VoIP Tech Chat

Note: There’s an intro, the DDA response, and Fred’s response in this article. Jump to the end to read Fred’s response.

A few months back, we posted a nice little article on using Asterisk to get Parking Space Availability from Ann Arbor garages. The response from the VoIP community was fantastic! We received great comments and feedback from people like Jason Goecke, Dug Song, Dave Michels, Evan Cooke, and more! People not only responded, they even showed different ways of providing access to this information. And everyone shared their work in an open forum — truly a great example of open source coding inspiring innovation (albeit with Parking Spaces).

Even better was the local response in Ann Arbor. Edward Vielmetti and Fred Posner were interviewed in the local papers, appeared on a radio show, and even rode the teeter totter. Everyone loved the idea of being able to check on parking space availability… everyone except for the DDA (insert scary music).

The DDA (Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority), funded by tax dollars,  “provides a diversity of transportation and parking options to meet downtown’s [Ann Arbor’s] ever-changing needs.” The DDA does not like us making information of parking spaces available to the public via phone. Instead, the DDA wants to control this information. Seriously, they want to control parking space availability information.

Tyler Erickson helped Edward Vielmetti and Fred make this project even more fascinating by tracking parking space availability over time. The plan was to provide predictability of availability. For example, “We’re sorry, the lot at 4th and Washington is currently filled, we predict the parking lot will be available in 7 minutes. Press 1 to be notified…”

Wouldn’t that be neat? We thought so… The DDA’s response was to block Tyler’s access. Of course, since it was using Google Apps, it blocked Google, but that’s another story. We inquired as to why this blockage occurred and… well enter Susan Pollay. Susan Pollay is Executive Director of the DDA. She told us (and remember, this is a tax funded organization): Read the rest of this entry »

Broadsoft announced the acquisition of competing company Sylantro Systems. In a press release shortly before the New Year, Broadsoft states:

“Sylantro has been a strong competitor of BroadSoft for 10 years. This acquisition further advances our market and innovative leadership position.”

Broadsoft provides VoIP application software, including the “flagship” BroadWorks platform. Marketing as Carrier Grade, Broadsoft provides a license based VoIP platform for many telecommunication carriers; with a list available at their website (broadsoft.com). Sylantro Systems also provides VoIP software to many carriers including AT&T and Quest. Their website is located at sylantro.com.

Payment terms and personnel were not discussed in the release; although Broadsoft did announce that it intends to support the Sylantro platform through direct sales and authorized partners.

Microsoft SQL Server

Microsoft announced a new security vulnerability affecting almost the entire Microsoft SQL Server product line. The warning verifies a vulnerability allowing remote code execution on systems running:

• Microsoft SQL Server 2000
• Microsoft SQL Server 2005
• Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition
• Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (MSDE 2000)
• Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (WMSDE)
• and Windows Internal Database (WYukon)

Note: Systems with Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 Service Pack 4, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 3, and Microsoft SQL Server 2008 are not affected by this vulnerability.
Read the rest of this entry »

Sun Microsystems Inc., (NASDAQ: JAVA) announced today a “series of changes” in response to the changing economic climate. You have to love their NASDAQ ticker name, don’t you?

In order to “accelerate the introduction of compelling open source innovations,” Sun will be restructuring the company into new business groups:

• Application Platform Software (JAVA, MySQL, etc.)
• Systems Platforms (Solaris Virtualization, Open Storage, etc.)
• Cloud Computing & Developer Platforms (StarOffice, NetBeans, etc.)

The restructuring aims to remove costs by 700 – 800 million dollars each year. Of course, there is also a human price tag — a reduction of 15 – 18% of the workforce (about 5000 – 6000 employees).

Sun provides popular open source software and promotes itself as a leader in the open source community. Popular Free, OpenSource Sun products include:

• Java
• MySQL Database Software
• OpenSolaris OS
• OpenOffice (Compare to MS Office)

snom introduced a new VoIP phone recently, the snom 820. We’re always excited to see new VoIP telephones enter the SIP market, especially ones that easily integrate with Asterisk and multiple VoIP solutions. And with built in WiFi, this phone looks to be a great addition to any deployment.

snom markets the 820 as reflecting “the 8 experience:”

The snom 820 is a new step in combining high class telephony with an extraordinary design. The snom 820 is the beginning of a superior line of business VoIP phones. It´s extraordinary elegance and performance combines both: latest technology and well known snom features. The snom 820 is an amazing experience for everybody who is used to the basic world of telephony.

The telephone boasts an impressive array of features such as:

• high resolution color display
• wideband voice
• integrated WiFi
• 5 way conferencing
• for all features, download the datasheet from VoIP Tech Chat

Pricing seems to range from $375.00 – $500.00.

Within a week of announcing store closures, Circuit City has now filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Cnet.com reports the store recently negotiated a 1.1 billion “debtor-in-possession revolving credit” to assist with working capital for the chain.

After closing 150 stores and providing massive lay-offs, the bankruptcy was almost a certainty.

Microsoft Response Point is the Microsoft version of VoIP. Do you sense a bit of sarcasm? Honestly, we don’t know. We will not use this post to feed the Microsoft vs. Linux debate. Instead we will use a “historical perspective” to explain our position and then move on…

Start Historical Perspective

The vast majority of VoIP solutions are built on top of a linux operating system. This translates to the stereotype of a rather large, geeky individual (have you seen the photo of Patrick and Fred?), installing the VoIP system, configuring phones, drinking caffeine, cursing at users, reconfiguring phones, talking about comic books, drinking more caffeine, and then working more on the VoIP system. When finished, the end result is generally a very stable and well run system. A system that works so well, that people are willing to listen to Fred and Patrick  (uh… we mean our geeky friend) talk about comic books; simply because the phone system (and network) run so well.

Enter Microsoft. Microsoft tries (and sometimes succeeds) in making products that a non-geek can implement. Through graphical user interfaces (GUIs), they allow the Microsoft user to point, click, and essentially “program” their needs into the Microsoft solution. For small businesses, without a geek on hand (or time on hand), the Microsoft solution can sometimes handle all of their needs and provide an excellent solution.

Yes… geeks are divided. Some geeks hate Microsoft as if Microsoft were the Space 1999 to their Star Trek. Other geeks, have evolved into more tolerant creatures; agreeing to disagree and live together with nice TCP/IP connected handshake. Sure, if you have a custom situation and wish to code a phone system to work specifically as you wish, you’re going to want to talk to some geeks. If you’re a small business, with let’s say 50 or less phones, and want a phone system for your office, Microsoft Response Point may be very helpful and also save you some money.

End Historical Perspective

Recently, VoIP Supply announced they will be offering the complete line of Microsoft Response Point small business VoIP phone systems from Aastra, D-Link, and Quanta. VoIP Supply even has a nice page for it on their website: http://www.voipsupply.com/phone-systems/response-point.

If you know an office looking for a simple, easy-to-use small business phone system, have them talk with the folks at VoIP Supply and see if the Microsoft Response Point system is a good fit.

As for us? We’re ready to talk about The Avengers movie coming out in less than 2 years.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that Circuit City is considering closing at least 150 stores in an attempt to avoid filing bankruptcy. The plan also includes the elimination of thousands of jobs.

For those who look for silver linings, the closing stores will be planning a liquidation sale of on-hand merchandise.

Update: cnet is already saying good-bye to Circuit City

Garrett Smith posted a great checklist on the VoIP Insider — Small Business VoIP Requirements List. Very good read.

Don’t take our word for it, read the article yourself.

Identifying the strength of Asterisk, the revenue of Switchvox, and the popularity of Astricon, iLocus predicts the next VoIP company to go public will be Digium. Of course, we believe that if you can put 5 hyperlinks in the first sentence, you should just stop and let the hyperlinks do the talking. We have been in a non-stock buying mode, but an IPO from Digium might just change our minds.

• Asterisk is free, open source software provided under the GNU General Public License (GPL). Asterisk is the most popular open source software available, with the Asterisk Community being the top influencer in VoIP.
• Digium®, Inc., the Asterisk company, is the original creator and primary developer of Asterisk, the industry’s first open source telephony platform. Digium provides quality hardware and software products, including AsteriskNOW™, the complete open source software appliance; Asterisk Business Edition™, the professional-grade version of Asterisk; the AA50, the Asterisk Appliance™ hardware-based telephony solution; and Switchvox, a complete turn-key IP PBX solution, to enterprises and telecommunications providers worldwide. Digium also offers a full range of professional services, including consulting, technical support, and custom software development. All of Digium’s commercially offered products come with the Exceptional Satisfaction Program™ (ESP), the only 100% customer satisfaction guarantee in the open source telephony world today.
• iLocus conducts Business-to-Business (B2B) market research i.e. market data concerning products/services that are traded between two businesses.