Archive for July 8th, 2008
Three Screens Are Part of Our Lives Now — ‘Fer Sure
The first in a series of new “three-screen” reports by Nielsen shows an emerging shift toward a more video-centric use of the Internet, but not at the expense of television viewing. The report is an effort by Nielsen to “follow the video” as consumer viewing habits shift. The average American spent 127 hours of time with TV in May, up from 121 hours in May 2007; and 26 hours on the Internet, up from 24 hours last year. More than 282 million people watch television in a...
The Constitution Dies Tomorrow
Link Obama’s run to the center, OK, you gotta do whatcha gotta do. I’m not happy, but OK. I’m votin for ya. I don’t understand politix, but hey, I’m votin for ya. HOWEVER . . . when only 15 (+/-) senators support what’s written in black and white in the superseding Law of our Land . . . ? Perhaps the biggest surprise has been Timothy B. Lee’s excellent Ars Technica analysis. Glenn Greenwald has also done hero’s work over at Salon. I’m hoping...
NVCA Discovers That Most VCs Are White Males
The National Association of Venture Capitals released a demographic study today that was pretty anticlimactic. They discovered that venture capitalists in charge of investing money were white (88 percent) and male (86 percent.) But the trade organization was encouraged by the fact that 81 percent of junior venture capitalists (senior associates and associates) weren’t white, leading to hopes that the VC population overall will become more diverse. In the meantime, if you’re a member...
Freebox France offers VoIP, HD TV, and Internet for just 29.99 €/month
I just happened to be checking out our firewall logs and noticed traffic coming from 88.160.222.185. Curious, I did a whois and figured out it was coming from http://www.proxad.net/ which redirects to http://www.free.fr/adsl/. The first thing I noticed other than the fact that website is in French,– which I can’t read — is that they offer Internet + Telephone + Television for 29.99 €/month. I was able to figure that out since apparently Internet, Telephone, and Television do...
Xbox 360 Price Drop Coming
Yes, and it’s coming soon — as of July 13! This according to this account of new Xbox 360 store material that reveal a just less than $300 price tag that will make its weekend debut. So, if you can wait, you can save some cash … And let’s see if every retailer across our fair land is going to match that price — or it they will have the same in-store merchandising material to tout this new lower price. (Don’t you just love how you and I find out...
iPhone Prices in Canada Not so Bad…
…compared with New Zealand where Vodafone has introduced super-duper expensive plans that would make even Rogers blush. For NZ$250 (US/C$187), you get 600 voice-minutes and 1GB of data. In Canada, $115 gets your 800 minutes and 2GB of data, while AT&T in the U.S. provides 900 minutes and unlimited data for $89.99. Hat tip: Richard MacManus Technorati Tags: iPhone, New Zealand, puppy, Vodafone ...
Globalive Set to Enter Canadian Wireless Market - It’s the Network, Stupid!
I’m not following the AWS auction blow-by-blow, but it’s pretty clear at this point that Globalive is set to emerge as the big winner - so to speak. The federal government stands to earn a huge windfall - over $4 billion - for auctioning off the spectrum licenses - and I have no idea what they’re going to do with all this loot. Anyhow, once the dust settles, it looks like Canada will get a few new regional wireless operators, such as Shaw in the West, Videotron in Quebec and B...
Response Point - Small Office Phone System - Install 3
Yesterday marked my 3rd installation of a Response Point small office phone system. This time the customer opted for the Syspine system simply because of the Power over Ethernet features that Syspine has integrated. They are a small company based in Vancouver and needed a system that offered maximum flexibility, virtual operator features and could scale to 30 or 40 seats. Since they are all working during the day, having a receptionist answer the phone was not going to fly. When I showed them t...
BroadSoft announces Xtended Voice/VoIP Mashup Contest for Cash
Sheesh, what is this, VoIP Contest Day? I just blogged this morning about a SIP/IMS contest sponsored by mobilkom austria and now BroadSoft is launching a voice/VoIP mashup contest. They wrote me to say, “We’re looking for mashups that will revolutionize telephony services from today’s one-size-fits-all offerings to the Long Tail internet approach where users decide what services are valuable. Winners will receive cash, plus the opportunity to demo their mashup live in front o...
iPhone 3G Ready at 8 on Friday — Will You Be?
Not too far away is it? Yes, let’s see what kind of lines the on-sale kickoff of the new Apple iPhone draws on Friday? The doors will be open at 8:00 AM. Will sales be effected by this lousy economy? Or will there still be plenty of folks shelling out hard-earned cash (as in the case of plastic) for this new cool gadget? Will be very curious to sell how sales ring up across the country … Will u b there? Tags: apple inc., iphone Related Entries Apple iPhone 2.0: Twice as Mu...
Is the iPhone a PR Fiasco for Rogers?
Ever since Rogers came out with its 3G iPhone plans, it has taken a public relations pounding. This has seen a wave of negative blog coverage, an online petition that has attracted more than 50,000 people, critical newspaper editorials, a lot of consumers dismissing plans to get an iPhone, and a temper tantrum from Apple, which has decided not to sell the iPhone at its Apple stores in Canada In response, Rogers has done little. Sure, it’s had a spokesperson available to the media but this ...
GupShup, a Twitter-Like Service, Gets $10 Million
SMSGupShup, an SMS-based group messaging/microblogging service from Webaroo, is close to announcing that it has raised $10 million in new capital from Helion Ventures and Charles River Ventures. News of pending deal was first reported by some blogs in India. In its original form, Webaroo — a startup co-founded by Rakesh Mathur, formerly of Junglee, and Beerud Sheth, formerly of eLance — was going nowhere fast, until the company launched the SMSGupShup service, which has taken on a life...
Virtualize This: VMware CEO Out, Stock Tanks, Big Revenue Miss
Wow…this came as a complete and total surprise. VMware has announced that Diane Greene, president and CEO of the hot virtualization company is leaving and will be replaced by Paul Maritz, whose company, Pi Corp., was acquired by EMC Corp. back in February. I am flummoxed by this move since VMware has been on an upswing and despite increased competition, has been pretty bullish about the future. Greene didn’t give any hint to her departure when I met her at a recent tech gathering. M...
Awesome Adtran & Digium article
Just came across a great article in The Huntsville Times titled “Twin visions for telecom Digium, ADTRAN follow opposite tracks” which discusses and compares ADTRAN and Digium. Both companies are based in Huntsville, Alabama, a best-kept-secret when it comes to technical talent and often referred to as “the “Silicon Valley of the South”. In the article, Digium CEO Danny Windham calls the Huntsville/Madison County area “a hidden secret.” Traditionally roo...
A1 InnovationDays Contest looking for Creative SIP & IMS Apps
Received a tip about an interesting VoIP/SIP/IMS developer’s challenge. Relatedly, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention TMC’s Communications Developer show in L.A. California September 16-18th, which is co-located with ITEXPO - one of, if not the best attended communications/telecom show. The Communications Developer show targets developers and focuses on VoIP development, IMS, open source, security, and more. It also includes a SIP Development Workshop. Now onto the challenge...
Signed up for Medicare!
Ouch. I don’t remember giving informed consent to becoming this old. Alternative is worse, though. In case anyone else is ancient, Medicare starts at the beginning of the month in which you turn 65. Not knowing that almost made me procrastinate too long. Forcing factor for us is that our private insurance will terminate if we don’t do all the Medicare stuff on a timely basis and make Medicare our primary payer; found that out in a nice letter from Blue Cross which, unfortunately, sp...
Sangoma Acquires Paraxip - More Canadian Consolidation
The Canadian tech/telecom vendor space has been busy of late. Last week, Ottawa-based IPTV middleware vendor Espial announced its acquisition of Kasenna. Yesterday, Toronto-based Sangoma Technologies acquired Montreal-based Paraxip Technologies. Like Espial, it’s a small deal between small companies - $4.8 million - but another nice example of low level industry consolidation. I’m familiar with both companies, and have done work with Sangoma as a client. Sangoma has actually been aro...
Sangoma Acquires Paraxip - More Canadian Consolidation
The Canadian tech/telecom vendor space has been busy of late. Last week, Ottawa-based IPTV middleware vendor Espial announced its acquisition of Kasenna. Yesterday, Toronto-based Sangoma Technologies acquired Montreal-based Paraxip Technologies. Like Espial, it’s a small deal between small companies - $4.8 million - but another nice example of low level industry consolidation. I’m familiar with both companies, and have done work with Sangoma as a client. Sangoma has actually been aro...
Aastralink RP Deput Coincides with Microsoft Response Point SP1 release
As I wrote back in March, the Microsoft Response Point Service Pack 1 (SP1) release would coincide with Aastra’s Response Point phone system debut, which is interesting when you consider Aastra got into the IP-PBX game with a Microsoft IP-PBX competitor - the AastraLink Pro 160 appliance, an Asterisk IP-PBX derivative. Well, today marks the launch of Microsoft Response Point SP1 and the Aastra Response Point system aptly named the AastraLink RP. Before I go into the AastraLink RP, let ...
Preview of today’s Squawk Box (July 8) - WiFi in cars, answering phones with fingers in your ear…
Is the fact that Chrysler is turning some of their 2009 cars into WiFi hotspots a good thing? And would you really want to answer a phone call by sticking your finger in your ear? Those are some of the topics we’re going to be discussing on today’s Squawk Box conference call/podcast at 11am US Eastern time. You can see the links to the articles and join the conversation through either: http://apps.facebook.com/calliflower/conf/show/34611 (if you have a Facebook account) http://app...
CxO’s - Linchpins in Bringing Business to Technology
Since 1996 I have been involved in buying Dell laptops and desktop PC’s, not only for my own use but also helping friends and non-profits acquire PC’s for their personal and business needs. A constant throughout most of that period was that each of these PC’s came with a digital media offering called Musicmatch. Not only an audio player, Musicmatch’s client could also "rip" CD’s and assist in managing your media library. In fact, I even bought a couple of ...
“Oh Sh*t This is It!” Moments
Every once in a while there will be a time in your life when the expression, “Oh Sh*t this is it” pops into your head. Recognize this for what it’s worth and understand from that moment forward there is no turning back. Your “Oh sh*t this is it!” moments transcend both your personal and work life. These moments usually come without warning and depending upon the context, they sometimes result in a personal ReBoot. Sometimes we know an Oh Sh*t This is It! momen...
Is voicemail dead? Our Squawk Box discussion…
On yesterday’s Squawk Box podcast, we had a lively and enjoyable conversation on the subject of “Is Voicemail Dead?” - building off of Michael Arrington’s recent TechCrunch post and Andy Abramson’s followup post. It was a fun conversation with different perspectives that definitely highlights that the way in which we are using voice messaging is definitely changing. You can listen to the show from the Saunderslog page or in iTunes. The Calliflower show notes pag...
Rogers’ Blackberry Customers Should be Upset
Amid the furor over Rogers declining to sell the iPhone with consumer-friendly packages (e.g. unlimited data plans, a contract less onerous than three years), it has been interesting to hear little, if anything, from Rogers’ Blackberry customers. Truth be told, they should really be the ones pissed off when you do an apples vs. apples comparison of Rogers’ packages. Granted, the Blackberry is a different apple from the iPhone but for the sake of argument let’s agree they both f...
With Summize, Twitter To Buy a Clue
The big buzz of the evening is that Twitter, a San Francisco-based start-up that allows anyone to post short up to 140 character messages to its platform and thus broadcast them to one or many using different media such as web and mobile, is about to acquire Summize, a Potomac Falls, VA-based start-up that uses the Twitter API to search and find relevant messages on Twitter. The rumors of the deal were first reported by a little known blog (not anymore of course) by Josh Chandler. Subsequent t...
Why did Skype lose the Dell account to SightSpeed?
SightSpeed’s Berkeley, California headquarters Skype earned their way to two Dell gaming laptops in May 2006, the XPS M2010 and the XPS M1210. Back when this was all novel, Skype had an inside track. And now small and nimble SightSpeed secured a bigger presence with the world’s largest PC company. Congrats, SightSpeed! Why did Skype lose and SightSpeed win? Speculating: Since Then… Relationship turnover. The normal musical chairs of both Dell and Skype personnel. St...
DesignArt Wants a Slice of the 4G Pie
The move to 4G will not be cheap. Carriers must consider network upgrade costs and a refresh of their handsets, not to mention the issue of backhaul. Will they attempt wireless backhaul? Wait for fiber? One way or another, by 2013 carriers worldwide will invest some $163.5 billion in capital expenditures, with much of that going to 4G data services, according to data out today from ABI Research. In the meantime, carriers in developing countries will be spending about $131 billion on 2G and 3G u...
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News, opinions and announcements about fast changing communication tools and technologies, from various blogs and ezine.