Alec Saunders SquawkBox

Katie Fehrenbacher has wasted no time since starting with GigaOm yesterday.  This morning she has a scoop on Earthlink’s WiFi Phone plans.  Earthlink will sell voice plans on WiFi by the end of the year, and WiFi only phones. According to Katie’s story, the phones work well at speeds up to about 40 miles per hour.  Perfect for municipal settings. The kicker? $10 to $25 per month. 

It seems like a perfect application for Nokia’s N91, or E61 dual mode phones.  Both of these come with built-in SIP clients.

Welcome to GigaOm Katie!

Well, there you have it.  Windows Vista is apparently not Genuine Microsoft Software, according to the Genuine Microsoft Advantage program.  I just tried to check out the new Microsoft Private Folder 1.0 application to see what it was about.  Couldn’t even visit the page.  Here’s the screen I saw instead.  

The RocketBoom soap opera plays on, and if you’re interested in the latest developments, head over to TechMeme to find out more.  One of the best posts that has come out of it is Jason Calcanis’ management tips, titled Keeping Talent Happy.  He says:

“… there are three types of people in the world:

1. People who make stuff.
2. People who sell stuff.
3. People support the first two groups of people.”

It’s the job of management to move mountains to make the first two types of people happy and productive.  Without them, you have no business.

It seems the dismay over Senator Ted Stevens’ idiotic comments about the Internet last week has reached a critical mass. Here are a few of the best items I’ve seen, outside of the usual VoIP suspects. 

John Dvorak: “It’s too obvious that this man has no idea what the Internet is exactly and no idea about the issues behind Net neutrality. It seems like a miracle that he can even find the crapper.”  Digg.

Ed Kohler, Technology Evangelist: “Is this how the lobbyists from Bell South, Verizon, and AT&T explained network neutrality to Sen. Stevens? What do they have to gain from working with technically incompetent senators?” Digg.

Via Boing Boing: the official “The Internet is a Series of Tubes” t-shirt design.  Digg.

Tech Dirt: “The regulatory approach is wrong,” are his exact words. If that’s the case, why was the exact same Senator so damn eager to regulate all aspects of cable TV last year, saying that the FCC needs to crack down on cable indecency — even though the law is pretty clear that the FCC has no jurisdiction over privately built cable lines? Once again, it seems we’ve caught Senator Ted Stevens contradicting himself. It’s one thing not to understand the basic technology that you’re trying to regulate (or not). But, is it so much to ask that the good Senator try to be internally consistent on whether or not regulating these networks is good or bad? Digg.

The Angry Man: “This is my ultimatum to Alaska. Get rid of Ted Stevens as your Senator, or we’re kicking you out of the union. I know I don’t have the power to do this (I wish I did though), but if I did, I would give you away for free to Canada.”  Ummm… tell you what, we’ll swap you Svend Robinson… Digg.  

The Daily Kos: “The internet is a gerbil…” Digg.

People everywhere are outraged that this clueless idiot has managed to insinuate himself into the process of “reforming” communications. And, to all my American friends, best of luck.  Like it or not, you’ve just become part of the political process.