Graves On SOHO Technology

Today is the final day for registration for next weeks VUC call with LifeSize. You have until 5pm CST this afternoon (Jan 28th) to visit http://www.lifesize.com/voip-register and get your details entered to win one of the Logitech C910 HD webcams.

We need as many VUC people as possible to register so that LifeSize has a sense of our level of interest. Eight of those who register will win the webcams, which are to be distributed prior to the call.

On Feb 4th, after we’ve explored the LifeSize product range in glorious HD video we’ll be giving away the Logitech Harmony One universal remote control. Everyone on the call and in the irc channel will be eligible.

More details about joining the call can be found at the usual place.

I know, I know. It’s Orange in the UK. Hopefully one of our beloved US mobile carriers will follow their lead. One can hope. This comes to us courtesy of Mashable & Ubergizmo.

It has been said that, “the devil is in the details.” It has also been noted that I’m fussy about such things. After all, it usually takes little or no extra effort to get something right, often with much benefit moving forward.

Cast in this light I would like to revisit the Freetalk Everyman Headset being offered by InStore Solutions through the Skype online store. You may recall that I reviewed this device a while ago. I found it to be a decent product at a very attractive price. I’ve recommended it to a number of people, and none have come back to complain.

I think that USB attached audio devices, whether headset or speakerphone, are exceptionally convenient. They isolate the low-level analog signal handling from the harsh electrical environment inside a computer, often allowing for improved noise performance. They also save us from the painful prospect of loading unique device drivers.

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Sometimes people take the shortest or cheapest path when it really doesn’t serve them well. So it was for my employer. For the past year or more the IVR menu at our main US number was voiced by the CEO of our US operation. Not that his voice is bad, but he’s an ex-pat Englishman with an accent that emphasizes the fact that we’re not a US-based company.

A while ago bkw of Freeswitch fame tweeted something about using Fiverr.com to find Lauri Murdock to voice some IVR. Fiverr.com is a site where people offer whatever service they provide for $5.

Since we had recently made some changes in staffing we needed to rework our IVR tree. I thought, hey for $5 noone is going to complain if we get a nice female voice. So I just ordered recording without asking anyone about it.

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Following our first video conference call with Blink Mind last August we’re at long last scheduled to do next call in the series. The VUC call on February 4, 2011 will feature LifeSize, the Austin TX based manufacturer of HD video conference systems. LifeSize is a division of Logitech.

Our guest will be Michael Helmbrecht, Vice President of Product Marketing. His responsibilities include product marketing, product life cycle management, public relations and analyst relations. Prior to LifeSize he spent nine years with Dell, Inc. where he was Director of Marketing. Michael held a number of key marketing roles at Dell, most recently leading product line management for data storage and networking in the Americas.

Unlike the earlier video call in August, the Feb 4 call will happen in 720p-based high-definition. A total of sixteen fortunate souls will have seats on the LifeSize video conference bridge.

The output of that bridge will also be streamed via a web feed, and recorded for later download as a video podcast. Audio from the LifeSize conference bridge will be joined to the ZipDX bridge so that people participating audio-only can join the call by their usual means.

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The folks in the phone lab over at Junction Networks / OnSIP earlier this week posted a review of Counterpath’s Bria v3.1 release. They note a number of improvements, including more reliable support for video and G.722 based wideband calling.

I appreciate their reviews as there simply isn’t enough time in the day to try everything myself. Further, as an OnSIP user, if they have experience with a particular SIP client then they are better positioned to support our company if we should decide to use that program or device.

As to Bria itself, it certainly appears that Counterpath is on the move, issuing new releases for Mac, Windows, iPhone and Bria over the past six or seven months.

As a Windows user I find that look & feel of the Mac version is much nicer than it’s WPF-based counterpart on Windows. I wonder why the Mac version color scheme is light grey while the Windows version is very dark?  It’s like the the light vs the dark sides of The Force.