Over 90% of computer phones (VoIP) are not secure because they use a public known codex (publicly known encryption of sound packets) and a publicly known protocol to transport voice conversations. Therefore, users of these type of services are unknowingly exposing themselves to anyone who wants to listen in or access their confidential information. In addition, because of the public openness, the user’s computer’s vulnerability can result in a costly computer crash and total loss of all information.

Peer-to-peer computer phones are on unsecure lines.

There are five areas to address when checking for Security when looking for a VoIP Service Provider. Here’s how a VoIP Service should protect your security, whether on dial-up, wireless, satellite, or cable connections.

1. Call Security: A VoIP service’s audio (your voice) should compress your voice into proprietary encryption packets to travel across the internet, and return back to voice at destination. That particular VoIP service should host proprietary software, and as such, the only one that can interpret the voice and data contained in those packets.

2. Computer Phone Identity: When your first download and install a VoIP provider’s computer phone, a confidential phone number and password should be given to protect against unauthorized installation. To protect against unauthorized installation, your computer phone’s setup process should combine the phone name and hardware data from the PC on which it was installed to create a unique ID string known only to that VoIP’s own server. Because of the association between the unique ID with that particular PC, it prevents one person from reconfiguring their VoIP service’s computer phone to spoof another. It also prevents someone from copying that VoIP service’s software to another PC and then using it without having gone through the password-protected installation process.

3. Client Server Model: The VoIP service should follow a client-server model. The client is the softphone offered by a particular VoIP service. That particular VoIP service’s Server should be behind a highly secure proprietary firewall hosted in a professional facility. Any information shared should therefore only be between the client and server of that particular VoIP service. This means, that unlike some peer-to-peer solutions, private information about “buddy” lists or call patterns, etc., remains entirely confidential.

4. Softphone Setup: Firewalls vary widely and each network configuration may be quite different. When a VoIP service’s softphone first initializes, it discovers its ability to reach that VoIP’s service server, as well as a variety of ports and protocols for placing calls, depending on the results of its discovery. In a strict environment, the VoIP service’s softphone uses the same path the proprietary firewall already permits for web browsing (typically TCP ports 80 and 443). This allows users to make calls from anywhere without compromising or reconfiguring their own firewalls.

The VoIP service’s softphone should be able to initiate conversations with that VoIP service’s server and keep the server updated as to its status. By doing this, no public IP address needs to be setup for the PC running the computer phone. It also enables user flexibility without concern about security or privacy when moving from network to network. The VoIP service’s computer phone should be compatible with Network Address Translation (NAT) and Port Address Translation (PAT), and the kind of dynamic addressing that is found in wireless “hotspots”, hotel internet access, and dial-up.

5. Monitoring Capability: A strong security model should include an auditing mechanism to monitor usage and activity. This means that each computer phone should include its own usage log, enabling users to look through their own personal history of inbound, outbound, and missed calls. In addition, the VoIP service’s website should provide users the ability to view all individual phone call charges using the already set up confidential number and password.

Dee Scrip and her close friend Andy Murray operate the website http://www.whypay4calls.com. Where you can experience a 7 day free trial with a secure line on patented technology. NO contracts, obligations, or hassles!

VoIP Phones are all the rage. These Internet phones are
becoming increasingly popular with the general public as
well as among the technologically gifted avant-garde i.e. geeksRus.
Chances are high you know someone who uses one or you may even
use one yourself.

But did you know it can cost you your life?

We will get to this life-threatening issue later but first you
should have a basic understanding of what a VoIP phone is and
how it works.

VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. These phones
are also commonly referred to as Voice over IP or Voice over
Internet. VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol is a way of
using analog audio signals, like on your regular phone, and
turning these signals into digital data that’s transmitted
over the Internet instead of over conventional phone lines.

How does it Work?

A Voip Phone Service can work on any computer that has
broadband connectivity. If you have a headset/microphone,
along with a Voip phone system set-up or software program
installed on your computer, you can place calls from your
computer or laptop to anywhere in the broadband-connected
world. Assuming that your friends have the same software
set-up or have a Voip Phone Service from many of the commercial
providers, you should be able to communicate, i.e. talk to
each other.

It basically works by sending small packets of data from one
computer to another over the Internet. And since it uses the
Internet, the route these data transfers take is as varied and
as wide as the Internet itself. You call a phone number and the
data is sent to your VoIP company’s call processor. The call
processor connects you to your friend’s phone and a session is
formed between your computer and your friend’s computer.
Your call can now be handled as if it were an e-mail or a web
page but each system must have the same protocol in order for
you to communicate or talk.

This may be over-simplifying things a bit, but this method is
less expensive than a conventional phone system.

Many VoIP companies offer many services that a traditional
phone company will charge you an arm or leg for! These include:
Caller ID, Call transfer, Call waiting, Return call, Repeat
dial, and Three-way calling. And because it is over the Internet
you can check your voicemail via the Web – you may even attach
messages that’s sent to your computer or handheld.

VoIP Phone Services have many advantages over the traditional
system, mainly its cheap price and availability or access. As
the broadband world increases, VoIP phones may become even
more popular.

So what’s the Problem with using VoIP Phones?

There are some major hurdles Voip Phone users should be aware
of and it is where the life saving advice comes in.

The VoIP Phone is only as good as the Internet system or computer
you’re using. There may be down times, for example, if you lose
your power, a Voip phone will not work, whereas a regular wall
phone or conventional phone will. In many natural disasters, be it
a blizzard, tornado or hurricane, the power is sometimes the first
utility that fails. Communications often become critical in these
situations and being stuck with only a powerless VoIP phone may
pose a problem. Assuming, of course, you don’t have your VoIP
Phone hooked up to a portable Wi-Fi battery operated laptop!

You must also keep in mind that your laptop or computer must be
able to handle the phone calls, other programs running on your
system may disrupt or distort your voip signals if your computer
is overloaded or not powerful enough.

Next, perhaps the most important concern, Emergency 911 calls
are a real challenge with VoIP. VoIP phones uses IP-addressed
phone numbers and not NANP phone numbers. There’s no way to tell the
geographic location with an IP address; thus routing the emergency
call may pose a problem for 911 operators. Obviously, this is not good
in an emergency of any kind!

No doubt this hurdle will be fixed in the very near future as Voip
Phones become more commonplace and integrated neatly in the wireless
Wi-Fi systems/networks around the world. But for now, it is something
every VOIP Phone user should be made aware of and prepare for in the
case your VOIP phone becomes your only lifeline.

Another challenge, as more and more voip phones come online, there is
no world-wide standard in place. This would include hardware and
protocols that would make this system work anywhere in the world.

Despite these hurdles and challenges, many believe VoIP Phone Services
will eventually replace the traditional phone lines over time. But the
revolution is just starting! According to the Forrester Research Group
only 5 million U.S. households will be using VoIP phones by the end of 2006.

However, it doesn’t take a Crystal Ball or even the Forrester Research
Group to tell us we are becoming more and more of a ‘wireless world’.
VoIP Phones will find themselves ‘center stage’ in our ever increasing
technologically enhanced universe. No doubt, neatly blended into some
fully loaded portable, Video/VoIP Phone, XM radio, Search Engine, Wi-Fi,
GPS Emergency Beacon, Computer Handheld Contraction. As long as we can
keep our ‘heads attached’ until this technotopia item comes along, we
should be ok.

Hey, when Google finally decides to build that Google Box, maybe someone
should suggest they load it up with a few extra goodies. Can we talk?

…..

The author runs a modest website on Bizware and Business Solutions
– including a section on VoIP Phone Services.
VoIP Phone Services
Get a few Free Marketing Tools
for your business. Titus Hoskins Copyright © 2006. This article may be freely distributed if this resource
box stays attached.

To set up a business VoIP system, you need several components. A central device to manage the calls, the way a private branch exchange (PBX) or key system unit (KSU) does in traditional phone systems is one of them.

This can be a dedicated piece of hardware such as an IP PBX, a regular PBX that has been IP-enabled, or a server running specialized software. You will also need phones and a data network. In many cases, you may be able to use your existing digital phones and computer network, although you may need to upgrade some of your network hardware.

VoIP Benefit

The most prominent benefit of an IP PBX is for businesses with multiple locations. With the advantage of VoIP, all the offices on a LAN or WAN can get the profits of having a common office phone system. The profits are – extension dialing, seamless call transfers, and other features.

In addition to making it easier to communicate, this sharing of features can enhance collaboration as employees at different locations can truly feel like they are part of the same organization. Plus, if they are on the company network, the phone calls are free – even if your offices are located thousands of miles apart. It is an advantage in saving money expended on calling between two branches of the same office.

VoIP Conversations

Computer networks are designed to handle messy data: packets arrive out of order and some are even lost, but in most cases the data being sent can easily be reconstructed when it is needed. Voice conversations, though, are not as tolerant of these kinds of disturbances. Each packet of sound has to arrive in the correct order because they are being sent in real time – if packets are lost; the conversation sounds distorted, choppy, or falls off all together. This is why VoIP services that rely on the Internet to transmit calls can have uneven phone quality.

The selection of a business VoIP solution is a major decision. Voice service is critical to the operation of the business, so no one wants to implement a technology that will compromise call quality or reliability in any way. On the other hand, the cost savings and value-added functionality available with VoIP makes it a compelling investment.

LANs & WANs

The VoIP phone system is beneficial for companies having multiple locations branches, telecommuters and remote sales offices. And the locations are connected with a company’s Local Area Network (LAN) or Wide Area Network (WAN). In that case the companies are suitable for using a VoIP system.

You can share the full features of your phone system across all your locations. In addition, even if you have one office in one place and one in different place, VoIP allows calls between them via extension dialing, making it a zero cost call. For businesses with hefty monthly long distance charges due to calls between far off locations, is an attractive reason to upgrade.

VoIP Process

A VoIP phoning process requires a regular phone, an adapter, broadband Internet service, and a subscription to a VoIP service. When you place a call, it is sent over the Internet as data until it nears the recipient’s destination.

Then the call is translated back into a more traditional format and completes the trip over standard phone lines. Also known as Internet telephony, this allows for extremely cheap long-distance and international calls.

VoIP Drawbacks

The main drawback of VoIP systems is the network requirements.

In VoIP telephony the greatest challenge is the bandwidth. It requires high bandwidth for clear messaging.

Michael is the owner of FreedomFire
Communications….including Business-VoIP-Solution and
DS3-Bandwidth.com. Michael also authors Broadband Nation where you’re always welcome to drop in and catch up on the latest BroadBand news, tips, resources, and insights.

Since we’re using computers all the time to do our work, let’s make it easy and add the phone to the pile. VoIP also known as (voice over Internet protocol), Internet telephony, IP telephony, and Internet voice is catching on and is expected to grow in the next few years. The technology has been around for about a decade, but it isn’t till now that we have the supporting technology to handle it and an market reaching critical mass (hate using jargon, but there isn’t a better way to say it).

VoIP requires users to have broadband connections. With 22 percent of Americans connected to the Internet by broadband, the numbers are large enough for making money with Internet voice and big telecoms are already in the game.

How VoIP works

VoIP works like email. TCP/IP networks consist of IP packets with a header for controlling communication and information for transportating data. VoIP uses the IP packets to send the human voice across the Internet using IP packets to its destination.

It digitizes a voice into data packets, sends them through the network and converts them back to voice when arriving at the destination. Digital format can be compressed, routed, and converted to other and better formats.

When calling someone using VoIP, you use a phone with an adapter. Just like we use a telephone to make phone calls on POTS (plain old telephone service), the adapter is a device to connect the phone to the network. The VoIP phone has its own phone number for callers to dial.

The good and bad things

An advantage of VoIP is it can avoid charges typically found on PSTNs (public switched telephone network). For customers, there is less worry about how long or how often they make phone calls. Calling another state costs the same as calling another country even on the other side of the world. IP-based boxes are cheaper than analog PBXes.

However, service reliability is an issue. How many times has a download or connecting to a Web site faltered? That may not be such a big deal, but it is more disruptive to phone calls. Network issues are complicated by customers getting broadband from one company and VoIP from another. When a call gets switched from network to network, it impacts quality.

When the Internet is down, so is VoIP. Traditional phones aren’t affected by power like VoIP since they have its own power and work during blackouts.

Money and regs

Companies make their money by selling features and services. Connect anytime and anywhere there is an Internet connection or while in Wi-Fi-enabled hot spots. It’s also exempt from traditional regulations and taxes, but that could change tomorrow though telecoms are working to keep it unregulated. This exemption is keeping prices down, and current prices are anywhere from $20 to $65 a month.

Meryl K. Evans is the Content Maven behind meryl’s notes, eNewsletter Journal, and The Remediator Security Digest. She is also a PC Today columnist and a tour guide at InformIT. She is geared to tackle your editing, writing, content, and process needs. The native Texan resides in Plano, Texas, a heartbeat north of Dallas, and doesn’t wear a 10-gallon hat or cowboy boots.

Most of the information that we need, along with most of the things that we want and can be found over the Internet. From word definitions to grocery and shopping to ordering your next meal -the Internet provides instant access to anything and everything you could possibly want or want to know about. That is the very reason why most people want to have Internet access available in their homes. Dial up is slower than DSL or cable connections, but they are still used by some people who want access to the Internet but don’t need speed.

Although a bit outdated, dial up access is still widely used today to gain access to the Internet. It is the most inexpensive way to connect compared to other ways to access. All you need is a phone line, a prepaid Internet card or an inexpensive monthly package with an Internet service provider, and you’re in business.

However, dial up access is considerably slower than the other high-tech ways of accessing the information superhighway, such as broadband and cable modem. Dial ups work through the use of a computer modem. This modem is actually connected to the computer and serves as the medium between the computer and a telephone line. Through this modem, the computer is able to ‘dial up’ the Internet service provider, who in turn connects the user to the World Wide Web.

Just like any other product, dial up has its own share of ups and downs. However, many people say that it is better to have dial up access rather than have no connection to the Internet at all.

Dial Up provides detailed information on Dial Up, Free Dial Up, Dial Up ISP, International Dial Up and more. Dial Up is affiliated with Dial Up Access Numbers.

In lieu of recent, tumultuous occurrences, people are more compelled than ever to discover the mystery of these modern-day, earth-changing events.

One day, Earth(1) is experiencing the fourth largest earthquake in a century – a 9.0 tectonics plate(2) shift(3) off the coast of Sumatra(4), the next day – Tsunami(5).

A Report(6) from NASA explains how the poles have permanently shifted by an entire inch. According to Dr. Benjamin Fong Chao, “…Any worldly event that involves the movement of mass affects the Earth’s rotation, from seasonal weather down to driving a car.” Per the findings of Doctors Chao and Gross, the North Pole(7) has shifted by an inch in the direction of 145 degree East Longitude. Based on their report too, was that Earth’s oblateness(8) (gravity field) was also decreased by a small amount.

To translate into laymen’s terms, the change in mass distribution(9) can effect long-term global climate changes(10)(11); thus, the El Nino/La Nina(12) effect is strengthened due to unusual mean sea level pressure(13).

The Journal of Geophysical Research(14) published an abstract on data analysis from the Earth’s gravity field(15). In their profound study, results showed that Earth’s gravity field has undergone significant variations during the past 28 years alone. The largest (of these fluctuations) occurred during the 1996 – 2002 time frame. Again, we have a scenario of mass redistributions in the atmosphere and ocean in a relatively short period.

Personal research from the National Earthquake Information Center(16) showed that between December 5, 2004 and January 5, 2005 there were over 170 earthquakes across the globe that measured over a 5.0 (on the Richter Scale).

According to the Volcano Information Center(17), 77 volcanoes have erupted or are experiencing ongoing eruptions since 2002 – 2004; of which, 57 began erupting during 2004 alone.

The recent California Mudslides(18), the torrential downpours, and extreme winter precipitation begs one to try and comprehend what exactly is occurring and why it is happening at this point in time. Once again, we return to the statement made by Dr. Benjamin Fong Chao, “…Any worldly event that involves the movement of mass affects the Earth’s rotation, from seasonal weather down to driving a car.”

Based on this analogy, we can clearly define that magnetic field composition and movement can and does affect global weather (on a broad scale). But what other effects can the magnetic field have on the planet as a whole?

Interestingly enough, I was able to retrieve different reports that may somehow involve magnetic field proponents: In February of 2004, `…over 10,000 Bramblings dropped dead in a `bird rain’ in the Eastern Province of Jiangsu – Yangzi,’ as reported in the BBC News. In addition, in November of 2004, 100s of Whales and dolphins were found stranded off the coast of Tasmania and New Zealand (Australia Broadcasting Corp ). Reporter Jocelyn Nettlefold stated, “…The weather appears to be central to the stranding cycle. Every decade or so, atmospheric changes bring cooler, sub-Antarctic waters further north…” Professor Mark Hindell further elaborated, “…there have been suggestions in the past that seismic exploration may have been associated with strandings in the US…”

In a more comprehensive Article from Progress in Physical Geography, Sudden Climate Transitions during the Quaternary, Scientists found that the `…time span of the past few million years has been punctuated by many rapid climate transitions, most of them on time scales of centuries to decades or even less…‘ and `…Judging by its past behavior under both glacial and interglacial conditions, climate has a tendency to remain quite stable for most of the time and then suddenly `flip’; at least sometimes over just a few decades, due to the influence of the various triggering and feedback mechanisms…”

This, in relation to magnetic pole shifts would inevitably and theoretically explain dramatic climate transitions. Since 1990, surface waters in tropical and subtropical Atlantic Ocean regions became markedly saltier, while at the same time, much of the water column in the high altitudes of the North and South Atlantic Oceans became fresher. (Report: New Study Reports Large-scale Salinity Changes in the Oceans)

My own theory is as such: Seismological Events = Polar Shifts = Climatic Changes = Global Warming = Sea Level Rise = Continued Seismological Events = etc., etc., etc. In other words, seismological events brought on by nature or manmade contraptions, is the beginning of a vicious cycle.

To further fuel the debate of greenhouse effects directly attributed by sea level rise, `Glacial Melt Alarms Scientists,’ as reported by Terry Rombeck of Journal-World, Prasad Gogineni (Kansas Univ. Researcher) stated, “…I don’t think sea-level rise is an immediate concern. You’re talking about the long term, 50 or 100 years. But the assumptions we’ve made are based on gradual increases over 100 years. What we’re seeing are dramatic increases.”

Overall, the Earth, as we know it is inconceivably changing before our eyes. It is still not too late to make our own transitions in how we proceed with this newfound knowledge. The key to scientific research and global climatic/geological phenomena is that we, as human beings, have the inevitable power to implement strategic changes that can ultimately reverse or at least slow the effects of our own ability to inhabit this Earthly plane. In so, the solution lies within us all. The only difference between mankind’s survival and mass-level extinction is whether or not we choose to use the solution.

For a more metaphysical point of view on polar shifts, Crawford 2000 has an interesting site at http://www.crawford2000.co.uk/mag.htm

For information on what you can do to make our world a better one, visit the websites of the US Environmental Protection Agency & GreenPeace

© 2005 – Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Mudslides: Extreme Events – What Do They Mean? By C. Bailey-Lloyd

References

1, 3, 4, 5 Wikipeida, the free Encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/

2. Geology: Plate Tectonics http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/geology/tectonics.html

6. National Aeronautics and Space Administration: NASA News – NASA Details Earthquake Effects on Earth – Gretchen Cook-Anderson/ Dolores Beasley – Headquarters, Washington Jan. 10, 2005: RELEASE: 05-0011

7. Woods Hole Marine Magnetism Group: Magnetic North Pole – mtivey@whoi.edu – Last revised: 1999/12/14

8. Wolfram Research: Scienceworld.wolfram.com – Mechanics, Gravity – Oblateness: Stacey, F. D. Physics of the Earth, 2nd ed. New York: Wiley, p. 56, 1977. © Eric W. Weisstein

9. Ask A Scientist – Astronomy Archive: Land Mass Distribution, NEWTON is an electronic community for Science, Math, and Computer Science K-12 Educators. Argonne National Laboratory, Division of Educational Programs, Harold Myron, Ph.D., Division Director.

10. EPA: Global Warming: Climate: An Introduction, January 7th, 2000

11. NASA – Most Changes in Earth’s Shape are Due to Changes in Climate – 81-07-05

12. US Dept of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: NOAA El Nino Page – Environmental Services Data and Information Management (ESDIM)

13. Australian Government – Bureau of Meterology: Mean Sea Level Pressre Analysis: Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2005, Bureau of Meteorology (ABN 92 637 533 532)

14. AGU – Journal of Geophysical Research, VOL 109, B09402, doic.10.1029/2004JB003028, 2004 – Variations in the Earth’s oblateness during the past 28 years: Byron D. Tapley, Center for Space Research, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA

15: EO Newsroom: New Images – Earth’s Gravity Field – Earth Observatory (NASA)- Responsible NASA official: Yoram Kaufman

16. USGS: Earthquake Hazards Program: National Earthquake Information Center – Earthquake Hazards Program – URL: http://neic.us
gs.gov

17. Volcano Information Center (VIC): Copyright (C) 1999, by Richard V.Fisher. All rights reserved.

18. The Science of Slides: A Primer on How Debris Flows Work, by Jen Shaffer

Additional Sources:

BBC News

Australia Broadcasting Corp

Progress in Physical Geography – Sudden Climate Transitions during the Quaternary by Jonathan Adams, Mark Maslin, Ellen Thomas

Free Republic – New Study Reports Large-scale Salinity Changes in the Oceans – Space Daily

Glacial Melt Alarms Scientists – From Lawrence Journal World
By Terry Rombeck

About the Author:
C. Bailey-Lloyd – Author of “Somewhere Along the Beaten Path”

Feel free to visit Media Positive Radio — Providing a positive and uplifting listening experience – All the Time! Featuring the finest music from Independent and Mainstream musicians all focusing on the power and greatness of every individual as well as the collective power of unity and brotherhood.

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Today’s internet is a great place to find useful information but most people are on dial up. If you are in an area that offers broadband, you should make the switch soon. One of the first differences you will notice is that you no longer need to dial in to get on the internet. The moment you turn on the computer, you are online. In fact, you are always online and that’s a big time saver. The next change you will notice is how fast web pages load, about 1 to 5 seconds. It takes 10 to 20 seconds to load an entire page on dial up.

Now, this may encourage you get broadband sooner. When it comes to downloading something on dial up, you have to wait a short while for small files and longer for larger files like software. With broadband, it takes 5 to 10 minutes for a music file, which takes about 30 minutes on dial up.

Another good reason to switch to broadband, is the missed phone calls you get on dial up. An extra phone is the only way to get calls that can’t be received due to the dial up connection. Broadband helps in more ways than you think. If you have two computers or more, why not share the internet with a home network. Now you can surf the web and let someone else surf too. You have the option of wired or wireless. Wireless is the way to go if you have another computer in another room far away in your home.

Having broadband can also help you download the Windows updates you must download to keep your computer safe. Downloading these files on dial up can take one full day. Broadband will download these file in half the time. But with broadband you are going to want to have a great firewall and virus protection since you are always online. You can get a virus at anytime, so get the most up to date software.

If you are an online gamer, then broadband is great for that too. You can play people in a lag free game. When you change to broadband, you will wonder why you have not tried it sooner. Your options for broadband are cable and DSL. Cable is supplied by your cable company. DSL is supplied by your phone company. If you have the option to get either, you should get DSL. It is faster than cable.

If you can’t get broadband in your area, there is another option. It is called satellite internet. It is basically the same as cable or DSL. The speed may not be as fast, but you will notice the difference when you get it. Another difference is the price, which includes equipment, installation fee, and service. It is worth it to be able to save time loading pages and downloading files. Now you know the benefits of having broadband, decide if you should try it.

——————————————————-
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Broadband
——————————————————-

Well it looks like we have some stability in Columbian Politics these days as the President seems to have been re-elected by a huge landslide indeed. With all the maneuvering and changes in the political scene in Central and South America and the Caribbean every single election and event it notable.

We see Cuba about ready to pass the torch from Fidel Castro to his sons or a turn over to the people. We Mexico and their elections as President Vincent Fox leaves and a potential Socialist-Communist takes over and we see close ties with Venezuela’s vocal leader. We have seen Bolivia nationalizing businesses too. We see some tension in these nations and some political unrest and crime issues in Brazil too.

Haiti is going to try again with a new temporary leader to get things back to normal; whatever that means considering most people substitute “Haiti” with “hell” when telling their enemies where to go? And in all this we have some volcanic activity, Earthquakes and oh man; here comes the 2006 Atlantic Tropical Hurricane Season.

There are indeed many major issues to deal with these days and this Hemisphere is not exactly without issue. The Colombian President re-election landslide is rather an interesting thing considering all the other changes out there? What does it all mean; ah time will tell my friend, time will tell. Consider all this in 2006.

Lance Winslow

The Voip telephony and the international telecommunications market is not only healthy, it is robust! The market is expected to continue its double-digit growth and reach over $2 trillion by 2008.

Spending on telecommunications equipment and services in Canada, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia/Pacific will grow at a rate of 10.6% say the experts. What’s behind this growth in telecommunications? Prosperity! With improving economic conditions throughout the world there is increasing demand for Voip, mobile devices and wireless telecommunication services.

The number of subscribers to wireless telephone services is growing faster than the number of landlines in all regions. 1.9 billion wireless subscribers are expected by 2008 and they will outnumber landline subscribers by 69.1%.

The accessibility of high-speed broadband will drive equipment revenue over the next few years. This will give a boost to Internet telephony service and that growth will continue as broadband access revenue triples in future years.

As the move to wireless, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and cable telephony continues, the landline market will increase from $391 billion in 2004 to $422 billion in 2008.

Internationally Europe is expected to be the largest region in support services spending, reaching $354 billion by 2008 as the demand for equipment increases there will be increased demand for services to support that equipment.

In the United States the broadband market is expected to reach an estimated 56.9 million subscribers by 2008. That up from 32.5 million subscribers in 2004. The broadband market has had a huge move since 2001, when there were only 5.1 million subscribers.

Broadband’s faster speeds are behind the increasing demand for cable modem and DSL providers. Telephone companies are offering more bundled DSL services and cable operators are losing subscribers to direct broadcast satellite. The gap between the number cable and DSL subscribers is narrowing and will continue to decrease.

In addition, there is plenty going on with wireless communications. The U.S. wireless market includes transport services, handsets, capital expenditures and infrastructure equipment including Wi-Fi equipment plus the emerging market for wireless broadband access. The future of VoIP technology and wireless VoIP promises to be one of the most exciting developments in telecommunications.

Not counting PC-to-PC services, the number of residential VoIP customers more than tripled to 4.2 million in 2005. That number is expected to grow by a compound annual rate of over 43% in the next few years. That will result in about 18 million VoIP users.

Growth in the residential VoIP market is being driven by a number of factors. First and foremost is that VoIP telephony provides consumers with inexpensive voice communications. VoIP escapes the burden of the many regulations and taxes governments have imposed on traditional telephone services. So far that has allowed the VoIP service providers to beat the prices charged for wired telephone services. The burst of growth in broadband subscribership is a good sign for VoIP, because it works best over a broadband connection,

In the United States and around the world, people are talking and they want to do that with speed and economy. VoIP phone services are prepared to meet that need.

If you have not yet made the switch to VoIP telephone service author Mark Walters offers a free introduction called Five Reasons for VoIP

[Author's note: Some may have read portions of this article before - you can proceed to the next section. This author apologizes for his human error.]

Joe runs for Political Office

Joe: Let’s go and visit DMV.

Stan: DMV? You’ve just renewed your driving license last week.

Joe: Not the Department of Motor Vehicles, you dummy. The Drunkards of Mountain View – they’re so fixated on brandy, burgundy, booze stuff (referring to Google’s search algorithms’ names). They are drunk with their own success.

Stan: What name will they use for their next algorithm?

Joe: BS.

Stan: But, BS is an organic matter. What has that got to do with booze?

Joe: Ah, the Danes use plenty of that stuff to make methane gas. By using genetically modified bacteria, you can use this BS stuff to make ethane gas, the precursor of ethanol – pure 200-proof alcohol.

Stan: Why visit these drunkards then?

Joe: All their rankings stuff are BS. Somehow, they managed to convince the whole world and make a lot of money in the process. They may provide a few pointers on how to be President.

Stan: President?

Joe: By using DMV in our pages, DMV is related to roads and being a middle-of-the-road candidate, we’ll occupy all top 100 rankings for all our web pages. Joe I. Nogood is running for President with the slogan “I NoGood”.

Stan (thinking to himself): Joe has a way of making the irrelevant, relevant. Just maybe, Joe will make a great President. Maybe.

Joe becomes President-elect

“Bushmen Americans extinct” – screamed a headline. Independent candidate, Joe I. Nogood won the presidential election using the slogan “I, Nogood”. Joe swept all the Electoral College votes in an unprecedented result.

The Republican candidate, in his ungracious conceding speech, remarked that Joe is a twin reincarnation of communists, alluding to the president-elect’s name; Josef Ilyanov Nogood (may be referring to Josef Stalin and Vladimir Ilyanov Lenin).

The third candidate was more succinct. The Democrats ignored an obscure warning from an equally obscure article – “An Ant watching Giants Fight”. Each time an internet search for certain keywords, the list invariably showed Joe’s campaign sites and his supporters. That is the same for every voter’s concern; Joe’s messages occupied all Top 100 rankings. The search engine is a presidential candidate’s best friend.

Internet experts suspected that a group of hackers, the NoGoodies, hacked the other candidates’ web pages. When a mouse hovered over Joe’s rival’s name, the popup hint flashes “NoGood for President”. Imagine the twin effects these invisible tags created.

[To be continued]

Stan Seecrets Postulate:
Poets try to capture the essence of the universe with the elegance of words. Mathematicians try to do the same with their formula and numbers. Therefore, mathematicians are calculative poets.
(Poking fun at mathematicians, and himself)

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