If you’ve been itching to get in on the latest technology goldrush of developing software applications for Apple’s iPhone but don’t know where to start, check out Stanford’s University online on iTunes. They offer a 10 week iPhone Application Programming course, and video of each lecture as well as copies of slides are posted online at http://itunes.stanford.edu/. Full course website is available online at http://www.stanford.edu/class/cs193p/cgi-bin/drupal/.
Archive for the ‘Cell Phone / Mobile Phone’ Category
Learning Application Development for the IPhone online
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010Why I chose Toktumi as my PBX provider
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009I have to be honest. I’m not as excited about VoIP (Voice Over IP) technology as most others are. Yes, I think there are some really cool advantages to VoIP technology, especially for the traveling business type, but over all, the voice quality and reliability just doesn’t compare to your traditional analog landline (wire connected) phone from AT&T or similar local Bell.
Over the years I’ve tried a few VoIP offerings, including Vonage (hated ‘em!) and more recently ViaTalk (liked them until they sent me a $50 disconnect bill!). What is with all these disconnect charges the phone industry charges, anyway??? But I digress …
Since launching a couple of new side ventures, I needed full fledged PBX capabilities, not just a seperate business phone line. By PBX, I mean I needed the ability to create a press 1 for this, 2 for that type of Auto Attendant. And the ability to forward calls to different numbers accordingly.
In this era of hosted “software as a service/cloud computing” offerings, PBX systems are no exception. Rather than purchasing all the telephone gear outright (which can cost thousands of dollars, not to mention the supporting phone line capacity to support the call volume you expect to receive as you grow) you can literally sign up with a web based service that hosts the PBX phone system and supporting infrastructure for you, and automatically scales as you grow. Then you simply program it via your web browser. At signficantly lower cost as well.
But most of the Hosted PBX (or Virtual PBX Providers) that I have found charge not only a monthly service fee (in the neighborhood or $30 per month and up) but they also charge a per minute rate for phone calls. If I was making a lot of money from my new side ventures, this would not be a problem to pay, but being a startup, and a side venture startup at that, those unknown costs are rather scary. When all other phone charges are moving toward a flat rate system, why can’t a Virtual PBX provider as well?
Well, guess what? I found one that does exactly that! A flat rate whether you choose a local number or a toll free number for your business. And get this — the rate is a mere $15 per month! Now that’s a number I can afford!
The company is called Toktumi (pronounced “Talk to Me”, clever, ain’t it?!) . Toktumi offers powerful office phone features including call waiting, call transfer, caller ID, call forwarding, and an auto attendant that truly forwards calls without the need to “announce” each call. (This is a key differentiator as well for me. When I tried to transfer a call with most of the other Virtual PBX companies, they do so by first announcing the call and expecting the person answering the call to dial 1 to accept the call. This is more commonly termed “virtual assistant”. But in my case I need to transfer calls to various outsourced call centers, which could be answered by their own auto attendent (and not a live human initially) that asks the caller to “press 1 for this, 2 for that, etc”. So I need the call to be transferered directly and not wait for someone to confirm acceptance of the call. )
You get a softphone as well to make and receive calls. (A softphone is software that runs on your computer, desktop or laptop, that turns it into your virtual office phone!) They even allow you to create instant conference calls for up to 20 people — and with the softphone you can even record your conference calls for future reference.
All this with no hidden fees, no contracts, no equipment required. One low monthly price gets you everything. Toktumi customers get it all for just $14.95 per month. Finally, someone is speaking my language! Thanks Toktumi! Now if only they offered private labelling of their service, it would make for yet another great new side venture …. !
Do I need a Landline voice phone to get DSL?
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009yes you should be able to do that, but your local phone company might hassle you over it. Here’s an internet post I found that might help as well: http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/How-to-Get-2399-ATT-Dry-Loop-DSL-87863
Yes you need a landline for DSL service but no you should not need to actually have landline voice service. The two do run over different parts of the circuit. I believe the industry term for what you seek is “dry loop” — in this case, DSL without voice. But before you cancel your voice line, I caution you to consider another advantage of keeping your voice service … 911. I’m a big fan of landline phone service, both for the superior voice quality, but also because of the technology behind 911. If you or your family were to ever have an emergency that required dialing 911, personally I’d rather do it from a landline phone, than a cell phone. From a landline, the 911 operator instantly knows the address from which you are calling from. This is not typically the case from a cell phone although that technology is supposedly coming down the pike. Also, 911 from your landline routes to your local emergency agency (local fire or police station, typically). Cellular 911 is either answered by specially trained personnel of the cell phone company, or routed (more commonly) to the State Police of Highway Patrol. (For my area, for example, that Highway Patrol office is more than 20 miles away!) The dispatcher then has to figure out where you are, what you need, and transfer your call to the appropriate local agency closest to your location. This can sometimes take a significant amount of time. I no longer dial 911 from my cell phone unless I have no other options. Instead I now dial the agency I need directly. (Yes I store them as speed dial numbers in my cell phone!) In my opinion, cellular 911 just doesn’t measure up to landline 911. So dialing 911 from a landline is ALWAYS the best option.
Here’s a writeup I did for my hiking group 3 years ago related to this:
http://hiking.bondon.com/FAQMain.cfm?page=Msg&Email=110
So, in your case, if you decide to keep your landline for at least receiving calls and as an insurance policy should you need to call 911, my suggestion is to switch to measured rate service (cheaper than flat rate if you don’t make too many local phone calls). AND think about getting rid of long distance service on the line as well so you’re not paying the $5/mo interconnect fee and associated taxes that go with it. Then you’re monthly phone bill should be less than $10/mo, including taxes and fees (probably under $5/mo if you qualify for Universal Lifeline Phone service.)
But if you do decide to get rid of your landline, I suggest you program in your local police and fire numbers into all your cell phones and train your family to phone them direct. Believe me, you’ll get thru MUCH faster!