Archive for October 4th, 2008
TOM-Skype Breach: Stated Risks
This excerpt from the eBay Form 10K for the year ending 2006, Item 1A: Risk Factors, page 32 (screen 36 in the PDF), refers to Tom Online. TOM Group took TOM Online private. Our operations in China are subject to risks and uncertainties relating to the laws and regulations of the People’s Republic of China. Our operations in the People’s Republic of China, or PRC, are conducted through our EachNet subsidiary, a recently announced joint venture between EachNet and Tom Online, ...
Google Chrome: One Month Later
Earlier this week, Profy.com’s Svetlana Gladkova sent an email reminding me that Google’s Chrome Browser was one month old. How time flies, and how quickly we forget: or at least I did. After my initial few posts and thoughts, Google Chrome has fallen off my attention radar since it is not available for my preferred computing platform – OSX X. I typically divide my browsing time between Safari and Camino. I have checked it out occasionally by booting it up on Windows running via Parallel...
fring Adds VoIP to iPhone
fring for iPhone has arrived! I’m a huge fan of fring, which I like to call the Swiss Army knife of VoIP/IM communications since fring works with AOL/AIM, MSN Messenger, Google Talk, Skype, Twitter, Yahoo! Messenger, and SIP registrars/IP-PBXs. I’ve used fring on my Windows Mobile 6.1 phone to connect to an Asterisk-based IP-PBX using SIP which enabled me to remotely make and receive calls. fring is a currently a free pre-release app free on iTunes. VoIP using fring is...
Beantown & Other Remains of The Week
The post Big-Dig Boston is actually a pretty and lovely town – I walked around in what could best be described as weepy October rain, looking at some of the older buildings and near empty streets. Unlike New York or London or New Delhi, Boston doesn’t pulsate with energy; instead you can feel the weight of its history. There were a lot of fantastic people I met on this trip, reminding me why I got into this business in the first place: people. Of course, it was also a great refresher in th...
Search within Search…and Flock
I’m trying to pay attention to what’s going on at WordCamp Toronto but squeezed in a few minutes to highlight a couple of interesting things discovered on the Web this week. In doing a search for The Guardian, this was the first result on Google. It’s search within search. As Flock continues its battle for a foothold in the browser market, it seems to be focusing more on meeting the needs of niches. Here’s Flock’s browser for the fashion/entertainment world. ItR...
The Virtues of a Three-Headed Business Plan
Daniel Meyerov, OnlyBusiness.com I was crazy enough to start two businesses at the same time — OnlyBusiness.com and Polaris Blue. My partner and I run them concurrently, and fortunately both have done well. No doubt we got lucky, but I want to share a concept critical to our success that might help other founders, especially in this uncertain market. Create three versions of your strategic plan, one each to address a different potential outcome for your business: the overnight success, slo...
fring iphone buzz
Fring is clearly tapping pent-up demand for access to Skype on mobiles. The enthusiasm for rejoining your Skype network is infectious. The biggest limits for me: no multichat support (a big part of my onlife), no background processing (like I only live in Skype?). Jim Courtney’s hands-on test may dampen your enthusiasm for fring on the iPhone. Have you had a good experience with fring? tags: skype, fring, iphone, apple Follow Phil Wolff on Twitter or FriendFeed or on Skype. Follo...
The End of Anti-Regulation
If you haven’t read Steve Labaton’s story in yesterday’s NYT on how one minor SEC rule-making caused today’s absolutely foreseeable financial collapse, do it! As you read, do this mental exercise: every time Labaton writes Merrill Lynch or Lehman Brothers think AT&T or Verizon, every time you read SEC think FCC. Et cetera.The current financial crisis has shown that competition is no substitute for regulation. If competition were king, you’d think that Bear Ste...
Making Skype Calls from Fring for iPhone
Earlier today Fring, known for aggregating various IM and VoIP services onto a mobile phone, announced Fring for iPhone had become available on the Apple App Store. So I gave it a tryout this evening, exchanging chat messages and then a couple of voice calls to Skype destinations. My quick comment: the other party’s voice was both a bit fuzzy and somewhat weak in volume. both other parties complained of some echo; I did not hear echo at my end. The call appeared to be going out over the i...
See, Video Games Are Good for You
Games and virtual reality simulators are becoming increasingly popular tools for training by the army, various police forces and even in medical applications. If a new pilot program called “InSight” pans out for Allstate, though, the next place you could be seeing video games is at the local DMV. Allstate is currently piloting a new program which seeks to find out if playing driving video games could make better drivers out of those over age 50. If the study shows that it can, the...
Best Buy Selling Musical Instruments — Making Real Guitar Heroes!
Look out Guitar Center and Sam Ash! Maybe you don’t think of them as gadgets, but Best Buy is adding musical instruments to its entertainment repertoire at roughly 85 stores nationwide. (Didn’t I just see you at Best Buy?) The stores will cater to novice and professional musicians and carry brands such as Fender, Gibson, Roland and Drum Workshop. The Best Buy in Pembroke Pines, FL, for example, features a 2,500-square-foot store-within-a store with more than 1,000 guitars, ...
Will the Credit Crunch Crimp Your Gadget Needs?
To Buy or Not To Buy? I am stuffing my mattress. No gadgets for me I am a Gadget Junkie, so I will keep buying My company buys gadgets for me Today’s launch of a $400 touch-screen e-Reader from Sony had me eager to whip out my credit card, but the mess on Wall Street stopped me cold. Even with the $700 billion bailout, there are going to be some serious consequences for companies — among them layoffs, lackluster earnings and the chance they wonR...
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News, opinions and announcements about fast changing communication tools and technologies, from various blogs and ezine.