Unified Comms

Video chatting for newbies

Video chat is all the rage these days, thanks to new services such as Google+ Hangouts and Skype/Facebook integrated video chat. Video chatting is a great way to stay in touch with family and friends--seeing loved ones' faces on a computer screen is almost like actually being there.

By Sarah Jacobsson Purewal | 07 August, 2011 10:45

Tags: camcorders, consumer electronics, Digital camcorders, Facebook, Google, video chat

5 open source VoIP softphones to watch

The steady rise in people using IP telephony to communicate -- for personal and business reasons -- has led to the development of a number of different VoIP "softphones" that can be used on a PC or notebook.

By Rodney Gedda | 20 November, 2009 14:16

Tags: open source, softphones, unified communications, VoIP

So you think you know Skype?

With Skype's legal troubles now cleared up, it's a good time to learn more about the company than just what features it offers. Here 10 questions designed to give you a better understanding of the peer-to-peer VoIP vendor.

By Tim Greene | 24 November, 2009 08:49

Tags: peer-to-peer, Skype, VoIP

Five open source IP telephony projects to watch

In addition to the well-known Asterisk, there is a vibrant community of open source software PBX systems that can be used for internal and service provider IP telephony. Here are five exciting open source VoIP and UC projects to keep an eye on.

By Rodney Gedda | 21 October, 2009 10:53

Tags: IP PBX, ip telephony, open source, sip, VoIP

Mark Spencer talks 10 years of Asterisk

Mark Spencer, founder of Asterix, looks back on 10 years of the open source PBX and discusses its future -- and that of the VoIP industry in general.

By Rodney Gedda | 15 October, 2009 06:16

Tags: anniversaries, asterisk, ip-pabx, IP PBX, ip telephony, Mark Spencer, open source, VoIP

Steganography meets VoIP in hacker world

Researchers and hackers are developing tools to execute a new data-leak threat: sneaking proprietary information out of networks by hiding it within VoIP traffic.

By Tim Greene | 14 September, 2009 07:08

Tags: hackers, steganography, VoIP

The battle over voice, the war of UC

Last week, I wrote about the possible implications of the new lineup of FCC commissioners. They certainly haven't wasted any time: On Aug. 3, the FCC launched a full-scale investigation into the decision by Apple and AT&T to reject Google's voice application for the iPhone. As Sanford Bernstein telecom analyst Craig Moffatt notes, "The issue of application suppression affords the Administration a back door route to Wireless Net Neutrality, something that has been openly espoused by new FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski."

By Johna Till Johnson | 06 August, 2009 09:09

Tags: unified communications

Telstra stifling broadband growth for the last 15 years: Austar CEO

Telstra’s stake in the Foxtel pay television network has been a major inhibitor to the growth of broadband in Australia according to John Porter, CEO at pay television provider Austar.

By Tim Lohman | 03 August, 2009 12:13

Tags: Austar, foxtel, national broadband network, NBN, Telstra

Telepresence shatters communication barriers

Well before the current world financial crisis struck, organizations have sought inventive ways to engage in face-to-face meetings without the need to travel. Companies have turned to services such as Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro, Cisco WebEx, Citrix GoToMeeting, and Microsoft Live Meeting as a means for workers in multiple locations to share presentations and otherwise collaborate.

By Mike Heck | 11 June, 2009 08:27

Tags: Adobe, Cisco, Citrix, Microsoft, video telepresence

DIY tips: How to cut costs and get more from your IT gear

With project budgets shrinking, network professionals are spending less time planning new purchases and more time trying to cut costs and squeeze more value out of existing IT resources.

By Denise Dubie | 03 April, 2009 08:35

Tags: economic crisis, global recession, Network management, open source, VoIP

7 reasons MPLS has been wildly successful

The IETF last Thursday threw a birthday party for one of its most successful standards: Multi-Protocol Label Switching.

By Carolyn Duffy Marsan | 31 March, 2009 12:24

Tags: Cisco, Internet Architecture Board, Multiprotocol Label Switching, United States, verizon

Can Cisco sell 'unified' vision to a tough server crowd?

Cisco's biggest challenge in gaining market acceptance for its new Unified Computing System is to convince data center managers to buy blade servers from the router giant instead of from traditional, incumbent suppliers.

By Jim Duffy | 23 March, 2009 08:19

Tags: Cisco, unified communications market

The why and how of voice portals

For years, IT and business have heard the sexy promise of "IP convergence," which would allow all sorts of voice- and video-enabled applications to appear in business. However, for most organizations, this Jetsons-like vision has yet to occur.

By Leon Erlanger | 05 March, 2009 08:38

Tags: unified communications, voice portals

WLAN product blitz shows 802.11n more affordable, useable

A slew of new WLAN hardware and software suggests that 802.11n high-throughput WLANs are fast becoming more affordable and manageable across all industry segments.

By John Cox | 02 March, 2009 07:48

Tags: wlan

IP contact centers pose significant challenges

IP contact centers are proliferating, but they still pose a set of potential gotchas that businesses need to beware of as they consider upgrading from the TDM world, experts say.

By Tim Greene | 08 December, 2008 09:18

Tags: IP contact centres

Free tools for teleconferencing with a 'virtual presence'

Using teleconferencing technology has lately become an obvious and financially practical choice to offset rising business travel expenses. Yet sometimes simple chatting doesn't cut it. There has been growing interest in the notion of online conferencing with a "virtual presence" emphasis, which enables people to share information and their very selves with one another with a stronger sense of near-tangible "face time."

By Howard Wen | 20 November, 2008 08:40

Tags: Web telephony and conferencing

Seven Lessons That SMBs Can Learn from Big IT

Just because you don't have a large enterprise doesn't mean you can't run your IT operation like the big guys. Here are seven ways to help your SMB--a small or medium-size business--implement some of the lessons big IT operations have learned over the years. Using these tips, you should be able to improve productivity, cut costs, and keep your business running smoothly.

By David Strom | 14 November, 2008 10:26

Tags: corporate issues, desktop pcs, firewalls, internet, mobile phones, networking, smartphones, storage, VoIP

Five ways to bulk up your network for telecommuters

Whether they're in branch offices or home offices, workers are increasingly telecommuting instead of working in a traditional centralized office environment.

By Brad Reed | 23 October, 2008 08:41

Tags: broadband, data protection, Network management, telecommuting

The trouble with telecommuting

Telecommuting is back on workers' radars in a big way these days, thanks to gas prices that were a whopping 30 percent higher this summer than last.

By Tam Harbert | 14 October, 2008 09:54

Tags: it management, staff management

10 great Wi-Fi gadgets for work and play

You've done the hard work of optimizing your Wi-Fi network, and it reliably beams high-speed data to every nook and cranny of your home or office. Now, it's time to take it to the next level by connecting more than just computers.

By Brian Nadel | 25 September, 2008 10:16

Tags: consumer electronics, digital cameras, entertainment, peripherals, personal storage, printers, wireless, wlan

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