Toshiba Phone System

Business Phone System (VoIP) which helps to save up to 90% of your monthly phone bill. Do you admit it? Business Phone System runs through VoIP which helps to save up to 90% of your monthly phone bill. Hosted VoIP makes sense for the ROI as well. More and more businesses are already installing VoIP systems. World are changing the way of thinking to make long distance calls. What is your opinion?

What are my options for a NON-VIOP business phone system? VOIP is not an option. Please help me out!? I'm trying to upgrade my companies current phone system. We currently use an Avaya phone system, and Verizon as our service provider. What we're looking to do is upgrade our conference capabilities. Right now we can only have two external parties connected unless we use a dial in number. Although the dial in number works my boss would prefer for us to be able to simply call people and add them to the call as needed, as well as let them call in when needed. In addition he would like to be able to transfer the call to a another phone if need be. For many reasons a VOIP system has been ruled out and is not an a option (although it seems like an easy solution, trust me I've been pushing for it). There has to be a non-VOIP phone system out there that can handle these simple tasks. Please help!

A not too pricey VoIP phone system for a small business? We have a small business with a few offices and are looking for a VoIP phone system. Anyone out there running a small business have one they are happy with that did not break the bank?

What are the basic requirements to install a VoIP phone system for my business?

For a small business, what is better - VOIP or physical phone lines.. what phone system? I am starting a small business with three employees. I would like to know whether it would be best to have a VOIP system or actually put in phone lines with a phone system. I will be working in the office and at my home at times while the others will be in the office mostly.

Can Skype phone system used in business environment with "commander phone" capability? Been trying to find out how to implement the new Skype VOIP system for my new business. Will the Skype be able to replace my "commander system" being able to facilitate 4 incoming / outgoing calls at the same time?

what are some names and logos for my new business, Voice Over Internet Phone systems? (VOIP)?

I'm looking for a new phone system for my small business - anyone suggest a VOIP service?

What phone system do you recommend? I manage a small business and everyone works from home. Do you know of a VOIP phone system that I could get virtual numbers with extensions, then have calls answered by an answering service...then forwarded to the worker's number at home? I tried Skype, but I don't think it does that. or does it?

Suggestions for an inexpensive business phone system? We currently lease a Nortel Norstar phone system, but would like to buy a system flat out so we can eliminate monthly payments and manage it ourselves (we currently get billed if we call just to ask a question, and we have to have them come in to add/remove mailboxes, etc.). We have 10 employees right now, but have 14 extensions currently open in the office (2 are empty desks, and 2 are common area rooms). We would need a good voice mail system that is remotely accessible, auto-attendant and automatic call distribution, music while on hold would be nice, and the ability to automatically forward calls to other extensions or outside numbers. We do not have VoIP or anything fancy like that -- we pay our phone company for 6 lines (one of which is a fax line). We only have one phone number public, which seems to automatically connect to any of the 5 lines depending on which is open. Can anyone recommend an affordable and easy to manage phone system?

Is there a way to get a phone system that's hosted elsewhere? Our CFO wants to find out if there's an option out there where we can get a business phone system (but NOT VoIP) that's hosted somewhere else -- similar to server hosting -- and just have our phones and plug them in and go. The only thing I can think of like this is VoIP, but we are in a 2 year contract with Verizon for our 6 current phone lines, and he doesn't want VoIP. Is there anything out there that does this, or does he want something that doesn't exist?

How do I add roll over VOIP lines to my Avaya phone system? Hi, We’ve just installed a new AVAYA 9508 IP phone system in our office and we’re looking to add some more lines in. Currently we have one Analog line that we want to keep and have rollover lines. For example: when my primary business analog line is busy, I would like incoming calls to that number which would normally be directed to voicemail to now rollover onto our new VOIP phone lines. Also, I would like all out going calls on any of these VOIP lines to be displayed as my primary business number. My questions are whether or not this is even possible and if I have to do it through my phone provider or can it be easily programmed in-house on my Avaya phone system.

How do you take a voice mail on a office phone and transfer to PC? The business I am working with has a standard phone system (not VOIP). We want to set up a phone so that customers can call in and record their testimonials. We then want to transfer those voice mails to the PC so we can edit the testimonials, make podcasts etc. My issue is, how to get the voice mail from the phone to the PC?

Wireless IP phone small office system? I have a small business that I would like to run VOIP system in but: a) I don't want to pay thousands of dollars for such system and b) I'm renting an old office space that does not have LAN capabilities and I'm having a hard time negotiating a deal with the property manager. How would I go about a Wireless IP phone system that would allow me to run my business better and not go through construction, wiring closet, wall ethernet ports, etc I've been looking at some Wireless IP phones but I don't think it is as simple as turn on a wireless IP phone, connect it to your wireless router, and you are all set. Can someone give me an idea on what other equipments are needed?

Can I use IP phones on my internal network without VOIP service? I need a pbx style phone system in my business but I dont have the funds for a traditional system. I have a wired/wireless ethernet system already installed throughout my business and was wondering if there was a way to use IP phones through the network internally without an outside VOIP service provider?

Business Phone Solutions? I own a restaurant delivery service in Springfield, MO. My phone options are; At&t, Mediacom and VOIP. I want my business to start handling the restaurants incoming calls. I know the easy solution is call forward their lines to mine, but i won't be able to transfer calls back and I'll get non-customer calls. I was thinking about a automatic sorter of sorts, where when the customer calls the restaurant line the call is forwarded to the sorter. The sorter would say "thanks for calling (restaurant) for delivery press 1, for carry out press 2, to reach the restaurant press 3. Price is very important, can't afford equipment, service plan more ideal. I have a tech level of 10, just not in phones. My questions are; what are my options of phone service to achieve a system like I described? Is their a more effective way then having a automatic sorter?

Can i use outlook express if i have a voip phone, but no landline? I have no landline , but use voiptalk through a satellite system here in spain.I ordered an electronic business card through vistaprint,but noticed i needed outlook express to launch it.I tried downloading outlook, with no success, but i do use yahoo mail.Is it because i dont have a fixed landline, the reason i cannot download and use outlook express?

Can I use VOIP on my internal network without outside service? I need a pbx style phone system in my business but I dont have the funds for a traditional system. I have a wired/wireless ethernet system already installed throughout my business and was wondering if there was a way to use IP phones through the network internally without an outside VOIP service provider?

Comcast Digital Voice for Retail Business? We are considering using Comcast Digital voice for our business with 3 lines. I'm unsure about using a VoIP type of phone system for a busy retail business. How is the service for business? Any down time? Likes and Dislikes? Any help is much appreciated. Thanks

VOIP for business? My company is looking at a voip system, particularly the NEC aspire system. I understand what that means inside the building. How do calls route outside the building? Do we still need the 14 analog phone lines we have now? Most of our customers have normal phones. What happens when we call them? Do they go thru a provider or our phone company? This system is a NEC Aspire system. The vendor said because we have a regular phone infrastructure in place, we would use the 1 paired wire and non-ip phones for now although the phones could be turned into IP phones with a add-on. We would still have all the features the phone system has but wouldnt have to worry about our local network traffice for now. They mentioned a prime line to replace our phone lines. Our vendor said that we could just buy some IP phones for our other locations, plug them in, and make free calls to them. I dont know if that would go thru the prime line or our internet connection. I told him that our current internet connection is likely not good for VOIP and he said we could throw in a cable modem with a minimum connection for these calls to our other locations. I am not sure how that would all work though. So it sounded like we would have 2 connections to the net but i dont know how our internal network would be affected by that.

Need Internet phone system with PBX features? I have a small buisness and over the years have a rigged up hone syetem that is surely costly and inefficient. Want to explore new options: One main line with a greeting message and ability to transfer to a maximum of five office lines. One fax. Need to transfer between lines. I have seen the VOIP lines and they look super. Does anyone have a suggestion for a flexible system that can be managed by a small business owner with moderate computer skills. Thank you!

can anyone recommend an phone system supplier in london ? OK - I just asked a question about VoIP and I got a sensible answer ... it seems I can be more flexible with my phones ... basically that's what I need for my business. Can anyone recommend a decent supplier in London ... I'm in Camden, London - just need to speek to a decent human being about this.

INTERNET MONITORING for a business solution? my wife has been having her internet attacked repeadedly by hackers and she wants me to remote monitor her internet from my computer store K KOMPUTERS. is there a software that i can use to monitor internet activity from a remote location using her dynamic ip address. i have a static ip address and an internet server gateway. 20meg cable internet and a voip phone system in my company. this request by my wife has also spawned an idea of offering a network monitoring service in my company. i am also a licensed private investigator.

What kind of phone system would work for this? I am setting up a small business and need multiple lines with dedicated numbers set up in my home office, each with separate voice mails. Each line would belong to a different client and each needs their own separate number. For instance I need to know if line 1 is ringing that is client A's clientele calling and if its line 2 ringing then I know that is client B's clientele calling. I would only need up to 4 lines to begin with the possibility of more in the future and I only need one phone station as I do not have any employees. Does anyone know what kind of service this would be? Or who might offer a good option for me? I have talked to AT&T but I wasn't in love with their solution and I do not want to go with a VOIP service. Everything else I look into seems geared towards bigger small business. Additional Details I know I could handle the volume of calls on 1 or 2 lines but the business that I am providing will need each client to have their own line, as I will be answering their dedicated line as if I was in their office with their personal greeting. And they need a number that is theres alone and not shared with another one of my clients. Its my clients clientel that is calling on separate lines hence the need for separate numbers. I need answer the phone like this "thank you for call client A, how can we assist you." or if it is client B's clientele I would need to say "Thank you for calling clinet B's business how can we assist you" I can just pick up the line and say r u calling for this company, that company or this company. The objective is to sound as if I am working solely for one company in their office when in fact I am working from home for several different clients.

How do you set up a business network? I’m somewhat new to networking, and what I need to build one for a class assignment (so no really in depth answers needed). I have to design a network for a business of my choosing. I was thinking a logistics company. They would have a main office and then another random branch. The company would consist of 30 PC’s in the main office and 10 in the branch which is in another city. There would be a program everyone could access to pull up customer information, truck company information, and from here edit it. It would have internal email systems in place, and a website. If possible the company would be using VOIP for the phone system (optional), but don’t want to make things over difficult. How would I go about setting this up? What type of server(s) am I looking at using? What type of routers and switches would I need? What type of software would I use that would be critical to the IT infrastructure? Am I backing data up on Tapes (really new to this concept)? If I missed anything feel free to add on. Think I will just use a version of Windows for the PC’s OS, and would like to make things easy and just using a Windows Server program also. Like I said just need a general run down, I can BS the paper, but would like to know the fundamentals I would actually need. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Internet phone? We currently have the typical phone systems, where someone calls in, and can transfer to this extension and that extension, and so forth. Leave messages here and there. Someone from a certain extension pages someone else on another phone extension. To call out, we'd press 9, and dial the phone number. However, the monthly phone bill is very high for a business customer. I'm talking about several thousand dollars per month. Will the "Internet phones" be a better solution? How do these phones work? So if I were to call someone oversea or out of state, I will have no phone bill at the end of the month? And what happens when someone calls me? How reliable are these phones? So if the T1 line is up 24/7, then, would these phones be as reliable as the T1 line? So when people talk about "Internet phones", are they referring to VoIP phones? If you know about these phones, please advise. Thanks.

Any suggestions for alternative to land line phones for small business? My family owns a small business & we are having a terrible time with our local (it's a small company) phone company. We purchased our phone system through them about 2.5 years ago & have had nothing but problems since. They seemed to resolve them & we haven't had many problems for about 6 months now. However, this last week we are having problems with calls being dropped, echos, etc... Many of our customers & vendors when they do get through are complaining that it's taken them several tries to get through. So- we've had it, we are fed up! Does anyone know of any other alternative multi-line phone systems we could use? I've looked into VOIP but am not sure if it's available in our area. Are there any cell phone providers that provide business services with multi-line phones? We need a minimum of 4 in-coming lines. Thanks~

Is there such a service that will forward business calls to your cell phone? Ok i know many businesses have "Virtual assistant" services but some do alot more then i want and offer more then i want. In my absolute ideal situation there would be a reputable service, maybe even local to Minnesota, in which i would get a call and they would have some virtual assistant say "You have reached.........." or whatever they say and then they say "Just a moment and we will connect you" all obviously pre-recorded. Then they will forward the call to me on my cell phone and when it gets to my Cell phone the company will use a NON Toll free number. And this is because a person then could have My Circle or My faves on the phone and add the number the company calls from and then all calls would be included in the cellular plan. Now i have seen GotVMail and Toktumi which both look great but GotVmail is like a cellular plan already in that it has a limited number of minutes. But it has more Toll Free number options then Toktumi. Does anyone know of a business that has just those two simple things the "Virtual assistant" and the forwarding with a Non-Toll free number? Because the way it works is they use your own number to forward the calls. So if you have a toll free number they will send the call to you from your toll free number and since those My faves and such dont support toll free numbers you pay for it see? If you are asking why i dont just get a land line its because my home office is in the middle of the house, to far for a wire, and to unpredictable for VOIP. I tried. The other option i guess is get a local number and get any of the before mentioned services and then all will go through their system and when i get a call it will be from my local number which i can use as a My Fave type of deal but that obviously limits calls. So if anyone has any ideas i would really love to hear about it, thanks! I think there may be some confusion in what i wrote. Because it doesnt have much of anything to do with my cell phone. My faves is My faves across the board, and they wont allow 1 800 numbers so if i have one and i have a virtual number relay the call to me it will come in as a 1 800 number which i cant mark as a Fave. That why i was hoping there was a company that when they relay the call it will show on my cell phone as a NON toll free number. So i could fave that number and all calls would come through that number so there would be no cost for the calls through that virtual number.

Magic Jack USB VoIP Device. What's the difference between Magic Jack and Vonage? I have Vonage, which is VOIP, but we pay for Vonage to have our business phone numbers (4 of them) and pay about $50 to $75/month for this and we love it. Plus, we have 1 bellsouth phone landline because we have a security system that requires a landline. I also have a Vonage V-Phone, which is a small USB phone that plugs into any computer with broadband connection. The V-Phone does connect through our vonage account. I'm trying to figure out what the difference in Vonage and Magic Jack is? For Magic Jack, the video said you pay $40 for the usb device and your calls are free. When I went to ebay to see prices for Magic Jack, the description says Magic Jack VoIP Free Calls To and From USA. What's the real difference??? The short video I was sent is here: http://www.magicjack.com/site/index.html

How many phones can be used on a VOIP Line? If someone has a business or office, how many VOIP lines on a single internet connection can they have? Considering that they don't have their own PBX system?

Do you use Voip at your place of employment? Love it or Hate it? VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol, this product is typically used in businesses that have a lot of employees on the phone, and instead of using a typical telephone, they use the VOiP system. However, I'm wondering if those who use it hate it? Or on the other hand, do those who like it find it a great advantage? Thank you David T for explaining all that to me. It's nice to have it in simple terms. From the sounds of it, it appears that information packets get lost causing callers to have to repeat themselves as they speak. This is a bad thing for me, so I think that I won't be using Voip until the technology improves. t

can you help me improve our office telephone system.? Hi, my boss asked me to to figure out a way to cut down drastically on our telephone expenses. Although I don't handle telephone systems per say, I'm a computer IT guy and figure I can handle this. We currently have a 30 year old dinosaur phone system supported by Avaia and it's routing four phone lines from ATT..then a fifth dedicated fax line which goes to a computer with fax software. Total 5 telephones, it's a small office. My goal is to cut down the telephone lines to 2 or 3 as business is very slow (we only advertise one number too). I'm hoping to get rid of the whole telephone system (which looks like a big switchboard and currently takes up a large closet) and get rid of the avaya bill too..phones can be bought on ebay for cheap when they break...we're only paying for Avaya to keep the dinosaur alive, and they don't want to do it. Basically the only features we need in office are the ability to put calls on hold and the boss likes his speed dialing...intercom would be nice. Any suggestions..what would you do? Links to telephone routers or voip or something would help. Thanks.

Internet Upgrade for Small Business? Well this is what I'm looking at. 15 people at the business. Main program we use is a Web based Application. Have like a hybrid VoIP system. VPN is being done every now and then, but just for work outside the office on weekends, by an employee or two. And we are experiencing slow internet problems. We currently have a T1 connection, and to get another T1, its twice the price, nearly $750 a month w/ router. And that doesn't include the Phones. So im looking at a Business class DSL. With the DSL I can get 22 up and 5 down for a fraction of the price. The only things I'm curious about is how that works with the VoIP and VPN, any problems or what not. Being as small as we are, I don't see for needing the benefits of T1 over DSL... any incite?

Do you have to pay to talk on the phone with someone in the army? My friend is talking on the computer to a man who claims he is in the US Army. They speak of love and the notion that they will be together when he returns from his tour in Afghanistan. He sent this e-mail stating that to contact him through a service called "TS2 Phoning Communication System" and it would cost 190 dollars: Good Day, Thanks for the request about the Ts2 phonning communication System. This is the phoning service through which you can communicate with your military friends and the families. Your message received via SF/ AKO/ Sergeant Steve Benny/E-5. we shall start the processing as soon as your request is confirmed Virtual family reunions are being provided for US troops serving in Iraq by Ts2 Business (ts2), a provider of integrated communications and information technology (IT) solutions and a unit of Skyport Communications (NYSE:VZ), Cisco (Nasdaq:CSCO) (NYSE:WMT), along with ts2 and the USO (United Service Organizations), which provides services to US military personnel and their families. Ts2 TelePresence is being used to enable troops to speak to family in the US, from now on.. Ts2 offers technical solutions to build systems connected via LAN, WAN, ISDN, VPN, VoIP, twisted pair, fiber or other networks—for several users. Once you provide us with this information you are no longer anonymous to us (We) protect your privacy. W e do not insist you to provide extra personal information than necessary All information collected will not be used for any illegal activity. This is what we a re going to use in registration with the Military ts2 phonning Service in other to have the access to our Ts2 phoning facility. Ts2, users can communicate and collaborate in real-time as though meeting face-to -face. We also provide Thuraya Satellite Phones for the Milit ary personnel. Kindly get back to us with your Information when the payment is sent to the section address. City : Phone Number& Service provider: Address: Basic advantages of the Thuraya satellite telephony we provides for the Military are: Possibility of communicating freely in 110 countries in Europe, North and Centra Africa, Asia, and Middle East. Satellite and GSM connectivity in one telephone . Posibility of calling Inmarsat A/B/Mini/ Iridium networks No prepaid cards needed . Free Thuraya - SG-2520 Handset - Satellite/GSM . Where he or she needs the services (We) protect your privacy. We do not insist you to provide extra personal information than necessary. All information collected will not be used for any illegal activity The information is what we are going to use to register you with our service. You are duly permitted to make a Refundable payment worth of $190 to the Underneath WU account details. THE WESTERN UNION ACCOUNT DETAIL RECEIVER'S NAME: DAVID GROVER ZIP CODE: 94930 CITY : FAIRFAX STATE : CALIFORNIA And you send us the Western Union MTCN details as given. For us to endorse your application with the immediate release of the Telcomm paper works. Ts2 CONFIGURATION DETAILS AND SOFTWARE ROUTINE CODE WILL BE DISPATCH TO YOU AFTER SERVICES PAYMENT FOR THE CONNECTION. Thanks for the consideration. Regards, Phoning section THIS MESSAGE IS FROM PHONING SECTION She is worried this is some sort of scam. If someone could help me and my friend it would be greatly appreciated.

Anyone care to proof read my cover letter for an employment application? i know it's far from perfect but any suggestions would be greatly greatly appreciated! if you want to email me back any changes my mail is nfrank89@gmail.com here's the AD im responding to http://seattle.craigslist.org/skc/sad/1106300052.html Hello! My name is Nick Franklin and I am responding to your craigslist ad for an IT Support Specialist. The thing that really caught my eye from your ad was not the title; it was the “jack-of-all trades” statement as that is what I have always considered myself to be! Reading further only added to the excitement as line by line I read about the perfect job for me! I currently work part time for a small startup IT/Customer support business in Seattle called In City Networks, LLC. I have a great relationship with my boss and my clients but the business is on the back burner right now and we are not actively acquiring new clients so there isn’t quite enough work to pay the bills. However, I love the job. In City Networks is similar to Best Buy’s Geek Squad, we provide Hardware and software support, peripheral installation/support, we even help setup home theater systems. And all of our services are provided remotely or in person. I am also familiar with documenting my work and using that as a tool to troubleshoot future problems and keep track of steps already performed so I do not waste time and money implementing steps and procedures which have already taken place. As I said before, I am a jack-of-all trades. Not only in the IT field though, have my skills ranged from automotive repair to cooking to just about anything! I am motivated to succeed at any task that is thrown my way and I do so very thoroughly with attention to detail. Whenever I come across a problem that I cannot troubleshoot on my own I put my research skills to work. I use all tools made available to me to find the answers to any question or solve any problem I may have. I also provide excellent customer service and communication, two things I learned while working as a cashier at QFC. Throughout my educational career I have served as both a great team player and leader. As a team player I do my part to make sure all that is expected of me is organized and completed on time. As a team leader I use my communication skills to keep in touch with all group members and to motivate those who may be slacking or having trouble. I’ve covered some of my knowledge and skills but I’ll focus more on that now. Problem solving is not only a skill, but a hobby of mine. I enjoy the challenge and the praise after solving problems. I like to feel that what I do is important and helpful and this motivates me to work harder. I can see that this position is one of importance and I believe that I will perform well. I am quite familiar with traditional phone systems and less, but also familiar with VoIP systems. (Nothing a little research can’t fix!) Again, my main duty with In City Networks is to provide customer service and technical support so I am already experienced with remote and in person assistance, contract negotiation, and procedure documentation. Another thing we believe in at In City Networks is teaching our clients as we go and helping them prevent future problems. Bringing this skill to your company can definitely increase productivity over time by helping employees understand how to solve and prevent common issues. And finally, I am familiar with network devices such as AP’s and firewalls. I can easily research or be trained to use any equipment that I am not familiar with. I am currently unable to finish college due to lack of funds but still wish to begin my career. Please consider my application. If the position is no longer available then I would be interested in an internship if that is something you can offer. Anything I can do to get my foot in the door because this job seems to be exactly where to begin my career. Thank you very much for your consideration, -Nick Franklin

How do you port forward on ATT Uverse 2Wire modem? I do not need a generic answer. I need an answer for someone who has ATT U-Verse with the 2Wire modem they give you. This is by no means a normal process, so please, if you have not personally dealt with this exact issue you will most likely not have the answer. All I can find are the generic blanket answers. I need experienced help PLEASE! I can not find ANYTHING online with a real answer and tech support can't figure it out either. Port forwarding should not be this difficult but whenever I use a port checker online, they all come back timeout or connection refused. Here is what I have done; - I have assigned a static IP to a computer. - I then created an application for that computer that opened the 2 ports I wanted to open, added it to the hosted apps list and selected the Allow individual applications radio button and saved the changes. - restarted computer and modem, used port checker online and it always comes back "timeout" or "connection refused" - tried opening all ports (instead of just allowing specific ports i choose), restarted everything, still not working On my firewall status it shows the computer and IP address I'm trying to host the open ports on, shows the application I created and the ports I want to open. So it displays as if it should work. ATT keeps referring me to a piad service...... to get something working that should have been from the start. It is extremely common for a business to need to open/forward ports (VoIP phones, servers, camera systems etc) yet they can't get it to work. Thanks! portforward.com is a walk-through for the modem but not on U-Verse. It does not work following those step by step instructions. 2Wire is a normal router, but with ATT it has a totally different process... I already used what was on portforward.com. The pictures don't even match up to the ATT screens that are actually there when you log into the router, and some of the instructions don't even apply. I am trying to open a different port than the standard locked ones as well. It is also a business class line.

Cheapest PBX? Hello, How does a small business set up the most affordable pbx system? Lets say we do not want to set up an actual phone system - such as the one which connects the box in the phone/wire room, and the jacks all go out through that phone box. Rather, how does one set up a phone system which would be connected through the computer, or a phone handset. I believe there are some voip/computer solutions, but i fail to understand how it works. Could someone please provide detail step by step guide as to how to set up an affortable pbx through the technology of desktop computer/voip, etc? Thanks! P.S: The functions that are expected from the pbx system, is that when someone wants to make a phone call, they can dial the main number, and then dial the appropriate extension, so that the caller would be routed to the appropriate person.

Office telephony system? Im in the Uk i need to set up a telephone system possibly runnign on Voip - i want to be able to have diffrent extensions, every sales agent has his own voicemail and direct line - wi want to be abel to have a group setting where all phones ring once a main 0800 number calls through - how much would this cost me im a small business user 10 - 20 users...

Living privately, off grid and out of the system.? I read a article about how a business man wanted to find out what it would be like to suddenly disappear from his life and start over again with a new identity and be untraceable. When he was ready he published a contest for people to find him and win a $5,000 prize. It lasted a couple of months along with a blog plotting the investigations progress. Out of the security experts, former FBI agents, and others it was actually a kid in High school who figured it out and finally got him. Depending on how well known your face is it seems like half the problem of disappearing would be easy. Just stop using credit card/ debit cards. Never accept checks so you don't have to cash it. Use voip instead of a cell phone. Alfa wireless antenna to get internet signals for a mile around along with a booster that looks like a big Pringals Can would make it 3+ miles. Move to a city that has excellent public transportation. Rent a room/apartment from a private owner instead of landlord. Or set up a RV in the woods with solar panels and river nearby (but that would require a car + insurance. Then again... if you buy a car used and keep the plates, drive carefully without being pulled over and don't do insurance.) The only issue left is how would you receive postal mail. PO boxes require ID. Receiving mail from another persons private address is cheating because they would know your identity. What if you wanted to travel the country; flying, train, and even greyhound bus would be out of the question. That leaves only driving or car pool. Would there be any other inconveniences? For making money a person could sell their services as a contracted worker. I freelanced for a couple of years when I got back from over seas and with a little in advertising it easy to get clientele going for all kinds of hobbies become profession. But if you were like the Wikileaks guy Assange then you couldn't go out much without being recognized. Perhaps a internet business for income. This is just a what if scenario. What if the government takes a turn towards fascism, or you became a political enemy, or famous and wanted to be left alone. Personally I wish I could set up a small house somewhere out in the woods - completely self sustainable with electricity, water, and heat efficiency along with a large garden and small animals. I'd still want to go into the city and internet is a requirement for my sanity. Who knows what the future will hold and it's nice to have a plan B, im sure the jews thought so living in the 1940's Germany, or a Japanese American around the same time in a USA internment camp. A child in the 1920's industrial revolution, a woman in the 1950's, marijuana user in the 1960's, or a black person... pretty much any time in the last three hundred years in the western world. What are your thoughts on the privacy thing. How would you do it.

Can you use your VOIP service remotely from outside landline? I have a small business and my field workers sometimes need to make long distance calls within the US. We have broadband connection with 2 VOIP companies, Vonage and OptimumVoice. Both of these carriers already offer us unlimited long distance within the US. For my field workers some locations they visit dont have either phones or don't have long distance service. Im asking if there is a way they can remotely connect to our office broadband VOIPs service and use the long distance service from there? Almost like a calling card system but its running off our current broadband VOIP services. Is this possible??

where can I find people that need a voip 0r video phones onlines? or Dish Network, Direct TV, Wireless Cellphones (T-mobile,Sprint, Nextel, at&t), Home Security systems, and and medical cards for savings on medical expenses. I need some customers for my network marketing business to keep my family from going bankrupt and loosing our home. is there a way I can get some online? I have my own website its http://www.5linx.net/christian our voip and video phones are only $23.99 a month for unlimited calling in the U.S. Puerto Rico, and Canada.

ACN Telecommunication? Good afternoon, last night I attended a meeting for a company that I have never heard about in my life. ACN. I spent pretty much all of today researching about this company, read the good and the bad about it. Now I'm not going to jump out and say that it is a scam, cause it is possible for one to make money out of it in the long run. And I did not look at ACN as a get rich fast type of deal. What I want to know are the following, 1- I have seen many of the reps refer to it as not a job, but a business. If it is a business that you get to choose whether it succeeds or not, then what happens to your so called business if ACN ever goes down? isn't the right term for it sales, since your in sales trying to get people to sign up? 2- They claim that the Video Phone is the new thing and will be popular sooner than you know it. I work for a company that has been offering VOIP and Video Phones for a long time now. But not that many in the client list has ever showed any interest in the Video Phone. 3- Is there a place where I can check ACN's rates locally or based on a state? I want to see if their prices are competitive enough in my neighborhood with other providers. 4- What are the other charges that will come after the $500, so far I've heard of a possible, $10 month fee $140 yearly renewal fee $22 month website fee 5- For example, how much does one get for inviting someone and have them pay the $500? is it better to go after new signups with the $500 or better to just go and look for customers that buy the service? also is it true that after signing up, you'll be encouraged to get a video phone and a cell phone yourself from the ACN? Problem is that I have not been able to find answers in the actual ACN websites. All the links were referred to the magazines that ACN was in or oh look Ronald Trump started endorsing this system. And the rest were other reps or people that work for ACN and just came back with vague answers. thanks for your time to answer the questions.

magic jack is this true? Majic Jack Dangerous Puts Spyware On Computer - The Hidden Truth Behind Majic JackPosted Jan-28-09 19:17:31 PSTreal problems with magic jack .... is majic jack hiding something? read the tos ("terms of service) for magic jack very closely. you might be surprised at what you see there. or not see there. i've pointed out issues with magic jack in earler articles on broadband nation (see archives). but this revelation should make you very concerned. in short ... to quote a favorite cartoon character .... "be afwaid, very afwaid". this is just pointing out the not-so-obvious that is hidden deep within the tos, and other 'gotcha's' that you won't realize until after you give up your $ and privacy! first: here is the contact info for magicjack: po box 6785 west palm beach, fl 33405 magic jack phone number: 281-404-1551 billing magicjack number: 561-594-2140 caution: it looks like they track the number that calls and places you into a repeating loop if you call back a second time. so if you need to call a second time make sure its from a different number. second: in the tos you agree that everything in your computer is fair game for them to know about, all web sites, email, and numbers called are there info. you agree to have all of your information resold to third parties. there is no un install for this program. even if you stop using it, it gathers your information. you are put under high pressure to sign up and pay for 5 years. there is no published phone number, email address, or mailing address. all customer support is done via type in the box chat. there is no written warranty on the box. it breaks, you buy another to maintain your service. computer must be left on to make or receive calls. pop up window comes to front of screen anytime there is a call in or out call. majicjack spyware slows down your computer even when you are not using magicjack advertising is in the pop up box. and yes, you do save around $150 a year not using a real voip company. at what little price people put on the information and security. so ask yourself, is it really worth it? wait .... there's more. majic jack is owned and run by ymax. they are not a stand alone voip provider. also ..... "the software for the magicjack does not run directly from the device. it fully installs on the windows system, which also makes the magicjack less attractive for situations where one might want to use it on someone else's computer (say when visiting family). making this even worse, there was no easy way to uninstall the software from the system, with the program not even showing up in the windows remove program window. update: magicjack confirmed that there is currently no easy way to uninstall the software. the process required to uninstall the software requires multiple windows registry edits and the removal of several folders on the windows system. based on this, i wouldn't recommend using the magicjack on the systems of friends, family or business associates." -- (see magicjack fails to cast a voip spell) nobody should accept having to leave unwanted software on a personal computer, or any tell-tale trace of the mj program on a public computer, a business workstation, or a borrowed device. the key concepts here are action and intent. if mj is not actively monitoring computer activity and collecting data about its customers, that's great. they would be taking no action that anyone could be concerned about. but consider their intent. their tos spell out their intent -- the intent to feed context sensitive advertising, which requires manipulation of information from your brain through their software into their processors. there seems to be little restriction of what info their software can see. (kind of like your home builder installing bugging devices and cameras into your bedroom, just not yet watching the feed.) then there is the ability of mj to modify their software (upgrape, anyone?) at any time, without the common user's ability to stop it, and that revision could include the spyware coding. while you, the uncommon user, have the ability to see what they are doing, the common user has no idea when the change is made. now let's consider mj's intent of not building in an uninstall capability. i am suggesting that this exposes mj's intent to have their software on your pc whether you're an active phone customer or not. what would be the intent of having that software on the pc of a former customer? (consider, also, their "convenience" feature of taking the device with you so you can use it on a friend's pc -- thus installing the software on that machine, too!) what information could that software obtain that would be of value to mj? and what could the common user do to stop it? mj could shut down their phone service tomorrow, and they have a window into 1 million pcs -- to feed advertising, log key strokes, and obtain surfing patterns. by l

is magic jack dangerous? Majic Jack Dangerous Puts Spyware On Computer - The Hidden Truth Behind Majic JackPosted problems with magic jack .... is majic jack hiding something? read the tos ("terms of service) for magic jack very closely. you might be surprised at what you see there. or not see there. i've pointed out issues with magic jack in earler articles on broadband nation (see archives). but this revelation should make you very concerned. in short ... to quote a favorite cartoon character .... "be afwaid, very afwaid". this is just pointing out the not-so-obvious that is hidden deep within the tos, and other 'gotcha's' that you won't realize until after you give up your $ and privacy! first: here is the contact info for magicjack: po box 6785 west palm beach, fl 33405 magic jack phone number: 281-404-1551 billing magicjack number: 561-594-2140 caution: it looks like they track the number that calls and places you into a repeating loop if you call back a second time. so if you need to call a second time make sure its from a different number. second: in the tos you agree that everything in your computer is fair game for them to know about, all web sites, email, and numbers called are there info. you agree to have all of your information resold to third parties. there is no un install for this program. even if you stop using it, it gathers your information. you are put under high pressure to sign up and pay for 5 years. there is no published phone number, email address, or mailing address. all customer support is done via type in the box chat. there is no written warranty on the box. it breaks, you buy another to maintain your service. computer must be left on to make or receive calls. pop up window comes to front of screen anytime there is a call in or out call. majicjack spyware slows down your computer even when you are not using magicjack advertising is in the pop up box. and yes, you do save around $150 a year not using a real voip company. at what little price people put on the information and security. so ask yourself, is it really worth it? wait .... there's more. majic jack is owned and run by ymax. they are not a stand alone voip provider. also ..... "the software for the magicjack does not run directly from the device. it fully installs on the windows system, which also makes the magicjack less attractive for situations where one might want to use it on someone else's computer (say when visiting family). making this even worse, there was no easy way to uninstall the software from the system, with the program not even showing up in the windows remove program window. update: magicjack confirmed that there is currently no easy way to uninstall the software. the process required to uninstall the software requires multiple windows registry edits and the removal of several folders on the windows system. based on this, i wouldn't recommend using the magicjack on the systems of friends, family or business associates." -- (see magicjack fails to cast a voip spell) nobody should accept having to leave unwanted software on a personal computer, or any tell-tale trace of the mj program on a public computer, a business workstation, or a borrowed device. the key concepts here are action and intent. if mj is not actively monitoring computer activity and collecting data about its customers, that's great. they would be taking no action that anyone could be concerned about. but consider their intent. their tos spell out their intent -- the intent to feed context sensitive advertising, which requires manipulation of information from your brain through their software into their processors. there seems to be little restriction of what info their software can see. (kind of like your home builder installing bugging devices and cameras into your bedroom, just not yet watching the feed.) then there is the ability of mj to modify their software (upgrape, anyone?) at any time, without the common user's ability to stop it, and that revision could include the spyware coding. while you, the uncommon user, have the ability to see what they are doing, the common user has no idea when the change is made. now let's consider mj's intent of not building in an uninstall capability. i am suggesting that this exposes mj's intent to have their software on your pc whether you're an active phone customer or not. what would be the intent of having that software on the pc of a former customer? (consider, also, their "convenience" feature of taking the device with you so you can use it on a friend's pc -- thus installing the software on that machine, too!) what information could that software obtain that would be of value to mj? and what could the common user do to stop it? mj could shut down their phone service tomorrow, and they have a window into 1 million pcs -- to feed advertising, log key strokes, and obtain surfing patterns. by laughing at the tos provisio

What kinda job can a teen get now adays? ...besides the obvious drug dealing and prostitution I'm pretty sure I'm juuuuuuuust below the legal working age, so my local bike shop is juuuuuuuuust out of the question. I'm relatively tech savvy, especially when it comes to computers. "Got a computer problem? I'm your guy!" sort of thing. A friend and I were thinking of setting up computer shop in my basement. I'm homeschooled, so I'm always doing some hardware/windows/linux fling for fun, voiding my school duties, and I say it'd be pretty awesome to make money off of that. Problem with setting up shop and working under the table is *drumroll* people suck, and will sue for anything. Not of age to have any legal matters with contracts, and not of age for insurances or licenses, ya see. So, if something happens, it would suck, bad. Good thing 'bout the whole thing is that i can undercut....anyone. 25-50 bucks can get ya a clean harddrive, a backup, and maybe a lesson or two on how to respect your computer, nyah. And maybe some customization, nya nya. BestBuy is like what? 100 bucks for a backup....? Yuh, just for jpegs and docs (have experience with that). All 'bout who ya know, nya. That kinda business, nya. Looked into bitcoin mining, but at this point it's almost a waste of time unless you have a rig. My experience.... Nothing to do with the Apple operating systems. Not coding (not much outside of the linux and windows terminals) I can clear viruses by hand xp/vista/7 Know what to use to get rid of rootkits...got 6 off my own machine (lol, uh, yeah, don't swoop your keyboard when you're typing a URL in xD) Can guide you on setting up one beastin defense network Never put a computer together, but have the general idea down Install OSs Tech support over phone/IM/p2p voip General maintenance. Deep cleaning, resolve errors, etc. Shell customization Updates (everyone can...but i'll make sure all drivers are up to date) Audio and graphical editing If I were, per say, to have a blog, or to make websites, could that be something? Thanks in advance ;D

Need Internet phone system with PBX features? I have a small buisness and over the years have a rigged up hone syetem that is surely costly and inefficient. Want to explore new options: One main line with a greeting message and ability to transfer to a maximum of five office lines. One fax. Need to transfer between lines. I have seen the VOIP lines and they look super. Does anyone have a suggestion for a flexible system that can be managed by a small business owner with moderate computer skills. Thank you!

What stops Apple from making a deal with Skype? I know apple has a deal with AT&T, BUT... my question is about the business aspect. Wouldn't selling hundreds of millions of iphones trump the money they would get if they just opened up the platform to skype? Imagine, Apple sells the iPhone and you put skype on it and go worldwide VOIP. The basics are there already. In effect, Apple would be selling a mini computer with operating system (which is exactly what it is anyway) and everyone would be able to use it as a phone. Skype would be super rich and Apple wouldn't be able to make the phones fast enough. AT&T and other telecoms who own the towers and satellites could simply change the focus of their business to data transfer. WI-MAX is coming soon! It fits together. So what is the holdup?... What am I missing?... or What is their problem?... I mean, wouldn't a deal with Skype and being open make more money than just these deals with telecoms in each country?

Should I buy a hosted VoIP Phone System for my business? I'm looking for a phone solution for by business and I've heard that hosted VoIP phone solutions can save companies money. I've also heard that they have cool features that other phones don't, but I'm not sure if it's right for my business and I don't know what these features are. I'd love to hear any info on this before making a purchase.

help i have no idea wat this means some body explain in short text 10 points best answer in plain explantion? Overview Instant messaging (IM) and chat are technologies that facilitate near real-time text based communication between two or more participants over a network. It is important to understand that what separates chat and instant messaging from technologies such as e-mail is the perceived synchronicity of the communication by the user - Chat happens in real-time before your eyes. For this reason, some people consider communication via instant messaging to be less intrusive than communication via phone. However, some systems allow the sending of messages to people not currently logged on (offline messages), thus removing much of the difference between Instant Messaging and e-mail. Instant Messaging allows instantaneous communication between a number of parties simultaneously, by transmitting information quickly. Some IM systems allow users to use webcams and Microphone which made them more popular than others. Due to this feature users can have a real-time conversation. In addition IM has additional features such as: the immediate receipt of acknowledgment or reply, group chatting, conference services (including voice and video), conversation logging and file transfer. IM allows effective and efficient communication, featuring immediate receipt of acknowledgment or reply. In certain cases Instant Messaging involves additional features, which make it even more popular, i.e. to see the other party, e.g. by using web-cams, or to talk directly for free over the Internet. It is possible to save a conversation for later reference. Instant messages are typically logged in a local message history which closes the gap to the persistent nature of e-mails and facilitates quick exchange of information like URLs or document snippets (which can be unwieldy when communicated via telephone). [edit] History In early instant messaging programs each character appeared when it was typed. The UNIX "talk" command shown in these screenshots was popular in the 1980s and early 1990s.Instant messaging actually predates the Internet, first appearing on multi-user operating systems like CTSS and Multics[1] in the mid-1960s. Initially, many of these systems, such as CTSS'.SAVED, were used as notification systems for services like printing, but quickly were used to facilitate communication with other users logged in to the same machine. As networks developed, the protocols spread with the networks. Some of these used a peer-to-peer protocol (eg talk, ntalk and ytalk), while others required peers to connect to a server (see talker and IRC). During the Bulletin board system (BBS) phenomenon that peaked during the 1980s, some systems incorporated chat features which were similar to instant messaging; Freelancin'_Roundtable was one prime example. In the last half of the 1980s and into the early 1990s, the Quantum Link online service for Commodore 64 computers offered user-to-user messages between currently connected customers which they called "On-Line Messages" (or OLM for short). Quantum Link's better known later incarnation, America Online, offers a similar product under the name "AOL Instant Messages" (AIM). While the Quantum Link service ran on a Commodore 64, using only the Commodore's PETSCII text-graphics, the screen was visually divided up into sections and OLMs would appear as a yellow bar saying "Message From:" and the name of the sender along with the message across the top of whatever the user was already doing, and presented a list of options for responding.[2] As such, it could be considered a sort of GUI, albeit much more primitive than the later Unix, Windows and Macintosh based GUI IM programs. OLMs were what Q-Link called "Plus Services" meaning they charged an extra per-minute fee on top of the monthly Q-Link access costs. Modern, Internet-wide, GUI-based messaging clients, as they are known today, began to take off in the mid 1990s with ICQ (1996) being the first, followed by AOL Instant Messenger (AOL Instant Messenger, 1997). AOL later acquired Mirabilis, the creators of ICQ. A few years later ICQ (by now owned by AOL) was awarded two patents for instant messaging by the U.S. patent office. Meanwhile, other companies developed their own applications (Excite, MSN, Ubique, and Yahoo), each with its own proprietary protocol and client; users therefore had to run multiple client applications if they wished to use more than one of these networks. In 1998 IBM released IBM Lotus Sametime, a product based on technology acquired when IBM bought Haifa-based Ubique and Lexington-based Databeam. In 2000, an open source application and open standards-based protocol called Jabber was launched. Jabber servers could act as gateways to other IM protocols, reducing the need to run multiple clients. Multi-protocol clients such as Digsby,Pidgin, Trillian, Adium and Miranda can use any of the popular IM protocols by using additional local libraries for each protocol. IBM Lotus Sametime's November 2007 release added IBM Lotus Sametime Gateway support for XMPP. Recently, many instant messaging services have begun to offer video conferencing features, Voice Over IP (VoIP) and web conferencing services. Web conferencing services integrate both video conferencing and instant messaging capabilities. Some newer instant messaging companies are offering desktop sharing, IP radio, and IPTV to the voice and video features. The term "instant messenger" is a service mark of Time Warner[3] and may not be used in software not affiliated with AOL in the United States. For this reason, the instant messaging client formerly known as Gaim or gaim announced in April 2007 that they would be renamed "Pidgin"[4]. [edit] Cooperation Standard free instant messaging applications offer functions like file transfer, contact lists, the ability to have similtaneous converstations etc. These may be all the functions that a small business needs but larger organisations will require more sophisticated applications that can work together. The solution to finding applications capable of this is to use enterprise versions of instant messaging applications. These include titles like Jabber, Lotus Sametime, Microsoft Office Communicator, etc., which are often integrated with other enterprise applications such as workflow systems. These enterprise applications, or Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), are built to certain constraints, namely storing data in a common format. There have been several attempts to create a unified standard for instant messaging: IETF's SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) and SIMPLE (SIP for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions), APEX (Application Exchange), Prim (Presence and Instant Messaging Protocol), the open XML-based XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol), more commonly known as Jabber and OMA's (Open Mobile Alliance) IMPS (Instant Messaging and Presence Service) created specifically for mobile devices. Most attempts at creating a unified standard for the major IM providers (AOL, Yahoo! and Microsoft) have failed and each continues to use its own proprietary protocol. However, while discussions at IETF were stalled, Reuters head of collaboration services, David Gurle (the founder of Microsoft's Real Time Communication and Collaboration business), signed the first inter-service provider connectivity agreement on September 2003. This agreement enabled AIM, ICQ and MSN Messenger users to talk with Reuters Messaging counterparts and vice-versa against an access fee. Following this, Microsoft, Yahoo! and AOL came to a deal where Microsoft's Live Communication Server 2005 users would also have the possibility to talk to public instant messaging users. This deal established SIP/SIMPLE as a standard for protocol interoperability and established a connectivity fee for accessing public instant messaging clouds. Separately, on October 13, 2005 Microsoft and Yahoo! announced that by (the Northern Hemisphere) summer of 2006 they would interoperate using SIP/SIMPLE which is followed on December 2005 by the AOL and Google strategic partnership deal where Google Talk users would be able to talk with AIM and ICQ users provided they have an identity at AOL. There are two ways to combine the many disparate protocols: One way is to combine the many disparate protocols inside the IM client application. The other way is to combine the many disparate protocols inside the IM server application. This approach moves the task of communicating to the other services to the server. Clients need not know or care about other IM protocols. For example, LCS 2005 Public IM Connectivity. This approach is popular in Jabber/XMPP servers however the so-called transport projects suffer the same reverse engineering difficulties as any other project involved with closed protocols or formats. Some approaches, such as that adopted by the Sonork enterprise IM software or the Jabber/XMPP network or Winpopup LAN Messenger, allow organizations to create their own private instant messaging network by enabling them to limit access to the server (often with the IM network entirely behind their firewall) and administer user permissions. Other corporate messaging systems allow registered users to also connect from outside the corporation LAN, by using a secure firewall-friendly HTTPS based protocol. Typically, a dedicated corporate IM server has several advantages such as pre-populated contact lists, integrated authentication, and better security and privacy. Some networks have made changes to prevent them from being utilized by such multi-network IM clients. For example, Trillian had to release several revisions and patches to allow its users to access the MSN, AOL, and Yahoo! networks, after changes were made to these networks. The major IM providers typically cite the need for formal agreements as well as security concerns as reasons for making these changes. [edit] Mobile Instant Messaging Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) is a presence enabled messaging service that aims to transpose the desktop messaging experience to the usage scenario of being on the move. While several of the core ideas of the desktop experience on one hand apply to a connected mobile device, others do not: Users usually only look at their phone's screen — presence status changes might occur under different circumstances as happens at the desktop, and several functional limits exist based on the fact that the vast majority of mobile communication devices are chosen by their users to fit into the palm of their hand. Some of the form factor and mobility related differences need to be taken into account in order to create a really adequate, powerful and yet convenient mobile experience: radio bandwidth, memory size, availability of media formats, keypad based input, screen output, CPU performance and battery power are core issues that desktop device users and even nomadic users with connected network. [edit] Friend-to-friend networks Instant Messaging may be done in a Friend-to-friend network, in which each node connects to the friends on the friendslist. This allows for communication with friends of friends and for the building of chatrooms for instant messages with all friends on that network. Emotions are often expressed in shorthand. For example; lol. But a movement is currently underway to be more accurate with the emotional expression. Real time reactions such as (chortle) (snort) (guffaw) or (eye-roll) are rapidly taking the place of acronyms.[citation needed] [edit] Business application Instant messaging has proven to be similar to personal computers, e-mail, and the WWW, in that its adoption for use as a business communications medium was driven primarily by individual employees using consumer software at work, rather than by formal mandate or provisioning by corporate information technology departments. Tens of millions of the consumer IM accounts in use are being used for business purposes by employees of companies and other organizations. In response to the demand for business-grade IM and the need to ensure security and legal compliance, a new type of instant messaging, called "Enterprise Instant Messaging" ("EIM") was created when Lotus Software launched IBM Lotus Sametime in 1998. Microsoft followed suit shortly thereafter with Microsoft Exchange Instant Messaging, later created a new platform called Microsoft Office Live Communications Server, and released Office Communications Server 2007 in October 2007. Both IBM Lotus and Microsoft have introduced federation between their EIM systems and some of the public IM networks so that employees may use a single interface to both their internal EIM system and their contacts on AOL, MSN, and Yahoo!. Current leading EIM platforms include IBM Lotus Sametime, Microsoft Office Communications Server, and Jabber XCP. In addition, industry-focused EIM platforms such as IMtrader from Pivot Incorporated, Reuters Messaging, and Bloomberg Messaging provide enhanced IM capabilities to financial services companies. The adoption of IM across corporate networks outside of the control of IT organizations creates risks and liabilities for companies who do not effectively manage and support IM use. Companies implement specialized IM archiving and security products and services like those from Secure Computing, Akonix, SurfControl, and ScanSafe to mitigate these risks and provide safe, secure, productive instant messaging capabilities to their employees. [edit] Practical Use in Enterprise The popular embrace of IM technology for sharing information has quickly led to organizations adopting IM solutions for the perceived advantages that can be brought by it. As organizations are becoming more information based (McNurlin & Sprague, 2006, p.499) the need for effective knowledge sharing, team working and collaborative environments amongst employees has become vital, especially within more geographically dispersed teams. Typically IM conversations tend to have a certain "character", they are often short and only cover one topic. Media-switching and multitasking are common throughout, however IM might also be used between established coworkers and friends for longer, more intermittent conversation. In their report of IM use at the workplace Nardi et al. (2000) identifies the four primary functions of IM which are often cited in other reports, These primary functions are: Quick Questions and Clarifications Coordinating and scheduling tasks Coordinating impromptu social meetings Keeping in touch with friends and family IM is perhaps best suited to "Quick Questions and Clarifications" as this is the most often mentioned attribute in other reports. A user can "respond rapidly without the overhead of telephone or FTF interaction. For example, IDC reports, "Users see IM as a medium for quick, semi-permanent ‘flashes’ that beg a near-immediate response" (Isaacs et al., 2002). Nardi's second and third observations are enabled in part due to the "Presence Awareness" feature of IM clients in which the user knows who is "available". This is the most relevant for colleagues who share the same physical space as each other and even paves the way for other mediums to take up the task of communication e.g. F2F or Phone. The implication is that viable communication of any sort can in someway be encouraged through IM's "Presence Awareness" feature. (Issacs et al, 2002) supports this view, "IM in business might not be the main tool for of communication, it could just be the meeting point for another type of media e.g. conference calls. Nardi's third and fourth observations focus on the social use of IM, which have also been widely publicized in other report. That IM is used for keeping in touch with friends and arranging social events has led some employers to believe that it is used primarily for this purpose. According to (Issacs et al, 2002) a market study found that "'Fear of losing employee productivity’ was the greatest concern of businesses in regards to instant messaging". The study by (Issacs et al, 2002) goes on to suggest this fear is unfounded as it was found that on average "only 13% of conversations contained personal topics", and "only 6.4% were exclusively personal". [edit] Review of Products "IM solutions can typically be catagorised into two types: Enterprise Instant Messaging (EIM) and Consumer Instant Mesaging (CIM). Enterprise solutions use an internal IM server, however this isn't always feasible, particularly for smaller businesses with limited budgets. The second option, using a (CIM) provides the advantage of being inexpensive to implement and has little need for investing in new hardware or server software. However, in recent years open source IM clients such as Jabber have emerged that provide free EIM grade solutions. (Wikipedia,. 2008) For corporate use encryption and conversation archiving are usually regarded as important features due to security concerns. Sometimes the use of different operating systems in organizations calls for the use of software that supports more than one platform. For example many software companies use Windows XP in administration departments but have software developers who use Linux. Most people have had experience of using online chat and messaging over the internet whether it is with Microsoft's Windows Live Messenger, Skype or e-mail. One form of chat and messaging currently popular is Bebo. It is a non-corporate form of messaging which allows its user to create and maintain a social network. Libraries use chat applications and Morris Messenger is an application commonly used by them. This is a power based instant messenger, which uses Perl, SQL, and small Java. It accepts input from both staff and regular customers and saves important information in an SQL database built for the system. [edit] Risks and liabilities Although instant messaging delivers many benefits, it also carries with it certain risks and liabilities, particularly when used in workplaces. Among these risks and liabilities are: Security risks (e.g. IM used to infect computers with spyware, viruses, trojans, worms) Compliance risks Inappropriate use Intellectual property leakage Crackers (malicious "hacker" or black hat hacker) have consistently used IM networks as vectors for delivering phishing attempts, "poison URL's", and virus-laden file attachments from 2004 to the present, with over 1100 discrete attacks listed by the IM Security Center[5] in 2004-2007. Hackers use two methods of delivering malicious code through IM: delivery of virus, trojan, or spyware within an infected file, and the use of "socially engineered" text with a web address that entices the recipient to click on a URL that connects him or her to a website that then downloads malicious code. Viruses, worms, and trojans typically propagate by sending themselves rapidly through the infected user's buddy list. An effective attack using a poison URL may reach tens of thousands of people in minutes when each person's buddy list receives messages appearing to be from a trusted friend. The recipients click on the web address, and the entire cycle starts again. Infections may range from nuisance to criminal, and are becoming more sophisticated each year. In addition to the malicious code threat, the use of instant messaging at work also creates a risk of non-compliance to laws and regulations governing the use of electronic communications in businesses. In the United States alone there are over 10,000 laws and regulations related to electronic messaging and records retention.[6] The more well-known of these include the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, HIPAA, and SEC 17a-3. Clarification from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA") was issued to member firms in the financial services industry in December, 2007, noting that "electronic communications", "email", and "electronic correspondence" may be used interchangeably and can include such forms of electronic messaging as instant messaging and text messaging.[7] Changes to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, effective December 1, 2006, created a new category for electronic records which may be requested during discovery (law) in legal proceedings. Most countries around the world also regulate the use of electronic messaging and electronic records retention in similar fashion to the United States. The most common regulations related to IM at work involve the need to produce archived business communications to satisfy government or judicial requests under law. Many instant messaging communications fall into the category of business communications that must be archived and retrievable. Organizations of all types must protect themselves from the liability of their employees' inappropriate use of IM. The informal, immediate, and ostensibly anonymous nature of instant messaging makes it a candidate for abuse in the workplace. The topic of inappropriate IM use became front page news in October 2006 when Congressman Mark Foley resigned his seat after admitting sending offensive instant messages of a sexual nature to underage former House pages from his Congressional office PC. The Mark Foley Scandal led to media coverage and mainstream newspaper articles warning of the risks of inappropriate IM use in workplaces. In most countries, corporations have a legal responsibility to ensure harassment-free work environment for employees. The use of corporate-owned computers, networks, and software to harass an individual or spread inappropriate jokes or language creates a liability for not only the offender but also the employer. A survey by IM archiving and security provider Akonix Systems, Inc. in March 2007 showed that 31% of respondents had been harassed over IM at work.[8] Companies now include instant messaging as an integral component of their policies on appropriate use of the World Wide Web, e-mail, and other corporate assets. Within the company there is also the risk of employees using instant messaging to release confidential information and project details to an outside source. This issue is best controlled by a combination of written policy and technology. An organization's policies on use of IM in the workplace should be an integral part of the overall computing and network use policies, and should be published and communicated at least annually. In addition to written policy, organizations should implement "gateways" or IM security products to monitor content of inbound and outbound messages. Products from IM security providers (See section on IM security) typically allow administrators to set alerts and enforce policy (i.e. allow or block messages) based on keywords and regular expressions within instant messages. Employees may also misuse IM to communicate on a personal level with friends and family. This is poor use of a business’s time and resources, as the employee’s effectiveness will most certainly decrease due to the added distractions. (Licari, J., May 2005). Businesses often use IM security products to monitor and archive IM conversations for the purpose of minimizing this type of productivity drain. [edit] Security and archiving In the early 2000s, a new class of IT security provider emerged to provide remedies for the risks and liabilities faced by corporations who chose to use IM for business communications. The IM security providers created new products to be installed in corporate networks for the purpose of archiving, content-scanning, and security-scanning IM traffic moving in and out of the corporation. Similar to the e-mail filtering vendors, the IM security providers focus on the risks and liabilities described above. With rapid adoption of IM in the workplace, demand for IM security products began to grow in the mid-2000s. By 2007, the preferred platform for the purchase of security software had become the "appliance", according to IDC, who estimate that by 2008, 80% of network security products will be delivered via an appliance.[9] [edit] User base Note that many of the numbers listed in this section are not directly comparable, and some are speculative. Some instant messaging systems are distributed among many different instances and thus difficult to measure in total (e.g. Jabber). While some numbers are given by the owners of a complete instant messaging system, others are provided by commercial vendors of a part of a distributed system. Some companies may be motivated to inflate their numbers in order to increase advertisement earnings or to attract partners, clients, or customers. Importantly, some numbers are reported as the number of "active" users (without a shared standard of that activity), others indicate total user accounts, while others indicate only the users logged in during an instance of peak usage. Service User count Date/source AIM 53 million active September 2006 >100 million total January 2006 Jabber 40-50 million total January 2007, based on calculations of Jabber Inc 90 million total Based on calculations of Process-One: Process-One uses ejabberd as Jabber server software. If it is assumed that ejabberd has a 40% market share amongst public and private open source server deployments, there are 50 million users using open source servers. With Jabber Inc's numbers, this adds up to the 90 million number stated here. eBuddy 35 million total October 2006, including 4 million mobile users Windows Live Messenger 294 million active worldwide November 2007 Yahoo! Messenger 22 million total September 2006 QQ 20 million peak online (majority in China) 3 June 2006 221 million "active" (majority in China) 3 June 2006 IBM Lotus Sametime 17 million total (private, in enterprises) November 2007 ICQ 15 million active July 2006 Skype 12 million peak online February 2008 309 million total April 2008 Xfire 10 million total May 2008 MXit 7 million total (>560,000 outside of South Africa) 10 August 2007. Note that these users are part of the Jabber user base as MXit federates with the Jabber network. Gadu-Gadu 5.6 million total June 2006 Paltalk 3.3 million unique visitors per month August 2006 IMVU 1 million total June 2007 Mail.ru Agent 1 million active (daily) September 2006 Meebo 1 million total October 2006 PSYC 1 million active (daily) (majority in Brazil) February 2007. Total count cannot be accurately estimated due to the decentralized nature of the protocol. VZOchat >200,000 October 2007 [edit] IM Language Users sometimes make use of internet slang or text speak to abbreviate common words or expressions in order to quicken conversations or to reduce keystrokes. [edit] See also Comparison of instant messaging clients Comparison of instant messaging protocols Instant messaging manager LAN messenger Text messaging it is a question

What percentage of companies have converted their phone systems to VoIP? I know that VoIP has only been "mainstream" for business users for the past 3-4 years. I'm curious as to what percentage of businesses are using a VoIP PBX & handsets today.

Purchasing PBX System and need a comprehensive list of services that can be provided.? I cant find a detailed list of services that a pbx system can provide. So Im going to start a list here and if you can provide me a yes or no I would be appreciative. I also need websites that give a DETAILED and LONG LIST of EVERY PBX service I could provide. I have scoured the internet, but I don't also know the most popular voip and pbx sites. I would again appreciate any help but that list of services is crucial. Thanks. Yes or no? 1. A paging system : page using a person ext using a pbx provided # 2. SMS Gateway : text from a website 3. Extent ion services: One number 25 extent ions for a small business 4. IVR : Do I need additional software? List of IVR services too 5. Wake up services: Wake up calls for small hotels 6. Agent call recording: I assume that's based on free hard drive space 7. Click to call services: Click a link, enter your number, your phone rings, you pick up and hear a call ringing 8. Calling Card Services: We provide a card with a number and pin and charge accordingly. That's all I can think of due to my limited knowledge. Yes or No would be great. If they are all services I could provide just reply YES ALL. Thanks... People I need that list, its crucial info I will need to determine if I will purchase and at what level I will purchase. See the guy below "Jana" wasnt clear. Im aware of trixbox but you didnt tell me if all of the numbered services I wanted to do is covered in a pbx system nor did you send me to websites that can tell me more. Im aware of Trixbox, and about 50 others. Jana didnt listen.