First Scotty, Now Gilligan
CNN reports that Bob Denver, the actor who played Gilligan on Gilligan’s Island, has died at age 70. A lot of my after-school hours were consumed watching re-runs of Gilligan. Beginning to feel old.
Archive for September 6th, 2005
Callers Bear Some of Responsibility Too!
Standards Differ on Cell Phone Etiquette says Sue Doyle at the San Bernardino Sun. She goes through the usual litany of bad behaviour by cell phone owners, including people who take calls while on dates. One interesting observation from psychologist Gloria Morrow: "…not all fault lies with the cell phone owner. There needs to be some restraint from people calling on cell phones too".
Of course, this cries out for a me-centric technology solution. Phones should know who the important callers are, and help you manage the others.
ViaTalk Offers Free Gas Cards
VoIP provider ViaTalk is offering $20 in free gas to anyone who signs up for a two year term. The company is also contributing 5% of revenue for Hurricane Katrina relief.
The press release also mentions that CEO Brendon Brader drives a Hummer H2 licensed as ‘1 MPG’. Apparently Mr. Brader lives in an irony free zone… He could do more for the environment and hurricane relief by selling that gas guzzling obscenity, and donating the funds.
Network World on Microsoft’s Voice Plans
Network World has published an extensive piece titled Microsoft Warms Up Voice Software Plans. It’s worth a read because it ties together all of the pieces of the Microsoft strategy, including the Teleo acquisition, MSN, the RTC, Live Communications Server, Office Communicator and traditional Microsoft assets like Active Directory.
The article also asserts that Microsoft’s focus will be on the interface, and not the backend. I don’t believe this. Microsoft has too many server-side assets to not try to integrate them with the VoIP infrastructure.
