I’ve written about Joost elsewhere on three or four tech and/or TV blogs. My thoughts about it:

1. Very cool first impressions.
2. Interesting content but not enough to impress everyone.
3. Incredible “video” quality, highly dependent on your computer’s RAM and Internet speed.
4. Incredible bandwidth hog. Your Internet access plan better be able to handle it. The beta version took up as much as 100Mb of hard disk space and 200-300 Mb per hour of bandwidth.

Overall, I watched it once in a while while beta testing it. But with a heavy workload and so many good new TV shows in the new Fall season, I haven’t fired up Joost in a while.

The exodus to Mac OS and Linux has begun. And maybe that’s why you think bullying Linux is good for M$. Wrong. Microsoft shareholders aside, there are many computer users that despise you. And if you keep acting like this, you’re going to bring the Microsoft house down.

Stop screwing around and give us great web apps already. For free. You can monetize with premium versions, ads, etc. Buy out Zoho. Just don’t bloody bury their software like M$ has been doing for a decade with acquisitions.

VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, refers collectively to a set of technologies that allow for voice conversations to be transmitted via the Internet.

What is a PBX?

A PBX, or Private Branch eXchange, is a device - with or without software - that allows a business entity to easily configure and manage a block of phone numbers. Many medium to large businesses use PBXes for employee phones, over the PSTN (public switched telephone network).

What is an IP PBX?

An IP PBX is simply a PBX designed to work over the Internet. With some IP PBXes, everything is software based. Others have hardware components that allow for integration with the PSTN.

Why VoIP and IP PBXes?

VoIP and IP PBXes allow businesses to have advanced communications features at lower rates than with regular PSTN based technology. Part of the reason for lowered costs is a single set of wiring (your computer network), and the other is software based features. Additionally, if you’re using SIP-based IP PBXes and equipment, you have a wide array of equipment to choose from, instead of being bound to proprietary hardware of typical PSTN-based PBX makers.

What are 3CX’s Features?

Depending on your viewpoint, 3CX’s MS-Windows-based IP PBX phone system’s most important feature is that it is based on the SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) VoIP standard. Besides making it thus compatible with other SIP VoIP systems software and hardware, phone numbers need not change when an employee has to move offices.

The 3CX system offers a VoIP Gateway, which allows it to be integrated with PSTN phone lines. So you can have a hybrid setup where internal calls are over VoIP and calls to and from outside the office are over PSTN.

Summary

3CX offers a fully integrated business grade VoIP solution with their partner netVortex. If you’re not yet ready to take a full plunge into enterprise IP PBXes, you can download a copy of their free edition, which includes a SIP server. This package works on Windows 2000, 2003, XP, Vista, and offers voice mail, call transfer and other features - all supported at their 3CX forums. You wil need a proper SIP-based phone.

[Disclaimer: This is a paid review for 3CX sourced through ReviewMe.]

Overall VOIPAdvisor.org is put together in a fairly efficient and compact manner.  There are only three pages that I could identify within this site. The homepage is the page that has the majority of useful information, and the average person looking for some very basic comparison information on these five VOIP service providers will be well served by visiting.

The site is designed with large, easy to read text, and there are not a lot of excessive write-ups about technology that will make your eyes cross and start to blur within two or three minutes.

On the downside, I did not buy the argument that user reviews are without merit and I think the site would benefit from gathering together more user reviews of VOIP services. If I’m utilizing an advisor to determine why I should use a particular service:

1. I’d like to know what the potential pitfalls of the service are,
2. where the benefits of the service are and
3. what are the best ways to use the service and get the most for my money.

It’s been my experience that people that have actually used services of any kind are going to be the best source of information for this type of information. Dismissing user reviews is a mistake.

Compares VOIP Services

Compares 5 VOIP providers

VOIPadvisor.org provides comparisons for five different VOIP services. They specifically cover Vonage, VOIP.com, lingo, via:talk, and packet8. Noticeably absent from the equation is Skype. [Ed’s note: Skype is a different type of VoIP service than these.]

Regardless, the website does a very good job of breaking down a detailed price and service comparison for these five services. They cover everything from the monthly plans to the yearly rates to fees for additional lines and activation fees.

In addition they talk about some examples of rate plans for international calling, shipping fees, cancellation fees and many of the basic features that come with each of these plans which include:

• Voicemail
• caller ID
• call forwarding
• three-way calling
• enhanced 911

The site then provides recommendations based on a five star rating schema. Their highest rating being five stars. I don’t mean to steal their thunder, but they recommend VOIP.com above all the others.

VOIP Reviews (Not Present?)

In addition to the main page of the website, the site only offers up two other pages. The first of these pages is the section titled VOIP Reviews.

Now oddly enough, when you click on this page you’ll be greeted with the introduction that VOIP reviews are overrated and that you should disregard what you might read from actual users or people that actually utilize VOIP services.
 
Why? Because supposedly these reviews are typically skewed when people that are upset about the services write about them.

Now there is a certain degree of logic to this perspective but not enough to dismiss user reviews. People do tend to write reviews when they’re upset or when something hasn’t quite worked out. Other people do write reviews in an attempt to be very objective and give a larger picture of what’s going on with a particular service. But it’s the passionate people that tend to outweigh the voice of everyone else, excluding reviews pushed out by the actual corporations schilling their products.

For this particular site, I find it somewhat odd that they don’t offer up any user reviews under the section titled VOIP Reviews. I look at it like they should either provide the reviews, or drop the section altogether. Instead they opt for trying to explain to people why they should ignore reviews in the first place.

As I mentioned there is a little logic to that, however there is definitely value in reading reviews even when there stacked on the negative side of things. I believe that it helps consumers prepare for the potential issues that they might be confronted with in those exceptional circumstances and be prepared to deal with those issues more successfully than the people that were originally dealt a bad hand.

Why Switch to VOIP Services?

The final section of this website provides about 10 reasons why there is an advantage to using VOIP services. They also provide two reasons why there are disadvantages to using VOIP.

After reading their review section (or their lack of a review section), I find this third section to be a little under whelming and it could use some more details. This is potentially exactly the type of section where it would be beneficial to have some of those positive user reviews. People could detail why they made the switch over to VOIP and that might reinforce the message of the website owner, possibly even increasing the websites credibility!

[Editor’s note: This is a paid review sourced from ReviewMe.com. We make no claims or guarantees for VOIPAdvisors.org.]

So why the migration? Well, there are numerous positive reasons to use webware, as listed below. And if you’re looking for a starting point, check out the list of 100 web-based software apps at Tzunami.

1. Runs from a browser, so tends to work on all operating systems.
2. No need for a hard drive to store application files. (Data is stored on remote servers instead of your computer.)
3. Available wherever you have access to a computer and the Internet.
4. Doesn’t require multiple user licenses, if any.
5. Can be ad-supported and thus offered free of charge.
6. May have a “rich” interface nearly resembling that of desktop applications.
7. Has collaboration and sharing features, making it ideal for virtual teams.
8. Doesn’t require annoying, time-consuming version upgrades for the end user.
9. Creates useful hybrid software categories that cannot exist easily on a desktop.
10. Highly integrated with the web browser and thus often customizable through APIs (Application Programmer Interfaces).
11. Is a viable, versatile replacement for common categories of desktop software.

Why is a high speed connection so valuable? Because without it, there is no access to IPTV (internet protocol television), there is no YouTube - coming or going, there is no VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) allowing me free calls. Even if I break down and spend the money on satellite, the lag, limits, and other issues keep me from fully enjoying the benefits of high speed. It seems all the options for high speed have glitches. At least there are others out there that are suffering along with me.

It’s no fun missing out on all the cool new gadgets, gizmos, and expanding options for IPTV and other technology. I can’t chat live with the folks in the Big Brother house. I can’t upload all the videos of cats being rolled out of the baseball tarps. There are even some truly beneficial things that can’t be done because dialup makes the download impossible, like ebooks or ecourses. Instead, a friend of mine is kind enough to download what interests me and burns it to a CD. It is possible to exist with just dialup, but it isn’t easy.

It’s great that companies are making so many advances in high speed internet offerings. It would be even better if they remembered that there are still some of us stuck in the dark ages of dialup.

Without warning, SunRocket has closed its doors. This leaves many users (some of whom paid $199 pre-payment fee) without a home phone or a way to get back their money. These new VoIP orphans are scrambling for a place to talk, and the other VoIP companies are eager to snatch them up.

Since its legal problems at the beginning of the year, Vonage has been working hard to regain its reputation. It was one of the first companies to step up and offer the stranded customers of SunRocket a ray of hope.

Although the SunRocket website is still up, apparently there is no one home. The US based company seemed to be a strong force in the VoIP industry. The sudden shut down has left many shaking in the wake.

The question now is not what kind of regulation will hit the VoIP providers that have been left standing, but just how bad those regulations will be. It is likely that the FCC will respond harshly to the situation.

The bad guys are creative and deceptive. If users don’t take some responsibility for security, then there is no company that can protect them. Companies, like PayPal, are continuously working to combat the bad guys and the bad habits of their subscribers.

Cell phone companies don’t seem to want to admit the vulnerability of the technology. In recent problems that some Sprint customers have faced, the company has denied that the allegations are even possible.

Technology safety is something that can only be accomplished by a team effort. Companies and users working together, and doing all that they can, will keep each other safe.

Currently, IPTV is regulated like other internet technology. Broadcasters and cable operators would prefer that it have the same limitations and regulations as the television industry. The IPTV industry feels that these regulations will hinder the growth of the technology and give the established industries a leg up in competition. Telco giants are already controlling much of the cell phone industry and the internet access. It would be a shame to see them dominate television is all its arenas as well.

Companies, like Microsoft, are taking full advantage of the current regulations by introducing software that is user friendly and offers consumers the features that are most desired. This easy exchange of ideas is what will keep technology (like VoIP, IPTV, and the internet in general) something that is used and enjoyed by the masses.

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Aftervote is a social search engine that takes the results of three of the major search engines and weighs them against what users say about them. Users also have the ability to choose the ranks themselves by customizing the algorithm.  This can be a great stand out feature in the sea of search engines

The number of features and options can be overwhelming for the novice, but Aftervote is great for webmasters looking to compare their own site with that of competitors.  It is the right tool to use if you are looking for multiple ratings and results from social bookmark sites.

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