VoIPWatch

Untitled

Check out Flock.

While I'm trying to get del.isio.us to work I do see some very cool features. It's software like this which is kicking Microsoft's butt.

If I Was Rupert Murdoch and Son James....

I'd make two deals very quickly..First is I would by SiPPhone because it simply works and already follows open standards...SIP.

Then I would buy Vonage because it fits into the News Corp strategy of buying assets that already have market share and a team. When you add in the SipPhone technology team and scalable infrastructure to Vonage's street-fighter approach of get customers regardless of cost you end up with a very strong one - two punch.

Now, after you buy SipPhone you likely lose Michael Robertson, but the team he's built can easily do the job to keep SipPhone up and running. With Vonage you will lose Jeffrey Citron but there are some folks inside Vonage who actually know what to do at the higher levels of management. The middle rungs of management can be replaced and New Corp with their checkbook can begin recruiting and expanding the team, likely picking up some soon to be available execs from MCI, AT&T, Verizon and SBC due to either being packaged out or trimmed.

Then I'd quickly figure a way to get in bed with Google. News Corp at the end of the day is all about ads. Every thing the do is driven to having the medium to drive ads which they sell. Google is the big threat to them in this arena long term so figuring out how to work together with Google is best for the Murdochs and their shareholder.

Voice 2.0 Manifesto

Check out Alec's views on where voice is going.

Is Murdoch Buying SipPhone?

Om speculates on what is and what may be News Corp's next move.

There is no doubt in my mind that SipPhone is up for sale. The only question is for how much.

BSkyB Buys EasyNet--What's Next For Murdoch

Now that News Corp. has an IP network voice has to be next.

So who's out there to buy?

With Internet Telephony's conference in Los Angeles next week, it wouldn't surprise me is a deal happens as early next week.

Vonage and Issues with SBC DSL

Network World's Mike Gibbs article about Vonage is rather indicting. While some may want to put the burden on SBC, why do other companies not have the same issues. More important, why would a company as customer savvy as Yahoo be betting on SBC if problems like this exist. Sorry, the trouble is the Vonage infrastructure, or lack of it, not the dumb pipe, stupid network of SBC.

Wired on The CALEA VoIP Furor

While I remain in the camp that innovation has to be allowed and supportive of Jeff Pulver position, I'm more disappointed that two of the more aggressive companies who are leading the revolution right now in the area of what I'm calling Voice 2.0 Skype and SipPhone were unavailable for comment and didn't present a viewpoint.

In defense of Skype, Kelly Larabee is off with her new baby and their new PR team should have given counsel to make sure some comment, even a holding statement saying "we respect the FCC's position and are currently looking at how to work within the framework while still maintaining our direction and course." For SipPhone, run by pal Michael Robertson who is a press hound I'm a bit perplexed and wonder how aggressively he was pursued before deadline, but again, with a carrier in the mix like Point One, that's where the PSTN side of the equation comes in, not at the SIP level, so Michael and company could have said something like, "we're working with our PSTN partners to figure out how to make this work, while still advancing SIP based communications."

The answers are too simple. In the case of Skype, their new layers of management (eBay-Skype-Staff), their distributed leadership (USA, UK, Sweden, etc.) has to be taxing them. This is one example of how the once nimble, asymmetrical and fast growth company has rapidly hit maturity under eBay. (Translation--they're not going to be as bold and brash without permission).

Need To Find A Hotspot

I've been using the ZyXEL AG-225H WiFi Finder the last few months when I need to see if a hot spot is nearby. Overall I've been more than pleased with and like it more so than the Canary Wireless unit.

Why? It has 802.11 a, b and g, a much more descriptive display and it's also smaller. The big benefit is you only need to attach it to a USB port and voila, it recharges, plus if you need to go A, it's already there.

On Auction eBay-A Skype Number of Note

An enterprising person has scooped up ebay.co.uk as a skype name and number and is offering it for a princely sum.

I wonder if Skype ID's fall under the pretense of copyrighted material in the UK?

BBC on Hotel BroadBand Issues

It seems my audio post about hotel broadband is becoming a shot hear 'round the world. Now the venerable Beeb, the BBC's blog watcher Alan Connor saw fit to include it in his discussion on the subject.

You can jump right to the Slawsome audio here.