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Society RSS Feedsfring Adds VoIP to iPhone - fring for iPhone has arrived! I'm a huge fan of fring, which I like to call the Swiss Army knife of VoIP/IM communications since fring works with AOL/AIM, MSN Messenger, Google Talk, Skype, Twitter, Yahoo! Messenger, and SIP registrars/IP-PBXs. I've used fring on my Windows Mobile 6.1 phon...Feed Source: feeds.feedburner.com See, Video Games Are Good for You - Games and virtual reality simulators are becoming increasingly popular tools for training by the army, various police forces and even in medical applications. If a new pilot program called "InSight" pans out for Allstate, though, the next place you could be seeing video games is at the local DMV. Allstate is currently piloting a new program which seeks to find out if playing driving video games could make better drivers out of those over age 50... Best Buy Selling Musical Instruments -- Making Real Guitar Heroes! - Look out Guitar Center and Sam Ash! Maybe you don't think of them as gadgets, but Best Buy is adding musical instruments to its entertainment repertoire at roughly 85 stores nationwide. (Didn't I just see you at Best Buy?) The stores will cater to novice and professional musicians and carry brands such as Fender, Gibson, Roland and Drum Workshop. The Best Buy in Pembroke Pines, FL, for example, features a 2,500-square-foot store-within-... Nokia Unveils Its First Music Phone -- 5800 XpressMusic - Turning up the volume on what could be a music phone war, Nokia has unveiled the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, a mobile device for music that brings innovative new features to the mass market. Delivering on Nokia's vision to provide the best total music experience possible, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic will be among the first devices to support Comes With Music, Nokia's service that offers one year of unlimited access to the entire Nokia Music Store cat... Windows Live Messenger Back in the VoIP game! - Ok, now my head is getting dizzy from the number of times Microsoft Windows Live Messenger/MSN Messenger has had outbound VoIP-to-PSTN calling (2006), then ... Lenovo Celebrates 16 Years of ThinkPad - Lenovo is celebrating sixteen years of continuous ThinkPad innovation (most of them of course under the Big Blue of IBM) with -- what else? -- a sale.Lot of fun to look at the "Legends of ThinkPad" to see some of the amazing feats this little gadget has been through. You can take your choice of "melted," "sunk," "crunched," "trekked" and "stolen."Actually some stuff you won't believe!And of course there are many awards Reminds me of all of TPs I... Now the iPhone Is a Political Tool ... - Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign launched an iPhone application today that turns the gadget into a political recruiting tool. The most notable feature "organizes and prioritizes your contacts by key battleground states, making it easy to reach out and make an impact quickly," according to the software. For example, if you have contacts in Colorado, Michigan, and New Mexico, they would be ranked at the top; at the bottom would be someo... Ronco's Baaack!!! - Remember the Veg-O-Matic, the Pocket Fisherman and the Inside-the-Shell Egg Scrambler? To many baby boomers, those names recall the days when Jimmy Carter was in the White House and Farrah Fawcett starred in Charlie's Angels.And who can forget the Bass-O-Matic skit on Saturday Night Live (when it really mattered!)?Now a new generation will be able to form its own memories. The Ronco Acquisition Corporation, the company behind these products,... Is Your City One of the Most Connected? - Among the top designated marketing areas (DMAs), San Francisco, Miami and Los Angeles are the most connected cities based on home networking adoption. What does connected mean: A wired or wireless home network allows consumers to connect multiple PCs and printers, and to share Internet access among computers. MultiMedia Intelligence's research identifies significant variations among major metropolitan areas. San Francisco has the highest househol... Smelly MacBook Pros Not Good for You - Strong-smelling MacBook Pros have been discussed on Apple forums, but an anonymous French molecular biologist/researcher went to Greenpeace to check out why his smelled. Greenpeace got Analytica involved, and then Inéris, France's national institute covering the industrial environment. Apparently benzene is a component of the smell, and this could be risky -- over time, sensitive people could develop leukemia. Unconfirmed stories suggest the ... How about Being Your Favorite Gadget for Halloween? - With October ringing in today, of course thoughts turn to Halloween -- yes, I know it's nearly a month away. Wonder why we don't see any trick or treaters dressed up as their favorite gadgets? Would be pretty easy to be an iPhone (or just about any cell phone for that matter, but those clam shell designs could be trouble?). TV set or computer monitor is another good one -- at least for head gear. What do you think? Does this make any s... Adtran IP 706 Review -
Adtran recently launched their IP 700 series of IP phones in late April. Adtran sent TMC Labs the IP 706 model, which supports up to 6 lines, but the 700 series also includes the IP 712 which is identical feature-wise but supports up to 12 lines. Each line can be configured to register with unique SIP proxy/registrar servers. This allows a different line for every line key on the phone. A line is called a multiple call appearance (MCA) ty... 2009 Microsoft MVP Award - Today, I was awarded a 2009 Microsoft® MVP Award, making this the second year in a row I've been granted this prestigious award that has fewer than 5,000 awardees worldwide. As part of the Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) announcement, a message from CEO Steve Ballmer said, "As the independent voice of users worldwide, your influence on technical communities is felt in many ways--enhancing people's lives and contributing to our industry... Amazon EC2 running Windows Server and SQL Server - Amazon just announced that Amazon EC2 will soon run Windows Server and SQL Server. The announcement was made to Amazon Web Services developers this morning. This announcement may be partly in response to Microsoft who has been building a hosted development platform of their own. In fact, Microsoft is expected to announce the hosted platform officially at its Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in Los Angeles. Bob Muglia, Senior Vice Preside... Nintendo's New DS Goes Music, Camera, Wireless - By the end of this year, Nintendo will debut a new version of its DS handheld console that plays music and is equipped with a camera and advanced wireless functions.This would put the new DS in direct competition with such well-entrenched devices as the Apple iPod and camera-equipped mobile phones. The price for the new machine is expected to be below 20,000 yen ($189) in Japan, compared with 16,800 yen ($158) for the current mod... An Unlocked iPhone 3G in HK? - Unlocked iPhone 3Gs are now on sale in Hong Kong direct from the company web site, according to a published report. Until now, Hong Kong iPhones could only be bought from Hutchison Telecommunications on a two-year contract, the cheapest package being a staggering $188 a month. Now Apple's local website is offering the 8 gigabyte version of its unlocked phone for $695 and the 16 gigabyte one for $798, letting buyers choose their own GSM servic... Cell Phones: More Tapping Than Talking Now - For the first time in recorded history, we used our cell phones more for sending text messages than making phone calls! (Knew that day would come )In the fourth quarter of 2007, the average subscriber's volume of text messages shot upward by 64%, while the average number of calls dropped slightly, according to Nielsen Mobile. Not surprisingly, users with QWERTY-style keypads sent 54% more text messages than those with ordinary keypads. ... How about a 9-Megapixel Camera Phone? - German-based Digital Imaging Systems (DIS) has introduced a camera module for cell phones that for the first time includes 9-megapixel technology.(Remember when 1 MP was a lot?)The module delivers image data with a max resolution of 3488 x 2616 pixels through either a parallel interface or optional MIPI interface. Full production is scheduled to begin later in the year. The unit also contains an array of advanced photographic features,... Cell Phones Will Take over GPS Market - Cell phones will replace the personal navigation device (PND) as the primary GPS device by 2011, according to the research firm iSuppli. The firm predicted that cell phones will then account for 36% of the GPS market, compared with 30% for PNDs, which today account for 50% of global navigational units sold. The report also predicted that price drops among PNDs will lead to smaller manufacturers selling out to larger hardware companies over th... Muxtape Back with Indie Focus - Muxtape.com has changed its tune. A month after the NYC-based music site was shut down by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for copyright infringement, founder Justin Ouellette announced that it will re-launch with a new focus. The six-month-old site had allowed users to create playlists or mixtapes of up to 12 songs and share the lists with friends. According to a message on the Muxtape home page, the site will now becom... Gizmo5 SIP Trunks available in trixbox CE - Gizmo5 SIP trunks have always been available in trixbox CE, but it was a manual process. The Gizmo5 team has built a module to be part of the trixbox package manager that allows you to purchase your trunks, see your account balance, purchase more minutes, and automatically setup your inbound and outbound routes. The module is now available via the trixbox package manager and will be built into all upcoming ISO builds. Additionally, the calling se... Motorola Femtocell Picture Frame Combines VoIP, Video, Bluetooth, Touchscreen and more - Check out this cool new converged prototype device from Motorola that combines a picture frame with touch-screen, video camera, Bluetooth headset, VoIP, femtocell, and video streaming. A femtocell is a small cellular base station, typically designed for use in residential or small business environments that allows you to use your mobile phone in your home connecting to your femtocell access point.Femtocells essentially are an alternative way to d... NuTsie Streaming iTunes to Your Phone - Regional mobile carrier Alltel has launched NuTsie, a service that allows users of almost a dozen of the company's handsets to stream certain titles from their PC's iTunes collection to their cell phones. This makes the operator the first U.S. carrier to offer such a service, which will cost $4.99 a month, or $19.99 a year. To stream the protected and unprotected songs in a user's iTunes library, NuTsie does not actually place-shift songs from a ... Asus Going 3.75G for Eee - Asus has announced that it will be adding 3.75G connectivity to its hugely popular series of Eee PC netbooks, enabling convenient and high-speed access to the Internet anytime, anywhere. The inclusion of 3.75G is a perfect addition to the Eee PC's existing set of travel-friendly features such as its high portability, shockproof data storage and all-day battery life -- strengthening its reputation as the solution for computing on the go. ... Flash VoIP calls to Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, and Google Talk - Flashphone is a web-based SIP softphone, while gtalk2voip lets you make or receive calls to/from all SIP phones and SIP services, including Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Messenger, and Google Talk. Both Flashphone and gtalk2voip are free. Now combine the two and you can make free web-based Flash calls to Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, and Google Talk (gtalk) users.According to the Flashphone blog, "For example, if someone is online in Gtalk and you want... Netbooks Yes or Netbooks No? - A new report predicts that ultramobile devices will reach 200 million in unit sales by 2013 and will match the market for notebook PCs. ABI Research said products such as netbooks and mobile Internet devices, or MIDs, will gross $27 billion by then, with MID units growing in popularity to surpass its rival. All this from ZDNet. On the other hand, in a wide-ranging interview, Dell CEO Michael Dell (in photo) voiced suspicion that sma... More on Skype for Asterisk - Continuing the coverage of the big Skype for Asterisk news I covered earlier today In a nutshell, the Asterisk server acts as a Skype-to-SIP gateway, a very popular requested feature, mapping Asterisk SIP-based phones onto the Skype network via the As... Skype for Asterisk Launches - Skype and Digium have hooked up to bring Skype to Asterisk called Skype For Asterisk. Skype For Asterisk launched minutes ago enables Asterisk users to get access to Skype features coupled with the capabilities of Asterisk. For example, the beta version of Skype For Asterisk will allow customers to make, receive and transfer Skype calls from within Asterisk systems using their existing hardware; enable inbound calling solutions like free cl... Digium AEX410 Launches - Digium announced the immediate availability of the AEX410, a four-port modular analog PCI-Express x1 telephony interface card for use with Asterisk. The AEX410 is a PCI-Express board that compliments Digium's existing PCI-based TDM410 product.The AEX410 offers analog (FXS) stations and analog trunk (FXO) modules for connecting to the PSTN or analog devices. An optional DSP-based 128ms line echo cancellation for the AEX410 is provided by Digium's ... Digium Major Announcement - what can it be? - Today, Digium, creator and primary developer of Asterisk, the leading open source telephony platform will be making a major announcement at Astricon later today. Digium hinted to me that a major announcement would be made at Astricon when I visited their Huntsville, Alabama headquarters in August.I tried to find out what the news will be, but alas Digium couldn't tell me. So I thought it would be fun to prognosticate what this deal could be.... Foreclosures: Did God Want You to Get That Mortgage? - Has the so-called Prosperity gospel turned its followers into some of the most willing participants ? and hence, victims ? of the current financial crisis?
While researching a book on black televangelism, says Jonathan Walton, a religion professor at the University of California at Riverside, he realized that Prosperity's central promise ? that God will "make a way" for poor people to enjoy the better things in life ? had developed an additiona... US financial crisis causes spike in online anti-Semitism: monitor - The US financial crisis has provoked an outpouring of anti-Semitism on the Internet, with Jews being blamed for the debacle on Wall Street, a monitoring group said on Thursday.Blogs devoted to conspiracy theories as well as white supremacist and neo-Nazi websites have sought to exploit events on Wall Street and the subprime crisis to support their agendas, ADL said.... Mormon Church plans 5 new temples - Mormon church president Thomas S. Monson said Saturday the church has plans to build five new temples worldwide, three abroad and two in the United States.The Mormon Church is considered to be, theologically, a cult of Christianity. Its temples, rituals and doctrines are rejected by mainstream Christians.Due to its attempts to pass off Mormon doctrines and practices as being compatible to -- or even representative of -- Christianity, the Mormon... Faith-healing parents arrested; plead not guilty in death of son - Neal Beagley, 16, died because of bladder complications nearly four months ago. Authorities said his parents belong to the Followers of Christ Church, a religion relying on prayer in place of medical care.Several of the Beagleys' relatives attended the arraignment, including their daughter, Raylene Worthington and her husband, Carl, whose 15-month-old daughter died under similar circumstances in March. The Worthingtons are awaiting trial on char... Families in deadly ritual are Al-Arqam follower - The two families who took part in a ritual ?cleansing? to cure illness that led to the death of a couple are followers of the banned deviant group Al-Arqam.
Al-Arqam, theologically a cult of Islam, was banned in Malaysia as a deviant sect in 1994.... Faith healers dangerous for public health, Amsterdam alderman claims - The City of Amsterdam and the COC -- an advocacy group for LBGT men and women -- are calling for an investigation by the Netherlands Health Care Inspectorate into healing rituals offered by Pentecostal churches for homosexuals and HIV patients.The healing services can lead to HIV patients forsaking their medicines, and contribute to the stigmatization of homosexuals.... Mother of malnourished baby denies sect-related negligence - She says, contrary to media reports, she never refused medical attention and insists that belonging to an obscure Moorish-American religious sect that promotes a holistic lifestyle played no role in the events that culminated with her being charged."Why would I have taken my son to the hospital if I was against treatment? It doesn't make sense," the mother said.... Couple beaten to death in stop-smoking ?cleansing ritual? - A couple who went to a relative's house to celebrate the end of Ramadan and agreed to an 'alternative treatment' to rid them of their problems, ended up dead after being battered with helmets and broomsticks during the cleansing ritual.
Five others who also participated in the ritual, including the couple's children and relatives, suffered head injuries and were being treated at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital here.... Dutch court extends prison for 4 Muslim terror plotters - An appeals court on Thursday increased the prison sentences of four Islamic radicals accused of plotting attacks on Dutch politicians, convicting them of the additional charge of membership in a terrorist organization.While testifying as a defense witness in a case against several of his friends, ringleader Samir Azzouz told judges: "We reject your system. We hate you. I guess that about sums it up."... Court: Custody ruling not based on mom?s Wicca religion - A Southeast Arkansas woman who argued she lost custody of her son because of a judge's perception of her alleged practice of Wicca lost her appeal Wednesday before a divided state Court of Appeals Wednesday.
In a 4-2 ruling, the appeals court affirmed a decision granting custody to the child's father, though the judges disagreed on whether the lower court considered the mother's religious beliefs.... Copyright © 2008, Blurbosphere.com. All Rights Reserved. |