The Telecom Zeitgeist

2010-07-26T12:25:00.000+01:00

We have sent out many warning of potential hacking risks in telephone systems, but one of our clients still got caught last week. Their telephone system was hacked and used to make hundreds of calls to premium rate numbers in Eastern Europe. The unfortunate thing is that if this happens to you, you are left with the bill. Thousands of companies are caught every year - PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT ONE OF THEM.

If you are unsure how to make your system safe, please give us a ring. You can chose to make that call, but it may save you making a lot of others you don't choose to.

Basic Things You Can Do

If you have voice mail boxes - change your passwords from the default.

Ensure your system is programmed to bar non-essential premium and international numbers

If we supply your lines and calls, use our free 'E-Alerts' facility to alert you of any unusual call patterns.

Check your online billing regularly to check there is nothing unforeseen.

Things We can do for you

We can supply an anti-toll fraud solution to prevent phone hacking. This can be a solution that sits between your phone system and the lines or a PC based solution that talks to your phone system and checks its operation. Both act as Firewalls and stop toll fraud dead. Toll fraud solutions start at £500 plus installation, which can be less than the cost of one hack.

RING US ON 0203 326 1010
OR GO TO www.datasharptele.com
FOR DETAILS OR FREE ADVICE

Blackberry or Mistletoe this Christmas?

2009-12-17T09:24:00.000Z

http://www.datasharptele.com

A recent survey claims that 77% of smartphone owners across both the public and private sectors say they will be checking their smartphones over the Christmas and New Year period, and 66% will do it every day.

The most common reason they gave for checking their phone was dedication, with 45% claiming they will keep their smartphone on them at all times in case something important crops up.

26% said checking emails is a habit they are unable to break, while 11% admitted they will be more concerned about impressing their boss in the hope of a New Year promotion or bonus.

Just under half of the respondents to the survey are predicting that their obsessive smartphone checking will cause a row with family members this Christmas, with 58% packing their phone charger before taking trips to see friends and relatives.

The top five tips for switching off this Christmas are:

1. Leave it at home – If you know that you aren’t going to be needed for anything, leave your Smartphone at home when visiting family and friends. If you don’t have it on you, it won’t interfere with your plans.
2. Switch it off – If only for an hour or two, switch off your smartphone to avoid arguments and to have a bit of time to totally relax.
3. Out of office – Set up an auto-response to let people know you’re out of the office. If you don’t get back to them straight away, they won’t start chasing you.
4. Make your absence known – Let colleagues and clients know what days you will not be working, so they are less likely to contact you during your leave.
5. Silence is Golden – Switch your handset to silent, not vibrate or loud mode. If you get a call or an email, you won’t know and won’t be tempted to answer or read it.

You never know - If you switch off your Blackberry, you might even find the mistletoe is more fun!

How to choose a telephone system

2009-12-16T14:34:00.000Z

If you operate a small office or store that needs just a couple of phone lines, a standard POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) setup is often sufficient. Add several more employees, however, or move to a standard small-office environment, and a more sophisticated solution makes sense.

There are many options available today, and your choice will depend on how many sites you have, how many extensions you need and how many calls you need to make and take.

On a basic level, you'll want a separate extension and phone for each employee who uses a phone in that office. Accepting that, what kind of service and equipment should you get for your business? Here's how to figure it out.

The fundamental thing every phone system has to do is give you a dial tone or ring if a customer is trying to call you. That sounds an obvious – even stupid- thing to say, but how you and your staff make and take calls can actually have a huge effect both on staff morale and productivity. If you make a lot of calls, seconds wasted making or taking every call can become frustrating and a real time waster. You need to think about how incoming calls into your business are going to be handled and who are going to be allowed to make calls out.

You need to consider your current business needs and what the telephone system has to do to meet them. Some of the questions you may need to ask are.

How many external calls do you need to make or take?
How many inter-site calls do you need to make?
Would conference calling (including internal, inter-site and external calls) be cost effective?
Do you need individual voicemail for some (or even all) employees?
Do you have a contact centre (a group of people tasked to take incoming calls)?
Do you have ‘road warriors’ and want some kind of mobile solution (such as a BlackBerry or other smart phone) for them to take on the road?
Do you have ‘home workers’ and want calls routed to people in remote locations?
Do you need individual fax handling for each, or some, of your staff?
Do you need the phone system to integrate with a CRM package (Customer Relationship Manager Software such as Goldmine)?
Do you need the phone system to integrate with Microsoft Outlook?

Then you need to look at your business plan and see where you think you will be in three and five years. No-one wants to buy something that will need replacing in a few months, so these may be important issues for you to think through.

The bigger you get, the more other features may become important to you.
Auto-attendant: This frees you or your staff from answering the phone every time it rings. You can put in messages for business hours, any directions or instructions, and route incoming calls to the right employees. Equally important, when customers hear a computerized system with options, it can make them feel like they've reached a larger business.
Conferencing: If you have a lot of phone conferences, you might find it more cost-effective to have your own teleconferencing capabilities.
Call hunting: If one employee doesn't answer the phone, the call will automatically forward to another person (or group of people) instead of going directly to voicemail.

Home office workers and field salesmen and engineers can also benefit from business phone systems. Just because you're out of the office, it doesn't mean you need to be out of reach. A good basic business system can let you schedule auto-attendant features in case you're away, forward your calls to your mobile phone, and route incoming fax transmissions (even through the auto-attendant system). Some can allow home workers to dial into the main telephone system with a free call over a broadband line, and the main telephone system will then automatically connect them to the extension or external number they are dialling, meaning no more telephone expense accounts.

Once you've determined your needs, you'll also want to decide on the type of service. Here are some of the options:

Hosted VoIP solution with the system being remotely hosted so that a user can access it from anywhere in the world by plugging in a phone to a high speed internet connection to make/receive calls. Our own Datasharp Hosted Service offers quality of service and significantly reduced call costs.

Pure VoIP solution where the system provides IP down to the desk with IP phones or soft phones. External calls can be made via ISDN digital lines and/or SIP trunks. Our iPECS systems are ideal small to medium business pure VoIP systems, and our Shoretel solutions are perfect for medium sized businesses and above, or companies with multiple sites. The OpenOffice ME solution from Siemens is pitched at users from 10 to 150 users, so whatever your company size, we have a system for you.

Hybrid VoIP solution where a traditional PBX system is used with enabled VoIP capabilities. Calls are made/received over both traditional phone lines and a dedicated high speed internet connection. The Seimens HiPath 3000 series is a perfect, scaleable example of a hybrid system, and can be complemented with OpenScape Office software, to make a rugged, reliable phone system with all the software facilities your company needs.

The next thing you need to do is ring your friendly telecomm supplier on 0845 270 0881 and we will go through your answers with you and suggest the type of system for you. There is no charge for this advice. It is all part of our service. www.datasharptele.com has more details.

Custard Creams can kill: Official

2009-09-22T16:58:00.001+01:00

Jaffa Cakes relatively harmless, survey reveals

A disturbing probe into the potential for apparently innocent biscuits' ability to do harm has revealed that an astounding 25 million Brits have been injured while indulging in some light coffee/tea break snack action, with 500 victims requiring hospital treatment.

That's according to research outfit Mindlab International, which determined that almost a third of adults had been scalded by hot beverages while dunking, 26 per cent had choked on crumbs and ten per cent had broken a tooth or filling while getting their laughing gear round a biscuit.

Rather more seriously, seven per cent of Britons have dropped a biscuit tin on their foot, three per cent have fallen off a chair reaching for vital nourishment, and an equal percentage have poked themselves in the eye with a biscuit.

Seven per cent admitted to have been bitten while feeding a tasty biscuit morsel to a pet or “other wild animal”. The most extreme example of biscuit-related mishap, however, was the case of the man who got stuck in wet concrete after wading in to retrieve a stray biccy.

Mindlab also carried out a "Biscuit Injury Threat Evaluation" (BITE) to determine which was Blighty's deadliest biscuit. Mindlab International director Dr David Lewis explained: “We tested the physical properties of 15 popular types of biscuits, along with aspects of their consumption such as ‘dunkability’ and crumb dispersal.

“Then one of our mathematicians correlated these findings with research data and responses from a nationwide survey of 1,000 adults.”

The chilling result is that the public would do well to eye the Custard Cream with suspicion, since it topped the list with a BITE risk rating of 5.63. That's compared with 4.34 for your common-or-garden Cookie, in second spot, and 4.12 for next-placed Choc Biscuit Bar.

Those of you who like sucking a Ginger Nut will be relieved to learn that they're relatively risk-free, rating 2.99 in ninth place. Anyone not wanting to chance their arm should stick to Jaffa Cakes, since they bottomed the list with an almost harmless 1.16.

Mike Driver, marketing director for biscuit manufacturers Rocky, which commissioned the survey, concluded: “Working with biscuits every day, we’d long suspected they’re not as innocent as they look - and we were right."

Here's the full biscuit risk rating listing:

* Custard Cream: 5.64
* Cookie: 4.34
* Choc Biscuit Bar: 4.12
* Wafer: 3.74
* Rich Tea: 3.45
* Bourbon: 3.44
* Oat Biscuit: 3.31
* Digestive: 3.14
* Ginger Nut: 2.99
* Shortbread: 2.90
* Caramel Shortcake: 2.76
* Nice Biscuit: 2.27
* Iced Biscuits/Party Rings: 2.16
* Chocolate Finger: 1.38
* Jaffa Cakes: 1.16

Ofcom bans 0870 revenue sharing

2009-08-04T09:45:00.001+01:00

August 3, 2009

Companies with an 0870 helpline will no longer receive a cut of revenues generated from customer calls.

Under new Ofcom rules, effective from 1 August 2009, revenue sharing for 0870 numbers is now illegal.

In addition, companies will have to inform customers exactly how much their 0870 number costs to dial.

Ofcom set up the ban in a bid to bring the price of 0870 calls down to the same rate as geographic numbers.

UK-based cost consultants, Expense Reduction Analysts, said companies that previously used an 0870 number to generate revenue will lose out.

“The Ofcom ruling effectively spells the ultimate death knell of certain revenue sharing calls,” said Nigel Rosehill, ERA’s head of communications.

“For example a company that has been receiving 100,000 call minutes per month via its 0870 telephone number would have generated some £36,000 a year on a rebate of 3p per minute.

“From the 1st August they could be charged £36,000 instead for receiving the same amount of calls on the same number – a difference of £72,000 on the bottom line.”

Network technology provider Opal echoed ERA’s concerns.

“If a business keeps its number then it will lose the revenue it generates,” said Geoff Wilson, Opal business development director.

“This needs to be replaced somehow, either by cutting costs in other areas of the business, stealth charges to the consumer, or by the business simply absorbing the costs.”

eBay to divorce Skype on Wall St

2009-05-20T11:46:00.000+01:00

Hangs up on Web 2.0 telco dream

eBay plans to spin off Skype sometime in 2010, having failed to turn itself into a Web 2.0 telecoms hybrid.

eBay said today it's targeting an initial public offering for Skype in the first half of next year. The IPO idea follows recent rumors that Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis were rounding up private equity partners to buy back their firm for $1.7bn. The IPO might also be a scheme for eBay to drive up the bidding price and make some of its money back.

The company has been looking for ways to offload its VoIP outfit since at least the beginning of this year, if only it could find someone willing to pay the right amount.

eBay's chief executive John Donahoe today cited "limited synergies" between the online auction house and VoIP engine, adding he thinks Skype will do better as a stand-alone publicly traded company. Donahoe said he's spent a year meditating on Skype's fate since he replaced Meg Whitman as CEO in April 2008.

Whitman is now campaigning to become governor of California based on her "solid" achievements as a business chief whilst running eBay.

The original bright idea behind Whitman's $2.6bn purchase of Skype in 2005 was to blend a communications unit inside its shoe, automotive and Star Trek memorabilia storehouse.

It was the kind of un-baked thinking that Silicon Valley championed as the very epitome of "rational exuberance". That is the opposite of the "irrational exuberance" of the dot-com era. Loosely translated: enthusiasm, without the crazy.

Four years later, eBay has been unable to logically integrate the technology into its core business. Turns out crazy is still crazy, no matter how rational it might seem during a tech bubble.

In 2007, eBay was forced to eat a $900m charge based on the decreased value of Skype.

eBay said Skype's 2008 revenue was $551 million, up 44 per cent from 2007. The company also expects to top $1bn revenue by 2011.

Perhaps the company is hoping an IPO announcement set for the distant future could work out two ways: either it gets investors excited about making Skype a separate firm, or it will urge those thinking about buying the company outright to reach a little deeper into their wallets. ®

Carphone buys Tiscali UK for £236m

2009-05-08T14:23:00.000+01:00

Carphone Warehouse is set to become Britain’s second largest broadband provider after it agreed to pay £236m in cash for the UK assets of Tiscali, the Italian telecoms group.

Carphone said it would be funded by its existing debt facilities and would raise its earnings earnings per share by 10 per cent in the current financial year to March 2010.

The move will also see Carphone move ahead of Virgin Media to become the UK’s second largest broadband supplier behind BT. It is currently third with 2.7m customers at December 31, according to Enders Analysis, the research group, but ahead of British Sky Broadcasting in fourth. Tiscali, the country’s fifth largest broadband supplier, has 1.7m customers but has been losing customers.

The news sent Carphone shares 12p or 7.6 per cent higher to 170p in afternoon London trading while shares in Tiscali, which also announced plans for a capital hike of €210m, were 3.7 per cent higher in Milan at €0.4465 in Milan.

A deal for Tiscali UK has been widely anticipated by investors fearful that it lacked the economies of scale to survive in the Italian and UK broadband markets.

But Tiscali has come under pressure in the last year to sell its UK assets to reduce its onerous borrowings. At €601.1m ($792m), Tiscali’s net debt is more than three times its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. The uncertainty has meant the shares have lost more than 80 per cent in value in the last 12 months.

Carphone made an informal offer of £550m in May last year, but it was rejected. Tiscali subsequently entered into exclusive talks with BSkyB over a sale but talks were called off in March with the parties unable to agree a price.

The deal is set to give Carphone around 25 per cent of the UK residential broadband market. Analysts at Citi argued that anything below £250m meant Carphone was getting the 1.8m customer case cheaper than it could otherwise acquire customers in the domestic marketplace.

“Given UK broadband penetration is about 65 per cent, mergers and acquisitions is the only way to grow the customer base in bulk,” Andrew Lee, analyst at Citi, told clients yesterday.

Analysts have also pointed out that the scale of the customer base would give Carphone in a stronger negotiating position with BT on wholesale fibre rates if fibre optic-based broadband services became an important service in the UK.

Tiscali said the deal had helped it agree the key terms of its debt restructuring plan. In addition to the proceeds from the sale of Tiscali UK, it will also raise up to €210m to strengthen its capital structure.

Woman to virtual ex: 'I won't be ignored!'

2008-11-21T14:49:00.000Z

Kimberly Jernigan--a 33-year-old woman from North Carolina--was apparently distraught after her online relationship with a 52-year-old man from Claymont, Del., came to an end.

The pair apparently met through the online community Second Life and began a virtual relationship. The two finally met in reality several months ago, and the alleged victim ended the relationship, sending Jernigan into a downward spiral.

In early August, Jernigan allegedly drove to the victim's Pennsylvania workplace and attempted to kidnap him at gunpoint, according to local news station CBS3.com. When she was unsuccessful, according to the report, she returned two weeks later to track down the victim's Delaware address, and posed as a postal worker to do so. After four days of searching, authorities said she found residence in the Whitney Presidential Towers on the 7100 block of Society Drive in Claymont.

On August 21, police said, Jernigan broke into the unnamed victim's apartment with a Taser, a pair of handcuffs, a BB gun, her dog, and a roll of duct tape. He wasn't there, so she waited. When the virtual ex arrived home he saw what looked like a laser beam projecting on his chest. He immediately fled the apartment and contacted the Newcastle County Police.

When police arrived they said they found Jernigan's dog, Gogi, bound with duct tape in the bathtub of the victim's bathroom. Jernigan's reason for gagging her pooch--"he was making too much noise." The dog was said to be uninjured, but the ASPCA is looking into possible charges of animal cruelty.

Approximately an hour after the incident, authorities in Maryland spotted Jernigan's vehicle at a rest stop on I-95. She was taken into custody after a brief struggle. Jernigan is currently facing charges of attempted kidnapping, burglary, and aggravated menacing, CBS3 said.

What's the lesson here, kiddies? Keep your virtual relationships virtual and don't bring it into the real world or some innocent animal may be harmed in the process...

BT's Mayfair exchange downed by burglary

2008-09-29T16:31:00.002+01:00

You may have Madonna to thank

BT's Mayfair exchange was burgled last night, leaving thousands of homes and businesses in central London without internet access this morning.

The raid cleaned out routers, networking cards and fibre at about 9pm on Wednesday, Reg sources said. According to data at Samknows, the exchange serves about 3,000 residential premises and 4,200 non-residential premises.

A BT spokesman confirmed police are investigating "an incident" at its Mayfair site, which is in Farm Street, near Park Lane. He said BT was unable to estimate yet when customers will see service restored but that more information would be released later today.

Customers including ISPs who resell BT Wholesale broadband lines have been told that new hardware is being sourced by engineers.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan police said a public statement is being prepared. We'll update this story as soon as we have it.

Update 11.34am

BT sent this statement:

We can confirm there was a break-in at our Mayfair Telephone Exchange last night (Wednesday), this is a now an ongoing police investigation and therefore we are unable to comment further.

BT apologises for any disruption caused to our customers. Our engineers are working around the clock to ensure that full service is up and running as soon as possible.

The Met is still working on its line.

Update 1.50pm

Police told El Reg they were called to the Farm Street exchange at about 1am this morning. Investigators from Central Westminster CID are working with BT to establish what was taken. No arrests have been made and police are not prepared to discuss the value of what was taken.

The Daily Mail offers the theory that the raiders used the scrum caused by a party thrown by Guy Ritchie and Madonna at the pub next door to the exchange as cover.

Pay-by-phone commerce coming closer

2008-07-10T16:24:00.000+01:00

The global trade body for the mobile industry and a European monetary organisation have signed a pact to speed up the deployment of handset payment services in Europe.

The GSM Association (GSMA) and the European Payments Council (EPC), which represents 8000 banks in the EU, will now jointly co-ordinate efforts to get phones paying for just about everything, from impulse purchases in shops to restaurant meals.

The programme has been called, simply, the Pay-Buy-Mobile initiative. But, in order to ensure such services run smoothly, the pair recognises the need for a “Trusted Service Manager” clearing house to help manage cash-flow between banks and network operators.

Although the partners haven't said which form or forms of contactless payment technology they envisage being used by mobile phone users, Near Field Communication (NFC) and Universal Integrated Credit Card (UICC) have been hinted at.

UICC is a smartcard used in mobile terminals in GSM and UMTS networks to allow them to communicate securely with the banks. NFC devices can be built directly into mobile phones to allow short-range wireless communications between, say, a mobile phone and reader, much like the Oyster card system used on the London Underground.

In Japan, mobile-phone based payments are already thriving. So much so that Japanese carrier KDDI and the Bank of Tokyo recently jointly created a bank specifically designed to create accounts for anyone using cashless-enabled mobile phones.

Welsh Darth Vader dodges jail

2008-05-21T11:57:00.001+01:00

A Welsh man, Arwel Wynn Hughes, from Holyhead has avoided jail for attacking two would-be Jedis with a crutch while disguised as Darth Vader.

Hughes, whose attack was captured on video, was sentenced to two months in prison suspended for 12 months.

Two keen Welsh Jedis were filming themselves having a pretend light sabre fight in their garden. Hughes leapt over a low garden wall with a binbag round his shoulders while wielding a crutch and shouting "Darth Vader".

After hitting the two, both members of Holyhead's Jedi Church, Hughes departed over the garden wall saying: "I'm only joking..."

The two Jedis complained of a headache and a bruised thigh after the incident. We wonder about the Jedi credentials of these two if they were defeated by a drunk bloke armed with a crutch.

The court heard Hughes had no memory of the incident since he had drunk most of a ten-litre box of wine. He only realised what had happened when he read about it in the local paper. When arrested he admitted being extremely drunk at the time.

Hughes admitted two charges of common assault. He will undergo treatment for his drink problem and must pay the two Jedis £100 each and £60 costs.

The Beeb has footage of the attack here.

GPS tracking fights teenage trauma

2008-04-17T12:11:00.001+01:00

Mobile phones and GPS tracking technology have been combined to track the whereabouts of unruly children, as part of a study into the health risks posed to tech teens.

In the study, 15 teenage girls were tracked by their mobile phones for one week. The researchers claim the study wasn’t designed to provide parents with information about where, say, Charlotte actually was when she was supposed to be home for tea.

Instead, the information is being compiled to study the health risks posed to teenagers. As the girls took their phones with them wherever they went, the teenagers’ movements could be accurately plotted on a map.

Dr Sarah Wiehe, who led the research, said that mobile phones and GPS technology help parents to better understand “where adolescents spend their time and what they’re doing”.

She claimed that, by studying teenagers' movements, parents will be able to intervene at points where their kids are most likely to, say, drink alcohol or smoke. Presumably parents will also know when their kids are at Make Out Point or hanging around on street corners, possibly with biker gangs.

Suspicious wives, or husbands, can already use GPS tracking technology to keep tabs on wayward partners. The Social Network Integrated Friend Finder (SNIFF) application can be accessed through Facebook or a mobile phone to provide users with a detailed map of someone’s location, or at least the location of their mobile phone.

SNIFF, created by US firm Useful Networks, can only be used if someone gives their permission for their whereabouts to be tracked. Each GPS tracking request costs 75p (€1/$2).

DIY satellite TV installer shoots wife dead

2008-03-28T16:56:00.000Z

.22 handgun - not the best way to drill through walls

Officials are pondering whether to charge a Missouri DIY satellite TV installer who decided that the best way to punch a hole through the wall was with a .22 calibre handgun, and in so doing accidentally shot and killed his wife.

According to KCTV5.com, Ronald Long was attempting to install said system in the bedroom of his family's Deepwater home last Saturday. After "several unsuccessful efforts to punch a hole through the exterior wall using other means" he popped two caps into the wall, unaware that his wife, Patsy, was outside the building.

The second round hit her in the chest, and although she was "given CPR by neighbors and family until medics arrived", she was later pronounced dead in hospital.

Sheriff's department spokesman Maj. Robert Hills explained: "He was under the impression that everybody was inside the residence, that he knew where everybody was at."

He added: "Once we complete a diagram of the incident, we will be submitting everything to the prosecuting attorney and let him decide if he wants to press criminal charges."

Hills said that "a person involved in such a case normally would be charged with manslaughter", KCTV5.com notes.

New HiPath OpenOffice solution from Siemens

2008-02-14T12:19:00.002Z

OpenOffice is a new unified communications platform from Siemens.

Technology is moving fast and we now have many different forms of communication tools at our fingertips whether it be emails, mobile calls, texts, instant messages, landline calls etc.

Dealing with all these different forms of communications takes up time in the day and there is always the worry that you haven't got the message quick enough to act in time.

Siemens new HiPath OpenOffice unifies all of this mediums creating a communications system that lets you combine your phone calls, voicemail boxes, conferencing, fax, and messaging into a single, unified solution freeing up time for you to get on with your day.

some of the advantages you’ll enjoy with HiPath OpenOffice include:

* Integrate communications with business processes
* See dramatic improvements in workflow
* Increase productivity and profitability
* Reduce organisational frustration and stress
* Share information seamlessly from any location
* Eliminate guessing games and wasted energy
* Reduce operational costs
* Reach team mates or employees the first time, every time

HiPath OpenOffice is a unified communications solution that incorporates the latest in VoIP. It’s designed and priced specifically for small and medium enterprises and because it uses genuine open standards, it integrates seamlessly into your existing IT environment. There’s no need to rip and replace; HiPath OpenOffice is easy to install, use, administer and maintain. What’s more, it can be scaled smoothly from 20 up to 150 users.

The average small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) uses 6.4 types of communication device and 4.8 communications applications such as email, mobile phones, desktop phones and PDA's. Juggling them is almost impossible, especially when your people could be anywhere within your building, on the road, or even on the other side of the world. The end result is inefficient communications with unpredictable costs that can easily get out of control:

* 52% of employees use multiple methods to contact someone on a daily basis
* 36% of the time they fail to get connected
* 22% of deadlines are missed as well as valuable revenue opportunities

So if you can overcome inefficient communications, you will have a distinct competitive advantage.

Quite often in business things can grind to a halt when someone can not be contacted. HiPath OpenOffice makes the frustrating physical and technological barriers to efficient communication a thing of the past. It enables you to achieve new levels of productivity by freeing up bottlenecks, reducing wasted time and speeding up decision making. So you can increase customer and employee satisfaction and improve revenue opportunities - all at a reduced operational cost.

HiPath OpenOffice has been specifically designed to meet the needs of small and medium enterprises with features that make managing diverse communications simple and cost effective. It lets everyone set their availability so you'll know if someone is in a meeting, on a phone call, when they'll become available and the best way to contact them. If you're out of the office you can even update your availability via your phone. HiPath OpenOffice makes it easy to set up conference calls using the 'Conference Management' feature. Schedule your conference calls, create a dial-in or ad-hoc call on the fly by simply dragging and dropping participants from your directory. Remember, there are no conference call charges. It's all handled through HiPath OpenOffice, so costs are reduced and productivity is improved because everyone can get together to make the decisions required to move forward.

Because HiPath OpenOffice integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Outlook™, everyone can access all their communications via a single screen. Email, voicemail, fax and instant messages can be viewed, managed and answered from the application they're most familiar with - the Outlook screen they use everyday. What's more, presence status and voicemail greetings will change dynamically based on events in the Outlook™ calendar, so callers will always get the latest information about staff availability.

HiPath OpenOffice is a total solution package that comes with a whole host of cool features. Just think how convenient they could be for your business:

* Have all your contacts in just ONE directory so you don't have to search for numbers in multiple places
* Access, change, and manage your key contacts with handy favorites lists
* Route all mobile and desk phone messages to ONE voice message box
* Receive and respond to faxes as easily as an email with a fax message box
* Know who you've called and who has called you with your personal call journal
* Forward all your calls to ONE number with intelligent call management
* Get immediate notifications when you are away from your desk and a key message or fax arrives
* Give your callers options to reach you or someone else with personal autoattendant
* Connect callers to available staff the first time and see the presence status of everyone in your organisation with Attendant Console
* Dial a number from any desktop application to contact someone immediately
* Never misunderstand a customer instruction or action item again with live call recording
* Instant message a contact who is already on another line to let them know another call is waiting or their attention is needed for another matter
* Take advantage of your negotiated call rates and call packages with different mobility capabilities

Article written about Siemens HiPath OpenOffice by Daniel of Datasharp Telecom

Teen-mum flick gets filmgoers hungry for hamburger phone

2008-02-06T16:37:00.000Z

Companies like Apple and Sony have known for years that movie product placement translates into big bucks. The latest such placement is...a hamburger phone, which features in new teens-up-the-duff movie Juno.

Statistics floating around online, which have been attributed to eBay, claim that sales of the retro handset jumped 759 per cent in the month after the film’s US release. The average sales price for the corded handset on the auction site is around $15 (£8/€11).

Quite why people would want to talk into something that’s been around for decades, rather than a state of the art wireless Dect handset is beyond us. However, that hasn’t stopped numerous companies cashing on the sales wave, while it lasts.

Hong Kong-based online retailer Cellphonefocus.com has already announced that it's stocking the fast-food phone. It's also trying to super-size its sales by selling French fry phones.

Film studio Fox Searchlight hasn’t commented on the hamburger phone’s popularity, but it’s rumoured the company gave some of the phones to reviewers as part of the film’s publicity campaign.

At least one thing’s for sure, Del Boy and Rodders will be upping their prices for hamburger handsets down Peckham market this week.

Written by a erstwhile stripper Diablo Cody, Juno has taken more than $78m in the US and garnered four Oscar nominations, including best director (for Jason Reitman), best actress (Ellen Page), best film and best script.

The Hamburger Phone is available from Cellphonefocus.com now for $16 (£9/€12). A European price hasn’t been served-up yet.

Fans beseige Shilpa Shetty's mobe

2007-11-12T15:53:00.000Z

Bollywood babe Shilpa Shetty has described herself as "extremely perturbed" after a Indian fan got hold of her mobile number and emailed it to all and sundry, with inevitable results.

According to AP, the 32-year-old thespo "was swamped with hundreds of calls" and SMS messages following the leak. Her publicist Dale Bhagwagar said: "Some want to date her, some want to just listen to her voice, some want to inquire if her musical Miss Bollywood is doing fine and some call just to check if they are speaking to the real Shilpa Shetty."

Shetty has filed a police complaint, and Mumbai cops are investigating. Officer Sushil Joshi noted that the fan responsible "could face a six-month jail term for harassment and illegally using the internet to publicise a private phone".

The offending number has now been cut off. Doubtless it will be reassigned shortly to some unfortunate who'll have to field calls for Richard Gere's favourite sub-continental snogging partner.

Mum sends stripper to teenage son's school

2007-11-09T10:06:00.000Z

A Nottinghamshire lad had a "birthday to remember" after a stripper turned up at his school, burst into his drama class and proceeded to flaunt herself like a two-buck hussy as shocked teacher and students looked on.

According to the Telegraph, the clothes-shedding strumpet was dispatched to Nottingham's Arnold Hill School and Technology College at the behest of the boy's mum, who also asked his teacher to film the event.

The stripper entered the classroom halfway through the lesson, and then, as a fellow pupil recounted to the Daily Mail: "She asked the lad to stand up, which he did, and told him he had been a very naughty boy because he hadn't been doing his homework. Then she put on some Britney Spears music and got out a collar and lead from her bag and told him to put them on.

"No one could believe it. Next she ordered him to get on all fours, led him around the classroom and hit him 16 times - once for each year - on the bottom with her whip. Then she took off some clothes until she was down to her bra and pants, pulled out some cream, put it on her buttocks and told him to rub it in.

"To be fair to the teacher, you could tell she was just stunned - and when the cream came out she told the stripper 'That's it. That's enough'."

It apparently was enough for the honoured guest of this show, since he "ran out of the classroom while the stripper calmly packed her bag and left".

A spokeswoman for Nottinghamshire County Council said no one had been suspended and the police were not involved. She added: "We and the school are investigating into the situation."

And in case you're wondering what kind of parent would subject their offspring to this kind of humiliation, the mother in question told the school she'd actually ordered a gorilla "through an agency", but got the cream-loving dog-handler instead.

Siemens' New OpenStage Family of SIP Phones

2007-11-08T09:13:00.000Z

Siemens' New OpenStage Family of SIP Phones features Extraordinary Design and Newest Technical Standards

Siemens Enterprise Communications has announced OpenStage™, a new line of stylish IP telephones that bring an open communications hardware platform to the desktop for the first time. With four different models ranging from basic to advanced, OpenStage phones feature a revolutionary new design that combines ease-of-use with PC functionality. In addition, OpenStage phones utilize Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) to integrate wired, wireless and IP communications to invoke new conferencing and call features such as “push to conference,” desktop call management, “presence” based calling, and more. The phones also support compatible third-party applications through standards-based technology such as Java, HTML, WML and XML so that they can become a key interface for everyday enterprise business applications.
OpenStage introduces a touch sensitive wheel, called TouchGuide™ that allows easy access to the menu-driven user interface. The TouchSlider™ controls the volume of the handset, ringer and speaker phone, and there are touch sensitive pre-set and programmable keys that provide easy access to frequently used applications and features, such as address books, voicemail, conferencing, and speed dial. OpenStage also lets you dial using hands-free voice commands or a conventional keypad. It also features a high-quality speaker phone that has been specially designed for conference calls, and can operate multiple connections from the same desktop.

“End-users in business environments are faced with an ever-increasing variety of communications capabilities, devices, interfaces and modes. Efforts to streamline and integrate these capabilities, and to make the most of the latest in navigation techniques, are welcome and will get the attention of buyers,” said Jerry Caron, Vice President, Current Analysis. “Innovative systems, such as the Siemens Enterprise Communications Open Stage portfolio, make access to sophisticated capabilities easier and more intuitive, thus inherently raising the relevance of the capabilities themselves.”

Built-in Bluetooth support also lets you use a Bluetooth headset with the OpenStage deskphone for hands-free operation. A V.Card exchange even allows you to transfer contacts between compatible mobile phones and the desk phone. A USB port is available to backup data, such as personal contacts, as well as to connect to a wireless LAN using a WLAN dongle. With network support, you can readily access a corporate phone directory using an LDAP client, or gain public phone directory access using XML to look up new contacts.

“OpenStage is the missing link that integrates cellular, the Internet and the wired desktop,” said Thomas Zimmermann, Chief Operating Officer of Siemens Enterprise Communications. “We designed OpenStage to deliver mobile convenience in a fixed device, providing instant access that is always available and easy to drive. And this line of IP telephones offer a new, rich communications experience that combines style elements with the convenience of a mobile phone.”

OpenStage is designed to help organizations improve productivity and streamline workflow by integrating system-wide communications into the most-used office device, the telephone handset. Since it is an open application platform, OpenStage gives IS departments and third party developers more flexibility to write and deploy a wide range of value-added applications that can make the phone a key interface for enterprise applications and that can speed communications and workflow.

For example, Java applications that run on a PC, mobile phone, or PDA can now be readily ported to run on the OpenStage phone. Using HTML, the phones can be used as an interface for hosted applications, such as timesheets, calendars, or public phone books. WML support makes it compatible with applications developed for mobile phones, such as access to traffic news. Support for XML also makes it easy to customize OpenStage for any number of users, such as interfaces for building control systems, responses to incoming calls or to create “tell me when” applications that monitor for specific conditions. OpenStage is part of LifeWorks, Siemens’ vision for open communications and seamless collaboration across multiple protocols, networks, and devices.

Ofcom fights to save mobile-mast website

2007-10-08T16:58:00.000+01:00

Ofcom is appealing to the courts against a decision by the Information Tribunal, on 4 September, which ruled that the data on a website which gives details on all the mobile-phone masts in the UK should be released in a comprehensive and searchable form. This upheld an earlier ruling by the information commissioner in September 2006.

Media watchdog Ofcom has provided the Sitefinder website since December 2003 after an independent expert group recommended the government set up a national database to provide the public with details of where base stations were located and their emissions.

Until last year the data uploaded to the website was provided voluntarily by the mobile-network operators. But they stopped providing data last year after the information commissioner ordered Ofcom to release information considered to be "commercially sensitive" about each mobile-phone base station and their grid references to Health Protection Scotland (HPS).

Ofcom had previously refused to disclose the information following a freedom-of-information request from HPS, applicable under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Ofcom argued that disclosing the requested information would contravene the intellectual-property rights of the mobile-network operators. It told the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) that making the raw data available would give competitors the ability to work out how each operator's 2G or 3G radio networks were designed.

Ofcom also said that publication of a searchable national data set would compromise the security of the police and emergency service radio network. People would then be able to target and close down specific geographic areas by identifying key locations vital to the police communication infrastructure.

Ruling against Ofcom, the ICO decided that a determined terrorist or criminal could obtain information about the location of Tetra masts by manually searching for each base station on Sitefinder. It therefore deemed that publication of the requested information would not present an adverse risk to public safety over and above the present situation.

Ofcom also failed to demonstrate that any actual harm to the mobile operators, such as a loss of return on their investment in creating the database, would arise from disclosure.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Ofcom confirmed that it was appealing against the tribunal's decision on how the public interest, "in balancing the public right to information and the protection of sensitive business information", should be assessed.

"Because much of the underlying data is considered by the mobile-network operators as commercially sensitive, and as a whole its disclosure could lead to malicious or criminal damage to the networks, the mobile-network operators told Ofcom that they would be reluctant to continue providing it for the Sitefinder database if it was released publicly," the statement read.

Ofcom remains confident that it will be able to persuade mobile-network operators to provide updated information for the website in the future, but admits that failure to do so would mean Sitefinder "would cease to be a valuable information tool for the public".

A date for the court hearing has yet to be set.

Link to Sitefinder website

Dwarf superglues todger to hoover

2007-09-05T16:46:00.000+01:00

'The most embarrassing moment of my life'

Staff at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh battled for an hour to disconnect the penis of Captain Dan The Demon Dwarf from a hoover after the diminutive Fringe performer inadvertantly superglued it to the vacuum cleaner's "attachment".

According to the Evening Standard, the hoover forms part of Captain Dan's Circus Of Horrors act, in which he inexplicably pulls the device across the stage with his todger. On this occasion, however, "the attachment came loose before a performance so he tried to glue it back on".

The 42-year-old misread the superglue instructions and, having allowed the adhesive a mere 20 seconds to dry rather than the required 20 minutes, duly found himself semi-permanently docked after attempting a premature test.

Of his hospital ordeal, a shaken Captain Dan recounted: "It was the most embarrassing moment of my life. When I got wheeled into a packed A&E on a wheelchair with a hoover attached to my willie, I just wished the ground could swallow me up."

Hosted IP Telephony

2007-08-09T10:24:00.000+01:00

There’s now another alternative to the traditional PBX telephone system sitting on the wall in the back office gathering dust. The answer? Don’t have a physical system at all.

With Hosted IP telephony the user will have a pre-programmed IP telephone or some type of device connected via an analogue adaptor that is connected to any available broadband connection. The central system resides in a secure data centre and the user then connects to the functionality of this via internet protocol and can make and receive calls from any available broadband connection in the world assuming that it has adequate quality. To access the features of the system for reporting or programming the user will log onto a web portal using the user’s telephone number (which incidentally can be any type of geographical number and does not need to be changed when you move offices) and a password. The web portal includes features such as the internal phonebook, voicemail, conference call scheduling, call handling. It also has a dial out facility which means that you can click on a contacts record and it automatically dials out from the user’s handset.

Benefits of a hosted solution include a low monthly user cost which covers maintenance, upgrades and seat rental. No more concerns about systems going out of date as hosted technology is constantly evolving with the benefits being passed onto the user as part of the monthly rental. Free calls between any user on the same network regardless of country location. Disaster resiliant as there is no physical equipment other than the handset itself.

Overall, this is a very exciting new development for the telecoms arena which gives more flexibility and userbility in a fast paced and ever changing sector.

Article written by Daniel Bevan of Datasharp Telecom (Chiltern)

www.dstelecom.co.uk
www.ds-telecom.co.uk
www.voipphone-systems.co.uk

VoIP for Business

2007-08-06T15:37:00.000+01:00

As technology moves along at breakneck speed, the telecoms industry welcomes the arrival of VoIP or voice over internet protocol. This is the process of translating normal voice into packets of data which travels down an internet connection and then reforms as voice again upon its destination.

One of the single most important landmarks in the evolution of this format has been the worldwide phenomenon known as Skype. Two Danish chaps, Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, sat down one day and created this destructive technological behemoth which has changed the face of voice communications as we know it for ever. Better still they have made it possible for two or several (via conference call) people to download a piece of free software onto their PC's and talk for absolutely free for any amount of time at any destination in the world.

In the meantime, the business world has been following behind on its coat-tails seeking ways of making this work for business telephone systems based structure. You can now have your system hosted remotely using VoIP to access the system and make inter-office calls for free or break out to worldwide destinations for a fraction of the cost of a normal BT call - and all over any available broadband connection. Whilst before, the quality of the call was down to the copper wire, it is now squarely based around adequate bandwidth and un-contended interference. Other options include using VoIP adaptors, SIP trunking via a VoIP phone system with new products coming onto the market all the time.

If you have decided that a VOIP phone system is the right step for your company, you may need to determine which of your existing telephone equipment you are able to keep. The potential cost savings that can be made through using any existing digital equipment are huge. Many digital phone systems can be IP enabled using minor hardware additions and software upgrades.

When shopping around for potential systems you need to be certain of the features they provide as standard and which are optional cost extras. You also need to be certain of exactly what is included with the system.

You will also need to enquire about the compatibility of existing equipment. The technology used in many VOIP systems may affect the implementation of any existing telephone hardware.

You will also need to ensure that any devices such as fax machines, credit card processors, and security systems etc can be integrated into your new VOIP phone system. You should make any potential vendor aware of such devices so they can provide you with a suitable phone system for your requirements.

Finally, do not try to save money by buying used VOIP phone systems. Remember VOIP is a new technology, so even last years equipment is outdated. Also the installation cost will still apply whether the system is new or second hand, and the service costs may even be higher due to reliability issues. To put it simply it just isn?t worth the hassle, the higher secondary costs will wipe out any potential saving.

Romanian cops cuff drunk, naked, handless driver

2007-07-27T14:48:00.000+01:00

No licence, naturally

Romanian traffic cops in the seaside town of Constanta were rather surprised to discover that the driver of a BMW they pulled for zigzagging across the road had no licence, no hands, no clothes, and was figuratively legless, evz.ro reports.

Aurel Olteanu, 23, tested positive for twice the drink-drive limit, and put his lack of clothes down to a trip to a local nudist beach, which he'd left in a bit of a hurry.

The reason for Olteanu's amputated hands is not noted, but the Beemer was an automatic, which must have made things a bit easier for him.

According to Ananova, police sub-inspector Marius Ghita said: "He had no licence, but told us he had developed his own special way of driving."

Olteanu has been charged with drunk driving and driving without a licence, having apparently avoided a public decency rap.

eBayer mails UK lad £44,000

2007-07-27T14:42:00.001+01:00

Got more than the PS2 he was expecting

A 16-year-old Norfolk lad got more than he bargained for when he successfully bid £95 for a PS2 on eBay - the console plus €65,400 (£44k) in cash, the BBC reports.

Police are currently holding the wonga - which arrived with the games console at the teen's Norfolk home back in March and was reported by his parents - under the Proceeds of Crime Act. According to the BBC, magistrates gave Norfolk cops until September to trace the owner, at which time the case will return to court.

The family could then apply to claim the funds under the Police Property Act, although the powers-that-be can obtain a further order to hang onto the booty pending further investigation.

An eBay spokesman said: "We know that eBay is a great place to pick up a bargain, although in this case, we agree that the contents of the parcel were somewhat unusual and we will assist with any inquiries the police may wish to make."

German hurls computer from apartment block

2007-07-27T14:40:00.000+01:00

'Who hasn't felt like doing that?' admit police

A German chap who demonstrated his frustration with his PC by throwing it out of the window escaped a fine when police oficers decided they rather sympathised with his actions.

According to the Evening Standard, Hanover cops were alerted in the middle of night by neighbours who reported a "loud crash" outside their apartment block. Officers duly attended the scene, finding the pavement strewn with electronic debris.

The unnamed 51-year-old perp explained he'd "got annoyed" with his machine, which struck a chord with the police officer who admitted: "Who hasn't felt like doing that?"

Accordingly, he was not sanctioned for disturbing the peace, but was made to clear up the mess. The make of computer and offending OS are not noted.

Mobile-mast danger is all in your head

2007-07-27T14:27:00.000+01:00

'If you believe something's going to harm you, it will'

Researchers investigating the health effects of mobile phone masts have found that sufferers report symptoms regardless of whether the equipment is actually on or off.

The academic investigators were led by Professor Elaine Fox of the University of Essex, and their report was published by Environmental Health Perspectives, a peer-reviewed journal run by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

During the study, 56 people who said they suffered adverse health effects from mobile mast transmissions were compared with 120 controls. Twelve of the professedly mast-sensitive individuals dropped out after the "open" testing, in which subjects were told whether or not a transmission was actually happening, as did five controls.

The remaining 44 mast-sensitives and 115 controls were then put through "double-blind" tests in which neither they nor the researchers knew whether the equipment was transmitting. The trials employed both GSM and UMTS transmissions.

A few of the subjects correctly guessed the answer every time, but the report authors said that was to be expected.

"Participant performance for each group did not differ from chance," they wrote.

There was an apparent correlation at first between UMTS signals and the sensitive group's reports of "arousal", but the scientists said this was caused by the fact that the random test equipment happened to generate a lot of UMTS transmissions during early stages, when the subjects were anxious.

According to the researchers, the trial results showed that "exposure from mobile phone technology is not related to levels of well-being or physical symptoms in [mast-sensitive] individuals".

"Furthermore, [mast-sensitive] individuals are unable to detect the presence of [transmissions] under double-blind conditions. It remains the case however, that [mast-sensitive] individuals present with a range of distressing and serious symptoms and often have a very poor quality of life."

It seems that the presence of mobile phone masts can indeed make people severely ill, but this has nothing to with radio waves - and probably everything to do with the fact that the sufferers expect to be harmed.

Professor Fox told the BBC that "belief is a very powerful thing .. If you really believe something is going to do you some harm, it will."

So now we only need to worry about the dangers of Wi-Fi...

Killer Wi-Fi panics London's chattering classes

2007-06-13T16:03:00.000+01:00

Recent revelations that Wi-Fi may provoke spontaneous abortions in cattle, raise storms and tempests, curdle milk and fry children's brains have had the desired effect among London's chattering classes, with panicked parents mobilising to contain the wireless menace.

According to The Independent, London-based Scooter Computer's call-out service has recently received "hundreds" of calls from concerned users in the wake of a chilling Panorama special last month which highlighted the possible risks of going wires-free.

The company's Will Foot explained: "I have never seen such a reaction. It's completely out of the blue. More than 50 per cent of enquiries were from people worried about Wi-Fi access."

Foot said Scooter Computer had already sent in tinfoil-clad suppression units to remove 25 systems, amid a flurry of Wi-Fi-busting vigilante action.

Nicola Hart, of north London's Dartmouth Park, was apparently "so concerned about the radiation emitted from the systems that she removed Wi-Fi from her home, and persuaded her neighbours and her daughter's school to do the same".

She claimed to have suffered "a lot of funny symptoms" at the hands of Wi-Fi, which she put down to "an early menopause". She explained: "We put the system in about four months ago because my 17-year-old son wanted to have access to the internet at the same time as us. I did not really think about any effects it might have."

Once the Wi-Fi was shown the door, Hart "began sleeping and feeling better", and this prompted her to persuade her six-year-old daughter's school in leafy Belsize Park to can its system. She noted: "A lot of the parents were very pleased, and a lot of my friends are very keen to have it taken out of their children's schools."

Sinead Griffiths, a researcher from Walthamstow, likewise binned Wi-Fi, mainly "to protect her children", although she admitted to suffering "headaches and lethargy". She said: "There is not enough information available on the subject. I don't want to take any risks. You just don't know what all this technology in the home is doing to us."

And to reinforce just how Wi-Fi might upset your ying-yang balance and provoke inauspicious feng shui, "The Independent's Green Goddess columnist Julia Stephenson reported last week that she too had disconnected her Wi-Fi, on the advice of her naturopath".

Mobile phones no longer used for calls

2007-05-11T12:08:00.000+01:00

Too mundane for 21st century

Mobile phone call volumes have dropped for the first time in 10 years, according to the annual JD Power survey.

The survey, of nearly 3,000 UK mobile phone users, found that pre-paid customers are making an average of 10 calls a week, falling from 14 last year. Contract customers average 27, down from 35 in 2006, but those customers are now sending 46 text messages every week, up from 32.
Click here to find out more!

A lot of this is down to the wider adoption of text messaging for communications - once the preserve of the youth, people of all ages are now learning to abuse the English language in pursuit of squeezing meaning into 160 characters.

More worrying for the network operators is the amount customers are saving by using text. A pre-pay customer is now spending an average of £12.35 per month, down from £19.29 last year, and even contract customers have seen a 20 per cent drop in their bill (from £40.44 to £32.45).

Among pre-paid customers, those with O2 are spending the most, averaging £13.95 every month, while Virgin customers are only spending £10.90. Orange has the most spendthrift contract customers, averaging £37 a month, while Virgin is again the home of the cost-conscious at £26.50.

Despite falling incomes, the networks are still desperate to reduce churn rates. Forty-six per cent of contract customers have received some form of bribe for their loyalty, generally handset upgrades for those with contracts, and free credit for the pre-paid.

The survey notes that modern handsets offer such a range of entertainment there's little time to make phone calls - users are busy playing games, watching videos, and checking on their eBay

WHAT $250 MILLION DOLLARS LOOKS LIKE!!!

2007-04-27T16:40:00.000+01:00

TALKING AND DRIVING MORE DANGEROUS IF YOU'RE ALONE

2007-04-27T16:37:00.000+01:00

Mobile phone use twice as dangerous as talking to passengers

A new study published in the latest edition of Accident Analysis & Prevention has found that talking to passengers in the car is less dangerous than talking on a hands-free phone.

The study is a follow-up to one published two years ago that established that drivers chatting on the phone were more than four times more likely to have an accident than those driving in silence - but that study made no comparison with talking to passengers in the car.

Now researchers at The George Institute for International Health, Sydney Australia, have filled that gap by talking to 274 drivers attending hospital in Perth, and asking them what they were doing just before their accident.

The results show that driving with two or more passengers more than doubles the chances of having an accident, but using a mobile phone increases the chances of having an accident by a factor of more than four.

The effect of trying to get directions on the phone while being screamed at by two children wasn't established, but it's probably worth taking extra care over the weekend.

PROXIMITY BASED DISCOUNTS VIA MOBILE TEXT

2007-04-18T09:47:00.000+01:00

Volunteers sign up for adverts

Mobile advertising can work. In a trial with 1,000 volunteer customers, Singapore operator M1 has launched a location-based marketing drive. Having opted-in, a user walking along Orchard Road, a main shopping street in the city- state, receives messages offering discounts in stores or restaurants as they approach them.

Shopkeepers, who are typically cutting 10 per cent off prices, capture customers who might otherwise have passed them by. Restaurants can offer discounts to attract early and late diners, extending their full-capacity hours.

BT signs up HBO, Universal for VoD

2007-02-19T16:02:00.000Z

Home Box Office, maker of The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm, is to supply content to BT Vision, the video on demand service from BT, along with Universal, which will provide access to their library of music videos.

The content will be available from May by subscription, or per episode. IN due course each series will be available in its entirety.

Individual episodes will cost between 79 pence and ₤1.50, with subscriptions depending on the bundle.

The Universal deal includes its entire catalogue of music videos, along with music-related documentaries and live concerts. Some documentaries will be as cheap as 29p, with a decent concert costing up to ₤2.99.

This, the latest in a string of deals signed by BT, is notable only for the inclusion of the HBO brand. Nothing is exclusive, so expect HBO content to turn up elsewhere.

But it's certainly a good selling point for BT when it can offer an entire series of The Sopranos or Six Feet Under, on demand.

Skype boys christen video venture

2007-01-19T16:33:00.000Z

Start-up formerly known as Venice Project created by Skype and Kazaa founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis - has been renamed Joost.com.

The service is one of several aiming to change the way we watch TV, or at least how we access video content online.

The software is in beta and available for download from here.

Joost uses peer-to-peer technology to distribute video content. The service will be supported by TV-like advertising. The software is currently Windows-only but Joost hopes to be available for Mac and Linux machines in the next few months.

VoIP-powered model car racing is go

2007-01-08T16:41:00.000Z

A version of Scalectrix has been developed with the slot cars controlled by shouting down a VoIP line.

The game is the brain child of developer Christopher Paretti. The volume of a voice signal is processed and hooked up to act as the equivalent of squeezing the trigger on the perennial children's favourite.

The subtlety of the manual version's control system is not lost though; Paretti suggests steady chanting may be better than intermittent barking down the phone.

So there you go. Chris' site with accompanying wholesome family fun pictorial accompaniment is here .

Parents can look forward to damaged ear drums next Christmas it seems.

Three Explorers Are Captured...

2007-01-03T16:43:00.000Z

A Frenchman, an Englishman and a New Yorker were exploring the jungle and were captured by a fierce tribe. As they sit in a hut, awaiting their fate, the chief comes to them and says, "The bad news is that now that we've caught you, we're going to kill you, and then use your skins to build a canoe. The good news is that you get to choose how you die."

The Frenchman says, "I take ze poison." The chief gives him some poison, the Frenchman says, "Vive la France!" and drinks it down.

The Englishman says, "A pistol for me, please." The chief gives him a pistol, he points it at his head, says, "God save the queen!" and blows his brains out.

The New Yorker says, "Gimme a fork." The chief is puzzled, but he shrugs and gives him a fork. The New Yorker takes the fork and starts jabbing himself all over -- the stomach, the sides, the chest, everywhere.

There's blood gushing out all over, it's horrible. The chief is appalled, and screams, "What are you doing???"

The New Yorker looks at the chief and says, "So much for your canoe, asshole!"

Watch this...YOU ARE FEELING SLEEPY

2007-01-03T15:38:00.000Z

Another year goes by and once again we start a new year with much hope and anticipation. Lots of us have been stuffing our faces with turkey and mince pies and daydreaming about things we are going to achieve over the coming year.

So for all you intrepid daydreamers out there - IP TELEPHONY SOLUTIONS!!!!!!

There, I said it .. maybe it will stick..maybe you will finally do something about getting with it...finally.

Call me 0870 770 2670 or for all you freebie geebies skype me

Happy Xmas

2006-12-21T16:30:00.000Z

Things are winding down here at Telecoms Zeitgest central so to all you eyeballs out there wishing you much merriment over the coming days! Lets hope the FOG lifts as soon as possible otherwise we'll all be shortly donning the sherlock hats and large magnifying glasses...

Lets hope that IP telephony finally comes of age in 2007. For gods sake we've all been harking on about it for many moons...

C U :-)

Vesper from Casino Royale

2006-11-28T16:39:00.000Z

Britain's unluckiest man falls down manhole

2006-11-28T16:36:00.000Z

16 major accidents during lifetime of mishaps

A 54-year-old Doncaster unfortunate - dubbed "Britain's unluckiest man" - has continued a lifelong tradition of mishaps by falling down a manhole, Ananova reports.

John Lyne, of Stainforth, near Doncaster suffered injuries to his back, left leg and both knees as a result of the tumble, and will be out of action for 32 weeks, according to the Doncaster Free Press.

Lyne's career began as a child, when he fell off a horse and cart and was run over by a delivery van. As a teenager, he fell from a tree and broke his arm. On his way home from hospital - on Friday 13th - the bus he was in crashed, provoking another fracture in the same arm.

Since then, he's been hit by lightning twice, fallen victim to a rock-fall in a mine, has nearly drowned and has enjoyed three car crashes.

Lyne said: "I don't think there is any reason or explanation for it though, it has just happened really. I have to particularly be careful on the Friday 13ths, when a few accidents have fallen."

The poor bloke added: "Everyone thinks it is just hilarious. My mates, family and wife Susan just laugh about it."

South African man throws pregnancy sickie

2006-11-28T16:24:00.000Z

A South African man has been fined £70 for forging a sick note claiming he needed some quality time tending his unborn baby, Ananova reports.

According to Sapa news agency, 27-year-old Charles Sibindana "stole a medical certificate from a health centre used by his pregnant girlfriend", but failed to take into account he lacked the necessary womb to pull off the scam.

Magistrate Bruno Van Eeden in Vereeniging, near Johannesburg, slapped the master skiver with the aforementioned fine and told him "not to walk around faking sick letters from gynaecologists".

RTX ships 'first' cordless Skype phone

2006-11-28T16:21:00.000Z

Danish handset maker RTX Telecom today launched what it claims is the first cordless Skype phone that doesn't require a PC. That's what the blogs are saying, at any rate. What RTX is really claiming is to have shipped the first RTX PC-less Skype handset, which is a bit like Honda making a big deal about how it's the first company in the world to ship a Civic with four wheels.

rtx telecom dualphone 3088 skype cordless

RTX's Dual Phone 3088 isn't the first PC-less Skype phone by a long chalk. Philips announced one back in September, and both Logitech and Panasonic launched similar products earlier this year. And then there are all the Wi-Fi-enabled Skype phones from SMC, Netgear et al that likewise require no PC.

The 3088 uses a DECT connection to communicate with its base-station unit, which plugs into a broadband router. It also hooks into the phone network to allow it to operate as a standard. Outgoing calls can be made either way.

RTX claimed the 3088 offers ten hours' talk time and almost six days' standby-by operation.

Wary launch imminent for BT broadband telly Vision

2006-11-28T16:18:00.000Z

BT will quietly launch its long-trailed TV over broadband service Vision on Monday.

The IPTV package brings the 30ish Freeview channels plus a host of premium on-demand content to the firm's broadband base. A set-top box will offer Sky+ style PVR capability with its hard drive able to store 80 hours of programming.
Click here to find out more!

A string of deals with content providers Disney, Channel 4, SonyBMG, the FA Premiership, and others will see movies, music videos, and sport available on a paid-for basis to supplement Freeview channels. BT says there will be no charges for unwanted Vision services - anything apart from Freeview will be opt-in.

BT will not begin big splash advertising of Vision until spring. Next week's launch will see pricing and programmming strategy fleshed out, but early numbers will be carefully watched to avoid embarrassing supply delays. A spokesman said the firm would be taking a "sensible approach" to the rollout.

The problems experienced by Carphone Warehouse and Orange in the rollout of their "free" broadband services earlier this year have acted as an augury to the rapidly converging communications and media industries.

Elsewhere, O2 has made it clear it is concentrating on establishing the infrastructure of its broadband service before a marketing push. Along with Vodafone it will eschew a "free" pitch in favour of emphasising quality of service.

Few expect BT to wrest a very large portion of the pay TV market away from Sky and cable monopoly NTL (soon to be rebranded as Virgin Media). The rationale backing Vision surrounds customer retention and adding value to its position in the broadband market.

Britain wide open to alien invasion

2006-11-10T16:50:00.000Z

Britain wide open to alien invasion
Actual aliens this time, not an enlarged EU

The British government is shockingly underprepared for an attack by extraterrestrials, an ex-MoD man has claimed.

Nick Pope, a career civil servant who spent four years heading up the MoD's research into UFO sightings, is concerned that credible evidence of an alien threat is being ignored and that Britain is "wide open" to attack.

According to an article in London paper The Evening Standard, Pope said: "The consequences of getting this one wrong could be huge. If you reported a UFO sighting now, I am absolutely sure that you would just get back a standard letter telling you not to worry. Frankly, we are wide open - if something does not behave like a conventional aircraft now, it will be ignored."

Pope explains that he became convinced of the reality of alien visits to Earth while he was investigating reports of UFO sightings. The MoD investigates all of these to make sure that British airspace has not been compromised.

He says he has seen no evidence of hostile intent, but suspects that the planet is being covertly reconnoitred.

What he doesn't say, is what sort of plan should be in place to deal with any wannabe alien marauders. After all, if some big green lizardy things with arm-mounted bazooka-death-ray-guns did show up and want to take over, we'd be hard pushed to mount a credible defence.

"One is left with the uneasy feeling that if it turned out to be so [hostile aliens on the rampage], there is very little we could do about it," Pope notes.

Quite so.

So what convinced this otherwise mild-mannered civil servant that the truth was out there?

He says although most sightings can be explained away, there are a few that defy conventional explanations. He cites two examples: the first from 1993 when numerous RAF personnel reported a vast triangular craft flying above their bases. Hundreds of members of the public also called in sightings over a period of several hours.

The second is from 1980, when RAF staff in Suffolk found a landing module of some kind in the woods. According to the reports, it flew off when they arrived to check it out, but subsequent examination found that the footprints it left behind were emitting 10 times normal levels of radiation.

UK Telecoms

2006-11-06T17:09:00.000Z

Just pick up a copy of Comms Dealer magazine and you would be hard pushed to read about an industry going through any problems. Lots of Mergers and acquisitions, strong sales and company growth, new technologies emerging by the week. I also see a merging of entertainment with telecoms which is definately an area to watch....

Bluetooth and Wireless Headsets

2006-11-06T16:42:00.000Z

One of the greatest developments that has happened in recent years is the emergance of bluetooth wireless headsets. A fantastic device that can potentially connect your landline, with your mobile phone as well as operate IP telephony over your PC. Thats 3 forms of verbal interaction with one device, all at the same time. I'm sure there are other applications for the wireless headset but I'll wait for the posts to follow....

The only problem now though is everyone walking around with these cyber devices hanging off our heads. Not to mention the weird sight of people walking along talking to themselves. Small price to pay...

Skype users hang on for free calls

2006-11-03T16:54:00.000Z

Skype users hang on for free calls - Promotion gone wrong

Skype user forums are filling up with angry customers who signed up to the Voice over Internet Protocol firm's free UK calls promotion.

The only trouble is they are still being charged for calls. The cock-up has done little for Skype's reputation for "customer service".

Punters who bought £10 of Skype credit were supposed to get six months of free calls to UK landlines, including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

But dozens of customers who paid their £10 are still waiting to have free calls activated.

A statement from Skype said: ""We are really sorry to hear that some users have experienced problems with Talk for Britain. We are working extremely hard to resolve these issues and will update our website as soon as the problems are resolved."

SkypeIn not in right now

2006-11-03T16:51:00.000Z

SkypeIn not in right now - Incoming calls routed nowhere

Skype, the popular VoIP service, has been having technical difficulties with its SkypeIn service which enables Skype users to have a real phone number and receive normal phone calls through their Skype service.

Users report that only a small proportion of calls to UK numbers are getting through, with voice mail failing and some users not receiving any calls at all.

The problem seems to have surfaced in the middle of October, but has been getting steadily worse since, and is now so bad that Skype is mailing those who complain to apologise and promise compensation. But with business customers reporting lost clients, and personal users missing out on contacts, it seems unlikely that Skype will be able to satisfy many of the affected users.

Only the SkypeIn service appears to be experiencing problems. SkypeIn allows incoming calls from the normal phone network which are routed to a Skype account, or it would do if it was working.

SkypeOut, the service which allows Skype users to dial normal numbers, uses infrastructure supplied by BT and is working fine, and Skype-to-Skype calls are also connecting without any problems.

In theory, any call experiencing problems connecting to a Skype account should instead be routed to the voice mail service. But some customers report that all their incoming calls have been routed to voice mail, regardless of their availability, while others have no voice mail functionality at all. Many users are realising that an unreliable phone service can be worse than no phone service at all, as callers receiving an unobtainable signal may well assume the worst.

IP phone man's VONAGE Hell

2006-11-01T16:54:00.000Z

Vonage has apologised after coding slip-ups caused one of its customers to be billed 80 times - at a cost £5.99 per occasion - for changes to accounts that didn't belong to him. He found out he was able to see other customers' account details and credit card information when he logged into his Vonage account. The IP telephony firm had changed his number so many times that his Linksys router had given up to the ghost. To add insult to injury, he discovered he'd been billed scores of times for changes to other people's accounts.

Other customers were subsequently assigned numbers temporarily given to him.

He'd been unable to receive voice mails for 18 months since becoming a Vonage customer, a problem he attributes to the phone number merry-go-round he's been forced to endure. The problem peaked last week when he was able to see one of five other customer's personal and billing details at random when he logged into his account.

Since reporting his problems to Vonage, the IP telephony firm has sorted out the mess and he says he's now able to login and collect voicemail for the first time in 18 months. "I went to Vonage for the convenience of using the service when I go abroad and as a way of reducing my phone bill. In the end, I'd have been better to stay with BT,"

He said Vonage reps in New Jersey told him a scripting error was the root cause behind why he was assigned continuously changing numbers. Numbers temporarily assigned to him were reissued, which goes some way towards explaining why he could see other people's details when he logged onto his Vonage account, while not exactly getting to the bottom of the problem.

In a statement, Vonage said the mix-up was an isolated problem, for which it apologised.

"Vonage has conducted a thorough investigation of the issues raised. We found that in this customer's circumstance there was a temporary problem in the transfer of voicemail facilities following a change of number, due to an upgrade of the voicemail service, for which we apologise. While we cannot publicly discuss an individual's account details and usage, we can reassure Vonage customers that this was a unique and isolated situation. Vonage takes security extremely seriously, and appreciates the vigilance of this customer in raising their concern."

The Convergance Summit @ Sandown Park

2006-10-27T17:04:00.000+01:00

Recently attended the Convergence Summit at the famous Sandown Park in Esher which proved to be very interesting indeed. In attendance was most of the great and good of the telecoms world and Microsoft even made an appearance via a seminar hosted by their European Director of Convergance. By far the most talked about subject was of course Hosted IP telephony. Everyone was screaming on about getting with it or risk falling behind in the channel stakes. There were of course a few nay sayers but these tended to be the elder statesmens and there were also a few neutral commentators who cleverly disguised any alliance (Tony Blair could learn a few more lessons here!. Overall, a refreshing combination of companies from across the UK all excitingly embracing the plethora of new technologies flooding telecoms land. To the chap that organised it - Miles Blossom - well done mate. Look forward to next year :-)

VoIP telephony against traditional PBX systems

2006-09-27T15:11:00.000+01:00

CHOOSING THE RIGHT SOLUTION
As a business you look at all your communication tools and somewhere on your list appears the telephone system. The device that is your main gateway to the outside world and your customers’ main route for communicating with you. A tool which you certainly could not run a business without. You install a system which you believe fits your exact requirements. As your business grows or things change or there are new technological advancements that you would like to utilise, you find yourself having to address the capability or suitability of your telephone system against your new requirements. There are still perfectly adequate options available to you such as upgrading your system via hardware replacements or via software license codes or you can always replace the whole system and start again. However, with Hosted VoIP telephony there are a number of distinct advantages, both from a financial and technological point of view, which are designed to minimise financial exposure and to reduce maintenance and ‘keeping up with the technology’ headaches.

THE HOSTED VoIP TELEPHONY ROUTE FOR BUSINESS
With Hosted VoIP Telephony the first thing you will notice is that you do not have a physical telephone system sitting in your office. The second big change is you will not be making calls down an analogue or digital line. Instead you will be making VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) calls. This is when you use a broadband connection to make Voice over Internet Protocol calls. Traditional voice is encapsulated into an IP packet and delivered across the network.

We use Cisco VoIP phones which connect via a dataswitch to a suitable broadband connection which in turn accesses the system infrastructure which is housed at our £3M facility in London, Docklands with back-up in Texas, USA .

You can also access all the features of the system via a website portal which gives you a softphone capability along with access to your phonebook, voicemail, call management, conferencing facilities and many other features.

THE FUTURE IS VoIP
In a competitive marketplace, companies that are forward-thinking look at their competitors. The move towards VoIP has already begun but if your company has not yet made that strategic decision, it could be at a disadvantage.

VoIP is a must-have for any business aiming to reduce operating costs. The flexibility of being contactable 24/7 enables companies to respond more quickly, encouraging greater customer satisfaction and increased productivity, throughout the organisation.

Before VoIP, the PBX (Private Branch Exchange) was the mainframe of corporate telephony. A PBX (also known as a PABX) is a telephone exchange that is owned by a private business, as opposed to one owned by a common carrier or by a telephone company. Many VoIP services fit into the CENTREX model as does our Datasharp solution. CENTREX stands for CENTRal EXchange and is a phone service where a central server at a remote Internet hosting centre performs the central call control and switching.

Our Hosted VoIP service benefits include:

* Ease of deployment – phones simply plug into an Internet connection

* Reduced capital expenditure – no need to purchase expensive phone switches

* Reduced operational expenditure – maintenance of the phone service is typically done via the web

* Reduced internal phone costs – particularly for inter-site calls, e.g. between offices and home workers

* Increased flexibility and new ways of working – e.g. home working

WHY SWITCH TO VoIP?
The telecoms industry is facing significant change. Over the next ten years there will be an increasing level of migration of equipment and carrier services to support IP telephony and VoIP.

BT is leading the drive to change. Its 21st Century Network (21CN) is due for completion in 2012. 21CN is an end-to-end IP based network that will consolidate BT’s complex network and systems infrastructure.

This flexible and intelligent network will enable BT to deliver VoIP as well as many other communication services at a cost-effective fixed charge. BT realise that, over time, VoIP will replace circuit switched communications as the preferred method of communication and that this poses a significant threat to telecoms operators, itself included. BT’s 21CN vision is designed to empower the end-user with control, choice and flexibility to offer communications from anywhere, to any device.

For further information about all our VoIP telephony solutions please visit our specially dedicated VoIP website: www.voipphone-systems.co.uk

DATASHARP TELECOM (Chiltern)
Linton House, The Rowans,
Gerrards Cross, Bucks SL9 8SE
Tel: 0870 770 2670
Fax: 0870 770 2680
Email: info@ds-telecom.co.uk
Main Web: www.ds-telecom.co.uk
VoIP Web: www.voipphone-systems.co.uk