“Get a Personal Trainer for Your Computer!”^©

As cell phones and cordless phones become more and more like computers, and actually connect to computers, it’s hard to separate one from the other.  Freed from land lines (wired telephones), first, there were “cell phones” to place calls to each other. Cell phones evolved into “smart phones” which offered many of the built-in features of PDAs, like calendars.  Now, we’re in the era of “app phones” like the iPhone and the Blackberry, with GPS locators and programs which can do anything, on or off of the Internet.  Click HERE for more discussion of Smart Phones. At Computer Coach, we provide cabling and troubleshooting for land line and wireless telephones as well as setup for VoIP and internet telephony, so it’s natural that we have some information you should consider when making decisions about your service:

FOR A DISCUSSION OF THE LATEST APPLE, DROID AND MICROSOFT CELL PHONE OFFERINGS, CHECK THE NEWS PAGE...

 SHOULD I CONSIDER GETTING A VOIP TELEPHONE SERVICE?  Services like Vonage and Skype are cost effective and a useful alternative to land line telephone services, especially if you make lots of charged long distance calls (particularly to foreign countries) but there are negatives and limitations:  Because of its nature, VoIP can be subject to remote eavesdropping, hopping, vishing, spam, toll fraud and, of course, the Skype worm (see below).  And, although the speed and reliability of these networks has increased, so has the relative insecurity of the connections, which are run continuously.  Possibly, with the cost of infringement settlements, the cost of VoIP may increase.  Finally, many claim that the quality of the call suffers over land lines, with a noticeable delay and sometime fuzziness of reception.  All in all, it’s still worth it for most of us.  However, if you don’t already have or need a fast broadband connection, the cost for this additional service (between $40 - $60 per month), when added to the per-month cost for the service itself, might not make the switch so cost-effective. Further consider:  VoIP requires electricity to connect.  So, if you live in an area where there are lots of power outages, you will also lose your telephone connection.  This hardly happens with land line telephones (unless they’re cordless; that’s why it’s always a good idea to always keep a plain old wired phone around for emergencies) because phone lines are underground, separate from most overhead electrical lines.  If you have a cell phone, this may be O.K.. with you.  But if you don’t, and an emergency arises, or you have health issues requiring dependability, if there’s a power outage, you’ll be out of luck.  Finally, VoIP isn’t compatible with many home alarm systems and TTY systems, so if you need those services, you may be out of luck.  And the 911 service is available, but it’s handled differently.

If you do decide to go the VoIP route, the most popular ones are Vonage & Skype, although there are others (e.g.  Google Talk, MSN Messenger, AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Oovoo, Sightspeed, Apple’s iChat).  And, on March 12, 2009, Google also introduced Google Voice.  Each uses a different methodology to provide and charge for their service, although both directly connect to your broadband connection, separate from your computer itself.  Vonage uses commercial servers over a SIP network, sometimes charges an initial setup charge or cost for the modem, and charges a set monthly charge of $24.99 for unlimited local and long distance calls.  Skype, on the other hand, employs a methodology that uses all of its users’ computers as “supernodes” so that if Skype can’t make a direct connection, it will use one of its customers’ computers to relay the call.  There’s no setup charge for Skype, and all calls between Skype users are free,  but local calls to land lines and mobile phones may be charged on a per-minute rate, and as of June, 2010 calling plans are required for international calls.  But both plans have some limitations (e.g. on calls to cell phones, some foreign countries; 911 calls are handled differently, etc.), so check the fine print and see if it’s really for you.  In June, 2011, Microsoft acquired Skype, so that may result in further changes.

......In the video call arena, on 2/3/09 Skype released 4.0 for Windows, calling it “the biggest new release in Skype history.”  You can now place near instantaneous, clear (and free) video calls.  Skype has lots of new features:  For example, you can drag various sections of the software to resize them, discreet notifications pop up when people are trying to reach you, you can now import address books from Hotmail, Outlook or Yahoo.  And you have a dedicated start video button, so you don’t have to begin video chat by starting with an audio call any longer.  Also, a new utility strip below the picture allows you to type web addresses, instant messages, or send files while connected.  Most important of all, though, is Skype’s technology which now consumes barely half the resources previously used to transmit sound, so that the lag time, even on older computers, is much less.  With newer equipment, it’s almost full duplex, like a land line phone.  Still missing, though, are some features found on its competitors:  Video calls are still only one-to-one (although audio will allow multiple participants) (Oovoo, Sightspeed, iChat can do this).  {This was introduced by
Skype for some services in 2010; see below).  There’s no video answering machine (like Sightspeed).  And, unlike Skype for Macintosh, there’s no screen sharing, so you can’t see the other party’s screen.  Still, if you want video chat, it’s great!

See the discussion below for Skype and Vonage for cell phones...

Still interested?  Call us to set up your residential or office VoIP  service!

 SHOULD I GET A MAGICJACK? You’ve probably seen those slick MagicJack commercials on TV showing you how to plug a telephone jack into the USB jack on your computer to get telephone service for almost nothing.  As record numbers of people bail from their land line telephones, this service is becoming quite popular.  What’s the story?  Before subscribing, you’ve got to know a couple of things.  First, in order for you to have telephone service, your computer must be on continuously.  If the computer is turned off, so is your telephone service.  This isn’t the case for VoIP services, which access your broadband service off of a router, before it reaches your computer, so it doesn’t matter if your computer is on or off.  Second, your computer must (a) have a high speed broadband service, such as DSL, Cable or FIOS, at least 128 kb/s, according to MagicJack (see LINK if you need to know more), and (b) your computer must be capable of processing this signal, so it should probably be a at least a PIV with 512Mb RAM.  The fact that it uses a (slower) USB connection as opposed to an ethernet connection direct to the modem, also raises speed issues, although I’ve not verified this.  And if you have a USB-1 vs. USB-2 connection it’ll be even slower.  With VoIP, since the computer isn’t processing the broadband signal, it doesn’t matter how underpowered your actual computer is.  Other drawbacks with MagicJack may include an inability to work with fax machines or multiple lines, no long distance calls outside of the U.S. and Canada, the possibility of built-in advertising, etc.  Finally, as with VoIP, this device depends on electricity to function, which may be less reliable than standard telephone service (see VoIP, above), particularly in emergencies. Read the FAQs on their website for more information.  So who is this option good for?  Someone with a single phone line, who already is paying for high-speed broadband for their computer which has a decently fast processor and RAM and who doesn’t mind leaving the machine on continuously.  In such a case, the cost savings would outweigh the monthly cost of VoIP and make MagicJack worthwhile.  But, if you have to factor in either an upgrade your computer hardware or the cost of obtaining a broadband connection at an additional cost of $40 to $60 a month, it probably isn’t worth it as your savings would be pretty much negated.\

NEW: In 2011 MagicJack introduced MagicJack Plus, which doesn’t even require a computer to connect the phone service.  The device has built-in hardware (CPU) and software to connect.  It connects directly into an electrical outlet and uses a  Wi-Fi connection to plug into a landline jack.  It costs another $10 over the old MagicJack ($60), includes the same year of service at $19.95, and same low international calling rates. 

 Click HERE for a comparison of the features of various Internet phone services, from netTALK.

 It’s an excellent prediction that the next big area for viruses and malware will not be over computers but smartphones.  Companies such as McAfee (which just purchased ten-Cube), Symantec (which just updated its antivirus software for iPhone and Android and SMobile Systems are all developing protection for smartphones.  Lookout, a San Francisco startup, has compiled a database of more than 1 million smartphone apps which it uses to detect new threats and block potentially malicious applications, as well as to provide data backup and the ability to remotely wipe data in the event the phone is stolen.  Apple vets applications before allowing its users to download them to their iPhones, making them somewhat safer than the Android applications, which aren’t checked by Google before posting to the Internet for download.  So you can end up with such things as the (Droid) tip calculator which, when downloaded, also forwarded the phone user’s text messages to hackers, giving them the potential to learn potentially sensitive information, such as on-line banking information.  Or other apps that automatically call expensive, premium-rate phone numbers without the user’s knowledge, racking up potentially huge bills.

  There are excellent apps you can use to make your smart phone a scanner and fax machine.  Recommendations:  For iPhone, try JotNot and TurboScan.  For Android, try CamScanner.  And, if you just want to print the scan, make sure you have one of the newer wireless e-printers available from almost all manufacturers.

 Cellphones are now expanding to process payments with credit cards.  Special phones with built-in card swipers keyed to merchant accounts have been around for some time.  But for personal use, several start-ups have introduced a way to process credit cards over mobile devices.  Among them Square (co-founded by Twitter inventor Jack Dorsey), Veriphone, Incase, Intuit, PayPal and others. Basically, Square involves a sleeve or card scanning device that plugs into the cell phone’s headphone jack and is supported by an app for the credit processing.  [With some apps, you may only have to “bump” two phones together to complete the transaction or use a bluetooth device.]  Initially, the device was introduced for iPhones, now it’s available for Android.  There will be a cost,  per transaction (2.75% - 3.5% + .15 per), although it doesn’t appear that you’ll have to apply for a traditional merchant account.  After all, the main purpose of the device is to process payments between friends, family and others.

 You’ve probably seen the iPhone apps or Google’s Goggles that take a photo of a street, then display markers for you showing where buildings, restaurants and the like are.  Now, some startup companies have been doing the same for indoor spaces, like malls, buildings and airports.  PointSide, FastMall and Micello are just a few of the apps which work on the iPhone and many Android phones.  Using these apps, you can find and map the best route to rest rooms, wheelchair access, airport gates, etc. Soon, says a startup called Aisle411, you will be able to find a specific product on a specific shelf at a specific store, along with a map of how to get there.  Of course, that’s only if Google doesn’t get there first.

 I received an e-mail from a client who forwarded an interesting e-mail to me about emergency cell phone services, allegedly sponsored by MacDonalds.  I don’t know if all of it’s true, but it’s nice to know: (1) The Emergency number for mobile phones is 112 (not 911).  (2) You can unlock your car if it has remote keyless entry by calling someone with the keys and holding the cell phone next to the lock. (3) You can disable your stolen mobile phone by calling your carrier and giving them the serial number, which can be found by typing “*#06#” on most phones.  (4) For free directory assistance, you can dial (800) FREE411 or (800) 373-3411.  (5) Finally, if your battery is running low, you can save power by entering “*3370#” and restarting the phone.  Again, this may or may not work with your carrier or even at all, but I’m passing it along.  (6)  Another client advised me that you can dial *112, which is actually a direct line to the State Trooper dispatcher, which will advise you whether or not the police cruiser pulling you over is legitimate.  You can also tell them to contact the cruiser and tell them you aren’t pulling over until they are verified.

 Depending on where you live, and soon to be available in most places, will be cell phone notifications about terrorist attacks, natural disasters, Amber alerts and BOLOS (“Be On the Lookout For” - escaped convicts, drunk drivers, etc.).  This stems from the Warning Alert and Response Network Act, a 2006 Federal law that requires upgrades to the emergency alert system and which requires the FCC to develop new ways to alert the public about emergencies.  These services will be mostly be provided, free of charge, with all cell phone subscriptions, with an “opt out” if you don’t want it.

  Often, you can skip the interminable introduction on cell phone messaging and cut directly to the “beep” by clicking  on “*” Verizon; “1” for AT&T of Sprint; “#” for T-Mobile.  Of course, you’ll have to try all of these if you don’t know the recipient’s carrier.  Some nice folks have actually added instructions to their personal (first) message like: “To skip to the message beep, press # now.”

 I thought that the “universal” chargers manufactured by Powermat and WildCharge were going to make it easier to charge all my mobile devices.  Just stick your phone, iPod, iPad on the charger when you get home and let it charge.  Not exactly.  Most devices require some sort of retrofit.  Seems that for devices such as the iPhone, Blackberry, Nintendo and iPod Touch, you have to get either a special (larger, thicker) battery door, case or dongle.  Doesn’t that defeat the point?

 Talking about traveling with your phone, try and conserve battery life.  Searching for a signal drains battery life a lot, so don’t forget to either turn your cell phone off or put it into Airplane Mode, before traveling, or else it’ll search for a local signal until you return home.

 Traveling outside of the U.S. with your cell phone? BEWARE if you travel internationally with your cellphone!  If you don’t turn off your data apps, like the radios on your Windows mobile devices, they will continue to download data, in addition to your high per-call roaming charges.  Also, if your phone automatically checks your email every 15 minutes, your bill may be a big surprise, easily topping $1000!   There are ways around this.  Verizon and Sprint (which use CDMA, not the GSM technology favored by Europe) will lend you a phone if you’ve been a subscriber for over 6 months.  Or you can buy an inexpensive phone from Telestial or PlanetOmni for less than $50.  You may also be able to change your rate plan with your current carrier to account for your travel.  Or possibly you may be able to obtain a special SIM card for your phone (unless, of course, you have a carrier like Verizon, which doesn’t use such cards).  You can sign up for VoIP services from Skype or Boingo to reduce your costs.  Finally, you can always use a calling-card, some of which have discounted rates for international calls.  Just be sure to make plans ahead of your trip if you need to be connected from outside the country.

 We all expected that, as cellphones and VoIP became more common, malware and viruses would eventually arise on these devices.  And they are.  For example, for users of Skype, there can be worries about the W32/Pykse.worm, which uses Skype for spreading.  Also, the PWS-Pkyse Trojan, which attempts to steal Skype user names and passwords (this one masquerades as a “Skype-Defender” plug-in for Skype).  Cellphones have been infected by the commwarrior virus around the world, also the RavMonE.exe virus.  In late 2009, Kaspersky Lab reported a new malicious program that steals money by taking over Nokia phones and making small charges to the owners’ wireless accounts.  Also in late 2009, an Australian student created an experimental worm that infected iPhones adapted to run unauthorized Apple software; it didn’t cause any damage, just installed a photo of 80’s pop star Rick Astley.  It can only get worse, so be vigilant! See this LINK to learn how to disinfect your cell phone if you get a virus.  Also, recognizing that this threat is increasing, various companies are starting to offer protection - Lookout (a startup), Symantec, Research In Motion, among others, are starting to get out the message.  If in doubt, or you’re afraid you’ll ruin your computer or phone, call a pro!

 We have all experienced situations where we are attempting to talk on our cell phones and the reception has become garbled or lost. Many times we discover that one or both cellphones to the connection have lost or diminished the signal because a user has moved within a steel building or is slightly out of range or between tower signals.  It’s annoying, and it usually happens with the same person more often than not.  For these situations, there is a fix.  There are many providers of so-called cell phone signal boosters, tiny plug-in units that can be plugged in between your cell phone and your office, home or car that boost the signal coming or going to the cell phone up to about 15dB.  So, if you’re one of those people that can’t receive or even send calls on your cell phone at home or at work or while traveling (e.g. a home in the mountains), check out these devices, which range between about $30 and $250, by Googling “cell phone signal boosters.”  I don’t have any recommendations, as I’ve never personally tried any of them.  I’ve been getting lots of promotional e-mail from PCWorld, which is promoting zBoost Signal Boosters, which claims to boost cell phone, aircard and 3G signals.

For those of you MacGyver types, here’s link to a site that provides you with various homemade devices (twist ties, beer cans, etc.) that you can build to create your own cell phone booster - Click HERE.

 Don’t always trust caller ID:  It’s sad, but you can’t always assume that your caller ID is really who it says it is.  “Spoofing,” which is cloaking the caller ID to make it look like someone else is calling, is on the rise and can be illegal.  (Not always - it’s o.k., say, if doctors or domestic violence shelters want to spoof their actual identity to maintain confidentiality and privacy.)  It’s so bad that the FCC has adopted rules that set significant fines for phone spoofing - $10,000 per incident and up to $1 million for ongoing violations.  Click HERE for the FCC info.

 Check WirelessAdvisor.com for comprehensive, up-to-date and unbiased wireless communication service information.  It provides lots of answers to questions about selecting a wireless carrier, definitions, etc.

 Talking about cell phones, particularly smart phones, if your cell phone is your life, don’t forget to back it up!  If your phone stores your apps, calendar, e-mail, downloads and settings, they will be lost, just as they are lost on a computer if the hard drive crashes.  Recently, I was installing my Blackberry onto Windows 7 and, in the middle of downloading my data into the Blackberry Desktop software, Comcast service was interrupted.  My phone literally became a non-functional brick, all of my software was lost.  I was lucky:  Only a couple of weeks earlier, I had backed up my phone to my computer and all I had to do was restore it, with very little data loss.  If I hadn’t been able to the result would have been catastrophic to my business, particularly since the scheduling software on this site connects to my e-mail and Outlook calendars on the phone and the server. Only a couple of years ago, you had to bring your phone into a service center to back it up.  Later you had to pay for the service on a monthly basis on-line.  Now, for some phones at least, it’s easier and its free.  It only takes a few seconds, but can save you unbelievable anguish - use your phone software to create a backup!  Or get independent software if it doesn’t come with it.  If your employees are using smartphones in your business, you should make it an office policy and part of your disaster recovery plan to schedule backups on a regular basis, just like your computer (which really what it is).  Also, an automatic disable ability if the phone is lost.

 Do you want to save copies of your cell phone text messages?  Perhaps for a court action, or to use as proof of cyber-bullying, or just to remember what you said for business or personal reasons?  If you have an e-mail account, use your menu button, then select “send to” and send the message to your e-mail address (or someone else’s, if you don’t have one).   Cell phone providers keep a few days of data, but won’t release it without a court order.  If the data is that important, you’ll have to get one.

 The 2010 J.D. Power customer satisfaction figures for cell phones have been released, and it’s pretty much the same as last year:  T-Mobile finished first, AT&T last, Verizon near the top.  Customers who spoke to an actual representative vs. an automated system and retail store service vs. internet scored higher in customer satisfaction as well.  It’ll be interesting to see how the merger between T-Mobile and AT&T (if approved) affects the scores.  Still, this is good information for you if you’re planning to by a cell phone.  In my experience, both the equipment and the network have to be excellent for your reception to be high.  You should check both out.  For example, my Motorola dual-band, tri-mode phones with Verizon consistently beat my friends cheapo cell phones with Sprint, although they cost less!  Sometimes you do get (only) what you pay for.

 Cell phone jailbreaking, unlocking & tethering:  20111 - Recently carriers (AT&T and Verizon in particular) have been cracking down on “tethering.”  Tethering is using a cell phone to get a laptop onto the Internet.  This is typically done one of two ways:  First, by using free tethering apps (like MyWi) on jailbroken or rooted cell phones.  Second, by using an unlocked, unbranded cell phone.   For a phone to be unlocked, you have to have a phone with a SIM card.  That limits you carriers which operate on GSM technology, currently only AT&T and T-Mobile.   Verizon, Sprint and most other carriers use CDMA technology and don’t have SIM cards.  It should be “unbranded,” meaning that it doesn’t use a particular carrier’s “firmware” (the software that operates the phone) so that the carrier can’t determine whether you tether your phone (so-called “tether tattling”).  An “unlocked” phone is a new phone that is not technologically tied to any particular carrier’s network.    A new unlocked phone is much easier to tether than an unbranded phone.  [These phones aren’t particular easy to get in the U.S., but if you work at it, you can pick one up on the Internet, either direct from a carrier or through other sources. Be careful if you purchase from eBay or Craisglist - claims of unlocking are difficult to verify.  But most are manufactured for the overseas market, so make sure you get the right radio frequency (“band”) that your proposed carrier uses and, if you travel internationally, that it has “quad” or “penta” band.]    Once you have the phone, you must replace the carrier-supplied firmware with third party firmware.  You’ve got to be sure that all the carrier software has been completely removed.  If you have an Android phone, you may have to root your phone before installing something called a “custom ROM” such as CyanogenMod.  “Rooting” your device means obtaining “superuser” rights and permissions to your Android’s software. With these elevated user privileges, you gain the ability to load custom software (ROM’s), install custom themes, increase performance, increase battery life, and the ability to install software that would otherwise cost extra money. Rooting is essentially “hacking” your Android device. In the iPhone ( and the AT&T) world, this would be the equivalent to “Jailbreaking” your phone.  Basic difference:  Jailbreaking a phone voids the warranty, but means that you can install third party applications on it that (Apple or AT&T, for example) might not want you to use.  Unlocking means that any SIM card can be used on it and it can access another carrier’s system or parts or your carrier’s system that they don’t want to let you access. Illegal?  Depends on whether you consider the phone yours to do with as you please or the firmware copyright protected property of the carrier.  Finally, get a cheap data plan from AT&T or T-Mobile, one of the prepaid or month-to-month types with a large or unlimited data allowance.  Still beware - after all this, if you constantly download movies or stream music, a carrier can follow the packet switching and see that you’re tethering.  The penalty isn’t much these days if you’re caught, but it may increase now that the carriers are aware of the increasing abuse.

 Cell phone security tips:  Don’t jailbreak your iPhone - because that breaks all of the security.  If you have “locate and wipe” enable it.  That way, if you lose and can’t find your phone, at least you can erase your data.  Most important - set a passcode.  At least it’ll slow down a thief.  Don’t just use the default - that’s how the News Corp. hackers got into cell phones, assuming users were lzay.  And some were.

 7/6/11: In an effort to stay ahead of the curve, Facebook announced that it will introduce video chatting through Skype.  The new feature will allow users to send instant messages and video chat with their Facebook friends by clicking a button on their Facebook chat list or on a friend’s profile page.  But it won’t allow group video chats or be available on mobile phones, as is the full Skype service.  It is free for the time being.  Similarly, while wireless companies have attempted to charge for text messaging as part of their data allotment, there are lots of new apps for smart phones which offer free text messaging services, such as GroupMe, Google Voice, Disco, Facebook, Beluga, Kik and WhatsApp.  Some apps are even hard wired into the phone itself, such as Blackberry Messenger and Apple’s iMessage soon to to come out.  This has become necessary as wireless carriers (Sprint being the last holdout) have done away with their unlimited data plans, forcing users to either pay per message or pay for unlimited texting service.

 Big Brother May Be Watching:  Verizon Wireless updated its privacy policy the week of October 3, 2011 to allow the collection of your location data and the addresses of all of the web sites you visit on your mobile device.  You’re automatically opted in to this policy.  If you disagree, you can access your privacy settings on Verizon’s web site and change them.

 Iphone tips and tricks

- If your phone is locked, you can still place a phone call by voice control by holding down the home button.  This works for other voice commands as well.

- Voice control can not only dial phone numbers, call people and control music, but can also tell you the time if you ask “What time is it?”  This is even before “Siri”.

- Double tapping the home button (when the phone is unlocked) will also let you “force quit” open apps: The list of most recently used apps with a minus sign will let you shut that app down if, say, it’s running in background (slowing things down). Swiping that screen to the right will give you music-playing controls.

- Double tapping a locked iPhone will still allow you to control audio controls.

- Right swipe on your home screen to get the search window, also a shortcut to Google and Wikipedia.

- You can lock the volume by going into Settings, then iPod, then Volume Limit, and even set a code to lock the settings, so your kids can’t split your eardrums.

- Tapping and holding a web image when using Safari will give you buttons to save it to your camera roll or copy it to the clipboard.  Also, tapping the home and sleep buttons simultaneously will save the current display to the camera roll.

- If you want to find a word or phrase on a web page, type it in the search box then scroll to the bottom result which says “On this page” and it’ll show you.

- You can add keyboards in other languages:  Go to Settings, General, Keyboard, International Keyboards.

- Adding accent marks (e.g. aigu, macron) is done by tapping and holding a letter.

- To rewind audio or video, slide your finger down, then across (not just left and right across), allowing you to move at different speeds, rewind or advance.

- Shaking the phone when typing gives you the option to undo it.

- If your phone is acting sluggish or strangely, initiate a “hard reset” by holding down the home and sleep buttons simultaneously.  Then wait until the phone powers down completely and then (this is IMPORTANT) do not release the buttons until you see the mirrored Apple logo display.

- If you have an iPhone 4GS, be aware that Siri can still access much of your personal data, such as addresses, contact information and calendar appointments even when the phone is locked.   (Similar to the first item, above.)  To prevent this go to settings>general>Passcode Lock, then turn the Siri option to Off.

In addition to installing telephone, fax and VoiP systems, we also specialize in videophone and video surveillance systems.  Now that prices have come down drastically in the video camera industry, it’s possible to install a quality video camera (wired or wireless) onto an existing computer system, with motion or time activated recording capability and the ability to access the camera and the archive from another computer or smart phone, all for less than $500.  Of course, for high-resolution cameras which can pan, tilt and zoom and broadcast in color, and for multiple, night time or weather-protected camera installations, the cost increases according to the features.  But it’s still a bargain.  For example, if you travel quite a bit and want to install a camera to keep an eye on the kids, the help or the pets or want to see if the lawn or pool service came to the house on time, a well placed camera and an internet connection can be very cost effective and easily monitored from a smart phone, providing you with instant piece of mind.  Call us for more information....

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE 2009-10 PHONE PAGE ARCHIVE

See the following for other useful phone explanations in this site’s glossary: DSL, DTMF, POTS, 66 BLOCK, SOFTPHONE, VoIP, BLACKBERRY, iPHONE, LOOPBACK, VONAGE, SKYPE, ANDROID, DEMARC, PHONENET, PBX, TIP & RING, “G” AND “3G,” RFID AND NFC.

Interested in learning more about mobile phone technologies?  Check out the definitions of types of mobile phone services under the definitions for GSM, CDMSA, UMTS and HSDPA.  [Most cell phones fall into the CDMA/EVDO or GSM/UMTS networks (or, sometimes, both).]

MURPHY’S LAWS OF COMPUTING #24:  Computers let you waste time efficiently.

CLICK TO SHARE THIS PAGE