Scamwagon

Most of the smartphone owning population doesn't know or care about VOIP, or Voice Over IP .  They get phone calls through their cell provider (not to mention the phone itself), solely over cell tower signals, and that's that.  But as some know, there is another dimension to calling, and that is the world of VOIP. VOIP allows a phone or computer user to make and receive phone calls over any medium that can carry IP.  This includes not only your 3G/4G data plan, but via a Wi-Fi signal at home, work, or in many public places.  It also means that you can make and receive these phone calls without necessarily being tied to a certain company or contract.  You can even use your own hardware to host these calls, and connect these calls to the outside world in a variety of ways in an openly-competitive market (in contrast to the world of cell carriers).  In short, VOIP is most likely the future of all calling, though the cell carriers will do their damnedes...

You may or may not be aware of it, but there have been reports that AT&T is throttling their "Unlimited Data" customers , essentially making a limit of a supposedly "unlimited data plan". This has been a long time coming.  Last year, AT&T and Verizon Wireless began forcing new users into tiered (limited) data plans , with a certain amount of data allowed per month.  The typical allotments are 500MB, 2GB, 5GB, 10GB, etc.   The price of the plan rises with the amount allowed.  Meanwhile, old users are supposedly "grandfathered" into the unlimited data they signed up for.  Apparently, AT&T has decided that there needs to be a certain amount of pressure to steer people in the direction of tiered data plans.  I haven't heard of anyone having this experience with Verizon Wireless. As a side note, I find it interesting that people use that much data on their phones.  As an example, I consider myself to be a smartphone power user, and my cell d...

A couple of days ago, a new, large Verizon Store sprung up down the road.  At about the same time, Verizon finally announced the availability of the new and long awaited Samsung  Galaxy Nexus  phone - The phone that was hyped by Google and Samsung in early October , announced in Late October , promised to be released in November , and then delayed and delayed until the middle of December.  It's been all over the news and in people's faces. I figured the timing was no accident, and sauntered in to see if I might be able to have a look at this  Ice Cream Sandwich  laiden beast.  To be honest, I was half expecting them to tell me they didn't have one.  As a Verizon Wireless customer in Vermont for over 15 years, I've gotten used to being a second-class citizen.  We are the usually the last to get network upgrades, good stores with good phones, or sales people who can handle technical questions. I walked in and quickly surveyed the store, ...

A long time ago, I posted The Trouble With Greylisting .  My latest rant is brought to you by the current state of e-mail server blacklisting .  I'll relate to you the following anecdote, to help with the specifics: My client recently purchased a new internet pipe from their ISP - (I won't specify, but let's just say they're "Vermont's largest wireline provider.")  Along with this new connection came a new block of public IP addresses.  This has been standard fare - they have switched connections 3 times in the last 2 years, and for a variety of reasons, each time it's been a fiasco to get everything migrated to the new block. This time it almost went incredibly smoothly (without question, this was at least partly due to the help of an  Astaro Security Gateway , and its almost infinite flexibility).  The only snag was when I moved the mail server over to the new IP block.  Within 20 minutes, people were reporting bounces (undeliverable me...

As Steve Jobs' authorized biography is released, we are getting some of the first public looks at his perspective.  I'm not surprised to hear about his  view of Android as a "stolen" product .  Android is a smartphone OS that features a lot of the same usability aspects as the iPhone OS.   However, the reality is that Android fills a need that the iPhone's closed architecture doesn't: The freedom to run almost anything you want on the device you own .  Apple created the market, now largely owned by Android, when they decided to withhold that freedom from their developers and users.

After 3 successful albums, several appearances on the late night shows of David Letterman , Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, Craig Ferguson, and others, Mutemath, the 2007 Grammy Nominated alt rock band known for their creative and energetic performances finally descended on Burlington's only "little big venue", Higher Ground .  Why then, was the show tucked away in the smaller Showcase lounge, with only around 70 or so people in attendance? Concert review, photos, and video after the jump.

A Letter From the Sound Crew  Dear Indie Rock Musician, It has come to our attention that we will be working your show at our venue.  This letter is to identify the  preparations we have made, in order to minimize any responsibilities on your part.