d00dism

If you keep your eye on Macs, you probably already know about Boot Camp. It’s a bit of a surprise, but I suspect it was done so that users choosing to run Windows can do so in a safer manner with proper drivers. The drivers included with the new software are the key part of this announcement.

Hacking the firmware to coerce a Mac into booting Windows took a little while, but it wasn’t really all that complicated. However, putting money into a development staff for Windows drivers is quite an expensive proposition and it goes to show Apple’s commitment to leverage the move to x86 to their full benefit. They can easily scoop up fence sitters that afraid of losing the ability to run Windows.

It’s a bold move and I’m a fan.

Von-Age; the tele-fon works!: Vonage has sent me dozens and dozens of advertizements and free phone deals for months lately. Seems like they’re stalking me out after Verizon mentioned how I threatened to go into their Manhattan office three years ago in order to cancel my line faster (really it was a simple request they couldn’t/wouldn’t understand, cancel my line as of that day, they took 40 days to cancel my phone)

Anywho’s, Saturday night about 3am I signed up to Vonage after my friend d00d (hi d00d!) sent me an invitation to try it out.

[Via bored. beyond. belief.]

This is just more backup that the telcos have something to fear, and it ain’t Skype.

If you’re thinking about sound software right now, you’re way off. Instead I’m talking about the literal words. VOIP (Voice Over IP) is a really hot technology right now because it makes phone calls much cheaper than using traditional telephone service. I’ve pondered whether IP network use is cheaper than maintaining traditional phone networks, or if the telco’s were simply sticking it to everyone. Considering recent more aggressive pricing by the telco’s, I’d suspect it was the latter.

Bias

Perhaps the most famous of the VOIP services is Skype. It’s been gaining steadily in popularity for several reasons. First, it allows free calls between users. Because there is no service charge, big savings can be had. Second, the application to use the service is cross platform. Finally, the cost to call a regular phone or have a regular phone number attached to your account is very inexpensive. That’s built a rather rabid fan base.

That base can’t just like the service, they have to see it as numero uno. Witness Skype Journal’s latest rant against Vonage. Here’s the quick summary: Vonage’s business plan sucks. I guess the waiting to be bought out by eBay strategy is the way to go (witness the dot com bubble burst). Considering the title of the website, isn’t the analysis just a little biased? Maybe?

Reason

The big reason there hasn’t been a massive exodus to VOIP is that people don’t like change. The question you have to ask yourself is whether your grandmother could adapt easily. With Skype, that answer is a resounding no. Being tied to the computer sucks (headsets don’t really alleviate the situation). On the other hand, your grandmother is already familiar with the phone. This is where Vonage is going to stick it to Skype time and time again. Phones have become so ingrained in our culture that they’ve become transparent technology. That’s what gets the masses excited.

Another issue to the billing. Unlimited plans are still very popular, even in cases where metered may actually be much more cost effective. People will put up with the higher flat fee because with it comes peace of mind. It just feels good to know that you don’t need to monitor your own usage. People have had enough of that with traditional telcos.

Mom and Dad

I’ve been using Vonage as my phone service ever since I bought my townhouse. I’ve been so happy that I sold my parents on it. It was an easy sell for many reasons. However, the easiest way to grasp it is to look at it from my parents’ perspective.

1. The equipment isn’t changing in the house. In that regard, nothing is changing.
2. They get unlimited local and long distance.
3. They get free caller ID, voicemail (with web access), and call forwarding to their cell phones.
4. They get a portable device that lets them bring their phone with them anywhere.
5. Their bill drops from $33/month to $25/month.
6. They get to keep their phone number.

Compare that with Skype and it becomes abundantly clear why Skype isn’t a real phone replacement and why serious adoption is going to hover way out of their reach. It simply doesn’t offer the features that will ease the transition to VOIP. It’s more of a stark slap in the face that will appeal to few besides the young and the technophiles. Vonage has the right idea and it’s time Skype recognized, especially if they really want to assert market dominance.

If you’re thinking about getting Vonage, drop me a line either in the comments or using the contact form. I can send you a referral that will get me a couple months of free service. Thanks!

A little while back, Google announced it was hosting San Jose City College’s email. Prior to that, rumors started circulating that Google would be licensing its Gmail technology to others due to clues in the code.

Honestly, I could not see a downside to this arrangement (paranoid delusions are not considered). Most college students don’t want to fiddle with email client configuration. A webmail interface is perfect for campus wide availability. The over 2 gigabytes of storage space works great for students to send files back and forth on a regular basis. Because it’s maintained by Google, it also means it’ll be available to students even after they graduate. And yes, I am still a little bitter that U-Mass is too damn cheap to give lifetime email addresses to graduates.

Apparently, this arrangement is a beta test of sorts. Google followed that announcement up with a small testing program for others to host the email for a domain. Not only do they supply Gmail accounts, but they supply an administrative interface for the owner of that domain. That’s pretty slick and considering the apparent price (free), a pretty good deal.

I’m going to try it out for the domain I set up for my family as ideally, I’d like them all using Gmail because otherwise, I have a feeling they’ll constantly change email address as well as lose their emails. Should I get picked, I’ll share my experiences, but I expect they’ll be positive.

Ever since Google released Gmail to the public, Yahoo and Microsoft have been watching the hipster geek crowd move away from their webmail systems (Yahoo Mail and Hotmail respectively). Gmail shows users that webmail doesn’t have to suck. It lit a fire under the ass of webmail providers. Ultimately, it prompted the two companies to actively develop their offerings, and adopting the Google model, release them as “beta”. “Beta” in this case can be read as “if something don’t work, you’re on your own.”

Yahoo

I finally got into Yahoo’s Mail Beta program a week or two ago. It mirrors traditional desktop email clients, allowing drag and drop among other things. It also unclutters the interface (which is simply atrocious). They finally prioritize actions that users really do use instead of things that they want to promote.

As a bonus, it works in recent Gecko browsers and Windows IE. Safari and Opera are left out in the cold for now.

Microsoft

As part of Microsoft’s new “Live” offerings, their webmail beta also adopts the traditional desktop interface, very comparable to Yahoo’s version. However, instead of having the message listing sitting above the preview pane, it’s to the right of it. That’s great for widescreen users, but I don’t like it. I like windows that are more square. Also the revamp feels very slight as far as rethinking the interface. It still uses tabs for things other than email itself.

In typical Microsoft style, it only works in the very latest IE for Windows.

The Revolution is Next Week

All in all, I’m not terribly impressed with either beta. They both adopt the traditional desktop interface, which although is nice for consistency, doesn’t really compel me to move over to their system. That’s only really useful if I use the webmail interface primarily, but if I do, why not use an honest to goodness desktop client? The desktop client will even handle offline situations. Emulating current conventions isn’t going to get me (or most users) to switch.

On the other hand, Gmail gives me pause because it presents an entirely new way of looking at things that I don’t get in a desktop client. Add that to the slick interface, and that’s why I still wrestle with the idea of moving to Gmail.