Web-Scheduled Standard Conferences
Overview
Web-Scheduled Standard is a free telephone conferencing service† that can be used immediately after signing up for a user account. Our step-by-step online interface allows you to schedule and manage telephone conference calls from any Web browser at your convenience, without the assistance of an operator.
freeconference.com
In the opinion of yours truly, a very eye-catching critical salvo was fired this week at Cisco's much ballyhooed consumer market hype:
"In order for Cisco to compete with Samsung, Sony and even Apple, the company would need to rewire its entire DNA, and unfortunately, it ain’t got the skills," said Om Malik - Founder and Senior Writer of the emerging technology news site GigaOM.
"Cisco has a checkered past when it comes to diversification into new markets. Lets face it: Cisco’s skills are in selling equipment to corporations and the government, which is why their push into telepresence (video conferencing) and data center-related equipment makes a lot of sense.
Read more
"How does a company that gets big fat margins from selling expensive equipment (and paying its sales team accordingly) live with the razor-thin margins of consumer entertainment gear? For Cisco this would like climbing Mount Everest without an oxygen tank."
In addition to support for most SIP trunking and VoIP services, FacetPhone(TM) v5 supports Cisco® 7940 IP phone. Program includes comprehensive call detail records in standard MySQL® format along with MySQL database implementation. It provides management for multi-location environments and adds multi-zone paging to IP phones. With conference bridging feature, customers can manage their own ...
I was doing some Christmas shopping on Amazon when I was curious what sort of VoIP phones were available on Amazon. I came across the Belkin Desktop Internet Phone for Skype, which I never heard of.
The Belkin Desktop Internet Phone for Skype is a standalone Skype phone with no PC running Skype requirement. All that is required is a wired connection to your LAN with Internet access. Because it's a standalone Skype phone it's much more suitable as a landline phone replacement in your house than some of the USB-based Skype phones.
The Belkin Desktop Internet Phone for Skype sports a 1.8-inch color LCD display and a phonebook that supports over 500 sets of phone numbers. Importantly, it supports all key Skype features including Skype-to-Skype calling, SkypeIn, SkypeOut, Skype Voicemail, Skype search directory, Skype contact list, Skype Presence, call waiting, conference call (guest only), call history, and user profiles. (Note: The SkypeIn capability is critical if you want to replace your landline phone.)
Belkin espouses the fact that unlike many other Skype phones that use a WiFi connection and require additional SSID or security-key input, the Belkin Desktop Internet Phone is a plug-and-play device that connects automatically to the Internet & Skype at boot up. While no wireless SSID keys to fuss with is certainly a plus, the fact that this phone is completely "wired" without even a wireless handset, may make this a deal breaker for some. The only time I use a "wired" phone is at work and even then I have a DECT 6.0 wireless headset I can use if need be. The phone does have a speakerphone for a hands-free experience, but that doesn't make up for no roaming around capabilities.
Still, if you want to have a standalone Skype phone and make this a landline replacement for cheaper calls, it certainly has some nice capabilities. Other features include phone-book dialing, mute, redial, hold, and a call-timer display.
Available on Amazon for $79.99
p.s. You should also check out my Philips VoIP841 review, which sports a DECT cordless phone and is also a standalone Skype phone.
Tags: belkin, Belkin Desktop Internet Phone for Skype, landline, phone, skype, voip
TrackBacks | Comments | Tag with del.icio.us | VoIP & Gadgets Blog Home | Permalink: Belkin Desktop Internet Phone for Skype
Copyright VoIP & Gadgets Blog
I love CNET, it's one of my favorite technology, electronics, and gadgets sites. But I'm just not feeling the love. You see, I wrote a quick review of the just launched GizmoCall Flash-based VoIP service this morning. A few hours later, see in my RSS alerts another article on GizmoCall. Naturally, I want to see other people's opinions on it, so I click through and see that it's a CNET article. (http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10124311-94.html)
The CNET article had very similar sentiments to my own and performed the same test I did by dialing a free 800 number. I thought to myself what a waste of a click, it's basically the same thoughts I had and did the same test I did. How boring. I was about to close the window when I noticed my username (tkeatingtmc) on the CNET screenshot within the CNET article! WT-??
That's just fantastic, CNET! There goes my privacy. You just gave away my GizmoCall username. 
And what, no link love? You 'borrow' my image with my username in it and you don't link to the source? Bad form, CNET. Bad form!
Also, you would have had to have read the article in order to see the image. So why not say "Tom Keating also checked out GizmoCall. Here are his thoughts."
Here's a snapshot in case it is deleted:
Tags: CNET, flash, GizmoCall, image theft, voip
TrackBacks | ? love?">Comments | Tag with del.icio.us | VoIP & Gadgets Blog Home | Permalink: ? love?">CNET - Where's the ? love?
Copyright VoIP & Gadgets Blog
Comments on this Entry:
(Matt on Dec 18, 2008 12:27 AM) Yeah, bad form on CNET for basically copying your article, but aren't you getting upset over nothing about your Gizmo username ??I mean, it's not going to take a genius to figure out tkeatingtmc as a username, especially as you'd already posted in your own blog ??Besides, if someone really, really wanted to get hold of you they'd use the details in the, erm, Contact Us part of TMC's website where it lists:Tom KeatingExecutive Technology Editor(203) 852-6800 x149/158Anyway, here's hoping your holidays are less stressful for you :)
(Tom Keating on Dec 18, 2008 9:17 AM) I was being sarcastically upset about CNET giving out my username. You must have missed it. ;) It was feigned outrage over the giving out of my username for humor/sarcasm purposes. As you point out, I already posted my username on my screenshot and was aware of that fact.Me stressed for the holidays? Nah. It's the happiest part of the year. :)Merry Christmas & Happy Hanukah to all!
(johntpublic on Dec 18, 2008 10:51 AM) You've got credit now :). They replaced the graphic *and* gave you credit for the image and a link to your post.
(Tom Keating on Dec 18, 2008 1:02 PM) Interesting. Wow, word travels fast.In all seriousness, I hope the CNET editor didn't get in trouble. It was a well-written article even if it shared many of my sentiments. Great minds think alike?I admire CNET a lot, and it would have been nice to have had some link-love & mention initially, which is what sparked this blog post.I've had several mainstream media outlets neglect to cite me in the past. I broke the major news story about the Skype outage in 2007 and wasn't cited by the MSM. I even came up with the "reason" (Windows Update) in a follow-up post and wasn't cited. Very annoying.
Some good news from my company TMC and Digium, the founder of Asterisk that I thought I'd share. If you're an Asterisk fan, you need to be at Asterisk World, which is co-located with the #1 VoIP tradeshow in the U.S., namely TMC's ITEXPO.
Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC) and Digium, the Asterisk Company, today announced the educational program for Digium|Asterisk World, scheduled to take place February 2-4, 2009 in Miami. The event is collocated with TMC's ITEXPO East 2009.
TMC and Digium also announced that although the conference content and exhibiting opportunities are more than 90 percent complete, additional opportunities remain for interested Digium partners.
Digium|Asterisk World at ITEXPO is the conference that addresses "Everything Asterisk" for business users, resellers and executive decision-makers. The initial conference sessions featured in the program include:
1. Web-Aware Unified Communications with Switchvox
2. Asterisk for Enterprise
3. Enterprise Pitfalls: Lessons Learned
4. The Case for Asterisk: Call Center App Integration with .NET
5. Multi-Site Open Source Call Center Deployment: A European Case Study
6. Asterisk as a Regulatory Compliance Toolkit
7. Website Identity Management and Authentication Using Asterisk
8. VoIP Transparency: Asterisk and the Economics of Monitoring
9. The Asterisk VoIP Conversion and the Opportunity for Substantial ROI
10. Druid: Case Study for Selling UC Solutions
11. Ingredients for Successful Asterisk PBX Sales
Limited booth space and sponsorship opportunities are still available for companies to showcase their offerings and provide training to Digium|Asterisk World and ITEXPO attendees. Companies exhibiting in the showcase include: Asteria Solutions; Camrivox; Freeside Internet Services; High Powered Help; Interlink Communications Systems; OpenLine Networks; Orecx; TransNexus; Voice Pulse; and Xorcom.
Registration for Digium|Asterisk World and ITEXPO is now open.
"Now in our third year, Digium|Asterisk World's content is evolving to reflect the maturity of the world's most widely used open source telephony software," said Mark Spencer, CTO and founder of Digium and the creator of Asterisk. "Our three-day event at ITEXPO will provide the hands-on training and education that Asterisk developers need to build more advanced and more flexible telephony solutions."
"We're proud of several new and innovative programs that will make the 19th iteration of ITEXPO one of the best ever," said Rich Tehrani, TMC president and ITEXPO East 2009 conference chairman. "Digium|Asterisk World bolsters an already strong developer focus, and other programs like TMC University, the 4GWireless Evolution event, TMC Editors' Week and the balance of the conference content make ITEXPO the one-and-only 'must-attend' event in the communications industry."
ITEXPO East 2009 is the world's largest and most significant communications technology event, featuring hundreds of companies exhibiting on the EXPO floor and hundreds of sessions led by the industry's most prominent thought leaders. The show helps attendees identify the issues and challenges affecting the deployment of communications technologies. It provides a comprehensive forum for evaluating the latest products and services and delivers a face-to-face networking opportunity that service providers, carriers, resellers, distributors, equipment manufacturers and IT executives from enterprise and SMB companies need to cultivate new business relationships. For more information on ITEXPO East, please visit: http://www.tmcnet.com/voip/conference/.
Tags: asterisk, Digium|Asterisk World, ITEXPO, tmc, voip
TrackBacks | Comments | Tag with del.icio.us | VoIP & Gadgets Blog Home | Permalink: TMC & Digium Announce Educational program for Digium|Asterisk World
Copyright VoIP & Gadgets Blog
Rich Tehrani has a very interesting post about Nortel's foray into virtualized business meetings. Think Second Life virtual world meets business world...
Rich participated in a virtual world demo with Nortel where they showed him web.alive. This business-oriented virtual world looks eerily similar to Second Life, including the 3D avatars, and 3D world but under the covers it sports something else - namely 3D audio powered by DiamondWare 3D stereoVoIP technology. Both Rich and I have espoused DiamondWare's technology over the years and recently their technology was acquired by Nortel. No doubt Nortel was impressed as well, and this virtualized business meeting world with 3D audio appears to be the fruits of that acquisition.
Rich explains, "I have touted DiamondWare's patented technology for over half a decade and it is as impressive now as it has ever been. It allows you to have your voice volume increase and decrease as you get closer or move farther away from others. It also allows you to hear people on the left or right when they talk and it seems these people are really speaking from one direction or another."
Rich goes on to explain that the technology could be used to power virtual tradeshows, as seen by the screenshot above showing what could be a keynote room complete with full Powerpoint and video & telepresence support. Does this mean no more Internet Telephony Expo in sunny Miami in the middle of winter here in the Northeast? Nomore pressing the flesh? Say it ain't so, Rich! 
Rich seems excited by the technology when he says, "I really feel like Nortel is onto something here. This could just be a short-lived fad but it just seems like there is just so much productivity boosting that can be done with virtual business worlds - it just has to happen."
Rich is one of the busiest guys I know - a true multitasker, so he's always looking for the most efficiency in business. Considering how many internal & external meetings Rich participates in, I can see why he likes the idea of 3D virtualized meetings.
I'm a little more skeptical. Reading Rich's demo, I like the idea of "the room of silence", the ability to 'dress up' to indicate to co-workers that you are an an important meeting with clients (so they don't interrupt), and the ability for 3D voice is certainly cool & sexy. I'm just not sure these features replace the good ole' telephone with a WebEx session. I suppose for meetings larger than 6 people, this idea makes more sense, since I've been in conference calls where you get too many people talking at once and you can't tell who is the one talking. The 3D audio with animated avatars could certainly help for larger meetings. Though meeting software such as WebEx allows you to raise your hand to speak. Maybe if I held a few meetings in Nortel's Web.Alive I'd be less skeptical. Definitely has the coolness factor though.
In any event, check out Rich's blog for more details, including a plethora of screenshots.
Tags: 3D, business, conferencing, Nortel, rich tehrani, Second Life, virtual, virtual world, web.alive
TrackBacks | Comments | Tag with del.icio.us | VoIP & Gadgets Blog Home | Permalink: Nortel Web.Alive = Second Life for Business
Copyright VoIP & Gadgets Blog
Grandstream just announced the GXV3005 IP video phone is coming this month. The GXV3005 features an additional FXO port and is part of the GXV3000 IP video product line series.
With a slowing global economy, one of the cost-cutting measures desired by IT personnel appears to be the desktop phone, including desktop IP phones. That at least according to an OnRelay survey that shows 88% of cost-conscious IT Professionals would ditch the desktop phone. Apparently, the desire for for mobile working makes desktop tools a low priority expense. I should point out that OnRelay offers a hosted PBX solution with mobile phone only extensions, so you might think this survey has a conflict of interest. However, OnRelay's solutions can work with existing PBXs and desktop phones, so there isn't necessarily a conflict.
In any event, today OnRelay published results from a survey revealing the personal business tools IT professionals couldn't be without, and the equipment they would give up as corporate budgets tighten. Their answers show a clear preference for the mobile office, and question corporate spend on technologies that those in IT have already left behind.
OnRelay surveyed 330 IT professionals in UK enterprise. Reflecting today's tougher economic choices, they were asked to select the four office IT tools they see as essential - out of a list of nine items.
Those surveyed were asked to choose from: the laptop; desktop PC; virtual private network (VPN) access; mobile phone; Blackberry™, desk phone; video conferencing; or their own personal desk.
The top three items chosen by the IT professionals were all mobile office technologies. The laptop came in as the most essential item - making the must-have list of 88% of respondents. The mobile phone came second at 74% of respondents, followed by VPN access (69%).
The least chosen items emphasise the low priority end-users place on fixed desktop equipment. The office desk phone was the tool those questioned were most willing to give up, with only 18% listing the desk phone as essential. This is akin to the 20% who prioritised a desktop PC, and the 22% who chose video conferencing as a must-have.
OnRelay's survey provides insight into IT professionals' disengagement with desktop tools. Although the majority of those questioned (87%) currently had an office desk phone, if given the choice, 88% said they would choose the mobile as their one business phone.
The underuse of the desk phone is already apparent from the fact that only 3% of those surveyed said they forwarded their calls to mobile when away from their desk. A full 54% of IT professionals admitted to never forwarding their desk phone calls, whilst only 10% forward their calls when away from the office.
"This survey shows that IT decision makers want wireless, use wireless, and will lead the drive to cut the cord as budgets tighten," comments OnRelay, CFO Marie Wold. "Costly desk phones will rapidly be phased out of IT budgets to be replaced by mobile-only telephony. The current economic climate is accelerating this shift towards mobile integration in the corporate."
We do indeed live in a mobile world, but do I see the desktop phone going the way of the dinosaur anytime soon? Not likely. There are just too many advantages to a desktop phone, including a larger LCD, higher quality speakerphone, more feature buttons & speed dials, and more. Still, it was an interesting survey worth sharing.
Tags: blackberry, economy, ip phone, mobile phone, OnRelay, OnRelay Hosted MBX, voip, wireless
TrackBacks | Comments | Tag with del.icio.us | VoIP & Gadgets Blog Home | Permalink: Ditch Desktop IP phone to Save Money?
Copyright VoIP & Gadgets Blog
