VoIP Watch

In the Media-Stay plugged in on the road and in the air

Part of the fun of being a quotable blogger is seeing yourself in print. Today Paige Wiser of the Chicago Sun Times has a story that really helps people figure out how to be working anywhere, and guess what? I'm quoted.

It's Really Four

Thanks Luca for the kind words, but really, it is now four!

This year four companies I had a hand in have been acquired.

My former agency helped Liquid Seats years ago. This year they were bought by eBay.

Next up was GrandCentral. Grabbed by Google.

Then there was Web Dialogs snagged by IBM.

Last but not least, Fonav. Bought by TrollTech.

Something Other Than Voice 2.0--> Office 2.0

Why is it that I'm not amazed that Yahoo isn't planning to be at the Office 2.0 Conference in San Francisco to continue the Voice 2.0 Story that Brad Garlinghouse talked about at VON in 2006...hmm...at eTel Jeff Bonforte (now a Yahoo VP and head of Social Media) went into the idea of Telco/VoIP 3.0. No Jeff.

Has Yahoo abandoned voice the way AOL basically has. Letting it wither on the the vine? Speaking of withering on the vine, birdies are chirping in my ears and the KenRadio Crystal Ball have both been giving me signs of impending changes at Earthlink when it comes to VoIP and WiFi. The Crystal Ball has never been so blood red and birds all seem to be flying south and its not even winter yet. Word is the, like the David Bowie song, "changes" are in the air.

But doesn't Office 2.0 need Voice 2.0? Come on guys. If its good enough for WebEx and Google isn't it good enough for what is rapidly becoming the me too and me also crowd who all walked the walk and talked the talk about being different? Clearly Google and Cisco get the be different angle, but those that made it happen, now seem to all be playing the same tune.

I'm expecting different at Office 2.0....

No Butt Kissing Allowed

If you're thinking of attending the upcoming MuniWireless show in October don't expect a warm reception from Esme Vos if you're with a telco. She's not kissing no big time telco butt.

Does this remind you of anyone we all know and love in VoIP. It sure does.

Esme is very passionate about alot of the same things I am. Broadband access everywhere. Better speeds, faster throughput. She also likes hotels that have real broadband, that don't block ports, and a nice dinner.

If you want to hear about the real things going on in MuniWireless don't miss the October event.

I Have Something Michael Robertson Doesn't Have

Ken Rutkowski and I tease SipPhone/Gizmo Project founder Michael Robertson by calling him Golden Boy on the air at KenRadio. Michael's a multi-millionaire and has more than most, that's why today I had to chuckle when I realized little old me has something my down the road by a mile or so pal doesn't have. 3G. I mean real 3G HSDPA access to the Net. You see I live in Solana Beach and GoldenBoy lives down the beach in Del Mar.

AT&T is handcuffed as are most carriers when it comes to providing amazing cell service in our area because Del Mar, adjoins Torrey Pines and neither area for many reasons wants cell towers. As a result a drive through Del Mar and Torrey Pines always results in dropped calls or in some cases, just simply no coverage.

The arrival of new technologies will hopefully change this, but until FEMTOCELLs arrive it looks like I'll be at least one up on Michael.

Can you get 3G in your area? Try this map and see.

Telco 2.0 Weekly Round Up

I love to catch up with news and notes and last Monday's Telco 2.0 round up is full of things to talk about.

Their observation about T-Mobile is right on here in the USA when it comes to data usage. I have always felt that even without the magic spectrum to deploy 3G here in the United States that at their very core TMO got IP better than all the other USA carriers (Verizon want to contain you, Sprint has the most potential but never achieved it and AT&T as Cingular neuters it and still is even with the iPhone.)

That said, now with more of the "AT&T" folks with expertise from the labs back in the swing of things my feeling is that will change fast.

Speaking of fast Telco 2.0 mentions new HSUPA and the very fast data card AT&T will be rolling out later this year. I'm awaiting the arrival of my Flybook V5 which has HSDPA in it, to give me more on the fly mobility and Internet access.

Mr. Blog is On The Mark

One of the bloggers I know well, Mr. Blog, (aka David Beckemeyer) has a lot to say. Sometimes its with many words, other times its with few.

While I've been a tad behind in my blog reading, I have to point out a few very important posts he's written that in my mind will likely overtime become real news stories and also highly controversial.

1. ooma-The contention he makes is that ooma creates a toll fraud scenario with the local carrier and violation of the local telephone (LEC's) customer agreed TOS (terms of service.

2. SIPPHONE-here David raises the question as to why GizmoProject thinks they are excluded from the E911 Order. My guess? Skype chooses the same path. The only difference is where the PSTN interconnection occurs. I for one have always felt both pass the Duck test...

3. On The Skype Wipe Out-David explains what we all were feeling that it wasn't Microsoft or the servers, it was the inner workings of the Skype software itself and the concept of Distributed Hash Tables.

These post represent solid thinking and insight and in my view are all potentially bigger stories.

There's Money In VoIP

Catching up on some very good news. The folks at VoIP Supply made the Inc 500. This level of accomplishment occurs only when you report numbers that can be verified. You don't get there on hype. Only dollars. Well done.

Pal Jim Courtney at Skype Journal links to Greg Galitzine with a lot more detail.

New Jawbone Headset vs. Blue Ant Speakerphone

I received a new Jawbone Bluetooth headset yesterday. Here are my observations.

1) Cool design

2) Hard to set up. Changing the ear buds are a pain

3) The ear loops are also a challenge and flimsy. One that I configured snapped.

4) I got it to pair with the Mac but I could not get it to work with Gizmo Project.

I plan on trying it with my Nokia phones today and I'm sure that it will work, but compared to the easy to use Plantronics Bluetooth headsets I have this is high on design, but just seems to take more to work.

In comparison to the BlueAnt Supertooth Speakerphone that I've been using there is no comparison. The BlueAnt connects in a flash, and works perfectly with the Mac. It also means when I'm driving I don't look like a member of the Borg.

Are they perfect? No. But one day someone will have a handle on this and be ready for the market that is growing and getting ready.

VoIP, Collaboration in the Lotus Sametime Future

IBM has moved big time into the collaboration space this week. First they grabbed client WebDialogs, then they cut a deal with Siemens.

These two moves are putting them head to head with Microsoft. Now, the next step. They end up working with Google and use the Google hosted applications package as their mass front end. All that's missing is video conferencing that works well, like SightSpeed does. Why? They need that too.