Archive for December 2004
Mark Evans: “Videotron is expected to jump into the Internet telephony market soon, which would make it the first Canadian cable company to offer the fast-emerging service. There is strong speculation Videotron, the country’s third-largest cable company, with 1.45 million customers, could launch its service … Read More »
Sun Rocket, the so-called no-hassle $199 a year flat rate VoIP service is all set to go national next week, according to company officials. The company plans to add 50 more metro markets to its three current regions – Washington DC, Boston and Baltimore. The new … Read More »
Venture Capital Journal: Venture capitalists have dramatically ramped up their VoIP investments this year, putting more money to work than they did in the previous two years combined. As of Nov. 10, they plunked down $355 million for 18 companies. The most active investor in … Read More »
Steve Makofsky (Furrygoat Experience, among others) has developed a way to put an entire Windows CE environment onto a USB keychain drive. While it definitely falls into the "because I can" category this could provide a secure way to use other people’s computers. It might … Read More »
People who have purchased a Sony Vaio U750P should be aware that Sony now has a Recovery DVD set available for purchase. The Recovery DVD is $17.95 and can be purchased at the Sony web site. Note that it is showing as not currently in … Read More »
Silicon Valley bashes are back. Our friends at Silicon Beat tell us that VCs and others are splurging on their big bashes.
The Woodside Fund brought out the big wines, Duckhorn and Caymus. Doll Capital Management, fresh from its hit with Chinese job site, 51Job, rented … Read More »
DailyWireless: Motorola has completed the initial phases of a technical trial of the company’s first 4.9 GHz broadband solutions. According to the Motorola project team and public safety agencies in Tulsa, Okla., where the technical trial has been underway since September, the trial has proven … Read More »
C/Net News.com has an indepth analysis of Apple’s likely move into the flash memory based IPod market. And I expect a whiz-bang Flash-based iPod which sets a new standard for the whole category. It has reactions from the wannabes, who are possibly masking their fear … Read More »
Most of my readers know, I am not a huge fan of Skype. Stuart has taken me to task on this many times. Actually, rethinking Skype, I have realized that I am not a big fan of their lack of a clear cut business … Read More »
More Must Reads
By Om Malik
Dec. 20, 2004, 1:41pm PT
PC World: Boeing is planning to add live television to its Connexion by Boeing service during 2005. via its Connexion network, which allows 5 MBPS downloads and I MBPS uploads over the satellite-data network. Stan Deal, vice president of commercial airlines at Boeing’s Connexion unit … Read More »
By James Kendrick
Dec. 20, 2004, 12:16pm PT
By James Kendrick
Dec. 20, 2004, 12:03pm PT
Sometimes when you hear someone say they need a "desktop replacement" they really mean it. Those are the people that grab an Alienware. It may weigh 12 pounds but hey, it has an entire desktop … Read More »
By James Kendrick
Dec. 20, 2004, 11:41am PT
I love my Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard and only two things stopped me from also getting their new Bluetooth mouse: I wasn’t sure it worked well with Windows XP and it wasn’t available … Read More »
By James Kendrick
Dec. 20, 2004, 11:25am PT
By James Kendrick
Dec. 20, 2004, 11:05am PT
If you are into car modding or home automation you might be interested in the Sumicom S625. Sumicom makes full computers that are roughly the size of a CD … Read More »
By James Kendrick
Dec. 20, 2004, 9:45am PT
By Om Malik
Dec. 20, 2004, 9:39am PT
The Korea Times: Hanaro Telecom has become the preferred bidder for troubled Thrunet but Korea’s second-biggest broadband operator faces adversities in the process. However, analysts warn against early celebration because Hanaro might bet too much money on Thrunet, which has been under court receivership … Read More »
By Om Malik
Dec. 20, 2004, 7:31am PT
Ren Zamora, wireless analyst for Loop Capital Markets did an informal check of the wireless market, and found that RAZR is hot, hot, hot. “While an expensive handset, price levels do not appear to be a problem in stores where customers have significant discretionary income; by … Read More »
By Om Malik
Dec. 20, 2004, 7:04am PT
Government own telecos, BSNL and MTNL are going to start selling high speed Internet in Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Bangalore, Madras and Hyderabad on January 15, 2005. The 256 kbps service will cost $11 a month. Packetology analysts say that MTNL is buying from Ericsson and … Read More »
By Om Malik
Dec. 20, 2004, 6:43am PT
Aswath Rao: Given all the difficulties of realizing a P2P sytem, it does not make an argument why P2P system is preferable for IP communications as opposed to a system that uses publicly and freely available resources like DNS and email servers. A P2P system … Read More »
By Om Malik
Dec. 20, 2004, 6:35am PT
Esme Vos: “To make it much easier to pass anti-municipal broadband laws, someone has drafted and passed around ‘model legislation’, a sort of DIY, fill-in-the-box document to various state legislators who can introduce it as a bill to prevent municipalities from deploying wired and wireless … Read More »
By Om Malik
Dec. 19, 2004, 10:38pm PT
Voice over IP software/softswitch company, Syndeo Corp., is said to be out of business. The news comes from prety reliable sources, though I have not been able to confirm the news with the company. I sent an email to the company PR lady, but it bounced … Read More »
By James Kendrick
Dec. 19, 2004, 9:50pm PT
Just saw this on KCTs Digital World- Outlook Skype is a utility that adds Skype functionality to Outlook so you can make Skype and SkypeOut calls directly from your contacts in Outlook. Outlook Skype can also be set to automatically log your Skype calls … Read More »
By James Kendrick
Dec. 19, 2004, 7:38pm PT
I am trying a task management system, The MasterList, that is project-centric. My work revolves around specific projects more so than just isolated tasks and after reading about The MasterList on Tablet PC Buzz I decided to try it out. It is a very … Read More »
By Om Malik
Dec. 19, 2004, 5:33pm PT
I am not sure if it really means anything but, 26.7% of GigaOM readers are using Mozilla or some variant as their browser, while Internet Explorer is at 21.46%. Among the feed readers, Feed Demon is #1 with 7.65% share of the RSS traffic, while … Read More »
By James Kendrick
Dec. 19, 2004, 10:19am PT
I was checking out the SonyStyle site to see if they are listing any cool new accessories for the Sony U series and found a couple that look really nice.
The first accessory is a carrying case that looks to be the perfect size to carry … Read More »
By Om Malik
Dec. 19, 2004, 10:19am PT
The New York Times: Microsoft does have one suggestion for those who cannot use the latest patches in Service Pack 2: buy a new personal computer. By the same reasoning, the security problems created by a car’s broken door lock could be solved by buying … Read More »
By Om Malik
Dec. 19, 2004, 9:41am PT
Siemens sold about 13 million Juniper shares for about $344 million based on selling 13 million shares of Juniper stock at a price of $26.50 per share. Siemens share is now down to 4.2% or 22.8 million shares. In case you were wondering, the company got … Read More »
By Om Malik
Dec. 19, 2004, 9:35am PT
Andy: After a few days of periodic usage of the Broadvoice WiFi phone, I’m missing both Vonage and CallVantage. Next trip up I’ll try VoicePulse the same way. Sure it works, but the handset just doesn’t sound as good and I’m finding some … Read More »
By Om Malik
Dec. 19, 2004, 9:32am PT
MobileTracker: Just weeks after Siemens announced it was working on technology to transmit 1Gbps wirelessly, NTT DoCoMo has gone and done the same. While these are not the only technologies. There is a lot more other technologies which even higher speeds, like Flarion’s OFDM … Read More »
By Om Malik
Dec. 19, 2004, 9:28am PT
CNBC: One woman believes that companies can send jobs to rural areas and save just as much as they could sending them to places like India. I thought something like this made sense because of lower over all cost of living etc. However, I think … Read More »
By Om Malik
Dec. 18, 2004, 4:39pm PT
802.11b Networking News: Verizon Wireless’s Broadband Access service is now available in Los Angeles and environs. Southern California is living the wireless lifestyle, with Los Angeles County, parts of Riverside County and San Bernadino County, and most of San Diego and Orange County. Overall, about … Read More »
By James Kendrick
Dec. 18, 2004, 4:08pm PT
SSEYO miniMIXA is a full-featured sound mixer for Windows Mobile smartphones and Pocket PCs. The program has DJ mixing, sequencing, synthesis, visualisation and recording studio capability all rolled into … Read More »
By James Kendrick
Dec. 18, 2004, 3:57pm PT
Pocket PC owners who have a WiFi-enabled device can easily check the availability of WiFi hotspots in the vicinity but for the Pocket PC challenged you can use a dedicated WiFi detector. The … Read More »
By James Kendrick
Dec. 18, 2004, 3:25pm PT
A judge in Iowa awarded an ISP $1 billion in a lawsuit against several companies that used the ISP to send millions of spam emails. Believed to be the biggest award ever in an anti-spam lawsuit, it is unlikely the award will ever be collected. Iowa … Read More »
By James Kendrick
Dec. 18, 2004, 3:07pm PT
By James Kendrick
Dec. 18, 2004, 2:24pm PT
Hard drives can make all the difference in the world when it comes to providing snappy performance from your notebook computer. Drive speed and capacity can not only affect the overall experience you get from your notebook but also play a big role in battery life. … Read More »
By Om Malik
Dec. 18, 2004, 2:01pm PT
Barrons: Also on a tear are shares of several little-known outfits that supply components for the iPod and other portable digital audio devices, known generically as MP3 players. Among suppliers are Texas Instruments and Hitachi, though such work is a tiny part of those giants’ … Read More »
By Om Malik
Dec. 18, 2004, 12:18pm PT
Forbes.com: It a season to be jolly, and of course that means spreading rumors of all sorts. “There are strong reasons why T-Mobile might look seriously at its own bid for Nextel just as Verizon Communications is reported to be looking at Sprint, Banc of … Read More »
By James Kendrick
Dec. 18, 2004, 11:41am PT
I have a Compaq laptop with a 15.4" widescreen. This laptop is great for gaming and since getting the Sony U-70 it is all I use the laptop for. I have encountered a weird problem that I think is related to Half Life 2 and I … Read More »
By Om Malik
Dec. 18, 2004, 11:40am PT
With Sextel deal on its way, iGIlliot Research has some thoughts on who are the likely winners. Their big winner is Samsung, which has a pretty tight relationship with Sprint. Now they have a bigger market to sell to as the Nextel’s subscriber base moves to … Read More »
By Om Malik
Dec. 18, 2004, 11:34am PT
Internet Week says DoD is planning to use IPv6 as catalyst for net-centric warfare. The pane is pretty vague, but Pentagon planners were recently heard talking about IPv6 as the center piece of their defense strategy. With all the information coming from satellites and … Read More »
