A recent survey claims that 77% of smartphone owners across both the public and private sectors say they will be checking their smartphones over the Christmas and New Year period, and 66% will do it every day.
The most common reason they gave for checking their phone was dedication, with 45% claiming they will keep their smartphone on them at all times in case something important crops up.
26% said checking emails is a habit they are unable to break, while 11% admitted they will be more concerned about impressing their boss in the hope of a New Year promotion or bonus.
Just under half of the respondents to the survey are predicting that their obsessive smartphone checking will cause a row with family members this Christmas, with 58% packing their phone charger before taking trips to see friends and relatives.
The top five tips for switching off this Christmas are:
1. Leave it at home – If you know that you aren’t going to be needed for anything, leave your Smartphone at home when visiting family and friends. If you don’t have it on you, it won’t interfere with your plans.
2. Switch it off – If only for an hour or two, switch off your smartphone to avoid arguments and to have a bit of time to totally relax.
3. Out of office – Set up an auto-response to let people know you’re out of the office. If you don’t get back to them straight away, they won’t start chasing you.
4. Make your absence known – Let colleagues and clients know what days you will not be working, so they are less likely to contact you during your leave.
5. Silence is Golden – Switch your handset to silent, not vibrate or loud mode. If you get a call or an email, you won’t know and won’t be tempted to answer or read it.
You never know - If you switch off your Blackberry, you might even find the mistletoe is more fun!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
How to choose a telephone system
If you operate a small office or store that needs just a couple of phone lines, a standard POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) setup is often sufficient. Add several more employees, however, or move to a standard small-office environment, and a more sophisticated solution makes sense.
There are many options available today, and your choice will depend on how many sites you have, how many extensions you need and how many calls you need to make and take.
On a basic level, you'll want a separate extension and phone for each employee who uses a phone in that office. Accepting that, what kind of service and equipment should you get for your business? Here's how to figure it out.
The fundamental thing every phone system has to do is give you a dial tone or ring if a customer is trying to call you. That sounds an obvious – even stupid- thing to say, but how you and your staff make and take calls can actually have a huge effect both on staff morale and productivity. If you make a lot of calls, seconds wasted making or taking every call can become frustrating and a real time waster. You need to think about how incoming calls into your business are going to be handled and who are going to be allowed to make calls out.
You need to consider your current business needs and what the telephone system has to do to meet them. Some of the questions you may need to ask are.
Then you need to look at your business plan and see where you think you will be in three and five years. No-one wants to buy something that will need replacing in a few months, so these may be important issues for you to think through.
The bigger you get, the more other features may become important to you.
Auto-attendant: This frees you or your staff from answering the phone every time it rings. You can put in messages for business hours, any directions or instructions, and route incoming calls to the right employees. Equally important, when customers hear a computerized system with options, it can make them feel like they've reached a larger business.
Conferencing: If you have a lot of phone conferences, you might find it more cost-effective to have your own teleconferencing capabilities.
Call hunting: If one employee doesn't answer the phone, the call will automatically forward to another person (or group of people) instead of going directly to voicemail.
Home office workers and field salesmen and engineers can also benefit from business phone systems. Just because you're out of the office, it doesn't mean you need to be out of reach. A good basic business system can let you schedule auto-attendant features in case you're away, forward your calls to your mobile phone, and route incoming fax transmissions (even through the auto-attendant system). Some can allow home workers to dial into the main telephone system with a free call over a broadband line, and the main telephone system will then automatically connect them to the extension or external number they are dialling, meaning no more telephone expense accounts.
Once you've determined your needs, you'll also want to decide on the type of service. Here are some of the options:
Hosted VoIP solution with the system being remotely hosted so that a user can access it from anywhere in the world by plugging in a phone to a high speed internet connection to make/receive calls. Our own Datasharp Hosted Service offers quality of service and significantly reduced call costs.
Pure VoIP solution where the system provides IP down to the desk with IP phones or soft phones. External calls can be made via ISDN digital lines and/or SIP trunks. Our iPECS systems are ideal small to medium business pure VoIP systems, and our Shoretel solutions are perfect for medium sized businesses and above, or companies with multiple sites. The OpenOffice ME solution from Siemens is pitched at users from 10 to 150 users, so whatever your company size, we have a system for you.
Hybrid VoIP solution where a traditional PBX system is used with enabled VoIP capabilities. Calls are made/received over both traditional phone lines and a dedicated high speed internet connection. The Seimens HiPath 3000 series is a perfect, scaleable example of a hybrid system, and can be complemented with OpenScape Office software, to make a rugged, reliable phone system with all the software facilities your company needs.
The next thing you need to do is ring your friendly telecomm supplier on 0845 270 0881 and we will go through your answers with you and suggest the type of system for you. There is no charge for this advice. It is all part of our service. www.datasharptele.com has more details.
There are many options available today, and your choice will depend on how many sites you have, how many extensions you need and how many calls you need to make and take.
On a basic level, you'll want a separate extension and phone for each employee who uses a phone in that office. Accepting that, what kind of service and equipment should you get for your business? Here's how to figure it out.
The fundamental thing every phone system has to do is give you a dial tone or ring if a customer is trying to call you. That sounds an obvious – even stupid- thing to say, but how you and your staff make and take calls can actually have a huge effect both on staff morale and productivity. If you make a lot of calls, seconds wasted making or taking every call can become frustrating and a real time waster. You need to think about how incoming calls into your business are going to be handled and who are going to be allowed to make calls out.
You need to consider your current business needs and what the telephone system has to do to meet them. Some of the questions you may need to ask are.
- How many external calls do you need to make or take?
- How many inter-site calls do you need to make?
- Would conference calling (including internal, inter-site and external calls) be cost effective?
- Do you need individual voicemail for some (or even all) employees?
- Do you have a contact centre (a group of people tasked to take incoming calls)?
- Do you have ‘road warriors’ and want some kind of mobile solution (such as a BlackBerry or other smart phone) for them to take on the road?
- Do you have ‘home workers’ and want calls routed to people in remote locations?
- Do you need individual fax handling for each, or some, of your staff?
- Do you need the phone system to integrate with a CRM package (Customer Relationship Manager Software such as Goldmine)?
- Do you need the phone system to integrate with Microsoft Outlook?
Then you need to look at your business plan and see where you think you will be in three and five years. No-one wants to buy something that will need replacing in a few months, so these may be important issues for you to think through.
The bigger you get, the more other features may become important to you.
Auto-attendant: This frees you or your staff from answering the phone every time it rings. You can put in messages for business hours, any directions or instructions, and route incoming calls to the right employees. Equally important, when customers hear a computerized system with options, it can make them feel like they've reached a larger business.
Conferencing: If you have a lot of phone conferences, you might find it more cost-effective to have your own teleconferencing capabilities.
Call hunting: If one employee doesn't answer the phone, the call will automatically forward to another person (or group of people) instead of going directly to voicemail.
Home office workers and field salesmen and engineers can also benefit from business phone systems. Just because you're out of the office, it doesn't mean you need to be out of reach. A good basic business system can let you schedule auto-attendant features in case you're away, forward your calls to your mobile phone, and route incoming fax transmissions (even through the auto-attendant system). Some can allow home workers to dial into the main telephone system with a free call over a broadband line, and the main telephone system will then automatically connect them to the extension or external number they are dialling, meaning no more telephone expense accounts.
Once you've determined your needs, you'll also want to decide on the type of service. Here are some of the options:
Hosted VoIP solution with the system being remotely hosted so that a user can access it from anywhere in the world by plugging in a phone to a high speed internet connection to make/receive calls. Our own Datasharp Hosted Service offers quality of service and significantly reduced call costs.
Pure VoIP solution where the system provides IP down to the desk with IP phones or soft phones. External calls can be made via ISDN digital lines and/or SIP trunks. Our iPECS systems are ideal small to medium business pure VoIP systems, and our Shoretel solutions are perfect for medium sized businesses and above, or companies with multiple sites. The OpenOffice ME solution from Siemens is pitched at users from 10 to 150 users, so whatever your company size, we have a system for you.
Hybrid VoIP solution where a traditional PBX system is used with enabled VoIP capabilities. Calls are made/received over both traditional phone lines and a dedicated high speed internet connection. The Seimens HiPath 3000 series is a perfect, scaleable example of a hybrid system, and can be complemented with OpenScape Office software, to make a rugged, reliable phone system with all the software facilities your company needs.
The next thing you need to do is ring your friendly telecomm supplier on 0845 270 0881 and we will go through your answers with you and suggest the type of system for you. There is no charge for this advice. It is all part of our service. www.datasharptele.com has more details.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Custard Creams can kill: Official
Jaffa Cakes relatively harmless, survey reveals
A disturbing probe into the potential for apparently innocent biscuits' ability to do harm has revealed that an astounding 25 million Brits have been injured while indulging in some light coffee/tea break snack action, with 500 victims requiring hospital treatment.
That's according to research outfit Mindlab International, which determined that almost a third of adults had been scalded by hot beverages while dunking, 26 per cent had choked on crumbs and ten per cent had broken a tooth or filling while getting their laughing gear round a biscuit.
Rather more seriously, seven per cent of Britons have dropped a biscuit tin on their foot, three per cent have fallen off a chair reaching for vital nourishment, and an equal percentage have poked themselves in the eye with a biscuit.
Seven per cent admitted to have been bitten while feeding a tasty biscuit morsel to a pet or “other wild animal”. The most extreme example of biscuit-related mishap, however, was the case of the man who got stuck in wet concrete after wading in to retrieve a stray biccy.
Mindlab also carried out a "Biscuit Injury Threat Evaluation" (BITE) to determine which was Blighty's deadliest biscuit. Mindlab International director Dr David Lewis explained: “We tested the physical properties of 15 popular types of biscuits, along with aspects of their consumption such as ‘dunkability’ and crumb dispersal.
“Then one of our mathematicians correlated these findings with research data and responses from a nationwide survey of 1,000 adults.”
The chilling result is that the public would do well to eye the Custard Cream with suspicion, since it topped the list with a BITE risk rating of 5.63. That's compared with 4.34 for your common-or-garden Cookie, in second spot, and 4.12 for next-placed Choc Biscuit Bar.
Those of you who like sucking a Ginger Nut will be relieved to learn that they're relatively risk-free, rating 2.99 in ninth place. Anyone not wanting to chance their arm should stick to Jaffa Cakes, since they bottomed the list with an almost harmless 1.16.
Mike Driver, marketing director for biscuit manufacturers Rocky, which commissioned the survey, concluded: “Working with biscuits every day, we’d long suspected they’re not as innocent as they look - and we were right."
Here's the full biscuit risk rating listing:
* Custard Cream: 5.64
* Cookie: 4.34
* Choc Biscuit Bar: 4.12
* Wafer: 3.74
* Rich Tea: 3.45
* Bourbon: 3.44
* Oat Biscuit: 3.31
* Digestive: 3.14
* Ginger Nut: 2.99
* Shortbread: 2.90
* Caramel Shortcake: 2.76
* Nice Biscuit: 2.27
* Iced Biscuits/Party Rings: 2.16
* Chocolate Finger: 1.38
* Jaffa Cakes: 1.16
A disturbing probe into the potential for apparently innocent biscuits' ability to do harm has revealed that an astounding 25 million Brits have been injured while indulging in some light coffee/tea break snack action, with 500 victims requiring hospital treatment.
That's according to research outfit Mindlab International, which determined that almost a third of adults had been scalded by hot beverages while dunking, 26 per cent had choked on crumbs and ten per cent had broken a tooth or filling while getting their laughing gear round a biscuit.
Rather more seriously, seven per cent of Britons have dropped a biscuit tin on their foot, three per cent have fallen off a chair reaching for vital nourishment, and an equal percentage have poked themselves in the eye with a biscuit.
Seven per cent admitted to have been bitten while feeding a tasty biscuit morsel to a pet or “other wild animal”. The most extreme example of biscuit-related mishap, however, was the case of the man who got stuck in wet concrete after wading in to retrieve a stray biccy.
Mindlab also carried out a "Biscuit Injury Threat Evaluation" (BITE) to determine which was Blighty's deadliest biscuit. Mindlab International director Dr David Lewis explained: “We tested the physical properties of 15 popular types of biscuits, along with aspects of their consumption such as ‘dunkability’ and crumb dispersal.
“Then one of our mathematicians correlated these findings with research data and responses from a nationwide survey of 1,000 adults.”
The chilling result is that the public would do well to eye the Custard Cream with suspicion, since it topped the list with a BITE risk rating of 5.63. That's compared with 4.34 for your common-or-garden Cookie, in second spot, and 4.12 for next-placed Choc Biscuit Bar.
Those of you who like sucking a Ginger Nut will be relieved to learn that they're relatively risk-free, rating 2.99 in ninth place. Anyone not wanting to chance their arm should stick to Jaffa Cakes, since they bottomed the list with an almost harmless 1.16.
Mike Driver, marketing director for biscuit manufacturers Rocky, which commissioned the survey, concluded: “Working with biscuits every day, we’d long suspected they’re not as innocent as they look - and we were right."
Here's the full biscuit risk rating listing:
* Custard Cream: 5.64
* Cookie: 4.34
* Choc Biscuit Bar: 4.12
* Wafer: 3.74
* Rich Tea: 3.45
* Bourbon: 3.44
* Oat Biscuit: 3.31
* Digestive: 3.14
* Ginger Nut: 2.99
* Shortbread: 2.90
* Caramel Shortcake: 2.76
* Nice Biscuit: 2.27
* Iced Biscuits/Party Rings: 2.16
* Chocolate Finger: 1.38
* Jaffa Cakes: 1.16
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Ofcom bans 0870 revenue sharing
August 3, 2009
Companies with an 0870 helpline will no longer receive a cut of revenues generated from customer calls.
Under new Ofcom rules, effective from 1 August 2009, revenue sharing for 0870 numbers is now illegal.
In addition, companies will have to inform customers exactly how much their 0870 number costs to dial.
Ofcom set up the ban in a bid to bring the price of 0870 calls down to the same rate as geographic numbers.
UK-based cost consultants, Expense Reduction Analysts, said companies that previously used an 0870 number to generate revenue will lose out.
“The Ofcom ruling effectively spells the ultimate death knell of certain revenue sharing calls,” said Nigel Rosehill, ERA’s head of communications.
“For example a company that has been receiving 100,000 call minutes per month via its 0870 telephone number would have generated some £36,000 a year on a rebate of 3p per minute.
“From the 1st August they could be charged £36,000 instead for receiving the same amount of calls on the same number – a difference of £72,000 on the bottom line.”
Network technology provider Opal echoed ERA’s concerns.
“If a business keeps its number then it will lose the revenue it generates,” said Geoff Wilson, Opal business development director.
“This needs to be replaced somehow, either by cutting costs in other areas of the business, stealth charges to the consumer, or by the business simply absorbing the costs.”
Companies with an 0870 helpline will no longer receive a cut of revenues generated from customer calls.
Under new Ofcom rules, effective from 1 August 2009, revenue sharing for 0870 numbers is now illegal.
In addition, companies will have to inform customers exactly how much their 0870 number costs to dial.
Ofcom set up the ban in a bid to bring the price of 0870 calls down to the same rate as geographic numbers.
UK-based cost consultants, Expense Reduction Analysts, said companies that previously used an 0870 number to generate revenue will lose out.
“The Ofcom ruling effectively spells the ultimate death knell of certain revenue sharing calls,” said Nigel Rosehill, ERA’s head of communications.
“For example a company that has been receiving 100,000 call minutes per month via its 0870 telephone number would have generated some £36,000 a year on a rebate of 3p per minute.
“From the 1st August they could be charged £36,000 instead for receiving the same amount of calls on the same number – a difference of £72,000 on the bottom line.”
Network technology provider Opal echoed ERA’s concerns.
“If a business keeps its number then it will lose the revenue it generates,” said Geoff Wilson, Opal business development director.
“This needs to be replaced somehow, either by cutting costs in other areas of the business, stealth charges to the consumer, or by the business simply absorbing the costs.”
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
eBay to divorce Skype on Wall St
Hangs up on Web 2.0 telco dream
eBay plans to spin off Skype sometime in 2010, having failed to turn itself into a Web 2.0 telecoms hybrid.
eBay said today it's targeting an initial public offering for Skype in the first half of next year. The IPO idea follows recent rumors that Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis were rounding up private equity partners to buy back their firm for $1.7bn. The IPO might also be a scheme for eBay to drive up the bidding price and make some of its money back.
The company has been looking for ways to offload its VoIP outfit since at least the beginning of this year, if only it could find someone willing to pay the right amount.
eBay's chief executive John Donahoe today cited "limited synergies" between the online auction house and VoIP engine, adding he thinks Skype will do better as a stand-alone publicly traded company. Donahoe said he's spent a year meditating on Skype's fate since he replaced Meg Whitman as CEO in April 2008.
Whitman is now campaigning to become governor of California based on her "solid" achievements as a business chief whilst running eBay.
The original bright idea behind Whitman's $2.6bn purchase of Skype in 2005 was to blend a communications unit inside its shoe, automotive and Star Trek memorabilia storehouse.
It was the kind of un-baked thinking that Silicon Valley championed as the very epitome of "rational exuberance". That is the opposite of the "irrational exuberance" of the dot-com era. Loosely translated: enthusiasm, without the crazy.
Four years later, eBay has been unable to logically integrate the technology into its core business. Turns out crazy is still crazy, no matter how rational it might seem during a tech bubble.
In 2007, eBay was forced to eat a $900m charge based on the decreased value of Skype.
eBay said Skype's 2008 revenue was $551 million, up 44 per cent from 2007. The company also expects to top $1bn revenue by 2011.
Perhaps the company is hoping an IPO announcement set for the distant future could work out two ways: either it gets investors excited about making Skype a separate firm, or it will urge those thinking about buying the company outright to reach a little deeper into their wallets. ®
eBay plans to spin off Skype sometime in 2010, having failed to turn itself into a Web 2.0 telecoms hybrid.
eBay said today it's targeting an initial public offering for Skype in the first half of next year. The IPO idea follows recent rumors that Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis were rounding up private equity partners to buy back their firm for $1.7bn. The IPO might also be a scheme for eBay to drive up the bidding price and make some of its money back.
The company has been looking for ways to offload its VoIP outfit since at least the beginning of this year, if only it could find someone willing to pay the right amount.
eBay's chief executive John Donahoe today cited "limited synergies" between the online auction house and VoIP engine, adding he thinks Skype will do better as a stand-alone publicly traded company. Donahoe said he's spent a year meditating on Skype's fate since he replaced Meg Whitman as CEO in April 2008.
Whitman is now campaigning to become governor of California based on her "solid" achievements as a business chief whilst running eBay.
The original bright idea behind Whitman's $2.6bn purchase of Skype in 2005 was to blend a communications unit inside its shoe, automotive and Star Trek memorabilia storehouse.
It was the kind of un-baked thinking that Silicon Valley championed as the very epitome of "rational exuberance". That is the opposite of the "irrational exuberance" of the dot-com era. Loosely translated: enthusiasm, without the crazy.
Four years later, eBay has been unable to logically integrate the technology into its core business. Turns out crazy is still crazy, no matter how rational it might seem during a tech bubble.
In 2007, eBay was forced to eat a $900m charge based on the decreased value of Skype.
eBay said Skype's 2008 revenue was $551 million, up 44 per cent from 2007. The company also expects to top $1bn revenue by 2011.
Perhaps the company is hoping an IPO announcement set for the distant future could work out two ways: either it gets investors excited about making Skype a separate firm, or it will urge those thinking about buying the company outright to reach a little deeper into their wallets. ®
Friday, May 08, 2009
Carphone buys Tiscali UK for £236m
Carphone Warehouse is set to become Britain’s second largest broadband provider after it agreed to pay £236m in cash for the UK assets of Tiscali, the Italian telecoms group.
Carphone said it would be funded by its existing debt facilities and would raise its earnings earnings per share by 10 per cent in the current financial year to March 2010.
The move will also see Carphone move ahead of Virgin Media to become the UK’s second largest broadband supplier behind BT. It is currently third with 2.7m customers at December 31, according to Enders Analysis, the research group, but ahead of British Sky Broadcasting in fourth. Tiscali, the country’s fifth largest broadband supplier, has 1.7m customers but has been losing customers.
The news sent Carphone shares 12p or 7.6 per cent higher to 170p in afternoon London trading while shares in Tiscali, which also announced plans for a capital hike of €210m, were 3.7 per cent higher in Milan at €0.4465 in Milan.
A deal for Tiscali UK has been widely anticipated by investors fearful that it lacked the economies of scale to survive in the Italian and UK broadband markets.
But Tiscali has come under pressure in the last year to sell its UK assets to reduce its onerous borrowings. At €601.1m ($792m), Tiscali’s net debt is more than three times its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. The uncertainty has meant the shares have lost more than 80 per cent in value in the last 12 months.
Carphone made an informal offer of £550m in May last year, but it was rejected. Tiscali subsequently entered into exclusive talks with BSkyB over a sale but talks were called off in March with the parties unable to agree a price.
The deal is set to give Carphone around 25 per cent of the UK residential broadband market. Analysts at Citi argued that anything below £250m meant Carphone was getting the 1.8m customer case cheaper than it could otherwise acquire customers in the domestic marketplace.
“Given UK broadband penetration is about 65 per cent, mergers and acquisitions is the only way to grow the customer base in bulk,” Andrew Lee, analyst at Citi, told clients yesterday.
Analysts have also pointed out that the scale of the customer base would give Carphone in a stronger negotiating position with BT on wholesale fibre rates if fibre optic-based broadband services became an important service in the UK.
Tiscali said the deal had helped it agree the key terms of its debt restructuring plan. In addition to the proceeds from the sale of Tiscali UK, it will also raise up to €210m to strengthen its capital structure.
Carphone said it would be funded by its existing debt facilities and would raise its earnings earnings per share by 10 per cent in the current financial year to March 2010.
The move will also see Carphone move ahead of Virgin Media to become the UK’s second largest broadband supplier behind BT. It is currently third with 2.7m customers at December 31, according to Enders Analysis, the research group, but ahead of British Sky Broadcasting in fourth. Tiscali, the country’s fifth largest broadband supplier, has 1.7m customers but has been losing customers.
The news sent Carphone shares 12p or 7.6 per cent higher to 170p in afternoon London trading while shares in Tiscali, which also announced plans for a capital hike of €210m, were 3.7 per cent higher in Milan at €0.4465 in Milan.
A deal for Tiscali UK has been widely anticipated by investors fearful that it lacked the economies of scale to survive in the Italian and UK broadband markets.
But Tiscali has come under pressure in the last year to sell its UK assets to reduce its onerous borrowings. At €601.1m ($792m), Tiscali’s net debt is more than three times its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. The uncertainty has meant the shares have lost more than 80 per cent in value in the last 12 months.
Carphone made an informal offer of £550m in May last year, but it was rejected. Tiscali subsequently entered into exclusive talks with BSkyB over a sale but talks were called off in March with the parties unable to agree a price.
The deal is set to give Carphone around 25 per cent of the UK residential broadband market. Analysts at Citi argued that anything below £250m meant Carphone was getting the 1.8m customer case cheaper than it could otherwise acquire customers in the domestic marketplace.
“Given UK broadband penetration is about 65 per cent, mergers and acquisitions is the only way to grow the customer base in bulk,” Andrew Lee, analyst at Citi, told clients yesterday.
Analysts have also pointed out that the scale of the customer base would give Carphone in a stronger negotiating position with BT on wholesale fibre rates if fibre optic-based broadband services became an important service in the UK.
Tiscali said the deal had helped it agree the key terms of its debt restructuring plan. In addition to the proceeds from the sale of Tiscali UK, it will also raise up to €210m to strengthen its capital structure.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Woman to virtual ex: 'I won't be ignored!'
Kimberly Jernigan--a 33-year-old woman from North Carolina--was apparently distraught after her online relationship with a 52-year-old man from Claymont, Del., came to an end.
The pair apparently met through the online community Second Life and began a virtual relationship. The two finally met in reality several months ago, and the alleged victim ended the relationship, sending Jernigan into a downward spiral.
In early August, Jernigan allegedly drove to the victim's Pennsylvania workplace and attempted to kidnap him at gunpoint, according to local news station CBS3.com. When she was unsuccessful, according to the report, she returned two weeks later to track down the victim's Delaware address, and posed as a postal worker to do so. After four days of searching, authorities said she found residence in the Whitney Presidential Towers on the 7100 block of Society Drive in Claymont.
On August 21, police said, Jernigan broke into the unnamed victim's apartment with a Taser, a pair of handcuffs, a BB gun, her dog, and a roll of duct tape. He wasn't there, so she waited. When the virtual ex arrived home he saw what looked like a laser beam projecting on his chest. He immediately fled the apartment and contacted the Newcastle County Police.
When police arrived they said they found Jernigan's dog, Gogi, bound with duct tape in the bathtub of the victim's bathroom. Jernigan's reason for gagging her pooch--"he was making too much noise." The dog was said to be uninjured, but the ASPCA is looking into possible charges of animal cruelty.
Approximately an hour after the incident, authorities in Maryland spotted Jernigan's vehicle at a rest stop on I-95. She was taken into custody after a brief struggle. Jernigan is currently facing charges of attempted kidnapping, burglary, and aggravated menacing, CBS3 said.
What's the lesson here, kiddies? Keep your virtual relationships virtual and don't bring it into the real world or some innocent animal may be harmed in the process...
The pair apparently met through the online community Second Life and began a virtual relationship. The two finally met in reality several months ago, and the alleged victim ended the relationship, sending Jernigan into a downward spiral.
In early August, Jernigan allegedly drove to the victim's Pennsylvania workplace and attempted to kidnap him at gunpoint, according to local news station CBS3.com. When she was unsuccessful, according to the report, she returned two weeks later to track down the victim's Delaware address, and posed as a postal worker to do so. After four days of searching, authorities said she found residence in the Whitney Presidential Towers on the 7100 block of Society Drive in Claymont.
On August 21, police said, Jernigan broke into the unnamed victim's apartment with a Taser, a pair of handcuffs, a BB gun, her dog, and a roll of duct tape. He wasn't there, so she waited. When the virtual ex arrived home he saw what looked like a laser beam projecting on his chest. He immediately fled the apartment and contacted the Newcastle County Police.
When police arrived they said they found Jernigan's dog, Gogi, bound with duct tape in the bathtub of the victim's bathroom. Jernigan's reason for gagging her pooch--"he was making too much noise." The dog was said to be uninjured, but the ASPCA is looking into possible charges of animal cruelty.
Approximately an hour after the incident, authorities in Maryland spotted Jernigan's vehicle at a rest stop on I-95. She was taken into custody after a brief struggle. Jernigan is currently facing charges of attempted kidnapping, burglary, and aggravated menacing, CBS3 said.
What's the lesson here, kiddies? Keep your virtual relationships virtual and don't bring it into the real world or some innocent animal may be harmed in the process...
Monday, September 29, 2008
BT's Mayfair exchange downed by burglary
You may have Madonna to thank
BT's Mayfair exchange was burgled last night, leaving thousands of homes and businesses in central London without internet access this morning.
The raid cleaned out routers, networking cards and fibre at about 9pm on Wednesday, Reg sources said. According to data at Samknows, the exchange serves about 3,000 residential premises and 4,200 non-residential premises.
A BT spokesman confirmed police are investigating "an incident" at its Mayfair site, which is in Farm Street, near Park Lane. He said BT was unable to estimate yet when customers will see service restored but that more information would be released later today.
Customers including ISPs who resell BT Wholesale broadband lines have been told that new hardware is being sourced by engineers.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan police said a public statement is being prepared. We'll update this story as soon as we have it.
Update 11.34am
BT sent this statement:
We can confirm there was a break-in at our Mayfair Telephone Exchange last night (Wednesday), this is a now an ongoing police investigation and therefore we are unable to comment further.
BT apologises for any disruption caused to our customers. Our engineers are working around the clock to ensure that full service is up and running as soon as possible.
The Met is still working on its line.
Update 1.50pm
Police told El Reg they were called to the Farm Street exchange at about 1am this morning. Investigators from Central Westminster CID are working with BT to establish what was taken. No arrests have been made and police are not prepared to discuss the value of what was taken.
The Daily Mail offers the theory that the raiders used the scrum caused by a party thrown by Guy Ritchie and Madonna at the pub next door to the exchange as cover.
BT's Mayfair exchange was burgled last night, leaving thousands of homes and businesses in central London without internet access this morning.
The raid cleaned out routers, networking cards and fibre at about 9pm on Wednesday, Reg sources said. According to data at Samknows, the exchange serves about 3,000 residential premises and 4,200 non-residential premises.
A BT spokesman confirmed police are investigating "an incident" at its Mayfair site, which is in Farm Street, near Park Lane. He said BT was unable to estimate yet when customers will see service restored but that more information would be released later today.
Customers including ISPs who resell BT Wholesale broadband lines have been told that new hardware is being sourced by engineers.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan police said a public statement is being prepared. We'll update this story as soon as we have it.
Update 11.34am
BT sent this statement:
We can confirm there was a break-in at our Mayfair Telephone Exchange last night (Wednesday), this is a now an ongoing police investigation and therefore we are unable to comment further.
BT apologises for any disruption caused to our customers. Our engineers are working around the clock to ensure that full service is up and running as soon as possible.
The Met is still working on its line.
Update 1.50pm
Police told El Reg they were called to the Farm Street exchange at about 1am this morning. Investigators from Central Westminster CID are working with BT to establish what was taken. No arrests have been made and police are not prepared to discuss the value of what was taken.
The Daily Mail offers the theory that the raiders used the scrum caused by a party thrown by Guy Ritchie and Madonna at the pub next door to the exchange as cover.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Pay-by-phone commerce coming closer
The global trade body for the mobile industry and a European monetary organisation have signed a pact to speed up the deployment of handset payment services in Europe.
The GSM Association (GSMA) and the European Payments Council (EPC), which represents 8000 banks in the EU, will now jointly co-ordinate efforts to get phones paying for just about everything, from impulse purchases in shops to restaurant meals.
The programme has been called, simply, the Pay-Buy-Mobile initiative. But, in order to ensure such services run smoothly, the pair recognises the need for a “Trusted Service Manager” clearing house to help manage cash-flow between banks and network operators.
Although the partners haven't said which form or forms of contactless payment technology they envisage being used by mobile phone users, Near Field Communication (NFC) and Universal Integrated Credit Card (UICC) have been hinted at.
UICC is a smartcard used in mobile terminals in GSM and UMTS networks to allow them to communicate securely with the banks. NFC devices can be built directly into mobile phones to allow short-range wireless communications between, say, a mobile phone and reader, much like the Oyster card system used on the London Underground.
In Japan, mobile-phone based payments are already thriving. So much so that Japanese carrier KDDI and the Bank of Tokyo recently jointly created a bank specifically designed to create accounts for anyone using cashless-enabled mobile phones.
The GSM Association (GSMA) and the European Payments Council (EPC), which represents 8000 banks in the EU, will now jointly co-ordinate efforts to get phones paying for just about everything, from impulse purchases in shops to restaurant meals.
The programme has been called, simply, the Pay-Buy-Mobile initiative. But, in order to ensure such services run smoothly, the pair recognises the need for a “Trusted Service Manager” clearing house to help manage cash-flow between banks and network operators.
Although the partners haven't said which form or forms of contactless payment technology they envisage being used by mobile phone users, Near Field Communication (NFC) and Universal Integrated Credit Card (UICC) have been hinted at.
UICC is a smartcard used in mobile terminals in GSM and UMTS networks to allow them to communicate securely with the banks. NFC devices can be built directly into mobile phones to allow short-range wireless communications between, say, a mobile phone and reader, much like the Oyster card system used on the London Underground.
In Japan, mobile-phone based payments are already thriving. So much so that Japanese carrier KDDI and the Bank of Tokyo recently jointly created a bank specifically designed to create accounts for anyone using cashless-enabled mobile phones.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Welsh Darth Vader dodges jail
A Welsh man, Arwel Wynn Hughes, from Holyhead has avoided jail for attacking two would-be Jedis with a crutch while disguised as Darth Vader.
Hughes, whose attack was captured on video, was sentenced to two months in prison suspended for 12 months.
Two keen Welsh Jedis were filming themselves having a pretend light sabre fight in their garden. Hughes leapt over a low garden wall with a binbag round his shoulders while wielding a crutch and shouting "Darth Vader".
After hitting the two, both members of Holyhead's Jedi Church, Hughes departed over the garden wall saying: "I'm only joking..."
The two Jedis complained of a headache and a bruised thigh after the incident. We wonder about the Jedi credentials of these two if they were defeated by a drunk bloke armed with a crutch.
The court heard Hughes had no memory of the incident since he had drunk most of a ten-litre box of wine. He only realised what had happened when he read about it in the local paper. When arrested he admitted being extremely drunk at the time.
Hughes admitted two charges of common assault. He will undergo treatment for his drink problem and must pay the two Jedis £100 each and £60 costs.
The Beeb has footage of the attack here.
Hughes, whose attack was captured on video, was sentenced to two months in prison suspended for 12 months.
Two keen Welsh Jedis were filming themselves having a pretend light sabre fight in their garden. Hughes leapt over a low garden wall with a binbag round his shoulders while wielding a crutch and shouting "Darth Vader".
After hitting the two, both members of Holyhead's Jedi Church, Hughes departed over the garden wall saying: "I'm only joking..."
The two Jedis complained of a headache and a bruised thigh after the incident. We wonder about the Jedi credentials of these two if they were defeated by a drunk bloke armed with a crutch.
The court heard Hughes had no memory of the incident since he had drunk most of a ten-litre box of wine. He only realised what had happened when he read about it in the local paper. When arrested he admitted being extremely drunk at the time.
Hughes admitted two charges of common assault. He will undergo treatment for his drink problem and must pay the two Jedis £100 each and £60 costs.
The Beeb has footage of the attack here.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
GPS tracking fights teenage trauma
Mobile phones and GPS tracking technology have been combined to track the whereabouts of unruly children, as part of a study into the health risks posed to tech teens.
In the study, 15 teenage girls were tracked by their mobile phones for one week. The researchers claim the study wasn’t designed to provide parents with information about where, say, Charlotte actually was when she was supposed to be home for tea.
Instead, the information is being compiled to study the health risks posed to teenagers. As the girls took their phones with them wherever they went, the teenagers’ movements could be accurately plotted on a map.
Dr Sarah Wiehe, who led the research, said that mobile phones and GPS technology help parents to better understand “where adolescents spend their time and what they’re doing”.
She claimed that, by studying teenagers' movements, parents will be able to intervene at points where their kids are most likely to, say, drink alcohol or smoke. Presumably parents will also know when their kids are at Make Out Point or hanging around on street corners, possibly with biker gangs.
Suspicious wives, or husbands, can already use GPS tracking technology to keep tabs on wayward partners. The Social Network Integrated Friend Finder (SNIFF) application can be accessed through Facebook or a mobile phone to provide users with a detailed map of someone’s location, or at least the location of their mobile phone.
SNIFF, created by US firm Useful Networks, can only be used if someone gives their permission for their whereabouts to be tracked. Each GPS tracking request costs 75p (€1/$2).
In the study, 15 teenage girls were tracked by their mobile phones for one week. The researchers claim the study wasn’t designed to provide parents with information about where, say, Charlotte actually was when she was supposed to be home for tea.
Instead, the information is being compiled to study the health risks posed to teenagers. As the girls took their phones with them wherever they went, the teenagers’ movements could be accurately plotted on a map.
Dr Sarah Wiehe, who led the research, said that mobile phones and GPS technology help parents to better understand “where adolescents spend their time and what they’re doing”.
She claimed that, by studying teenagers' movements, parents will be able to intervene at points where their kids are most likely to, say, drink alcohol or smoke. Presumably parents will also know when their kids are at Make Out Point or hanging around on street corners, possibly with biker gangs.
Suspicious wives, or husbands, can already use GPS tracking technology to keep tabs on wayward partners. The Social Network Integrated Friend Finder (SNIFF) application can be accessed through Facebook or a mobile phone to provide users with a detailed map of someone’s location, or at least the location of their mobile phone.
SNIFF, created by US firm Useful Networks, can only be used if someone gives their permission for their whereabouts to be tracked. Each GPS tracking request costs 75p (€1/$2).
Friday, March 28, 2008
DIY satellite TV installer shoots wife dead
.22 handgun - not the best way to drill through walls
Officials are pondering whether to charge a Missouri DIY satellite TV installer who decided that the best way to punch a hole through the wall was with a .22 calibre handgun, and in so doing accidentally shot and killed his wife.
According to KCTV5.com, Ronald Long was attempting to install said system in the bedroom of his family's Deepwater home last Saturday. After "several unsuccessful efforts to punch a hole through the exterior wall using other means" he popped two caps into the wall, unaware that his wife, Patsy, was outside the building.
The second round hit her in the chest, and although she was "given CPR by neighbors and family until medics arrived", she was later pronounced dead in hospital.
Sheriff's department spokesman Maj. Robert Hills explained: "He was under the impression that everybody was inside the residence, that he knew where everybody was at."
He added: "Once we complete a diagram of the incident, we will be submitting everything to the prosecuting attorney and let him decide if he wants to press criminal charges."
Hills said that "a person involved in such a case normally would be charged with manslaughter", KCTV5.com notes.
Officials are pondering whether to charge a Missouri DIY satellite TV installer who decided that the best way to punch a hole through the wall was with a .22 calibre handgun, and in so doing accidentally shot and killed his wife.
According to KCTV5.com, Ronald Long was attempting to install said system in the bedroom of his family's Deepwater home last Saturday. After "several unsuccessful efforts to punch a hole through the exterior wall using other means" he popped two caps into the wall, unaware that his wife, Patsy, was outside the building.
The second round hit her in the chest, and although she was "given CPR by neighbors and family until medics arrived", she was later pronounced dead in hospital.
Sheriff's department spokesman Maj. Robert Hills explained: "He was under the impression that everybody was inside the residence, that he knew where everybody was at."
He added: "Once we complete a diagram of the incident, we will be submitting everything to the prosecuting attorney and let him decide if he wants to press criminal charges."
Hills said that "a person involved in such a case normally would be charged with manslaughter", KCTV5.com notes.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
New HiPath OpenOffice solution from Siemens
OpenOffice is a new unified communications platform from Siemens.
Technology is moving fast and we now have many different forms of communication tools at our fingertips whether it be emails, mobile calls, texts, instant messages, landline calls etc.
Dealing with all these different forms of communications takes up time in the day and there is always the worry that you haven't got the message quick enough to act in time.
Siemens new HiPath OpenOffice unifies all of this mediums creating a communications system that lets you combine your phone calls, voicemail boxes, conferencing, fax, and messaging into a single, unified solution freeing up time for you to get on with your day.
some of the advantages you’ll enjoy with HiPath OpenOffice include:
* Integrate communications with business processes
* See dramatic improvements in workflow
* Increase productivity and profitability
* Reduce organisational frustration and stress
* Share information seamlessly from any location
* Eliminate guessing games and wasted energy
* Reduce operational costs
* Reach team mates or employees the first time, every time
HiPath OpenOffice is a unified communications solution that incorporates the latest in VoIP. It’s designed and priced specifically for small and medium enterprises and because it uses genuine open standards, it integrates seamlessly into your existing IT environment. There’s no need to rip and replace; HiPath OpenOffice is easy to install, use, administer and maintain. What’s more, it can be scaled smoothly from 20 up to 150 users.
The average small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) uses 6.4 types of communication device and 4.8 communications applications such as email, mobile phones, desktop phones and PDA's. Juggling them is almost impossible, especially when your people could be anywhere within your building, on the road, or even on the other side of the world. The end result is inefficient communications with unpredictable costs that can easily get out of control:
* 52% of employees use multiple methods to contact someone on a daily basis
* 36% of the time they fail to get connected
* 22% of deadlines are missed as well as valuable revenue opportunities
So if you can overcome inefficient communications, you will have a distinct competitive advantage.
Quite often in business things can grind to a halt when someone can not be contacted. HiPath OpenOffice makes the frustrating physical and technological barriers to efficient communication a thing of the past. It enables you to achieve new levels of productivity by freeing up bottlenecks, reducing wasted time and speeding up decision making. So you can increase customer and employee satisfaction and improve revenue opportunities - all at a reduced operational cost.
HiPath OpenOffice has been specifically designed to meet the needs of small and medium enterprises with features that make managing diverse communications simple and cost effective. It lets everyone set their availability so you'll know if someone is in a meeting, on a phone call, when they'll become available and the best way to contact them. If you're out of the office you can even update your availability via your phone. HiPath OpenOffice makes it easy to set up conference calls using the 'Conference Management' feature. Schedule your conference calls, create a dial-in or ad-hoc call on the fly by simply dragging and dropping participants from your directory. Remember, there are no conference call charges. It's all handled through HiPath OpenOffice, so costs are reduced and productivity is improved because everyone can get together to make the decisions required to move forward.
Because HiPath OpenOffice integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Outlook™, everyone can access all their communications via a single screen. Email, voicemail, fax and instant messages can be viewed, managed and answered from the application they're most familiar with - the Outlook screen they use everyday. What's more, presence status and voicemail greetings will change dynamically based on events in the Outlook™ calendar, so callers will always get the latest information about staff availability.
HiPath OpenOffice is a total solution package that comes with a whole host of cool features. Just think how convenient they could be for your business:
* Have all your contacts in just ONE directory so you don't have to search for numbers in multiple places
* Access, change, and manage your key contacts with handy favorites lists
* Route all mobile and desk phone messages to ONE voice message box
* Receive and respond to faxes as easily as an email with a fax message box
* Know who you've called and who has called you with your personal call journal
* Forward all your calls to ONE number with intelligent call management
* Get immediate notifications when you are away from your desk and a key message or fax arrives
* Give your callers options to reach you or someone else with personal autoattendant
* Connect callers to available staff the first time and see the presence status of everyone in your organisation with Attendant Console
* Dial a number from any desktop application to contact someone immediately
* Never misunderstand a customer instruction or action item again with live call recording
* Instant message a contact who is already on another line to let them know another call is waiting or their attention is needed for another matter
* Take advantage of your negotiated call rates and call packages with different mobility capabilities
Article written about Siemens HiPath OpenOffice by Daniel of Datasharp Telecom
Technology is moving fast and we now have many different forms of communication tools at our fingertips whether it be emails, mobile calls, texts, instant messages, landline calls etc.
Dealing with all these different forms of communications takes up time in the day and there is always the worry that you haven't got the message quick enough to act in time.
Siemens new HiPath OpenOffice unifies all of this mediums creating a communications system that lets you combine your phone calls, voicemail boxes, conferencing, fax, and messaging into a single, unified solution freeing up time for you to get on with your day.
some of the advantages you’ll enjoy with HiPath OpenOffice include:
* Integrate communications with business processes
* See dramatic improvements in workflow
* Increase productivity and profitability
* Reduce organisational frustration and stress
* Share information seamlessly from any location
* Eliminate guessing games and wasted energy
* Reduce operational costs
* Reach team mates or employees the first time, every time
HiPath OpenOffice is a unified communications solution that incorporates the latest in VoIP. It’s designed and priced specifically for small and medium enterprises and because it uses genuine open standards, it integrates seamlessly into your existing IT environment. There’s no need to rip and replace; HiPath OpenOffice is easy to install, use, administer and maintain. What’s more, it can be scaled smoothly from 20 up to 150 users.
The average small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) uses 6.4 types of communication device and 4.8 communications applications such as email, mobile phones, desktop phones and PDA's. Juggling them is almost impossible, especially when your people could be anywhere within your building, on the road, or even on the other side of the world. The end result is inefficient communications with unpredictable costs that can easily get out of control:
* 52% of employees use multiple methods to contact someone on a daily basis
* 36% of the time they fail to get connected
* 22% of deadlines are missed as well as valuable revenue opportunities
So if you can overcome inefficient communications, you will have a distinct competitive advantage.
Quite often in business things can grind to a halt when someone can not be contacted. HiPath OpenOffice makes the frustrating physical and technological barriers to efficient communication a thing of the past. It enables you to achieve new levels of productivity by freeing up bottlenecks, reducing wasted time and speeding up decision making. So you can increase customer and employee satisfaction and improve revenue opportunities - all at a reduced operational cost.
HiPath OpenOffice has been specifically designed to meet the needs of small and medium enterprises with features that make managing diverse communications simple and cost effective. It lets everyone set their availability so you'll know if someone is in a meeting, on a phone call, when they'll become available and the best way to contact them. If you're out of the office you can even update your availability via your phone. HiPath OpenOffice makes it easy to set up conference calls using the 'Conference Management' feature. Schedule your conference calls, create a dial-in or ad-hoc call on the fly by simply dragging and dropping participants from your directory. Remember, there are no conference call charges. It's all handled through HiPath OpenOffice, so costs are reduced and productivity is improved because everyone can get together to make the decisions required to move forward.
Because HiPath OpenOffice integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Outlook™, everyone can access all their communications via a single screen. Email, voicemail, fax and instant messages can be viewed, managed and answered from the application they're most familiar with - the Outlook screen they use everyday. What's more, presence status and voicemail greetings will change dynamically based on events in the Outlook™ calendar, so callers will always get the latest information about staff availability.
HiPath OpenOffice is a total solution package that comes with a whole host of cool features. Just think how convenient they could be for your business:
* Have all your contacts in just ONE directory so you don't have to search for numbers in multiple places
* Access, change, and manage your key contacts with handy favorites lists
* Route all mobile and desk phone messages to ONE voice message box
* Receive and respond to faxes as easily as an email with a fax message box
* Know who you've called and who has called you with your personal call journal
* Forward all your calls to ONE number with intelligent call management
* Get immediate notifications when you are away from your desk and a key message or fax arrives
* Give your callers options to reach you or someone else with personal autoattendant
* Connect callers to available staff the first time and see the presence status of everyone in your organisation with Attendant Console
* Dial a number from any desktop application to contact someone immediately
* Never misunderstand a customer instruction or action item again with live call recording
* Instant message a contact who is already on another line to let them know another call is waiting or their attention is needed for another matter
* Take advantage of your negotiated call rates and call packages with different mobility capabilities
Article written about Siemens HiPath OpenOffice by Daniel of Datasharp Telecom
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Teen-mum flick gets filmgoers hungry for hamburger phone
Companies like Apple and Sony have known for years that movie product placement translates into big bucks. The latest such placement is...a hamburger phone, which features in new teens-up-the-duff movie Juno.
Statistics floating around online, which have been attributed to eBay, claim that sales of the retro handset jumped 759 per cent in the month after the film’s US release. The average sales price for the corded handset on the auction site is around $15 (£8/€11).
Quite why people would want to talk into something that’s been around for decades, rather than a state of the art wireless Dect handset is beyond us. However, that hasn’t stopped numerous companies cashing on the sales wave, while it lasts.
Hong Kong-based online retailer Cellphonefocus.com has already announced that it's stocking the fast-food phone. It's also trying to super-size its sales by selling French fry phones.
Film studio Fox Searchlight hasn’t commented on the hamburger phone’s popularity, but it’s rumoured the company gave some of the phones to reviewers as part of the film’s publicity campaign.
At least one thing’s for sure, Del Boy and Rodders will be upping their prices for hamburger handsets down Peckham market this week.
Written by a erstwhile stripper Diablo Cody, Juno has taken more than $78m in the US and garnered four Oscar nominations, including best director (for Jason Reitman), best actress (Ellen Page), best film and best script.
The Hamburger Phone is available from Cellphonefocus.com now for $16 (£9/€12). A European price hasn’t been served-up yet.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Fans beseige Shilpa Shetty's mobe
Bollywood babe Shilpa Shetty has described herself as "extremely perturbed" after a Indian fan got hold of her mobile number and emailed it to all and sundry, with inevitable results.
According to AP, the 32-year-old thespo "was swamped with hundreds of calls" and SMS messages following the leak. Her publicist Dale Bhagwagar said: "Some want to date her, some want to just listen to her voice, some want to inquire if her musical Miss Bollywood is doing fine and some call just to check if they are speaking to the real Shilpa Shetty."
Shetty has filed a police complaint, and Mumbai cops are investigating. Officer Sushil Joshi noted that the fan responsible "could face a six-month jail term for harassment and illegally using the internet to publicise a private phone".
The offending number has now been cut off. Doubtless it will be reassigned shortly to some unfortunate who'll have to field calls for Richard Gere's favourite sub-continental snogging partner.
According to AP, the 32-year-old thespo "was swamped with hundreds of calls" and SMS messages following the leak. Her publicist Dale Bhagwagar said: "Some want to date her, some want to just listen to her voice, some want to inquire if her musical Miss Bollywood is doing fine and some call just to check if they are speaking to the real Shilpa Shetty."
Shetty has filed a police complaint, and Mumbai cops are investigating. Officer Sushil Joshi noted that the fan responsible "could face a six-month jail term for harassment and illegally using the internet to publicise a private phone".
The offending number has now been cut off. Doubtless it will be reassigned shortly to some unfortunate who'll have to field calls for Richard Gere's favourite sub-continental snogging partner.
Friday, November 09, 2007
Mum sends stripper to teenage son's school
A Nottinghamshire lad had a "birthday to remember" after a stripper turned up at his school, burst into his drama class and proceeded to flaunt herself like a two-buck hussy as shocked teacher and students looked on.
According to the Telegraph, the clothes-shedding strumpet was dispatched to Nottingham's Arnold Hill School and Technology College at the behest of the boy's mum, who also asked his teacher to film the event.
The stripper entered the classroom halfway through the lesson, and then, as a fellow pupil recounted to the Daily Mail: "She asked the lad to stand up, which he did, and told him he had been a very naughty boy because he hadn't been doing his homework. Then she put on some Britney Spears music and got out a collar and lead from her bag and told him to put them on.
"No one could believe it. Next she ordered him to get on all fours, led him around the classroom and hit him 16 times - once for each year - on the bottom with her whip. Then she took off some clothes until she was down to her bra and pants, pulled out some cream, put it on her buttocks and told him to rub it in.
"To be fair to the teacher, you could tell she was just stunned - and when the cream came out she told the stripper 'That's it. That's enough'."
It apparently was enough for the honoured guest of this show, since he "ran out of the classroom while the stripper calmly packed her bag and left".
A spokeswoman for Nottinghamshire County Council said no one had been suspended and the police were not involved. She added: "We and the school are investigating into the situation."
And in case you're wondering what kind of parent would subject their offspring to this kind of humiliation, the mother in question told the school she'd actually ordered a gorilla "through an agency", but got the cream-loving dog-handler instead.
According to the Telegraph, the clothes-shedding strumpet was dispatched to Nottingham's Arnold Hill School and Technology College at the behest of the boy's mum, who also asked his teacher to film the event.
The stripper entered the classroom halfway through the lesson, and then, as a fellow pupil recounted to the Daily Mail: "She asked the lad to stand up, which he did, and told him he had been a very naughty boy because he hadn't been doing his homework. Then she put on some Britney Spears music and got out a collar and lead from her bag and told him to put them on.
"No one could believe it. Next she ordered him to get on all fours, led him around the classroom and hit him 16 times - once for each year - on the bottom with her whip. Then she took off some clothes until she was down to her bra and pants, pulled out some cream, put it on her buttocks and told him to rub it in.
"To be fair to the teacher, you could tell she was just stunned - and when the cream came out she told the stripper 'That's it. That's enough'."
It apparently was enough for the honoured guest of this show, since he "ran out of the classroom while the stripper calmly packed her bag and left".
A spokeswoman for Nottinghamshire County Council said no one had been suspended and the police were not involved. She added: "We and the school are investigating into the situation."
And in case you're wondering what kind of parent would subject their offspring to this kind of humiliation, the mother in question told the school she'd actually ordered a gorilla "through an agency", but got the cream-loving dog-handler instead.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Siemens' New OpenStage Family of SIP Phones
Siemens' New OpenStage Family of SIP Phones features Extraordinary Design and Newest Technical Standards
Siemens Enterprise Communications has announced OpenStage™, a new line of stylish IP telephones that bring an open communications hardware platform to the desktop for the first time. With four different models ranging from basic to advanced, OpenStage phones feature a revolutionary new design that combines ease-of-use with PC functionality. In addition, OpenStage phones utilize Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) to integrate wired, wireless and IP communications to invoke new conferencing and call features such as “push to conference,” desktop call management, “presence” based calling, and more. The phones also support compatible third-party applications through standards-based technology such as Java, HTML, WML and XML so that they can become a key interface for everyday enterprise business applications.
OpenStage introduces a touch sensitive wheel, called TouchGuide™ that allows easy access to the menu-driven user interface. The TouchSlider™ controls the volume of the handset, ringer and speaker phone, and there are touch sensitive pre-set and programmable keys that provide easy access to frequently used applications and features, such as address books, voicemail, conferencing, and speed dial. OpenStage also lets you dial using hands-free voice commands or a conventional keypad. It also features a high-quality speaker phone that has been specially designed for conference calls, and can operate multiple connections from the same desktop.
“End-users in business environments are faced with an ever-increasing variety of communications capabilities, devices, interfaces and modes. Efforts to streamline and integrate these capabilities, and to make the most of the latest in navigation techniques, are welcome and will get the attention of buyers,” said Jerry Caron, Vice President, Current Analysis. “Innovative systems, such as the Siemens Enterprise Communications Open Stage portfolio, make access to sophisticated capabilities easier and more intuitive, thus inherently raising the relevance of the capabilities themselves.”
Built-in Bluetooth support also lets you use a Bluetooth headset with the OpenStage deskphone for hands-free operation. A V.Card exchange even allows you to transfer contacts between compatible mobile phones and the desk phone. A USB port is available to backup data, such as personal contacts, as well as to connect to a wireless LAN using a WLAN dongle. With network support, you can readily access a corporate phone directory using an LDAP client, or gain public phone directory access using XML to look up new contacts.
“OpenStage is the missing link that integrates cellular, the Internet and the wired desktop,” said Thomas Zimmermann, Chief Operating Officer of Siemens Enterprise Communications. “We designed OpenStage to deliver mobile convenience in a fixed device, providing instant access that is always available and easy to drive. And this line of IP telephones offer a new, rich communications experience that combines style elements with the convenience of a mobile phone.”
OpenStage is designed to help organizations improve productivity and streamline workflow by integrating system-wide communications into the most-used office device, the telephone handset. Since it is an open application platform, OpenStage gives IS departments and third party developers more flexibility to write and deploy a wide range of value-added applications that can make the phone a key interface for enterprise applications and that can speed communications and workflow.
For example, Java applications that run on a PC, mobile phone, or PDA can now be readily ported to run on the OpenStage phone. Using HTML, the phones can be used as an interface for hosted applications, such as timesheets, calendars, or public phone books. WML support makes it compatible with applications developed for mobile phones, such as access to traffic news. Support for XML also makes it easy to customize OpenStage for any number of users, such as interfaces for building control systems, responses to incoming calls or to create “tell me when” applications that monitor for specific conditions. OpenStage is part of LifeWorks, Siemens’ vision for open communications and seamless collaboration across multiple protocols, networks, and devices.
Siemens Enterprise Communications has announced OpenStage™, a new line of stylish IP telephones that bring an open communications hardware platform to the desktop for the first time. With four different models ranging from basic to advanced, OpenStage phones feature a revolutionary new design that combines ease-of-use with PC functionality. In addition, OpenStage phones utilize Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) to integrate wired, wireless and IP communications to invoke new conferencing and call features such as “push to conference,” desktop call management, “presence” based calling, and more. The phones also support compatible third-party applications through standards-based technology such as Java, HTML, WML and XML so that they can become a key interface for everyday enterprise business applications.
OpenStage introduces a touch sensitive wheel, called TouchGuide™ that allows easy access to the menu-driven user interface. The TouchSlider™ controls the volume of the handset, ringer and speaker phone, and there are touch sensitive pre-set and programmable keys that provide easy access to frequently used applications and features, such as address books, voicemail, conferencing, and speed dial. OpenStage also lets you dial using hands-free voice commands or a conventional keypad. It also features a high-quality speaker phone that has been specially designed for conference calls, and can operate multiple connections from the same desktop.
“End-users in business environments are faced with an ever-increasing variety of communications capabilities, devices, interfaces and modes. Efforts to streamline and integrate these capabilities, and to make the most of the latest in navigation techniques, are welcome and will get the attention of buyers,” said Jerry Caron, Vice President, Current Analysis. “Innovative systems, such as the Siemens Enterprise Communications Open Stage portfolio, make access to sophisticated capabilities easier and more intuitive, thus inherently raising the relevance of the capabilities themselves.”
Built-in Bluetooth support also lets you use a Bluetooth headset with the OpenStage deskphone for hands-free operation. A V.Card exchange even allows you to transfer contacts between compatible mobile phones and the desk phone. A USB port is available to backup data, such as personal contacts, as well as to connect to a wireless LAN using a WLAN dongle. With network support, you can readily access a corporate phone directory using an LDAP client, or gain public phone directory access using XML to look up new contacts.
“OpenStage is the missing link that integrates cellular, the Internet and the wired desktop,” said Thomas Zimmermann, Chief Operating Officer of Siemens Enterprise Communications. “We designed OpenStage to deliver mobile convenience in a fixed device, providing instant access that is always available and easy to drive. And this line of IP telephones offer a new, rich communications experience that combines style elements with the convenience of a mobile phone.”
OpenStage is designed to help organizations improve productivity and streamline workflow by integrating system-wide communications into the most-used office device, the telephone handset. Since it is an open application platform, OpenStage gives IS departments and third party developers more flexibility to write and deploy a wide range of value-added applications that can make the phone a key interface for enterprise applications and that can speed communications and workflow.
For example, Java applications that run on a PC, mobile phone, or PDA can now be readily ported to run on the OpenStage phone. Using HTML, the phones can be used as an interface for hosted applications, such as timesheets, calendars, or public phone books. WML support makes it compatible with applications developed for mobile phones, such as access to traffic news. Support for XML also makes it easy to customize OpenStage for any number of users, such as interfaces for building control systems, responses to incoming calls or to create “tell me when” applications that monitor for specific conditions. OpenStage is part of LifeWorks, Siemens’ vision for open communications and seamless collaboration across multiple protocols, networks, and devices.
Monday, October 08, 2007
Ofcom fights to save mobile-mast website
Ofcom is appealing to the courts against a decision by the Information Tribunal, on 4 September, which ruled that the data on a website which gives details on all the mobile-phone masts in the UK should be released in a comprehensive and searchable form. This upheld an earlier ruling by the information commissioner in September 2006.
Media watchdog Ofcom has provided the Sitefinder website since December 2003 after an independent expert group recommended the government set up a national database to provide the public with details of where base stations were located and their emissions.
Until last year the data uploaded to the website was provided voluntarily by the mobile-network operators. But they stopped providing data last year after the information commissioner ordered Ofcom to release information considered to be "commercially sensitive" about each mobile-phone base station and their grid references to Health Protection Scotland (HPS).
Ofcom had previously refused to disclose the information following a freedom-of-information request from HPS, applicable under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
Ofcom argued that disclosing the requested information would contravene the intellectual-property rights of the mobile-network operators. It told the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) that making the raw data available would give competitors the ability to work out how each operator's 2G or 3G radio networks were designed.
Ofcom also said that publication of a searchable national data set would compromise the security of the police and emergency service radio network. People would then be able to target and close down specific geographic areas by identifying key locations vital to the police communication infrastructure.
Ruling against Ofcom, the ICO decided that a determined terrorist or criminal could obtain information about the location of Tetra masts by manually searching for each base station on Sitefinder. It therefore deemed that publication of the requested information would not present an adverse risk to public safety over and above the present situation.
Ofcom also failed to demonstrate that any actual harm to the mobile operators, such as a loss of return on their investment in creating the database, would arise from disclosure.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Ofcom confirmed that it was appealing against the tribunal's decision on how the public interest, "in balancing the public right to information and the protection of sensitive business information", should be assessed.
"Because much of the underlying data is considered by the mobile-network operators as commercially sensitive, and as a whole its disclosure could lead to malicious or criminal damage to the networks, the mobile-network operators told Ofcom that they would be reluctant to continue providing it for the Sitefinder database if it was released publicly," the statement read.
Ofcom remains confident that it will be able to persuade mobile-network operators to provide updated information for the website in the future, but admits that failure to do so would mean Sitefinder "would cease to be a valuable information tool for the public".
A date for the court hearing has yet to be set.
Link to Sitefinder website
Media watchdog Ofcom has provided the Sitefinder website since December 2003 after an independent expert group recommended the government set up a national database to provide the public with details of where base stations were located and their emissions.
Until last year the data uploaded to the website was provided voluntarily by the mobile-network operators. But they stopped providing data last year after the information commissioner ordered Ofcom to release information considered to be "commercially sensitive" about each mobile-phone base station and their grid references to Health Protection Scotland (HPS).
Ofcom had previously refused to disclose the information following a freedom-of-information request from HPS, applicable under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
Ofcom argued that disclosing the requested information would contravene the intellectual-property rights of the mobile-network operators. It told the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) that making the raw data available would give competitors the ability to work out how each operator's 2G or 3G radio networks were designed.
Ofcom also said that publication of a searchable national data set would compromise the security of the police and emergency service radio network. People would then be able to target and close down specific geographic areas by identifying key locations vital to the police communication infrastructure.
Ruling against Ofcom, the ICO decided that a determined terrorist or criminal could obtain information about the location of Tetra masts by manually searching for each base station on Sitefinder. It therefore deemed that publication of the requested information would not present an adverse risk to public safety over and above the present situation.
Ofcom also failed to demonstrate that any actual harm to the mobile operators, such as a loss of return on their investment in creating the database, would arise from disclosure.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Ofcom confirmed that it was appealing against the tribunal's decision on how the public interest, "in balancing the public right to information and the protection of sensitive business information", should be assessed.
"Because much of the underlying data is considered by the mobile-network operators as commercially sensitive, and as a whole its disclosure could lead to malicious or criminal damage to the networks, the mobile-network operators told Ofcom that they would be reluctant to continue providing it for the Sitefinder database if it was released publicly," the statement read.
Ofcom remains confident that it will be able to persuade mobile-network operators to provide updated information for the website in the future, but admits that failure to do so would mean Sitefinder "would cease to be a valuable information tool for the public".
A date for the court hearing has yet to be set.
Link to Sitefinder website
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Dwarf superglues todger to hoover
'The most embarrassing moment of my life'
Staff at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh battled for an hour to disconnect the penis of Captain Dan The Demon Dwarf from a hoover after the diminutive Fringe performer inadvertantly superglued it to the vacuum cleaner's "attachment".
According to the Evening Standard, the hoover forms part of Captain Dan's Circus Of Horrors act, in which he inexplicably pulls the device across the stage with his todger. On this occasion, however, "the attachment came loose before a performance so he tried to glue it back on".
The 42-year-old misread the superglue instructions and, having allowed the adhesive a mere 20 seconds to dry rather than the required 20 minutes, duly found himself semi-permanently docked after attempting a premature test.
Of his hospital ordeal, a shaken Captain Dan recounted: "It was the most embarrassing moment of my life. When I got wheeled into a packed A&E on a wheelchair with a hoover attached to my willie, I just wished the ground could swallow me up."
Staff at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh battled for an hour to disconnect the penis of Captain Dan The Demon Dwarf from a hoover after the diminutive Fringe performer inadvertantly superglued it to the vacuum cleaner's "attachment".
According to the Evening Standard, the hoover forms part of Captain Dan's Circus Of Horrors act, in which he inexplicably pulls the device across the stage with his todger. On this occasion, however, "the attachment came loose before a performance so he tried to glue it back on".
The 42-year-old misread the superglue instructions and, having allowed the adhesive a mere 20 seconds to dry rather than the required 20 minutes, duly found himself semi-permanently docked after attempting a premature test.
Of his hospital ordeal, a shaken Captain Dan recounted: "It was the most embarrassing moment of my life. When I got wheeled into a packed A&E on a wheelchair with a hoover attached to my willie, I just wished the ground could swallow me up."
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Hosted IP Telephony
There’s now another alternative to the traditional PBX telephone system sitting on the wall in the back office gathering dust. The answer? Don’t have a physical system at all.
With Hosted IP telephony the user will have a pre-programmed IP telephone or some type of device connected via an analogue adaptor that is connected to any available broadband connection. The central system resides in a secure data centre and the user then connects to the functionality of this via internet protocol and can make and receive calls from any available broadband connection in the world assuming that it has adequate quality. To access the features of the system for reporting or programming the user will log onto a web portal using the user’s telephone number (which incidentally can be any type of geographical number and does not need to be changed when you move offices) and a password. The web portal includes features such as the internal phonebook, voicemail, conference call scheduling, call handling. It also has a dial out facility which means that you can click on a contacts record and it automatically dials out from the user’s handset.
Benefits of a hosted solution include a low monthly user cost which covers maintenance, upgrades and seat rental. No more concerns about systems going out of date as hosted technology is constantly evolving with the benefits being passed onto the user as part of the monthly rental. Free calls between any user on the same network regardless of country location. Disaster resiliant as there is no physical equipment other than the handset itself.
Overall, this is a very exciting new development for the telecoms arena which gives more flexibility and userbility in a fast paced and ever changing sector.
Article written by Daniel Bevan of Datasharp Telecom (Chiltern)
www.dstelecom.co.uk
www.ds-telecom.co.uk
www.voipphone-systems.co.uk
With Hosted IP telephony the user will have a pre-programmed IP telephone or some type of device connected via an analogue adaptor that is connected to any available broadband connection. The central system resides in a secure data centre and the user then connects to the functionality of this via internet protocol and can make and receive calls from any available broadband connection in the world assuming that it has adequate quality. To access the features of the system for reporting or programming the user will log onto a web portal using the user’s telephone number (which incidentally can be any type of geographical number and does not need to be changed when you move offices) and a password. The web portal includes features such as the internal phonebook, voicemail, conference call scheduling, call handling. It also has a dial out facility which means that you can click on a contacts record and it automatically dials out from the user’s handset.
Benefits of a hosted solution include a low monthly user cost which covers maintenance, upgrades and seat rental. No more concerns about systems going out of date as hosted technology is constantly evolving with the benefits being passed onto the user as part of the monthly rental. Free calls between any user on the same network regardless of country location. Disaster resiliant as there is no physical equipment other than the handset itself.
Overall, this is a very exciting new development for the telecoms arena which gives more flexibility and userbility in a fast paced and ever changing sector.
Article written by Daniel Bevan of Datasharp Telecom (Chiltern)
www.dstelecom.co.uk
www.ds-telecom.co.uk
www.voipphone-systems.co.uk
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