Skype for Asterisk Open Beta

Digium have announced their Skype for Asterisk Open Beta which anyone can get a license key (and chan_skype software) for the Asterisk open source IP PBX.

The open beta will close on Aug 7th and the licenses will expire on Aug 31st so if you apply now, that gives about a month's worth of testing,

You need to register on Digium's site to make a purchase which will cost all of $0.

The Skype software and license is available to buy here.

This allows an Asterisk PBX to log into Skype which then acts as a channel driver so calls can be sent through the channel.

Virgin Mobile Sprints away

Sprint is acquiring Virgin Mobile USA for $483m. Sprint is already a shareholder (13.1%) and Virgin is an MVNO on Sprint's network.

Sprint will gain advantages by reducing operational requirements.

This will give Virgin a small cash boost, but the whole group is still up for sale.

Interview with Stephanie Soechtig: 'Tapped' Director

By Mary Vincent - Follow on Twitter @MaryVincent
'Tapped' is a new documentary featuring the virtually unregulated business of bottled water and its lifecycle, including health, environmental, and human rights issues. Documentary interviews include community members, politicians, scientists, and government agency representatives. I'm grateful to have seen the Tapped documentary and interviewed Director, Stephanie Soechtig. I will share the Trailer and our discussion below including actions we as citizens, community members, consumers, business owners, and governments can take today.
The Trailer is here:



Biography
Stephanie Soechtig is Co-Founder, President, Director, and Producer at Atlas Films and has produced television for ten years. Atlas Films Co-Founders also include Mike Walrath, Founder of Right Media which was sold off to Yahoo in 2007, and Michelle Walrath, Founder and Executive Director of the Walrath Family Foundation, dedicated to having a positive impact on the environment and furthering awareness of conservation and sustainable practices.

Tapped Documentary and Website Facts
- the bottled water industry uses 47 million gallons of fossil fuels each year to produce plastic bottles. Another 450 million gallons is used to transport bottled water.
- if you drank 2 litres of bottled water per day, you would pay $1,400 per year.
- there is an Eastern Garbage Patch in the Pacific twice the size of Texas and is a soup of Plastic.
- the EPA constantly tests municipal tap water and makes reports available to the public every year. Bottled water company tests do not have to be released to the public.
- right now the cost of bottled water is higher than the cost of gasoline.
- 80% of the PET manufactured in the US ends up in Nestle, Coke, and Pepsi containers.
- of the 80 million single serve plastic bottles Americans buy, 30 million end up in landfills.
- only about 20% of plastic bottles are recycled.
- by 2030, 2/3 of the world's people will lack access to drinking water
- Nestle is one of the biggest profiters of bottled water.
- Fryeburg, Maine residents are fighting Nestle for access to their own water.
- 36 U.S. States are expected to have drought in the next 5 years.
- Pepsi was still continuing to bottle 400,000 gallons of water a day from a lake near Atlanta, even though the town was undergoing severe water restrictions.
- In Corpus Christi, Texas, State EPA representatives were told not to inform the community next to the Flint Hills Petrochemical Plant about the environmental dangers. Only if a complaint were filed, than the Texas State EPA would look at it. In Corpus Christi, Texas, birth defects are 84% higher than the rest of the state.
- Bisphenol A, a chemical found in plastic, has been found to cause heart disease, breast cancer, diabetes, attention deficit disorder, ovarian disease, and low sperm count in men.
- Nestle, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola control 60 percent of the U.S. bottled water market, and use municipal supplies (tap water) for three of the four biggest brands, Aquafina, Dasani and the Swiss company's Pure Life
- Nestle, Coca-Cola, and Pepsi-Co declined to be interviewed for the Tapped documentary
- Quote: "There is enough water for human need, but not human greed" Mahatma Ghandi
- Tapped is a Clinton Global Initiative Project


Interview
Mary: How did you become involved in Directing Tapped?
Stephanie: I produced television for ten years and co-founded Atlas Films with Mike and Michelle Wolrath. Investing in an environmental film was being discussed, and we eventually decided to make our own film.

Mary: Do you have any particular parts of the Tapped documentary you like best and of which you are most proud?
Stephanie: I'm sentimental towards the people in Texas living on the oil refinery fence line. People don't tend to think about the actual production of the plastic when they think about plastic bottles.
Neil Carmen, former Texas State EPA inspector responsible for for inspecting plants, was told by superiors not to knock on people's doors and disturb the community with environmental issues. The EPA was not going out of their way to protect citizens. The thing I love most about Tapped is that it's the story of people putting their time, energy, and sometimes their lives on the line for something they believe in. And they are truly making a difference in the world as a result. I think the humanity of the film's characters really shines through in the last 10-15 minutes of the film when they are just telling their own stories of going up against massive corporations and they're just talking - they're not really being "interviewed" anymore - they're just sharing a story about their lives. I get goosebumps every time I watch those last 10 minutes.
1. Jim Wilfong, director of H20 for Maine and former President Bill Clinton Small Business Administration Assistant for International Trade states:
"We are the children of revolutionary war soldiers, and we are not going to give this up without a fight”.
2. Frederick Vom Saal, (per a Bill Moyers Interview) "Bisphenol A is actually the chemical used to make polycarbonate plastic. It's the hard, clear plastic used in baby bottles, and it also is the lining of all metal cans made in the United States - beer cans, soda cans, food cans. And this chemical leaches out of all of these products into any kind of food or beverages that come in contact with it....We got interested that maybe this chemical (Bisphenol A) was a lot more potent than anybody had previously thought. And so we did a study where we administered it to mice, and found that at a dose 25,000 times below what anybody had ever tested, we caused damage to the entire developing male reproductive system."
3. Maine Resident (to Nestle): "We're not going to let you take our water; it's our water".

Mary: Are Tapped video clips available online, including the exchange with Senator John Kerry and the FDA representative where the FDA representative only receives Studies given to it by Industry and does not ask for Independent Studies?
Stephanie: This exchange isn't available in a video clip outside the movie, however, the Trailer and other videos on the website are good sources.

Mary: Do you know if it's still the policy of the FDA to not ask for Independent Studies?
Stephanie: To my knowledge nothing has changed yet. I'm hopeful with a new administration this practice will get more attention than it has in the past. In the meantime, it's up to us consumers to realize that we vote with our dollar everyday. It's up to us to become more educated about the things we buy everyday and to realize that in many ways when you buy a product you are endorsing it. And sadly, myself included, I think we buy alot of things without thinking if this is a company we want to endorse. It's funny - we are far more discerning about the charities we'll give money to yet we hand out thousands of dollars for things without so much as a thought of how, where, or who produced it.

Mary: Do you have a list of chemicals in bottled water?
Stephanie: Food and Water Watch and NRDC are good sources.

Mary: When can people across the United States see your Tapped documentary?
Stephanie: There are limited showings in New York and LA. It will show at the Mill Valley International Film Festival (San Rafael, CA) Oct 8-19, 2009. A list of showings are on the website, and you can register to host a screening or reserve a DVD.

Mary: What can people, businesses, and governments do?
Stephanie: There are more examples where governments are not using tax dollars to buy bottled water, i.e. Gavin Newsom, Mayor of San Francisco. There are petitions on the website where you can ask Jennifer Aniston and Tom Brady to stop endorsing Smart Water, write your elected officials to stop using tax dollars to buy bottled water and invest in water infrastructure, buy a water filter, buy a reusable water bottle i.e. Klean Kanteen which is BPA-free and stainless steel. We have forgotten about the Power of One. Vote with your dollar.
Taxing plastic bottles would be a great solution.

Mary: Does Tapped have social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter?
Stephanie: Yes. The sites are: Facebook and Twitter.

Mary: Thank you.
Stephanie: Thank you.

(Photos courtesy of 'Tapped'.)

Direction under Section 106(3) of the Communications Act 2003 modifying a direction applying the Electronic Communications Code in the case of Airwave Solutions Limited | Ofcom

Direction under Section 106(3) of the Communications Act 2003 modifying a direction applying the Electronic Communications Code in the case of Airwave Solutions Limited | Ofcom

Ofcom has granted Airwave a variance in the appliance of the Communications Code such that they are now able to build a private mobile radio network for The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralmypic Games.

airwave already have a license which allows them to build mobile networks for the emergency services and other public organisations, this just gives them the ability to provide the same type of network for the Olympics in the Stratford area.

O2 UK follow Vodafone with SMS access to Twitter

UK O2 users can now send tweets from the mobile phone using SMS (and of course receive them via SMS too).

The system is set-up like the already working Vodafone system where device updates are enable per user and/or for replies and/or direct messages.

Messages are sent to (ro come from) 86444.

Sending messages to your phone is free while sending messages to Twitter will cost a the same as a standard SMS, though they can be included in any SMS bundle deal. O2 are operating a fair use policy whereby if you receive more than 600 messages per month, you'll be asked to cut your usage down.

It now only a matter of time before the other MNOs follow suit.

Orange and even O2 may bid against Vodafone for T-Mobile UK - Rethink Wireless

Orange and even O2 may bid against Vodafone for T-Mobile UK - Rethink Wireless

It looks like O2 and even Orange may enter the fray to purchase T-Mobile UK, even though Orange have stated they're not in the game (insiders believe they owuld put an offer in just to stop Vodafone).

However Deutsche Telekom may hold on to the struggling T-Mobile to give Richard Moat (T-Mobile's UK CEO) time to turn the company around.

Ericsson wins Nortel assets but Q2 results impacted by downturn - Rethink Wireless

Ericsson wins Nortel assets but Q2 results impacted by downturn - Rethink Wireless

Ericsson has won the bidding to buy the wireless assets of Nortel. They paid $1.3bn which was considerably larger than $650m initially offered by Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN).

This will put Ericsson in a good position to get into the CDMA migration LTE game in North America. it's surprising that NSN let the Nortel assets get away since the wireless division was profitable and both the Swedes and Fins have been trying to expand operations in the North American markets.

Nortel also has a well regarded LTE IP portfolio which now goes to Ericsson too. Ericsson now becomes the second largest CDMA provider only down from ZTE.

However on the same day Ericsson published their results which were "disappointing".

BBC Dumps Commercial Internet-TV Plan - WSJ.com

BBC Dumps Commercial Internet-TV Plan - WSJ.com

Project Kangaroo jumps its last jump and is being closed down and the technology sold to Arquiva Ltd (the technology bit that came out of NTL).

Kangaroo was effectively killed last February after BSkyB complained that they'd get too much of an advantage in the emerging VoD/IPTV market and the Competition Commission agreed with them.

BBC Worldwide (the commercial arm of the Beeb) is still interested in distributing content over the Internet and is looking at other ways of now doing this.

BBC's iPlayer already supports on-demand and downloaded content and could be modified to support a pay TV model.

Red Wine and Green IT: A Perfect Pairing

Here's a great article providing great examples of green IT and food/wine production.
http://www.greenercomputing.com/blog/2009/07/22/red-wine-green-it

Google Voice now berry'd up

Google has released a Blackberry verison of the Google Voice application so it's now available on Blackberry phones as well as Android phones. Unfortunately Google Voice is still only available to Google users in the US (or who have registered with a US Google Mail account etc).

Google are rumoured be to be in talks with a German company who will provide them with infrastructure in Europe (including the UK).

When Google do launch in Europe the new VoIP entrants have the most to lose and some must already be worried. BT will still win as they own 85% of the infrastructure into premises and until there's fibre services rolled out from alternate carriers they still provide the last mile (and much of the backhaul).

Apple sells iPhones

Apple have shipped 5.2m iPhones during the last quarter which helped them achieve net profits of $1.23bn which is up 15% on last year.

Apple are still seen to be innovating in the phone market and there are still rumours of a 10" netbook (or large iPod touch) type device. They still have the opportunity to grab a new chunk of the market if they can release a truly innovative device.

AT&T go plastic

Plastic Logic makers of eInk technologies have done a deal with Barnes and Noble to supply their eBook store. AT&T will supply connectivity.

The unnamed Plastic Logic eReader will be in direct competition with Amazon's Kindle which is doing very well.

When will these devices come to Europe? The main eReader available in the UK is still the Sony unit.

Green Software Unconference Silicon Valley August 19 and Organic Wine

by Mary Vincent
Have you ever heard about a Technology Conference that will only serve sustainable food and organic wine?
The Conference will also plant a TREE for each early-bird registrant via MokuGift, a United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Partner, and the organic wine is sponsored by Holme Grown Brand.
Attend the Green Software Unconference Silicon Valley August 19, 2009 at the Computer History Museum, Mountain View, California to see for yourself and/or let your friends know about this innovative event!
The Green Software Unconference attendees will include Entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists, Businesspeople, and Sustainability Professionals who will collaborate and innovate on technologies and best practices that benefit both business and the planet.
Mary Vincent and Merc Martinelli co-founded the Conference. Mary Vincent runs Green Star Solution, a Strategic Business and Technology Consultancy and Media Firm and Gratitude Gourmet, a Sustainable Food Media Site featuring sustainable food innovators. Merc Martinelli is co-founder of Verdafero, a SaaS firm focused on sustainability implementation for business.
Bon Appétit Management Company created an online Food Carbon Diet Calculator , an innovative online application showing how our daily food choices affect carbon emissions.
Since the conference is all about helping the planet and business, it was important for the conference co-founders to also include food choices which have a low carbon and environmental footprint such as vegetarian food and organic wine.
In addition to the Green Software Unconference Registration Site, check out the other Green Software Sites: Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Release of the 59 – 64 GHz band | Ofcom

Release of the 59 – 64 GHz band | Ofcom

Ofcom is holding a consultation on the release of spectrum in the 59 to 64 GHz band under license exempt regulations.

The 57 to 59 GHz band has already been made license exempt and is used for high bandwidth fixed wireless systems (FWS) that link sites up to about 1Km apart.

Since the signals are rapidly attenuated in air, interference between FWS systems should be minimal.

Modern radio equipment that is now cost effective has made the use of this band commercially attractive to provide radio links of 100Mb/s and more.

There is still some military use of frequencies within these bands for Mobile and Radiolocation applications so license exempt use will not be permitted in 3 small geographic areas.

The consultation closes on 25/09/09

S. Korea Embracing 4G to Develop Climate Solutions

VirginMedia to go High Def

VirginMedia will shortly be launching new HD channels on their cable platform (the one they advertise as being fibre, which is really fibre to the street cabinet and co-ax to the home).

Sky have been offering several HD channels, now Virgin are catching-up with content from the Food channel and various Discovery channels.

It doesn't seem they have Sky's HD film channels, but then it's not in Sky's interest to offer them to Virgin customers.

Decision to make the Wireless Telegraphy (Short Range Devices) (Exemption) Regulations 2009 | Ofcom

Decision to make the Wireless Telegraphy (Short Range Devices) (Exemption) Regulations 2009 | Ofcom

On 17th July 2009 the Wireless Telegraphy Act changes will come come into force making various short range wireless devices license except. This is in-line with European Commission Decision 2009/381/EC of 13 May 2009 amending Decision 2006/771/EC of 9 November 2006 on harmonisation of the radio spectrum for use by short-range devices (the SRD Amendment Decision).

The following will become license excempt: -

* Tank Level Probing Radar (TLPR) at 4.5-7, 8.5-10.6, 24.05-27, 57-64 and 75-85 GHz.
* Radio determination applications at 2400-2483.5 MHz and 17.1-17.3 GHz (including Ground Based Synthetic Aperture Radar GB-SAR).
* Wideband data transmission systems (WBDTS) at 57-66 GHz (including wireless distribution of High Definition HD video).

It will also licence-exempt airborne use of the following equipment:

* WBDTS at 2400-2483.5 MHz and 57-66 GHz.
* Radio determination applications at 2400-2483.5 MHz.
* TLPR at 4.5-7, 8.5-10.6, 24.05-27, 57-64 and 75-85 GHz.
* Model Control at 26990-27000, 27040-27050, 27090-27100, 27140-27150 and 27190-27200 kHz.
* Radio frequency identification at 2446-2454 MHz.

Green Buildings Start at Home

Data Center Efficiencies Wait in the Wings

Fairmont Adopts Green IT Strategy

Think Big, Long-term For Sustainability Success

Vodafone and T-Mobile UK acquisition getting closer

Assuming there are no regulatory complaints, Vodafone may announce the acquisition of T-Mobile UK by next week. Deutsch Telecom may agree to the purchase if Vodafone swaps their Turkish network.

Ofcom recently released 3G coverage in the UK showing that O2 and Vodafone lagged behind 3, Orange and T-Mobile so a joint Vodafone/T-Mobile network would significantly increase their coverage and give them 40% of the UK market.

It is likely that other operators will shout unfair so the will be delays due to regulatory intervention.

Chrome OS the notebook challenger

Google has announced Chrome OS and new Linux based operating system with a the Chrome browser which will be targeted at netbooks.

Netbooks are already using Linux, but Google's entry into the fray will certainly threaten other Linux variants and make Microsoft's life more difficult. By owning the desktop, Google gain the user's entry to the Interweb, which makes Google apps easily available removing the reliance on desktop applications. Since Chrome supports Google GEARS, Google apps can continue to operate when the system is offline.

Google say Chrome and Android are different and come out of different teams. Android is optimised for mobile devices and has the issue of having a mobile stack to contend with while Chrome is optimised as a desktop system with the browser as the main driver.

It's likely that Google (with zero licensing costs) will be able to gain a large foothold reasonably quickly and drive users to their on-line apps which is the motivation for the OS.

It seems the industry also likes the effort and there seems to be widespread support from chip manufacturers like ARM, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments etc.

A Three-digit Number for Non-Emergency Healthcare Services | Ofcom

A Three-digit Number for Non-Emergency Healthcare Services | Ofcom

Ofcom is holding a consultation on the introduction of a 3 digit code, 111, for non-essential health care services.

A user dialing 111 will be directed to their local health service. The service is planned to be piloted in 2010 and rolled out nationally (in England) after that.

The consultation closes on 28 August 2009.

Trading Bows and Arrows for Laptops

This article and video teaches us how the choices we make directly impact other people, the planet, and climate change. Technology can also play an integral part in this education, and this story shows how corporations like Google can positively share this knowledge via Google Earth so to hopefully now and in the future save plants, trees, societies, cultures, and reduce climate change emissions.

Yahoo Data Center to be powered by Niagara Falls

Greener Electronics - Companies backtrack on toxics phase-out

RIM doubles applications to 2000

RIM have doubled the number of apps in their App World to 2,000 which still compares poorly to Apple who have over 50,000.

Though App World is relatively easy to use it's not as easy (or pretty) as Apple app store.

RIM has declined to give figures on the number of downloads from App World.

Phorm given the boot

Following on the BT's announcement that they were delaying the implementation of Phorm the targeted advertising system, TalkTalk announced they were dropping it all together. Virgin Media is considering Phorm and other systems but has not yet decided on a system to install. Phorm's share price fell 20 201p on the news.

Phorm works by snooping users' traffic and working out what sites they visit, then delivering targeted ads to those users based on their viewing habits. Phorm purchase they advertising space on remote sites and insert their ads.

Phorm has been criticised from privacy groups and there has been a bit of a public backlash.

Phorm is now concentrating on other markets such as Korea where it says trials are going well.

UK users may breath a sigh of relief, at least for a while in terms of Phorm.

Consumer Protection Test for telephone number allocation | Ofcom

Consumer Protection Test for telephone number allocation | Ofcom

Ofcom have updated the Consumer Protection Test lists which consist of the "Under Assessment" and "Nu mber refusal" lists.

Ofcom will not issue numbers in the ranges which are considered premium rate services (070 personal numbers, 0871/2/3 special service higher rate numbers and 09 premium rate numbers), these are all governed by PhonePayPlus.

Any telephony provider should check these lists before allocating numbers and ensure that people or companies on the list are not obtaining number services through them.

The lists are available as Adobe PDF files from the Ofcom site.

Sony Ericsson Joins Nokia, Samsung as ‘Greener’ Electronics Makers

Digital dividend: clearing the 800 MHz band | Ofcom

Digital dividend: clearing the 800 MHz band | Ofcom

Ofcom is planning ot clear the 800MHz band (also known as 790-862 MHz, channels 61 to 69 in UHF Bands IV and V) of existing and previously planned users and align the upper band of the UK’s digital dividend with the spectrum being identified for release by an increasing number of other European countries.

It also sets out the high level principles for how Ofcom intend to clear those existing and previously planned users – digital terrestrial television (DTT) and programme-making and special events (PMSE) – from channels 61, 62 and 69.

Ofcom is re-aligning the spectrum as other countries in Europe are clearing the spectrum for auction as the spectrum can be optimally used by wireless broadband operators.

The new use maximises the value to society as UK Plc.

Notice of Ofcom’s proposal to make the Wireless Telegraphy (Ultra-Wideband Equipment) (Exemption) Regulations 2009 | Ofcom

Notice of Ofcom’s proposal to make the Wireless Telegraphy (Ultra-Wideband Equipment) (Exemption) Regulations 2009 | Ofcom

Ofcom is consulting on introducing new legislation on the license exempt use for Ultra Wideband (UWB) in accordance with European Commission Decision of 21 April 2009 (2009/343/EC) (the “UWB Amendment Decision”).

Ofcom will overturn previous legislation and introduce a new Statutory Instrument.

The consultation closes on 04/08/09.

EPA Approves California Emissions Waiver

IBM's Green and Beyond Summit Rich Lechner's Speech

By Mary Vincent - Follow on Twitter @MaryVincent

Rich Lechner announces Lithium Air Batteries, Liquid Cooling at the Processor Level, Collaborative Effort Ecosystems, Sustainable Operations, Green Sigma Coalition, Adding Intelligence and Sustainability to San Francisco Water Treatment Facilities.
The podcast url is here.