Random Thoughts From An Idle Mind

Times Have Changed

A most defining moment occured today at the resort Helene (my fiance) and I are staying at for the wedding of a personal friend of 30 years. At breakfast we had our laptops at the communal table where many of the "parents" friends were seated, many reading copies of the New York Times and International Herald Tribune, both of which I read online.

Someone remarked that it was a shame we had to work, which was ironic, for I was reading the Times too, only digitally, not the dead tree version. You see, the older generation views anything with a keyboard as something one uses for work not as an information appliance. For those of us who enjoy being connected, it's a whole different story.

Earthlink and Level3 VoIP

As Earthlink rolls out more VoIP efforts they have chosen to work with Level3.

Level3 always has been wanting to be the carrier's carrier. With this signing, they continue to stay on that path.

PhoneGnome Creator Speaks Out

As a rule I tend not to blatently and overtly efuse praise for my clients and let others in the media and blogosphere do their talking for me. Call it professionalism, courtesy and respect for others and also to steer clear of hype.

One of the clients of our agency, and one that I not only use regularly, but believe in is TelEvolution and their breakout product, PhoneGnome. The reason I like it, is that PhoneGnome lets me do everything that VoIP and SIP are set up to do, without dislodging the PSTN world and all that it reliably still provides.

This past week founder David (Mr. Blog) Beckemeyer, who as an Internet veteran (he co-founded Earthlink), wrote a very passionate, polite and definiative post about the new world of telephony and pointed to a post by Aswath Rao. These are two smart dudes, far more technical than I could ever be when it comes to telephony.

David's very passionate post is a must read. Not only is it dead on the mark, but it builds a case for "network coexistance", not only neutrality, while also telling the world why PhoneGnome is there now with the idea of Network Coexistance.

Closing The Loop

If you look at the possibility of Level3 buying ICG it's more about closing up the loop and getting more local coverage to fill gaps in their transcontinental network in my opinion.

A few months ago the Colorado carriers carrier picked up Progress Telecom. Obviously they are not done and this potential buy could only be another rung on the ladder.

You Should Care!

Alec thinks this is cool so i hope to get a copy too.

Sounds like an entrepreneurs survival guide to me.

Las Vegas

Rich comments on the lines at Las Vegas' airport. He's so right.

I arrived at the airport at 605 AM for my 715 AM flight to Phoenix on SouthWest Airlines, my airline of choice. Even getting there on the very first hotel shuttle of the morning the lines were at least 200 yards deep.

What I fail to understand is the number of closed lanes that the TSA seems to have and it can't be for lack of knowing the level of traffic.

Almost every major hotel and casino hotel was at a sold out capacity most of the week. Las Vegas is a fly to more than drive to city. The airlines data can report which flights are carrying how many people, yet none of that data seems to weigh into how the TSA schedules. My guess is they take hourly averages over a period of weeks and then run the numbers year vs. year. But as trade shows and conventions flock to Las Vegas, as well as more corporate conferences the numbers are only going to go up.

What's more is the cab lines. I arrived at 11 PM on Tuesday night and waited over an hour to get into a cab. Make no mistake about it. Las Vegas is booming, but the infrastructure is starting to crack. They need a bigger airport and more cabs. Hotel rooms they have, and the business is booming.

Cisco Into Fixed Mobile

Never to let an emerging market be overlooked, Cisco has entered the Fixed Mobile Convergence Market.

Cisco Into Fixed Mobile

Never to let an emerging market be overlooked, Cisco has entered the Fixed Mobile Convergence Market.

SF Muni Wireless Goes to Earthlink and Google

For $20.00 a month in San Francisco you will get a megabit of wireless access from EarthLink and Google. For free you get 300 kilobite.

That means this to me. First EvDO and UMTS for those who never leave the city is unnecessary. For a third of the price you can get coverage that is at least twice if not three times as fast. If you don't need speed and can live with 300 k (and most people could) you just use the free service. Personally, I'd love to see the cities add a $2.00 a day visitor's pass or something like $10.00 a week for those who don't live there but visit.

My other guess is that at some point the various muni-setups work out a roaming relationship so you can be a resident of Philadelphia and visit another city and have access.

These two ideas alone could change the way we all acces the Internet and how much (or how little) we end up paying...