News Archive - April 2011
Summary of the Amazon EC2 and Amazon RDS Service Disruption in the US East Region
April 29, 2011
Amazon explains at length what went wrong with its cloud computing service called EC2 that left customers without service for several days.
75% Of Enterprises To Use Videoconferencing By 2013
April 25, 2011
Despite all the purported benefits of video conferencing—reduced travel expenditures, increased collaboration among employees and immediacy—only about half of all enterprises have actually installed the technology and only about another 25% plan to in the next two years.
Amazon's trouble raises cloud computing doubts
April 25, 2011
The black out at Amazon's EC2 (Elastic Cloud Computing) data centre has cast a shadow over cloud computing, which has been hailed as a sturdy, reliable and inexpensive storage and network solution, especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that cannot afford their own large servers.
Skype unleashes VoIP calls over 3G for Android
April 22, 2011
The latest version of Skype for Android includes some security updates that make it more secure, but the "meat and potatoes" of the new version allows for greater VoIP call functionality over a 3G connection in addition to WiFi in the U.S., no matter the network (VoIP 3G calls was previously allowed only on Verizon).
Mirial ClearSea Brings Standards-based Video Conferencing to Motorola Xoom and HTC ThunderBolt
April 20, 2011
Mirial announces that Motorola Xoom and HTC ThunderBolt have been added to the list of certified devices for Mirial ClearSea.
Vonage targets the unwired world
April 18, 2011
VoIP giant Vonage has announced a new World Premium Unlimited calling plan, enabling unlimited calling to 80 countries, including unlimited calling to mobile phones in 42 countries, for a price of $54.99 month.
Multipoint Videoconferencing: H.323 & Skype on the Blue Jeans Network
April 18, 2011
Blue Jeans Networks enables users using protocols like Skype and H.323 to participate in multipoint conferences using any device from anywhere.
MagicJack Losing Its Money-Spinner?
April 13, 2011
Everyone wonders how MagicJack can afford to offer unlimited free phone calls and still make money. Here's how they earn money: they have another cow to milk in the backyard.
Verizon Closes $1.4 Billion Terremark Cloud Acquisition
April 11, 2011
Verizon Communications completed its $1.4 billion acquisition of cloud service provider Terremark Worldwide, a move the telecommunication powerhouse says will catalyze Verizon's everything-as-a-service cloud computing strategy as it attacks the managed IT infrastructure and cloud services market.
Level 3 to buy Global Crossing in stock deal
April 11, 2011
Level 3 plans to acquire Global Crossing to form an expansive network services company. Under the terms of the deal, Level 3 will give 16 shares of its own stock for every Global Crossing share. The company estimates the value of the deal at $3 billion. That figure also includes $1.1 billion of debt, which Level 3 will assume.
Cisco throws networking into OpenStack cloud
April 10, 2011
Cisco Systems, one of the world's largest technology companies, signaled last week that it has more than a passing interest in cloud infrastructure by submitting a design for OpenStack: Network as a Service (NaaS).
Android market share to near 50 percent
April 7, 2011
The Android operating system may soon own nearly 50 percent of the smartphone market, Gartner said.