Fortunately though, there is Crossloop. I just guided him to download the software on his PC and everything turned out to be as wonderful as all my Crossloop sessions.

I was able to guide him how to create, edit and even taught him how to use the numerous blogger tools available to him. He was so delighted that he told me that we could repeat the Crossloop session again whenever he needs any help online.

He wishes that Crossloop could be used in his profession wherein he no longer have to go to his clients and would just sit in front of his PC and just serve client’s needs and provide him the legal assistance they need. I jokingly told him that it would have been much better if he no longer needs to go to court and that lawyers, judges and even court folks could just use Crossloop for their sessions.

Crossloop through its ever superb software helps everyone solicit help from anyone online in real time virtually. Crossloop launched its Crossloop Marketplace where everyone who is looking for online help and would like to provide help could meet up and help each other. You could learn more from Crossloop from their “How It Works page” from their site at http://www.crossloop.com/ipage.htm?id=howitworks

Now online collaboration would never be the same as before. It would be much easier and even providing help/assistance could go a long long way since helpers could eventually become online help providers wherein they could market their expertise online while those needing help could solicit, pay and take advantage of the numerous opportunities that numerous Crossloopers around the world could provide.

To give you a brief glimpse on how Crossloop works, posted below are some of the excerpts from their site;

“CrossLoop’s underlying technology was created to simplify the process of securely working with others located in different physical locations across diverse network environments. CrossLoop enables you to see the screen and control the mouse and keyboard on a remote computer. It is as if you are working side by side at the same PC. CrossLoop is a powerful productivity tool that enables you to quickly collaborate with anyone in the world.

CrossLoop is powered by the proprietary CrossLoop VIP Tunnel, a secure peer-to-peer data transmission system. CrossLoop encrypts all files and messages exchanged on our network to ensure user privacy. Only you and your invited friends or family can view or share control of your computer. A CrossLoop session can only begin on your computer by explicitly inviting someone to begin a session. All data sent over the CrossLoop network is encrypted at the endpoints using a 128-bit Blowfish encryption. For more detailed information on CrossLoop security, visit our security page.

We have gone to great lengths to ensure that CrossLoop is secure and have designed the application from the ground up with security in mind. If you have any questions regarding CrossLoop security please contact us at info@CrossLoop.com.
The Windows version of CrossLoop uses the TightVNC software plug-in for screen sharing. We have included a binary distribution of the TightVNC program in the installation software of the Windows version of CrossLoop to save you the trouble of separately downloading and installing TightVNC. If you have any questions about your rights related to TightVNC (which is licensed under GPL), please see our detailed description of how we use VNC.”

I hope that Crossloop Marketplace would be an online hub wherein Everyone Could Help Each Other. If you need my help, you could find me on this link http://www.crossloop.com/Trexper.

The long wait is over for those consumers who love Apple iPhone’s technology. Apple finally took the wraps off its 3G iPhone. Thinner edges, full plastic back, flush headphone jack, and the iPhone 2.0 firmware. Apple’s taking a lot of the criticisms to heart ever since they launch the earlier iPhone. 3G is at the forefront, but they’re also making sure it’s available all over internationally, works with enterprises, runs Third party applications and does it all cheaper. Apple claims its 3G speeds beats the competition, with pageloads 36% faster than the N95 and beats the old EDGE data speed.

Battery life is at 300 hours of standby, 8-10 hours of 2G talk, 5 hours of 3G talk, 7 hours of video and 24 hours of audio. GPS is also a go. Apple is using A-GPS, which supplements regular satellite GPS data with info from cellular towers for faster location. WiFi data is also worked into the mix, which should give consumers a great deal of flexibility where ever they are. Downside however, as expected there’s no front-facing cam, and while its edges are thinner than before it’s still about a millimeter thicker at the center (12.3mm over 11.6mm before). Apple hopes to launch in 70 countries this year, with the black 8GB going for $199 and 16GB for $299 in black or white. I do believe that with these prices, Apple would require a contract. Apple will be hitting the 22 biggest market.

There is a news that customers who purchased a 2.5G iPhone on or after May 27 and want to swap it out for a new iPhone will be able to do so without incurring an additional handset charge for the new device. They will of course need to turn in their 2.5G iPhone. However, there are other telecom providers who said that they could not agree with the trade-in possibility without agreeing to a contract. Whew!

Among the lucky 22 countries where the iPhone 3G would be available by the 11th of July are;

Australia, Austria, Belgium (French), Belgium (Dutch), Canada (English), Canada (French), Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland (French), Switzerland (German), UK, USA.

On top of that, iPhone are slated to be available by this year to these other countries;

Argentina, Botswana, Brazil, Cameroon, C. African Republic, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, India, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macau, Madagascar, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Niger, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Singapore, Qatar, Slovakia, South Africa, Turkey, Uruguay.

Here are the Technical Specifications of the iPhone 3G;

Size and weight

Height:

4.5 inches (115.5 mm)

Width:

2.4 inches (62.1 mm)

Depth:

0.48 inch (12.3 mm)

Weight:

4.7 ounces (133 grams)

Display

• 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display
• 480-by-320-pixel resolution at 163 ppi
• Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously

Audio

• Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
• Audio formats supported: AAC, Protected AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 1, 2, and 3), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
• User-configurable maximum volume limit

Color

• 8GB model: Black
• 16GB model: Black or white

Capacity²

• 8GB or 16GB flash drive

Cellular and wireless

• UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)
• GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
• Wi-Fi (802.11b/g)
• Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR

GPS

• Assisted GPS

Video

• Video formats supported: H.264 video, up to 1.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Low-Complexity version of the H.264 Baseline Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; H.264 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Baseline Profile up to Level 3.0 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats.

Camera and photos

• 2.0 megapixels
• Photo geotagging
• iPhone and third-party application integration

External buttons and controls

Connectors and input/output

• 30-pin dock connector
• 3.5-mm stereo headphone minijack
• Built-in speaker
• Microphone
• SIM card tray

Sensors

• Accelerometer
• Proximity sensor
• Ambient light sensor

Power and battery

• Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery³
• Charging via USB to computer system or power adapter

• Talk time:⁴

  Up to 5 hours on 3G

  Up to 10 hours on 2G

• Standby time: Up to 300 hours⁵

• Internet use:

  Up to 5 hours on 3G⁶

  Up to 6 hours on Wi-Fi⁷

• Video playback: Up to 7 hours⁸
• Audio playback: Up to 24 hours

Mac system requirements

• Mac computer with USB 2.0 port
• Mac OS X v10.4.10 or later
• iTunes 7.7 or later

Windows system requirements

• PC with USB 2.0 port
• Windows Vista; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later
• iTunes 7.7 or later

Environmental requirements

• Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C)
• Nonoperating temperature: -4° to 113° F (-20° to 45° C)
• Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
• Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 m)

In the box

• iPhone 3G
• Stereo Headset with mic
• Dock Connector to USB Cable
• USB Power Adapter
• Documentation
• Cleaning/polishing cloth
• SIM eject tool

In as much as I would like to provide with much informations about this iPhone 3G, I can’t. I would probably wait for it to be delivered on my doorstep to be able to come up with a comprehensive review and I intend to do it and compare it with the other 3G phones that I have taken hold of so far.

It is also reported that this iPhone could run Windows XP on it using Citrix ’s thin client desktop software XenDesktop. By using the Citrix ICA client — a UNIX application that allows devices to access Windows sessions on a Citrix server — Windows XP could run on iPhone through Wi-Fi. This I have to really see and would be posting here my review on this development. Hope that this phone really sets its mark in the field of 3G to beat the rest and to help consumers with their mobile and telecommuting needs.

Apple iPhone 3G’s Official Website is here.

With Trillian, there are Trillian possibilities to which one could chat, IM, do file transfers unlike any other messenger out there with limited capabilities. I hope that Cerulean Studios would continue updating Trillian and make it as one of the world’s favorite chat client.

For more informations about Trillian, you could visit their website at http://www.ceruleanstudios.com and try their free version or you may opt to try their paid version.

Dimdim is marching on. After starting on private beta, it is now open on public beta and just recently released the Open Source Community Edition Version 3.5, codenamed “Eagle”. The “Eagle” release includes the following new and improved features:

* Unlimited meeting attendees
* Unlimited simultaneous meetings
* 2-way video chat and webcam sharing
* Multi-attendee VoIP and microphone sharing
* Easy software appliance download which runs on multiple OSs with no install required
* New User Guide and other API documentation

For businesses, especially those with multiple locations and those doing outsourcing, checking out Dimdim is a no-brainer. With its “no install needed”, complete real-time unified communication environment, Businesses can allow their clients or employees to share their desktops, show documents and slides, as well as talk, listen, chat, and broadcast via webcam. I can see businesses using it to do remote training classes, code or procedure walkthroughs etc.

Dimdim provides a free, hosted web conferencing service and a downloadable open source version. In addition, it also offers more powerful, paid versions that can support hundreds and even thousands of attendees per meeting.

For convenience, if you want to know where to buy or if you are looking for an Asterisk Appliance store or you are wondering below are available open Asterisk appliance on sale on eBay.

We’ve been covering Asterisk here as we’ve been a big fan of this open source project. It’s a great product and has the potential to lower the telecommunication cost for your business. If you are paying too much on your telecommunication needs, definitely check out VOIP and Asterisk. Do not allow yourself to be enslave by the Big Telcos.

For the tech-savvy, you can download the Asterisk software and install it on your own. But for those that are not, the Asterisk Appliance offers an all-in-one package where both the hardware and software required are included. The Asterisk Appliance is also from Digium, the creator of the open source Asterisk software.
Features:
- Complete Asterisk Server with AsteriskGUI
- Embedded Asterisk Business Edition with commercial license
- Built-in Router Ideal for Small Offices
- Up to Eight Analog Ports
- Support for a Combination of FXO and FXS Modules
- 1GB Compact Flash® Card
- Hardware-based Echo Cancellation
- 8 MB Onboard Flash
- 64 MB Onboard RAM
- 5 Ethernet Ports (4 LAN, 1 WAN)

Benefits:
- All-in-one package of Digium Hardware, Digium Asterisk Software, system documentation, and subscription services
- Increased reliability over PC-based systems; no moving parts
- Lower power requirements = reduced total cost of ownership
- Hosted service providers can have a feature rich CPE-based solution with very short ROI
- Enables the deployment of fully featured cost effective telephony solutions with simple deployment features such as auto-provisioning of Polycom IP Phones
- Subscription adds peace of mind by providing support of any incidents, ongoing warranty, and access to the right people

For the non-tech savvy, an Asterisk Appliance is the way to go.

The book starts with an introductory chapter on telephony and Asterisk. In the appendix, it also includes a jargon buster section that will help you become familiar with common telecommunication jargons. It is an easy to read and well-written guide for complete beginners who are interested in setting up their own telephony system. You don’t need any special knowledge about telephony as concepts are pretty much well explained. You will learn everything that you need to set up your own AsteriskNow telephony system. From installing AsteriskNow, configuring an IP softphone, to writing your own applications for Asterisk with the Asterisk Gateway Interface. This is a must have book for those looking on ways to cut their telephony bills. VOIP technology has matured so much that enterprises, especially small businesses shouldn’t rely on the big Telcos for their communication needs. VOIP is the way to go forward.

To learn more about the book, please check its table of content and additional info on this link, AsteriskNow Book TOC. Just for completeness, and if for some reason the link becomes broken. Below is the Table of Content:

Preface
Chapter 1: An Introduction to Telephony and Asterisk
Chapter 2: Building a PBX
Chapter 3: Extensions, Phones, and Others
Chapter 4: Service Providers—Your Connection to the World
Chapter 5: Tentacles of the PBX—The Calling Rules Tables
Chapter 6: “Let me in!”—Inbound Call Routing
Chapter 7: “For Annoyance, Press 1″—Voice Menus and IVR
Chapter 8: Voicemail, Conferencing, and Parking—Advanced PBX Services
Chapter 9: “Please hold, we’ll be with you shortly”—Simple Call Queues
Chapter 10: General AsteriskNOW Management—Monitoring, Backups, and More
Chapter 11: Hard Core AsteriskNOW
Chapter 12: Where to from Here?
Appendix A: Jargon Buster
Appendix B: Free World Dialup (FWD)
Appendix C: AsteriskNOW for Service Providers
Index

This book is a must-read for people trying to understand VOIP, telephony in general and AsteriskNow in particular. As you can see from the table of contents above, you do not need to be knowledgeable on telephony to appreciate it. This book covers the basic and the important. It also offers you jumping off points to explore further if you need to. If you are seriously exploring how you can take advantage of AsteriskNow for your enterprise, I’d suggest you get a hold of this one. The book is published by Packt Publishing and comes in ebook and book format. Go ahead and get this AsteriskNow book. For more info, check it here.

Miro is an open media source that enables one to download video files or any kind of file thru bit torrent easily. You could use it to download and play these files all in a single application. Miro has also thousands of channels that you could choose from to be able to watch internet TV. These channels made me relaxed, entertained and amused on my way to full recovery. Moreover, Miro provides more free HD High Definition video contents than any video player that you could find out there.

Most of us also would like to view and save you tube videos on our computers. With Miro, we could easily do that and it automatically detects all videos contained in our computers. One could also save in its library favorite videos for easy access and viewing.

Most important of all is that Miro is free and Open Source. Miro and its team of developers are only asking for its satisfied users to get involve with them in four different ways;

1. Translate the Miro Software and Website

2. Join Team Miro: Open Video Love

3. Become A Miro Member

4. Help on Testing and Development

Link: www.getmiro.com

As for me, I would check out how I could best help Miro on their quest to provide Open Media to the World. This is one application that I could highly recommend to anyone whether you are using any type of Operating Systems. Miro is free and open source because OPEN MEDIA MATTERS. I really wish that they would always be here to stay.

How does eBay work?
In a nutshell, eBay works by giving a platform for a seller to list his/her products. The seller then chooses if he/she wants to accept bids only (auction-type) or to offer a “Buy It Now” (direct sale) option at a fixed price. In an auction, the bidding opens at a price the seller specifies and remains on eBay for a certain number of days. Buyers then place bids on the item. When the listing ends, the buyer with the highest bid wins. In a “Buy It Now” listing, the first buyer willing to pay the seller’s price gets the item.

As stated in the above, eBay is more than an auction site. Although it started as such, a common misconception especially among businesses is that eBay is purely an auction site mainly used for trading used goods. Hence, you won’t see that many businesses taking advantage of the eBay platform. A lot are on the sidelines, losing out to their more online savvy competitors. The fact is, according to estimate, 60% of all transactions are on “Buy It Now” items and a lot of them are also brand-new.

How can your business take advantage of eBay?
With eBay’s continued growth and its huge membership base. Smart businesses can take advantage of this sheer size, by listing their products, which would in a way indirectly promote them to eBay members. If you have a new product, offer it on eBay; include a link to your website and give additional information about it. This way, through the listed product, you can drive people to your website, make them aware of your other products and your business as a whole. In this way, eBay has become another advertising channel for your business.

Another way is to think of eBay as an online sales channel for your business. For those who don’t have a dedicated e-commerce website yet, you can test the waters by starting an eBay Store. For those who has an e-commerce site, you can offer products from time to time at eBay and think of it as an additional sales channel. eBay is the best place to sell excess inventory or end of lines.

This has been a short introductory, and to sum it up, eBay offers your business an opportunity to open up a new route to market quickly and cost effectively, increase brand awareness and grow market share.

For further INFORMATION or to Signup, visit them at Ebay for Businesses.

There is much anticipation in the business world regarding IBM’s social networking software, BEEHIVE. Much like FaceBook, users can post pictures, video and one-sentence updates about themselves. Employees can describe their expertise, talk about themselves and learn about their colleagues from the other side of the world. Certainly a great tool that empowers employees to socialize with each other, especially amongst co-workers scattered across the different offices of today’s enterprises.

The IBM brand has given this software the type of exposure that any small start-ups will envy. Some questions that pops up in my mind: How will IBM integrate BEEHIVE with its other software for the enterprise like Lotus Notes? Can it be seemlessly integrated with the existing software and hardware infrastructure? In IBM, where it is currently being used, the 27,000 IBMers that is currently using the software will tell you how much they like it as they get to know more the personal side of their colleagues. Surely, knowing more about the personal side of others makes for better interaction between people. In addition, it has the potential to liven up the usual dry atmosphere of an enterprise. That geeky Chinese dude in the corner cube, who never talks to anyone, might be a “kung fu” afficionado. You never know, he might give you a hand about martial arts if you ask him. Or, that quiet secretary of the sales manager might also be a fan of 80’s boy band, New Kids on the Block, just like you.

In many ways, would a software like BEEHIVE, really help an enterprise grow and improve the bottom line. Supporters, would say that it can increase interaction between colleagues therefore ideas to improve the business through this interactions can help the company in the long term. It can also promote camaraderie amongst employees, in the end, also promoting company loyalty. By having a FUN factor, the office’s usual dull and boring environment is enlivened a little bit.

For detractors, the software can become a distraction. Instead of focusing on the work at hand, employees might spend too much time going over each other’s web page. It is hard enough to contain employee’s wanton use of the internet inside the office. Why add another productivity waster? You can only ask teenagers how FaceBook or MySpace can be addictive and how much time they spend on it. Would employees reaction be no different? It remains to be seen.

Note: Beehive is still officially under development and is currently available to IBM employees only. A lot of people, including myself, believe that it would eventually be offered to IBM’s customers in the near future. Let’s wait and see how it goes as it becomes available. What would be the reaction from FaceBook, MySpace or even LinkedIn? Is there a competing offer lurking at the corner? What would be the reaction of the customers? Do they see any value for social networking in the enterprise?

Again, just like in the movies, the reaction to Social Networking in the Office is COMING SOON.