Small Business Tech

We have followed the travails of Vonage who seems to be sued by every other communications provider. Initial Suit...Vonage Response

According to Reuters, it appears that Vonage has lost a case with AT&T.

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Labels: VOIP, Vonage

As we continue our march towards an all-digital world, we are going to have to make changes as old analog systems go away. As companies have perfected digital communications systems, they are eager to phase out the older analog systems. The reasons for the desire to fade out older analog systems is that companies want the frequency spectrum that is currently being used in an inefficient manner and they want to stop spending funds to maintain the older equipment. This has taken place in out-of-sight public safety (fire and police) communications and in high-profile cases such as broadcast television.

The next guidepost in the digital conversion trail is the cellular telephone system. The FCC will allow the carriers to shut-off the old analog cellular phone system in February 2008. What will be affected? I have listed below some of the common devices that will no longer function.

• Cellular Phones - It is speculated that their are 1 million active cellular phones in the United States that still use analog service. You are safe if you use a handset that is newer than five years old. The big and possibly disastrous effect could be on 911-only phones. Check if you or possibly your parents have one of these old 911-only devices. I know that my father has kept a 911-only phone in his glovebox for years.
• Car Communitions - General Motors OnStar, TeleAid from Mercedes-Benz, or Lexus Link will be affected for cars of fairly recent vintage. The manufactures are pointing out that most systems in 2003 or older models will no longer function. OnStar is offering to upgrade systems in 2004 and 2005 models for a small fee. The older models do not appear to be eligible for upgrade. This could affect up to 700,000 cars.
  
• Home Alarms - Check how your alarm system communicates with the central monitoring station. Many systems still use analog landlines, but some advanced systems used the analog cellular phone systems as a primary or backup. Any system older than 2006 should be inspected. These systems are generally not upgradable, so you will most likely need to purchase a new main board or communications panel at the least.

For more information consult with your cellular telephone provider, alarm system monitoring company, or automobile monitoring server. You can specifically visit OnStar's web site to check the status of your vehicle.

Labels: cell phone, Cellular, phone, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon

It can be said that Apple started this small-computer trend with the MAC-mini, but others are picking up the ball and running with it. In addition to the very small ASUS eee notebook computer there are other companies entering the fray with small desktop computers as well. Most of these companies are small shops, but you can bet that bigger names such as Dell and HP will jump on board if they see an opportunity.

One of the small shops is Sharp and Tappin of England. They have created the PicoPC which uses the same low-power processor as the gPC now available at Wal Mart. You can purchase the computer as a kit or a ready-built, tested unit. The cost is still prohibitive, but it will get better if more manufacturers join the fray. The unit pictured on the right costs 295 Euros or $424.89 at the current exchange rate.

Labels: Apple, Asus, eee, thin client, Wal-Mart