtakes Microsoft As Leading Hightech Cap Company

Apple Overtakes Microsoft http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
During today's  intraday trading Apple shares rose 1.8 percent, Giving the silicon valley company a value of $227.1 billion. Whoa!
But the big boy from Redmond was not doing so well and the shares of Microsoft declined about 1 percent, giving the company a market capitalization of $226.3 billion.
I am sure Steve Jobs must be grinning from ear to ear and Bill Gates wondering if he should come back. Balmer must be fuming from all the orifices.

Even though both shares declined (M$ at $219.2 billion, Apple at $222.1 billion.) , Apple held on to the top spot. Good grief Charlie Brown.

"Bill Shock" Experienced By One In Every Six Cell Phone Users.

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Looks like Bill Shock is more common than we assumed, according to a survey done by FCC and the subsequent report. It is evident that carriers are using every possible way to lift their bottom line very high!, from the various amounts charged to customers as seen from above.
17% of American adults with a personal cell phone said that at one time their cell phone bill increased suddenly from one month to the next, even though they had not changed their calling or texting plans.
88% said their cell phone company did not contact them after their bill suddenly increased.
84% said their cell carrier did not contact them when they were about to exceed their allowed minutes, text messages, or data downloads.
It turns out that about 30 million cell phone users had price hikes without changing their plans for  calling or texting. Almost all of these customers were not contacted by the carrier regarding the hike or the jump in the bill.
In addition, people were not clear about the ETF's (early termination fees) charged by these carriers and was not limited to cell phones, broadband services were also a part of the early termination scheme.;
For those with personal cell phones, 54% said they would have to pay an ETF and 18% did not know whether they would have to pay a fee.
For home broadband customers, 21% said they would have to pay an ETF and 38% did not know if they would have to pay a fee.
You can find the complete report at FCC

NBC and Time Warner Not Joining iPad Revolution, Decides To Flash Instead.

NBC and Time Warner Not Joining iPad Revolution, http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Looks like not everyone jump when Steve Jobs asks them. Some media houses are not sacrifising flash in order to be on iPad revolusion;

Sources said several large media companies, including Time Warner and NBC Universal, told Apple they won't retool their extensive video libraries to accommodate the iPad, arguing that such a reformatting would be expensive and not worth it because Flash dominates the Web.
n addition, one media executive pointed out that Apple's ability to dictate terms to the media giants will be weakened further by Google TV, a software product that enables viewers to watch online video on their big-screen TVs.
Steve Jobs does not like flash and there was a lot of back and forth discussions about Flash on Apple mobile platforms.
NYPost via engadget

Sorry Steve Jobs, Steve Balmer Is Not Coming To WWDC

Steve Balmer At WWDC http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Trip Chowdhry at Global Equities Research's blabber mouth or rather the blabbering keyboard of his set off a rumor storm regarding to partnership of Two Steves.
But a twitter post by Microsoft say no, the Steve Balmer will not be dancing with the stars like Steve Jobs.

T-Mobile CEO Robert Dotson Will Resign In A Year Or So

T-Mobile CEO Robert Dotson Resigns http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Robert Dotson, president and chief executive officer of T-Mobile USA, Inc., has informed Deutsche Telekom (DT) of his intent to transition to new opportunities in 2011 after 15 years of service with T-Mobile USA. In order to ensure a smooth transition of leadership, Dotson has committed to stay actively engaged in the business until May 2011. His designated successor is Philipp Humm, an experienced DT executive and former CEO of T-Mobile Deutschland. Humm is currently responsible for sales and service in Europe as chief regional officer (CRO) Europe. After a period of transition with Dotson, it’s the intention that Humm will take over as CEO of T-Mobile USA in February 2011, while Dotson will remain on as a T-Mobile USA non-executive board member until May 2011.

"For 15 years it has been a privilege to lead the talented T-Mobile USA team in its journey to become a leading U.S. wireless provider. The time is right to ensure a thoughtful leadership transition to position T-Mobile USA for the next 15 years of opportunity,” Dotson said. “It has long been my intent to step away from the business at this stage in my life in order to devote more time to family and to take on entirely new and unique challenges. That change can only be made possible if a suitable successor is in place. Over the next year, it will be my relentless focus and responsibility to work closely with Philipp to ensure marketplace success, and to enable a seamless leadership transition."

RenĂ© Obermann, CEO of Deutsche Telekom, said, “I sincerely regret Robert’s decision to leave, however I absolutely respect his decision, and am most grateful that he has offered to stay on for another year in order to work with Philipp to ensure continuity in running the business. Robert’s pioneering leadership in establishing T-Mobile USA as one of the leading players in the U.S. mobile market has not only been recognized by us at Deutsche Telekom, but by the industry as a whole. An agile mind, business acumen, strong leadership, entrepreneurial spirit and team work – these are some of the many excellent qualities that have made Robert such an invaluable leader within the DT Group.”

Coming to T-Mobile USA as president and CEO designate, effective July 1, 2010, Humm brings significant experience in the U.S. marketplace. Before joining Deutsche Telekom, Humm worked for ten years for a number of U.S.-based companies including McKinsey & Company, Procter & Gamble, and Amazon in senior level positions. Humm has since served as CEO of T-Mobile Deutschland from 2005 until 2008. He took over a company in a declining market and successfully turned it around during his tenure to become Germany’s leading mobile operator in both subscribers as well as service revenues. He was also responsible for the successful market introduction of the iPhone® in Germany in 2007.

Humm, 50, has strong international experience, and in his present position as CRO Europe, he is responsible for international sales and customer service, as well as steering the five national mobile companies in Austria, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, the UK and Poland. In this role he has played a pivotal part in the recent, successful establishment of the joint venture in the United Kingdom between T-Mobile UK and Orange UK of France Telekom.

“With Philipp, we have an excellent leader with an outstanding track record in the mobile industry,” Obermann added. “During his five years at Deutsche Telekom, Philipp has proven bold leadership and intense determination to succeed. His strong vision within the industry as well as his courage to transform, combined with his entrepreneurial qualities, ensures that he has all the credentials to lead T-Mobile USA as a strong competitor in a very dynamic market. I am more than confident that both Robert and Philipp will work closely together to create a smooth transition of leadership, as well as moving the business forward.”

Humm said, “It is a privilege for me to take over the reins from an established leader such as Robert. I look forward to working with him and the T-Mobile USA team during the transition phase, and I relish the prospect of leading such a proud company as T-Mobile USA - a force to be reckoned with in one of the largest markets in the world. It is a great challenge, and I am grateful for having been given the chance to make a difference.”

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

WHy The Next iPhone May Not Be Named "iPhone 4G" !

iPhone 4G vs iPhone HD http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Informationweek's Mark Zeman has a nice article and a theory why the next iPhone may not be named "iPhone 4G". Good for us because we have been referring to it also as "iPhone HD"
He uses the 4G network standard yet in formulation as the reason for Apple to stay away from 4G capability on the next iPhone. But if that is the case, Steve Jobs will be able to sell the iPhone 4G twice, one for the Pre-4G and the second for the real 4G, but Mark did you notice that 4G could be easily turned into $G. Apple is in it for $G not for standards.
The article is very informative.
Informationweek

Facebook Privacy Changed Again

TechCrunch Disrupt Brings New(s) Facebook Privacy http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
TechCrunch Disrupt has brought us some more interesting information about Facebook Privacy. Facebook’s VP of Product Chris Cox announced the privacy process will be “drastically simplified” via the new privacy controls today.
Facebook had a press conference call for to unveil the new privacy settings;
"When we started Facebook, we built it around a few simple ideas," said Zuckerberg. "When people have control over what they share, they want to share more. When people share more, the world becomes more open and connected. Over the past few weeks, the number one thing we've heard is that many users want a simpler way to control their information. Today we're starting to roll out changes that will make our controls simpler and easier."" CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Facebook Privacy controls have been made simple;
One control for content: A new simple control makes it easy to share on Facebook with friends, friends of friends or everyone—all with just one click. The corresponding settings are immediately applied and displayed in an easy-to-understand grid. At the same time, Facebook has maintained its more granular settings for those who want to customize their level of sharing. These settings now all appear on a single page for easier access.
Retroactive control: People who choose the more restrictive "Friends Only" or "Friends of Friends" options with the simple control will have the corresponding setting for all the content they posted previously for sharing. Thus, a person can make all the content they've ever shared on Facebook more private with just a couple of clicks.
Future products: Facebook commits to carry over people's privacy choices for new products that facilitate sharing. Thus, if someone chooses "Friends Only" for "Sharing on Facebook," new products that have privacy settings will be automatically set to "Friends Only." This means Facebook users don't have to worry about new settings in the future.
Prioritizing simplicity: Granularity of control has always been a primary objective in Facebook's privacy design. Starting with the changes announced today, the company will also prioritize ease-of-use in its privacy design.
Fewer privacy changes: Facebook's goal is to make privacy-related changes with less frequency and to work within the framework announced today as it continues to innovate new features and products.
Facebook via Techcrunch

Twelfth FoxConn Employee Commits Suicide

Foxconn Suicides http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
It looks like with every new iPhone, Foxconn sacrifices a few employees. (Not intentionally I guess and hope because they are even willing to go as far as getting employees to sign a non suicide pact. I hope Apple will not ask us to enter such pact when we buy our next phone.)
The twelfth employee to commit suicide from Foxconn's Shenzhen plant this year became the tenth person to plunge to his death at the factory just 11pm in Shanghai time.
This employee committed suicide just ONE day after  a 19 year old Hunan male, Li Hai, who had just started working at Foxconn 42 days ago.
I hope Foxconn's biggest clients like, Apple, Dell and HP would look into these factory suicides.  Perhaps staying off next iPhone 4G might make Steve Jobs make a call.


President of Foxconn Terry Gou bows for apology after a string of suicides by the company's employees at a plant of Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, on May 26, 2010. Terry Gou said here on Wednesday that the company would prevent such tragedies from happening again. Foxconn is part of Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. and makes computers, game consoles and mobile phones for companies including Hewlett-Packard Co., Sony Corp. and Nokia Corp. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua)
.Shanghaiist

NASA Televisions Atlantis Launch

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Ever since I was kid, I was fascinated by all it's programs. I still have all the books and videos that I collected over the years. I was lucky enough to have witnessed one space shuttle launch. Worked with SRTM data and still continue to be fascinated by any of them.
So when I so this multi angle video of shuttle launch, I had to post it.

NASAtelevision May 25, 2010 — Highlights of the launch of space shuttle Atlantis from NASAs Kennedy Space Center, Fla. on May 14, 2010 to begin the STS-132 mission to the International Space Station. Video includes views of the liftoff from multiple cameras in and around launch pad 39A.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Voxbone iNum Numbers Are Turned Into Single-Click Local Calls With Rebtel iPhone App

Rebtel iPhone App http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Rebtel iPhone App is bringing one-click dialing to Voxbone iNum numbers by allowing users to generate a local phone number that will map to an iNum for for all contacts in the address book on their iPhones.  This feature allows users to call iNums without having to enter access number or PIN to remember. Just tap on the contact icon to reach users from over 50 countries for the cost of a local call. Voxbone have been active in the VoIP IP Telephony scene for a while now and it is good to see that Mobile VoIP is no exception.


Press release

BRUSSELS, May 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Voxbone, a leading provider of telephone numbers to communications service providers and businesses worldwide, today announced that Rebtel's new iPhone application brings one-click dialing to its iNum® numbers by allowing users to generate a local phone number that will map to an iNum for any contact in their address book directly from their handset. As a result, people will be able to call iNums – with no access number or PIN to remember – by clicking on a contact icon from over 50 countries for the cost of a local call.

Through its partnership with Voxbone, Rebtel facilitates low-cost international calling by providing users with a local phone number in the country where they live which they can use to connect them with friends, family or work colleagues who live abroad. Rebtel delivers the more expensive international leg of the call over the internet using VoIP, at significantly lower rates than those typically charged by operators. Rebtel's newly launched iPhone application offers a simpler alternative to Rebtel's traditional setup mechanism, in which customers generate local number for their contacts via the Web and manually load them into their phones.
iNum is a different type of global phone number that is not tied to a particular location. Taking advantage of the +883 country code allocated by the ITU, iNums are allocated for free to Internet telephony providers that enable IP communications services to be accessed via traditional fixed or mobile networks. Many VoIP services still use private alphanumeric identities like those for IM or e-mail. iNum provides an ITU-approved e.164 number that is expressly intended for global use with VoIP applications, and enables users to make and receive free or low-cost mobile VoIP calls within participating networks, such as those of Rebtel, Truphone and Gizmo5.
"Here at Rebtel, we immediately bought into Voxbone's concept of an 'area code for Earth,' as it clearly matches our own vision of making all phone calls local, turning the world into a friendlier place and bringing people closer together," commented Andreas Bernstrom, CEO of Rebtel. "We're proud to be an active member of the iNum community and to be providing a hassle-free way of dialing an iNum for the cost of a local call."
Rod Ullens, CEO and co-founder of Voxbone, added:
"Voxbone's goal is to further extend and grow the community of providers who deliver calls to iNums for free or for the cost of a local call. We're very pleased to see Rebtel making iNums reachable from over 50 countries and are delighted to have them on board."
To see a video tutorial of how the Rebtel service works, go to http://www.rebtel.com/en/Learn/

Telephony Denial-of–service (TDOS) Being Used To Distract Consumers From Genuine Theft, Warns FBI

Telephony Denial-of–service (TDOS) http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
FBI is warning us that bad elements are launching  Telephony Denial-of–service (TDOS) on people and blocking people from using the phone. They also have seen a pattern of Identity Thefts behind these calls. While the victim is unable to contact outside world, thieves continue to change vital information about the victim such as;

 online trading and other money management accounts are being accessed by the perpetrators who are transferring funds out of those accounts. The perpetrators will obtain account information of their victims in some way and then contact the financial institutions to change their victims’ profile information such as email addresses, telephone numbers and bank account numbers. The purpose of the malicious phone calls is to occupy the victim phone numbers on record with the financial institutions managing the accounts so that when the institutions contact the victim to verify the changes and transactions, the institution is unable to reach the victim. Consequently, the victim has no idea what has really transpired until it’s too late.
 FBI also advised how to best protect oneself;
“Although unsolicited telephone calls are not always representative of fraud, the FBI believes it is important to advise the public of this scheme,” said Michael B. Ward, Special Agent In Charge of the FBI’s Newark division. “Consumers should continue to emphasize strong security procedures for all financial accounts, including placing fraud alerts on all of their financial accounts and with the major credit bureaus if they believe they may have been targeted by a TDOS attack or other form of fraud.” Passwords for online and telephonic banking should be changed regularly and frequently. People should obtain their credit report annually and review it for fraudulent activity.
 Following is the complete press release from FBI;
For Immediate Release
May 11, 2010
FBI Newark
Contact: Special Agent Bryan L. Travers
(973) 792-3020
Phony Phone Calls Distract Consumers from Genuine Theft
FBI and Partners Warn Public
NEWARK, NJ—Have you recently received a large number of strange and unexplained calls on your mobile or landline telephones? The FBI is warning consumers about a new scheme that uses telecommunications denial-of-service attacks as a diversion to what is really happening: the looting of bank and online trading accounts.
The Scheme
The scheme is known as telephony denial-of–service (TDOS) and according to several telecommunications companies working with the FBI, there has been a recent surge of these attacks in the past few weeks. The perpetrators are suspected of using automated dialing programs and multiple accounts to overwhelm the land and cell phone lines of their victims with thousands of calls. When the calls are answered, the victim may hear anything from dead air (nothing on the other end), an innocuous recorded message, an advertisement, or even a telephone sex menu. The calls are typically short in duration but so numerous that victims have had to have their numbers changed to make the calls stop.
The FBI has determined that these calls serve as a diversionary technique. During these TDOS attacks, online trading and other money management accounts are being accessed by the perpetrators who are transferring funds out of those accounts. The perpetrators will obtain account information of their victims in some way and then contact the financial institutions to change their victims’ profile information such as email addresses, telephone numbers and bank account numbers. The purpose of the malicious phone calls is to occupy the victim phone numbers on record with the financial institutions managing the accounts so that when the institutions contact the victim to verify the changes and transactions, the institution is unable to reach the victim. Consequently, the victim has no idea what has really transpired until it’s too late.
What is Being Done About It?
The FBI first learned of this scheme through one of its partnerships with private industry. In November of 2009, a semi-retired dentist in St. Augustine lost as much as $400,000 from his retirement account through telephony DOS. (See the article at http://staugustine.com/node/5477.) Law enforcement discovered VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) accounts created by a single user that paired the accounts with automatic dialing tools to dial a large volume of computer-generated calls per minute, all directed toward the business, home, and mobile telephone numbers of the victim dentist. Those VOIP accounts were terminated, but the perpetrators of the scheme were never identified. AT&T, which has a strong working relationship with the FBI, enlisted the help of FBI Newark’s Cybercrime squad.
“Following that first incident in November 2009, we’ve recently seen an increase in this activity targeting our customers across the country,” said Adam Panagia, Associate Director of Global Fraud Management for AT&T.
Last month, the Communication Fraud Control Association (CFCA) invited the FBI to become its official law enforcement liaison. Headquartered in Roseland, New Jersey, the idea of the CFCA was conceived in February of 1985 when a group of communications security professionals from AT&T, ITT, MCI, Network One, SBS, and Sprint met to establish a cooperative effort to combat the growing problem of communications fraud. CFCA has since expanded its membership to include all areas of communication providers (such as AT&T, PAETEC, and Verizon to name a few) and end users and even includes members of law enforcement. The FBI and CFCA are now working together to analyze the patterns and trends of TDOS to prevent attacks, educate the public, and ultimately identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice. “The cooperation between PAETEC and the FBI has been tremendous,” said Robert Moore, CIO at PAETEC, a business communications firm headquartered in Fairpoint, New York.

“It’s only with a true partnership between service providers and law enforcement that we can make a real impact in protecting businesses and private citizens from the growing criminal threats we’ve been seeing over the past years. It’s also the reason that for more than ten years, we’ve employed a highly-trained team of voice security professionals to identify and stop these attacks in progress while working with law enforcement to protect customers.”

Victims don’t immediately think to contact law enforcement because to them, the numerous phone calls appear to be a technical issue with the telephone carrier and not a criminal threat. “With the advent of Voice over IP and the newest technologies in phone service, criminal attacks on businesses using those platforms have become increasingly sophisticated,” said Moore. One trend that the FBI sees with the malicious phone calls is that when they are answered, many of the victims report hearing a recorded advertisement for an American car company with an announcer having an Asian accent. The other prominent trend is hearing a telephone sex “menu” when answering one of these calls.
How to Protect Yourself
Protection from TDOS attacks requires consumers to be proactive. “Although unsolicited telephone calls are not always representative of fraud, the FBI believes it is important to advise the public of this scheme,” said Michael B. Ward, Special Agent In Charge of the FBI’s Newark division. “Consumers should continue to emphasize strong security procedures for all financial accounts, including placing fraud alerts on all of their financial accounts and with the major credit bureaus if they believe they may have been targeted by a TDOS attack or other form of fraud.” Passwords for online and telephonic banking should be changed regularly and frequently. People should obtain their credit report annually and review it for fraudulent activity.
Adam Panagia of AT&T offered this advice: “We urge anyone who suspects they may be the target of a TDOS attack to immediately contact their telephone provider after notifying their financial institutions.”
This notification should include online trading brokers with whom the victim may have an account. In one recent case, the victim acted early and alerted her financial institutions and was able to successfully thwart an attempt to have money stolen from her accounts. The incident should also be promptly reported to the FBI through www.ic3.gov, the FBI’s online cybercrime complaint center. (The FBI does not necessarily respond to individual complaints registered on ic3.gov. Rather, the information is used to look for trends and patterns. Once those patterns are identified, the victims may be contacted for further information.)
- Listen to related podcast

iPhone 3GS 16GB Dropped To $97

iPhone 3GS for $97 http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Walmart is doing great in the phone business and offering a deal that might leave a bunch of people in a prickly pickle. Should I get this (OLD) iPhone for $97 and lock myself to the mercy of AT&T fro two years or wait till Apple release the iPhone 4G ( iPhone HD) in June at the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference, AWDC 2010 which starts on June 7th, and pay higher price for what could be a better phone and lock them selves. But some even must be wondering if they could go the way of Androids and get a something like Droid Incredible.
In either case, you need a new account or an existing account that's eligible to upgrade and of course you have to commit to a two-year contract.

Walmart

Friday, May 21, 2010

The Asterisk Development Team Releases Asterisk 1.6.0.28 and 1.6.1.20

 Asterisk 1.6.0.28 and Asterisk 1.6.1.20 http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/

The Asterisk Development Team has announced the final maintenance releases of Asterisk branches 1.6.0 and 1.6.1 as versions 1.6.0.28 and 1.6.1.20. These releases are available for immediate download at http://downloads.asterisk.org/pub/telephony/asterisk/

The Asterisk releases for 1.6.0.28 and 1.6.1.20 are the last maintenance releases for Asterisk branches 1.6.0 and 1.6.1 and have now moved to security maintenance only.

The releases of Asterisk 1.6.0.28 and 1.6.1.20 resolves several issues reported by the community, and would have not been possible without your participation. Thank you!

The following are a few of the issues resolved by community developers:

    * Fix issue where MixMonitor() recordings would be shorter than total duration.
      (Closes issue #17078. Reported,tested by geoff2010. Patched by dhubbard)
    * When StopMonitor() is called, ensure it will not be restarted by a channel event.
      (Closes issue #16590. Reported, patched by kkm)
    * Allow hidecalleridname feature to work.
      (Closes issue #17143. Reported, patched by djensen99)
    * Resolve deadlocks in chan_local.
      (Closes issue #17185. Reported, tested by schmoozecom, GameGamer43)
    * Ensure channel state is not incorrectly set in the case of a very early answer by chan_dahdi.
      (Closes issue #17067. Reported, patched by tzafrir)
    * Registration fix for SIP realtime. Make sure realtime fields are not empty.
      (Closes issue #17266. Reported, patched by Nick_Lewis. Tested by sberney)

More information about the changes to maintenance support can be found at:
http://www.asterisk.org/node/49924

Information about the Asterisk maintenance schedule is available at:
http://www.asterisk.org/asterisk-versions

For a full list of changes in the current release candidates, please see the
ChangeLogs:

http://downloads.asterisk.org/pub/telephony/asterisk/ChangeLog-1.6.0.28
http://downloads.asterisk.org/pub/telephony/asterisk/ChangeLog-1.6.1.20

Google Click-to-call Advertising For Mobile Content And Apps

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/


Google is planing to go places with Mobile world. Among other things that happened at Google I/O, Google Advertising also announced about Click-To-Call-Advertising being also available to mobile content and apps on the Google Content Network, GCN.
Click-to-call ads for mobile content will be visible as animated banner text ads with a call button on mobile devices with full Internet browsers, as seen above.
Having a phone number to call, will prompt consumers to take action then and there rather than waiting for later. With many people adding mobile internet to their lives, everyday, it will be an opportunity for mobile advertisers to grab customers off the road, literally.
Google also demonstrated new expandable ad units that display videos or images on content and apps on mobile devices with full Internet browsers. These expandable ad units offer you more real estate within the content or app your customers were viewing or using. Once a user click to play a video, it will play on their device’s native video player or YouTube app. Whatever the method, once they finish watching the video, they will be back at exactly where they left off on their mobile site or app.


Go Mobile! Series: Introducing click-to-call ads for mobile content and apps - Inside AdWords

Cisco TelePresence For 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa

Cisco TelePresence For 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
ESPN and Cisco hosted a live global press conference over Cisco TelePresence, involving soccer enthusiasts/broadcasters and business leaders from both organizations. Global sports, business and technology media were also in attendance from Toronto, New York, London, Warsaw, Kiev, SĂ£o Paulo and Johannesburg. This event was intended to demonstrate the remote video connectivity benefits associated with Cisco TelePresence and highlight how this technology will play a key role in delivering in-depth sports reports of the World Cup to soccer fans around the world.


SAN JOSE, Calif., and JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, May 20, 2010 – Cisco today announced that ESPN will use Cisco TelePresenceTM to deliver live and recorded coverage of soccer matches and connect the global soccer community with teams, players and coaches at the 2010 FIFA World Cup Soccer Tournament in South Africa. The incorporation of Cisco TelePresence will allow ESPN to deliver televised content more effectively and economically as well as enhance soccer fans' viewing experience. Cisco TelePresence, which uses high-definition video and audio to create a face-to-face virtual experience, will further enhance ESPN's coverage of soccer matches throughout the month long tournament. By using the existing Cisco broadband network in South Africa, the two industry leaders are transforming the sports television industry by enabling a more timely delivery of video content, including greater fan access to unique game analysis and player footage.
ESPN is taking advantage of the Cisco TelePresence HD real-time video for its live coverage of the 19th FIFA World Cup Soccer Tournament, a first for any video communications solution. The technology will also give the worldwide leader in sports increased flexibility and expanded coverage, enhancing both the content and coverage of the games. The immersive experience is made possible with imperceptible latency, regardless of distance, ultimately leading to a more compelling interview. In addition, with the deployment of Cisco TelePresence in South Africa, ESPN will be able to host remote interviews with visiting country leaders, coaches, players and fans, all from highly secure and quiet locations with convenient access to key stadium sites. The remote broadcast interviews captured via Cisco TelePresence will then be accessible for soccer fans to view on ESPN's worldwide soccer sites.

FACTS

Advantage ESPN: Business Benefits

  • By utilizing Cisco TelePresence to conduct exclusive World Cup reports from Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, ESPN will achieve significant cost savings as compared to traditional remote interviews.
  • Even though these two locations are hundreds of miles from the International Broadcast Center in Johannesburg, Cisco TelePresence technology negates the need for ESPN to send news trucks to the host cities, creating an "always available" virtual studio.
  • ESPN will televise exclusive World Cup reports from Cape Town and Port Elizabeth on the network's news and information shows.

Ball in the Fan's Goal: Dynamic Video Experience

  • Most soccer enthusiasts will want to maximize their viewing experience with access to more behind-the-scenes footage. Cisco TelePresence gives ESPN the opportunity to present a larger number of interviews with players, coaches and analysts.
  • All Cisco TelePresence interviews captured during the tournament will be converted to video files for posting and viewing on the ESPN Soccernet site.
  • This Cisco TelePresence technology will be used for remote face-to-face interactions for other upcoming sporting events.

Overtime: What's Next

  • As the TV business model continues to evolve, Cisco is innovating the way that sports and media organizations deliver content, providing a timely delivery of unique video content into the home and allowing fans to engage in richer ways with the sports and teams they love.
  • The Cisco TelePresence ecosystem will continue to expand worldwide, changing the game for how fans experience sports.

Executive Quotes:

  • "Having Cisco Telepresence in the arsenal of content-contribution tools ESPN is using in South Africa allows us to give fans unique content that brings the World Cup one step closer to home," said Rob Hunter, ESPN vice president for innovation. "Cisco TelePresence will connect fans and our audience to the action in Capetown and Port Elizabeth in ways that weren't previously possible."
  • "The 2010 World Cup is one of the largest global sporting events, and we're excited to join forces with ESPN to branch out and do something different, giving fans the ultimate viewing experience," said David Hsieh, vice president of marketing for emerging technologies, Cisco. "Cisco TelePresence technology is changing the way television organizations think about the connection between content creation and fan consumption of sports content."
  • "The World Cup is one of the premier sporting events that unite communities across the globe. It transcends borders, languages and cultures," said Paul Mountford, senior vice president of emerging markets, Cisco. "And as a global company that is focused on connecting communities through the collaborative use of technology, we're excited to work with ESPN in bringing interactive communications services to the residents of South Africa and beyond. Coupled with the new Internet connectivity that SEACOM is bringing to South Africa, the region has a unique opportunity to transform the lives of its citizens and make the tournament one of the most connected events in sports."

HTC Desire, Droid Incredible Will Get Google Android 2.2 update

Android 2.2. Update For HTC Phones http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
HTC has told Pocket-Lint that most but not all phone will get the recently announced Android 2.2 (Froyo) update. The Updates will reach these phone somewhere in the second half of the year.

"As we get closer to readiness, we'll reveal a full list, but for now have started with the most popular models like HTC Desire [in the UK] and Droid Incredible [in the US] as well as some of the hotly anticipated new phones.
Pocket-Lint

Lenovo ThinkPad Mini 10 With WiMAX seeks FCC Approval

Lenovo ThinkPad Mini 10 With WiMAX  http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Lenovo has submitted to FCC a what looks like a 10" subnotebook with factory installed WiMAX mini PCI card. I think it is the way to go for all notebook and netbook manufacturers, provide as much connectivity as possible. 3G, WiMAX and also the plain old wireless. Hope I can do a field WiMAX Test soon on a Thinkpad.
FCC

Cell Phone Fight With Dad Lands 16 Year Girl In Jail.

Cell Phone Tag With Dad Lands 16 Year Girl In Court http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
After refucing to give up the cell phone for breaking house rule and scratching her dad in the face, a 16 year old girl from Okaloosa County, Florida, landed in Police custody.
When a deputy attempted to interview the girl, she started crying and couldn’t provide her account of the incident, according to NWF Daily News. The deputy determined she was the primary aggressor.
The girl was charged with domestic battery and is due in juvenile court June 23.
Man I was a naughty kid but I did listen to my parents and even if I did not, I doubt I would land in jail.
NWF via Gizmodo

Seesmic For iPhone In The App Store, Manage Your Twitter / Facebook Accounts.

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
I have had Seesmic on my Google Phone for a while and I like it for what it does. (Seesmic was available on Android and BlackBerry for a while now). Looks like I will be able to use Seesmic on iPhone now.
Seesmic just announced the app for the iPhone and is in the App Store.

Features include:
✔ Seamlessly manage multiple Twitter accounts
✔ Explore and save Twitter Searches and Trending Topics
✔ Browse Twitter Lists, share your location by Geotagging your updates
✔ Facebook support
✔ Ping.fm support that lets you update dozens of social networks at the same time (including MySpace, Wordpress, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Flickr, Blogger, and many more!)
✔ Store updates into Evernote
✔ Post to multiple accounts at the same time
✔ Share photos to the photo sharing service of your choice
✔ Tons of other great features!
Looks like something I need!


iTunes

YPhone Coming Soon Via "Project Nike"? , Yahoo And Nokia To Announce On Monday!

Y!Phone, Yahoo And Nokia  http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
According to some invites the press and media has received from Yahoo to attend a briefing on coming Monday, indicates that we might be seeing yPhone (Y!Phone) soon. Either Yahoo is playing me too catch up game or Nokia is worried about Android inslought, Google Just announced Android 2.2 or FroYo with very attractive features.
"An exciting announcement about providing global consumers with rich online and mobile experiences, and bringing forward a new era in keeping consumers connected."
May be Project Nike will spur Nokia to start making some serious smartphones.
ATD via engadget

Thursday, May 20, 2010

SIP Forum and the i3 Forum Join Forces To HelpThe Interoperability Of SIP Based Carrier Services, Fax over Internet Protocol (FoIP)

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
NORTH ANDOVER, MA (May 20, 2010) - Leading technology industry associations the SIP Forum and the i3 Forum have joined forces to help spur the interoperability of SIP-based carrier services, including Fax-over-Internet-Protocol (FoIP) interoperability on a global basis. The two organizations have been collaborating and will continue to collaborate on a number of initiatives to resolve deployment and interoperability challenges posed by next-generation fax communications while bringing equipment vendors and service providers together in the process.

"The interoperability of fax-over-IP has been a priority for the SIP Forum for some time, and the i3 Forum has had a similar focus," said Richard Shockey, SIP Forum Chairman of the Board. "The partnership is a natural one and we expect it to yield tangible results in the near future as FoIP becomes a universally deployed telecom application in next-generation IP-based networks."


The partnership brings together two premier organizations tasked with similar missions - to accelerate the deployment of IP-based communications worldwide - but with different stakeholder communities. The SIP Forum features a broad membership of primarily telecom applications, services, and infrastructure vendors, as well as a growing list of US-based cable operators and service providers. The i3 Forum's global membership focuses on international service providers.

"A key objective of this partnership is to create a global coalition of stakeholders in the telecom community - operators, researchers, engineers and equipment vendors - and work together to better address FoIP technology issues in order to speed its deployment in IP network environments," said Philippe Millet, Chairman, i3 Forum. "Collectively we will work to develop concrete proposals and recommended solutions."


As done since last January, the SIP Forum leadership and its FoIP Task Group will continue working with i3 Forum membership committees on joint technical initiatives pertaining to FoIP. Collectively, the two groups will address key interoperability issues pertaining to the deployment of fax services, specifically ITU-T T.38, in SIP-based networks. The challenges surrounding IP-based fax and the use of T.38 make it difficult for users to determine if T.38 can or will work reliably and thus offer a viable alternative to traditional TDM-based fax transport.

The SIP Forum's FoIP Task Group, first launched in late 2008 to address the technical and interoperability challenges involving the transmission of fax documents over a SIP-enabled network, outlined these issues in the fall of 2009 in its FoIP Problem Statement v.1.0, and more recently with the publication of the T.38 SIP-SDP Problem Statement.

The FoIP Task Group leadership includes Mike Coffee, CEO of Commetrex, and Gonzalo Salgueiro of Cisco, who serve as Task Group Co-Chairs; Max Schroeder, Sr. VP. Faxcore, who serves as the Task Group Whip; and document editors including Michael Chen, LSI Corporation, and Kevin P. Fleming, Director of Software Technologies, Digium, Inc.

Active FoIP Task Group participants include representatives from companies including Alcatel-Lucent, AEMcom, AT&T, AudioCodes, Biscom, Cox Communications, Dialogic Corporation, Digium Inc., C4U Solutions, Cisco Systems, Inc., Commetrex Corporation, Comunycarse, DevFoundry Software, emFAST, Faxback Inc, Faxcore, Lexmark, LSI Corporation, NeuStar Inc., Nortel, Omnitor, Opentext, Orange, Packetizer, Sagem-Interstar Inc., Samsung, Siemens Enterprise Communications Group, Sonus Networks, Telecom Poland, and Teridian Semiconductor Corp.

With more than 37 telecommunications carriers/operators in 80 countries, the i3 Forum is focused on collaborating with the worldwide communications community to expedite the transition of voice and related communications services to ones based on Internet Protocol (IP). Within i3 Forum, the WorkStream "Technical Aspects" Working Group plans to deliver in October, following the outcome of the July 2010 ITU-T SG16 meeting, a document devoted to addressing the specification guidelines for fax gateways together with the recommended test suites.
About the SIP Forum

The SIP Forum is an IP communications industry association that engages in numerous activities that promote and advance SIP-based technology, such as the development of industry recommendations, the SIPit interoperability and testing events, special interoperability workshops, educational seminars, special interest groups, and general promotion of SIP in the industry. One of the Forum's notable technical activities is the development of the SIPconnect Technical Recommendation - a standards-based recommendation that provides detailed guidelines for direct IP peering and interoperability between IP PBXs and VoIP service provider networks. The SIPconnect Compliant Certification Program is an associated program through which eligible companies can gain SIPconnect validation and the right to license the use of the SIP Forum's 'SIPconnect Compliant' certification mark - the official brand of the leading standard for SIP Trunking products and services. Other important Forum initiatives include work in Fax-over-IP interoperability, User Agent Configuration, and the opportunities for SIP in Smart Grid deployments. For more information, please visit: www.sipforum.org.

About the i3 Forum

The i3 Forum brings together the communications expertise of more than 37 telecommunications operators representing a combined retail base in excess of one billion customers in over 80 countries. The goal of the i3 Forum is to develop collaborative recommendations for an industry-wide transition of voice and related services to Internet Protocol (IP). The forum's unified effort to expedite global IP-based voice implementation will enhance worldwide communication by supporting widespread access to innovative and high quality IP-based services and applications. For more information, please visit: www.i3forum.org.

For further information, please contact:

John Gates
Elevate Communications
(617) 861-3651
m: (617) 548-8972
john@elevatecom.com

Marc Robins
President and Managing Director, SIP Forum
(718) 548-7245
marc.robins@sipforum.org

Alessandro Forcina
Chairman WS "Technical Aspects," i3 Forum
Telecom Italia Sparkle
+ 39-06-5274 4054
alessandro.forcina@telecomitalia.it

john@elevatecom.com

Google TV Platform, A joint effort by Google, Intel, Logitech and Sony .

Updated to Provide a link to TV meets web. Web meets TV.
"Google TV Set top Boxes" http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
While Google, Intel, Logitech and Sony Join Together to Deliver Google TV Platform, DISH Network, Best Buy, Adobe will be Bringing Devices to Market.

While many TV solutions haphazrdly put together exists today, Google TV combines the entire Web and all available TV content in one place, with one interface – eliminating the need to toggle back and forth between multiple screens. Logitech and Sony have stepped up to the plate to deliver set top boxes for the service, for now. But I expect to see many more joining the effort. We too are excited about google TV but here is the press release by Logitech.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (May 20, 2010) — Today at the Google I/O developer conference in San Francisco, leading industry players announced the development of Google TV—an open platform that adds the power of the web to the television viewing experience, ushering in a new category of devices for the living room. Intel, Sony, and Logitech, together with Best Buy, DISH Network and Adobe, joined Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) on stage to announce their support for Google TV.

Over the past decade, the Internet has created unprecedented opportunity for innovation and development across the world, but so far the web has largely been absent from living rooms. With Google TV, consumers will now be able to search and watch an expanded universe of content available from a variety of sources including TV providers, the web, their personal content libraries, and mobile applications.

Search across TV, Web, and Apps

Google TV is based on the Android platform and runs the Google Chrome web browser. Users can access all of their usual TV channels as well as a world of Internet and cloud-based information and applications, including rich Adobe® Flash based content – all from the comfort of their own living room and with the same simplicity as browsing the web. When coupled with the Intel® Atom™ processor CE4100, Intel’s latest system-on-a-chip designed specifically for consumer electronics, the new platform will offer home theatre quality A/V performance. Sony and Logitech said they would be delivering products based on the new Intel Atom processor and running Google TV later this year. While Google TV is designed to work with any TV operator, at launch the user experience will be fully optimized when paired with DISH Network.

Google TV expands video choice from the hundreds of channels available today through a pay TV provider to the vast storehouse of video content available through the web and streaming videos. The Google TV experience is complemented by the ability to watch streaming video from leading content platforms, including Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand, and YouTube. Google TV will also have the capability to run apps from the Android Market.

To navigate the array of content that will now be available through a single device and on a single screen, Google TV introduces an integrated search experience to help viewers easily find relevant content across over-the-air and pay-TV channel listings, DVR, and the Internet, as well as a picture-in-picture layout to access multiple windows simultaneously. Google TV also features an innovative home screen to help viewers quickly organize their favorite content and personalize their TV viewing experience. Some of these features are only available with advanced integration from DISH Network.

Broad Alliance of Industry Leaders

Eric Schmidt, Google Chairman and CEO said,
“We are very proud to be working with this distinguished set of partners, all of whom have decades of experience in hardware, design and retail.”


Sony announced plans to introduce “Sony Internet TV,” the World’s first TV lineup incorporating the Google TV platform. The first models are planned to be introduced in the U.S. market in the Fall of 2010 with the lineup featuring both a standalone TV model and set top box-type unit incorporating a Blu-ray Disc drive.

Howard Stringer, Chairman, President and CEO, Sony Corporation said,
“I am delighted to announce the unique alignment of Google’s rapidly growing, open source Android platform with Sony’s unparalleled expertise in the field of TV design and technology. The addition of ‘Sony Internet TV’ will further bolster Sony’s comprehensive TV lineup and will fuse new levels of enjoyment and interactivity into the TV experience.”


Logitech will introduce a companion box that brings Google TV to existing HDTV home entertainment systems, easily integrating with any brand of HDTV and set-top box. The companion box will incorporate Logitech’s Harmony® remote control technology, and will include a controller that combines keyboard and remote control capabilities. The company also has plans to introduce an HDTV camera and video chat for Google TV, along with additional choices for navigation and control, including apps to turn a smart phone into an advanced controller for Google TV and home-entertainment systems.

Gerald Quindlen, President and CEO, Logitech said,
“We committed to Google TV early on because it aligns with our strategy to support open platforms that enable new immersive experiences in the digital living room. While Google TV enables seamless discovery of all your content, Logitech enables seamless control over how you experience that content. We look forward to continued collaboration with Google and the developer community to create new Google TV experiences that have yet to be imagined.”


The Intel Atom CE4100 processor will power both the Logitech and Sony devices. Paul Otellini, Intel President and CEO praised the collaborative effort and said TV as we know it was being “reinvented.” “Today marks the next step in the evolution of TV. TV’s are becoming smarter as a result of the microprocessor and the Internet. Traditional TV programming will be merged seamlessly with the infinite amount of content on the Internet to enable every viewer to determine what they want to watch, when they want it. This is Moore’s Law transforming television, powered by the performance of Intel microprocessors.”

DISH Network has been a key partner with Google on advanced integration development for Google TV. The two partners began a joint trial over a year ago with more than 400 DISH Network and Google beta users. Based on the continuous feedback from the trial, Google and DISH Network have built the optimized Google TV experience that seamlessly integrates traditional TV, DVR and web content.

Charlie Ergen, Chairman, President and CEO of DISH Network, said,
“Google TV marks the next evolution in television, and we are excited to be the first to partner with Google to bring this experience to our customers. Only DISH Network Google TV customers will be able to enjoy a unified search across TV, DVR and web; easily find related content; and manage their entire TV viewing experience. Additionally, the advanced integration will allow developers to create new and exciting applications to enrich the TV viewing experience.”


Best Buy will bring their retail experience and consumer expertise to the project, with Google TV devices being sold at Best Buy locations nationwide later this year.
“Every day, our 180,000 Blue Shirt store employees and Geek Squad Agents work with our customers to get them the best home theater experience possible”, said Brian Dunn, CEO Best Buy, “We are thrilled about the new and exciting experiences smart TVs, like Google TV, provide to our customers - and we are looking forward to showcasing those experiences in our store and ensuring customers get connected to all the products and services that bring those experiences to life.”


Finally, Adobe Flash Player 10.1 will be integrated directly into the Google Chrome browser on Google TV, enabling viewers to experience tens of millions of web pages with rich Flash content including games, animations, applications, videos, audio and more. Shantanu Narayen, President and CEO, Adobe said,
“An open web ecosystem offers endless opportunities for creativity and innovation. Flash Player 10.1 extends the advantages of full web browsing and consistent, rich experiences to smartphones, tablets, netbooks and Internet-connected TVs. We’re thrilled to be part of the Google TV initiative with other industry leaders who share a common vision of enabling access to the best web experiences possible.”
Opportunity for Developers

The demonstration at I/O highlighted the unique opportunity developers have to help shape the future of Google TV. Today Google announced that they would soon release a set of TV specific APIs for web applications, encouraging web developers to begin building unique web applications for use on television sets. Later this year Google will also release an updated Android SDK, which will support applications built for Google TV.

Google also plans to open source the Google TV platform to help spur innovation in the industry and so that other developers can benefit from the project. The long term goal is to collaborate with the entire developer community to help drive entertainment in the living room forward and to introduce the next generation of TV-watching experience.

For more information about the project visit google.com/tv.
Logitech

Google TV Is A Reality, Shows Coming This Fall

Google TV I want my GTV http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
I want my GTV has been hanging around looking, waiting for Google to release Google TV. It was in May 2007 that we thought Google TV will materialize, and created the I want my GTV site (actually a blog). But Today at Google IO, Google told us that Google TV will be coming this fall! Yay!

Find our more on Google TV and learn how to make web apps and Android apps.

Android 2.2, Codename Froyo, Announced

We have spoken about the Android FroYo (Android 2.2) before but today Google announced the Android FroYo at Googlr I/O.
Android 2.2 or the aptly name FroYo will bring new functionality, like Adobe Flash within Android Browser, capability to make your phone a portable hotspot and bunch of tools for the <180000 developers. Android Handsets are selling at the rate of 100,000 a day and if you don't have one expect to see a sweet Android near you very soon. You can read more about FroYo at Android Developer Blog.

Digium's Switchvox Phone System Wins CRN's Everything Channel Midmarket Value Product Award

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
CRN Magazine has recognized Digium’s Switchvox® SMB AA355, a bundled IP Telephony,VoIP and Unified Communications (UC) solution as a Top Midmarket Product.

“With midmarket IT spending growing, vendors are aggressively targeting the CIOs of midsize organizations, The vendors on this year’s list have positioned their technology for midsize enterprises and have proven their commitment to the technology channel.  Congratulations to all of the vendors on this year’s list.” voiced the VP, Editorial Director of Everything Channel Kelley Damore,

Among the winners were Google , HP, IBM and many others.
Press release

Everything Channel Names the Winners of the Midsize Enterprise Summit East's 'Midmarket Innovation Awards' and 'Midmarket Value Product Awards'
Apr 21, 2010
BOCA RATON, Fla., April 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Everything Channel, a UBM company, today announced the winners of Midsize Enterprise Summit East's 'Midmarket Innovation Awards' and the 'Midmarket Value Product Awards.'  The awards are a proven springboard to increased brand awareness and product credibility in the midmarket.

The 'Midmarket Innovation Awards' are the only awards in the midmarket industry targeted to IT executives which are voted on solely by the attending IT decision-makers who directly influence their customers' technology buying decisions.  After two days of boardroom presentations and one-on-one meetings, the decision-makers vote on the products and services presented at the show.
The winners of the 'Midmarket Innovation Awards' include:
  • Best Midmarket Solution – Hardware:  HP Intel
  • Best Midmarket Solution – Software:  Qlikview
  • Best Midmarket Solution – Services:  Google
  • Best Execution of a Midmarket IT Solution:  Trigeo
  • Best Presentation:  Trigeo
  • Best of Show:  HP Intel

The Midsize Enterprise Summit created a new awards program for the 2010 event named the 'Midmarket Value Product Awards.'  The awards highlight the top ten products recognized by CRN Magazine across five categories, including networking, data center, storage, security, and productivity applications that have been successful with VARs and CIOs in the midmarket market.
Midmarket Value Product Award Winners:
  • Security:   TriGeo Network Security Information Management (SIM) Version 5
  • Productivity Apps:  IBM Cognos Express
  • Data Center:  Vmware ESXi vSphere4
  • Storage:  Compellent Storage Center 5
  • Networking: Digium AA355 Switchvox PBX

Midmarket Value Product Award Finalists:
  • Storage:  Dell Equalogic PS Series
  • Security:  Kaspersky Mobile 8.0
  • Networking:  LifeSize 220 Series Telepresence
  • Productivity Apps:  Intuit QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions
  • Data Center:  Riverbed Technology Steelhead WAN Optimization Appliances

The Midmarket Value Product winners and runner-ups were selected via a nomination process involving CRN's editorial staff, solution providers and CIOs of midsize organizations.  Selections were based on customer service, how well the vendor's technology fit a midsize enterprise and the vendor's commitment to solution providers serving midmarket customers.
"Our awards programs embrace innovation and success for technology companies in the midmarket," said Nancy Hammervik, Senior Vice President of Everything Channel Events.  "We congratulate the winners on their success."
The awards were presented at the Summit held April 18-21 at the Boca Raton Resort.  The Midsize Enterprise Summit, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, brought senior IT executives from midsize businesses together with industry analysts and leading and emerging vendors. The event embraced midmarket-specific issues, trends and solutions from a horizontal and vertical industry-specific perspective. The business intensive format includes analyst-led sessions, vendor-led World Premiers, Private Boardroom Appointments, a Showcase of Exhibits, as well as networking functions.
For additional information on the Midsize Enterprise Summit East, visit: http://www.everythingchannelevents.com/mese10.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Software For The Dead Only!, under Death and Repudiation License

Death and Repudiation License http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
It is sometimes nice to be able to laugh about software licenses. Among thousands of open source licenses, the following stands out very well. The software under following license is only usable by dead (and living too under a different license). I think to prove the point the website software producer is dead today or only accessible by dead. I could not. Here is a link to the codebase of Syck (a PHP extension for swiftly parsing YAML), see if it is worth dieing for. If not you can use the software under BSD license.

SYCK via Slashdot

D&R (Death and Repudiation) License
===================================
This software may not be used directly by any living being. ANY use of this
software (even perfectly legitimate and non-commercial uses) until after death
is explicitly restricted. Any living being using (or attempting to use) this software
will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
For your protection, corpses will not be punished. We respectfully request
that you submit your uses (revisions, uses, distributions, uses, etc.) to
your children, who may vicariously perform these uses on your behalf. If
you use this software and you are found to be not dead, you will be punished
to the fullest extent of the law.
If you are found to be a ghost or angel, you will be punished to the fullest
extent of the law.
After your following the terms of this license, the author has vowed to repudiate
your claim, meaning that the validity of this contract will no longer be recognized.
This license will be unexpectedly revoked (at a time which is designated to be
most inconvenient) and involved heirs will be punished to the fullest extent
of the law.
Furthermore, if any parties (related or non-related) escape the punishments
outlined herein, they will be severely punished to the fullest extent of a new
revised law that (1) expands the statement "fullest extent of the law" to encompass
an infinite duration of infinite punishments and (2) exacts said punishments
upon all parties (related or non-related).

Skype Manager, A Multi-functional Business Tool For Skype Business Users.

Skype Manager http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/


Skype just announced a new tool, Skype Manager. Skype Manager is a multi-functional business tool that lets you centrally manage Skype across your company. You can add members, allocate Skype Credit, assign features, and monitor usage and allocations. The new tool replaces Skype Business Control Panel (BCP). Among other things, it has a new Dashboard feature.
If you are using Skype for SIP (Which is how we connect our VoIP IP Telephony network to Skype Network)that too could be managed via the new Skype Manager. Using the product is pretty simple that the Skype team was able to present you a quick start instructions with graphics in a three page PDF.
You can find more information about Skype Manager Here

WEBM, New Royalty Free Video Codec From Google, Mozilla, Adobe and Opera Challenges H.264

WEBM Project http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
The success of many web or internet owe it to free and open technologies such as HTML, HTTP, TCP/IP, etc. Even VoIP IP Telephony succeeded largely due to open technologies and implementations. But Video always had to rely on proprietary technologies such as H.264 codec and always were restrictive in development, general usage and presentation. But that too have come to pass.
Let me introduce WebM, a community effort to develop a media format for the open web that will deliver free and open technology. WEBM Project released a developer preview of WEBM and is available for download and develop for everyone, free.
WEBM is;

  • VP8 Video Codec, a high-quality video codec we are releasing today under a BSD-style, royalty-free license
  • Vorbis, an already open source and broadly implemented audio codec
  • a container format based on a subset of the Matroska media container
More than being free and open, WEBM project and it's technologies like VP8 Video codec, Vorbis Audio Codec are backed by industry giants like Google, Mozilla, Opera, Adobe, and many others who are also part of IP Telephony community.
The WebM Project and the the distribution of the WebM VP8 Codec SDK (WebM VP8 Encoder WebM VP8 Decoder) are available here.

Bubbly Allows To Send Tweet Like Messages With Voice.

Bubbly A Voice Twitter http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Previously there was very few way to do voice based twitter. One could have Call Into Twitter With Twitterfone or one could Tweetcasts with TwieetMicto name a few. But now you can get Bubbly and do the same but without twitter.
Bubbly allows one to record and broadcast messages from any mobile phone. Basically BubbleTalk™ is way to record and send voice messages to anyone in the world without actually having to call! I would ask why? But some may find it is a fun and exciting alternative to text SMS, like they do in India right now. Do not expect to save a lot unless you have unlimited data and SMS. But the attractiveness of the service it works across all phones and providers.

The service has turned into a voice blogging service that is becoming famous in India. In India people mostly use mobile phone than landlines for the lack of infrastructure. But Movie stars and companies are using this service for their advantage. Once a Bubbly user posts a bubble and inform his followers, they will listen and forward creating Bubbly Crowds.
To start voice-blogging, you enter a short code onto your phone, and start recording your messages. When a users records audio messages and updates, followers can listen in whenever they want.  To follow another voice-blogger, users dial the phone number for whomever they want to follow. Whenever there’s a new audio update, followers are notified via SMS with instructions on how to listen.  Bubbly is an extension of BubbleTalk, a click, talk, and send’ messaging service that doesn’t require any calling. They already have partnerships with mobile operators world over.
Bubbly via Techcrunch

Friday, May 14, 2010

OpenSIPS will Be At SIPit 26, To Test Interoperability.

SIPit 26 http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
The SIPit, or Session Initiation Protocol Interoperability Test, is a week long event held to assist people and companies involved in SIP implementations to ensure they work well with each other.
OpenSIPS project will be there on May 17-21 to perform tests on IPv6, presence integration and presence aggregation and B2BUA functionality of OpenSIPS.
SIPit 26 will be held in Kista - the telecom valley outside Stockholm, Sweden on May 17-21, and will be hosted by Edvina and TANDBERG and sponsored by Ingate, Intertex and .se.
I will not be attending SIPit this year.

Register at SIPit at EDVINA

A Closer Look At Next Apple iPhone, iPhone HD or iPhone 4G


iPhone HD or iPhone 4G http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
By now the whole world knows what next apple iPhone will look like and what Apple does to keep their secrets secret, like breaking into peoples house, of course with law enforcement. I have been following Gizmodo for a long time and you will always find a link Gizmodo from here linking to what we liked.
So of course when Apple released it's hounds, after getting the phone back, they tried to look and behave it is not us! But I guess for being member of the law enforcement unit that looks after tech assets, has it's perks. I am beginning to wonder about even the fake Steve Jobs.
In any case the saga continues, people got the related papers unlocked, which showed that Steve Jobs himself called to ask for the device back. Well Gizmodo had means to defend itself, but I wonder what happened to the guy the video below?

But for your pleasure, Gizmodo has got all the posts together in one place, all the titles below, so you can follow up and stay current with the story.

  • How Apple lost the next iPhone
  • How Apple missed chances to get the device back
  • How Apple asked to get their phone back
  • All the details about the next iPhone including a dissection
  • How Apple conceals prototype iPhones
  • Another lost iPhone shows new details
  • Why it's not about the iPhone
  • Conspiracy theorists: Why Apple didn't leak the iPhone to us
  • The Investigation into that missing iPhone
Finally you can see a beter phone here

Nexus One To Leave Online Store, To Come To A Store Near You.

Nexus One, the Nexus of Android phone development and marketing (so far) that managed to beat iPhone :) is taking another turn for the better. Nexus One will come to existing retail channels all over the world, sitting next to other well liked Android handsets, like the HTC Evo 4G from Sprint and the Verizon Droid Incredible by HTC.
The online Store went well with the early adopters and tech savvy people, everyone else wanted to see and handle the phone before plonking down hard earned money.
The Nexus One Online store will eventually become the showcase for many varieties of Android Phones and Android Devices available from manufacturers strewn all over the world.

More retail availability. As we make Nexus One available in more countries we’ll follow the same model we’ve adopted in Europe, where we're working with partners to offer Nexus One to consumers through existing retail channels. We’ll shift to a similar model globally.

From retail to viewing. Once we have increased the availability of Nexus One devices in stores, we'll stop selling handsets via the web store, and will instead use it as an online store window to showcase a variety of Android phones available globally.

Official Google Blog: Nexus One changes in availability

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/

University Students Get Google Voice Invites

Google Voice Invites for students. http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Google is looking in to providing the communication medium to students. This sector of the market is the most active and could be associated with the TXTing, always on the phone crowd, next to high schoolers. They are also the most secluded crowd as well. While in the class, which could be one hour to two hours, there no way to answer phones or call out to someone. But these students are able to sneak in a TXT message or a short email while pretending to listen to the lecturer. I think most do so.
Google voice have attending two parts of the student communication equation;
1 Free TXTing allowing students to save precious $$ for ham burghers or salads.
2 Get transcribed voice mail sent to them as emails, all these on their mobile phones or notebooks.
They also get a free phone number or they will be able to use their current number.
I think it is a good move on Google's part because this will attract tomorrows users. Apple and Microsoft may give discounts but nothing beats free, even if it is only free TXTing and Free Phone numbers.
So it is easy to get Google Voice, if you have an email address that ends in ".EDU", like Good.student@best.University.EDU, you can head over to google.com/voice/students
Google Voice Blog: Google Voice invites for students

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