Info News Pics: February 2009

Friday, February 27, 2009

Metal Gear Solid For iPhone Demo

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As we mentioned about in our earlier post about Metal Gear Solid for iPhone, lacking demos, Konami has released a bunch of video demos. But looking at the videos, my liking is towards the game on Nokia. Perhaps due to the controls. But you are to make the decision, after all I do not like shoot them up games! But I might thump some penguins! Above is the Nokia Metal Gear Solid and below is the Metal Gear Solid Touch!

iPhone Printing With "Print & Share"

iPhone Printing

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
If you are the type who does your home work while commuting (or everything possible ) on the iPhone, I am sure you would have thought how to print this thing directly, rather than emailing to another account, go to a computer printer and print from it.
Yes now you can, while searching on the iTunes, I noticed the app, Print & Share (iTunes App Store Link). A quick web search revealed that others have noticed it as well. So I went directly to the developers site to get some info.
So what you get with the app is;

Print emails from various email accounts
Save emails and attachments as files
Transfer files to and from several Macs or PCs, even remotely
Print email attachments
Drag and drop files to folders
Edit and print text documents
View emails and attachments before printing
View files (doc, excel, txt, html, pdf & more) in portrait or landscape mode
Move files from your computer into any folder you choose
Supports POP3, IMAP and SSL for email
Filter IMAP email by date
Double tap to view files and folders
Print most file types
Select and print multiple contacts
Select and print multiple photos, any size your printer supports
Print remotely back to your office or home printer
Bookmarks for web page printing
Print via WiFi or cell network
iPhone and iPod touch compatible
Mac and Windows compatible

In order to use the app, in addition to installing and configuring the app, you need to install an application called WePrint software for your desktop/laptop computer and then you can print directly from your iPhone.
WePrint is a print server and finds all the printers attached to your computer, network or local. According to the publishers, once installed and configured (includes a bit of work with your network) you will be able to print from anywhere, as long as your iPhone and the home or office network is on the internet.
If you are wondering if it is difficult, the developers, EuroSmartz have a very comprehensive website with examples and FAQs as well as 24/7 support!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

PWN a Mobile For $10,000 At Pwn2Own 2009

Winner Pwn2Own 2008, Photo TippingPoint

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CanSecWest 2009 will be hosting the TippingPoint's Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) sponsored Pwn2Own 2009 contest.This is the third time that the event was hosted to promote security and cash and or computers and devices offered to hack as gifts. The PWN2OWN 2009 will be taking aim at Web browsers, just like at Pwn2Own 2008, where Vista got Pwned. TippingPoint is a member of VoIP Security Alliance.
But this year the number if devices have increased and also the bunuses. The Pwn2Own 2009 will be adding mobile devices into the mix. If you can PWN it, you can keep it. But there is more as in any good story.
"The browser targets will be IE8, Firefox, and Chrome installed on a Sony Vaio running Windows 7 as well as Safari and Firefox installed on a Macbook running Mac OS X. All browsers will be fully patched and in their default configuration as of the first day of the contest. The mobile device targets will include fully patched BlackBerry, Android, iPhone, Symbian and Windows Mobile phones in their default configurations. A full list of available interfaces will be made available on the CanSecWest website under the Pwn2Own rules."

According to TippingPoint;
"The Zero Day Initiative will put up $5000 per browser bug, and $10,000 per mobile bug. The first person to crack any of the mobile devices will also get to keep that device along with a one year phone contract. The first person to crack any of the browsers will get to keep the laptop it was running on. All winners will be asked to sign and agree to the general ZDI Non Disclosure Agreement, and the bugs will be turned over directly to the affected vendors.
If more than 5 people win prizes, we will offer additional “Bonus” prizes of an extra $5,000 that will be awarded this year for Most Interesting Browser flaw, Most Interesting Mobile Device Flaw, and Best in Show."
TippingPoint Press Release
CanSecWest 2009, Vancouver

LG Versa Provides Versatility To Verizon Wireless Customers.

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Verizin and LG Electronics have announced the LG Versa to the masses and will be available from March 1st this year. The LG Versa comes with chrome border on a bar design, animated 3-inch touch screen interface with tactile feedback and an attachable QWERTY keypad.
But you and the phone become MVPs (Most Versatile Phone, the phone and Most Valuable Player, you!)
Following is the press release by Verizon Wireless

BASKING RIDGE, NJ, and SAN DIEGO — Verizon Wireless and LG Electronics MobileComm U.S.A., Inc. (LG Mobile Phones) announced today that the LG Versa™ will be available on the nation’s largest and most reliable wireless voice and data network beginning March 1. With its elegant chrome border on a bar design, animated 3-inch touch screen interface with tactile feedback and an attachable QWERTY keypad, the LG Versa will be an MVP (Most Versatile Phone) for customers.

Customers can personalize their LG Versa phones based on their messaging needs – either attach the QWERTY keypad to their phones or leave the keypad at home. The LG Versa’s home screen is transformed into a sizzling, animated 3D interface and customers can quickly customize three different home screens with their favorite shortcuts. The built-in accelerometer rotates the screen automatically from portrait to landscape, and customers can use rotation movements to steer games. The HTML Web browser includes Flash and RSS feed support, and customers can keep up to three windows open and switch from one window to the other to view pages.

Additionally, the phone comes packed with Verizon Wireless’ V CAST Music with Rhapsody and V CAST Video services. V CAST Music with Rhapsody allows customers to choose from more than 5 million songs over-the-air, download the master copy of their songs to their PCs free of digital rights management (DRM) software and sync their favorite tracks, albums and playlists from their PCs to their LG Versa phones using the included USB cable. V CAST Video allows customers to download or stream video from the best names in news, sports, entertainment and more.

The LG Versa supports productivity tools – such as Visual Voice Mail so they can prioritize their messages – while Verizon Wireless’ VZ Navigator(SM) service transforms the phone into a navigation device at a fraction of the cost of most GPS systems. In addition, the LG Versa is compatible with Mobile Broadband Connect to allow customers to use their phones as a modem by linking their laptops to their phones to establish a broadband connection anywhere within Verizon Wireless’ Mobile Broadband rate and coverage area.

Additional features and capabilities of the LG Versa include:

Virtual QWERTY keypad
2.0 megapixel camera and camcorder with autofocus, flash and image editor
- SmartPic technology for improved image quality
- Camera resolutions: 1600 x 1200 (default), 1280 x 960, 800 x 400, 640 x 480, 320 x 240 pixels
- Face detection – automatically detect a face when taking a picture
- Zoom: up to 2x
- Image editor: zoom, rotate, crop, add frames and icons, and write over images
- Video resolutions: 640 x 480, 320 x 240, 176 x 144 pixels (default)
- Video recording time: 30 seconds for sending or up to one hour for saving
- Video player for WMV, MP4, 3GP, 3G2 formats
- Customizable brightness, white balance, shutter sound, color effects, photometry, and self-timer
Music Player –
- Music player for .mp3, .wma, unprotected .aac and unprotected .aac+ formats
- Multitask while playing music – hide player to send messages, edit contacts, and browse the Web
- Create and manage playlists
- Music Library – organized by artist, genre and album
- Music Only Mode (RF off except Bluetooth®)
microSD™ memory port with up to 16 GB support (16 GB card available in mid-March)
USB Mass Storage – transfer files between microSD card and PC
Bluetooth Version 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) –
- Supported profiles: headset, hands-free (car kits), dial-up networking, stereo phonebook access, basic printing, object push (for vCard and vCal), file transfer, basic imaging, and human interface device
Animated three-dimensional interface for home screens – customize up to three home screens with favorite features and applications
Module home screen when QWERTY keypad is attached
VZ Navigator-capable – get visual and audible directions to thousands of destinations, locate businesses and other points of interest, get maps of a location and share directions with others
Chaperone® Child-capable – allows the LG Versa to have its location shared with family members via the Chaperone Web site, the Chaperone® Parent application or Child Zone® SMS alerts
Chaperone® Parent-capable – with the Chaperone Parent application, customers can view location information or be notified of the whereabouts of the Chaperone Child phone
Visual Voice Mail – delete, reply and forward voice mail messages without having to listen to prior messages or voice instructions
Mobile Web-capable – customizable, enhanced wireless access to the latest in news, sports, weather and more
Mobile Email – access MSN® Hotmail®, America Online® and Yahoo! ® accounts to exchange e-mail
Media Center-capable – downloadable games, ringtones, wallpapers, location-based services and more
Mobile IM using AIM®, MSN, Yahoo!
Auto Screen and Key Lock – prevents unwanted key actions
2.5 mm headset jack
Text, picture and video messaging
Supports threaded messaging
Personal organizer with calculator, EZ Tip Calculator, calendar, alarm clock, stopwatch, world clock, notepad, and drawing pad with character recognition
Speakerphone and voice commands
Bilingual interface – English and Spanish
Phonebook with up to 1,000 entries with multiple contacts
TTY/TDD-capable
In Case of Emergency contacts
Frequency: 1.9 GHz CDMA PCS, 800 MHz CDMA
Data transmission: EV-DO Revision A (Rev. A)
Dimensions: 4.16” (h) x 2.07” (w) x 0.54” (d)
Weight: 3.81 ounces
Hearing Aid Compatibility = M4/T4
SAR: head 1.38 W/kg, body 0.764 W/kg
LCD: 262K color TFT, 480 x 240 pixels, 3.0”
Ambient light sensor controls the brightness on the LCD according to surrounding light
Proximity sensor turns LCD off when a customer is placing a call on the LG Versa
External LCD: monochrome OLED, 56 x 120 pixels, 0.94” (only available on the QWERTY keypad attachment)
Standard battery: 1,100 mAh
Usage time: up to 290 minutes or
Standby time: up to 430 hours

Pricing
The LG Versa will be available online at www.verizonwireless.com and in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores beginning March 1 for $199.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement. Customers will receive the rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted.

Customers can get the most out of their LG Versa with Verizon Wireless’ Nationwide Premium calling plan. Starting at $79.99 monthly access, the Nationwide Premium calling plan includes unlimited messaging, VZ Navigator, Mobile Email and V CAST VPak, plus unlimited megabytes for Mobile Web and Media Center. Mobile Broadband Connect can be added to their plans for $59.99 monthly access for 5 GB, and Visual Voice Mail is available for $2.99 monthly access, per line, plus airtime or megabyte charges and messaging fees, depending on a customer’s plan.

For more information about Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.

BlackBerry Shoots Apple! (An Apple)!!

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Man is that an Apple? The New ad for BlackBerry by RIM ends with phrase "Nothing Can Touch It"! According to stories on the net, including the owners of BlackBerry Storm are wondering why the touch is out of touch!

No Market Place Apps For Android Developer G1? Shazam!

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After following through a bunch of blog posts and articles, now it is clear that Developers with unlocked Android G1, or Android Developer Device, will not be able to access copy protected Apps on Android Market place.
The reason is that flawed method of Android's copy protection method that get unlocked (developers have root access to the Android G1) and perhaps lead to pirating of copyrighted applications. The Phandroid explains the process very nicely, here.
There is also a talk of Android riot, a developer revolt being planed by some developers to protest the drastic steps taken by Google.
If you do not like to deal with technical side of it, Macworld has a nice article on the issue.

VMWare For Smartphones Demo

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According to ITPro which is reporting from VMWare Conference in Cannes, France, there is something really innovative is occurring in the mobile space.
VMware has demoed mobile hypervisor at VMworld Europe conference. The 20KB he MVP hypervisor was installed in a Nokia N800 loaded with Windows CE and Google's Android running at the same time.
Even though same may look at as gadgetry, I belive it is agreat step forward in the mobile OS arena. The Nokia N800 is not a phone but it was the mobile device I liked most before iPhone arrived. (I did use skype on N810 it's newer sibiling) Either way the demoer makes sure to mention that this MVP Hypervisor is headed for smartphones.
Smart move VMWare.

ITPro report

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Free Skype To Go Number for All Skype Paying Customers

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Free Skype To Go Number for all Skype customers who either have a subscription or a balance in their account by purchasing some credit. Yep that is what Peter Parkes on Skype share announced today.
If you did not no by now, a Skype To Go number, allows you to call anyone anywhere at Skype’s super-low rates from a landline or mobile phone regardless of where you are. Skype To Go lets you take low-cost calls everywhere.

How does a Skype To Go number work?

You call your Skype To Go number from your mobile phone (or any phone).

You hear a menu that lets you choose one of your pre-saved speed dial contacts, or dial any other number.

You reach your contact wherever they are in the world and save a bundle on call costs.

Important: Avoid international call fees by only using mobiles and landlines in the same country as your Skype To Go number. Skype To Go numbers are currently available for Australia, Chile, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, Poland, Sweden, UK and the US

Skype announcement.

Skype For Asterisk Beta (SFA) User Experience.

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Jason Goecke of Adhearsion fame, has been working on Skype For Asterisk Beta (SFA) and I like what he has to say.
"My impression of the implementation so far is good. There is a lot more functionality in the software than I had expected, including support for Skype presence information within Asterisk."
Also the installation and the use of Skype for Asterisk seem to be easy;
"I received the software and was up and running within 10 minutes, as the install process was trivial. I have managed to place calls from a SIP client connected to Asterisk to and from users on Skype. The sound quality is good and interoperability with the rest of the Asterisk features works well."
You can read more at Jasons blog;

Asterisk 1.6.0.6 Is Ready For Download

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On the heels of Asterisk 1.6.0.6 RC1, The Asterisk development team has released the Asterisk 1.6.0.6 for general consumption. The release brings many improvements to the prominent Open Source Telephony Solution.
This release is specially recommended for all users of the Asterisk GUI as two issues with the manager interface have been resolved. The manager interface improperly handling async. requests from the GUI which led to manager session file descriptors being improperly overwritten and the problems with the Originate action that would cause issues with the GUI. They have both been resolved in this release.
Among other things following bugs were exterminated!

* Set the initiator attribute to lowercase in our replies when receiving calls.
This attribute contains a JID that identifies the initiator of the GoogleTalk
voice session. The GoogleTalk client discards Asterisk's replies if the
initiator attribute contains uppercase characters.
- Closes issue #13984. Submitted and tested by: jcovert

* Fix odd "thank you" sound playing behavior in app_queue.c
- Closes issue #14227. Reported and tested by: caspy

* Don't do an SRV lookup if a port is specified RFC 3263 says to do A record
lookups on a hostname if a port has been specified, so that's what we're
going to do. See section 4.2.
- Closes issue #14419. Reported and patched by: klaus3000

* Properly set "seen" and "unseen" flags when moving messages from the new to
the old folder when using IMAP for voicemail storage.
- Closes issue #13905. Reported and patched by: jaroth

* Fix devicestate problems for "always-on" agent channels.
- Closes issue #14173. Reported by: nathan. Tested by: nathan, aramirez

For a full list of changes, see the ChangeLog
Download the release from http://downloads.digium.com/

OpenSIPS At Amoocon (Former AsteriskTag)

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OpenSIPS project will be presenting papers on May 4th - 5th, 2009 at AMOOCON (Formerly AsteriskTag)in Rostock (Germany). The bilingual conference on Open-Source VoIP and Open-Source communication. AMOOCON was formally Asterisk-Tag and thay changed the name to fit the changing field of Open Source VoIP. AMOOCON now includes Yate and FreeSwitch in addition to Asterisk.

Among many hot topics related to Open Source VoIP will be presented by various organizations and OpenSIPS will focus its efforts on very interesting subjects.

The papers already submitted include subjects covering,

Load-balancing (using the new load-balancer module) for media servers, Workshop

Deploying and delivering Presence based Services with OpenSIPS, Workshop

SIP clustering (OpenSIPS + PBX integration), Workshop

All are invited.
For more information visit OpenSIPS and AMOOCON

Yahoo! Mobile For iPhone And Othe Smartphones.

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
The offering announced at Mobile World Congress is well on the way and even though the iPhone offering is slimer than the other smartphone offerings, is still a handful. According to Yahoo press release;
Yahoo! at MWC announced the launch of its new Yahoo! Mobile service. Yahoo! Mobile will be available on the mobile Web, as an app developed for the Apple^® iPhone^™, and as an app developed for smartphones from Nokia^®, RIM^®, Samsung^®, Sony Ericsson^® and Motorola^® as well as those powered by Windows Mobile^®. Yahoo! Mobile initially will be available today through a managed beta program, with general availability expected in Q2 2009.

"We believe the new Yahoo! Mobile will transform the way millions of mobile users around the world will interact with the Internet," said Marco Boerries, executive vice president, Yahoo! Inc. "Yahoo! Mobile will enable users to create their own Internet starting point on their mobile device so they can better discover, connect to and stay informed about the people and things that are important to them."

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/

KEY FEATURES OF YAHOO! MOBILE iPhone

The mobile Web and iPhone^™ versions of Yahoo! Mobile are planned to include the following features:

Discover

-	Yahoo! oneSearch^™ - Yahoo!'s award-winning mobile search service providing the most current, relevant answers you need.
-	Today - The most interesting stories buzzing on the Internet right now, selected by Yahoo!'s editorial team.

Connect

-	Yahoo! oneConnect^™ - Yahoo!'s service designed to provide consumers everything they need to stay in touch with the people about whom they care:

	-	Email - Access to Yahoo! Mail and other popular email service providers, including Gmail^®, Windows Live^™ Hotmail and AOL^® Mail.
	-	Pulse - Access totheir social networks, including Bebo^®, Dopplr^™, Facebook^®, Flickr^®, Friendster^®, Last.fm^®, MySpace^®, Twitter^™ and YouTube^™.
	-	Yahoo! Messenger - An upgraded version of Yahoo!'s popular mobile instant messaging service.
	-	Yahoo! Address Book - Keeps consumers' contacts always handy and in sync.
	-	Yahoo! Calendar - View, add and edit appointments when users are away from their PCs.

Stay Informed

Yahoo! News - Breaking headlines across popular topics.

Yahoo! onePlace^™ - Access and manage your favorite content, all from one location. Its "Add Anything" functionality is a simple-to-use search and browse process that helps users find and add what they want. Consumers can add their favorite interests from a growing selection of popular categories including news topics and sources, RSS feeds, weather conditions, sports scores, stock quotes, websites/blogs, horoscopes and movie theaters.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

TMCnet Celebrates 40Th Blogger.

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I am a frequent reader of TMCnets blogs, even though not all 40 of them, I have my favorite blogs like Rich Tehrani, Tom Keating among many others. I have known them in this capacity for a very long time, like from my first Internet Telephony Expo.
There are many technology and communications talented bloggers and according to Richs post they are growing! God Speed TMC!

Metal Gear Solid Touch For iPhone / iPod

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Konami has announced the portable iPhone / iPod touch version of the popular game franchise under the moniker Metal Gear Solid Touch. The site is under construction but Gizmodo has a trailer of the game that the main site does not have of taken down after Gizmodo said that they were worried by the trailer. I am a more of a simulator gamer than a point and shooter. So if you are a fan of this game you will find it soon at the iTunes App store.
If you can put up with the annoying hand cursor, you can find more information at Konami official touch site.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Skype For Asterisk (SFA) Enters Second Beta Testing Group.

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Skype For Asterisk (SFA) was announced a while back when a demo call was conducted on stage at Astricon. Since then there have been a quite a bit of development at Digium behind the curtains. Digium announced today that the testing of Skype For Asterisk has moved to second and larger group of beta testers, paving a way for public beta in the near future.
Skype for Asterisk will be a boon to all the asterisk users and businesses. People will be able to call them free using Skype and the asterisk servers will be able to route outbound calls via SkypeOut for lower costs.
The other foremost requirement is the quality of the calls and Digium assures us that SFA is not a proxy solution.
"will have the ability to make, receive and transfer Skype calls from within Asterisk phone systems, using existing hardware and existing Asterisk configurations: Skype calls become just another Asterisk call."
Asterisk-Skype Solutions are vital to SMBs and SMEs who trying save money during these troubled times. But again it will be a good business decision to save money in any case.
Once the beta cycles are over, the final market release of the SFA Component will have;

1. SkypeIn: Receive calls from the public telephone network using standard phone numbers

2. SkypeOut: Make calls to landline and mobile numbers at incredibly low rates

3. Standard phone features: Incoming/outgoing digits (DTMF), Caller ID

4. Smart call routing based on called Skype Name, Caller ID, country of the caller, language they have chosen in their Skype client and etc.

5. Retrieve Skype credit balance information

6. Store and call PSTN and Skype contacts

7. Retrieve and set Skype user presence information

8. Support for G.711 and G.729 voice codecs

9. Each Skype channel license includes a Digium G.729 codec license

among other features. You can read more at;

Skype For Asterisk Update

Asterisk Call Processing Monitor, QueueMetrics 1.5.1 Released.

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
QueueMetrics 1.5.1 comes with a whole bunch of improvements and bug fixes. The call center tool for Asterisk provides your agents better insight into the system wide call processing Also improved is the tracking of outbound calls made by agents, and a set of features that are meant to smooth the transition to the Asterisk 1.6 platform. QueueMetrics now support the Oreka recording solution as an audio storage medium. This should be good news for call centers or otheres who wants to factor out call recordings from the main Asterisk server.

There is also a long list of new features since QueueMetrics 1.5.0 and fixed bugs in the original news release.

You can download this QM from the downloads page. As an alternative, if you run RHEL/CentOS/TrixBox/AAH, you can install it automatically using yum - see the installation page.

The updated User Manual has been released jointly.

Samsung S5600 TouchWiz Phone / Samsung Omnia HD, i8190

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Mobile-Review has a bunch of Samsung phones from MWC 2009 reviewed and among them was this little gem, Samsung S5600. Another one caught my eye was the Samsung Omnia HD, i8190.
I am already looking for a replacement for my iPhone 3G! anybody?
I want something like iPhone 3G but better! Is Android G2 the answer? May be an iPhone 3G with YellowSnow!
Mobile-Review article (Google translation from Russian.)

T-Mobile Nationwide Unlimited Voice For $50?

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
According to a Bay area (San Francisco) user on Howardforums, T-Mobile is offering Nationwide Unlimited Voice plan for some of it's customers. Noted in the fine print, was that this offer is limited to loyal customers, who have been post-paid customers for at least 22 months. Perhaps a some kind of retention scheme for customers who are nearing the 2 year contract.
So according the same forum, Unlimited National Minutes for $49.99, Unlimited Messaging (any-type) $9.99, Unlimited Data $24.99 bringing everything unlimited to $85, beating Sprint's $99.
None of these figures has been officially confirmed.
HowardForum Discussion Thread

Saturday, February 21, 2009

LG GD900 Transparent Phone

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
LG released information on this transparent phone GD900 and said to be a conversation piece and if you own one that you will be the center of conversation. Yep!
"Transparent yet eye-catching, the LG-GD900 will stand out from the crowd, and so will those who carry it. When opened, its sliding, translucent keypad illuminates a cool glow that reflects the phone’s sleek and polished silver body. But first-rate design was not the only thing in mind when creating the LG-GD900. It also lives up to the highest level of technical features expected in a premium calibre handset, including its dedicated Bluetooth headset.The LG-GD900 is scheduled for release during the second quarter of 2009 and the phone’s advanced features will be unveiled at that time.

Jajah Offers Mobile VoIP For Windows Mobile, Symbian And BlackBerry

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
JAJAH for Windows Mobile, JAJAH for Symbian, JAJAH for BlackBerry
Jajah announced new, advanced Mobile VoIP telephony solutions for Windows Mobile, BlackBerry and Symbian. According to the press release, now users of mobile devices will be able to make VoIP calls either via WiFi or over the cellular network. The solutions are offere as white label offeres allowing carriers and non-carriers to launch the service under their own brand.

This follows the JAJAH's voip solution for the iPod touch which turned the device into a fully functioning mobile phone. Jajah earlier provided iPhone VoIP solution as well. The company now has tailored solutions for more than 500 million mobile phones, smartphones and other mobile devices worldwide."Every carrier faces pressure to develop new services to keep hold of their subscriber base. JAJAH gives carriers the ability to roll out these proven, simple to use services no matter which device their customers have, with almost zero time to market or development cost," said Trevor Healy, CEO, JAJAH.
JAJAH for BlackBerry

The JAJAH application for BlackBerry gives all BlackBerry users the ability to make JAJAH VoIP calls directly from their device. Available as an over the air download, via the desktop manager or from a corporate BES server, the application adds 'JAJAH Call' to the phonebook menu. Simply click on the contact name and select 'JAJAH Call' and the phone call is initiated. Alternatively, users can open the JAJAH application and type in the phone number.

JAJAH for Symbian

Designed for making VoIP calls over a WiFi network, JAJAH for Symbian gives anyone with a phone running Symbian s60 the ability to choose whether their international calls route over the JAJAH IP network or the standard cellular network. The application automatically detects the presence of a WiFi network and offers the choice to use JAJAH when a long distance phone number is dialed (either manually or via the address book).
JAJAH for Windows Mobile

JAJAH for Windows Mobile is a full SIP over HSDPA/WiFi mobile VoIP solution. Currently deployed by eMobile, one of the leading operator's in Japan, the JAJAH solution turns any device into a fully functioning VoIP phone, providing high quality phone-in and phone-out services to and from any phone in the world.

Press Release

EU Wants To Wiretap VoIP, IP Telephony and Internet Telephony

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
While ago German Police' complaint about Skype Wiretapping being difficult and rumors of NSA wanting to hack Skype is abundant European Commissions Justice wing is beginning to pave pathways to wiretap VoIP IP Telephony services like Skype.
The moves in Europe will certainly help the authorities in US as well in wiretapping VoIP calls. The EU sited criminals and drug dealers using VoIP to communicate without being tapped. Ms Carmen Manfredda, from Italy will lead the efforts. She was quipped
"“The possibility of intercepting internet telephony will be an essential tool in the fight against international organised crime within Europe and beyond. Our aim is not to stop users from taking advantage of internet telephony, but to prevent criminals from using Skype and other systems to plan and organise their unlawful actions. Eurojust will make all possible efforts to coordinate and assist in the cooperation between Member States”.
EuroJust recently released the following press release;

Eurojust coordinates internet telephony investigations

Ms Carmen Manfredda, acting National Member for Italy, will take the lead in coordinating a Europe-wide investigation on internet telephony (VoIP).

At the request of Direzione Nazionale Antimafia in Rome, the Italian Desk at Eurojust will play a key role in the coordination and cooperation of the investigations on the use of internet telephony systems (VoIP), such as “Skype”. Eurojust will be available to assist all European law enforcement and prosecution authorities in the Member States. The purpose of Eurojust’s coordination role is to overcome the technical and judicial obstacles to the interception of internet telephony systems, taking into account the various data protection rules and civil rights.

Background
Criminals in Italy are increasingly making phone calls over the internet in order to avoid getting caught through mobile phone intercepts. Police officers in Milan say organised crime, arms and drugs traffickers, and prostitution rings are turning to Skype and other systems of VoIP in order to frustrate investigators. Skype's encryption system is a secret which the company refuses to share with the authorities. Investigators have become increasingly reliant on wiretaps in recent years. Customs and tax police in Milan have highlighted the Skype issue. They overheard a suspected cocaine trafficker telling an accomplice to switch to Skype in order to get details of a 2kg drug consignment. Investigators are convinced that the interception of telephone calls have become an essential tool of the police, who spend millions of Euros each year tracking down crime through wiretaps of landlines and mobile phones.

Following a meeting with the judicial authorities in Milan, Italy, Ms Manfredda commented: “The possibility of intercepting internet telephony will be an essential tool in the fight against international organised crime within Europe and beyond. Our aim is not to stop users from taking advantage of internet telephony, but to prevent criminals from using Skype and other systems to plan and organise their unlawful actions. Eurojust will make all possible efforts to coordinate and assist in the cooperation between Member States”.

Joannes THUY
Press Officer & Spokesperson
EUROJUST
Maanweg 174, NL-2516 AB The Hague
The Netherlands
Tel +31 70 412 5508 - Fax +31 70 412 5005
E-mail: jthuy@eurojust.europa.eu

Friday, February 20, 2009

Free SIP on iPhone With SIPON

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
We reported earlier about the SIPON, which was SIP-VoIP when TochMods team first introduced it. Free France promoted the app and later it evolved and now it runs on iPhone (unlocked or Jailbroken) allowing users to make free phone calls using their SIP Provider. Current version is SIOPON 1.9.4.
If you have a Jailbroken iPhone or iPod Touch, you can install SIPON by following the directions on the Free site. Once installed, you can a Free SIP account to start calling worldwide free.

Free Site

Mac Plus Emulator For iPhone

Image From Named Fork

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Updated added link to named fork
My experience on a Mac Plus was at a computer museum but If you are a real fan, you can get that on you iPhone now as an emulator! Named Fork has created a Virtual Mac Plus, called Mini Vmac. Aa Mac Plus Emulator with 4MB memory, Full Screen and a complete keyboard together with sound so you could easily hear those beeps and clicks!
What You Need;

- Jailbroken iPhone or iPod Touch
- iPhone OS 2.x
- Mac Plus ROM image
- Mac disk images

All the instructions and gestures and all other information is available from Named Fork

Hulu On Boxee, Yes With A New Plugin!

If you have a Boxee and miss all those shows that you got through Hulu do not despair! Team XBMC have created plugin that also works with Boxee!
iWantmygTV: Get HULU on Your Boxee, Again!
Tags: Boxee, HULU

Android Challenging Microsoft In Netbook Arena?

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/

Android has been a challenge to most mobile handset makers and from the various adaptations by cellular phone makers to include Android OS on their phones clearly shows that. Microsoft clearly wants its own space in the mobile world with Winmo or Windows Mobile. I have had many windows mobile based phones but after the first week or so, I began to use them as just a phone, forgetting about bells and whistles. But the reviews of Windows Mobile 6.5 seems to up the ante.
But I am a fan of Android and iPhone and I carry both now! Each complements the other in various tasks and I do not lug a notebook with me anymore. I even manage a few Oracle Server using these two.
I am also a fan of Netbooks and I own linux and windows XP based Acer Ones. Pretty happy with them for what they were brought for. Blogging from coffeeshops and on campus grounds.
But today I read on Bloomberg that Asus is planing to put Android OS on one of their Netbooks, forgoing WIndows. I would not say Linux as Android is based on a Linux varient.
"

An Android-powered notebook would extend Google’s rivalry with Microsoft into the market for software that runs personal computers, where Windows controls more than 90 percent of the market. Netbooks, scaled-down laptops that offer basic e-mail and Internet functions, are the fastest-growing segment of the PC industry, with shipments projected to almost double this year as the overall market slows.

“With the strength of Google behind it, Android could really challenge Microsoft and steal some market share,” said Calvin Huang, a computer-industry analyst at Daiwa Securities Group Inc. in Taipei. “The benefit is the free license and you can use a lower-power, cheaper processor.”"

Thursday, February 19, 2009

First Paid Apps For T-Mobile G1 On Android Market

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
The Boy Genius is reporting that if your T-Mobile G1 has the latest T-Mobile G1 OS, you will be able to see paid applications in the Android Market and of course buy some if you want to. I can see some happy developers.

Cupcake On Android Developer G1

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Brian Jepson, has tested Android Dev Phone (Hardware unlocked G1) and Android cupcake. The YouTube video shows off the on-screen keyboard, transitions, the Linux shell. Geek.com has more clear photos and actually more information on the skateboarding androids–which come up as you hack–and the Snake game on the Android OS.

HTC Diamond Touch With Windows Mobile 6.5 Get Stolen.(I think Lost!)

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Either CEO's are dumb or care less for money! Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo managed to lose (got stolen! my foot!) Microsofts crown Jewels, Windows Mobile 6.5. The phone is a HTC Touch but the phone on the video is not the LOST phone, Softonic people assures us!

Mobile 2.0, A panel discussions with mobile startups and the investment community.

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
TechCrunch is hosting a Roundtable and Meetup at Mobile World Congress today. (The live Stream is over now and archived version of video will be available soon at the link below)

“TechCrunchTalk: Mobile 2.0 - Where next?”

A panel discussions with mobile startups and the investment community.

The topics will focused around a number of themes, including:

- What will be the mobile trends over the coming year?
- What are VC’s looking for?
- Can the power of the operators really be disrupted?
- What value can be created in the mobile world in difficult economic times?

Good Techcrunchtalk to watch and / or listen to!

Life After 30,000,000 iPhone App Downloads And iPhone Advertising.

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Pinch Media, who provides iPhone Analytics and iPhone advertising has done a nice study on iPhone application usage and how it is tied to the monetary revenue. The CEO of Pinch Media has put together a slide show to drive his points home and it is a very well done presentation. I only had to back track only a few slides.
So if the iPhone developers grasp the idea the report presents, it might lead to less free apps. But if you are charging for your apps, it has to be darn good and capture the audience, something like SIPPhone on iPhone, which think priced too high. But then again, I paid for an application $30 because it served a need for me. It is hard to be visible in a landscape of about 20,000 applications. Usually Free iPhone Apps earn revenue from advertising but from the data presented by Pinch Media, the window of earning might be short as users tend to use the application less and less from the day of download and stop using it altogether.
So if you are interested in iPhone Apps or iPhone advertising, I think it is a very good idea to go through the slide show. Visit to Pinch Media might not hurt either.

iPhone AppStore Secrets - Pinch Media

View more presentations from pinchmedia. (tags: pinch smartphone)

Fraud calls to Cuba And VoIP Attacks.

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
I was browsing through Gossamer-threads mailing list on Cisco when I came across a post regarding "Fraud calls to Cuba - Please read" by a member. The thread went on to explain how the attackers were using port scans to find open H323 TCP/1720 and SIP UDP/5060 ports and to make calls out from pots lines. The thread showed that this is not a random happening but prevalent in the Cisco MCE router world as these ports are open by default. All the cases did not have ACLs in place and once implemented they were able to prevent these costly attacks. So people with routers attached to PSTN via PRI or even a FXO line, check your routers.
So if you have an Internet facing router, why not just check for open ports. On Cisco routers you can use show ip sockets on older IOS and on newer IOS show control-plane host open-ports
On other routers use appropriate commands to check for open ports and close them. If you need to keep them open, use ACLs.
How about your Asterisk server? It is also essentially a router with usually a PSTN or SIP or trunk service gateway. The attackers could easily get in an out through the server if necessary precautions were not taken.
Think of an Asterisk server with “outbound” context to the SIP provider accessible by the inbound context.
It is possible for incoming calls that do not find matching numbers internally, to get routed out to the SIP provider via Outbound context. Here is an open gateway for hackers.. And there goes your money that you are trying to save with VoIP.

Basic Steps to Protect your VoIP routers or Servers.

Firewall or session border controller, Always between you and the internet.
Use ACLs to limit your access to your VoIP servers.
Block inbound contexts in Asterisk accessing the outbound.
Update the IOS and Server software regularly.
Keep an eye open for security vulnerabilities from your vendor.
Utilize VPN tunnels when ever is possible to protect the VoIP traffic going over the Internet
SIP TLS and SRTP will save your day.
Shutdown all services on not in use on your servers and routers.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Scale Asterisk And Get A First-class Steak Dinner At Astricon

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
John Todd is promising that he will give you a first-class steak dinner at Astricon
if you could accomplish a simple task with Asterisk. It has to do with Asterisk scalability. Here is what Todd had to say;
"To encourage the improvement and testing of larger-scale Asterisk systems, I’d like to repeat here what I mentioned today on the asterisk-dev mailing list: I’m putting out a semi-official challenge in place. The first person to get an Asterisk system moving 10,000 G.711 call legs through a single instance on a single machine will get a first-class steak dinner at Astricon. And a great bottle of wine, if that is your preference."
The rest of the blog post is here.

Five iPhone Browsers Reviewed / Tested

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Rich Tehrani has downloaded (purchased some of them) and tested 5 web browsers for iPhone. They range from Edge Browser which is free to WebSave which is not free with three others in between. You can read about Rich's experience and most of all you do not have to dole out some dough to test these apps. After reading Rich's account I know which browser I am not going to pay for!

Asterisk Skype Gateway!

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Time to time I get dragged in by Nerd Vittles doings with VoIP and usually Asterisk. There is a talk about Digium doing an Asterisk-Skype Gateway but Nerds have none of that and gone their own way to implement a Skype Gateway.
To the less technically inclined and mostly less time and resources to manage such gateways, NV suggest using Gizmo5 solution that they came up a time ago. But those who really like to see the rivets, bolts and not to forget the nuts, they have another suggestion. They guide you to Greg Dorfuss' SipToSis software which is the basis of Gizmo's offering. The complete instructions of installing and setting up the gateway for Asterisk and FreePBX is there. So go get your Skype via Asterisk.
The Nerd Vittles.

You Want Fax With That Asterisk?

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
I was reading a post on Digium blog today about a test that concerns new Asterisk Fax product. Even though I meet all the requirements, I will have to fore go due lack of time.
The new fax for Asterisk supposed to improve on current fax products for Asterisk and improve communications with older fax machines.
So if you have;
1. High Degree of familiarity with Asterisk dialplan construction.
2. Time to test. We need people that can hop to it, and test quickly.
3. Ability to devote a server and some Digium boards (supplied by you and already at your disposal) and / or fax-enabled VoIP service provider accounts (also supplied by you) to the testing.
4. A good usage case for using fax with Asterisk.
Please get in touch with Malcolm Devenport at Digium (malcolmdREMOVEthisPART@digium.com) and dont forget to remove the REMOVEthisPART from the address.
Happy Faxing

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