Well its happening providers can listen in and record all calls and collect data, such as which number keys were pressed during a call, as well as numbers! Though FCC took a beating when Judges challenged Internet wiretap rules saying that their argument makes no sense.
There were also different groups joining in especially the civil liberties groups and education ones. For the education groups that they may have to pay for the wiretap was the worry. Not surprising as colleges and schools will have to fork out large amounts to provide for these FCC lobbied wiretaps.
However, the story is not over as the court’s decision is expected within several months. Judges were deciding on the FCC’s decision to require that providers of Internet phone service and broadband services must ensure their equipment can accommodate police wiretaps under the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, known as CALEA.
VoIP being the fastest growing sector in the Internet was called as a would-be safe haven for terrorists and criminals where no one will be watched over, by the Justice department. The points of the Surveillance Law, passed in 1994 are being debated on and therein lies the problem.
The Surveillance Law states allows wiretaps but excluded categories of companies described as information services. So, the question then was if Internet providers with voice over transmissions should be included in the information services category.
“Voice-over is a very different thing,†U.S. Circuit Judge David B. Sentelle said. He said it offered “precisely the same†functions as traditional telephone lines. So the FCC claims that voice over transmissions cannot be treated as information services is sitting well with the Judges and this could be where FCC may win.
Now the question remains if the court allows wiretap and providers have to pay for the wiretap what would this do to VoIP services which currently has the USP of being the cheapest form of voice communication available now. Surely, The providers are going to transfer some of those costs on to the users, don’t you think?
Written by shiama on May 5th, 2006 with no comments.
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Protecting wireless networks is no longer a matter of choice in Westchester County New York but mandatory, thanks to a new law that has been passed to this effect. With this, this county becomes the first place in the US where such a law has been put in place.
What this means is that commercial businesses where customer information such as social security number, credit card numbers, or bank account numbers are passed over a wireless network should take necessary steps to protect such information. County executive Andy Spano emphasized, “We know there are many unsecured wireless networks out there, and any malicious individual with even minimal technical competence would have no trouble accessing information that should be kept confidential.â€
The new law mandates that businesses that use wireless networks should install a network firewall and disable SSID broadcasting. The same has to be complied in six months from now. Failing to do so will invite a fine and a second defaulting will invite a higher fine. While this new bold step displays all the right makings of a good law, the county officials are aware that enforcing it effectively is not going to be an easy task.
Andy Spano also pointed out “It would be nice if these businesses took the necessary steps on their own to ensure their networks were kept secure, but the sad fact is that many don’t. That’s why we’re taking it one step further and making it a law,â€
This step by the county officials towards to ensuring wireless security is definitely a step in the right direction. The rest of the United States and other European and developed nations can surely emulate this move. How effectively they manage to ensure compliance is an administrative problem that the county will have to find solutions to.
Written by shiama on May 5th, 2006 with no comments.
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McDonald's has decided that a redesign of their fast-food franchise restaurants was needed for the 21st century because the existing McDonalds look is "too dated". Dated? Try an American Icon! Don't mess with an American icon. According to
Business Week, the world's largest hamburger chain is redesigning its 30,000 eateries around the globe for the first time in 30 years.
Look at the picture above of the redesign. No more double-slanted roof? No more cheesy plastic booths that while uncomfortable are are part of my childhood memories.
The nostalgia will be forever lost with this redesign. They're adding more wood instead of plastic to "warm" it up. The "linger" zone will offer comfortable armchairs, sofas, and Wi-Fi connections which they hope will keep teenagers "lingering" around. Funny, growing up, every McDonalds I ever visited had teenagers hanging out inside or in the parking lot on weekends, so I'm not sure how they will increase the "lingering" effect.
In all of this redesign, kids seems to be excluded. From what I gather the playground or indoor playyard will be eliminated. Young kids will no doubt see McDonald's as "boring". McDonald's is alienating a demographic that made it what is today. Every parent takes their kids to McDonald's because their kids want to go there. The fun is gone...
Additionally, many franchisees up in arms over the high costs of a makeover which will cost them $300,000 - $400,000 to renovate an existing restaurant, which is the average yearly profit for a McDonalds franchise. To tear down and start from scratch would cost $1 million. According to BW, "the franchisees will have to pay for the renovations themselves, which has some of them seething." About 160 franchisees from North Carolina wrote Mcdonalds headquarters and explained why they oppose the new plan. According to BW: They say the roof change erases 40 years of brand building and that "there has been no business case presented which justifies the change." Says Frederick Huebner, who owns 11 McDonald's in North Carolina: "We don't want to lose the iconic look of what we've got." If franchisees balk, McDonald's can refuse to renew their contract.
McDonald's needs to realize what and who they are. They are a fast-food chain with good food that is bad for your health. They're not Starbucks, they're not Mortons or Ruth Chris Steakhouse, so why mess with a good formula?
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on May 5th, 2006 with no comments.
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Yesterday eBay detailed what was talked about at their annual financial analyst conference in San Jose. A lot of what was detailed is stuff we already know.
Skype passed 100 million users, Paypal is integrated with eBay, blah blah blah. They talk about the synergies between the three (eBay, Paypal, Skype), but to me
Skype is still the odd man out right now. I still can't go to eBay, look up an auction listing and see the
seller's Skype status to initiate a call to the seller.
Sure, eBay is in the early stages of this. In fact they do display SkypeMe buttons in listings on several international eBay sites,
but who cares about the international market? Doesn't eBay know that the U.S. is the end-all-be-all. If it ain't happening here in the U.S. who cares? I'm kidding of course. But seriously, you don't hear too much about
Skype buttons on international eBay sites. I think eBay would be smart to start offering
Skype integration on the U.S. eBay site -- even if only in beta. They've owned
Skype long enough to be able to do this, so why the long delay? You'd think several billion dollars in Skype's pockets would give them enough cash to hire developers to get the show on the road. C'mon already... When eBay provides this kind of integration, then I'll agree with their statement that there is "synergy between the three". Until then, this is more like
Naked Gun 2 1/2
.
In any event, here's the synopsis of the financial analyst conference - lots of hype you will see:
eBay Inc. Outlines Global Business Strategy at 2006 Analyst Conference
San Jose, Calif., May 4, 2006 - eBay Inc., (Nasdaq: EBAY; www.ebay.com), today held its annual financial analyst conference in San Jose, California, during which the company highlighted the fundamental strength of its three businesses: Marketplaces, Payments, and Communications. The company also described its expanded vision of the future, outlining a multi-brand strategy to accelerate growth in its current businesses and gain share in new addressable markets.
Executives demonstrated how the continued focus on innovation enables each of the company’s flagship brands – eBay, PayPal, and
Skype – to grow as standalone businesses, participate in larger markets, and create entirely new ones. Management also described how these three businesses are complementing and reinforcing one another, which is leading to entirely new opportunities and monetization models. As examples of this “Power of Three,” company leaders referenced how the integration of PayPal on eBay increased adoption of the payments service, which made it possible for PayPal to successfully serve merchants selling outside the eBay marketplace. In addition, they cited how eBay and Skype, working together, can accelerate both businesses and also lead to the creation of new ecommerce formats and businesses. Similarly, integration of PayPal and
Skype can result in accelerated usage of both offerings.
Marketplaces
eBay executives summarized the strength of the Marketplaces business, which includes eBay, Shopping.com, and classifieds websites. In the first quarter of 2006, eBay’s Marketplaces delivered more than $1 billion in revenue for the first time.
eBay North America leaders described its unparalleled value proposition to sellers and buyers, and highlighted its expertise at driving demand through integrated marketing initiatives including paid and natural search. In the past year, eBay has increased the size of its paid-search keyword portfolio more than twenty times to 15 million while simultaneously reducing cost per keyword by 74%. The international e-commerce market is evolving rapidly, and executives discussed how eBay is responding effectively to challenges. In Europe, eBay is on track to be a bigger business than it is in the , while Asia remains eBay’s fastest growing region with tremendous long-term potential.
Executives detailed how eBay will build on its existing strengths and expand its market opportunities by meeting the needs of multi-channel sellers and buyers through a range of tailored shopping experiences and new monetization models. Properties such as eBay Express, ProStores, eBay Stores, and Shopping.com give eBay entry into the market for new, in-season products. Classifieds marketplaces, including Kijiji and Marktplaats.nl, allow eBay to address the local goods and services market. The company previewed eBay Motors 2.0, a new tailored shopping experience that will offer the best of eBay Motors’ national marketplace combined with a local offering. The continued integration of
Skype will enable eBay to build ecommerce platforms based on lead-generation business models.
Payments PayPal’s management team reviewed the performance of the online payments service, which saw the first quarter of 2006 end with more than 105 million accounts worldwide and $8.8 billion in total payment volume. Executives described the three global business opportunities being pursued by the business: payments on eBay Marketplaces, Merchant Services, and areas beyond online payments.
When PayPal is integrated into an existing eBay marketplace, the company has consistently seen acceleration of growth in both businesses. PayPal plans to use product innovation, continued global expansion, and integration on new eBay properties, such as eBay Express, to grow the business in 2006 and beyond. Merchant Services remains a strategic priority for PayPal, and is experiencing accelerating growth in the . The company is expanding its focus from sole proprietors and small and mid-sized businesses to include large merchants.
PayPal executives plan to expand PayPal’s reach beyond online payments into areas such as financial products, including PayPal Credit, and mobile payments. Leaders recapped the April launch of PayPal Mobile, which offers person-to-person, text-to-buy and text-to-give functionality.
Communications Skype executives outlined their vision to enable the world’s online conversations and the enormous business opportunities that exist for Skype. Company leaders detailed their success to date, highlighting that
Skype recently surpassed the 100 million mark for registered users. Rapid product innovation in areas such as
Skype Video and Web presence, a robust infrastructure and a thriving ecosystem of hardware and software developers, have created a sustainable leadership position for
Skype in the online communications industry.
Company management detailed Skype’s existing revenue opportunities from SkypeOut, SkypeIn, voicemail and other services, and discussed several new areas of revenue opportunity for Skype. Communities and content revenue will be driven by innovative new offerings such as avatars, ring tones, and Skypecasts, a platform for public discussions on any subject, making
Skype the marketplace for the world’s conversations. Deeper integration with eBay and PayPal can increase usage of Skype, and the development of new Skype-powered lead generation-based businesses can enable the company to tap into entirely new addressable markets.
“Power of Three” Synergies Executives said that, as standalone businesses, eBay, PayPal and
Skype have the ability to pursue new market opportunities and capture future growth. Working together, these three businesses can create entirely new opportunities for innovation and expansion, and redouble the strength of the company’s leadership position.
Executives highlighted the company’s track record of synergy between eBay and PayPal, recapping PayPal’s success at reducing friction in the payment process between buyers and sellers on the marketplace. PayPal accelerated the velocity of trade on eBay while millions of new users from eBay made PayPal more attractive to merchants of all types. eBay believes that the integration of
Skype can create the same dynamic the company saw between eBay and PayPal. Company leaders described how
Skype can help facilitate trade on eBay, especially in high involvement and high price categories, such as Motors, Business & Industrial and Real Estate. Early efforts, such as the inclusion of SkypeMe buttons in listings on several international eBay sites, are showing promising results. Officials also laid the groundwork for new integration ideas that are in the concept stage, such as a lead-generation platform. This pay-per-lead offering, powered by Skype, could address ecommerce segments that aren’t well served by eBay’s transactional model, such as local services and new cars.
Combining
Skype and PayPal also opens up new opportunities. PayPal has already embedded its service into
Skype payment flows, making paying for
Skype services easy, which can boost Skype’s revenues and increase PayPal’s payment volume, while accelerating adoption of both offerings. Executives previewed several deeper integration ideas between the two businesses. Building Send and Request Money functionality into the
Skype client and giving a PayPal Wallet to every
Skype user are two concepts that could help cement PayPal’s position as the preferred way to pay for millions of
Skype users.
Financial Review eBay Inc. CFO Bob Swan reviewed the company’s attractive economic model, characterized by high growth rates on the top and bottom line, strong operating margins, low capital intensity, and strong cash flows. This combination has helped eBay outpace the growth of e-commerce as a whole since 2002. The company intends to leverage its portfolio of businesses to grow faster than e-commerce by extending its current offerings and expanding into new areas beyond ecommerce.
Swan detailed the financial objectives for each of the three businesses. For eBay Marketplaces, growth will be driven by expanding the core business, entering into new in-season product markets and monetizing classifieds platforms, with long-term non-GAAP operating margins for that business expected to range between 35 and 40%. PayPal growth will be driven by adoption on eBay around the globe, Merchant Services, and the expansion beyond online payments, with longterm non-GAAP operating margins expected to range between 20 and 25%. Skype’s growth will come from acquiring new users, enhancing the product offering, improving monetization and building out its developer ecosystem. Ultimate longterm non-GAAP operating margins for
Skype are also expected to range between 20 and 25%.
The company’s long-term goal is to expand overall non-GAAP operating margins above the 33% projected for 2006. The company plans to offset the impact of the growth of PayPal and Skype, which are structurally lower-margin businesses, by delivering active customers at a lower cost, improving the effectiveness of product development, and optimizing efficiencies in the businesses.
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on May 5th, 2006 with no comments.
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The iPod Nano is still selling like hotcakes and Case Closed Bags is still one of my favorites for iPod cases (as well as other stuff, like laptop bags and cell phone cases.