Source: andyabramson.blogs.com

The other day Jonathan Greene posted about the lousy performance when it came to Broadband that he had at the Hotel Monaco in Seattle. The Monaco, like the Palomar here in San Francisco where I am for the week are both Kimpton Hotels and have a long tradition of catering to technology types on the road.

In the past I’ve always had a better than average experience at the Kimpton Hotel properties when it comes to broadband, but today, on the eve of Java One, my experience is nothing less than disappointing.

First I couldn’t log on, as the auto sign on said I wasn’t the guest in the room I was listing (wrong) and then it went on to say there wasn’t a credit card on file (wrong again as I already had checked in.) That required a call to support from ElevenWireless, the company which handles the connectivity.

After I was on, I realized the support person didn’t give me the service I was trying to activate, the more expensive ($4.95 vs. Free) service that promises higher speeds and better throughput vs. the free service.

Here’s what I found out:

Free service gave me 300 k down, and 150 k up. That’s not really broadband.

The paid service is giving me between 330k and 500k down and between 150 and 500 k up over a series of tests.

As JG says, "sorry. This isn’t broadband."

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

VoIP IP Telephony @ http://snapvoip.blogspot.com
I have reported this before under the following post;
VOIP IP Telephony: San Francisco’s Google Free Wireless finally on the go and now I hear that Board of Supervisors are putting holt to Mayor Newsom’s plans to give free wireless internet access to the masses in San francisco.
In April, San Francisco chose its plan from among six. Atlanta-based EarthLink would create a wireless network and charge customers $21.95 a month. Mountain View-based Google planned to rent space on the network and offer a slower, ad-supported version for free.
Now after more than two years later, with Newsom having signed a contract with the Internet providers in January, the Board of Supervisors last week declined to even consider the deal. The board, whose approval is required, decided instead to investigate turning the project into a city-owned public utility.
Elsewhere in the press reported that;
"Google is considering targeting ads by location, so, for example, someone in Union Square searching the Web for a shoe store might see offers for nearby shops first.

But the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and other advocates raised concerns about EarthLink’s privacy policy.

They also complained that Goggle’s ability to track the whereabouts of network users could prove irresistible to law enforcement (Google said people worried about such things could sign up using false names).

Additionally, some citizens of this high-tech city aren’t willing to settle for just any wireless connection, even if it’s free. EarthLink’s paid service is about three times faster than Goggle’s free one.

The speed of the free service "is so 1997, said Ralf Muehlen, a software developer who operates a small free wireless network here and wants the city to push EarthLink for better technology. "I’m a techie. It’s too slow for me." "

Source: voipcentral.org

Microsoft executives have announced that the company would introduce voice technology in its coming products in San Francisco. They will develop the products, which will make communication link to all workers from e-mail and instant messaging to video conferencing and telephony.

According to Jeff Raikes, president of Microsofts Business Division, the new software will enable the unified office communications, which will imbedded in a new generation of IP phones, developed by Microsoft partners LG-Nortel, Polycom and Thomson.

Microsoft is already involved in communications through e-mail, voice-messaging software.

Now the new features will include following things:

1. Microsoft Office RoundTable
2. An audio-video collaboration device
3. A new version of OfficeLive Meeting
4. Unified messaging features in Exchange Server 2007

These features will allow users of Outlook voice manager to dial in, access their calendars, and send changes to meeting attendees.

The other unified communication products are:

a) Office Communication Server 2007
b) Office Communicator 2007

The research has shown that the company has 6.4 types of different communications devices and 4.8 communication applications.

Via: accounting web

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

San Francisco on Wednesday chose the high-tech team of Google and EarthLink to bring free, wireless Internet access to virtually everyone in the city, possibly by the end of the year, repoerts SF Chronicle.
This is music to mu ears, as I spend most of my days in San Francisco I would love to have contineous internet connection. Hurrah for Google!
For its part, Google, in Mountain View, intends to provide the free, so-called Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) access. The service it proposes would be faster than dial-up but slower than a typical broadband connection.
In its joint bid, Earthlink plans to offer speedier access, but for a fee. No price has been set, but EarthLink plans to charge around $20 a month in other cities where it is negotiating Wi-Fi contracts, including in Philadelphia and Anaheim.
Next on San Francisco’s to-do list is for the city’s technology department to negotiate the contract with Google and EarthLink, a process that can take several months. If no deal is reached, the city can turn to the second-place bidder.

After a contract is agreed upon, the issue goes to the Board of Supervisors and various city departments for permitting.

It remains to be seen whether residents will use the Wi-Fi system as a replacement for their wire-based Internet connections. Early fears by the mayor that the telecommunications industry would fight the project by filing lawsuits have yet to materialize.