AP - AT&T Corp. said Wednesday it will stop selling local and
long-distance residential service in seven states, blaming its move on
a court decision that it says will result in higher prices for its use
of regional networks.
Grok Headline matches for AT&T to Stop Some Residential Service (AP)
Satellite ISP StarBand offers new residential service
Satellite ISP StarBand offers new residential service07/21/2004 09:16 AM StarBand, which supplies satellite-based Internet access, announced on
Tuesday a new
tier of residential service that uses the company's StarBand 481
satellite modem. Previously, residential customers were limited to the
StarBand 360 modem, which offers half the 100kbps upload speeds
attainable by the 481. Customers who choose the new service also
receive download speeds as fast as 500kbps, limited VPN capabilities,
10 free e-mail accounts, free basic Web hosting and a static IP
address for an extra US$4.99 per month. Pricing is $699.99 for the
complete hardware package, which includes the satellite dish and
modem, and a one-year contract with a $89.99 per month fee or a
three-year contract that drops to $79.99 per month in the second year
and $69.99 per month in the third year. As MacCentral posted this
article, StarBand had not yet updated its Web site with the new
residential plan.
IDS Telcom Expands Local Residential Service in Florida
Home and Business Communications is Offering Packet8, a VOIP/Broadband Telephone Service, for Residential and Business Users
Home and Business Communications is Offering Packet8, a VOIP/Broadband Telephone Service, for Residential and Business Users02/01/2005 08:48 PM Andrew Aldrich owner of Home and Business Communications "We are
excited to be offering Packet8, VOIP / Broadband Telephone Service.
VOIP / Broadband Telephone services can save the end user up to 90% on
their telephone bill. The service will work where ever a broadband
connection is available (worldwide). Read more about Packet8 at:
www.GoWithPacket8.com [PRWEB Feb 1, 2005]
AT&T to Stop Marketing Traditional Service07/22/2004 09:51 AM AT&T said it would stop seeking new customers for its traditional
consumer long-distance service, once the bedrock of the company known
as Ma Bell.
Microsoft reportedly to stop marketing Passport service
L.A., Houston top list of worst stop-go-stop-go traffic (USATODAY.com)
L.A., Houston top list of worst stop-go-stop-go traffic (USATODAY.com)02/19/2004 08:10 AM USATODAY.com - Traffic bottlenecks across the nation have increased by
40% since 1999, a new report shows. Despite that, delays are being
reduced at some of the nation's most infamous chokepoints such as
Albuquerque's "Big I" and Chicago's "Hillside Strangler."
The Army Is Expanding What It Calls A "Stop Loss" Order To Keep Soldiers In Uniform - Even Those Who Have Met Their Contractual Service Obligation Or Are Scheduled To Retire - During A Rotation Of Tens Of Thousands Of Troops That Begins This Month And Is
One of the mistakes I find service providers make on a
regular basis is drawing a bright yellow line between home and
business users.
Two caveats to this post. First, in many markets this makes great
sense. If you are selling furniture you better segment between home
and business users. If you are a general contractor same thing.
Second, with respect to Internet services (access, hosting, mail,
domain names, etc.) there is some segmentation necessary for larger
"small businesses". Here think about the same type of businesses that
used to be serviced by Novell's army of Netware consultants.
Businesses with usually 50 < employees < 500. They do have some (but
not all) unique needs.
There are three points I want to make here. First, for many small
businesses their needs are identical to those of home users. A little
hosting, a little mail and access with a domain name to keep it all
easy to find and use. Think about a $25-$75/month bundle of services
all in.
They both want it to work ALWAYS and both are unwilling to accept
less (nor should they). And for every "mission critical" business
email or website there is a timely romantic email or little league
schedule on a website that MUST be available now. If stuff isn't
working people get mad and may find an alternative supplier.
Both groups need help using these services. They are equally
clueless and equally in need of your fine counsel.
Second, a huge and growing segment of the population has NO
difference between work and home. They work at home. Sometimes they
relax during working hours. Sometimes they work during what would
normally NOT be working hours. These people, SOHO, need all the
services they need all the time. You cannot market to them separately.
This segment is also the wave of the future.
The last point I would make here is that having a residential base
usually leads to business accounts. Back in the day we (a long load
but a nice trip down memory lane for me) would regularly get to bid on
business against the "business-focused" ISPs (at the time usually
Netcom Canada and PSI) because we were providing dialup to the
President or decision-maker of the business. We usually got the
account. These segments feed each other.
The point I am trying to make here is for the vast majority
of potential customers there is no need to differentiate between
business and residential users and most distinctions ("higher
level of service") are artificial anyway.
It is the size of the bundle, not where you use it.
Germany Gets Residential VOIP11/10/2003 11:17 PM English version. Putting the German release through the translation
tool available at the Google home page unveiled these gems: "QSC ...
Is Google still doing residential phone listings?12/14/2003 03:29 AM I tried to a get a number today and couldn't do it, then I tried about
5 name + address pairings, and none of them generated a listing. I
also used the rphonebook:query and didn't get any results. Anybody
know anything about this?...
ForeThought.net Launches PerfectFone - Residential Broadband and Telephone Bundle
ForeThought.net Launches PerfectFone - Residential Broadband and Telephone Bundle03/14/2005 05:59 PM foreThought.net, a Denver-based telephone and Internet company, today
announced the launch of its residential and SOHO (Small-office
home-office) PerfectFone service - telephone service bundled with its
"Mach" high-speed broadband Internet service. [PRWEB Mar 11, 2005]
Stop SQL Injection Attacks Before They Stop You
Stop SQL Injection Attacks Before They Stop You09/12/2004 11:33 PM Armed with advanced server-side technologies like ASP.NET and powerful
database servers such as Microsoft® SQL Server™, developers are
able to create dynamic, data-driven Web sites with incredible ease.
But the power of ASP.NET and SQL can easily be used against you by
hackers mounting an all-too-common class of attack—the SQL injection
attack.
The basic idea behind a SQL injection attack is this: you create a
Web page that allows the user to enter text into a textbox that will
be used to execute a query against a database. A hacker enters a
malformed SQL statement into the textbox that changes the nature of
the query so that it can be used to break into, alter, or damage the
back-end database. How is this possible? Let me illustrate with an
example.
Rogers expands suite of residential high-speed internet services
New StarBand satellite service offers 256Kbps upload
New StarBand satellite service offers 256Kbps upload08/23/2004 08:51 AM StarBand Communications Inc. has
announced its new 484 Small Office service. The satellite-based
broadband Internet access service offers 256Kbps upload speeds and
download speeds up to 1Mbps -- the service is an alternative for users
looking for broadband access who are unable or unwilling to have a
cable or DSL line installed. Starband's 484 modem is compatible with
Mac, Windows, Unix and Linux operating systems, and comes with 15 free
e-mail accounts with a total of 1.9GB of total free storage, 200MB
free basic Web hosting space and one free static IP address. The
system also includes a four-port Ethernet router, and costs from
US$139.99 to $159.99 per month based on term commitment. An additional
cost for the dish and associated hardware is incurred -- the cost
ranges from $699.99 to $999.99 depending on contract duration. More
details are available from the Web site.
Texas Vonage suit: here's what Vonage is 'guilty' of
302 Redirect Hack Fastly Becoming Most Infamous SE Listings Hack Ever
302 Redirect Hack Fastly Becoming Most Infamous SE Listings Hack Ever03/14/2005 05:10 PM This subject just will not die until the search engines address it.
"Google and Yahoo are now working to perfect ways to determine when to
treat a 302 like a Moved-Temporarily redirect, and when to treat it
like an exit-tracker. It's far from a simple problem, so it's going to
take some time."
Secure Your Network (And Hack It) With MacAnalysis
Secure Your Network (And Hack It) With MacAnalysis11/10/2003 11:25 PM MacAnalysis is the most comprehensive security tool that we've seen on
any platform, and should be a part of the security toolbox of any Mac
user. By John F. Braun (Mac Observer via MyAppleMenu)
Its service is simple. Vonage sends customers an Internet phone
box, which looks like a small cable TV box. The box plugs into most
high-speed Internet connections. Almost any telephone plugs into the
box.
The phone works like any other phone, but Vonage is routing the
calls over the Web. (If the person on the other end of the line is not
a Vonage user, the call will hop onto a regular phone line for the
very last leg of its journey.)
Vonage reviewed03/13/2003 10:24 AM Raffi Krikorian's review of Vonage's Voice-over-IP phone-service is a
great, info-civilian-oriented overview of the best way to secede from
your phone company.
The Edison, New Jersey based company gives you one Cisco ATA186 and a
phone number in an area code of your choosing (I had a little piece of
northern New Jersey in my living room). You have a choice of two
different levels of service to go along with this box: for
$25.99/month you get unlimited local/regional calling (where
local/regional is defined by the area code you choose for your phone
number) and 500 minutes of free US long distance, and for $39.99/month
you get unlimited long distance. And you also get international rates
that rivals most common calling cards. The only problem is that the
service only delivers one ATA186, and that specific model is required
to use the service -- no other SIP compatible devices are supported
yet. If you want to use more than one phone with the box, you will
either have to rig up a network of telephone splitters and wires; or
you can do what some have done and hack your house to plug the Cisco
box into your house's in wall telephone network.
Vonage softphone12/19/2003 04:58 PM Have been trying out the Vonage softphone with some success. My Laptop
(IBM T40), like most, has built in speakers...
Vonage arrives
Vonage arrives03/06/2004 01:59 AM My Vonage phone arrive yesterday afternoon. I followed the simple
instructions for plugging it into my cable modem and now I'm making
calls to anywhere in the US or Canada - 500 minutes/month for $15. So
far, the sonic quality has been as good as a "real" phone. Yep, them
Voice over IP bits can hold their own. And the plain ol' telephone
company, the one with the network that's too smart for it's own good,
ought to be worried....
NY Wants To Regulate Vonage
NY Wants To Regulate Vonage05/20/2004 01:09 AM Add New York to the list of greedy states along with California,
Florida and Minnesota that want to get as much money out of VoIP
providers as possible by declaring them phone companies. New York has
become the latest state to
declare Vonage a phone company that they can now regulate. This
is a backwards step that is likely to slow down the acceptance of
VoIP. While it may mean that the NY state government can suck a few
extra taxes out of people, it will mean slower adoption, which means
slower economic growth. Even worse, they're doing this while the FCC
has made it clear that they're still reviewing this issue and had told
states to leave VoIP providers alone while they come up with a
position at the federal level. This is merely a short-term grab at
extra tax revenue.
Vonage Goes Portable12/18/2003 03:38 PM Om Malik breaks the news that Vonage will soon have laptop and
PDA-based software client for its service: It's not news that Vonage
has tens of thousands of subscribers, nor that they offer a
high-quality, full-featured hardware-based broadband voice-over-IP
service that allows you to map multiple incoming real phone numbers to
your virtual line. It also not news that you can get high-quality
software VoIP clients; I'm personally enamored of Xten's suite, which
work with Windows, Mac OS X, LindowsOS, and Linux. They're beautiful
and come in free and paid flavors, including a multi-line conference
version. The Xten clients can interface with any standard SIP (Session
Initiation Protocol) server, and many of the VoIP providers who offer
long-distance over the Internet use standard SIP gateways. But getting
from Xten outbound to the VoIP provider is a pain: I had to have the
CEO of Xten provide me the details for a couple of VoIP services;
those details aren't on the VoIP long-distance service sites. Then
there's the question of inbound service. Even though you can use Xten
as the default client with Addaline.com, it's unclear whether you can
receive inbound calls via their service. Most of the VoIP in software
is focused on making calls to the PSTN and receiving calls from other
folks using services like Free World Dial-up, which provides you with
a free non-PSTN VoIP number and SIP gateway. Om's scoop is certainly
that Vonage is going to package the software and PSTN offering into a
no-configuration package that will be as easy to use as their hardware
service. Vonage's hardware solution is pretty simple: open the box,
plug it in, wait a minute. You're done. Voice mail calls can be
alerted via email, and other features can be enabled through the Web
site's dashboard for your account. Because Vonage works over
broadband, a Pocket PC or a laptop equipped with their soft client in
turn connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot or access point means free phone
service everywhere -- it's another incentive to lower cell phone plans
(for roaming purposes) and increase the number of hot spot locations.
I'm a recent Vonage convert. I use my cell phone as my office and
roaming line, and although I'd switched to a $130/month plan from
Cingular because of their rollover minutes, I had $250 and $450 bills
in September and October during particularly intense work periods.
Yes, that's...
Last summer I switched to lingo.com, an IP phone service that
proved to be cheap but
unreliable. Starting last week Lingo failed altogether and
their tech support folks (available only by phone, which is kind of
irksome) failed to call back, so I ordered Vonage, which is the same
$25/month but does not include Western Europe in its unlimited calling
region and has higher international rates.
Here's how Vonage has worked...
Vonage sends you a brand-new Linksys broadband router with
included IP phone jacks and three Ethernet jacks; if you were relying
on your old router for 802.11b or to use as an 8-port hub you may have
to buy some new networking gear
the customer service Web site is very slow and about 25% of the
time page requests produce an error page with a "try again later"
instruction
tech support is available through a form on their Web site; this
form asks for your name, phone number, account number, etc., even
though you've already logged in and it should have all of his info as
part of your account profile
tech support via phone results in a "we're experiencing an
unsually high volume of calls; try again later"; customer service
(billing, etc.) can be reached after a 15-minute wait in queue
they say that they never received my FAXed letter of authorization
to transfer my old number from Lingo and want it refaxed
when set to simultaneously ring my cell phone Vonage does ring the
cell but I can't hear callers (they can hear me though)
They say that it will take two months for them to transfer the
phone number from Lingo, so I'll have to pay $25/month to Lingo for
forwarding until that happens.
[Update: I believe that I unfairly maligned Vonage in regards
to not being able to hear callers on calls simultaneously rung to my
cell phone. It turns out that it is my PalmOne Treo flaking out
on the very day that I installed Vonage! This makes Treo #10
that has failed, I think. It lasted about two months, just like
the others. Anyone have a suggestion for a GSM phone that will
do a calendar and contacts sync with Microsoft Outlook?]
[Dec 3 Update: When voicemail is pending, the Vonage system
fails to change the dial tone. A second try to reach technical
support (at 1:30 pm Eastern time) resulted in the same "we're too busy
to talk to anyone" recording. The voice quality of calls is
somewhat low, with some constant static.]
Vonage goes wireless
Vonage goes wireless12/18/2003 11:57 AM Getting the scoop once again, Om Malik reveals that Vonage is working
on software that would let you use their broadband Voice over IP
telephone...
New: Vonage SoftPhone for Mac OS X
New: Vonage SoftPhone for Mac OS X06/28/2004 09:54 AM Vonage released a Mac OS X version of its SoftPhone software for use
with its Voice Over IP telephone service.
Vonage: Strike One
Vonage: Strike One08/06/2004 03:25 PM I was scheduled for a phone call with a VIP today, and when he got on
the line (my office Vonage phone), it was unusable, multi-second
delays on each voice round-trip. Damnably, I didn’t have my
cellphone with me, so we had to reschedule. I called up Vonage, had
to punch through two levels of slow menu (could be worse I suppose) to
get to the tech support queue where I waited for five minutes
listening to vasty echoing silence to talk to someone who put me on
the tech support queue (“I thought this was tech support?” “No,
I’m a general-purpose service representative.”) Which picked up
after only a minute or two, and he made a vague attempt to blame my
ISP and said he’d sent a couple of downloads to the phone that
should address the problem. So, if it’s a known problem with a
known fix, why don’t I already have it? I don’t have to do this
kind of thing for either my land-lines or mobile. All in all, I’ve
been fairly happy with Vonage so far, but much more of this could sour
the relationship quickly.
Vonage SoftPhone for OS X coming
Vonage SoftPhone for OS X coming06/18/2004 02:14 PM Vonage is expected to release the final version of its SoftPhone
client for Mac OS X next week, according to VoIP Daily...
Vonage Wins Another Round—for Now07/01/2004 01:53 PM New York State has been enjoined from regulating the VOIP service
provider for the remainder of 2004.
Vonage to Introduce Wi-Fi Phone01/04/2005 03:18 PM Broadband telephone company Vonage is expected to announce plans
Tuesday for a Wi-Fi phone that could make calls through a customer's
wireless home network or at wireless hotspots, USA Today reported
Tuesday. Vonage says it would work like a cell phone, but would not
cost the subscriber any additional fees to use the service.
AT&T to Stop Some Residential Service (AP)
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