May 25 2008 3:03AM GMT
Posted by: Tony Bradley
TMobile,
AT&T,
Starbucks,
wifi hotspot,
Wireless
I have never understood why Starbucks charged for their wifi hotspot access. I understood why TMobile wanted to make some money off of the deal, but wifi hotspots are everywhere. I like Starbucks, but Panera has free wifi, other coffee shops, bakeries, and restaurants have free wifi. Heck, I got new tires on my car the other day and the tire store offered free wifi in the waiting room. The Internet is available for free virtually anywhere, so I could never understand why someone would pay $20 or $30 a month, or even worse $10 a day, for the privilege of accessing it at a Starbucks. Well, no more! Almost. AT&T has won the contract for Starbucks from TMobile and they are offering a revamped pricing structure. Subscribers to the AT&T broadband Internet service will be able to access the Starbucks wifi for free. Patrons who use a Starbucks card, will be able to access the Starbucks wifi for free for the first 2 hours per day. Additional time will cost money, but less than patrons are used to paying for the TMobile wifi hotspot access. Now, if McDonald’s would get on the free wifi bandwagon too American caffeine and fast food consumers will be all set.
May 10 2008 12:38PM GMT
Posted by: Tony Bradley
Mobile,
BlackBerry,
UCC,
UC,
Unified Communications,
Office Commmunications Server,
OCS,
Microsoft
The Palm Pilot started the handheld PIM (Personal Information Manager) trend, but the RIM (Research In Motion) Blackberry handheld is the device that revolutionized information management by merging it with a mobile phone and incorporating enterprise email on the go. Unified communications seeks to bring that type of on-the-go communications to a whole new level, but the Blackberry was left sitting on the bench…until now. WebMessenger has introduced WebMessenger Mobile for Microsoft OCS, an application for Microsoft OCS which delivers some of the unified communications capabilities of OCS to the Blackberry handheld device. This first generation version essentially only provides IM and IM presence. WebMessenger is working with telecommunications switch vendors to incorporate presence on the phone side as well.
May 8 2008 2:28AM GMT
Posted by: Tony Bradley
communicator,
Mobile,
speech recognition,
UC,
Unified Communications,
One-X,
Avaya
Avaya’s flagship unified communications platform, One-X Communicator, now has speech recognition as well. One-X offers a flexible and versatile interface for unified communications, providing access to telephony, desktop video, email, instant messaging, presence information, contacts, and more. Mobile users can now use speech recognition to give verbal commands to the One-X Communicator, enabling them to look up contacts and communicate efficiently while keeping their eyes on the road. This speech functionality is now included from Avaya with no additional licensing costs.
Mar 29 2008 5:11PM GMT
Posted by: Tony Bradley
Unified Communications,
UC,
VoIP,
phone,
cellular,
Mobile
Over the past ten years or so, the variety of ways available to connect with an individual has exploded. I mentioned a few posts back how technology has evolved so that you can call, email, instant message, text message, voicemail, etc. to communicate. But, the problem is that there are too many now. When you want to reach somebody, you may have to pick between 3 or 4 phone numbers. As a function of unified communications, a key piece of the puzzle is to try and reduce the options down to a single phone number, which then intelligently routes to the user. Vendors are making strides toward that goal with varying strategies for how to simultaneously ring the desk and cell phone, or methods to leverage wireless network capabilities in the office, but route to cellular when the phone is out of range. I think we’re getting there. Check out Two Options for Cellular Mobile Unified Communications for more analysis of the emerging and evolving solutions for this communications dilemma.
Mar 19 2008 1:10PM GMT
Posted by: Tony Bradley
wi-fi,
Mobile phones,
Unified Communications,
UC,
Nortel
Communications have come a long way in the last couple decades. People used to have one phone number. At one point, that was one phone number with no voicemail which meant you either got a hold of the person at their desk, or you didn’t get a hold of that person. Over time, that person has acquired voicemail, email, a mobile phone number, instant messaging. Suddenly, you could communicate with a person almost any time, and almost anywhere…as long as you could figure out which method to use to find them. One of the promising features of Unified Communications in general is the idea of merging the ubiquitous communications methods down to a single client- providing a means for reaching someone any time and anywhere without having to figure out which method to use, and without the receiver having to figure out which device or application to use. Nortel has taken another step in that evolution by providing technologies that bring Unified Communications to the mobile phone by leveraging dual-mode capabilities in some phones to use Wi-Fi networks when in range, and cellular networks when out of range, allowing a single phone number to function both in, and out, of the office. You can learn more by reading this TMCNet article.
Mar 1 2008 4:48AM GMT
Posted by: Tony Bradley
802.11n,
Mobile,
802.11,
BlackBerry,
iPhone,
Mobile device,
wi-fi,
WiMax,
Wireless
Wireless networks can be cost effective and help employees to be more productive, freeing them to move about while still maintaining access to necessary data and network resources. Since the inception of wireless networking though, corporations have struggled with the security implications. With compliance mandates such as the PCI Data Security Standards, or HIPAA, it is even more important that companies are aware of every possible vector of risk to their network resources and data assets. However, so many devices have wireless functionality now, and it is so easy for users to set up rogue wireless networks without authority, that it is extremely difficult to stay on top of the security issue. Mobile device security: Auditing the airwaves, by Lisa Phifer takes a look at these issues and some ways administrators can monitor for, detect, and proactively manage the wireless access to their networks.
Feb 27 2008 3:53AM GMT
Posted by: Tony Bradley
802.11n,
UCC,
Mobile,
802.11,
BlackBerry,
Mobile device,
wi-fi,
VoIP,
Office Communications Server 2007,
Office Communicator 2007,
SIP,
Unified Communications
One of the promises, or benefits, of unified communications is being able to communicate with people where they are when you need them. The concept of ‘presence’ in Microsoft’s UCC (Unified Communications and Collaboration) is designed so that you can tell if a person is available or not, the contact them by the most efficient, or convenient means possible. One potential gap in the communications is determining if a user is actually at their desk, available to answer their office phone, or if they are moving about the building or even off site, in which case you would contact them via their cell phone. Of course, the user can always set up various call-forwarding solutions to try and send the calls to where they will be, but that is cumbersome and most users don’t understand it and won’t take the time. Now, new solutions are emerging that leverage the converged wireless networking and cellular communications capabilities of mobile phones so that the land line can be ditched and the mobile phone can be the sole method of voice communication. For more details, read Wi-Fi cellular convergence can boost mobile worker productivity on SearchMobileComputing.
Feb 24 2008 1:53PM GMT
Posted by: Tony Bradley
802.11n,
Mobile,
802.11,
Mobile device,
wi-fi,
Wireless
New 4th-generation wireless networking equipment is entering the market. We started with consumer-based wireless equipment with virtually no security, then enterprise quality products with improved security were released. The current standard, the 3rd-generation wireless networks, have centralized controllers that help enable the hand-off between access points as users move about, and even more improved security. The next generation though, based on 802.11n technology, allows all access points to share a channel and greatly improves the hand-off from access point to acccess point. Unlike previous wireless implementations, which require careful placement of access points to maximize coverage while avoiding channel interference, 4th-generation wireless networks allow for denser, and simpler deployments. Take a look at this SearchNetworking.com article for more details about next-generation wireless for the enterprise: Wireless networking heads into fourth generation — but should you follow?
Jan 29 2008 6:26PM GMT
Posted by: Tony Bradley
Internet2,
Mobile,
802.11,
BlackBerry,
iPhone,
Mobile device,
wi-fi,
WiMax,
Wireless,
Broadband
At some point in the future, maybe the next generation will simply see the rate of evolution of technology as a given. A normal way of life. On a day to day basis, I don’t think that much about it, but when I look back and realize just how much has been invented, and developed in just the past 10 or 15 years, and the rate that technology changes, it is somewhat mind-boggling. It wasn’t that long ago that 56Kbps modems were considered to be blazing fast. But, the extent of most users access to the Internet was from their employer’s network, or via dial-up on a 56k modem from home. Now, there are still some stubborn stragglers using dial-up, but broadband access with 24/7 connectivity is becoming the norm instead of the exception for home users. Notebook computer sales, even for consumers, have skyrocketed. Cell phones are PDA’s and mini-computers all rolled into one. From my cell phone, I can surf the Web, look up a phone number, click the linked phone number, and automatically initiate a call. While I used to have to be in my home or at my office desk to access the Internet, now I can access the Internet from almost anything and almost anywhere. This article from Computerworld takes a mort in-depth look at the trend of “hyperconnectivity” and what it means for the future of technology and communications.
