The trickle of news from CES 2007 has started and will soon become a flood. I’ll be in Las Vegas, starting this Saturday, covering the show using a combination of news items, slideshows and articles. To make it easier for both you and me, I’ll be tagging everything with “CES 2007”, which will appear in … Read more

(HUNTSVILLE, AL) Asterisk creator Digium today announced what it calls
its "first software appliance", aimed at getting an Asterisk-based VoIP
PBX up and running within 30 minutes.

AsteriskNOW is an open source distribution based on the recently released
Asterisk 1.4, featuring a Digium-designed GUI. It includes a new setup wizard
that guides users through the installation process "regardless of any previous
Linux experience" and includes all the Linux components necessary to run,
debug and build Asterisk.

(OCALA, FL) Powerline networking chipmaker Intellon yesterday announced that twelve service providers in Europe and Asia are using its HomePlug 1.0 with Turbo powerline chipsets for in-home standard definition IPTV distribution. The companies are 1&1, Chung Hwa Telecom, Club Internet, France Telecom, Free, Hanaro Telecom, neuf cegetel, PCCW, Simmin, Tele2, Telecom Italia France and TPSA.

(BOULDER, Co) SpectraLink today announced its next-generation Wi-Fi
telephony handsets. The new NetLink 8000 Series handsets are said to be
the first commercially available "enterprise-grade" handsets to support
802.11a, b and g WLANs. Additional enhancements include a slim, lightweight design and
a larger display screen.

Two models are available: the basic NetLink 8020 Wireless Telephone, and the enhanced NetLink 8030 Wireless Telephone supporting SpectraLink’s integrated push-to-talk
(PTT) capabilities with 24 PTT channels plus a priority channel for emergency
broadcast applications.

CES is almost upon us and the WiMedia / “Certified Wireless USB” forces will once again attempt to whip us into a frenzy about a technology that was one of the biggest no-shows of 2006. Even though it’s one manufacturer’s point of view, I found this DigiTimes Q&A with Roberto Aiello, CTO and co-founder of … Read more

The emerging IEEE 802.11n WLAN (Wireless LAN) transmission technology based on MIMO (Multiple Inputs/Multiple Outputs) guarantees throughput of at least 100 Mbps but can deliver up to 600 Mbps depending on the complexity of the radio and on the environment. Although today’s 802.11 networks can reach data rates of 54Mbps, the actual throughput is typically less than 30 Mbps due to protocol inefficiencies. 802.11n is expected to deliver true 100 Mbps throughput as measured at the MAC SAP (service access point) interface and will, therefore, more than triple the transmission speed of WLANs.

A/V equipment maker Gefen says they’ll ship several ultrawideband cable replacements in 2007. The company will ship the Wireless USB Extender, a four-port USB hub that connects via UWB to a USB dongle on a computer, for $249 in January. Of course, last January, they said, “Cable-free USB 2.0 extension is a reality for…Gefen…The unit…marks … Read more

Things seem to be running more smoothly (and quickly) with the recent link system changes. But, since I’m never one to leave well enough alone, I decided I’d try turning the article comment system back on. So registered users can now resume their commenting! In other news, I’ve installed a new FAQ module and ported … Read more

In the continuing saga of getting my new web publishing system to behave (the system is Joomla, by the way), I’ve had to abandon the part of the system that created the user-friendly URLs. The system was simply taking up too much memory for each site visitor, resulting in server crashes whenever things got busy. … Read more