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Shape of a frown
Friday, December 29, 2006
In celebration of the 2006 insanity holiday season, we've packed ourselves up and set out for a visit to The Family--—currently residing in the deepest darkest recesses of the Pacific Northwest.
My mom does have both electricity and running water; however broadband hasn't yet blazed a path through the impenetrable maze of bark and pine needles that surrounds their remote outpost cozy forest cabin. Actually, it's more mansion than cabin. Seriously, I tried to count the number of rooms but ran out of fingers and toes. My general impression is that they have a limitless number of rooms and staircases that randomly rearrange themselves through some kind of Hogwarts effect.
Just for kicks, we decided to plug my VoipStick in and give it a whirl. Mom walked into the office in the middle of Operation Voip Internet Phone on DialUp and noticed right off that there was a foreign object sticking out of her computer and boy oh boy did we catch heck over that. Apparently, there was some concern about the kids killing her computer via unknown software and stuff.
Luckily I had to take a Persuasive Speech class in college and we were able to talk her down from DEFCON 1 so we could carry on with our evil plan. Well, it was either that or the part where we didn't have to load any computer killing software onto her computer.
We got it launched, no problem and I made a quick test call to my brother's cell phone but even though everything was set up right we were 100% no voip joy.
Stay tuned for more fascinating adventures from the voip-less Northwest.
UnMerry Telecom Christmas
Saturday, December 23, 2006
More bad news for the telecos...market research firm In-Stat just released a report about the state of residential voip in the US. It doesn't bode well for traditional telecommunication companies in 2007.
It looks like there's a skosh over 9 million residential voip lines in the US. That adds up to nearly 8% of the total number of US households. I'd say that's a pretty good penetration rate for disruptive technology like voip internet phone service. They also said that 20% of all broadband households used voip. That's not too surprising, however the next bit of information they let out was a little unexpected.
Almost half (49%) of all residential voip households had permanently cut the traditional telecom cord--that's right; their only phone lines are voip lines. Looks like 2007 will be a banner year for voip. And possibly stockings full of coal for traditional phone companies. Think Santa's a voip fan?
Supersized
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Appealingly retro in a 1980's kind of way, this USB voip internet phone handset bypasses the microengineering that afflicts so many phones today and gives you something to hang onto.
It isn't hard to afford, either. $14.99 buys you a voip handset that's surprisingly versatile. Usually in this price range, you're locked into one or two softphone programs but this phone works with all kinds of programs.
- Fully functional calls to and from PSTN or voip networks
- USB 2.0
- Wall mountable
- Generously sized keypad
- Compatible with a range of service provider's softphone programs
Get it at computergeeks.com today!
Voip-on-a-stick
Monday, December 18, 2006
Literally. Everybody seems to be getting into the USB voip internet phone scene. Most of them look like a standard USB flash drive--tiny, rectangular; about as exciting as a pack of chewing gum. That also happens to harbor a bunch of proprietary voip softphone software tucked away between the foil wrappers, so I guess they're pretty exciting on the inside.
I love being able to take my voip programs and account information with me wherever I go. Plug the phone into the nearest available USB drive and your voip headset into the headphone and mic jacks and you're in business, without having to download or run any software on the machine you're using.
Anyway, I just turned my iPod into a USB voip phone and it got me thinking...why stop there? In fact, it should be even easier to pull off on a flash drive because you don't have to fool around with iTunes. Copy the programs you need to the USB drive of your choice and bam! Bob's your uncle; the one with a voip phone;-)
Voip is blue for Christmas
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Or it's gonna be. Maybe. Sony Ericsson just announced the HBV-100 VoIP Bluetooth kit, scheduled for release late Q4 2006...I don't know how to tell you this guys, but you're just about as late as you can get and still make that '06 deadline.
Is this Bluetooth voip internet phone headset going to make it into some lucky person's stocking, or are we looking at a launch more closely aligned with the Season of Resolutions, aka--some time in Q1 2007?
I'm voting for Xmas. Half of this sleek little voip adapter plugs into your laptop, while the other needs to be installed in your ear. With the entire assembly weighing in at less than an ounce, I'd be willing to bet that it won't be a pain to walk around with the HBV-100 super glued to the side of your head. Talk time is supposed to be around 13 hours, with a full 300+ for standby hours.
I've only got one question; what do they mean by this:
Note: Internet calling or the use of VoIP-related features may cause sound performance disruptions to the Bluetooth VoIP Kit HBV-100. Microsoft Windows, Windows XP or later is required.
Because it kind of sounds like they're saying if you use the Bluetooth VoIP adapter for voip, you'll have sound problems and I'm pretty sure that might totally harsh your voip scene.
Voip my ride
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
As I was laid up on the couch, riding out the tail end of food poisoning stomach flu pure and utter misery, I chanced upon MTV's Pimp My Ride, wherein rapper Xzibit conspires with the auto body gurus at Galpin Auto Sports to reinvent some lucky sod's car into the vehicle of their dreams.
The episode I saw involved a 1989 Land Rover that wound up with a whole bunch of crazy stuff, including:
- A custom built waterbed that is lit from below with a bazillion LEDs
- An onboard watermaker that scavenges moisture out of the surrounding air and filters it to produce drinkable water. They also provided him with a bottling setup, so he could bottle his own water.
- A satellite dish for the roof. So he could get online, watch TV and make voip internet phone calls--yes, that's what they said, "...cheap voip phone calls"
Thought you'd want to know :-)
Selling with Brochures, Door Hangings and Fliers
Monday, December 11, 2006
Offline sales require specialized marketing tools that have the ability to convert a sale for the agent. Besides making calls, an agent can do very well with door-to-door sales supported by brochures, door hangings and fliers.
Internet affiliate programs that offer offline sales channels usually provide these marketing materials in downloadable formats, usually Adobe’s Portable Document Format (a.k.a. PDF). These documents are print ready; all the agent has to do is to send them to the local printer (home or print shop).
The materials have a blank contact information section, where the affiliate can include his/her own contact information. Advanced affiliate programs provide accurate tracking by giving the ability for the affiliate to add his/hers new customers through an online account.
Filed under: what are they thinking?
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
This just in from India, sacred homeland of the outsourced call center--they're thinking of banning some types of voip internet phone service. You have got to be kidding. I mean, voip is the very technology that allowed stateside companies to pack up their expensive customer service departments and surreptitiously migrate them, in massive, v-shaped formations, to that mysterious land of spicy curry and Bollywood superstars.
Coincidentally, the customer service reps still have names that are right out of Middle America, but I'm not buying it. Call me cynical, but it's hard to believe that "Sally," with that beautifully syncopated Indian accent, is a) a native born English speaker, b) sitting in a windowless call center in Idaho, and c) has parents who saddled her with a name so foreign that she keeps forgetting what it is.
Humorous pronunciation aside, Indian call centers have come a long way, from merely approximating the stunningly ineffective homegrown call centers we've all grown up with, to providing actual, realtime solutions to consumers' problems. Come on guys, what gives?
You created a wildly successful industry which, admittedly, had some rough patches at first, but it's finally starting to mature. And now you're turning your backs on the very thing that makes it work, because you're not getting a big enough piece of the pie? Taxing the industry...that I can understand; throttling the underlying technology...not so much.
Wish in one hand
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
In late August, MobiBlu unleashed the mighty little Boxon on Korean gadget fanboys, but the rest of us are still waiting for a glimpse of the hybrid MP3 player/voip phone thingy.
Not only does it play DJ to your favorite tunes but plugging it into your laptop launches some kind of voip internet phone application. Don't hold me to that, though, since most of the documentation has yet to be translated from Korean.
Weighing in at, well...who knows, but the screen is only 1.7" so unless the Boxon happens to be made with some exotic, super dense material, I'm guessing that hauling it around won't tend to throw your back out.
Anyhow, aside from the playing of music and voiping of calls, Boxon also plays video, displays photos, is e-book capable, and comes pre-loaded with an English-Korean dictionary. So much good stuff in such a diminutive package. Keep your fingers crossed that it makes to our corner of the globe.
Still think net neutrality is a non-issue?
Friday, December 01, 2006
Then Nokia wants to be your BFF. I just got the press release...Nokia is rolling out a software upgrade that lets them identify and block certain services, like voip internet phone calls or P2P sharing. Why would they do that? To preserve their market share. The only way to do that is strangle free access to voip services and substitute their own, higher priced version of voip calling. I seem to recall the UAE is pretty keen on that idea, too.
"With the explosion of affordable high-speed mobile data access, operators are now being challenged to make the best possible use of their networks, especially when peer-to-peer applications increase their traffic load and compete with their own services," says Roberto Loiola, Vice President, Marketing and Sales, Networks, Nokia. "The Nokia Peer-to-peer Traffic Control solution now gives operators the means to analyze and manage such traffic. It allows them to apply their business models by prioritizing the traffic of preferred services and partners, maximize their return on network investment, and avoid becoming only bit pipes for other content providers."
After all the problems I've been having lately with my flaky broadband connection, this latest development makes me really uncomfortable. Because aside from all the dropouts and unavailable pages, something of a pattern has emerged. Could be coincidence or not--but MSN certain sites have no problem coming up while Google Skype others are really hit and miss. I'm just saying...makes you think.
TiVo without a phone-o
Google the phrase "TiVo voip" and you'll wind up with a wad of fanboys in one hand screaming, "yes, it works great!" and a bunch of equally animated haters all emo about the whole process.
Which group is right? Unfortunately, both. It all hinges on how old your TiVo's operating system is. Those hatched earlier than v7.2 will need a phone line to transform their DVR from a sullen lump of cold, hard plastic to something approximating that cute TiVo mascot thingy. One guy, a die-hard cell/voip internet phone user, finally took his DVR to work-- ran it through a setup program, downloaded the updated OS and then, with a great flourish of trumpets...took his gadgetry home at the end of the day, in perfect working condition.
If, by chance, you caved in to the scaly little demon sitting on your left shoulder and bought a TiVo system without first finding out what OS it shipped with...well, you're just totally hosed. Hehehe. Kidding, I promise. Here's what you do:
- Carefully unwrap your precious from its squeaky, Styrofoam cocoon.
- Take a moment and inhale the heady mix of outgassing plastics. Try not to pass out.
- After you come to, rummage around in your recycling bin for the orange box your TiVo came in. Or, if you're single and without school aged offspring, simply pick it up off the floor. Everyone else with kids knows that letting cardboard touch anything other than the recycling bin is tantamount to harpooning baby dolphins. Seriously, I think that's what they're teaching them in school.
- However you manage, take that orange box and carefully inspect the underside until you locate the 12-digit UPC code. If you spy the letters "SS" next to your UPC code, throw that box in the air and do a little happy dance, because your unit is totally broadband capable.
- Should those magical letters fail to materialize, better put your adventure boots on because it's time to embark on the Great TiVo Setup Quest! [cue monkey sounds] Lucky you! Expect a few roadbumps along the way but probably, you won't have to sacrifice any virgins to get it working.
- As noted above, you'll have to beg, borrow, or steal a standard-issue phone line so you can setup the system and download a current OS.