Skype Firings

I was going to write a post about the firing of multiple Skype VP’s some of whom I have dealt with in the past for a variety of clients, interviewed or heard speak but between the GigaOm, Skype Journal, and Bloomberg pieces there’s enough speculation. The one guy of the bunch who I can single … Read more

Clarence Clemons –R.I.P. Big Man

I don’t know where to begin. All I know is how to end it. So I’ll start there. R.I.P. Big Man. May Baby always be with you. Clarence Clemons was “The Big Man.” And while many of you know my tech world work, back in the day, with the Celebrity All Star Hockey team, I … Read more

iPad + Jambox = Next Generation Polycom

  Image via Wikipedia I’ve been a fan of Polycom and their logstanding history of making just about the best darn speakerphone on the planet for many, many years. To me, they have been the “gold standard” in quality and reliabilty, so much so, that when we have remote conference meetings in various Regus locations … Read more

New Companies in Voice To Watch

I’m always on the hunt for new companies to keep an eye on and a few have caught my eye, largely because at least some of them will be at this years’ eComm conference the last week of June in San Francisco. Vox.io-a very cool consumer facing browser based calling company. Voxer.com-the next generation of … Read more

Plivo Goes Beyond Twilio

Image via CrunchBase A new voice API framework called Plivo is taking a nod from Twilio and going farther and with less restrictions.  Plivo claims to be totally open, and promises the ability to work with GoogleVoice, Google Talk, SIP, h.323 and to be a simple integration with FreeSwitch.  Their announcement is here. The key … Read more

United Nations Gets a Country Code via Voxbone

Often times I look for innovation and I fail to draw attention to my clients who do just that, preferring to have others “discover” the news first. Take client Voxbone which pulled of a coup of sorts with the United Nations, landing the UN’s business where it assigns and manages their new 888 country code.This … Read more

Is Google Voice The Bride or the Bride’s Maid?

Image via CrunchBase Google left GoogleVoice off the list of presentations from Google I/O last week and Skype Journal's Phil Wolff is all upset and cranky. In a short terse post today the all things IP and Skype pundit and friend goes off on a semi rant asking: "Where’s the platform, folks? Will Skype’s platform … Read more

Are The Mobile Operators Dumb or Just Dumb Pipes?

Image via CrunchBase For years those of us who have recognized that bits are bits and voice can be carried over data pipes (i.e. VOIP) have always simply looked at any data connection as a pipe. Give me unfettered access over the Internet and I'll give you a better way to communicate was the basic … Read more

Skype-And The Winner Is—Microsoft

Image via CrunchBase So give props to pal Om Malik for breaking the story. Skype is going to Microsoft. It's a big win for a lot of people, most of all the original founders and it's a fit. As I wrote over the weekend there was little chance Google would really buy Skype. Too many … Read more