VOIP News

Funny (for me, not for Microsoft) to see this report about no one lining up to buy the new Windows Vista and 2007 Microsoft Office when it went on sale in SF.

Well, if you attended the big soiree in NYC yesterday (yes, I did), you know what I mean about funny (as in ironic). The line to get into the Nokia Theatre in Times Square was plenty long and plenty slow moving. And it was plenty cold in 20 something degree weather with that great NYC wind whipping up and down Broadway (and across town, too).

(You can read the official Microsoft press release here.)

Couple of things while I think back to yesterday’s event — why have registration for the event outside (yes, outside) in NYC at the end of January? You would think the PR agency (headquartered across the street from the Times Square event locale) would have known that? (Patrick! Buy an overcoat, man!)

And how about a “neutral” venue? Now Nokia may not compete too directly with Microsoft, but Radio City Music Hall would have done just fine or even the Theatre at Madison Square Garden (or whatever it’s called today). Not as bad as holding a Fujfilm event in Southern California at the Kodak Theatre …)

I’m sure read plenty of other places about Windows Vista “enabling the digital lifestyle” (let’s not overwork that phrase too much Bill Gates or Steve Ballmer), but Mr. Bill did have a nice moment thinking back to how different it was 12 years ago when the Windows 95 OS was launched. (Much simpler back then, too, for the boys — and girls — from Redmond. (Hey, have you heard about the Internet?)

And whatever happened to something like “Start Me Up” by the Rolling Stones to get this whole thing launched in style — Vista could use a music tag, don’ t you think?

 

Mark Spencer, founder of the Asterisk movement, lead off the conference call by saying, “Today is one of the most exciting days in the history of the company.” Them’s some mighty big words! Mark explained that this came about while searching for a COO and VP of Business Development and they were then approached with something even more exciting.

Mark explained why Digium hired a new CEO and why Mark changed his role within Digium. Mark, “When you start a company and you’re just one person, you have to do everything yourself and that is the history of Asterisk got started really - because I needed my own phone system and they were too expensive to go out and buy one. But as you grow, you have to start delegate stuff out.  The easiest thing to delegate out in the beginning is to delegate stuff you’re bad at and don’t enjoy doing. Delegating stuff you’re good at but don’t enjoy doing.  Then there is stuff you enjoy doing but are still bad at doing. Lastly and the most difficult part is delegating away stuff that is very enjoyable to you and that you have a propensity for doing well. Digium has reached a size that that was a decision I had to make.” (Note: I’m typing this during the call, so the exact quotes may be a bit off)

Mark added, “While hopefully I’ve done a (cough - nervousness? I think its modesty since he didn’t want to toot his own horn) fairly reasonable job getting the company to this level, I felt that the part that is more interesting to me and that part where I can bring the most value to the community, employees, and the customers, was focusing on the technology and strategic vision of the company in the long run. When I had the opportunity to bring on someone who has an incredible operational background and whom I have a relationship of trust for the past 7 years, it was simply a very easy decision to make and to make this transition happen.”

Bill Gates (Windows) role and title famously shifted and now Mark Spencer’s (Linux) role has shifted. This  is all part of the 1st law of thermodynamics (conservation of energy) and keeping the universe in balance. That’s my theory anyway.

Mark Spencer is to Bill Gates was Neuman was to Jerry Seinfeld, what the Red Sox are the Yankees. It all makes perfect sense now. If Mark didn’t change titles, the universe would explode.

Mark explained that Danny Windham “has been a board member since 2000 and actually has been with the company longer than any other employee has been. He was able to come on and be the CEO of the company and allow me to be able to focus on the community and the customers and the technology of the company in a much more focused way.”

ADTRAN explained that they have a 7 year relationship with Digium, with a significant investment in Digium but a minority investment. Since I want to get this news up and let everyone listen to the conference call themselves, I’m going to post the entire conference call here as a podcast. I may update this post in a bit with some more interesting quotes.

Here’s an MP3 podcast of the conference call:

Conference Call with Digium about new CEO

Agent Jack Bauer CTU (Counter Terrorist Unit) of FOX’s 24 fame relies on his trusty GPS-enabled mobile phone to get him where he needs to go, as well as call in Curis Manning from tactical for backup or even airstrikes to specific GPS coordinates. Jack also relies heavily on GPS tracking devices to monitor the location of the bad guys.

But things just got a bit harrier for Jack.  DetectNu, a Holland-based company has come up with a GPS and GSM jammer that you simply plug into your car’s cigarette lighter. It will block any planted GPS tracker in your vehicle from transmitting location data back to CTU (or Jack’s phone).

It also shuts down GSM mobile phone devices. Hopefully, Jack has a triband mobile phone so he switch to CDMA or perish the thought - analog. But even if the bad guys jam Jack’s GPS phone or GPS tracking devices, don’t worry, Jack always gets his man (or woman) - even if does take him 24 hours to do it!

Agent Jack Bauer CTU (Counter Terrorist Unit) of FOX’s 24 fame relies on his trusty GPS-enabled mobile phone to get him where he needs to go, as well as call in Curis Manning from tactical for backup or even airstrikes to specific GPS coordinates. Jack also relies heavily on GPS tracking devices to monitor the location of the bad guys.

But things just got a bit harrier for Jack.  DetectNu, a Holland-based company has come up with a GPS and GSM jammer that you simply plug into your car’s cigarette lighter. It will block any planted GPS tracker in your vehicle from transmitting location data back to CTU (or Jack’s phone).

It also shuts down GSM mobile phone devices. Hopefully, Jack has a triband mobile phone so he switch to CDMA or perish the thought - analog. But even if the bad guys jam Jack’s GPS phone or GPS tracking devices, don’t worry, Jack always gets his man (or woman) - even if does take him 24 hours to do it!

News reports from TomTom’s own website reveal that some Click for Amazon price:

TomTom GO 910 Portable GPS Vehicle Navigator

Buy Now’, STICKY, TIMEOUT, 6000);” onmouseout=”return nd();”>TomTom GO 910 GPS units were infected with a virus. The models affected were produced in one week in the last quarter of 2006 with software version 6.51. They claim the virus is qualified as low risk and does not affect the navigation performance of the TomTom GO 910 in any way. However, reports have surfaced of drivers being re-routed from Lowes to Home Depot, Burger King to McDonalds, and from Target to Walmart. You think I’m kidding? Ok, maybe I am. 

 

But don’t think for a second the virus writers and spammers looking to make a buck won’t find a way to make revenue from infecting GPS devices, Apple iPods, mobile phones, etc. Their ilk know no bounds…

If you’re interested in the Click for Amazon price:

TomTom GO 910 Portable GPS Vehicle Navigator

Buy Now’, STICKY, TIMEOUT, 6000);” onmouseout=”return nd();”>TomTom GO 910 GPS (which is still a great GPS unit), you can pick one up on Click for Amazon price:

TomTom GO 910 Portable GPS Vehicle Navigator

Buy Now’, STICKY, TIMEOUT, 6000);” onmouseout=”return nd();”>Amazon pretty cheaply.

Mark Spencer, the current CEO of Digium has been replaced by Danny J. Windham, President, Chief Operating Officer and director of ADTRAN for the CEO title. I’ve visited both companies in Huntville, Alabama and learned a lot about the history between Digium and ADTRAN. Mark Spencer actually used to work for ADTRAN (pre-Asterisk) and ADTRAN helped provide Mark & Digium with some “seed” money to get Asterisk/Digium off the ground. Hat tip to Alec Saunders for the tip.

The ironic thing is that I actually just emailed Digium’s PR firm (which was forwarded to Mark Spencer and Bill Miller) yesterday to ask about their trademark policy which is up for renewal every January 30th. I wanted to know if any major or even minor changes were going to be made which would affect the Asterisk ecosystem. I didn’t hear anything back and usually they’re pretty good at getting back to me quickly. Maybe I should have suspected something was up?

As of 9:15am today, I haven’t heard back. Perhaps this news about Danny becoming the new CEO has something to do with it. What exactly Mark’s new role or title will be I’m not sure. Maybe he’ll go back to what he loves best - coding Asterisk and working with the Asterisk community. I’ll contact Digium and find out more. Stay tuned!

Update - Just read that Mark will remain a Chairman and CTO of the company.

• NEC maps Turing test for SPITers
• Roundup on VoIP security attacks
• Top 10 ways your VoIP migration could go wrong
• Will IMS free OSS?
• Deep tech on IMS and OSS
• SPOTLIGHT: Who’s hot in VoIP?
• ALSO NOTED: Netgear Skype/PSTN phone reviewed; Deutche Telekom to miss its number; and much more…

Nuvoiz, Inc. has introduced their first products at this weeks’ DEMO 07 in California, the Nuvoiz SoftPhone(TM) and the Nuvoiz VoIP Network Controller(TM).

“Nuvoiz’s CEO and founder Jin Koh has a focused and passionate vision for VoIP in the enterprise, particularly mobile VoIP, and we are thrilled to have him launch Nuvoiz’s first products here with us,” said Chris Shipley, executive producer of DEMO.

“A consumer product like Skype just doesn’t work for the enterprise,” said Chong-Jin Koh, founder and CEO of Nuvoiz, Inc. “Enterprise users want a VoIP application with terrific sound quality that is IM-based, intuitive, and mobile, while enterprise IT executives demand a scalable, secure, and easy-to-deploy VoIP system. Nuvoiz is the first to deliver on both imperatives.”

Both products are available now, and complete details can be found in Nuvoiz’s press release.

Whether you’re a large or small business, making the switch to VoIP can be a daunting task, and surely not one that you want to take lightly. 

There’s a lot of time and money invested, and Laurie Shook, Verizon Business’ director of managed IP telephony, said that companies should “focus on the quality of a voice deployment and who best suits its needs, instead of trying to do it themselves.”

“Companies need to realize there is too much at risk to try to do it yourself,” she said. “Businesses aren’t used to thinking of their telephone systems as an IT system.”

In a recent article on Search VoIP, Shook said that there are 10 things a company that a company shuld focus on when considering a switch to managed VoIP. 

Evaluate service provider and system integrator capabilities in terms of breadth of services and flexibility of offerings.

Ensure that the vendor is financially stable and committed to the business over the long haul.

Determine whether resources are available when and where they are required.

Look for a service provider that will build upon the existing investment in hardware and software.

Identify the scope and scale of service provider responsibility.

Tour the company’s network management facility and meet the people who will monitor the network.

Ask about employee and site certifications.

Select a service provider with built-in system redundancy.

Obtain fully documented service resolution procedures.

Consider vendors that are committed to continued investment in network operations and systems integration.

Fusion Telecommunications announced yesterday that, through an agreement with New York’s Daily News, they will be promoting their Efonica VoIP services via a Valentine’s Day sweepstakes. “One thousand winners will be selected to make a free Efonica call to a family member or loved one anywhere in the world using Efonica’s recently launched Mobilink service.”  The nine day promotion kicked off yesterday.

“Fusion is very excited to offer this Valentine’s Day sweepstakes, promoting our Efonica VoIP services to a large number of potential subscribers. One thousand winners will have the opportunity to experience the quality and simplicity of our revolutionary Efonica Mobilink service,” said Matthew Rosen, Fusion’s President and CEO. “We believe that this promotion will also raise awareness among international communities of the benefits of Efonica’s suite of services.”

Complete details can be found in Fusion’s press release.

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