Conference Calling - Audio Conference Calling - Web Conference Calling

Conference Calls Reduce Energy Consumption and Help Businesses Save Money

2008-07-24T02:58:00.000-07:00

With the condition of today's economy and the current energy crisis, most businesses are looking for cost effective and environmentally sound ways to conduct operations.

One way businesses have been able to significantly cut costs and help save the environment is through teleconferencing.

With teleconferencing, conference calls take place between colleagues, partners, customers and others regardless of where each contact is located in the world.

This not only saves wasted time and money on traveling to central a location for the company, but it also helps reduce the amount of CO2 emitted into the air, in a bid to stop global warming.

As gas prices continue to rise today, consumers as well as businesses are feeling the strain. Using a conference call to conduct communications cuts on the need to travel and amount of gas needed, again saving time, money and the environment.

Teleconferencing can be used for other collaborations as well, including training, presentations, meetings, and a host of other uses that provide new and innovative ways for today's competitive business environments and organizations around the world to get the most of their meetings.

Eagle Teleconferencing, a part of EagleNet companies, provides facility-based teleconferencing services and specializes in conferencing, IVR and voicemail services with a capacity of over ten (10) billion minutes annually. The company has operations in the U.S., Italy, the U.K., France, Germany, and India.

source:http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/conference-call/articles/34909-conference-calls-reduce-energy-consumption-help-businesses-save.htm

Be in touch with a minimum rate-Toll free conference calling

2008-07-22T01:06:00.000-07:00

Toll free conference calling program let people be connected with various groups and individuals simultaneously. This calling program comes with a host of advantages. In this article, a basic discussion on such a program has been penned in.

A few years back, it was quite tough for businessmen and other people to contact various people of different places at a time. But now, the introduction of conference calling facility has paved their ways. Conference calling helps people to be connected with other people simultaneously. If you are interested in availing such facility without exceeding your budget, opting for toll-free conference calling could be the best option for you.

The uniqueness of toll free conference callings is that it is absolutely free for the participants. In such cases, partakers need to dial a toll-free number that they can get from conference calling providers. Furthermore, toll free conference calling can be done instantly and for that no reservation is required.

In addition, users can enjoy some more benefits while using toll free conference calling services. Such benefits are like,

• No additional charges
• International conference calling facility
• 24 hours access facility without any reservation
• call recording facility
• No monthly fee is charged for toll free conference calling.
• Fiber optic lines and so on.

In this context, it is necessary to mention that such facilities vary from one service provider to others.

The availability of a

http://www.conferencecallings.net/

program isn’t a big deal. Various service providers offer this conference calling program. Don’t think that you need to visit such companies in case you want to opt for such conference callings facilities. You can avail this facility over the internet too! Many conference callings service providers , nowadays, offer toll free conference calling program online that is web conference calling. So, one can easily go for that option. But it is advisable to individuals that a bit comparison of various deals will enable them to get the best toll free conference calling program.

So, if you want to connect a host of people through a cost effective way, toll-free conference calling program could be your first choice.

source:http://www.1888articles.com/be-in-touch-with-a-minimum-rate-toll-free-conference-calling-0d81840cof.html

Conference Call Services - Money Saving Tips

2008-07-21T02:45:00.001-07:00

Conference call services have become one of the most advanced ways to make business conference with the help of internet. Nowadays there are several businesses which seek the help of conference call providers to set up conference call services to their current infrastructure. Conference call services can vary from simple audio conferencing to video conference calling and web conference calling. Let us see how one can avail conference call services in the most economic way possible.

Generally, the cost of conference call services is quite affordable, mainly when compared with the expenses of a business travel and hotel accommodations. Setting up conference call services is the most effective way to arrange a trans-continental business meeting.

In a web conference call services people can take questions and give answers, which can be recorded and later used for further interaction. With web conference calling, all the meetings which were conducted in the conference hall can now be conduced in individual offices. This helps to save both time as well as money.

Nowadays there are several companies offering cheap conference call services. This helps the users to buy minutes in bulk. Majority of these conference call service providers offer large volume discounts. This helps the customer to purchase more monthly minutes and save large amount of money by getting the services at a cheaper or discounted per minute rate.

Another cost saving factor with conference calling services is that the customers need not have to purchase any additional equipment other than a conventional telephone system. Using conference calling, a customer can arrange conferences for two to 200 people.

Selecting the ideal type of conference call according to your needs can save money. If you need to transfer illustrations and other data then web conference calling is the best choice.

These days there are several companies offering online conference call services. The rates and the schemes offered by one conference call provider vary from the other. Therefore, it is advisable to compare various conference call providers a before selecting any conference call provider for your service. This helps you to select the best deal available in the market. Selecting a good web conference call service provider will help you to get conference business conference calling service at affordable rates.

source:http://www.ezinearticles.com/?Conference-Call-Services---Money-Saving-Tips&id=493313

Commentary: AMD's Ruiz finally finds his calling

2008-07-19T03:21:00.000-07:00

It's going to be a really long goodbye for Hector J. de Ruiz.

When industry executives hand over the reins of power to a successor, they might stay on briefly as chairman of the board of directors before relinquishing even that position to enjoy their retirement. Ruiz, until Thursday (July 18) chairman, president and CEO of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. , is taking a different approach.

In a sign that the battle for domination in the microprocessor world has become deeply personal for Ruiz, the long-term industry executive is staying on as executive chairman at AMD with one major goal in mind: dismantling what he described as Intel Corp.'s "illegal monopoly" of the MPU market.

Even the most pro-Intel observer of the microprocessor market must agree that AMD under Ruiz 's leadership has already cracked Intel's armor.

Several regulatory authorities globally from Japan to Korea, the European Union and the United States are either investigating or bringing actions against Intel for allegedly violating anti-trust laws through its marketing practices and contracts with PC manufacturers.

In the latest action, the European Commission this week informed Intel it had expanded its ongoing investigation of the Santa Clara, Calif., company's marketing practices based on new evidence purportedly showing the chip maker induced an OEM to sell only Intel-based PCs. Other actions have been instituted or concluded in Japan and South Korea.

source:http://www.eetimes.com/news/semi/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=209101192

How to Make a Conference Call in the United States

2008-07-18T03:36:00.000-07:00

Holding conference calls has become pretty routine in our world today. Still, there are people out there who do not know how to make a conference call. Here are some basic tips.

If your need is simply to connect one or two other parties with yourself, you may consider utilizing the conference feature provided with your local phone service. Typically, the charges are rather high, but if you have a one-time need, this quick and easy solution will usually fill the bill. For instructions on how to make a conference call using your local phone service, contact your local service provider.

Some office phone systems also have a limited capability to create a conference call. The typical PBX will allow a combination of in office and outside connections, usually number no more than a six to eight lines. Instructions in how to make a conference call using your office system can usually be found in the instruction booklets supplied by the manufacturer. If they are not, a call to the manufacturer will usually end with an offer to send you instructions on how to make a conference call via an email or a fax.

Long distance providers are also a source of conference services. Your long distance carrier most likely would be happy to tell you how to make a conference call utilizing their services. One word of warning on this option: unless you have a volume agreement in place for telecommunications services, the pricing may be high. You would most help yourself to check around for something less costly.

If circumstances dictate that you go through a conference vendor, you will find quite a few choices these days. Most conference call providers will be happy to help you select the type of conference service you want and issue you specific instructions on how to make a conference call using their service platform. Among the selections they will assist you with are determining what type of conference call you need, help in setting up your account, booking the conference call and then step by step instructions in how to make a conference call.

Once you have determined whether you will conduct the conference through your local phone company, an office phone system or with the aid of a conference call vendor, you can then contact everyone who needs to attend the conference. Included in your notification should be specific instructions, if any, concerning how the party is expected to be connected to the conference call. Do not skip over basic instructions. Many parties do not know how to make a conference call, or at least may be unfamiliar with the style of call you have chosen. Make sure your instructions on how to make a conference call are easy to understand, and always provide some sort of means for each party to get assistance should they become confused.

Just as it is imperative to provide your attendees with specifics on how to connect with the conference, make sure you have a clear understanding of how to make a conference call using the type of service you have selected. Go over the process you will need to follow in connecting with the conference and make sure you understand exactly what to do. This is especially true with dial-in formats that utilize passcodes. If you fail to enter the passcode assigned to the host, the conference will not begin. If you have any doubts about what you are to do, call your provider and go over the process of how to make a conference call with the service you have established.

It is also important that as you learn how to make a conference call with your vendor of choice that you be aware of any service options at your disposal during the actual conference. As an example, many services allow the host to mute all attendees, which is great if you want to deliver a lecture as part of the meeting. If there is a service option available that you think may be helpful, but you are not sure how to utilize it, ask for suggestions from your vendor. Part of their job is to make sure you understand how to make a conference call using any of the service options they make available to their customers.

One last critical feature to investigate when learning how to make a conference call with your vendor of choice is how the call will end. Some vendors set the conference to automatically end when the host hangs up. Others will allow the conference to continue until the last line in the call releases. Make sure you know how your service is set to work.

Knowing how to make a conference call has gone from being a special perk of corporate executives in large companies to being a basic skill that persons in all walks of life should become familiar with. If you do not currently use conference call services, check around with friends and acquaintances. Chances are you know several people who know how to make a conference call; they can put you on the path to mastering this very useful business practice.

source:http://www.articlesbase.com/communication-articles/how-to-make-a-conference-call-in-the-united-states-37569.html

Conference Call Services - Meeting Your Communication Needs

2008-07-17T01:50:00.000-07:00

With the onset of globalisation, the need for reaching out to every country is a necessity. No business can run successfully without effective communication. For communicating effectively, a business unit needs conference call services. It is the service through which, the business head can control every operations of the business spread all over the globe.

Whether you need to communicate something to your workforce or give a presentation to a multi-million dollar client in some other place, conference call services can deliver you the ease at which you make your presentation. There are scores of business entities, which deliver conference call services around the world. However, to find the one which suits you the best is an uphill task.

For finding the best-suited conference call services, online search is a good option. The online search lets a user take up a conference call service by comparing various deals. Different conference call services have different deals. It could vary by the number of participants, duration of the conference, toll-free dialling facility, and conference recording etc.

Take you pick of conference call services only after knowing in and out of such services. Before you take your pick, get detailed information on what kind of services a particular deal will be having. Some conference call services providers also have the facility of recording your conference so that you are able to take reference of the conference whenever you need.

Power of conference call services provided these days have grown manifold. With such dependence on effective communication for running a business, the usage of conference call services is going to increase more in future. Some conference call services also have the facility of sending emails to the participants of the conference call before hand. This facility lets the conference to be held as per schedule.

However, If you availing any conference call services UK, it is important that a user ask the participants whether they would be able to attend the conference. In addition, password related to the conference callings and other passwords, schedule and topic to be discussed during the conference should be told to the expected participants beforehand.

Get your choice of conference call services today online. The online method of securing this service allows you to find deals that suit you best. Apart from that, you are also enabled to avail a number of discounts and rebates on such deals.

source:http://www.ezinearticles.com/?Conference-Call-Services---Meeting-Your-Communication-Needs&id=610741

Cheap Conference Calls, Are They Any Good?

2008-07-14T03:43:00.000-07:00

Conference calls have been an alternative way of gathering people together in a business seminars or meetings. It can save everyone the hassle of traveling from one place to another just to attend a business gathering. Not only that, it can also relatively lower down company expenses because all you really need is a telephone system and you are good to go. Technology has really gone a long way and has helped the business sector in making cost-effective solutions that fits their needs.

You may think that setting up a call conference may be costly. Actually it need not be. There are a number of conference call service providers in the market that are offering affordable call conferencing packages which are available for everyone.

How come some cheap conference call providers can reduce their rates that low?

Firstly, offering cheap rates is their marketing strategy to get more people to commission their service. Second, cheap conference calls are often service providers themselves and have their very own network that they use during conference calls. This way, there are actually no or at least very minimal overhead cost. Without these additional costs, they can easily lower down their rates.

How do cheap conference calls work?
Providers usually would give their costumer a unique toll free number. The participants of the conference call will then dial-in the given number. The host would simply call the toll number and can easily conduct the conference right there and then.

Advantages of cheap conference calls

Reservation-less conferencing
Cheap conference call does not need reservations for a person to join the conference. A client can call a conference anytime he needs one without making prior reservations.

Call management system
Cheap conference calls also provide their own call management system. Just be sure to check with your provider other services and additional features that come with the package you paid for. Call management system would ensure that you have a smooth-flowing conference at all times.

Operator assisted
Cheap conference calls also provide live operators upon request but you would usually be required to pay additional cost for this. Since cheap conference calls are committed to provide the most cost-effective solution possible for their costumers they usually use automated system instead of live operators to cut down the cost of the service you have to pay for.

Easy setup
You might think that you need extra tools to set up conferencing, but this is actually not the case. There are no additional equipments that you need to have to make a conference call. All you need to have is a simple telephone system that you would use during the conference.

Get in touch with hundreds of people
The primary use of a conference call is to get two or more people together. But with a cheap call conference, it gets even better. You can converse and connect to one person or to one hundred people all at the same time.

Who would benefit from cheap call conferences?
Call conferencing is not exclusive for business use. It could also be used for medical consultations and for small organization's staff meetings.

Start-up companies would greatly benefit from cheap call conferencing. They would give your company the professionalism it needs without you shelling out a big fortune. Cheap call conferencing would perfectly fit your budget.

Small organizations and charity institutions can also use cheap conference calls. This way, they can get in touch with their staff wherever they are in the world. You do not need to pay for high cellphone bills anymore or to travel far just to talk to your staff. Cheap conference makes it easier for you.

Cheap conference calls, are they any good? In conclusion, they are! They offer cost-effective solutions to suits your needs without paying for high fees. They are very economical compared to traveling to different places just to meet with certain people whether it is for your business or for your organization.

Apart from being affordable, cheap conference calls are not short when in comes to technical advantage. They can offer the same service most high-priced providers offer. What you really have to do is to evaluate your provider's services and ask them about what they can offer you. It would be a good idea to compare providers and choose what you think is best suited for your cause.

Communication is very vital in a thriving company. With cheap conference calls, you can create seamless communication with your people and still save up a little of your budget.

source:http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/cheap-conference-calls-are-they-any-good-100801.html

Know More About Free Web Conference Calling

2008-04-03T03:51:00.000-07:00

The advancement of the Internet has brought a drastic change in the communication world. Free web conference calling facility is another boon of the revolution. No matter whether you want to make conference calling for the sake of your business or for personal purposes, free web conference calling will let you contact anyone across the globe.

Briefly, it can be said that web conference calling is the means of arranging a group meeting or presentation over the internet. With such a facility, individuals from various locations can involve in a meeting or discussion at the same time. These days, various companies, families and educational institutions are opting for this mode of communication.

A free web conference calling facility is depended on a few types of software. Yes, installing such software is necessary for making a free web conference call. With the software, users can get various facilities including PowerPoint, slide presentation, spreadsheet and file share, text message, voice conference, polls, survey etc.

Now let’s highlight how it works. Usually, VoIP or voice over Internet protocol system operates web conference calling. Such a telecom system enables computer cables to convey sound in data packets forms. Since, these forms follow other routes; hence, they minimize long distance fees.

How can you avail free web conference calling facility? Very easy it is. First opt for the subscription of a VOIP service. Many service providers offer their service over the internet. So, by clicking the mouse, one can get information about that. Do a bit comparison; it will enable you to choose the best conference calling service. Once you will avail the service, you will get web conference calling software that you need to install in order to access VOIP service.

So, opt for free web conference calling service and enjoy conference calling at a minimal rate.

resourcr:www.articledashboard.com

Conference Call Services - Video Teleconferencing

2008-03-12T21:35:00.000-07:00

Conference calling works like a telephone call, which allows the calling-party to have more than one called-party to listen or to communicate. Conference calling can be customized as per requirements: the called-party can be allowed to speak or just make to listen to the audio portion of the calling-party. Conference calling has been a great asset to the business world, and it is also known as Audio Teleconferencing among the corporate professionals. Though conference calling has been used for quite a long-time, but some latest additions to its technology and infrastructure have rendered a new image to it, and have boosted its use in many other sectors apart from the business.

A conference call service certainly has advantages over conventional systems and methods for any business. The competition among the conference call service providers is increasing, and more and more features are emerging to assist the business. Some companies offer global dial-out, record and playback, security pass-codes, conference lock, group mute/un-mute, and roll call, etc., as specialized features of conference call services. It is clear that you can manage your budget better through these services, though the outcomes of these conferences are as effective as it had been with the conventional systems.

Well, with the advancement in technology and also the competition in the market, there are many services offered by companies. However if your conference includes some old managers, corporate professionals, and people who are not too used to the system of audio conference calls, it may not be a smooth process as you would have imagined! So, make sure that all participants for the conference are aware about the system that you are going to use.

Video teleconferencing, as clear from the name itself, is a technology that allows two or more locations or parties to interact through two-way video and audio transmissions, simultaneously. Video teleconferencing is one of the most advanced forms of conference calls, and has a tremendous effect on almost all aspects of business. Video teleconferencing is a relatively new technique and requires a lot of infrastructural setup, software, and network. However, with the advent of Internet, it has been made quite easy and economic, as more efficient video compression technologies were developed that permit desktop-based video teleconferencing

Resource: www.articledashboard.com

Audio Conference Calling: Makes For Better Efficiency And Lower Costs

2008-03-03T21:04:00.000-08:00

Great many businesses are taking advantage of greater efficiency and lower costs through the use of audio conference calling. With technology making it possible to share different media methods it is also possible to have a computer’s web browser have software that allows it to interact through audio conference and, make it possible for people to share files, comments on presentations as well as send drawings, movies, documents, graphics etc. and thus improve productivity.

Anywhere In The World, At Any Time

Audio conference calling services can be used anywhere in the world and at any time and, are most popular for everyday, weekly as well as formal meetings and other uses. There are different plans available that provide value for money and suit individual budgets. Audio conference calling is easy to use and with discounted pricing, provides a solution for every conferencing needs. Using audio conference calling services, one can save on costly equipment, travel expenses, as well as get reliable service with crystal clear audio.

With a host of audio conference calling sources, one can conduct business with colleagues that are thousands of miles away. Latest audio conference calling technology allows for more reliable service and with features such as noise cancellation, it gives the user a better quality conferencing experience. When searching for an audio conference calling service provider, one should look for features such as echo cancellation as well as other advanced audio equipment to be sure of getting the best solution for the business conferencing needs.

The audio conference calling process requires the very best in audio conference calling packages that may differ according to the number of participants. Audio conferencing is a means of connecting whereby more than two people can be participating on the same phone call and, choosing the correct method of placing the conference call requires choosing a plan that accommodates the required number of participants.

There are some companies that provide on-demand audio conferencing in which the user gets pre-established calling accounts for each user and, is able to create or participate in conferences without needing to give advance notice. Some of the salient features of a good audio conferencing system should include dial out to new participants, lock conference to future participants as well as attendance/roll call to hear who is on the call, one-touch operator assistance as well as many more individual features that assist in making the calling experience more user-friendly.

Resource: www.refresharticles.com

Business Solutions – Affordable Conference Calling

2008-02-11T01:03:00.001-08:00

In a day and age where expenses are going up everyday it is the responsibility of the individual to try and save money wherever they can. In business this means finding solutions that are not only cost-effective, but also make sure that the reputation of the business is not compromised. That is why affordable conference calling is the way forward for conducting meetings professionally and on time with various clients who need the same information.

Solutions For The Small Business

Small businesses will be looking out for affordable conference calling as they will need to minimise their expenses as much as possible. By having clients or employees spread far and wide travel expenses can needlessly take a lot out of the budget. With technological advances there is no reason for meetings not to be conducted professionally and in a timely manner.

Hotels and Conference Centres can provide affordable conference calling facilities should you not be able to afford the outlay of this type of equipment. These places will offer great comfort and privacy for all of your needs on the day as well as friendly staff to assist to take the added stress out of other problems, such as catering, that you do not need to worry about.

Some conference calling companies have also introduced the ‘Pay as you Go’ system which is perfect for the smaller business. In this way you can conduct your meetings when you need to and are not locked into any contracts that may be unnecessary for your needs. These more affordable conference calling rates are available on request or should be easy to locate on most companies websites.

Solutions For The Big Businesses

Big businesses will normally have more people they need to communicate with at the same time, depending on the project at hand. This can be expensive for them and the time taken to relay the same information to several different groups of people is costly and unnecessary. The much more affordable conference calling facilities that are now on offer mean that in most cases you will not have to leave the office. Information can be conveyed quickly and effectively with the simple use of the telephone or Internet.

Affordable conference calling means that large volumes of information can be quickly and easily shared with large groups of people and take the hassle of travelling from client to client out of the equation.

Source : http://www.refresharticles.com/

MS/Yahoo deal: conference call, Yahoo responds

2008-02-11T01:02:00.000-08:00

Microsoft has been discussing the possibility of buying out Yahoo for a year and a half, the company has confirmed during a conference call discussing its proposed $44.6 billion deal. Confirming longstanding rumors, company PSD president Kevin Johnson says that Microsoft has been in an "off and on" discussion with Yahoo for 18 months. The search engine giant simply said roughly a year ago that it was not a good time to discuss an acquisition, Microsoft claims. The latter says it continues to believe a deal would be important to boosting the importance of search and expanding social platforms. Search is not just about "ten blue links" anymore, Johnson explains. Notably, Microsoft has recently invested in Facebook as part of these efforts.

However, the call also made apparent Microsoft's predominant concern in the deal, which is to undermine Google's perceived control of the web ad market. Johnson stressed that advertising was "key" to commercializing web services and warned that the industry was "dominated by one player," deliberately withholding Google's name from the discussion. Acquiring Yahoo is said to provide both it and Microsoft an opportunity to scale upwards at the rate necessary for the business, particularly in server software and other areas which Microsoft has historically been successful.

Microsoft also believes there to be incidental benefits for Yahoo outside of search and advertising, such as advanced research and development for Yahoo's mobile platform as well as its video services.

Despite the Microsoft claims, Yahoo has responded with caution to the deal, according to a brief company statement. The Bay Area company appears to contradict Microsoft's assertion of long-running talks and describes the deal as "unsolicited." Yahoo has not rejected the deal out of hand but says it will determine its answer "carefully and promptly" to ensure that a takeover by Microsoft is in its best interests.

Source : http://www.electronista.com/

multi channel video conferencing over internet

2008-02-04T03:42:00.000-08:00

A leading IP based managed video services provider, and The Whitlock Group, a systems integration firm, announced that they will be providing managed multi point conferencing services and
Glowpoint’s IP subs services to one of the largest, real estate development firms, with nearly 30,000 acres of land currently under development in Florida, South Carolina, and St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“The Glowpoint services add a new dimension to the solutions we provide to our customers,” said Kévin Thompson, President of The Whitlock Group. “We are looking to increase our services revenue, making the video equipment a smaller component of the solution. Most of our sales offices migrated to Glowpoint earlier this year which was the catalyst that helped educate our sales force regarding the added value Glowpoint brings to the overall video solution.”

Initially, the real estate company piloted the combined offering, which included Glowpoint’s managed video services at five locations. The successful pilot led to a formalized deal to expand to approximately 20 office locations. In addition to utilizing Glowpoint’s quality IP video services, the customer will use Glowpoint to host a multipoint conference unit as well as providing fully managed call launching services.

“The Whitlock Group represents a new breed of integration partners who understand the value of services and the residual revenue model it represents,” said Michael Brandofino, Glowpoint’s president and CEO. “In 2006, we have been focusing on trying to improve the productivity of our channel. Deals like this show we have been making some good progress. In fact, since May, approximately 40 percent of our closed deals have come through the channel, compared to less than 10 percent prior to May.”

Glowpoint offers a full range of managed video services including, IP connectivity, multi-point video conferencing services, video hosting services and endpoint management to customers around the globe by leveraging the Glowpoint network and bridges that are deployed in the U.S. and Europe. Glowpoint offers a variety of multi-point conferencing services - from fully-managed to unassisted “bridging on demand” - using Glowpoint’s own internally developed web-based scheduling tool called “Quickbridge”.

About Glowpoint

Glowpoint, Inc. (OTC: GLOW.PK) is a world-leading broadcast-quality, IP-based video managed services provider. Glowpoint offers videoconferencing, bridging, technology hosting, and IP broadcasting services to enterprises, SOHOs, broadcasters, and consumers worldwide. The Glowpoint network carries an average of more than 60,000 video calls per month worldwide. Glowpoint is headquartered in Hillside, New Jersey. To learn more about Glowpoint, visit www.glowpoint.com.

About The Whitlock Group

The Whitlock Group is a systems integration firm focused on the design, procurement, engineering, installation, and service of audiovisual, videoconferencing, video-streaming, digital signage, video-production, and broadcast solutions. As a systems integration firm, The Whitlock Group delivers complete solutions that seamlessly integrate the audio, video, display and system controls to create unique and compelling multimedia solutions.

Source : http://www.newsaboutav.com/

How To Select An Ideal Web Conferencing Service

2008-01-23T04:09:00.000-08:00

Web conferencing is here to stay. There are so many options and choices. The internet has many websites devoted to video conferencing. And companies in the conferencing business have a variety of options for customers. Web conferencing facilitates conducting live meetings over the internet.

Choosing a web conferencing service is not easy. What you need to do is first read about web conferencing and determine your individual need. Then weigh the pros and cons of different offers. Experts recommend that you undertake a comparison shopping exercise. Compare the packages on offer from leaders in the field like WebEx, PlaceWare, Microsoft Office Live Meeting, and more.

Learn about the standards set for web conferencing by XCON: Centralized Conferencing Working Group. And choose a web conference provider with care.

Tips:

• Experts recommend avoiding the “price/use” formula. Choose a flat rate for a specified number of users. The ideal choice is one that allows you to meet as often as you need over the internet without paying for time used.

• Make an informed choice and insist on VoIP. Only this allows real-time meetings with presentations and so on. Telephone based web conferences are cumbersome.

• Choose a service that has IM, file sharing, and secure storage. Think future requirements not just the present. Choose a web conferencing provider who keeps abreast with the latest innovations in technology.

• Determine the actual global reach of the web conferencing vendor. Check facts for yourself and never depend on hearsay or brochures. Does the vendor have localized operations in far away countries like India, Japan, China, and Korea and so on or is he just US based.

• Choose a web conferencing vendor who is established in the business and has great user-friendly documentations. A web conferencing vendor must have 24/7 world wide customer service as well as trouble shooting facilities.

Never sign a contract before a trial. Ask for a free trial and determine how user friendly and efficient the service is. Be sure to check the features offered: VoIP, file sharing, instant messaging, dedicated technical and customer support, online FAQs, blogs, and forum for sharing problems and finding out solutions. Experts and the Macromedia whitepaper recommend that a web conferencing solution should: fit your budget, be compatible with your office computer and internet systems, and the conferencing tools must be user friendly. An ideal web conferencing company will not just push their product but make honest efforts to determine your needs before suggesting solutions. The bottom line should be not just a sale but a long term commitment to sustained service.

Make a market survey, take recommendations and quotes from at least three providers. Check for yourself the references they give. Make a list of questions and seek answers to them. Do in depth background checks on the web conferencing online services before you sign any contracts. Before you sign or make payments ensure that the web conferencing service is truly suitable to your company’s needs.

Source : http://www.free-articles-zone.com/

Save Money With Web Conference Calling

2008-01-23T04:07:00.000-08:00

We live in a consumer based economy, and big businesses are on the rise. With all of the expansions in the business world, there is money to be made. But it takes money to make money. In order to have unimaginable success in your company, you need to bring in more money than you are spending. Fortunately, other companies are over flowing with new and innovative ways to save you money within your company.

One of the largest costs a company will incur is communication and travel expense. These are unavoidable during company expansion and even during routine business for most companies. But fortunately, these types of charges can be bypassed or minimalized by using a web conference calling service.

Web conference calling makes meetings more convenient and a lot less expensive. It offers an opportunity to talk to clients in a different state or country, and show them your slideshows and other business material while having a virtual meeting online. Web conference calling is a quick and easy way to bridge communication gaps between your sister companies or even long distance clients. Let’s not forget there is no better way to convey your confidence in yourself and your business than face to face. It is the long distance hand-shake of the future. For a small company to impress a larger client, what better way than with cutting edge technology that shows you are not only serious about your business, but on the leading edge of technology.

Where To Find It

Web conference calling can be set up completely online, at your convenience. Places like SBC, ATT, and Verizon offer conference calling to companies at competitive rates. . These types of services are offered for as low as a quarter a minute! It requires no travel, virtually no prep time, and can usually be set up in minutes and is ready to go in about an hour. Web conference calling is a useful alternative to flying all over the country to meet clients in airport conference rooms, or even a clever way to have meetings between colleagues while staying in the comfort of your own home. Ultimately, Web conference calling can save your company thousands of dollars by allowing you to virtually meet, and show slideshows, calendars, and other important information without ever having to leave your computer. This is an unparalleled commodity to any company.

Source : http://www.refresharticles.com/

What Makes a Good Audio Conference Call?

2008-01-15T02:30:00.000-08:00

When making conference calls, it's important to make sure first of all that everyone is seeing eye to eye on the technology that's going to be used.

Sometimes, more traditional investors and older corporate managers may have a problem with appreciating new technology, so when using high-tech conferencing software, you may find yourself using the audio conference call features most frequently.

Remember back when teleconferencing was still new and corporate entities were still adjusting to it? You may come across that sort of psychological resistance when trying out new Web conferencing software. At any rate, your job is to make sure your audio conference call proceeds without a hitch!

A good audio conference relies foremost on the integrity of your connection. Are you and the other members of the conference all using fast connections to hook up to the Internet? Fortunately, a lot of audio conferencing software can adjust to the speed of the linkup of each individual user, so that even if the connection is relatively slow, he or she can still avoid missing out on key parts of the exchange.

The integrity of the software itself is also important. Do you have reliable, flexible software that doesn't crash or conflict with certain business-central programs? Does your software operate across a variety of platforms, and are there any restrictions on usage? In certain cases, enterprise-level conferencing software is paid for via subscription, which means you can't use your software anymore once the license you have purchased has expired. You have to renew the license, or seek another provider.

Audio conferencing isn't exactly outdated, given today's advancements in messaging technology; it still has its distinct advantages. For one thing, it's lightweight, so that a large number of people can connect to the central server via their software, without putting a strain on either the server or their computers. For another, software made purely for audio conferencing is inexpensive!

In some cases, it can actually be free! Modern chat messengers such as AIM, MSN and Yahoo allow free VoIP calls via headsets, and all you and the other person need to have is the same version of the free downloadable software. This works especially well for small groups, or one-on-one discussions. However, there are some security concerns. Free audio chat clients are generally insecure and if any important information is to be transferred online, they might get lost or hijacked along the way. For high-profile conferencing needs, purchasing professionally made enterprise-level Web-based audio conference call software is still the best option.

Source : http://www.webpronews.com/

A Professional Conference Call sold to N.Y. company

2008-01-15T02:26:00.000-08:00

Conference calling services firm AT Conference Inc. has bought privately held A Professional Conference Call of Duluth, Ga., for an undisclosed amount.

"The acquisition of A Professional Conference Call represents AT Conference's commitment to diversifying and expanding our service offering," said David Jannetti, founder and CEO of Southampton, N.Y.-based AT Conference. "A Professional Conference Call customers will inherit access to an expanded customer support group capable of handling larger operator-assisted conference calls. In return, AT Conference customers gain access to WebTalk, a web-based portal that enables customers to directly control their own conferences using a dashboard interface."

AT Conference said the deal will help it maintain its position as one of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. It expects its revenue to jump 250 percent in 2008 compared with 2006.

Source : http://www.bizjournals.com/

Secured Web Conferencing - The Cost Effective Way

2008-01-11T01:48:00.000-08:00

In due course, web conferencing has proved its worth over traditional audio or video conferencing. In those situations, where the basic meeting format is that of back and forth information flows, web conferencing is just second to face to face meeting.

However, security has always been a major concern with web conferencing. Mere SSL or AES encryption protocol cannot guarantee you complete access security though they are well known as industry standards. Corporate houses cannot ignore this viable communication media and at the same time cannot entirely depend on it for this very reason.

There are so many other problems in traditional web conferencing. The attendees who needed to deal with 3D CAD design, flash graphic design, and other similar collaborations of image based applications, had to fight hard to make the meeting effective up to the minimum level.

Another big problem with traditional web conferencing had been that the attendees had to download and install meeting client software. That is not all. The attendees needed to download Java, flash installations and others to support the client software. The whole process was tedious, time consuming and expensive (in some cases you need to pay monthly usage charges for your meeting client software).

Even after ignoring all these problems, you can not be sure that your meeting is held in a 100% secured atmosphere.

What next?

Here comes "on premise web conferencing appliances", a secured and easy to use conferencing tool for corporate communication. Just install the appliance and you are ready to start the conference - round the clock.

With these appliances you do not need to pay any monthly fee or you do not need constant IT support. To add to this there is no way that a firewall, proxy server or anti virus can block it. And thus you get a hustle free and smooth conference.

This appliance is supported by all the platforms like Mac, UNIX, Linux or Windows. To add to this, you can attend the conference using your iPhone too - thus you can stay connected even while you are on the move.

The best thing about "on premise web conferencing appliances" is that you can use your firewall to protect access security of web conferencing attendees. Alongside, with some of these appliances, you get the facility to Remotely Access your computer.

To sum up, "on premise web conferencing appliance for web meeting" provides you a simple, easy to use, cost effective and secured conferencing tool for internal and external meetings.

Source : http://ezinearticles.com/?

Conference calls: Cutting the cord

2008-01-05T02:58:00.000-08:00

While most of us here on planet small business have been sweating fancy productivity tools such as remote e-mail and the broadband Internet, old-school conference calling has quietly undergone a revolution. New online conferencing tools are cheaper and more powerful than ever. And they can add real value to your business.

Conference calling was strictly a high-end option until the mid-1990s, when digital telephony made the mandatory human operator obsolete. Today the Internet has spawned a veritable tidal wave of new multi-user communications tools. Audio-, Web-, and video-conferencing has grown to a $3.5-billion-a-year global industry. So-called reservationless conferencing accounts for roughly 95 percent of that market, according to research by Vapps (vapps.com), a Hoboken, N.J., provider of IP-based conferencing solutions.

Traditional carriers offer reliable automated conferencing, but they face rising competition from cheaper Web-based services such as WebEx (webex.com) - which will soon be acquired by Cisco Systems (Charts, Fortune 500) - and GoToMeeting (gotomeeting.com).

Skype, the IP-based free and low-cost phone service, is offering a new Skype for Business product that builds conferencing into a full suite of communications tools. Voice-over-Internet Protocol companies such as Vonage (Charts) (vonage.com) offer multiline conferencing as part of their service. One company, Accutalk (accutalk.net), even kicks in American Airlines reward miles with its conferencing packages. (But wasn't the idea of conference calling to skip the trip in the first place?)

Do these free or low-cost conference-calling products really work? Some discount services, such as WebEx and GoTo Meeting, are easy to set up and use - assuming call participants are at least a little bit Web savvy. Others, such as Skype, demand a fairly high degree of technological literacy.

The best bet for the weekly conference call in advance of my radio show, Strange New World (snwradio.com), turned out to be Skype for Business. Once you get it set up, the calling is easy, and integration of Internet and traditional phones is smooth. That's not to say that getting there was easy. While setting up Skype, we shared a number of exchanges such as "No, the pink wire goes in the other small hole." And more than once we had to make toll calls on real phones to get our "free" Skype conference call to work.

"This is turning into a major pain in my #%$," said "Ninja" Bob Fitzgerald, "head engineer guy" (his real title) at Hothead Studios, the New York City facility that produces the program. We also had occasional sound-quality issues. But in the end, Skype works. And there's no beating the price: Calls among Skype users are free, and calls outside the Skype network cost fractions of a cent per minute.

Mogistic (mogistic.com), a six-person custom-software developer based in Allentown, Pa., uses WebEx, which has emerged as a leading supplier of online teleconference, videoconference and meeting services. Mogistic's main product, Teamtivity, is a collaborative project-management tool that companies can use to organize and track their assets on the Web. After surveying the online conferencing landscape, Mogistic chose WebEx because it integrated well with Teamtivity, which the company uses to manage its own operations.

Each session, which includes voice and graphics, costs $1 a minute with no per-person charges. Mogistic spent about $2,000 last year for roughly 2,000 minutes spread over about 30 conference calls. Managing director Lawrence Wolfe says that he saves about $7,000 in travel costs for each client he can serve by teleconference. "We have 30 clients," says Wolfe. "That's roughly $200,000 per year in savings" - about 20 percent of Mogistic's total sales. Concludes Wolfe: "We simply could not be in business without the service."

So how to find the right option for your business? Comparison-shop and bargain. "Bundle up all your usage, find out exactly what it is you use, and then you have the ammunition to go shopping," says Ira Weinstein of Wainhouse Research, a Boston-based teleconferencing advisory firm. "Then you can save yourself a ton of money."

Source : http://www.openforum.com/

Verizon To Open Nework to Outside Devices

2007-12-18T22:40:00.000-08:00

ADAPTING TO A SHIFTING MOBILE landscape, Verizon Wireless said Tuesday that it will allow customers to connect to its network with any device or application that meets minimal technical standards starting next year.

The move comes only weeks after Google announced an alliance with a group of wireless carriers and handset manufacturers, including Sprint and T-Mobile, to create a new mobile platform that will be open to third-party developers.

During a conference call, Verizon Wireless CEO and President Lowell McAdam said the decision to open up its network was driven by a rapidly expanding universe of options for mobile consumers. "We're constantly monitoring market forces, and have seen the accelerated pace of innovation and expanding degree of customer demand for multiple business models," McAdam says.

McAdam and other Verizon executives emphasized that its "Any Apps, Any Device" initiative would not change its existing "walled garden" business model. "We believe most customers still want the full-service model that exists today," McAdam says. "This will complement, not replace, our successful full-service model."

But he acknowledged that subscribers increasingly want more choices as cell phones turn into mini-multimedia players. "What this separate and distinct model does is really tap into those customers looking for complete control of their device," McAdam says.

Through its V Cast data service, Verizon already offers subscribers a variety of content from music to video clips to mobile TV at an additional charge. But the major carriers' own media offerings compete with a growing selection of "off deck" applications provided by outside companies and developers.

The largest U.S. wireless carrier plans to unveil open access nationwide by the end of 2008. Early next year, it will publish technical standards that allow outside developers to create mobile products that will run on Verizon's CDMA-based network. Any device meeting the criteria will be approved for use, and will allow consumers to run any application they choose.

Customers will be able to activate devices either online or by calling an 800 number set up by Verizon. Otherwise, responsibility for troubleshooting problems with devices or applications will rest with device makers themselves.

Verizon intends to host a conference early next year to explain standards and receive input from the development community on how best to meet consumer needs. In seeking to attract developers to create new devices and applications for its network, Verizon will be competing with Google's planned Android platform.

Google has already begun offering cash prizes to developers who come up with applications that are included its own mobile platform. The first Android-powered phone is scheduled to come out in the latter half of 2008 from T-Mobile.

During the conference call, John Stratton, chief marketing officer for Verizon Communications, said the company's move toward open access has no bearing on whether it will join Google's Open Handset Alliance of more than 30 carriers and device makers. But he added that any devices or applications created for the Android platform would not necessarily be precluded from using them on Verizon's network.

Some mobile analysts speculated yesterday that Verizon's initiative was prompted--at least in part--by the open access rules built into the upcoming auction of 700MHz wireless spectrum. The rules are intended to increase consumer choice on devices and applications used on the new spectrum. Google and various activist groups pushed for adoption of open access rules by the Federal Communications Commission.

But McAdam denies that regulatory pressure had any influence over its decision to open up its network. "What goes on Capitol Hill or what's being discussed about potential 700MHz rules really doesn't play into this," he says. "It's really focused on meeting customers' needs."

Analysts said the move could position Verizon well to expand its offerings while maintaining its traditional closed network. "Verizon Wireless' upside is that it will sell services to users that it wouldn't have had access to in its more traditional development and distribution model," said William Ho, a wireless analyst for technology research firm Current Analysis.

But they say questions still remain about how Verizon will monetize its open access business model and what impact it will have on quality of network service. "More devices mean more network usage, which means degradation of quality," wrote Om Malik, founder of the popular GigaOm technology blog. "Will Verizon keep investing ginormous amounts of money to keep the moniker, "America's most reliable network"?

Source:http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=71669

Conference Call Tips: A Common Sense Guide

2007-12-17T21:45:00.001-08:00

No matter how often you speak on conference calls, a simple reminder or look at do's and don'ts can assist you with your next conference call. These conference call tips have been proven to eliminate annoyances and help you to convey the professionalism you desire. We will take a look at some conference call mistakes and how to avoid them. 1.Never use a cell phone to join a conference call. The only exception being if you are inside a car and everyone on the call knows you will be joining from the road. 2.Make sure the phone you are using has no static or other interference. There's nothing more distracting than someone's phone emitting strange noises, detracting from the year end review. 3.If you are a work from home employee, plan on immobilizing yourself for the duration of the call. Don't wash the dishes while the boss is detailing the fiscal year finances. It can really dry up your career potential if they hear that water splashing. 4.Know your devices. If you're using a speakerphone, know what buttons to push to mute the speaker. In fact, use the mute button to eliminate the chance of your coffee spilling onto your laptop and the explicative flying from your mouth. If you're using a headset, become accustomed to it before doing your first conference call. Know how the mute button works and test it out. It's better to be prepared then telling everyone how miserable you are on the call, when you thought only your coworker would hear. 5.Know the times and agenda for each meeting before calling in to the call. This conference call tips will help you to stay focused throughout the call and not talk about something unrelated, when you believed you were involved on a different call. 6.Take notes, but try to do it on paper, not with the clacking of the laptop keys resounding in the speakerphone. If you must use your laptop, mute the microphone until you need to be heard. After all, you can't take notes while you're speaking. 7.If there are a lot of people on the conference call, introduce yourself when you speak. It can be done without much formality, but its better they know who is sharing the golden idea, before someone else slips in to take credit. There are many conference call tips that can assist you in dealing with behaviors and appearances. It is important to remember to use common sense. The best conference call tips come from knowing yourself and your own limitations. By being professional, courteous, and insightful on the conference call, the rest will just fall into place.

Source:http://mesotheliomakiller.com/articles-directory/writing/article-writing/conference-call-tips-a-common-sense-guide.html

Conference Call Tips: A Common Sense Guide

2007-12-17T21:45:00.000-08:00

Advantages and Disadvantages of Conference Calling

2007-12-17T01:15:00.000-08:00

As businesses evaluate the type of conference calling that is right for them they will need to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each. In this article we will evaluate and compare the three major types of conference calls including audio, web, and video conferencing.

The biggest advantage, for many companies, in choosing audio or web conferencing over video conferencing is the cost. Audio conferencing tends to be the cheapest. Virtually the only costs involved when choosing audio conferencing is the cost of a telephone and then the charge of a long distance call. Many companies already have phones with a built-in speakerphone and if not they can be purchased for as little as $100.

However there are disadvantages in choosing audio conferencing as well. The first distinct disadvantage is that businesses lose personal relations when all they hear is a colleague's voice. Jokes and remarks can be taken the wrong way or be offending when those involved can not see a caller's smile of facial expression. Another disadvantage to audio conferencing is that the quality of the call declines as additional locations are added. When several parties are involved the chance of two of them talking at the same time are great and neither of them will have their thoughts heard.

Web conferencing offers its rewards and shortcomings as well. While web conferencing can be free, it is usually in the companies best interest to choose to pay a little more to avoid annoying ads and pop ups. Web conferencing is especially useful for business calls that involve viewing digital files because these files can be sent in an instant via email to all parties involved. Documents can be viewed, analyzed and returned so they can be discussed all at once rather than waiting and communicating through mail or several phone calls. Web conferencing also allows more than one person to talk or type at once without going unheard.

Like any type of conference calling though, web conferencing also has its disadvantages. One of these down sides is that, again, it is difficult to gauge a person's seriousness or humor in a comment. There is no personality in a typed sentence. It is also difficult for those who are uncomfortable with technology to use web conferencing efficiently.

Finally the biggest advantage to video conferencing is that it offers a visual connection with the other attendees. When using video conferencing callers are able to view each other on a TV screen and hear each other through the speaker system. Associates are able to hear each other's voices, put a voice to a face, and understand each other's joke and comments. Financially, the cost of video conferencing is quite a bit higher due to the equipment that is involved. If equipment is not high quality it can also be limiting because the video feed can be jerky or delayed. Whatever type a business chooses, every type of conference call has it ups and downs.

Source:http://www.articlecircle.com/technology/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-conference-calling.html

Multiple Conference Call Options Can Best Serve the Organization

2007-12-15T01:42:00.000-08:00

It should be a given that communication within the enterprise is an important element. After all, one of the first things installed when opening a new office is the telephone. In the enterprise of today, planners must look at more than just this traditional communication channel to allow for a conference call to be made.

Organizations throughout the world operate as global corporations with offices, employees and customers located anywhere and everywhere. Often, the telephone can serve as a great means of communication, but in business processes today it is not necessarily the first. Instead, the corporation must be structured such that the communication channel, like a conference call can be selected to fit the communication need.

A Conference Call is especially handy when trying to conduct meetings or training sessions with dispersed employees. Organizations have found that significant costs can be cut in travel budgets by bringing together key employees on a conference call using teleconferencing platforms to conduct meetings or training sessions. With a conference call, the platform helps to facilitate team work and increased participation, without incurring travel costs.

As beneficial as a conference call can be, organizations must also rely on a video conference call to realize advanced benefits. With a video conference call, each member of the meeting can interact visually as well as audibly, and capture non-verbal communication, in addition to verbal communication while allowing participants to feel more valuable as a part of the team. In addition, a video conference call can play a key role in communicating with distant or overseas clients who desire a more hands-on relationship.

The enterprise can also take advantage of web conferencing options for their conference calls. Such a platform can deliver all of the benefits of teleconferencing, while also facilitating web interactions for live, interactive presentations. For those meeting or training participants who want a chance to review the content, it can be available online for reference or to be used again.

With so many options in communications, it can be challenging for the organization to select just one. The good news is that only selecting one will limit the organization’s ability to communicate in the method that best suits the meeting and its audience and the best method is to offer more than one option.

Take for instance the CEO who must sit it on the year-end meeting to appease board members and ensure the company is ready to release its quarterly reports. The CEO is actually vacationing in Mexico and the meeting is scheduled in the middle of his beach time. He can still adequately participate in the conference call via teleconferencing, but is likely to dislike the video conferencing option as he is sporting his latest beach wear.

While this example may be a little less likely, communicating with a client who prefers not to be on video is quite possible. Having the ability to offer this client their preferred method of communication is essential to making him or her feel comfortable – a key element to winning and maintaining his or her business.

For the most complete selection of conferencing tools available, organizations must turn to a vendor who can provide what they need and when they need it. A proven solutions provider can help to best identify those needs and the solutions to have in place to promote positive and productive communications. It is the necessary evil of the business world – and a great way to get things done.

Source:http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/conference-call/articles/15767-multiple-conference-call-options-best-serve-organization.htm

Conference Calling Services Extra Features

2007-12-14T02:08:00.000-08:00

Choosing a conference calling service is not always simple as there are many types and options available. The type conference calling service a business chooses will need to fit their requirements and help their business to run more efficiently. The number and form of added options will also have to fit their needs bus also fit into their budget. A company should always remember that when choosing a service it should be what they need not what they desire. Conference calling features can add up and businesses don't need to break the bank when choosing them.

First, a company will need to choose which type of conference calling service is best for them. Un-moderated, pre-arrange conference is a popular option for smaller companies who do not use conferencing very often. When conferencing calling needs are low this type of service is extremely economical because it charges by the minute per participant. There is also the option of instant access conference calling which allows companies that use conferencing calling services frequently to not have to arrange the meeting in advance. When using this type of conference calling service a moderator is issued call-in numbers and room-access numbers that can be handed out and dialed in at a moment's notice. However, there are some limitations to instant access conference calling including limits set on the number of attendees. Also, there are not many add-on options available with instant access conferencing.

After choosing a type of conference calling service, businesses also have the option of adding extra features that can help enhance their conference calling needs. One of the most common add-on features is a meeting entry announcement function. When using this function, anyone who dials into the call will need to record their name prior to being admitted into the conferencing room. Once they are admitted their recorded name will play so all participant will know who is present.

Another popular add-on feature is combining voice conferencing with web conferencing, which includes not just hosting the conference call through the internet but adding a visual component. This visual component allows participants to follow along with a slide show presentation, discussion of a document or other graphic representation. This feature is especially beneficial to companies who have employees that travel often or companies that need to share data with associates across the globe.

A third add-on feature for conference calling services is the ability to record conference calls. Some services offer playback over the web which is available almost instantly after the meeting. Other services send recordings as a data file that need to be downloaded in order to play it back on a computer. Depending on your businesses needs some services can also provide a tape or CD of the recording. When choosing these extra add-on features make sure you keep in mind the budget and needs of your company. There is no need to spend money on a feature that will not be utilized regularly.

Source:http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Conference-Calling-Services-Extra-Features/92612

Conference Call Tips: A Common Sense Guide

2007-12-13T02:41:00.000-08:00

No matter how often you speak on conference calls, a simple reminder or look at do's and don'ts can assist you with your next conference call. These conference call tips have been proven to eliminate annoyances and help you to convey the professionalism you desire. We will take a look at some conference call mistakes and how to avoid them.

1.Never use a cell phone to join a conference call. The only exception being if you are inside a car and everyone on the call knows you will be joining from the road.

2.Make sure the phone you are using has no static or other interference. There's nothing more distracting than someone's phone emitting strange noises, detracting from the year end review.

3.If you are a work from home employee, plan on immobilizing yourself for the duration of the call. Don't wash the dishes while the boss is detailing the fiscal year finances. It can really dry up your career potential if they hear that water splashing.

4.Know your devices. If you're using a speakerphone, know what buttons to push to mute the speaker. In fact, use the mute button to eliminate the chance of your coffee spilling onto your laptop and the explicative flying from your mouth. If you're using a headset, become accustomed to it before doing your first conference call. Know how the mute button works and test it out. It's better to be prepared then telling everyone how miserable you are on the call, when you thought only your coworker would hear.

5.Know the times and agenda for each meeting before calling in to the call. This conference call tips will help you to stay focused throughout the call and not talk about something unrelated, when you believed you were involved on a different call.

6.Take notes, but try to do it on paper, not with the clacking of the laptop keys resounding in the speakerphone. If you must use your laptop, mute the microphone until you need to be heard. After all, you can't take notes while you're speaking.

7.If there are a lot of people on the conference call, introduce yourself when you speak. It can be done without much formality, but its better they know who is sharing the golden idea, before someone else slips in to take credit.

There are many conference call tips that can assist you in dealing with behaviors and appearances. It is important to remember to use common sense. The best conference call tips come from knowing yourself and your own limitations. By being professional, courteous, and insightful on the conference call, the rest will just fall into place.

Source:http://www.affordableconferencing.com/conference_call_tips.htm

NoiseFree VoIP Enterprise Package Provides Significant Cost Discounts for Volume IT and Mobile Professional Teams

2007-12-12T03:10:00.000-08:00

Noise Free, a leading provider of next generation software to enhance voice communications, announced today that it has created a new corporate pricing plan for its newly released noise free VoIP (call quality management software). The new noise free VoIP Enterprise plan gives large volume users a cost effective means to provide mobile personnel with call quality assurance solutions regardless of employee location and is offered in response to ever-growing requests from corporate customers.

"NoiseFree VoIP has proven to be a very effective tool for our company," said Bob Scarborough, President of Tensoft, (a multi-national software company serving semiconductor, software, and technology companies all over the world). "We make a lot of VoIP calls to a large division in India as well as customers and suppliers throughout Asia. Telecommunications is a critical component of customer satisfaction so we are using VoIP extensively. NoiseFree VoIP installed in our PCs and laptops has improved our call quality by removing background noise at both ends of our two party calls and our conference calls and we are very pleased with the results."

NoiseFree VoIP Enterprise is and easy-to-implement way to improve the quality of service for VoIP personal calls and VoIP conference calls. NoiseFree VoIP was launched as a beta version in October and the GA version was released in November and is available for individual download and purchase at the Noise Free Already more than three thousand users have downloaded the software application and Enterprise IT management is beginning to recognize the benefit of providing noise cancellation and the ability to boost voice signals for all VoIP based call services.

Since VoIP has no native noise cancellation or noise cancellation standard, NoiseFree VoIP provides a significant reduction in background noise which often hinders a VoIP call. Customers have marveled at the way in which the software reduces or eliminates such disturbances as PC/server fan noise, traffic and automobile noise, and many other types of noise that were prevalent in their VoIP calls from both home and office.

NoiseFree VoIP utilizes patented technology to deliver unrivaled transmit signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) enhancement in excess of 15dB, ensuring that callers can be heard clearly regardless of background noise environments including airport traffic, street noise and sirens, loud crowds, and even espresso machines. Noise in excess of 80dB is reduced or eliminated with the software. 80-85dB noise levels are prevalent in very loud restaurants where even a face to face conversation is difficult and around operating machinery such as tractors, airplanes, among others. For best results, both callers should install NoiseFree VoIP in their computers.

Noise Free VoIP Features-- Patent pending noise cancellation technology that detects and suppresses background noise to enhance user speech clarity -- Speech intelligibility enhancement -- Advanced Voice Activity Detection -- User-friendly installation -- Readily available through download -- Low power consumption -- Wide band codec

NoiseFree VoIP supports a wide variety of VoIP Software and Services Yahoo Messenger(TM), Google Talk(TM) and Soft Phones. It has been tested and is compatible with Windows(TM) XP and Vista (32 bit).

Source:http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,239914.shtml

Multiple Conference Call Options Can Best Serve the Organization

2007-12-10T02:57:00.000-08:00

Three Forms Of Conference Calling Services

2007-12-07T03:23:00.000-08:00

All businesses, be it a small business or a world wide business, are beginning to use conference calling. What is a conference call service and what different forms of them are there? Below you will find the definition of a conference calling service and the different forms of them.

Conference calling services have revolutionized the way that businesses are run and have now allowed businesses to be ran all over the world from one place. This means that customers, associates, and even business partners are now able to communicate without having to travel half way around the world!

There are three main forms of conference calling and they are: audio conferencing, web conferencing, and video conferencing.

The most popular form of conference calling used is audio conferencing. The reason this is the most popular form is because it has been around for the longest and its cost effectiveness saves the company money. This is also the easiest form to use because all you need is a telephone. The only problem businesses have found is they are unable to see the people they are talking with and they are unable to see any images or information instantly.

The newest of the three forms of conferencing is web conferencing. This form of conferencing uses webcams to broadcast the conference over the internet. The biggest bonus of this conference is that all the participants are able to send all files, text messages, and visual aids instantly so that all participants are able to see them. The great thing about web conferencing is that you get all the great benefits of audio and video conferencing and you gain the ability to share files instantly.

The third form of conference calling is video conferencing. This is probably the most expensive of all the forms because of the cost of the equipment which means only the big companies use this form. Changes in technology have brought the cost down a little bit allowing smaller companies to use this form but many try to avoid it. To perform a video conference call you need to have a television and a camera on every end of the call which allows all of the members to hear and see each other but it is expensive. Video conferencing is effective if you plan to hold meetings frequently but you should expect to have many problems with equipment.

Those are the three forms of conference calling services that businesses can choose from.

AT&T Delivers VoIP to Small Offices

2007-11-30T01:28:00.000-08:00

Expanding its Voice over IP (VoIP) lineup, AT&T has begun marketing a customized version of its CallVantage service to small office/home office (SOHO) users, the company said.

The plan includes unlimited local and long-distance calling in North America, and the ability to send and receive faxes for $49.99 per month.

Subscribers can add premium features, such as choosing up to nine phone numbers with programmable calling features for $7.49 per number, per month. The additional numbers can be local to the firm or assigned area codes anywhere in the country.

Other options include directing calls based on who is calling for $1.99 per month and conference calling for up to 10 lines at a flat fee of 35 cents per minute.

Gary Morgenstern, a spokesman for the Bedminster, N.J., carrier, said the company's residential VoIP roll out last year "helped the business side of the house."

He went on to say that business decision-makers saw the technology was good enough to be deployed to residential users nationwide and were convinced it was ready for business use as well. Details of the company's marketing plan for the SOHO offering are not yet set, he said.

Several service providers have VoIP offerings that could fill the need for some SOHO customers, including telecom carrier Verizon and startups Vonage and Net2Phone.

And Covad Communications has been expanding its small businesses footprint.

AT&T first announced its VoIP plans in December 2003 and started rolling out service to residential customers in late March.

In recent years, the company's long-distance revenues have dropped sharply, as customers switched to regional telecoms and national wireless providers.

On the enterprise business side, AT&T already carries more IP traffic on its network than any other U.S. company. AT&T has been offering VoIP to business customers through virtual private network services since 1997.

Skype, Vapps offer free conference calling

2007-11-27T01:44:00.000-08:00

Users of Skype's Internet telephony service can now create free conference calling with up to 500 participants on each call under a new service offered with VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) vendor Vapps, the companies said Thursday.

The two companies on Thursday launched,where Skype users can sign up for free conference rooms. Conference-call participants can also use traditional landline telephones to join the Skype conferences, but long-distance charges may apply. For Skype users, there are no fees, the companies said.

Last month, Skype announced thatall SkypeOut calls to landline and mobile phones within the U.S. and Canada will be free. The company hopes the free calling in those countries will expand Skype's penetration in North America, and willattract more people to Skype's premium products and services, Skype said.

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Skype offers SkypeIn, a pay service that allows users of landline and mobile phones to call in to a Skype phone. The company also offers a variety of VOIP-related hardware, some of it targeted toward small-business users. With hardware partners, Skype sells a speakerphone, a box that converts traditional phones to Skype phones, and a converter box for multiple users.

The new conferencing service appears to be targeted toward small and medium-sized business (SMB) users, as Skype looks to gain market share in that area, said Rebecca Swensen, a VOIP services analyst with IDC.

"Doing this helps them gain some market share in the market for enterprises and small businesses," Swensen said. "I'm sure Skype is trying to get them to see that using Skype in their sales departments is a lot cheaper that [traditional] telephone service."

Vapps, in Hoboken, New Jersey, is a supplier of VOIP conference-calling services and software focusing on the SMB market.

Source:http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/06/01/1667170.htm

Best Buy: Free Conference Calling Services

2007-11-23T21:07:00.000-08:00

There is much truth to this statement. If you buy a used watch on Ebay for $10, consider yourself lucky if it comes with a wristband- or hands. If you buy a jalopy for a hundred bucks from a used car salesman named Guido, cross your fingers before you turn that key. And how about that 6-day, 5-night getaway cruise to the Bahamas, for $200? It is probably nothing more than a ferry boat ride and a tour of roach motels. In one sense, you do get what you pay for. But there is also truth in the statement that "the best things in life are free." Watching a sunset, receiving a compliment, or seeing your firstborn child take her first step are all priceless moments. Free conference calling services can be one of life's priceless moments, too.

How It Works
After singing up for free conference calling services, you get your own conference number. You can use this number for any conference calls within the United States, and sometimes around the world as well. Companies can afford to offer free conference calling services because they charge for other services. Nationwide long distance carriers cover the fees. Sometimes, however, extra charges are required to avail of special services, such as downloading files or adding more conference participants, the number of which exceeds the maximum presently allowed.

No Free Lunches
These extra charges prove that nothing in life is really free, including "free" lunches. Someone pays for them. Likewise, free conference calling services are not totally free, and in the long term, traditional conferencing services could save your company more money. In fact, participants can avail of free conference calling services by paying the local or long distance charge to access the company's service computer. The exception is only when the conference organizer pays a small fee per minute per caller, to provide truly toll-free calling service to the caller.

To Free Or Not to Free - That Is the Question!
When choosing a conference calling service, find one that best meets your business' needs. Factor in such considerations as budget, scope, and size. To begin with, determine if free conference calling services is what you really need. A "Fortune 500" company that needs audio and web conferencing should go with a non-free conference call service provider. However, free conference calling services are generally ideal for small to medium-size businesses that can live without the extra services and features that full conference calling companies provide. Furthermore, if your company realizes that free conference services do not include toll-free calls and if they only need audio conferencing, then "free is key."

Benefits, Benefits, Benefits
When considering free conference calling services, it is wise to look at the features that may be included.

* No waiting and no reservations
* Digital fiber-optic lines
* Support for Voiceover Internet Protocol, or VOIP services
* Use of your conference number at any time and for an unlimited time
* Participant capacity ranging from 100 to more
* MP3 recording for archiving, sharing, and playback
* Support of any calling device, such as a cellular phone, broadband phone, traditional phone, desktop softphone, and many others
* Unlimited international conference calls using traditional calling tools, or VoIP
* Computers are unnecessary for audio conferencing

Free conference calling services are not perfect for every company. Neither do they come completely for free. They have their uses, however, and when utilized well, they can prove to be the best deal of the year.

Source:http://www.isnare.com/?aid=160256&ca=Opinions

conference calling

2007-11-15T20:49:00.000-08:00

CONFERENCE CALLS are an annoyance to entrepreneurs whose firms don't have advanced telephone systems that enable them to speak with multiple parties at once.

But with AT&T's new Click2Dial Conferencing , you use the Web to make these calls, entering the names and numbers of the people you want to call and when you want to call them. Click2Dial costs 15 cents per minute, per person.

At the scheduled time, AT&T automatically dials the listed parties. "All you need is one phone line and Internet access," says Janet Stone, a media relations director for AT&T. "The other people on the conference call don't even know you're using the Internet to call them."

Source:http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DTI/is_4_27/ai_60036376

Conference Calling

2007-11-01T01:07:00.000-07:00

Originally the conference call was limited to businesses paying exorbitant fees to the telcos. For business, it still made sense economically because the costs were less than the travel costs involved in bringing the people together. Additionally, significant time savings are involved, both in terms of travel time and in being able to communicate fairly rapidly to an extended group.

Telcos then extended their market by providing conference calling services to home consumers for an added fee. For some, it made sense to be able to bring a family or group with common interests together easily, usually to plan some physical event.

With the expansion of the internet, and in particular, the increasing availability and decreasing pricing for high speed internet access, conference calling has expanded far beyond its original uses.

For business, it remains a vital tool and has, actually, become far more useful as prices fall and the ease of use increases. Real time audio/video conferencing is already in use (and in some organizations has been for quite some time). As the cost of bandwidth decreases and the technology underlying audio-video transmission over networks improves, true real-time video conferencing will increase dramatically.

With the growing sophistication of the typical surfer and the expansion of internet marketing, audio and video have become hot items. Within the internet marketing community, conference calls - usually known as teleseminars, have become a standard feature. Offering the opportunity to reach a large group of interested prospects in a relatively simple and inexpensive format, teleseminars also offer the marketer an opportunity to create an instant product. A recording of a teleseminar can either be sold as a stand-alone product or used as a marketing tool for back-end products.

Marketers are using both free and paid teleseminars. Generally there is a higher level of injected sales content in free teleseminars, but it does vary a great deal.

Solutions available now range from the rather expensive to essentially free. Your choice is going to depend on exactly what level of service you require. There are a number of providers which offer an introductory pricing scheme (I've seen it as low as a $1 for the first month), which gives you the opportunity to see firsthand how their service works at a very modest cost. You do need to make sure you understand just how your users will access the conference. Solutions which use telephone call-ins are generally more restrictive and/or expensive than those utilizing an internet connection or VoIP softphone connections.

True real-time audio/video conferencing hasn't arrived yet for most. The bandwidth requirements remain excessive and the quality of the video, in particular, is fairly low. If you ever done live chat with audio and a web camera, you've seen the limitations.

Most online presentations which involve both audio and video generally use static images which change either rarely or slowly, such as charts, website images, topic outlines and so on. This can be extremely useful for teleseminars, of course, because it makes it easier to demonstrate certain points and provides a visual as well as an audio focus for participants.

The combination of audio and visual elements is particularly useful in training situations where one can reinforce the other. Plus, you have the advantage of reaching those who learn better through visual means, as well as those partial to audio.

For those of you doing eCommerce the evolved conference call can be an incredible tool. Consider how much impact regular teleseminars about your area of expertise could have on future sales. You can provide buyers with instructional teleseminars. You can introduce new products. And in each instance you'll be generating recordings which you can either sell or make available on your sites, or use as added viral marketing tools.

With the increasing sophistication and usability of the tools for conference calling, the possibilities are virtually unlimited and well within the reach of every entrepreneur. You'll be hard pressed to find another tool that offers you the impact and potential of the conference call.
Source:http://ecommerce.articlesarchive.net/conference-calling-evolved.html

Conference Call

2007-10-30T03:08:00.000-07:00

An acquaintance of mine is looking for a conference call provider. Now I'm quite interested in the subject of conference calling as it relates to web conferencing, so when the topic came up in conversation, I tuned in immediately.

I was amazed to learn that there is a company that provides free conference calls. You read it right ... free conference calls.

Apparently, they build their own equipment and offer the free conference calling in the hope that folks might upgrade to their paid plan. (With the free service, callers must dial into non-toll-free number.)

While I need to compare Integrated Data Concepts Teleconferencing Services with the other conference call providers, this sounds like a pretty slick idea.

Whole About Conference Calling

2007-10-29T02:14:00.000-07:00

conference calling is right for them they will need to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each. In this article we will evaluate and compare the three major types of conference calls including audio conference calling, web conference calling, and video conferencing.

The biggest advantage, for many companies, in choosing audio or web conferencing over video conferencing is the cost. Audio conferencing tends to be the cheapest. Virtually the only costs involved when choosing audio conferencing is the cost of a telephone and then the charge of a long distance call. Many companies already have phones with a built-in speakerphone and if not they can be purchased for as little as $100.

However there are disadvantages in choosing audio conferencing as well. The first distinct disadvantage is that businesses lose personal relations when all they hear is a colleague's voice. Jokes and remarks can be taken the wrong way or be offending when those involved can not see a caller's smile of facial expression. Another disadvantage to audio conferencing is that the quality of the call declines as additional locations are added. When several parties are involved the chance of two of them talking at the same time are great and neither of them will have their thoughts heard.

Web conferencing offers its rewards and shortcomings as well. While web conferencing can be free, it is usually in the companies best interest to choose to pay a little more to avoid annoying ads and pop ups. Web conferencing is especially useful for business calls that involve viewing digital files because these files can be sent in an instant via email to all parties involved. Documents can be viewed, analyzed and returned so they can be discussed all at once rather than waiting and communicating through mail or several phone calls. Web conferencing also allows more than one person to talk or type at once without going unheard.

Like any type of conference calling though, web conferencing also has its disadvantages. One of these down sides is that, again, it is difficult to gauge a person's seriousness or humor in a comment. There is no personality in a typed sentence. It is also difficult for those who are uncomfortable with technology to use web conferencing efficiently.

Finally the biggest advantage to video conferencing is that it offers a visual connection with the other attendees. When using video conferencing callers are able to view each other on a TV screen and hear each other through the speaker system. Associates are able to hear each other's voices, put a voice to a face, and understand each other's joke and comments. Financially, the cost of video conferencing is quite a bit higher due to the equipment that is involved. If equipment is not high quality it can also be limiting because the video feed can be jerky or delayed. Whatever type a business chooses, every type of conference call has it ups and downs.

Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/technology-articles/

Free Long Distance and International Calls

2007-10-27T02:54:00.000-07:00

Talkster's Free World Dialing delivers unlimited free long distance and international calls for groups or individuals from any phone, on any network

Award-winning Voice 2.0 company Talkster announced today the availability of a new consumer calling service offering completely free long distance and international calls and conference calling all over the world. The service is appropriately named Talkster's Free World Dialing™.

Talkster's Free World Dialing gives consumers the ability to make free international and long distance calls from their cell phones, landlines, computers or VoIP phones. No registration or credit card is ever required and callers won't need any new software or downloads to use the new Talkster service, just their existing phone. Advertising and special personalized offers for callers cover the cost of the calls.

To use Talkster's Free World Dialing service today simply visit on your mobile phone's browser or go to on your computer. The service can even be used through simple SMS text messaging. At the site, enter your name and the phone number from which you will place the call, along with the name and phone number of the person you want to call. Talkster will assign you and your friend a free local Talkster number that you can save in your phone's address book to use anytime you want to talk with your friend for free.

Talkster's Free World Dialing also offers callers the ability to set-up free conference calls with up to five friends all over the world on any combination of phone types; from mobile phones to landlines and even instant messenger services with voice such as Google Talk, Yahoo!, AOL, or MSN.

Source:http://news.ecoustics.com/

Web And Audio Conferencing

2007-10-25T21:32:00.001-07:00

The technology boom in the 21st century has created wonders for the telecom industry in a tremendous manner. With the arrival of mobile phones and the Internet, communication is fast becoming a necessity. It is indeed a technological revolution.

The Benefits Of Web And Audio Conferencing

In this regard, web and audio conferencing have taken the IT boom to its next level of revolution. Today, equipped with the Internet technology, we are able to carry out conferences with people all over the world while sitting in our office. Web and audio conferencing has enabled the postmodern world in connecting with a virtual reality through the medium of cyber space.

With web and audio conferencing, large business organizations are able to deal with their clientele and other associates within seconds. The video aspect of the conference allows the maintaining of a physical aspect of the communication which is a part of virtual reality.

Some Basic Requirements Of Web And Audio Conferencing

To facilitate the Internet web and audio conferencing, you must have Windows, Java, Linux or Mac software and an internet connection of at least minimum 128kbps. For video conference, VOIP (voice over Internet protocol) is mandatory and a camera which will help in receiving and sending the analog digital message in the form of audio and video.

This is the cheapest medium of communication which saves a lot of money and time as it can be established almost instantly and does not require a huge amount of investment in comparison of the expenses on traveling for business and personal use. It is the easiest medium of maintaining one-to-one conference which can be highly efficient in running a business. Thus, web and audio conferencing is the new technological revolution, which enables the IT revolution to move to the next level.
Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Web-And-Audio-Conferencing

Web And Audio Conferencing

2007-10-25T21:32:00.000-07:00

Web Conferencing services

2007-10-25T02:02:00.000-07:00

You will find that Web Conferencing services are a great resource for you. As you learn more about them you will find that they can be used in many ways. Be sure to follow all the tips and techniques you learn on our site about Web Conferencing services.

As you learn more about how others are able to work with their Web Conferencing services you will quickly see how these services can be much more useful to you. Spend the necessary time to become good at using and working with your Web Conferencing service and the benefits you will get will be well worth it.

Source:http://www.webconferencingguideonline.com/

Conference calls made cheap

2007-10-22T00:02:00.000-07:00

The second time Frank LaRocca used Free Conference, he was justifiably nervous.

Sure, the service had worked as advertised during a brief, insignificant initial test call. But call No. 2 for the Glen Rock attorney was with a judge, and a system failure would have been embarrassing.

He needn't have worried, LaRocca said. "It worked fine."

Not only did the conference calling go through without a flaw, but it was also free, except for the cost of the call to a telephone center in the Midwest.

That made LaRocca a believer.

web conference callings is the brainchild of Dave Erickson. In six years, it has attracted more than 500,000 customers making 1.5 million connections a month.

Many of them are attorneys like LaRocca, but the California-based conference-calling service has attracted a variety of other businesses seeking a low-cost Conference calling alternative to AT&T and other providers, Erickson said.

The premise is simple. Go to the company's Web site, provide your name and e-mail address, get assigned a telephone number, access number, and PIN code, and you have immediate access to conference-calling services 24/7.

The cost? Zero.

Could this be the proverbial "free lunch" that supposedly doesn't exist?

In a way it is, LaRocca said. He has used the service numerous times since signing up nearly two years ago, and hasn't paid a cent except for his long-distance call into the conference center. And he doesn't even pay that when he uses the unlimited minutes he gets on his cellphone plan.

Before discovering Conference Calling , LaRocca was paying $20 to $40 -- and as much at $100 -- for a typical call.

That doesn't mean Erickson's company is a non-profit. It makes money through marketing fees paid by telephone service providers with excess capacity. Most are located in places like South Dakota, Iowa or Minnesota, "places that don't have population growths to lean on," he said.

In addition, he has used the free conference calling as a springboard to other telecommunications services, including toll-free and flat-rate calling.

"The idea is to generate revenue in a traditional fashion," Erickson said.

He declined to discuss the company's finances except to say that it is growing 10 percent a month and that he expects to continue growing "at a pretty good clip."

Nearly three-quarters of new customers come from referrals, he said. People are attracted by the service being free, but "the key to our success has been reliability," he said.

The average call involves six people being on the line for 33 minutes, but the service can be used by two people or 96 people for up to six hours at a time.

LaRocca, who specializes in family and matrimonial law, says the service is ideal for attorneys for several reasons.

Because there are no costs beyond the phone call, no one has to worry about who will pick up the tab and bill it to a client.

It's a "Dutch lunch," in which everyone pays his own way, Erickson said.

"When you're in the midst of an argument, you're not thinking about the [cost]," LaRocca said. "But when you hang up the phone, you do. When you write the check, you do."

At the end of the call, the customer receives call details, including who was on and for how long, Erickson said. "It looks similar to a bill, but there are no charges."

Customers also can request a recording of the call, and that can be played for clients and associates, LaRocca said. The recording also can be e-mailed to associates, who can listen at their convenience.
Source:http://www.northjersey.com/page.php

OneStream Networks Lands Multi-Million Dollar Global Data and VoIP Contract

2007-10-15T21:58:00.000-07:00

Converged Voice and Data Communications Solution is Key to Growth and Competitiveness of 11-location, 1,000 Employee New Jersey-based Manufacturer and Supplier.

Rochester, NY, October 16, 2007 OneStream Networks, a leading national end-to-end managed IP services provider, today announced a multi-year outsourced network, hardware and VoIP services contract with an international manufacturer and supplier based in New Jersey. OneStream becomes the single-source provider of the customers global communications infrastructure and services, including one of the larger hosted VoIP deployments in the country.

At the heart of the convergence project is OneStreams Smart Business Solutions portfolio, a comprehensive suite of on-demand IP applications and outsourced VoIP telephony services delivered and managed via OneStreams private global Quality of Service (QoS)-enabled MPLS IP network.

Source:http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2007/10/15/3015895.htm

A Thousand Points Of VoIP

2007-10-15T01:32:00.000-07:00

We all know that voice over IP has significant advantages over PBXes. Using the data network for voice saves on toll charges and systems are easy to change. But rolling out VoIP to remote offices has been an obstacle to widespread deployment, particularly when you're talking small branches that lack dedicated IT staffs.

Avaya's Distributed Office, a SIP-based, distributed VoIP system, aims to simplify remote deployment and management. Avaya will preconfigure its IP gateways, the i40 and i120, to fit your remote branches, and its VoIP phones are included with gateways, which support a variety of third-party VoIP and analog phones. It offered good call quality and useful features, and was easy to manage.

On the downside, Distributed Office is a voice-only platform. If you're looking to integrate voice with other applications, such as e-mail, or if your branches would benefit from an all-in-one system that supports functions such as firewalling and routing, you should look elsewhere. Avaya is aiming at companies that will find the low starting price of $350 per seat for 20 users and ease of deployment a square trade for all-inclusive hardware.

Cisco, Avaya's main competitor, is taking a different approach. Its UC500 with Call Manager Express is similar to the i40 in voice service, but it also provides WAN access, routing, and a firewall. If a branch has more than 50 users, it would have to move to the ISR line, increasing costs significantly and maybe providing more horsepower than you need.

Distributed Office starts with Avaya's SIP Enablement Services Edge switch, which handles incoming SIP connections at corporate headquarters, routes calls among branches, and provides a management workstation to remotely administer the i40 and i120 gateways (see diagram below).

Next are the gateways. The i40 is a 2U rack-mounted unit that supports as many as 40 users. It has 10 power over Ethernet ports to power phones directly. The 4U rack-mounted i120, which supports up to 120 users, has 40 PoE ports. If you need to support more phones, add a PoE switch, from either Avaya or a third party.

Voice mail is stored locally on the gateway on a 1 Gbyte (i40) or 2 Gbyte (i120) compact flash drive. Voice mail can be sent to an FTP or SCP server to move it into long-term storage. If you have Avaya's centralized Integrated Management for Distributed Office, server backups can be automated, scheduled, and saved there via the network configuration manager application.

The i40 is appropriate for as few as five to 10 users, because pricing is based on seats, not a flat hardware cost; it starts at $350 per user, with volume discounts available. Distributed Office includes Avaya's One-X VoIP phones in the per-seat price. They have basic features, such as forwarding, conference calling, and speed dial, and niceties such as auto-attendant, announcements, and routing. The i40 and i120 include fax ports.

Avaya will ship the platform pre-configured to your specs. For $100 per system (not per seat), Avaya will load a profile configuration, test it, and place the unit and endpoints in a single box. This can save a lot of time, allowing for a much faster cutover because the primary configuration is done. The base price includes pre-configuration of media modules. And if you prefer not to install the gateways, Avaya Services will do it--for a fee, of course.

We tested two i40s and an i120 connected by the SES server and an assortment of the IP phones. We used a workstation with the Avaya Integrated Management console to configure and manage the devices. Call quality was good in a variety of scenarios, including three-way calls and calls to remote devices off the IP network through the PSTN.

As with any VoIP product, you must enable quality of service to ensure that voice traffic gets sufficient priority. Branches should have at least a partial T-1 to handle voice calls, but it can make outbound local calls through POTS lines, or you can route calls back to a central location.

The Avaya Integrated Management console is accessed via a Web interface. We could view the network by device type, subnet view, or a VoIP system view. We could push software updates remotely to both phones and gateways in branches, all from a central location. Install the Integrated Management Console on a workstation at your branch to administer all phone functions.

We ran into only minor problems, including an i40 that reset itself with no explanation. A One-X phone also reset and wouldn't reconnect until we physically pulled the PoE plug. Also, the screen on the One-X is small compared with some of the Cisco 7900 series.

Source:http://www.informationweek.com/news/

Is Microsoft VoIP ready for prime time?

2007-10-12T21:19:00.000-07:00

Enterprise Voice

Enterprise Voice is the VoIP component of OCS, and it’s an important point of the Unified Communications goal of OCS (along with audio conference calling ,video conference calling, conferencing, IM, and Outlook/Exchange integration). OCS makes VoIP an integral part of working with Office applications. Users can make phone calls in a “click-to-call” manner to Outlook and Communicator contacts.

OCS also provides a similar sort of functionality as services such as Google’s GrandCentral, which allow users to integrate all their phone numbers. Users can register their mobile phones and other devices with OCS; they then receive calls simultaneously on all registered endpoints and can choose which to answer. Through the Enterprise Voice client software, users can also choose whether to forward unanswered calls to another number or log them for notification.

In addition, the voice functionality doesn’t limit users to calling within the local area network. Users with Internet connections can call into the office remotely. They don’t have to use a VPN or pay long-distance charges.

Cost savings go beyond substituting VoIP for PSTN calls. When calls do need to go through the PSTN, Enterprise Voice uses least-cost algorithms to determine how to route those calls.
PBX integration

Based on the SIP standard, OCS offers integration with a company’s existing IP PBX if it supports SIP and native PBX integration. That means users can use existing handsets to make and take phone calls, as well as Office Communicator 2007 on their computers.

A mediation server mediates signaling and media between the OCS and PBX systems. It’s necessary if you’re using a basic media gateway. If you have an advanced media gateway, however, the gateway handles mediation, and you don’t need a mediation server. Media gateways are devices that translate the signaling and media between the Enterprise Voice software and the PSTN.

When the PBX routes calls to users, it also sends the call to OCS. OCS then routes the call to the user’s registered SIP endpoints while the PBX sends it to the PBX phone on the user’s desk.

Another option is to set up OCS to handle phone calls for an individual department within a company while the rest of the company uses the existing PBX. This allows you to roll out OCS in increments within the organization and/or to deploy OCS only for those groups that need its features.

A media gateway can connect the OCS/VoIP group with the PBX. The members of these groups don’t necessarily have to be in the same physical location. If the team members are in disparate locations, they can use OCS for communications, which can save a significant amount of money in long-distance charges.

You can place Enterprise Voice either in front of or behind the PBX. Each option has advantages and disadvantages. Placing Enterprise Voice in front of the PBX means incoming calls come into the media gateway, and it routes calls to the PBX or OCS as appropriate. Placing Enterprise Voice behind the PBX means incoming calls go to the PBX first, and it routes calls for Enterprise Voice users to the media gateway.

OCS and Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging (UM) can work together to provide users with Outlook Voice Access. This makes e-mail messages, faxes, and voice messages all accessible from Outlook on a computer or over the phone via an access number assigned by the Exchange UM administrator. Exchange UM can provide voice mail services when you use OCS without PBX integration.
Drawbacks

Of course, like any VoIP solution, a network or power outage may cause you to lose telephone service. In addition, problems with the OCS server itself may result in a voice outage.

You’ll want to have an alternative calling method available for emergency services (i.e., 911) in such cases. OCS doesn’t automatically provide physical location information to emergency services when a caller dials 911.

Another consideration is that when using PBX integration, users can’t use the OCS voice mail. That means you have to either use the voice mail system on the PBX or configure voice mail on Exchange Unified Messaging.

Deploying Enterprise Voice can be complex. If you have outside callers who use Office Communicator, you need an Access Edge Server and Audio/Video Edge Server so their calls can go through the firewall or NAT device.

The A/V Edge Server includes an A/V Authentication service that authenticates outside callers. In addition, you need to translate phone numbers to the E.164 format, create dialing plans, define usage records to assign call permissions to users, and populate a routing table for determining how to route which calls to which gateways.
Source:http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/networking/?p=363

RingCentral Adds Outbound VoIP Capability to Virtual Phone System

2007-10-11T21:30:00.000-07:00

RingCentral launches DigitalLine a VoIP service that adds the convenience and cost savings of Internet-based telephony to RingCentral’s virtual phone system for small businesses. In contrast to stand-alone VoIP services that focus simply on low-cost calling, RingCentral uses VoIP to add value and utility to small business communications. DigitalLine is seamlessly integrated into RingCentral’s robust hosted phone and fax service, allowing customers to place and receive calls using a broadband Internet connection. With DigitalLine, RingCentral delivers a complete hosted PBX solution for small businesses. RingCentral gives customers the ability to use a mix of traditional land line, mobile and VoIP communications to place and receive calls. With RingCentral, small businesses and mobile professionals can interact with customers more professionally, using all the features of a big company phone system at a fraction of the cost and all under a single phone bill.

“RingCentral is focused on the needs of small businesses and mobile professionals -- a market that’s been underserved by traditional carriers and hardware manufacturers,” said Vlad Shmunis, CEO of RingCentral. “With DigitalLine we’ve created the industry’s first on-demand solution that seamlessly integrates VoIP with conventional voice and fax communications. Our DigitalLine VoIP option further empowers RingCentral users to improve their professional image while staying in touch with their customers and in control of their communications.”

“Small businesses need the same kind of communications services large businesses need but without the cost or the administrative overhead,” said Rob Enderle, Principal Analyst for the Enderle Group. “By effectively using the power of VoIP to create a rich communications service, RingCentral has provided a solution that exceeds what most large businesses can afford to supply their employees at a small business price. RingCentral gives the small business employee an edge many large corporations will envy.”

Unlike other providers offering VoIP services, RingCentral does not require small businesses to rely solely on VoIP. By integrating all communication lines (mobile, home, office and fax), RingCentral provides a smarter way to leverage all the available communications technologies in the most time- and cost-efficient manner. As part of every basic service plan, DigitalLine enables customers to receive calls over the Internet at no additional cost. Small businesses can experience the savings and convenience of RingCentral DigitalLine VoIP and determine if the service is a fit for them, risk free. Through a service upgrade, customers receive a complete phone service allowing them to both receive and place calls over the Internet using a softphone, IP phone or ATA adaptor.

“My team and I are very impressed with RingCentral and the new DigitalLine option. Because our employees often work remotely, we rely on RingCentral to keep us connected and give our company a unified presence,” said Tom Sagi of First Data Independent Sales, a provider of electronic payment systems. “We have saved thousands of dollars by not using a traditional PBX, and now with DigitalLine, we’re saving even more money -- without the need to completely switch our business over to VoIP.”

With the only phone management service developed specifically to meet the needs of small businesses and mobile professionals, RingCentral to date has attracted more than 40,000 customers, and is signing up thousands more each month. With DigitalLine, small businesses can be even more productive and responsive to customers and save money at the same time.

DigitalLine Features and Pricing

DigitalLine dovetails with RingCentral’s virtual phone service, and enhances it with additional time- and cost-saving features. Small businesses can assign DigitalLine to any extension in their account and use Answering Rules to route calls to DigitalLine phones according to day, time and Caller ID. A unified Call Log keeps track of all incoming and outgoing calls. The enhanced Call Controller with SoftPhone provides the added convenience of answering and placing calls directly from the PC, conference calling, and recording calls for records or for sharing with colleagues. If small businesses prefer a hardware phone, they can use their existing analog phones with an ATA adapter or purchase a digital Internet phone that connects directly to the network connection. Customers can also use any SIP-compatible device that they may already own. DigitalLine also integrates with Microsoft Office and provides enhanced e911 service.

RingCentral is offering DigitalLine through three promotional plans. Introductory pricing is as follows(1):

* Basic - 4.99 per month — This plan uses customers’ existing RingCentral plan minutes for inbound and outbound calling anywhere in the U.S. and Canada. Additional minutes are added at the set plan rate.
* Standard - 9.99 per month — This plan provides 500 minutes of outbound local and long distance calling anywhere in the U.S. and Canada, additional minutes only 3.9¢ per minute.
* Unlimited - 24.99 per month — This plan provides unlimited outbound local and long distance calling anywhere in the U.S. and Canada.

(1) These introductory prices represent a 50 percent discount for the first six months of service.
Source:http://www.voipmonitor.net/2007/10/09/

10 Essential Steps to Organizing a Conference Call

2007-10-10T21:07:00.000-07:00

Conferencing calls are a boon to businesses and families. More that two people can talk to one another at the same time. There are today many kinds of conference calls:

• Audio conference calls.
• Video conference calls.
• Webconference calls.

A conference call saves money as well as time and enables people to take decisions on the spot. There are what are known as conference call providers who offer conference calling services and charge their clients on a per hour or per minute basis. Once you subscribe you will be given a toll free pin number. This must be sent to all the people who will participate in the conference call.

The 10 essential steps of organizing a conference call are:

1. Decide on a convenient date and time. Be sure to inform all persons concerned.

2. Contact a conference call service provider and pay the subscription.

3. Send all the participants the toll free number and pin number well in advance.

4. Book a time slot to avoid confusion.

5. On the date of the conference call meeting all the participants must dial the toll free number and enter the pin. Once they have done that the conference call can proceed. All participants will be able to ask questions, provide answers and communicate with one another just as they would in a face to face meeting.

6. The host or person who has paid the subscription will control the conference. And if the host terminates the call the conference call will end unless arrangements are made to continue the call.

7. If you need to share data or illustrations then you would need to make arrangements for a web conference.

8. Always arrange for the conference call to be recorded.

9. Ask about the billing system. Most conference call providers bill by the minute and have a 30 day billing cycle.

10. Before you sign up check up on reliability of service and whether the conference call service provider uses digital lines.

These days, conference calls have become affordable as there is fierce competition in the market. And an account can be activated within the hour of subscribing. And calls can accommodate as many as 200 participants.

On your part you can ensure that you are using a phone with no static. During the call ensure that all other devices like music systems or televisions are switched off. Memorize all the buttons on your phone. Accustom yourself to using a head set. Make notes during the call and assign one person to record the minutes of the conference call. Create an agenda for the conference call and send it out to all participants. Conduct the meeting in an orderly fashion so that no time is wasted. It is a good idea to request all participants to introduce themselves when they speak.

A conference call can ease business meetings and save money on travel.

Always find out what services are offered by the conference call providers. Find out about rates and discounts. It is a competitive field so you will always benefit by comparison shopping. Select a provider who provides good service and is yet affordable.
Source:http://pr-gb.com

Lets Look At The VoIP Phone

2007-10-09T22:05:00.000-07:00

VoIP technology is a new wave of technology that is rolling out Globally. It combines internet access with telephone utilities therefore utilizing the same technology for two very different things. Now, instead of having a traditional phone connection, VoIP technology enables you to synchronise your internet broadband connection to make telephone calls and to do all the other things you previously did before.

To use this service, you need an internet connection. The voip device works by allowing you to take phone calls as before. However, with this phone, the connection is now digital instead of through a phone line. A VoIP phone also has a gateway that connects you to a network. Your voice is then converted to a digital sound and this information can be sent in packets enabling you to have great sound and connection to people.

To hop on this new technology, preferably you need a broadband internet connection. Although VoIP can work with dial-up internet, the voice reception quality will be under par compared with broadband.

The main benefit of this technology is that the VoIP phone costs much less than a traditional phone line. This applies whether you use a cell phone or home phone service. Unlike home phone services, regular long distance callers really notice the financial benefits of a VoIP phone. The more long distance conference calls you make the more you save. As with a VoIP phone, the location of the caller and the person receiving the call is not important. This service is also perfect for travellers as you are also able to take your adapter with you.

VoIP phones are also cost effective if you wish to add to your service. For example, instead of the normal fee of adding a phone line to your traditional home service, you need only pay a minimal amount since those with VoIP phones need not install any additional equipment. Look out for special offers from your current broadband provider, many offer additional services such as an extra phone line for Free, with the uptake of their voip service.

Although there are some disadvantages many view them as minor in comparison to the benefits. Poor voice quality can occur when the reception is poor. However, this is something we already have to contend with when using cell phones. Also since a VoIP phone is connected to a broadband connection, if the company supplying you with the connection has any problem with its power supply, then your call will automatically be cut off. This may also occur when there is poor signal in an area.

Currently, the majority of companies allow you to be online at the same time as making calls. There are no limitations to this service and this area can only grow and evolve in the the future. VoIP phones will become more and more commonplace and easier to use. This will lead to VoIP phones becoming more popular than traditional phone lines. Utilise the vastness of the internet to shop wisely for the best deal for you. Keep in mind the locations you call and other services you want and or need such as call waiting, conferencing, an additional Free phone line/ phone. For a deeper review of what to look for when shopping for a voip phone please visit or dedicated broadband phone page

Source:http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=39747

FreeConference plan to combine services

2007-10-09T03:49:00.000-07:00

The technology behind a browser-based Web conferencing tool called Vyew will be wedded with software from FreeConference, an audio conference call service, according to makers of the two products.

The partnership, to be announced later this month, is designed to deliver the first free, integrated conference calling and Web conferencing service, according a spokesman for Vyew, a start-up of University of California, Berkeley, graduates that was recently called Simulat Inc. Simulat is still listed as the official company name on the Vyew Web site but will be changed, the spokesman said.

Each company plans to embed the other's service into its own, according to the spokesman. Vyew subscriberswho want conference calling while collaborating online will be able to choose "Free conference call" in Vyew for quick access to Free Conference reservationless call service.

There are already some free Web conferencing services from Yahoo Mail and Google Mail, although they offer limited functionality, said Robert Mahowald, an IDC analyst who has seen an early version of the joint product. He said he was impressed by the resulting "good mix of features" similar to those seen in more complex Web conferencing systems from IBM, Cisco Systems Inc. and Citrix Systems Inc.

Even though Vyew is used by some large companies, Mahowald predicted that it will primarily serve small and midsize business users, or even small homebound businesses since larger companies tend to rely on systems administered and installed by their IT departments.

Free Conference will offer users a new service called SharePlus desktop sharing based on Vyew's technology. SharePlus will allow document sharing and application sharing in real time during a teleconference with the activation of a single click.

Source:http://www.computerworld.com/

Ring 2 sets, controls conference calls from BlackBerries

2007-09-27T01:06:00.000-07:00

U.K. provider Ring2 is now selling a voice conference-call service in the United States and trying to separate its offerings from competitors’ with software that lets customers control calls from their BlackBerries.

The way it works, when the first participant has called into the conference, the conference leader’s BlackBerry buzzes with a message that the first person has arrived. The caller then asks the leader if he wants to see who it is. If the leader clicks yes, the device shows the person’s name, and then adds names as other callers join. The leader can also add people via the Blackberry and mute lines.
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“This seems like a niche market, but it might be something that customers like,” says Kitty Weldon, an analyst with Current Analysis. The service would be best suited to companies that issue BlackBerries to their end users and for whom conferencing is a big part of doing business, she says. Ring2 says it hopes to attract law firms, financial institutions and consultants.

InterCall has similar remote conference control for BlackBerries, but other conference-call providers, such as AT&T, BT, Premier and Verizon, do not.

Ring2 claims only 30% of call leaders dial in from their own office where their computer is available, so the BlackBerry controller expands the locations from which they can exert control. The company claims customers use desktop control of conferences 2% of the time, but use of BlackBerry control is 60%.

The cost of Ring2 Conference Controller for BlackBerry is rolled into the standard fee for the provider’s conferencing service, which is typically eight to 16 cents per minute per caller on a conference. For a large enterprise with more use, that price can drop as low as three cents per minute.

When customers sign up for the service, they get controller clients from Ring2 that they distribute to their BlackBerry users via the corporate BlackBerry server. End users don’t have to do anything to install the software. Customers provide the BlackBerries.
Source:http://www.networkworld.com/

Conference Calling Goes Global

2007-09-25T01:29:00.000-07:00

Our lives have changed thanks to globalization. It has changed our ways of living. It has allowed us to avail of products and services that we could not have otherwise. It has opened our minds to what the rest of the world can offer. At the same time, it has also transformed our ways of doing business. Gone are the days when file cabinets and piles of paper dominated our offices. These days, a single computer can hold all our data. Any data that is required by us will only be a few mouse clicks away.

In a way, that reveals the new look of business. Convenience and speed have become necessities. Could that be a reason why many organizations are gradually choosing conference calls over the traditional business meetings? To begin with, business meetings usually involve a certain amount of delay. Even if the meeting starts on time, some amount of time will inevitably be lost while commuting to the meeting. That time might have been put to better use. Moreover, a good deal of time goes into preparing the conference room, inviting and assisting the delegates, and generally ensuring that there are no hiccups.

In addition to the waste of time, there are various kinds of costs linked with the traditional business meeting. Often enough, delegates have to be flown in from different places. This is more so these days, when the workforce is scattered across the world. Air fares and accommodation costs can adversely affect the company's budget.

Thus, more and more business organizations are looking to the conference call to have important discussions. This is especially important when the matter to be discussed is one of crucial importance and which cannot wait for a traditional business meeting. The "con call" as it is popularly referred to, provides a quick and efficient way to carry out discussions on a given matter. Moreover, the organization concerned then has to pay only for the conference call service, thus saving on larger costs like travel and hotel bills.

Also, conference calls need not be restricted to only domestic calls. International conference call services are easily available. Thus, one can simultaneously talk to someone from the same office building and someone living in a far-off land. These days, we have access to a variety of conference call service providers. The numbers of providers ensure that we will get good bargains.
Source:http://pr-gb.com/

Five Steps to Clearer Audio Conferences

2007-09-20T22:17:00.000-07:00

At San Francisco's Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold, our IT department received constant complaints from our users who tried to conduct audio or video conferences.

Our legal professionals were frustrated by poor audio, low volumes, or static instead of content. How did we resolve these issues?

We established five rules for successful audio conferences, which can apply to the audio portion of video conferences or webinars, as well as the traditional teleconference.

1. Turn off your BlackBerry.

BlackBerrys emit annoying radio frequency interference that is picked up by telephones, microphones and speakers.

They aren't the only guilty party: To some extent cell phones and all wireless devices could be considered co-defendants to this noise complaint.

But BlackBerrys, because they are much more likely to be transmitting information, are most problematic.

Of wireless protocols in use today, Global System for Mobile or GSM -- perhaps the most popular -- is probably the worst offender because of the way it uses the electromagnetic spectrum.

Your conference microphones work by translating sound waves into electromagnetic signals that are then sent to your conferencing system.

Meanwhile, your BlackBerry is sending out pulses of electromagnetism to communicate with its network. These pulses are essentially highjacking the electronics of your microphone and sending those pulses directly through the microphone to your conferencing system. You hear these electromagnetic pulses as that characteristic staccato of buzzes.

If you can't get people to turn off their BlackBerrys, consider investing in shielded microphones and cables.

Audio Technica U.S. Inc. makes a whole line of shielded boundary microphones. We've had great luck with the model U841A. Make sure your cables are also shielded or quad-style.

2. Avoid using a cell phone for audio conferences.

The quality of cell phone calls is poor and often filled with static. One cell phone on the call can create enough noise to ruin a conference for the other callers. If you absolutely have no other choice, please mute your cell phone during the call.

3. Don't use your office speakerphone.

High-end Polycom Inc. speakerphones and built-in conferencing systems offer duplex voice transmission.

This means that two people can talk at the same time without attenuating or diminishing the volume of one another. Although your office phone is capable of duplex voice transmission, your office speakerphone is not.

4. Mute your microphone when not talking.

Microphones will indiscriminately pick up the slightest of movement, breathing, rustling of papers or side conversations. In order for the group to hear the speaker, background noise must be kept to a minimum.

5. Locate the microphone, speak clearly into it and keep everything else away from it.

In order to be heard, you must be within three feet of the microphone and speak directly into it. You must also keep rustling papers, tapping pencils -- as well as noisy laptops and projectors -- as far away from the microphone as possible.

High-end conference rooms often have the microphones built into the table top, which makes their location easy to ignore or cover with papers or lunch.
Source:http://www.law.com/jsp/

Low-Cost Conference Calls Get Easier To Setup And Cheaper To Pay For: JaJah Conference Calls

2007-09-17T23:11:00.000-07:00

The new service allows for the setup, scheduling and delivery of low-cost conference calls with up to ten different participants. As for JaJah standard calls, the whole setup to initiate a conference is done on the web, with any type of computer and through a very simple and easy-to-use one-page interface.

Keep in mind that JaJah, does NOT require you to use any headset, microphone or other special software or device to hook to your computer. You simply fill in the numbers/names of the people you want to call and JaJah does the rest by transferring all that info the public telephone network and ringing you and your contacts phones at the moment you initiate your call.

JAJAH Conference Calling is a new powerful feature now accessible on top of the excellent web-based JaJah calling service. The new feature allows you to schedule and initiate very-low-cost conference calls in a very straightforward and easy-to-use online set up.

The service is open to anyone, individuals, small businesses and large companies and it takes next to no time at all to get started on it.

JAJAH Conference Calls make conference calls easier than they've ever been - and cheaper (of course).

You can add up to ten participants to a single call and for frequent conference calls with the same participants, you can set up groups in your JAJAH address book.

Missing a conference call is also a thing of the past because JAJAH actively rings the participants to start the conference. And you can schedule them ahead of time and send yourself a text message reminder shortly before the call begins.

How does it work?

Simple. Instead of just entering the one number you want to reach, click "Set up conference call" to enter additional numbers or contacts. You can add up to 10 participants to your conference. The new JAJAH Conference Calls feature also allows the scheduling of conference calls, and – as an option – the ability to send a text message reminder to the conference call invitees shortly before the start of the call.

Another very useful feature called "Groups" allows the easy recording of individual contacts into a group as to facilitate calling multiple people on a frequent or systematic basis.

None of the conference call attendees you are inviting will need to register or pay for anything. Only one, the conference call initiator has to pay for the cost of the call.

All conference calls costs are completely transparent to you as the exact cost for any conference call you may want to initiate is updated in real-time as you add new invitees to the call invitees list next to the "Call" button.

Here an example of the costs: You are in Montreal, Canada (Zone 1). You want to talk to your friends in France, Belgium (Zone 2) and Guinea (Zone 4). With JAJAH, talking to your friends at the same time will cost you no more than 24 Cents (US) per minute. Compared to other major conference calling providers you may save up to 95% on a single conference call.

source:http://www.masternewmedia.org/

FVC launches Polycom's CX range of IP phones with end-to-end support for Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007

2007-09-12T23:55:00.000-07:00

The Polycom product family includes the CX100, a portable Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 speakerphone peripheral, the CX200 speakerphone and handset, the CX400 cordless desktop handset, and the CX700 executive IP telephone.

Office Communications Server 2007 delivers streamlined communications for users, helping them find and communicate with the right person, right now, from the applications they use most. Without expensive infrastructure and network upgrades, customers can leverage streamlined communications, including software-powered VoIP, Web conferencing and enterprise instant messaging, while maintaining the operational control required.

said K.S. Parag, regional director, FVC. 'Our solutions are designed to bring the richness of the PC together with the familiarity and advanced voice capabilities of the desktop telephone, so users can easily locate and engage with customers, partners and co-workers within a secure and productive environment."

"Polycom's CX solutions for Office Communications Server 2007 enable a flexible, engaging and person-centric communications experience with high definition quality sound, PC integration, buddy list call initiation, and cordless design," said Sunil Bhalla, senior vice president and general manager of Voice at Polycom.

The Polycom CX100 Speakerphone is a peripheral device for Office Communicator 2007 that connects via USB to a laptop or desktop PC without the need to install additional drivers. Polycom is supporting the Office Communications Server 2007 public beta with the CX100 Speakerphone that can be ordered through www.microsoft.com/uc, after downloading the public beta.

The highly portable Polycom CX100 enables hands-free, high fidelity, high definition audio and greater group collaboration through robust, ad hoc conference calls that can be initiated from a laptop located in any conference room, office, or remote location such as a hotel room. The CX100 delivers a mobile high definition voice quality experience, which offers more than four times the clarity of the speakerphone capability found on traditional business phones, and has the flexibility to be used in individual or group communication sessions.

The CX100 closely integrates with Office Communicator 2007 and enables one-touch control of answering or hanging up a call, controlling the volume, and enabling mute directly from buttons on the device.

In addition to the CX100 Speakerphone, other Polycom high definition telephone devices that integrate with Office Communications Server 2007 in development are:

• The Polycom CX200 Desktop Phone is an USB peripheral for Office Communicator 2007 that will provide a full duplex speakerphone and handset and a large enhanced presence status indicator.

• The Polycom CX400 Cordless Phone is a wireless handset with a small base station that connects via USB and includes display capabilities with presence, a 30-foot wireless reception range, and 10-hour talk time.

• The Polycom CX700 IP Phone for executive desktops delivers a presence and directory enabled phone with a color touch screen, USB and Ethernet ports, and a biometric/fingerprint reader.

Source:http://www.ameinfo.com/131946.html

Making your Business Conference Calling Effective and Useful

2007-09-10T02:24:00.000-07:00

For a business to reach out to their client base, form connections with their satellite operations, and maintain communication levels exceeding that of emails and memos, they must reach those in their professional network by phone. Business conference calling can be done through a number of services, offering low rates, discounted toll free numbers to call in order to connect with everyone else on the call, and a myriad of added services that bolster the effectiveness of business conference calling.

If you are working for a medium to large size business, then you understand the complexities of managing time, resources, and money. The employees may work several hours from your office and need constant support and contact with your department. A business conference calling plan tailored to your specific needs can help you to stay in constant contact with those you are overseeing. For effective conference calls to become a reality, a business must first find the plan that works for them. There are several questions you must answer to find a suitable plan.

1.Do you know how many minutes/hours you will need for conference calls per month?

2.Looking at those numbers, does it make sense to purchase a monthly subscription plan, reducing your per minute charge for your business conference calling?

3.For effective conference calls, have you considered recording the sessions for transcription later?

4.Do you require a toll free number or will a toll number be sufficient?

Once you have the answers to these questions related to your business conference calling requirements, you can begin searching to find the perfect match for your business. The internet offers a wide array of business conference calling plans to match your company's usage and requirements. Once you have chosen the package right for your business, it is only a matter of holding effective conference calls.

Effective conference calls are achieved by strong leadership, focused discussions, and by having an agenda. A conference call can go awry when those leading the discussion lose focus, talk incessantly about one particular to the topic, or crowd the microphone time, eliminating others from the conversation. Effective conference calls should utilize the resources (people and money) to their advantage, bringing everyone together to brainstorm, listen and become informed on a topic, or just to talk about the business needs for them can be an effective conference calls.

By finding the right business conference calling plan, hosts can utilize the tools at their disposal to make it as easy to join and participate on the call as possible. Effective conference calls happen when those conducting the calls can do so without interference of dropped calls or other annoyances. The right service can promote effective conference calls, as much as the right leadership and personnel.

Source:http://www.articleinsert.com/

Conference Call Solutions and Service Providers

2007-09-04T23:30:00.000-07:00

Tech savvy corporations and business people are increasingly taking advantage of conference call services that are improving all the time.

Conference calls can be arranged quickly. It may involve just 3 or 4 persons with an audio only link; or it may involve 1000s of persons with audio, video and data links.

The advantages of virtual conference calling are many. Just to name a few:

Quick to arrange
Value for money
Saves travel costs
Saves Hotel costs
Saves conference room hire costs
Reduces administration - try getting a group of 5 from 5 countries to attend a conference at one physical location. Then try the same conference on a virtual basis. Once you have arranged a couple of virtual conference calls, it becomes a snip.
Cuts out non-productive time: e.g., waiting at airports or for trains, etc. Once the virtual conference call is over, you can get back immediately to the task in hand.

Virtual conferences can be highly interactive: you can include document sharing and board sharing (brainstorm ideas on one virtual page). With a larger audience, you can also include instant polling ("show of hands").

Some of the things you should look our for when sourcing conference call facilities:

Compare set up fees, if any
Is there any monthly or weekly "retainer" charge
Is there a "connection" charge?
Do you pay only for the seconds and minutes that you use?
What are the per second or per minute rates?
Do you pay for each caller who joins the conference call or do they pay individually?
Can you take advantage of local rate calls?
Can you offer "free" calls to your invitees?
Can you access the service 24/7 if your conference calls are international (when different time zones come into play)?
Is the support responsive and friendly?
Is there any user experience feedback?
Do you need to book the conference call well in advance?
Can you cancel the call without penalties?
Is there a "welcome" operator or area to introduce participants as they join the conference?
Can you obtain transcripts or recordings of the conference?

Plan your conference call and have a set agenda. Ensure that all participants are aware of the agenda. Appoint one or more moderators to ensure that the proceedings run smoothly and within time for all Conference Calls.

Always follow up the actions that come out of the conference call.

Enjoy your conference call, share, benefit and prosper!

Source:http://www.ccallinfo.com/

Hands on with the first NZ hacked iPhone

2007-09-04T00:14:00.000-07:00

Imagine two people walking into your office on a relatively slow news day. One is the Pope, and the other is carrying the first hacked iPhone that works on the Vodafone network. It's pretty clear who you’d want to talk to first.

John Ballinger, director of IT company Bluespark, received the iPhone as a gift from one of his clients, Vivienne. The phone was purchased in the US and found its way to John’s desk a few days later, he then proceeded to take apart and unlock the phone in a few hours.

"I was so excited when I made the first call and sent the first text message," says Ballinger. ”It took me over an hour just to take the phone apart, it is so beautifully built and no space is wasted. I used an online how-to guide, but I never realised how incredibly small the components were."

Ballinger says he needed help with the hack, but no soldering iron was required.

"You need these incredibly small needles to perform the hack. I brought some normal needles with me, and they were way too big and blunt, which gives you an idea of how small the components are."

Using a Norwegian based how-to guide, Ballinger managed to unlock the phone by installing certain software and performing a work-around on the hardware.

We quickly got our hands on the iPhone and had a play with the different features. We confirmed that everything worked, including trying conference calling and texting. We also had a play with the brilliant camera feature of the phone, and I for one was surprised at how easy the touch screen was to use.

While the iPhone operates happily on Vodafone’s network, there are certain features that have not been hacked yet. GPRS, the email client and the voicemail inbox have yet to get the treatment. The iPhone also does not natively support 3G.

Source:http://blogs.pcworld.co.nz/pcworld/products/

Benifits of Conference Calling Services

2007-09-03T02:17:00.000-07:00

conference call facilities to all those who want to perform an audio or web conference at a short notice. The clients can avail their services for a definite fee - that may vary from service provider to provider - and the users in turn are offered the best of services and support all through the session. The costs of a session are generally affordable, especially when compared with the expenses of a business travel and hotel accommodations, but may vary from one provider to the other. But, irrespective of the service provider, at the end of the day, the user may find that conference call services are the most cost effective way to arrange a trans-continental business meeting.

The conference call services – as offered by the conference call service providers – vary from simple audio conferencing to web conferencing, and each comes with different schemes and special offers. Audio conference call services or audio conference calls are for those who want to communicate things verbally, the same way as one does in a round table meeting, without any visual data exchange. On the other hand, web conference calling involves not only talking, but the participants can also see each other and share a document or parts of a document online if wished so. Audio conference call services are usually charged on a per minute basis while online conference calls levies a fee on a per seat per month basis. It may be $100-150 for a web conference session on an average and $60 for audio conferencing. Concessional rates may be offered to those who are using these conference call services quite frequently.

The communication domain is a fast changing one and hence it is only a matter of time before newer and better technologies emerge and replace the existing ones. In other words, web and audio conferencing, as it exists now, may be substituted by newer technologies in the near future. But until that happens, business will continue to rely on conference call services for their mass business communication, as a cheaper alternative for the costlier business travels, since conference call services are easy, cheap, and effective.

Source:http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/5-18-2006-96545.asp

Lypp’s Free-n-Easy Conference Calling

2007-08-29T02:11:00.000-07:00

New group calling service set to launch a private beta in September. There are a lot of conference calling services out there already, not least among them being the full blown meeting applications (GoToMeeting, WebEx). However, Lypp wants to make initiating a conference call dead simple (download free) over IM, SMS, and email. The service will be free at the time of launch (each user will get 500 minutes of free calling, no per-min charges, no monthly fees).

IM will be the first mode for initiating conference calls. Users will associate an IM ID with their service and add Lypp as a friend. You’ll then be able to initiate a call by sending a command to that IM buddy, such as call [number, number, number]. Lypp will call your phone and those of your friends, connecting you all in a conference call. Most likely the calls are initiated and tied together over a VOIP bridge. Typing in my friends numbers instead of just selecting contacts on a downloaded application seems like it could get annoying, though.

They’re keeping it simple for launch, but have plans for an API, advanced in-call controls, recording, and possible location based. The API will integrate with calendaring, address books, and other complementary applications.
Source:http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/08/22/

One Voice Launches MobileVoice Landline in Mexico

2007-08-10T21:12:00.000-07:00

One Voice Technologies has announced the availability of One Voice’s MobileVoice Landline service in Mexico.The service has been offered to select subscribers of Teléfonos del Noroeste, S.A. de C.V. (TELNOR), a subsidiary of Teléfonos de México, S.A.B. de C.V. (TELMEX) TELNOR will offer a package of services under the brand IRIS that will include: Voice Dialing, Group Conference Calling and Conference Calling, along with Reading and Sending E-mail.

CEO of One Voice Technologies expressed his company’s excitement at the availability of IRIS and their strong relationship with TELNOR.

Weber explained that with IRIS users can simply pick up their phone and tell the system to call someone, read-send e-mail or make group calls to friends, family or business colleagues.

One Voice Technologies made news last week when the company, LTB Audio Systems, signed a strategic partnership to offer One Voice’s Media Center Communicator, voice recognition for Windows Vista Media Center, with LTB Audio’s new Q-Bean, a digital wireless device which offers everything from digital CD-quality streaming audio to a built-in microphone for voice control of Windows Vista Media Center and wireless Skype (News - Alert) phone calling.

One Voice Technologies, located in La Jolla, Calif.,. develops fourth-generation voice solutions for the telecom and interactive multimedia markets. Their Intelligent Voice solutions employ revolutionary, patented technology that allows people to send messages (E-mail, SMS, Instant Messaging and paging), purchase products, get information and control devices - all by using their voice.
Source:http://www.tmcnet.com

Skype's free VoIP conference software brings new possibilities

2007-08-06T02:19:00.000-07:00

Conference calling is an easy and effective way to be in contact with your colleagues who are far away and close by. Voice over IP makes this mode of communication even easier -- and it saves money. Skype is one downloadable program that helps you do this and what's more, you can do it at no cost. Free VoIP conference software from Skype can make conference calling so simple.

Skype's free VoIP software allows you to hold conference calls with up to five people. All you need is the free download and a headset, and you can enjoy crisp, clear communication through your Internet connection. Skype is a secure way to make calls, so you can hold a conference with your coworkers with the peace of mind that what you're sharing stays confidential.

As long as the computer you want to reach has Skype installed, the calling service remains free. There are other plans available that allow dialing in and out to telephones for a small price. A PC Magazine review asserts that the Skype calling interface is as easy to use as a standard instant messaging service.

Because Skype's VoIP conference calling is free, you won't need to sign a contract or make a commitment. It's a great way to try using VoIP in your business communication because there isn't a financial risk. All you need is an Internet connection -- a faster connection makes for a better call -- and a headset to make secure, convenient conference calls that can help cut down on face-to-face meetings and improve productivity.
Source:http://www.web-conferencing-zone.com/

Cheap conference calls - Flat rate conference call services and more

2007-08-03T23:39:00.000-07:00

Cheap conference calls – as the first term suggests – is the relatively cheaper version of conference call services. For all those who want to perform an audio conference calling or web conference calling at a short notice, and that within a limited budget, this is the right choice. It does the balancing act between reliable service and cost per minute. In the following paragraphs, we’ll see the advantages and pricing of flat rate conference call services, discounted conference calling rates, and how the company manages to offer such a concession in a realistic domain.

The biggest advantage with cheap conference calls is that the clients do not have to make advanced reservations. Instead, he/she can avail the service by calling a toll-free number and other participants can join the conversation using a secret entry code, which the organizer of the conference provides to the participants. Further, in order to make use of discounted conference calling rates, one need not have to own any costly infrastructure. But one can manage the entire session with a normal telephone with conference features, whatever is the strength of the conference. Then there is added advantage if the customer buys bulk minutes; the service provider charges only lesser cents per minute if the customer buys more minutes.

Flat rate conference calls, on the other hand, charges a flat rate per month irrespective of the number of minutes of used. Such a scheme is suitable for those customers who consistently spend over $155 (say) a month on conference calls. The more calls they make, more they save.

You may wonder how the vendors are able to offer conference facilities at such cheaper rates. But the thing is that not all vendors are offering such services. Only those who have their own conference call bridges and phone infrastructure provides discounted conference calling rates and flat rate conference calls, and they could manage it as they do not have to pay for any over head, which is generally charged over the customer bill by most non-discount players.

Cheap conference calls are comparatively cheaper. But it is advisable to check the exact rates and conditions with the service provider before start availing the facility. The rates may vary from one vendor to another.
Source:http://www.buzzle.com

Tell Me More: Conference Call Bridge

2007-08-02T21:08:00.000-07:00

Getting people together from different locations for a conference call doesn't have to be a painstaking process. You can use a conference call bridge to allow several individuals across multiple conference sites to share information and video in real time.

For companies doing more than six hours of conference calls per month, a conference call bridge can reduce hefty toll charges. Purchasing a bridge for your business is expensive, around $10,000 to $20,000 for the equipment and hundreds to thousands of dollars per phone line. You can request a separate recording device for archiving conferences for future playback, or use your own in-house recording equipment.

You can rent a bridge from a Conference Calling service provider to help alleviate the costs, but only if you use conference calls sparingly. Whether you buy or purchase, your participants are responsible for long distance charges on their end.

There are two ways to connect using a conference call bridge: dial-in and dial-out. Dial-in provides codes for you and your guests. You simply provide participants with the date, time, and access codes to join the conference call. With dial-out, you have additional flexibility to invite participants to join at the last minute. With both options, all participants are muted and can't communicate with each other. Your visitors wait until everybody has connected to the bridge and then you indicate when you begin.

Source:http://www.buyerzone.com/

Affordable Conference Call – How You Should Plan To Get Most Out of It

2007-07-31T20:41:00.000-07:00

Advancement of internet and VoIP, made affordable conference call a realty. Due to low cost, all kinds of conference calling like audio, video are fast becoming popular in our daily social or professional life.

Here you will get information on how low cost audio, video conference call has really reduces monthly household and business phone bill. You will find simple advises on how to select conference call providers.

Affordable conference call made communication simple and cheap with guaranteed quality of services. Now conference calls are within budget to small business owners as well as family with tight budget. Affordability of conference call made it popular amongst students' community and for amongst senior people whose children or other family members are staying abroad.

Organization can buy costly equipment to be installed in their own premises, which provide maximum security or can use equipment on lease and pay as they use.

Why conference call made high impact on daily life?

1. Quick support to customer is the most important parameters for any enterprise. Just imagine, while there was no conference calling facility, people need to travel to customer place to support or for any sales discussion but now using a simple audio conference call , same can be achieved within an hour time.

2. Sometimes corporate requires brainstorming session to address a particular challenge. Earlier, it used to take a lot of time, as people need to travel from different parts of the world to attend the meeting. This includes travel cost and time. Now, the same can be achieved using a dedicated video conference call. If there are no stringent security requirements, it can be achieved easily with web based conference calling functionality like netmeeting.

3. Biggest benefits of low cost conference calling are working managers need not to worry for the expense incurred. Due to low cost, employees are now empowered to take quick decision to use different conference call equipments.

4. People who are traveling can remain in touch with their near ones at home. Inmates of a family can all join in a conference call to greet somebody or to have a simple chat. Affordable net based conference call makes all these possible. Some people also use conference calls for social reasons.

5. Audio and video conferences are extremely helpful for patients as they can consult specialist doctors without any hassles of traveling. There are occasions, where doctors from different parts of the country supervise a critical operation using video conference facility.

How you can also take advantage of conference call in your family life

You should educate your family members to use yahoo netmeeting, instant massager or google talk. You can easily keep contact with them, chat with them and even can physically see them from your laptop sitting in hotel room or airport.

Many conference call service providers are willing and able to create customized affordable plans for small businesses houses. You just have to take the time to shop around for the best phone rates, and the type of service plan that best suits your individual business needs.

Source:http://www.buzzle.com/

The Best Service For Your Audio and Video Conference Call

2007-07-27T23:45:00.000-07:00

There are a great deal advantages to incorporating audio and video conference calls into your daily business communication strategy. Audio and viedo Conferencing One of those advantages encompass making truly that your staff receives the same data, that the data is delivered in real time, that your customers are kept apprised of strategies that affect their bottom line, etc. Conference Call Hosting One convenient way of accomplishing these communication objectives is through an audio and video
conference calling.

When selecting your provider to be responsible for these audio and video conference calls it is significant to take into consideration a number of factors. In addition it is significant that you keep in mind the pricing of this service.

Factors In Choosing Your Audio Conference Call Provider

One of the key factors in choosing your audio conference call provider is to determine what your teleconferencing needs are. Dial In Conference Call These needs can be based on whether you be forced to have an international teleconferencing line set up, lot of minutes you estimate that will be needed for teleconferencing purposes, the number of individuals that can be on the call at any given time, whether you wish to utilize facilitator services, etc.

Another critical component in selecting your audio conference call provider is to investigate the varied companies that offer conferencing call services. Team Collaboration Particular attention should be given to the technological equipment that they utilize. Their equipment ought to provide the proper bandwidth for performance, thinkable use of fiber optics for clarity, noise reduction, optimal use of switching equipment, etc. Since communication is a critical component in the successful operation of any business, an meaningful factor to contemplate, before selecting your audio conference call provider, is their level of providing service which is of the highest superiority. For example, if you are in the midst of an important teleconference call with a customer and other staff members and the call is "dropped," this could have serious consequences.

Therefore, it is significant to do determine the quality of service that the audio conference call company provides. Ordinarily when you contact the provider they will provide letters of endorsement from satisfied customers. Premiere Conference You can accept these letters at face value or you can and also ask if it would be acceptable to contact these companies to ask secondary questions.

source:http://www.conferencecallconnections.com/

Automated VideoConferencing - ACT Teleconferencing Launches ReadyConnect Video in the UK

2007-07-23T23:05:00.000-07:00

DENVER, COLO. - ACT Teleconferencing, Inc. a worldwide provider of audio, video and web-based conferencing products, today announced the introduction of ReadyConnect Video, a cutting-edge reservationless videoconferencing technology, to its UK customers. On Wednesday 17th May, ACT's senior management is meeting with its UK clients to demonstrate ReadyConnect Video at the Hilton Hotel, Park Lane, in London.

The UK event is a continuation of the global road show that originated in Asia Pacific. The Company successfully launched ReadyConnect Video in Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia in March. Throughout the summer, the Company will introduce this innovative videoconferencing product at events throughout the U.S. and Canada.

"We are very excited about introducing ReadyConnect Video to our UK customers. After receiving a positive response from our customers in Asia Pac, we look forward to introducing the product to our clients over here," said ACT President and Chief Executive Officer Gene Warren. "This product is a natural extension of our global platform and existing audio and video conferencing products."

An automated service, ReadyConnect Video eliminates the need for advance scheduling and the heavy technical support required by traditional videoconferencing. The product is available 24-hours, offers a user-friendly interface, and the ability to archive and stream presentations. To host a videoconference call with slides, users merely log on to the Internet-it is that simple! Participants without videoconferencing equipment can join a conference Call via the telephone or the Internet.

About ACT Teleconferencing

Established in 1990, ACT Teleconferencing, Inc. is a leading independent worldwide provider of audio, video and web-based conferencing products and services to corporations, educational organizations, and governments worldwide. ACT is the only conferencing company with integrated global audio and videoconferencing platforms that provide uniform international services, customized uniform billing, managed services, and local language services. The Company's headquarters are located in Denver, Colorado, with operations in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, the U.K. and the U.S., and virtual locations in Japan, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Russia, Poland and South Africa.
Source:http://www.newsaboutav.com/ACTTeleconferencingReadyConnectVideo.html

Where Talk is Cheap

2007-07-19T00:42:00.000-07:00

There are a number of vendors that offer free conference calling for calls made in and between the USA and Canada. The limits
generally are on the number of participants and the time frame.Some vendors limit the conference calls to 50 participants,
while most allow up to 100 to attend. Time frames are generallyone to three hours, with one hour being the usual. Where the
cost comes in with these free USA and Canada free conferencecalling meetings is not with the vendor, but rather with the
phone carriers. There is no toll free number to dial in withthese free conference calling vendors so you may incur a long
distance charge when you call within the USA or Canada.

Some vendors allow you to reserve your free conference calling within the USA and Canada, while others only offer audio
conferencing that is reservationless. Let’s look at one vendor offering USA or Canada free conference calling.

If you’re wondering what the catch is with this free conference calling with this and other vendors, and you don’t think it
could possibly be free, think again. Just as with other free “come-ons” in any other industry or market, free is an
enticement. This vendor, like the others, offers the free conferencing calling in the USA and Canada in hopes that you’ll
purchase some upgrades such as digital recordings, operator assistance for question and answer sessions and surveys as well
as reports. They also make additional money selling conference call toll free numbers and contracts with larger corporations.

Another additional fee is for a greater number of participants.One vendor who looked at allows up to 50 participants with its
audio only free conference calling in USA and Canada. The number used to call in is a toll call for long distance participants.
Should a client wish to invite additional participants the prices are $75 per month for dial in codes for up to 100
participants, $100 a month if you’d like to invite up to 200,and $150 a month for a conference call among 500 participants.

From iPhone Hype to iPhone VoIP

2007-07-17T02:24:00.000-07:00

As iPhone Atlas reports (how quickly an iPhone-blog community is springing up) when Talkety calls you, it asks you to enter a verification code, probably to prevent the service from being used for VoIP spam. iPhone Atlas also notes good voice quality on Talkety calls but also some latency.
A Few More Features

Talkety has several other features that aim to attract both Apple and Windows users:

1. A Talkety Firefox extension allows users to call phone numbers they find on Web sites by right-clicking (or Ctrl-clicking, for Mac users) the number and selecting Talkety from the resulting pop-up menu. The only drawback here is that you must set Firefox to allow pop-ups.
2. Apple users will enjoy a dashboard widget that enables fast Talkety calling even with no browser open, while Windows users will appreciate an Outlook plug-in that serves a similar function: letting users make calls directly from their Outlook contact list.
3. Talkety has several other features, including the ability to import from and synchronize addresses with Apple’s Address Book and other vCard-based systems.

You Must Pay

Note that Talkety’s consumer and business accounts both cost money. For example, consumer-account users get 30 free minutes for starters, then have to pay for calls at Talkety’s rates . But in exchange for parting with some money, you are getting mobile-to-mobile VoIP on phones that have Web browsers — and for much less than the cost of either landline or mobile calls.

While regular Talkety accounts only let users make conference call with two other people, a Talkety Pro account for business users expands the conference-calling service ability up to 50 people at once. A Talkety Pro account costs a minimum of €10/month — yes, that’s euros, don’t be intimidated — which translates to about $13.60 per month right now. That price includes up to 500 minutes of what Talkety calls 'International Flatrate,' which allows you to call more than 20 countries, regardless of where you are located, for a flat per-minute rate. Those rates can range from a low of $0.0164 per minute to call within Germany to $0.0363 per minute to call Iceland, with only Turkey coming in higher at $0.0519 per minute.

The advantage here is not the rate, which is low enough, but the fact that Talkety increases the transparency of international-call pricing. In addition, the company is happy to invoice you each month rather than demanding you have money in a Talkety account, in the extraordinary case that your phone calls take longer than you expect.

Talkety is trying to be the first service on the block to promote iPhone-friendly VoIP. If you have a new iPhone, it couldn’t hurt to try Talkety VoIP on it, and potentially make calls for quite a bit less than Ma Bell charges.
Source:http://www.voip-news.com

FCC Referees Dispute Over Free Conference Calling

2007-07-16T01:38:00.000-07:00

Large telecom carriers complained that free conferencing and similar voice services are a scam that take advantage of a loophole in long-distance price regulations. Small providers of the services complained that the carriers have no right to block their customers' calls.
Late Thursday, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission stepped into the dispute, giving both sides something to cheer about.
The FCC ruled that large carriers cannot resort to the "self-help" measure of blocking calls without its permission. But the agency also said it was suspending the termination fees charged by 39 rural carriers due to "substantial questions raised" about the legality of the long-distance termination fees they collect.
The dispute began early this year, when AT&T Inc., Qwest Communications International Inc. and Sprint Nextel Corp. filed lawsuits against two rural local exchange carriers (LECs) and 10 chat-line service operators in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. In March, complained that the three telecom carriers were blocking customers from calling its service.
Conference calling gives its customers free voice conferencing services when they dial a long-distance number provided by the company.
Here's how it works: Under legacy telecom regulations, telecom carriers must pay termination fees when their customers make a long-distance call to a telephone number controlled by a local exchange carrier (LEC). The termination fees vary greatly, from about US$0.01 to $0.13 per minute, with rural LECs generally collecting higher fees.
Conference Calling and similar businesses make money by sending long-distance traffic to LECs with relatively high termination fees and splitting the termination fees with the LECs. Customers calling the service generally have to pay long-distance fees.
Other businesses using the same model include free voice mail services, sex chat lines and services that forward international calls.
AT&T, in an April letter to the FCC, complained that these "traffic-pumping arrangements ... are scams, pure and simple." One rural Iowa LEC changed its termination fees and went from charging AT&T about $2,000 a month to more than $2 million in a single month, wrote James Cicconi, AT&T's senior executive vice president for external and legislative affairs.
"The end result is millions of calls to the advertised phone numbers, millions of dollars in monthly access charge billings, and enormous windfalls both to the ... LEC and the calling service provider, all funded by and their customers, the vast majority of whom never call and want nothing to do with these services," Cicconi wrote.
Alex Cory, CEO of FreeConference parent company Global Conference Partners, said some abuse of termination fees may exist, but his company isn't one of the abusers. FreeConference uses large LECs that generally have termination fees in the $0.03 to $0.04 range, while carriers like AT&T collect close to $0.08 per minute for a long-distance call, he said.
Even with the termination fees LEC partners collect, the long-distance carriers still make money, he said. "Essentially, this is a revenue-sharing business," Cory said. "I continue to be bewildered that the major carriers aren't interested in business models profitable to them."
The major carriers have complained because Conference Calling offers a cheaper service than their own conferencing products, Cory said. "They were looking to shut down competition," he said.
Conference Calling complained to the FCC that AT&T and other carriers were violating the agency's common carrier rules by blocking calls from its customers. FreeConference filed a lawsuit against AT&T in March, but later withdrew it when after it said AT&T stopped blocking its calls. FreeConference continues to have problems with quality of service on telephone networks operated by major carriers, Cory said.
Source:

2007-07-14T00:22:00.000-07:00

A Conference Call is usually needed for those organizations that need more then one calling party to listen to their talk. In these types of telephone calls the calling party often interacts with one party and is so designed that another party can listen to the call.

The telephone call is usually a two way process where one party calls and the other party responds but in a Conference Call more than party can listen to the call. It can be set up in two ways. A Conference Call can be set up in two different ways. It can be so set up that the called party can only listen to the call or it may also be designed in such a way that the third party is able to interact with the other participants in the call. These kinds of calls that are set up are usually called Audio Tele-Conference or ATC calls. There are also such modes where some of the callers can call in themselves and get added to the Conference Call automatically so that they can participate in the conference that is going on. This automatic log in is done with the help of a conference bridge. This is a particular kind of electronic equipment that connects different phone lines together. The participants have to call into a conference bridge or what they can also do is they can use a particular number to call that would be set up especially for providing

this service.
Many of the organizations and companies that use the facility of the Conference Call take it from a service provider. These service providers are specially equipped with the kind of facilities and advanced technology that is required for a Conference Call. The service providers have to offer a conference bridge and also different telephone numbers that are needed to gain entry to a meeting or a conference via a Conference Call. A Conference Call is also termed as a three way call and is provided by the service provider usually at an extra charge to the customer. These services are provided either to the customer at his home or to offices on their phone lines. In these services the caller is allowed to add up a second out going call to the call that is already connected to another call. These Conference Calls can be used by various organizations. Varieties of businesses use the conference call facility in order to connect to those clients who are located very far. Communication becomes real easy when it is done through the system of Conference Calls. For both internal operations within the organization and communication outside the company a Conference Call is a wonderful application that can prove to be very useful. When one is doing a sales presentation, or team meetings are organized for individuals who are working for the same company but in different locations.

Source:http://www.encyclocentral.com

Cellular carriers block conference calls

2007-07-12T22:18:00.000-07:00

Are you familiar with FreeConferenceCall? It’s a plain old telephone service that lets you set up multiparty teleconferences free of charge at your own personal dial-in number.

Recently, however, it appears that cellular carriers AT&T/Cingular and Sprint Nextel have been blocking mobile calls to FreeConferenceCall numbers. The issue seems to be that independent phone companies in rural locations charge heftier termination fees to complete phone calls than do incumbent carriers in major metro areas. This is allowable so that the small telcos can recover costs in what are low-population (and thus low-revenue) locations.

The provider passing the traffic to the terminating local phone company—for example, a mobile network operator such as Cingular or Sprint—pays the termination fee. Apparently, FreeConferenceCall is helping local phone companies bring in scads more revenue by having its conference call numbers terminate in those rural areas with the comparatively high termination fees. As a result, this is costing the cellular carriers more than they budgeted for.

AT&T is actually suing a number of the independent phone companies for fraud and last week filed a letter with the FCC asking that the agency discourage such practices.

In a statement, AT&T said: “Ultimately, our goal is to address a serious and growing abuse of the regulatory process that is harmful to consumers. It is harmful to consumers because it threatens our ability to offer affordable unlimited calling plans.”

Sprint has been cagier: As of this writing, Sprint users reported being blocked from their FreeConferenceCall numbers, but Sprint help desk staff didn’t acknowledge any deliberate blockages.

Now, from the customer standpoint: This seems another example of the cellular carriers’ ferocious attempts to protect their “walled gardens”—closed networks in which the carriers dictate what resources its subscribers can access. According to FreeConferenceCall, a Cingular spokesperson has gone on record and stated that their terms of service "gives them the right to block any number they wish.”

Some FreeConferenceCall users chatting on the company’s Web site about this issue say there is nothing in their terms and services that give them a heads up that calls can be blocked at the will of the mobile operator. Others have terminated their Cingular contracts.

Source:http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/wireless/2007/0409wireless2.html

Get connected to as many participants through conference callings easily

2007-07-10T22:36:00.000-07:00

When the need for a conference call arises, the last thing you have time to worry about is whether or not your service provider can handle the number of participants that need to attend, or if the integrity of the call will be disrupted in some

way during the course of the conference calls , as a result of poor service. You also don't need the added stress of whether or not a line will be available at the time during which your conference is scheduled to take place.

you've just become aware of some critical information that needs to be shared with a number of other individuals around the world without delay. There's no time to schedule a telephone conference or go through a lot of red tape with conference call service provider. In addition, you don't have the budget to pay buckets of money for a conference call that includes participants who are overseas. Yet, you've got to get everyone into the loop as fast as possible, regardless of the circumstances, and discuss the information in detail.

While this may seem like an extreme set of circumstances, it happens all too often, in both the small and large business environment. Those who don't currently have a conference calling service provider in place may find themselves up against the

proverbial wall when just such a scenario rears its ugly head. Fortunately, there's now a way to overcome all of these obstacles by using a service provider that offers features that will meet all of these needs.

Since you must plan for the need for conference calls at some point in your future, it's best to choose a provider that can give you a full-service package from the beginning, rather than spend a lot of time shopping around and comparing benefits among a large number of providers. Your best plan of action, then, is to set up an account with a service provider that

offers conference calling without the need for advanced reservations, that has the capability of accepting a large number of participants within the framework of one call and that doesn't charge extra for overseas calls. Believe it or not, these are

available and, in addition, can offer 24/7 phone access to meet all of your conference call needs.

Providers such as can help you to set up an account that offers those features and more, at good rates that don't mask any hidden fees, with billing that you won't need your accountant to help you to understand. Better yet, if you have specific needs, service providers such as this one will help to customize your account so that you'll receive a comprehensive service package that includes all of their regular benefits.

source:http://www.icallglobe.com/articles/conferencecalls.html

How To get cheap conference calling card

2007-07-09T00:42:00.000-07:00

Approximately 500 million calling cards have been sold annually over the past decade. Calling cards may be purchased anywhere from convenience stores to gas stations. Calling cards may also be purchased online. With the Internet you have a much easier way to shop around and compare so you'll be able to get the best deals.

Prepaid phone cards came as a great advancement for communications, particularly for long distance calling. Calling cards give you an affordable way to keep in touch with your loved one's and friends or business associates. The prepaid International long distance card has brought people in different parts of the world closer together. Low priced calling cards have made it affordable to stay in touch. Prepaid phone cards can also be very handy during emergencies.

When you are considering which calling card to buy, you need to be aware that they are not all the same. The rates and fees charged to the card can vary widely. You will want to read the terms and compare the services for any phone card before deciding to make a purchase. Than may sound easier than it is to be done.

Calling card marketers tend to stress the cost per minute rate on the packaging, advertising copy, and on the card itself. Unfortunately, the cost per minute doesn't give you an accurate picture of what you will actually pay. Several surcharge fees, such as for pay phone usage, can be added to the price of using a phone card. As a general rule the lower the cost per minute rate is, the higher other surcharges may be.

Many calling cards will have a per call charge, or connection fee. Often this charge can be high enough to significantly increase your actual per minute cost. A lot of cards will also have a higher surcharge for International long distance calls. This fee can tack on several dollars to a single phone call. Other surcharges can include tax and account maintenance fees.

Before you make that final decision on which prepaid calling card to get you will want to think about your calling habits. If you make frequent, short calls the best card for you would be one that has the lowest per-connection and "minimum rounding" fees.

If you make less calls and talk longer you need a card with the lowest per minute rates, but with some surcharges, which will give you a bargain for your money. The average person makes different types of calls and may want to carry a calling card of each situation.

A prepaid calling card can give you many advantages. Just be certain to compare services before choosing which card to use so you will get the maximum benefit from your calling card.

Source:http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/How-to-Choose-the-Best-Prepaid-Calling-Card/173009

Verizon Introduces Three New Fixed-Mobile Convergence Services to Enhance Business Mobility

2007-07-06T23:19:00.000-07:00

To make it easier for businesses and government agencies to enhance employee mobility and productivity, Verizon is introducing three new fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) services. The services help on-the-go professionals seamlessly bridge wireline and wireless networks.

The services, unveiled today at the NXTcomm trade show in Chicago, are: Wireless Office, PBX Mobile Extension and Mobile Conference Connection.

Features include: a single phone number that simultaneously rings to an office, home and cell phone; a unified mailbox that consolidates voicemail from multiple devices; and instant conference calls that can be organized and initiated with just a few clicks on any Research in Motion BlackBerry or Microsoft Windows Mobile smart phone or PDA.

The new services are part of Verizon's overall mobility strategy, which builds on the power of the company's expansive, world-class wireline and wireless networks and advanced collaboration techniques.

The services are also the latest additions to Verizon's comprehensive suite of Mobility offerings, which enable professionals to seamlessly and securely conduct business while away from the office. The offerings include: wireless voice and data, managed wireless LAN, and Secure Gateway, which provides mobile users with access to their company's virtual private network.

In addition, the Mobility services feature Verizon's advanced collaboration tools including conferencing services (audio conference service, Web conference service and video conference service), secure instant messaging and managed e-mail.

"Now, more than ever, busy professionals are demanding new tools to help stay on top of their business, both in and out of the office," said John Stratton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon. "By bridging its world-class wired and wireless networks, Verizon is helping to enhance mobility and productivity in today's fast-paced, mobile work environment."

According to Forrester Research, 23 percent of large-business professionals are frequent travelers who spend significant time away from their offices and conduct increasing amounts of business on the move. As a result, businesses each year are spending more on mobile devices while also focusing greater attention on asset management and liability.

With Wireless Office and PBX Mobile Extension, Employees' Offices Can Follow Where They Go

Wireless Office and PBX Mobile Extension provide wireless phone users with the same capabilities available on an office phone.

Wireless Office, powered by the Verizon Wireless network, is immediately available for U.S. businesses. It delivers a network-based solution for small and mid-sized businesses to merge their fixed and wireless voice communications by extending common private branch exchange (PBX) calling features - such as abbreviated dialing, closed user groups and call control - to wireless devices.

The features enable small and mid-sized businesses to respond more quickly to their customers and make their communications more cost-efficient. As a result, these businesses can compete more effectively with their larger rivals. The service includes two different pricing options for either "on campus" wireless calling or on-net calling for calls that originate from a wireless handset to corporate office extensions.

PBX Mobile Extension enables a large corporate campus or large numbers of mobile workers - including executives, sales personnel or field service technicians - to answer calls and respond quickly. This service works with a company's existing PBX system to provide a single phone number that simultaneously rings on a user's cell phone, home phone or any pre-selected phone number. If a user can't answer the call, PBX Mobile Extension uses a company's existing voice mail system to provide a unified voice mailbox, eliminating the inefficiencies of multiple voice mail systems.

In addition to making it easier for callers to reach a company's workforce, the service enhances calling for employees. Outbound calls by employees using cell phones show the caller's office phone number via caller ID. Cell phone callers also can use other PBX functions such as call-transfer, park, hold and more.

With PBX Mobile Extension, workers can also move seamlessly between their cell phone and a desk phone to complete a call in progress, conduct quick and secure conference calls, and initiate mass notifications enabling companies to quickly respond to planned or unplanned situations. The service will be available in the United States starting next month, and Verizon plans to roll it out internationally in 2008.

On-the-Go Virtual Meetings Take New Shape With Mobile Conference Connection

Mobile Conference conference calling Connection helps busy workers quickly and easily coordinate spontaneous meetings and boost productivity away from the office. This new offering, targeted for launch this summer, provides road warriors with tools right at their fingertips to initiate or join a conference call with a few clicks on any Research in Motion BlackBerry or Microsoft Windows Mobile smart phone or PDA. For example, Mobile Conference Connection allows Instant Meeting leaders in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Latin America to enter their Instant Meeting Subscription information on their mobile device. This enables the meeting leaders to initiate and schedule spontaneous meetings, send e-mail meeting invitations, start meetings, and add participants to conference calls via a link embedded in an e-mail invitation that participants receive via their mobile registered device. In addition, participants or leaders can join audio calls by having a conference call bridge "dial out'' to contact them.

Users of Verizon's Global BlackBerry 8830 service can use Mobile Conference Connection to initiate or participate in conference calls from 150 countries worldwide. In addition, Global Blackberry users benefit from e-mail and Internet connections in 90 countries.

More Mobility Services Planned

"Today's announcements enhance our existing Mobility portfolio with new, simple and secure ways for workers to stay connected to the office," said Stratton. "We will continue to aggressively roll out products and services that best meet the needs of business customers round the world."

Additional new services Verizon plans to launch this year and next include:

1. Satellite access in Europe and Asia to enable companies without terrestrial access to remain connected to corporate resources.

2.Additional automatic wireless primary and backup access options to help enable companies to remain up and running.

3.Mobile satellite access where users can access their network in hard-to-reach areas such as mountainous regions.

4.Integrated VoIP offerings to support mobile workers.

5.Managed Wireless backup to Private IP.

source:http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/803849/3280

Conference call services - the pros and cons of web conference calling

2007-07-04T22:49:00.000-07:00

Initially web conferencing calling was designed to be an audio conferencing call. Even today it is largely used as presentation calls which mainly interact with several people at a time. But web conference call is rapidly replacing the other forms of conference calls with its multiple uses. The manifold development that has taken place in the information technology during the past two decades has had its echo in the conference call arena.

One of the greatest advantages that web conference call has it that concepts can be illustrated in real time using the 'whiteboard.' People can also take questions and give answers, which can be recorded and later used for further interaction. The widespread use of broadband has totally revolutionized the concept of web conference call. Conference call services for business have undergone a sea change with the introduction of web conference calling. All the meetings that used to be held in the conference hall can now be held in individual offices and this saves both time and money.

Web conference call is quite similar to face-to-face meetings and is also an ideal tool for Internet marketing. With help of web conferencing, you can avoid all the nuances associated with traveling. You can also plan out your presentation more effectively through this type of conference call. The web conference call can also be recorded and put to use at a later stage. It is highly useful for those people who were not present in the conference.

One of the major disadvantages of web conference call is that detail planning is essential for its success. The people engaged in the conference call need to have high discipline and high level of concentration. For an effective conference call the web cam, microphone and other gadgets need to be in proper position and in good working condition. Failure in any one of the key gadgets can lead to the total failure of conference call.

Having said that all the disadvantages associated with web conferencing calling is applicable to other forms of conference call. The effective communication which web conference call can give is unparalleled. The money, time and energy saved make it even more worthier successor to earlier forms of conference calls.
Source:http://www.buzzle.com/articles/conference-call-services-pros-cons-web-conference-calling.html

Advantages Of Videoconferencing

2007-06-20T21:19:00.000-07:00

Video conferencing permits a large or small number of individuals to communicate in real time, no matter where they are located.Via audio and video transmissions, the parties will be able to discuss, conference, and compare charts, graphs, and other items. This combination of visual data with voice interaction and video reality makes this as most useful tool for many business and individuals alike.Yet what exactly are the advantages of VC.

The advantages may differ slightly from business to business, here is a list of overall advantages as they may be experienced by most are below...

1. It is a lot less expansive than traveling.If you consider that the average business trip requires two way transportation to and from the location, accommodations, quite possibly car rental or other transportation at the target location, meals, entertainment of clients, and various other incidentals, it is easy to understand that a video conference that will keep the employee or executive in the office rather than traveling halfway across the county is indeed a money saving idea.

Some of the hidden costs that can be avoided as well are insurance premiums to cover the traveling employee, the cost of hiring a temporary replacement or the overtime to cover the workload of the employee, as well as the money that it costs to call together a meeting for the debriefing.As you can see, the time that is lost in travel is useable in video conferencing.

2. In addition to the foregoing, VC requires the participants to be well prepared ahead of the conference.Gone are the days when an employee is flying across country only to realize that she or he left a big presentation in the office at home.With videoconferencing, all office applications and files are immediately accessible.Additionally, to make the conference go well, all participants will want to have their presentations together and ready for sharing.

3. Of course, quite possibly the greatest advantage of VC is the easy access a business or company has to experts.Law offices in particular will appreciate the ability to solicit expert testimony from the best and brightest in their fields. Not to be forgotten, the medical profession, too, greatly benefits from videoconferencing since experts from across the country or even across the world are able to collaborate and find solutions to baffling cases.

more:http://www.articlestoreprint.com/article_82729_advantages-of-videoconferencing.htm

Micro Business Associates Announces New Web Hosting and Marketing Services

2007-06-14T01:17:00.000-07:00

Micro Business Associates (MBA) announced they’ve implemented a new site offering domain name services, Web hosting, marketing tips and virtual office solutions to the small business community.

Micro Business Associates announced it has launched MBADomains.info, which will provide a range of services and solutions for small and home-based businesses. The new service features a complete line of domain sales and affordable Web hosting to help businesses reach a wider market.
“Advances in modern communications technologies have allowed small businesses to service much larger markets at lower costs than ever before,” Dan Buck, CEO of Micro Business Associates, said in a PRLeap release.

“Network marketing and MLM companies are increasingly using the Internet and conference call services to recruit and train new consumers and distributors.” He also stated, “Unfortunately the new distributor is often sold an expensive ‘affiliate’ website and left to sink or swim after they have purchased their inventory and used up their face-to-face warm market.” Buck stated that studies say up to 92% of new distributors quit within the first six months, and another 3-5% don’t last a year in the same MLM business.

In an attempt to fill the marketing gaps for small and start-up businesses, MBA is providing a comprehensive array of executive consulting, marketing training and virtual office solutions for these new entrepreneurs. MBADomains.info offers everything from simple domain registration, shared blog and website hosting (from $4.49/mo.) to build your own dedicated web servers for unlimited website applications and bandwidth.

source:http://www.tophosts.com/articles/005275.html

Video Conferencing: A Quick Fix for Your Communication Problems

2007-06-12T22:37:00.000-07:00

Video conferencing, and the handy-dandy technological advances of the twenty-first century, enables participants on each side of a meeting - or even each side of the world - to communicate effectively. Online web video conferencing allows attendees to conduct sales meetings, executive meetings, distance-learning classes, or even family reunions, without the time and high costs of plane tickets.

Apart from the personal implications, conference calling solutions are becoming critical elements to conducting everyday business. Business men and women everywhere are saying sayonara to long airplane flights, missing luggage, travel expenses and loss of productivity.

With conference call services for business, you'll receive some of the following benefits:

.Face-to-face interaction over long distances

.The advantage of sharing visual aides

.Instant gratification - immediate meetings scheduled short times in advance

.Savings on time and money

.The professional and modern image of high-tech solutions

You might have seen advertisements on TV or the Internet, read about conference Calling services in an article like this one, or maybe even used video conferencing before to take a distance-learning university course. But you're still wondering: how the heck does it work?

First of all, the following equipment is crucial:

.Webcam

.Microphone

.Speakers

.Internet Access (preferably high-speed)

.Conferencing Software

The amazing feat of technology comes in when video and audio images are sent through a phone line. This is accomplished when your PC encodes the video, audio and graphics into a digital format that is transmitted, usually via a high-speed connection, where they get decoded on the other side and are displayed on your monitor.

If you've participated in a video conference, it was probably one of the following two types: multi-point or point-to-point. Point-to-point conferencing establishes a link between two participants or locations, while multi-point video conferencing links many different people attending the same conference. Multi-point conferencing also requires more confusing elements, like ISDN or IP protocols and a multi-point control unit.

The quicker your internet connection, or in other words, the more "bandwidth" you have, the more information you can transmit at once. With high-speed internet, like cable or DSL, you'll get a less choppy connection, a more real-time feel, and a better picture.

Video conferencing is a form of technology that is completely changing the field of virtual communication as it relates to business. For the intrepid business person, cheap web conferencing software can be found that offers solutions for everyday communication problems. You can now conduct business, check in with distant family members, and even take a college refresher course with ease. Knowing how web conferencing works will allow you to better understand the technology, and therefore, make the most of it.

Source:http://www.articletoday.net/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=12

Activision Conference Call Highlights; New Marvel Title

2007-06-12T01:17:00.000-07:00

Activision held its latest conference call with investors and here are the highlights:

1.Activision execs predicted that during the calendar 2007 year there will be 4 million PS3 consoles sold in the US. Xbox 360 and Wii consoles will sell 5 million units each.
2. So far there have been 200,000 music downloads for Activision's Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II.
3. Activision's July-September period will have the Guitar Hero Rocks The 80s and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
4. The fall schedule will have Call of Duty 4, the next Tony Hawk title, Guitar Hero III, a new unnamed Marvel game (possibly the previously revealed Spider-Man Trilogy title) and a game based on the CGI movie Bee Movie
5. Activision's first James Bond game will be released in 2008 around the time the next Bond film will be made; there is no word on if the game will be based on the movie or an original game.
6. Activision execs stated they are working on a number of original properties but declined to give specifics