Keith and Bill-O on the Small Screen

Probably the best running feud on news television is the dustup between Keith Olbermann and Bill O'Reilly. Keith to the left. Bill to the right. Stand-up, sit down, fight, fight fight! Can you bear to miss even one minute of it?

Well now you don't have to. MediaFLO USA is bringing three 24/7 news channels to its lineup of mobile TV programming viewable on your compatible cell phone. They are MSNBC, CNBC, and FOX News.

If you watch any or all of these powerhouse news channels on cable or satellite, you may suffer pangs of withdrawal when you're away from home. Especially if there is some big story breaking or you need to be out when your favorite program airs.

How about that stock market? Active investors will enjoy having "Squawk Box," "Mad Money with Jim Cramer" and "Power Lunch" on CNBC with them so they can get the latest take on the market's moves and investment suggestions.

Politicos will get to carry "Countdown with Keith Olbermann," "Hardball with Chris Matthews" and "Morning Joe" on MSNBC and/or "FOX & Friends," "The O'Reilly Factor with Bill O'Reilly" and "Hannity & Colmes" on FOX News.

But wait, it gets better. The way this works is that the programs seen through MediaFLO's mobile TV broadcasts are aired simultaneously with those on regular broadcast services. In other words, the big tube and the little tube will be in sync. It's literally like carrying your TV with you. Pull up the little whip antenna and watch wherever you happen to be.

Well, wherever is perhaps an overstatement. MediaFLO service, as offered by AT&T and Verizon Wireless, is available in 58 major metropolitan areas nationwide. That's many of the big cities, but not out in the boonies or small town America. Well, not yet anyway. If this takes off, you can bet that both wireless service providers will be swamped with demands for greater coverage.

MediaFLO mobile broadcasting differs from cellular broadband downloads in that it is an actual over-the-air digital subscription TV service transmitting on reserved channels in the UHF band. You're not downloading clips or watching IPTV. It's regular television programming formatted to look good on a much smaller screen. As an independent system, mobile TV doesn't use your cellular minutes while you're watching.

In addition to these new offerings, MediaFLO USA has full-length and simulcast programming from CBS, CBS College Sports, CBS News, Comedy Central, ESPN, FOX, FOX Sports, MTV, NBC 2Go, NBC, NBC Sports, NBC News, NickToons and Nickelodeon. There much be something in there that you can't live without.

So, how do you get this mobile TV service. First, you need a compatible cell phone that has the extra circuitry needed to pick up the MediaFLO signal. That includes the LG Vu and Samsung Access for AT&T wireless service. For Verizon, you'll need a Samsung SCH U620, LG VX9400, LG Voyager or Motorola RIZR Z6TV. You'll recognize these as the latest high performance multimedia phones available from the major manufacturers. You'll also need a subscription to AT&T Mobile TV or Verizon's VCAST Mobile TV, depending on which cellular service you have. Note that programming selections are subject to change.

Interested in mobile TV? You'll find phones and service plans at Cell Phone Plans Finder that include MediaFLO capable handsets, as well as many excellent deals on multimedia, business and basic personal cellular phones.

Shop For DSL and Other Broadband Options Easily

Are you sick and tired of your intermittent broadband? Or worse, your interminably slow dial-up Internet access? Well, you couldn't have picked a better time to go shopping for new DSL and other broadband options.

Shop For DSL, the trailblazing online search tool, has just been upgraded to make it more comprehensive and easier to use. In case you missed all the hubbub, Shop For DSL is a real-time automated search engine that specifically goes out and finds broadband options for your particular location and then displays them in categories so you can consider them at your leisure.

The fact that the service is location specific is what makes it effective. Most broadband options, including the very popular DSL and Cable broadband Internet access, are highly location specific. In other words, your neighbor across the street may be hooked up but you can't be. The reverse is also true. Why is that? It's because the ability to get service depends on the buildout of the providers' physical plant. There needs to be a wire running past your home or business with a connection box nearby. If so, a technician can bring a service "drop" inside and hookup the appropriate modem.

Modem? Yes, they're still called modems even when they run on a Cable TV line or telephone line connection. But internally, these modems have completely different circuitry from dial-up modems. A dial-up modem converts digital computer signals into analog tones that mimic the voice characteristics of a telephone set. It fools the phone system into carrying computer data even though the telephone company equipment was designed a hundred years ago for voice only. A DSL or Cable Modem dispenses with the low frequency audio tones. DSL uses higher frequencies that ride above the voice band and aren't heard on your telephone line. A Cable Modem mimics a TV channel so it can be carried on the Cable TV lines. The end result is that both DSL and Cable broadband services are orders of magnitude faster than any dial-up service.

There's also another type of broadband that's available just about anywhere in the USA, including areas out in the boonies that aren't built-out for DSL or Cable. That's satellite broadband service. It uses a dish, just like your satellite TV service, but both transmits and receives to give you two way Internet access. Speeds are comparable to the lower-end DSL or Cable broadband services, somewhere between 1 Mbps and 2 Mbps. This compares favorable with T1 dedicated Internet access, the standard for small and medium size businesses. If you mostly browse the Web and use e-mail, you'll probably do just fine with satellite broadband. It's really not for high bandwidth activities like downloading movies or low-latency applications such as VoIP.

Another thing the new Shop for DSL service does is find bundled services for you. The telephone and cable companies are at each other's throats to garner new customers and hold on to their existing ones. This competition is especially good for consumers who are now being offered "bundles" of broadband, television and telephone services for a lower price than you would pay to buy them separately. The Shop for DSL results will show you double plays (2 services) and triple plays (3 services) that you qualify for.

So what does it take to qualify? Got a minute? I mean, got a minute literally? It might not even take that long. All you need to do is enter some quick information into the search box at Shop For DSL, select residential or business application, and click the "step 2" button. The automated search process will query databases of service provider offerings, select only those that your address is qualified for, and present them on a results page organized by type of service. I just ran my home address and found 32 different offers. A few of these I knew about because I've gotten offers in the mail. But the rest I wasn't aware of. For a free broadband search service, this really can't be beat.

Note that both business and residential users can access the Shop For DSL search feature. If your business is beyond what DSL or Cable can do for you, I'd recommend business specific search services for Metro Ethernet and high bandwidth copper and fiber optic line services.

Visible Means of IT Support

What do you do when your computer starts acting up? How about when your server starts acting up? Well, if you work for a large company with a large IT staff, help is as near as an internal phone call. But how about if you are an independent professional or run a small to medium size business? Not so easy, is it?

Most individuals and small business people maintain their own desktops and notebook computers... as best they can. If you are really on top of things you know your system inside and out, probably have an extensive manual collection for your operating system and other software, and are horrified at the thought of missing a patch. If you are not so on top of things, you only get horrified when things come crashing down. Then it's scratch your head time or pack it all up and head back to the store where you bought it.

Even if the store experts really are top-notch troubleshooters, can you really afford to be without your computer for days or weeks? Don't squint like that! I've personally had laptop issues that took the factory depot to fix, and it was weeks. Even if you don't run into a worst-case scenario with failed hardware, even small problems can take hours and hours to isolate and repair. Sometimes it's easier to just do what the less-bright techs tell you and perform a complete reinstall of everything. That can keep you busy for a couple of days.

So is there really a better option? How about preventive care to keep little problems from turning into big ones? If and when you do have a whopper of an issue, it's comforting to know that help is really only a phone call away. You could have that piece of mind right now with expert help from SupportSpace.

White Spaces Debate Outs Wireless Mics

One perhaps unexpected consequence of the increasingly heated discussion over the "white space" TV band spectrum is the outing of "unauthorized" wireless microphone users, such as churches, theaters, corporate lecture rooms and so on. It turns out that many of them have been squatting on unused UHF TV channels for years with nobody being the wiser. Now they'll have to vacate or risk being crushed like bugs by the winners of the 700 MHz spectrum auction when new services start moving into the old analog TV channels next February. What's more, it's becoming increasing less likely that they can simply re-tune their transmitters and quietly slip down into gaps between the new digital TV (DTV) channels.

Wireless microphones are one of those clever technologies that have become insidious over the years. You see them everywhere there is any type of vocal performance. Those microphones you see on televised concerts that don't seem to have any wires connected? That's them. A lot of times you don't even notice the mics. Ever see a microphone pointing at someone on a TV news show? The host and the guests are just chatting like they were in your living room, but you never hear any background noise. They're wearing wireless microphone packs with tiny mics on their lapels. Broadway shows are also extensive users of wireless mics, so that you can hear every nuance of the performance without the actors having to scream. Even your pastor may be using a wireless microphone on Sunday to be able to move around during the sermon.

So if this technology is so insidious, what's the problem? It seems to work just fine. Yes it does, but what you don't realize is that the frequencies many of those wireless microphones are transmitting on are supposed to require a government license and are only for specific types of users. They are regulated as low power auxiliary stations under FCC rules Part 74, subpart H. The key word is "stations." These devices are considered to be lower power radio stations. This part of the rules covers broadcasters, and these auxiliary stations are supposed to be for the use of broadcasters, radio and TV networks, movie and TV program producers, local distribution networks, and cable system operators that produce their own shows.

Oops! No mention of churches, theaters, schools, concerts, lectures, dance clubs, performing arts centers or the like. Yet, they all use wireless mics. So why hasn't the long arm of the law come after them? Mostly because they haven't been causing a problem. There was so much unused space in the UHF TV bands and these devices run such low power that there just wasn't an interference issue. That's about to change.

First thing that will happen is that the new owners of the upper UHF TV channels from 52 to 69 will move in with high power equipment for mobile broadband and other services. Considering the billions spent to gain this valuable spectrum, the chances of large blocks staying quiet are about nil.

On top of that, Google is mounting a public relations campaign called "Free The Airwaves" to drum up support for turning the remaining white space spectrum between DTV channels into unlicensed usage across the board. That would legitimize the continued use of wireless microphones for all performers, but interject the new problem of interference and lots of it.

So what's a poor wireless mic user to do? There are some other frequencies already available for this use. But "broadcast" quality equipment, especially systems that can support many simultaneous microphones, is scarce and unused channels even harder to find. There's also the issue that thousands, perhaps as many as a million 700 MHz wireless microphone systems are already in the field and will be inconvenient and expensive to replace. That argues strongly for protecting at least some of the new DTV spectrum below 700 MHz for wireless microphone usage. Perhaps a good long term solution could be found like the creation of the Wireless Medical Telemetry Service for hospital equipment that might otherwise be a white space squatter.

DS1 Telephone Service Lowers Business Phone Bills

DS1 is the business telephone line service you've probably never heard of, but one that can potentially save you a small fortune. So if it's so good, why haven't you heard of it yet?

Actually, you have heard of DS1 in its more popular name: T1. That's right. DS1 and T1 refer to the same thing. They are a digital telecommunications line standard that replaces analog phone service. They are also widely popular for point to point data links and dedicated connections to the Internet. But why the two names?

There is a hair of difference between DS1 and T1. DS1 stands for Digital Signal 1. It's the format of the bit pattern that is used in TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) digital trunk lines. T-1 refers to the physical line itself, a 4-wire connection made up of two copper twisted pairs. T-1 or T1 carries the DS-1 or DS1 signal that actually conveys the information. These standards can be written with or without the dashes in-between the letter and the number.

Let's take a closer look at what DS1 can be used for. As a telephone service, DS1 offers 24 independent phone lines in a single digital trunk. Each of those phone lines is carried in a channel, also known as a DS0. The DS0 channel is 8 bits wide sampled at 8 KHz for a data rate of 64 Kbps. That's enough to provide "toll quality" telephone calls for local or long distance service.

Toll quality is the gold standard by which other services, such as VoIP or cellular phone, can be judged. The voice quality of cell phone calls doesn't really come close. VoIP can sound nearly indistinguishable from TDM toll quality if properly engineered. But on many consumer grade Internet connections, VoIP voice quality can easily degrade if the broadband service is highly congested.

The voice quality of DS1 service is locked-in by careful synchronization of the DS1 channels on the line. Unless the line is cut or something in the phone system fails, every call should sound as good as every other call as far as the line is concerned. That's one reason why DS1 (T1) service is so popular for business. You know it will be reliable day after day and is unaffected by anything going on with the Internet.

So how does DS1 save businesses money? Remember that the purpose of the digital trunking standards is to consolidate up to 24 separate analog phone lines on a single digital line. There is an efficiency to this, an economy of scale if you will, that makes T1 lines with DS1 service less expensive once you have more than 8 to 12 outgoing lines installed. At that point you no doubt have a PBX telephone system managing your lines. By plugging a T1 line into an interface card in your PBX instead of a dozen separate analog lines, you can get the same level of telephone service but with a lower monthly phone bill.

Is your business in a position to save considerable money on your telecommunications expenses? Find out how much DS1 telephone service can lower your telephone bill.

Marco, it's Polo on Your Mobile

Ralph Lauren, the trendy clothier, is moving beyond online shopping to mobile shopping. Not just shopping while on the go, but shopping on your mobile phone. When is all this going to happen? It's already happening.

Mobile or m-commerce is a technology about ready to take off the way e-commerce has done over the last decade. The keys to making it happen are Internet-enabled cell phones and special mobile web sites designed for those smaller screens. Other enhancements are barcode reading software and Internet enabled vending machines.

Why the big move to shopping on your cell phone? Retailers believe that it's something people will go for in a big way once they have the opportunity. Where do they get that idea? While you're stopped at a light sometime, take a peek at what the other drives are doing. I'll bet you find that anywhere from a quarter to a half of them are on the phone. People love being on their cell phones.

In addition to socializing, cell phones are useful for coordinating schedules, cross-checking shopping lists, updating appointment and similar chores while on the go. Nobody goes home to get on the phone anymore. They pull out their cellphone and they're connected.

So, one reason that m-commerce is likely to be the next big thing is that people are on the go more than ever and they always have their cellphones with them. This situation feeds into the notion that we should be able to get what we want when we want it. Wait for a catalog to come in the mail and then send order form? That's so 19th century. Drive to the store and spend all day browsing the various departments? That's so 20th century.

The e-commerce movement has conditioned us to use the personal computer as catalog and order form. The goods still come in the mail but the turnaround time is fast. Just about anybody selling anything has a website and those who don't can likely be found on eBay. But now that we're comfortable shopping online, there's one remaining problem. You still have to go home to get at your computer.

Some people take their computers with them. You can see them in the coffee shops logged-in to the free WiFi Internet service. But most people don't want to be weighed down by a few pounds of computer, although they don't mind always carrying a few ounces of cellphone.

So there it is. Combine the ease of e-commerce that people have grown accustomed to with the mobility of cell phones that have become almost a human appendage, and you have an impulse shopping dream machine. Got a few minutes? Pay some bills. Order a few new shirts. Arrange to have a pizza delivered as soon as you get home.

It's ordering those shirts that Ralph Lauren is concentrating on. Their mobile site at m.ralphlauren.com is already online. Yes, you can view it on your regular computer browser. Just narrow the window so it looks something like a cellphone screen and you can even shop there. After all, a mobile website is still a website.

What's more exciting is the plans that Ralph Lauren has for enhancing the technology. They're moving into the use of two dimensional barcodes, called QR (Quick Response) codes, that you scan using your cell phone. Scan? Yes, with the proper software your cellphone camera becomes a barcode reader. It will translate the odd pattern of black and white squares into an Internet link that will take you to a specific offer on the Ralph Lauren site. You can download a reader at the site now. See a billboard, banner or print ad with a RL QR code? Point your phone at it and snap a pix. It makes clipping coupons seem positively ancient.

And those ads in the Sunday paper? How long will it be until you need a cellphone to shop the ads? Well, by that time you'll be getting your paper on the cellphone. Shopping will be easy and spontaneous. Finding something else to put in the bottom of the bird cage is what is going to take time.

Iomega Zips Into Network Storage

Remember the Zip drive? Back in the days when everybody used floppy disks for backup, the Zip drive offered about 100x the capacity in a removable cartridge. With hard drive storage now typically in the hundreds of MB, we've moved on from floppies and even the larger Zips. But Iomega, the company that pioneered this technology, has continued to innovate new products. Now they're not just on the desktop, but in the server room as well.

Iomega is now a part of EMC, a Fortune 500 corporation that provides enterprise storage solutions to other Fortune 500 companies. But Iomega is still focused on individual and small office users, with some products designed for small to medium size businesses. If you need hundreds of terabytes to a petabyte of storage, you should probably stick with the  EMC Symmetrix DMX series. But if your needs are in the hundreds of gigabytes to a terabyte of storage, Iomega may have your most cost effective solution.

The Prestige Desktop is Iomega's basic desktop external hard drive. It comes in 500 GB and 1 TB capacities and uses USB 2.0 connectivity to your PC or Mac. If you don't need even this much storage, there are lower capacity, and lower cost, desktop drives available. But if you want more, consider a double drive. It has two hard drives in a single case that appear as a single volume to your computer. Storage capacity goes up to 1.5 TB.

For something more stylish, the eGo line of external drives come in jet black, midnight blue and ruby red colors. All are USB 2.0 with 1 TB drives inside.

There are a couple of products designed for Macintosh support. The MiniMax desktop hard drive looks like a doppelganger of Apple's Mac Mini computer. It comes in 500 GB and 750 GB versions with USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 connectivity. The UltraMax is available in a sleek case that also looks very Mac-like. It has eSATA, FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 connectivity options. eSATA will give you transfer rates up to 3 Gigabits/sec.

The UltraMax double expands the UltraMax capability with two drives and RAID 0 and RAID 1 capability. RAID is used for higher performance. RAID 1 is selected for data security. It also comes with EMC Retrospect software for full-system disaster recovery and ease of data backups. The UltraMax Pro Desktop hard drive offers 1.5 TB of storage with your choice of RAID 0, RAID 1 or non-RAID configurations. Drives can be hot swapped for easy replacement.

One of these drives could work well with your system. Have a look at the Desktop Hard Drives by Iomega

Iomega has also moved on from mere desktop storage products and now offers network storage with capacities from 360 GB up to 3 GB. Most of these use Gigabit Ethernet connections to your network.

The StorCenter Pro 150 is designed specifically for small office networks. It supports Supports SMB/CIFS (Windows), AFP (Macintosh), NFS, and FTP Network Protocols. There are 4 hot-swappable SATA drives inside. They can be set up for RAID protection if desired. Other StorCenter configurations offer built-in print servers.

For larger operations, StorCenter Pro move into a rack configuration with storage configurations of 1, 2, 3 and 4 TB. Gigabit Ethernet connectivity is standard for this NAS (Network Attached Storage).

Interested in getting into network attached storage for your office? Check out Iomega's Network storage made easy.

Oh, yes, one more thing. You can still get ZIP drives and media from Iomega.

Ethernet Bandwidth Gets Incrementally Finer

Metro Ethernet service has been a boon to businesses large and small. Not only does it keep your LAN-WAN-LAN connections in the Ethernet protocol, lease prices are generally much lower per Mbps than legacy services such as T-Carrier and SONET. Now if only there was a way to get the optimum line speed without trying to fit into too small a service or overpaying for way more bandwidth than you need...

Well, you're in luck. XO Communications, one of the leading providers of Metro Ethernet WAN services, is now offering a veritable buffet of bandwidth for businesses locations that have their on-net fiber optic service. You have your choice of 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 200, 300, 400, or 500 Mbps. This more granular speed resolution gives you the opportunity to match your application need with the optimal bandwidth so you'll be paying for just what you need. No more, no less.

Right now these incremental service speeds are available in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, San Jose, Seattle, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. By next year, they should be available in all 75 metropolitan areas that XO serves.

Carrier Ethernet is picking up steam as the bandwidth option of choice, especially for businesses located in buildings that are already lit for fiber optic service. XO is able to offer Ethernet WAN (Wide Area Network) connections from 10 Mbps to 10 Gbps, with an installed network infrastructure of nearly a million fiber miles of metro networks and 18,000 miles of intercity fiber trunks. As the bandwidth goes up, the cost per Mbps goes down for users. It's not unusual for businesses to get twice the bandwidth for less money when they switch from traditional DS3 service at 45 Mbps to Fast Ethernet at 100 Mbps.

But what about locations that don't yet have fiber optic service connections? If there is a single tenant with enormous bandwidth needs or multiple tenants who will commit to Ethernet service contracts, it might be possible to have fiber service brought in. If that isn't economically feasible, you may still be able to have Ethernet delivered on standard twisted pair copper wiring. This service, called EoC or Ethernet over Copper, is now available up to 11,000 feet from central offices where XO has deployed its EoC terminal equipment. That covers a LOT of real estate in metropolitan areas.

Yet another option, offered by XO in 39 major cities, is fixed broadband wireless. This is also an Ethernet delivery technology with available speeds from 10 Mbps to 155 Mbps. You need to have line of sight to an XO transmitting antenna, but you don't need to dig up the street to bring in new fiber or copper connections.

Does reading this make your mouth water in anticipation of upgrading from DSL, T1 or other broadband connections that just aren't adequate anymore? If so, find out what business bandwidth connections are available for your location now.

Have SIM, Will Travel

SIM Simminy, SIM Simminy, SIM SIM Siree
If you want to travel, you'll need one of these.

What could be more fun than heading overseas on the trip of a lifetime, only to find out that your cell phone is little more than dead weight. No mobile calls for you, my friend. You get to use the hotel phone to call home. Hope you brought lots of extra cash. They're going to take it all.

There's a way to avoid this ugly scenario with only a little bit of planning. What you need is a cell phone that works in the country you're going to. Now, that might be the cell phone you already have. But it has to be enabled for overseas calling.

How do you do that? Well, first of all you need to know that not all cell phone services use the same standard. Most of the world is using something called GSM or Global System for Mobile communications. In the United States, AT&T and T-Mobile are the major service providers on this standard. Verizon, Alltel and Sprint use another system called CDMA or Code Division Multiple Access. Nextel uses something completely different called iDEN or Integrated Digital Enhanced Network.

What this means is that you'll need a GSM phone to work on GSM networks found in other countries. The best GSM phones offer quad band service. That means they operate on all 4 of the radio bands assigned for GSM cellular service. That's 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 1900 MHz. Next step down is a tri-band phone with 900/1800/1900 MHz capability. The 900 MHz band is the one used most frequently for services outside the United States.

Wait! Don't get on the plane or boat yet. Before you leave, you'll need one more little item called a SIM card. SIM stands for Subscriber Identity Module. It's a little circuit card that looks like one of those removable memory cards. You'll find it inside your cell phone. Don't bother looking unless you have a GSM phone.

What's important about the SIM card is that it is what enables the phone to work on a particular network. The cellular provider that sold you the phone is the one the SIM card works for. Move out of its coverage area and your service goes dead or you get hit with roaming charges.

But, you can get a replacement SIM card for your GSM phone that lets you take it overseas without incurring those high roaming charges. A good choice for this is the OneSimCard international mobile service SIM card. It works in over 150 countries and saves you up to 85% compared with your current service provider charges. Plus you can receive calls free in more than 54 countries.

All you need to do is buy an International SIM Card and use it to replace the one now in your quad or tri-band GSM phone. Save the one you take out. You'll want to put it back when you get home.

You should also know that some carriers lock their phones so only their own service can be used. Sometimes they'll unlock yours if you ask nicely and have proven yourself to be a good long term customer. It's best to give the International SIM Card a check in your phone to make sure it is unlocked to avoid a nasty surprise on the road.

No GSM phone or only a dual band model? Is your head swimming from too much information and no desire to go poking around inside your cell phone? Why not rent or buy the right mobile phone with service for where you are going? That way you can be sure you'll have what you need to communicate in the countries that you plan to visit. Bon Voyage!

There Will Be Fiber

The 19th century saw the gold rush. The 20 century saw the oil boom. This is the century of Fiber. Fiber optic communication is the new currency of high tech business operations. Like in those earlier boom times, there is a wealth of opportunity just ripe for clever entrepreneurs, wildcatters if you will, to bring in the supply that meets the almost insatiable desire for high bandwidth communications channels. Their excitement is only increased by the availability of a new technology that has the potential to completely change the competitive landscape.

Imagine this scene. Two telecommunications service providers are discussing the business environment. One is heavily invested in supporting a century's worth of installed copper trunk lines. The other is a rival upstart installing fiber cables as fast as possible. Their conversation goes something like this...

"You guys with your glass fibers are hitting a roadblock, aren't you? It's easy when there is open right-of-way land available and you can just trench to your heart's content. But what about here in the city? What makes you think that anyone is going to fork over the capital that metro fiber installation requires?"

"Bandwidth! Bandwidth, copper man. You're drained dry when it comes to higher bandwidth. But there's an infinite bundle of bandwidth opportunity right under our feet and no one can get at it except for me!"

"Fiber access is too expensive. Customers are just going to have to lease our copper circuits."

"No. Not anymore. I've got the new system from Kabel-X. Here, pay attention to this. Say you have a copper cable and I have a fiber cable, and I have Kabel-X. You following me? And my Kabel-X reaches doooooooowwwnn into your cable trench and starts to pump your cable full of extraction fluid... I... pull out... your.... copper!"

[sucking sound}

"I pull the copper core right out of your cable! Then I put my fiber bundles into the hollow outer jacket of the cable that is still left in the ground. A copper trunk becomes a fiber trunk."

The copper-based provider sighs. "I'm finished"

This may sound like movie fiction, but it's real. The Kabel-X system is currently deployed in Europe with pilot testing in Africa and Asia. It uses a patented process involving a biodegradable lubricating fluid that is injected between the copper inner core of a large communications cable and the protective outer jacket. The pressure of the working fluid allows the copper core to break free of the outer jacket. The core is then winched out, leaving a hollow conduit that can be filled with fiber bundles. Up to 400 meters of installed cable can be worked at one time, with only a small manhole needed to access the existing cable.

Amazingly, this system works with most any type of telecommunications cable including those jacketed by lead, aluminum, steel welded, copper, or pvc. It also works with coaxial and power cables. Anywhere from an hour and a half to five hours are needed to complete the process.

Kabel-X offers a double win with this system. First, telecommunications infrastructure can be upgraded without having to rip-up the old cable and the surrounding land, buildings and roadway. Second, the extracted copper can be sold for recycling to defray some of the cost involved in the system upgrade. Copper is a metal in demand right now and is commanding a good price.

How soon American service providers start replacing their copper infrastructure with fiber in-situ remains to be seen. One technology that has staved off a crisis is EoC or Ethernet over Copper. New modulation techniques and pair bonding permit runs of up to a few miles to transport Ethernet at 10 Mbps to DS3 at 45 Mbps, and even approaching Fast Ethernet at 100 Mbps on short runs. But these are stopgap measures at best. Once the demand for bandwidth starts to broach Gigabit Ethernet speeds for wide area networks, copper will have likely seen its day for good. From then on, it's fiber as far as the eye can see... or the laser can transmit.

Internet to Soothe the Savage Flyer

What's more fun that snagging the last seat on the 5 o'clock flight across the country? Why, it's you being the filling in a sandwich cookie of three disgruntled fliers, cheek to jowl, with nothing to do for five or six hours but progressively increase your blood pressure. Suddenly it occurs to you that "coach" is only one letter removed from "roach," perhaps an apt description of your seatmates. If only you could get online to distract yourself by answering email or finding a game to play. But that's impossible. There's no Internet superhighway in the sky. Or is there?

Relief may be at hand, intrepid road warrior. According to a recent story in the Washington Post, major airlines are readying a rollout of onboard WiFi Internet access, starting later this year. A flying free WiFi hotspot? Wow!

Ixnay on the eefray. You don't really expect a courtesy service in an industry where courtesy fell out of the sky years ago, do you? Oh, no. What the air carriers are cooking up is pay as you go Internet access. You pay and the plane may even go... eventually. But you won't care as much as you do now. You'll be browsing the latest headlines and stock prices. Or perhaps blogging on the joy of flying.

Whatever you do online, the airlines know two things. After taking away free soft drinks, blankets, pillows, meals, little bags of peanuts and luggage checking, they better come up with some way to relieve the mounting stress of the flying public before everybody pops a valve. By being clever, they can do this and make a bundle selling the same Internet service you expect for free in a sandwich shop.

Paid Internet service is a double win for airlines that can get their planes outfitted as quickly as possible. Hungry, bored, agitated, stressed out, burned out travelers will gladly pay through the nose for an onboard Internet fix. The soothing effect begins as fast as your laptop can connect. As a way of numbing potentially hostile fliers, the Internet is far superior to alcoholic beverages. Alcohol depresses your inhibitions, which may all that is keeping you from letting them know what you really think of their operation. But logged-in and tuned-out, you'll be a model customer. Internet for a fee would appear to be the perfect add-on service.

The magic that will make this all work is a ground based network of radio towers and in-plane hotspots provided by Aircell. Aircell won an FCC spectrum auction in 2006 to acquire an exclusive license for air-to-ground broadband communications. The uplink and downlink from tower to aircraft is very similar to cellular technology. The system transmits and receives in the upper portion of the 800 MHz band using the EV-DO protocol, similar to Verizon and Sprint cellular broadband service.

On the aircraft, avionics hardware converts the uplink/downlink data stream to a 802.11a/b/g WiFi hotspot that blankets the passenger cabin. This wireless broadband should be accessible by nearly all laptop computers and many cellphones. If your gadget can connect to a WiFi hotspot and you have a $10 bill in your pocket, you can join the mile-high browser club. That's the expected price of service on Delta for flights of 3 hours or less: $9.95. For longer flights the price will be a few dollars more.

In addition to Delta, who else is revving up for airborne broadband? American Airlines and Virgin America are also getting their fleets Internet-ready as fast as they can. Jet Blue already has limited online services. At some point, fairly soon, we'll probably reach a tipping point where wireless Internet access will be as ubiquitous as it has become in hotels. Business travelers will start shunning airplanes that aren't connected as if they still had two wings and no meal service. Well, two wings anyway.

Smoothstone IP Communications offers Polished VoIP

Smaller businesses don't generally spend a lot of time designing and managing their telecommunications systems. It's often takes just a few desk phones, a broadband Internet service, and perhaps a low-end VoIP service to get rolling. It's something the owner or office manager can handle as needed. But smaller businesses have a way of becoming bigger businesses. One day it suddenly becomes apparent that communications is getting to be a challenge among the dozens of employees and multiple locations. It's hard to get through to anybody, and employees often find themselves apologizing to clients for the poor connection quality. It's time for what's politely called a "fork lift upgrade."

You might be scratching your head right now if you haven't heard this term before, especially if your company doesn't even own a fork lift. What it means is ripping out the old system and bringing in a new one. In larger companies, the obsolete PBX equipment is truly so large and heavy that only a fork lift will get it out the door. That's where the term originated.

But do you really want to go renting a fork lift truck and trying to figure out what to buy and where to put it? I'll guess not. By the time most companies get 50 to 100 phones on the premises, they're pretty much forced into finding a Value Added Reseller who will subcontract the phone and data systems and/or establishing a dedicated position of business phone manager. This position expands into one or two departments as the company continues to grow.

Is there any way to avoid the spiraling cost and staffing levels that come with a successful business operation? There didn't used to be, but there is now. A managed services company will take on the complexity of your voice & data needs and provide a total solution, rather than a piecemeal collection of various equipment and telecom connections.

Smoothstone IP Communications is a provider who has taken the concept of managed telecom services to a higher level. What sets this company apart if that they handle voice and data, single location and multi-site operations, hardware and services.

The real core of their operation is their core network. This is a nationwide MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) private network. The beauty of an MPLS network is that it supports both the newer IP and the traditional TDM technologies. Unlike trying to transport your important business calls across the free-for-all that is the public Internet, Smoothstone operates a private MPLS network that implements the QoS or Quality of Service controls to ensure consistently high performance.

Smoothstone also takes care of the equipment, using Cisco gear exclusively, to actively manage everything from the desk phones to routers, firewalls, secure encryption, PC-based messaging, Web collaboration, and conference calling. Tying all this together in a system scaled for the size of your business is what's meant by a "managed solution." Very polished, indeed.

If you company is starting to suffer growing pains, relief is nearby. Let our team of expert consultants introduce you to Smoothstone's and other high quality voice and data solutions by submitting a quick request at Enterprise VoIP.

1&1 makes 1.99

If I were to say to you "1&1 makes 1.99", would you respond:

(A) Well, I see at least one child was left behind.

(B) Dude, change the battery in your calculator already.

(C) You thought you were soooo smart buying that old slide rule at a garage sale.

(D) That's the best deal I've heard in ages. Sign me up NOW.

Time's up! If you answered (D), you recognize the greatest bargain in hosting that's come around in ages. Let's analyze the formula and see why.

First of all, 1&1 isn't a math problem this time. It's the name of perhaps the most innovative Web hosting service going. Headquartered in Montabaur, Germany, 1&1 is a subsidiary of United Internet and now the world's largest Web hosting company. Their new U.S. data center in Lenexa, KS has 5 server rooms in 55,000 square feet with 20 Gbps of connectivity.

So, what's so innovative about a big honkin' Web hosting company? That's where the 1.99 comes in. It's actually $1.99, the price you'll pay per month for entry level hosting service on 1&1 for the first 3 months. Then it's just $3.99 a month.

Oh, but that's got to be some cheap-charley product that's about as useful as the "personal" Web space they give you with a DSL or Cable broadband service, right? Au Contraire, mon ami (French for wrong-o, pal). This is the starter package in the realm of professional hosting services. Look at all you get for your measly starting $1.99:

1. You get a domain with your account and they pay for it. Not some cheesy ISP related domain, either. This is a real professional grade domain name the you pick with the TLD of .com, .net, .org, .info or .biz. As long as you keep your account active, 1&1 pays for the domain registration and renewal. That could be worth $8 to $20 a year all by itself, depending on where you buy your domain names now.

2. To host your domain, you get 10 GB of storage and a monthly transfer allotment of 300 GB. Once you've exceeded these limits, you've got a major online business going and should be embarrassed that you're only being charged $3.99 a month. Upgrade to the 1&1 Business account if you need more space or bandwidth. If not, avoid further embarrassment by telling business associates that you're actually paying $99 a month and that it's a steal at that price.

3. To communicate with customers and others, you get 600 e-mail accounts with 2 GB of mailbox space. IMAP and POP clients are supported. Plus you get Webmail access and spam filtering. You'll come to worship that hosted Symantec spam filtering when you've got 600 e-mail accounts active.

4. Big business ambitions but no site building skills? No problem. With your account you get the 1&1 WebsiteBuilder. This easy to use tool lets you build a professional looking Website in minutes. You also get an online photo gallery and a blog to round out your Web package.

Oh, wait, did I say something wrong? I see. It's just that you've been paying over thirty bucks a month for a very similar service to get your business online. That's happened to a lot of people who haven't heard of 1&1. But now that you know better, how about switching to the 1&1 Beginner or Business accounts that have special introductory pricing right now? This deal may not last much longer, so time is of the essence.

I should mention that there are actually four featured hosting packages from Beginner to Developer and that you have your choice of Linux or Microsoft hosting. There are also e-commerce and business solution features as extras, and you can even upgrade to dedicated servers when you need the horsepower. The special offers require a 12 month commitment, but you do get a 90 day satisfaction guarantee and free 24/7 support by phone and e-mail. Well, don't just sit there watching me carry on. Visit 1&1 Internet Inc. now and get all the details for yourself.

XO Offering Ethernet to the World

Step right up, telecommunications carriers worldwide. Here's your chance to access 4 million commercial buildings in the United States to offer your services via Ethernet. All this is available to you thanks to the new Ethernet Hub service from XO communications.

"Yaaawwwwn," you say? As a business telecom services user, what do you care what one carrier offers another? Well, there's good reason for you to care. But if, and only if, you are interested in saving money on your voice and data service leases.

I thought that might get your attention. To understand how you may benefit, you need to see what's hidden within the recent XO Ethernet Hub press release. The devilish savings, if I may coin a phrase, are in the details.

XO Communications is what is called a competitive carrier. That means that they were never part of the incumbent local exchange carriers, what's become of the old Bell Telephone system. This is a relatively new telecom carrier, but it's still a billion dollar company with over 4,000 employees. What's more impressive is that their nationwide network is all new technology, with about a million miles of metro fiber, 18,000 miles of fiber between cities, and 75 markets with wireless services available.

That's not the profile of your stodgy old telecom, and it is why XO has something to offer other carriers who look wistfully at the massive Carrier Ethernet presence that XO has established for itself. That presence includes those 4 million commercial buildings, each reachable for Ethernet service.

Ethernet WAN service, also called Carrier Ethernet or Metro Ethernet, offers a way to extend your corporate network across town or across the country with a minimum of technical fuss and bother. It uses the familiar Ethernet protocol that you're already proficient with. Ethernet service prices are exceptionally low because there are no legacy telcos providing the "last mile" access the way you expect when ordering SONET or T-Carrier voice and data services.

XO's Ethernet bandwidth options range from 5 Mbps all the way up to 10 Gbps. The higher bandwidth options require fiber optic terminations, but it's possible to get lower tier speeds delivered via EoC or Ethernet over Copper. If fiber construction costs are too high and you are located within a couple miles of a XO Point of Presence, EoC can connect you to their network using the already-installed copper pairs that terminate in your building.

Now you've got an idea why XO Communications is perfectly suited to be your next service provider. The next step is to check out typical Ethernet service pricing and find out what bandwidth and costs savings are available for your business.

What Becomes Of The Broken Hardware?

As I check this LAN for broken wires
I have visions of server fires
Availability is just an illusion
I desperately need a good solution

What becomes of the broken hardware
Fizzled out after only one year
I know I've got to find
What took us down this time
Maybe.

The root causes go on and on
as the network comes a-crashin' down
Every day tensions get a little stronger
I can't take this heat much longer.

I check the server logs, searching for clues
The staff is glaring at me, wanting some news
Hoping and praying the vendors will care
I keep calling them but getting nowhere

What becomes of the broken hardware
Fizzled out after only one year
I know I've got to find
What took us down this time
Help me, please.

It dawns on me I won't succeed
Until I get the help I really need
To the VAR Network, a plea I'm sending
In hopes this job won't have an unhappy ending

What becomes of the broken hardware
Fizzled out after only one year
I know I've got to find
What took us down this time
I've been searching everywhere
But now I've got a VAR who cares
We'll be working night and day
I know we're going to find a way
Nothing's going to stop us now
This network's gonna run somehow
Hooray!

- John Shepler, with apologies to Jimmy Ruffin

Note: If you find yourself singing this sad song, help is closer than you think. Find computer network and business telephone system experts through the VAR Network for true peace of mind.

Recycling the Old Mac

About a week ago, I said goodbye to an old friend. It was my original Macintosh II computer from 1987. It had been quietly sitting in the basement for over a decade and a half and it was finally time for it to go. What made this the right time? The Apple recycling program.

There are a lot of reasons why I kept the old Mac around all these years. When I first replaced it with a faster Performa model, I figured the Mac II would be a great backup computer. Or perhaps one I could use in the basement for whatever. And then there was the moose.

The moose is the famous Talking Moose that Dr. Steven Halls programmed using the built-in Macintalk voice feature of the Macs. Every few minutes the image of a talking moose with a Canadian accent would pop-up and make some witty comment. I loved that thing. You could even have it recite your own phrases to really personalize the computer. That's probably why I couldn't let go of the obsolete Macintosh II even after another Mac aficionado offered to buy it. It would mean letting go of the Moose. Sadly, the moose function doesn't work on Apple operating systems later than version 7.1. Something in the native speech software changed and the Moose went silent.

Apple's recycling program, however, offers a really compelling reason to de-junk your basement or garage. If you buy a brand new qualifying computer or monitor from an Apple Store, you have the opportunity to opt-in to the recycling program. If you elect to go that way, Apple sends you two bar codes good for shipping your old computer and monitor of any make back to Apple for proper electronic recycling. This is completely free. All you have to do is box up your old equipment and take it to a FedEX store. They scan the barcodes and print out shipping labels gratis. Well, somebody's paying but it isn't you.

Shipping is the real killer with giving away, donating or recycling old computer equipment. That stuff is heavy. Especially tube type monitors that can darn near break your back carrying them up and down stairs. Plus few local recyclers want CRTs anymore. They're full of lead that does nasty things to people who ingest it. We have a local metals and electronics recycling program that's available twice a year. But they want $10 for computer monitor and $20 for a TV. Gotta feeling that monitor charge is going to go up soon.

So, when my wife got her nice new MacBook Pro and the recycling codes it was decision time for yours truly. The Mac II and its 13" monitor were the largest and heaviest of the unused equipment I still had in storage. It wasn't a pretty computer anymore, either. The color of the plastic had morphed from a nice cream shade to a dirty orange around where the monitor had been sitting. Too many years of UV from the office window I suppose. Running a blazing 16 MHz with a couple of Meg of RAM and a 20 MB SCSI hard drive made it unusable for anything but the most basic word processing and spreadsheet work. But there was still the matter of the Moose.

Taking one last trip down memory lane, I Googled "talking moose" and was shocked to find that the Moose has been reincarnated. There is a new version called Uli's Moose brought back to life for OS X by Martin Ulrich Kusterer of Munich. It's a free download supported by voluntary contributions and runs great on that MacBook Pro. Searching further, I found a Windows XP Talking Moose programmed by Aaron Lambert that you can download from CNET.

Now with multiple mooses... OK, moose... inhabiting all of our current fleet of laptops and desktops, there is no reason to fill the basement with boat anchors. But that doesn't mean they're going to the curb either. Electronic circuit boards, lead filled CRTs and a couple car trunks worth of plastics and metals are going to be donated, given to local computer enthusiasts for parts, or recycled at the next electronics drive, sans hard disks that I'll never feel confident are totally erased of the personal information criminal hackers long for. If you're goosey about identity theft, and you should be, remove those drives or use disk erasing software such as White Canyon's Wipe Drive to sanitize your hard drives before letting them out of the building.

I'll likely buy another Mac at some point and send some more decrepit hardware back to Apple from whence it came. That has a nice "circle of life" feel to it. I've also found a couple of recyclers online that will even pay for more recent electronics gear still in excellent working order. Cell for Cash wants cell phones and will send you cash just like the name says. Gazelle wants cell phones, laptops, digital cameras, MP3 players, camcorders, GPS navigation units, gaming consoles, satellite radios, and portable hard drives. Both of these companies will pay for shipping if you have stuff they want. Now if I can just train myself to let go of those gadgets before all the value drains out of them.

Ignore That PBX Behind the Curtain

You work in a two person office but you know that you're better than that big firm down the street. You just don't sound like it. Especially since you haven't quite got the cash flow to hire a full time receptionist and your one partner answers the phone, "hello there." The other partner works from a home office 500 miles away and is on the road most of the time anyway. Isn't there some techno magic that can make bankers, suppliers and customers think they're talking to a Fortune 500 Corporation?

Of course. Don't you know that in the virtual world all things are possible? In this case the magic you need is a solution called "virtual PBX", but not just any virtual PBX system. You want iTeleCenter.

Here's why. If you really worked at that big firm down the street you'd be using a real PBX or Private Branch Exchange telephone system. That's the technology that puts a phone on every desktop, gives you an extension or directly dialable phone number, lets you transfer calls at will and get an outside line by pressing the number 9. PBX phone systems are de rigueur (French for you're behind the curve if you don't have one) for big business. The one thing they are not is cheap.

So you've got a couple multi-line phones you bought at the office supply store and hope you can grab the incoming calls before your genius but oh-too-casual partner can answer. What iTeleCenter can do is to transform your existing phone or phones into a professional grade PBX telephone system. Take note. This is really important for anyone who has nightmares about the bottom line turning red. iTeleCenter uses your existing phones regardless of whether they are gigantic executive desk phones, cordless handsets, cellphones, or candlestick phones like the ones Al Capone used in the Roaring 20's. OK, not the last type unless you buy a modern replica.

Most virtual PBX systems are based on VoIP. You have to buy all new phones of a particular type enabled for the service and connect them to your broadband Internet service. But if you can't afford a PBX system, chances are you've got the cheapest DSL or Cable Broadband you can get just for Internet access. Those connections are problematic for decent voice quality. Problematic in that just as you're closing a major new client, some kid gets home from school and starts downloading videos that hog all the bandwidth assigned to your area. Your voice gets distorted, you start to cut off each other's speech, and the call dumps mid-sentence. Bye, bye big contract.

iTeleCenter is so virtual that it stealthily enables all your regular phones to be big business phones. You keep the same phones and phone lines. They just have more functions. What functions? How about a customizable main greeting, also called an auto-attendant? This is the first thing that callers hear and will direct them to the proper extension. Don't let your partners record this. Have it professionally done by iTeleCenter.

Extensions? Sure. They're numbered from 1 to 999. You can have an extension ring to yourself, your partners and employees at their desks or wherever they may roam, even sub-contractors and third party support vendors. Each extension has its own login with call forwarding, mailbox and message notification settings. Go ahead and give yourself 3 or 4 extensions called "departments." Major sales prospects will think your company has gotten huge overnight. Those extensions, by the way, can also be configured for FAX on demand, message taking voicemail, question and answer, greeting only or automatic call distribution.

There's a lot more to iTeleCenter including toll free numbers, call screening, integration with Microsoft Outlook, dial-by-name directory and music on hold. But rather than spend hours reading about it, why not take a 7 day free trial? If you like the way it works, and how could you not, plans start at under ten bucks a month. Don't stay small-time a minute more, when you could be sounding big, big, BIG. Learn more and start your iTeleCenter 7 day free trial right now.

A Vu to an iPhone Kill

Every cell phone company is gunning for the Apple iPhone 3G. I guess that tells you who's on top. If an iPhone is truly what you crave, you'll probably be dissatisfied with everything else. But if what you want is something a lot like an iPhone with a little something extra, you should take a look at the LG Vu smartphone.

OK. I'll let one cat out of the bag. One little something extra is live TV. The LG Vu CU920 supports AT&Ts MEdia FLO live TV service. No, this isn't YouTube or IP TV. It's a private over the air broadcasting system that delivers subscription digital TV channels to cellphones specially equipped with the extra circuitry and antenna to receive them.

AT&T Mobile TV is currently offering two add-on service plans. The Mobile TV Basic offers 8 channels including FOX Mobile, CBS Mobile, NBC, NBC News, Comedy Central, MTV Nickelodeon & ESPN.

Mobile TV Plus offers all the basic channels plus two more, Sony Pictures and CNN Mobile. Plus you get unlimited mobile Web browsing with MEdia Net and other data usage.

You should know that AT&T Mobile TV coverage is available in many major cities, but not nearly as widespread as cellular coverage. Be sure to check the city list and coverage map (found on the order pages) if you are planning to subscribe to this service.

Live TV is just one of the features that make the LG Vu "view" phone a multimedia powerhouse. The case is a gorgeous black with a huge 3" touchscreen to give you that "big picture" experience. You navigate by using your fingers rather than a stylus. There's a QWERTY keyboard included, but don't try prying the phone apart to get at it. This is a virtual keyboard that appears on-screen when you want to type. You'll have full HTML Web access, along with email and messaging.

There's also a 2.0 Megapixel digital camera that can be used to capture high resolution photos or used as a camcorder for video capture. Here's another extra. With this camera you can talk and send video at the same time. Show your family and friends what you seeing in real time from wherever you happen to be. They'll also need a compatible phone and you both need to be subscribed to the video share service.

What are the hottest cell phone deals available right now, including free cell phones? Use the Cell Phone Plan Finder to check out the top phones and associated wireless service plans.

The VoSKY is the Limit

You know Skype, the software that lets you use your computer to make free VoIP calls around the world. Well, it's now one of the largest "phone" companies in the world with over 300 million user accounts and is in the process of invading corporate America.

Skype? Yeah, right. Can't you just see the company's CEO wearing a headset plugged into a PC while making billion dollar deals over the phone? Not gonna happen. Skype is, was, and always will be for geeks. Right? Wrong!

Skype has come a long way since its Scandinavian inventors sold the company to eBay in 2005 for almost $3 billion. Yes, it's still a way to talk over the Internet for free using a software client running on your broadband connected PC and a cheap headphone/microphone headset. But that's just the most elementary way to get on the network. A cottage industry has sprung up to build hardware for Skype services that mimics what you have for traditional landlines and competing VoIP phone services.

Cottage industry is probably understating the current state of Skype-enabled offerings. One of the most aggressive developers is VoSKY, a Sunnyvale, CA company that is addressing both residential/SOHO users and major corporations. They offer everything from a simple telephone interface to support for legacy PBX systems.

Their simplest interface is called the VoSKY Internet Phone Wizard. It frees you from the tyranny of the tethered headset. There are three LED indicators on the front of the box labeled Ready, Regular Call and Internet Call. You plug your telephone and regular phone line in the back and connect to your PC using a USB cable.

What differentiates the VoSKY Wizard from other Analog Telephone Adapters (ATA) is that you have the option to make either regular phone line calls or Skype Internet phone calls using your regular telephone set. The phone will ring for either type of incoming call. When you dial out, you'll normally use your standard telco service. But push a couple of buttons on the phone and you can be calling on Skype instead.

The next step up is the VoSKY Skype Call Center. This box looks similar to the Internet Phone Wizard and performs the ATA function as well. But it also works as a relay to give you remote Skype access. You can call this device from any telephone and tell it which of your Skype contacts you want to call. It then makes the connection and you're making an Internet call on Skype, but from your cell phone, hotel, work phone or wherever. It works as an answering machine as well and can be set to call you when a selected Skype contact comes online.

What really puts VoSKY in the big leagues is their line of enterprise-grade interfaces called Exchange Pro. These are Linux platform appliances that connect between your existing company PBX telephone system and a server that connects to your company's broadband service. What they do is look like phone lines to the PBX but are actually Skype service connections. The latest model, VoSKY Exchange Pro VIT1/E1 replaces T1 or E1 ISDN PRI service. It supports up to 23 concurrent Skype calls using the T1 ISDN PRI interface that is common on systems in the United States. In Europe, E1 service is the standard.

With Exchange Pro, calls between branch offices and other users running Skype are free from toll charges. SkypeOut service is used to connect with regular telephone system users for a small per minute charge.

With the VoSKY interface boxes, it is now possible for large enterprises to enjoy the advantages of Skype communications services without having to make a major capital investment in ripping out a perfectly good business telephone system and having to buy all new equipment. Companies with strong IT or telecom staff support can likely handle this themselves. Others can get VAR (Value Added Reseller) support to install, upgrade or service their Key or PBX telephone systems.

Chumby Kicks the Clock Radio to the Curb

Is an alarm clock a hideous way to get ripped out of a peaceful slumber? How about a clock radio? Oh, yeah, nothing fit to listen to. OK, then. How about a high tech way to get your day started? Imagine some streaming music from your favorite Internet radio channel. Glance over and see what's coming for you on the weather radar. Check the market report to make sure you haven't gone bust before you even get started. See how those auctions you been watching are coming along. Get the latest news and sports headlines. Or just grab the thing and play a game. What thing? Why, Chumby, of course.

What's a Chumby? It's a wireless Internet device with audio amps and loudspeakers, a large touch sensitive video screen, and motion sensors. It looks like a really nice clock radio, but it puts clock radios to shame. Alarm clocks? You're kidding, right? Those things went obsolete right after Jacob Marley and Ebenezer Scrooge went out of business. Oh, you still work for Scrooge? In that case, I suggest you use
Chumby to keep you posted of the latest job openings. Get it set up before those ghosts come back.

The Jobster, Linked-In Network and Monster USA IT are all job search widgets that run on the Chumby. They're just a few of hundreds of widgets you can get for things like video clips of The Early Show, Letterman's Monologues, CBS NASCAR Sports Clips, VH1 Mobile Video, and YouTube Videos. Who can possibly start the day without seeing that skateboarding dog?

Other widgets let you keep an eye on the stock market, today's weather forecast and local radar screen, Olympic headlines, baseball scores or surf reports from around the world. Wouldn't want to get caught buried in the server room when surf's up, now would you?

As you probably have guessed, a device like this is really too good to be used only as a substitute for your tired old clock radio. You'll want to pick it up and put it on your desk wherever you happen to be. That's fine as long as you have access to a decent WiFi signal that's not encrypted with some exotic enterprise security. The Chumby is designed for wireless routers that support 802.11b/g with typical home-type security such as WEP, WPA personal or WPA2 personal.

Alas, you'll just have to keep the Chumby for your own personal use in the bedroom, living room or home office. Maybe take it in the bathroom while you're getting ready. OK, not if you're inclined to panic when your tech shares takes a dive. Jerking a razor when the stock ticker goes south can result in one nasty cut.

Anyway, Chumby is the coolest way to get a wakeup call short of five star hotel service. You can customize the clock and alarm functions and it will both play and charge your USB connected iPod. The 3.5 inch color display is big enough to see without fumbling around for your glasses or putting the contacts in. If it looks blurry, just pull it closer. If it still looks blurry, you better hope that the clock function on your coffee maker works as well as Chumby's.

You're intrigued, right? It's truly well past the time to kick that old alarm clock or clock radio to the curb and embrace THIS century's technology with Chumby.

Net10 Goes All You Can Eat

No contract cell phone services are popular with people who, for one reason or another, retch at the thought of committing to a two year cellular service contract and the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of dollars involved. For certain. Cellular contracts are notoriously hard to weasel out of. If you are in the country on a student visa and will be going home in nine months, what on earth do you want with a two year yoke around your neck?

The one bugaboo with no contract phones that you buy online or in a retail store is the constant hassle of recharging them to keep talking. On the low end, if you buy a minutes card and then toss the phone in the glove compartment of your car for emergency use, all those minutes might have gone bad by the time you find yourself marooned on a deserted back road and really, really need that cell phone. On the high end, who wants to be running out of minutes when you're talking up a storm or texting like mad?

The low end emergency phone issue has been solved by Net10 "Easy Minutes" automatic monthly service. It charges your credit card to extend service every month. Plans start at $15 a month for 150 minutes. Try finding a conventional contract cellphone service for $15 a month. Ha!

Now the power user gets a boost, a power boost if you will, with the new Net10 Unlimited plan. It is what is sounds like. For just under $80 a month you get unlimited local and long distance calling nationwide plus unlimited texting. Have you got the calluses on your fingers to give this service a run for the money? Text until you cramp up. Or talk until you're out of breath. The price is the same and there is no contract to sign. It just charges to your credit card.

You will need a special Net10 phone that you buy from them in order to use any of the pay-as-you-go services. These are flip phones and candybar phones, like the ones you buy at a cell phone store or electronics retailer. They've been specially set up to display your remaining available airtime and let you order more right from the phone. Of course, with the Unlimited plan you won't be worrying about running out of minutes, will you?

There are lots of phones and many different service plans to meet the needs of light duty, typical, and heavy duty users. Learn more and sign up conveniently online at Net10