Ooma VOIP device – steps to take before buying and testing

Posted on May 19, 2013 by randylewiskemp
Image representing Skype as depicted in CrunchBase

Image via CrunchBase

Goodbye POTS and explore Ooma

It’s about time to ditch POTS (i.e. plain old telephone service) once and for all. I was very pleased to visit Amazon and see over 3000 reviews or ratings, with an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars.

And there’s another benefit from ordering it at Amazon. The device is only guaranteed for a 1 year “limited” warranty by Ooma. It appears that Ooma offers an extended warranty for one year, for about forty dollars. I read it in one of the reviews. But you can get a 2 year Square Trade waranty for about thirteen dollars. And Square Trade gets excellent ratings on Amazon, BBB, Web of Trust and social media sites.

But here’s some advice before you order, install and test it.

My first advice is to run it behind a router, via an Ethernet cable. I had bad experiences when I used a Vonage device as a router, many moons ago. Packets kept getting drops and my tests isolated it to the Vonage device. Now I’m not saying Ooma will behave similarly. Besides, if you connect either to the modem, there’s only room to run one computer. This doesn’t square in my book.

Skype as backup

Besides having a mobile phone with an unlimited plan, I would have a Skype call out subscription. I would also set up an OBI device (i.e. OBI100, OBI110, or OBI202) from Amazon. It supports a Google Voice setup, where you can call from a standard phone. This is good backup advice, in case Ooma breaks down. You can continue VOIP, along with contacting tech support.

I do recommend a Google Voice number, which rings all your phones.

Why Skype? For a few reasons:

  • You can’t call Canada from Ooma, except by opting for the premium services. But you can with a US unlimited monthly subscription – much cheaper than the Ooma premium services.
  • This really shouldn’t be a consideration. Ooma gives a 5000 minute monthly limit. Skype – I believe – has a 10,000 minute monthly limit. If you talk more than the Ooma and Skype monthly limits combined – get a life.
  • You can continue VOIP if Ooma breaks.
  • You can use Skype at Wi-Fi locations.
  • Skype is a good for international Skype-to-Skype calls.

Of course, you should set up Dect 6.0 phone system. This can be purchased at places like Amazon or Walmart.

When I get my Ooma, set it up and test it – I’ll share the results.

Tire story illustrating research

Off-road tire

Off-road tire (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Let me share a recent story about doing research.

I take my car to a weekly tire place, which is part of a national chain.. They have an automatic air machine and give free air checks. I do this weekly. Recently, the manager mentioned I should get new tires. Tire companies recommend replacement every six years. I told him I wanted a couple other professional opinions and to do some Google research.

Let’s take a typical article from Google. Look at How Old — and Dangerous — Are Your Tires? At Look at How Old — and Dangerous — Are Your Tires?. Here are interesting segments from the article:

  • “Carmakers, tiremakers and rubber manufacturers differ in their opinions about the lifespan of a tire.”
  • “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has no specific guidelines on tire aging and defers to the recommendations of carmakers and tire manufacturers.”
  • “Carmakers such as Nissan and Mercedes-Benz tell consumers to replace tires six years after their production date, regardless of tread life. Tire manufacturers such as Continental and Michelin say a tire can last up to 10 years, provided you get annual tire inspections after the fifth year.”
  • “The Rubber Manufacturers Association says there is no way to put a date on when a tire “expires,” because such factors as heat, storage and conditions of use can dramatically reduce the life of a tire.”

What about my other two professional opinions? One was a manager at a competing tire chain company. Another was an auto repair shop owner, who also sold tires. Neither said I should replace them, but to come back in the fall – for a follow-up opinion.

I’ll still go to the original place for my free weekly air check. And I’ll get quotes from him (as well as the other two places), when the time comes.

My point? Always do your research.

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Mac vs PCs – a LinkedIn Group discussion

Posted on May 12, 2013 by randylewiskemp
Picture of the Genius Bar in the Apple Store R...

Picture of the Genius Bar in the Apple Store Regent Street, London (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mac vs PCs – a LinkedIn Group discussion

Someone on a LinkedIn writer’s group asked for input on PCs and Mac.

Some folks are into Mac and it has a cult-like following.

Here’s a sampling of input:

“Macs are much more expensive than comparable Windows machines, but my wife has been on one (she’s only a recreational user) for years and never seems to have problems.”

Here’s a question I asked:

“Does anyone know how often Apple changes or brings out a new operating system? For Windows, it’s about every 3 years. And does the new operating system work on existing Apple hardware or do they “urge” you to buy new hardware (i.e. like Windows)?”

Here’s a response:

“Apple tweaks their OS once or twice a year.”

“I’ve been able to get through several upgrades in the Mac OS before having to purchase new hardware. I upgrade the hardware about every ten years.”

“My 9500 became antiquated when Apple changed to the BSD kernel for their OS. My eMac became obsolete when they moved to the Intel processors. Each had survived many OS upgrades.”

“An added bonus is the seamless synching between my various Apple devices.”

The Apple Store in San Francisco.

The Apple Store in San Francisco. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Me again:

I thought I might look at some recent (i.e. within the past 6 months) comparing Windows and Mac:

According to the article conclusions, Windows still wins the race.  I like Intel based PCs for these reasons:

  • I can get them inexpensively at places like Walmart, Costco, etc.
  • They are good, local PC repair shops to fix them rather inexpensively
  • I can run both Windows and Linux-based systems (i.e Ubuntu, Google Chrome operating system, etc.) on them.
  • I can run good open source and high quality freeware software on them.

So if you want security, run your computer (even one) behind a router, with good anti-virus and firewall software. Keep the operating system, anti-virus and application software up to date. On windows, add WinPatrol, KeyScrambler Personal and Malwarebytes.

Here’s what someone on the forum said about Apple repair – to their credit:

“Finally, I just took my Mac to The Apple Store to get repaired. Unfortunately, I had that bad NVidia chip that malfunctioned but the agreement to fix it for free had expired. However, they had a flat fee of $310 for the repair ($210 for whatever was needed and $100 for labor).”

“I was surprised when I received not only the repair (logic board replaced), but also a new keyboard (my “R” key had come loose and needed replacing), a new bezel (the part that surrounds the keyboard), AND a new battery! The battery alone would have cost around $100.”

English: Original source file of the “About Vi...

English: Original source file of the “About VirtualBox” window of VirtualBox 1.5.6_OSE. Deutsch: Original-Quelldatei des „Über VirtualBox“-Fensters von VirtualBox 1.5.6_OSE. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My response:

Someone is using the Apple duel boot and runs Windows.  It’s nice to see someone using Apple for the Dual boot and settling for the Windows operating system. And it’s nice to see a positive experience with Apple repair – where they throw in some free repair bonuses.”

I can’t say I’m anti-Apple. I do personally prefer a Samsung to an IPhone. And other programs like Open Office, LibreOffice and Google Docs do have the capacity to convert to Word build-in (or there are easy ways to do so). They do honor the fact that Word is king.

Windows 8 has a lot of criticism about the start menu. I believe they brought it back in SP1 – sort of. But there are application solutions to the start menu issue – just search for them.

I have nothing against Apples – either hardware or software. The biggest obstacle for me jumping on the Apple bandwagon is the distance of an Apple store. I don’t feel like driving 10+ miles to look at hardware, software, or get a repair done. Should Apple open a store nearer to me, or I move close to an Apple store – this could change.

For now, I’ll continue to run 2 PCs – one containing a flavor of Windows and one a flavor of Linux (i.e. Ubuntu).

Let’s part with some interesting  articles:

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Big cable companies and the Peter Principle

Posted on May 5, 2013 by randylewiskemp

Let’s start with a couple of good technology articles:

A Netgear DG632 ADSL modem with an 8 pin JTAG ...

A Netgear DG632 ADSL modem with an 8 pin JTAG header at location “5″. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

How to install GNOME 3.8 on Ubuntu: How to install GNOME 3.8 on Ubuntu

I recently updated my Ubuntu system to 13.04. I’ve never used GNOME, so this is an opportunity to experiment. Am I following the directions right? When I try the install, Ubuntu mentions some GNOME components are missing. But it’s not a big deal. As the author mentions, “I believe Unity has become one of the most efficient and user-friendly desktops available. But… everyone has their own opinion (and I highly respect those opinions).”

Protect your privacy with these five applications

The one has a real Windows gem: KeyScrambler Personal. I’ll include this with WinPatrol and Malwarebyes, which are personal favorites of mine. You should still run a good anti-virus, firewall and run behind a router – even if you have just one computer. And a quick tip here: If you run Vonage – which I don’t – run Vonage behind a commercial router like Linksys or NetGear. Don’t let Vonage be the router.

Expect the unexpected

Image representing Comcast as depicted in Crun...

Image via CrunchBase

I did a blog post last week entitled Steps for running your own cable or DSL modem instead of leasing: Steps for running your own cable or DSL modem instead of leasing. The problem is you can’t always expect vendor issues.

Take Comcast, for example.

The best time to do software and hardware upgrades is Saturday or Sunday. Sunday was the time for my cable modem swap. The first technician set up everything properly. They even worked with someone who activates the modem in the Comcast network. But when we tried the modem, it was inactive on the Comcast side.

The problem? Billing needed to set the rate codes. I was transferred to the billing department, which was closed for the weekend.

So I called back and got another technician. She told me I would have to wait until Monday and talk to billing. When I asked about credit for being down, she said I needed to also consult billing. So I asked to be connected to her supervisor. I waited for 5 minutes or so and hung up.

Then I remembered what one retiring service technician told me. He mentioned that the technicians had various degrees of competency.

So the solutions was to keep calling, until I connected with a knowledgeable technician.

There was a way to temporary override the rate code. Billing could do their work later. Comcast also sent me a UPS box, to send the Comcast modem back. It’s a simple matter to get the box via UPS and drop it off at the UPS store.

What is the lesson learned? In a big company like Comcast, there are probably various Peter Principles working – mostly dictated by upper management . Wiki mentions it as,”The Peter Principle is a proposition that states that the members of an organization where promotion is based on achievement, success, and merit, will eventually be promoted beyond their level of ability. The principle is commonly phrased, ‘Employees tend to rise to their level of incompetence.””

But I repeat what the retiring technician told me. The technicians had various degrees of competency. The key is to keep calling, until you reach a technician that just knows more than a calling script.

I’m sure other companies would have similar issues – like Time Warner and ATT.

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Steps for running your own cable or DSL modem instead of leasing

Posted on April 28, 2013 by randylewiskemp

Steps for running your own cable or DSL modem instead of leasing

Amazon

Amazon (Photo credit: edgeplot)

Red Hat

First, let me digress at bit. I work on technical support for a worldwide health and wellness group I belong to. They do worldwide web conferences that is Java based. You get folks who can’t connect or have other technology issues – that’s where I came in.

The moderator talked about Ubuntu and I shared some experiences with it. They are good for the most part. But I mentioned using the OpenJDK and someone else mentioned Red Hat’s Iced Tea. A little research uncovered that Iced Tea is grown from OpenJDK.

I don’t get into “camps”, like Oracle JDK, OpenJDK, Iced Tea, etc. I’m more into what works. Many years ago, I followed a product called Jboss, which Wiki classifies as “a JavaBeans Open Source Software Application Server.” Then Red Hat acquired them. They still kept a community version and recently renamed the software to WildFly. I kind of like the new name.

Now here is a Ubuntu question.  Is it better to:

  • Stay with version 12.04, which promises long-term support for 5 years?

Or

  • Just upgrade to the latest production stable version and keep checking for software updates daily?

Cable modem

 

Amazon shipment

 

 

Today I have a Motorola modem with Comcast. I lease it and they recently raised the price to seven dollars a month. So I did a bit of research and recommend the following steps (i.e. substitute the same for DSL).

  • Contact your vendor (i.e. Cable, Time Warner, ATT, etc.) and see if they have a list of recommended or approved modems. For Comcast, this is found at My Device Info. They have a link to where to buy them at My New Modem by Infinity at . For the record, I settled on the Motorola SB6121. From the Comcast perspective, it has a 3 star (i.e. the highest) rating, along with D3 and Ipv6 support.
  • The recommended buy link is Amazon. Now we have another check. Out of about 1700 user ratings, it gets four out of five stars. Amazon gives a great discount (i.e. about one-third off retail), along with free super saver shipping, etc.
  • Who handles the Comcast modem firmware upgrades? Or you can substitute Time Warner, ATT, etc., for Comcast. I did ask this question on an online chat with Comcast. Comcast confirmed that they do the firmware upgrades. This is fine with me, as it’s one less technology chore I need to deal with.
  • Another thing to look into is insurance. Amazon has deals with a firm called Square Deal. I found it interesting for several reasons. If I look at their website, the Web of Trust plug-ins don’t flag them. As their website mentions, “Web of Trust (WOT) shows you which websites you can trust based on millions’ of users experiences, so you can enjoy your surfing 100%!” They do have 4.5 – 5 stars on Amazon, Google and Apple, based on user ratings. I also researched them on the Better Business Bureau. They turn out to be a BB accredited business, with an A+ rating. Since I am saving money via Amazon on price, shipping, etc., it pays to add the low-priced warranty.
  • If you don’t read the main reviews under the product description – shame on you. You might miss some great technology advice. In my case, someone mentioned that the number needed for Comcast comes from the box wrapping itself. In other words, the number is on the box – not the modem.
  • One last tip.  If you live in the US and this is a USPS Amazon shipment, register the Amazon tracking number with USPS track and confirm website.  You get an email notification of any shipment updates.  This is in addition to the Amazon tracking tab.

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When will POTS officially end?

Posted on April 21, 2013 by randylewiskemp

When will POTS officially end?

English: A mobile radio telephone.

English: A mobile radio telephone. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In case you are lost, POTS means plain old telephone service. It doesn’t refer to Internet VOIP or Mobile phone technology – both of which I embrace and often use.

Anyway, back to the question.

The question again:

This was a question asked to me, by a LinkedIn sales contact. He was responding to this article I shared: Why Your Cell Phone Doesn’t Have a Dial Tone Let’s answer the original question first. Phil Porter worked with Richard Frenkiel on the original system. Here are their thoughts on this matter:

“Should a cellular phone have a dial tone? Porter made a radical suggestion that it shouldn’t. A caller should dial a number and then push “send.” That way, the mobile caller would be less rushed; also, the call would be connected for a shorter time, thus putting less strain on the network.”

Motorola Mobility observations

Skype Voice Calls Work on iPad with Everyman H...

Skype Voice Calls Work on iPad with Everyman Headset (Photo credit: stevegarfield)

Here’s an interesting observation I made, based on working for seven years with Motorola Mobility (now owned by Google). In the original system, the technical designer made the decision. While working with electrical and mechanical engineers, marketing always came up with ideas. Or they got involved with ideas that designers came up with. Many times you need advice from marketing, legal, design, etc. It’s difficult getting all factions to agree. Me? I just provided software support via Apache/Unix websites and Oracle databases for engineers.

I had bosses who thought I should run Oracle databases for Apache/Java websites. But I thought MySQL was better suited. For that matter, so did Yahoo. In fact, Oracle ended up buying MySQL. What does that tell you?

Government regulations article

Anyway, I did share this second article with the salesman: Is ATT’s plan to end land-line phone service crazy, or just crazy enough? The POS is actually protected in the US by federal law. Here’s what the article had to say:

“It’s so ubiquitous and so reliable that the notion of eliminating it is quite literally banned by law — it’s written into Section 214 of Title 47, the portion of the US Code established largely by the Communications Act of 1934”

LinkedIn discussion

The LinkedIn discussion was part of an article discussion shared. At It’s entitled Is plain old telephone service really dying?. Since I found the LinkedIn group discussion via Google, I’ll share it here. The title is the same: Is plain old telephone service really dying?. You can sample all the expert opinions – if you like. But as long as there are governmental regulations involved, POTS will probably be here a long, long time.

Use with Google Voice

The problem that POTS still solves is localized emergency service. That’s why I use an ATT land line, with Google Voice piggybacking for local and long distance calls. I basically use it for emergency, call receiving and toll free calls. I also use Skype for calling from the computer and international calls to other Skype users. NetTalk Duo used to be good – but they got average reviews now on Amazon. I think it’s due to customer service. And Magic Jack? I wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole. They also got average reviews on Amazon.

Computer backup

This is a good podcast about securing computers.  It’s called Theft: 9 Ways to Protect Yourself From Losing Your Data

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The Social CEO [Infographic]

Posted on April 16, 2013 by randylewiskemp

The Social CEO

Created by MBAOnline.com

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Linux Desktops, TweetDeck death, Yahoo work theory and Blu Ray firmware

Posted on April 14, 2013 by randylewiskemp

Linux Desktops, TweetDeck death, Yahoo work theory and Blu Ray firmware

Linux Desktop mess

 

Unity

 

 

In The Linux desktop ‘mess’ , it has this to say about desktops:

“My theory is simple (and it’s one I’ll probably get blasted for):”

“The whole “mess” centers on GNOME 3 and Unity. They are the two key players in the battle. If you think about it, it’s not that GNOME 3 and Unity are all that different — it’s that they took on one of the favorite desktops (what is now called Classic GNOME) and radically altered it. So users of GNOME 2.x are forced to use something new and change the way they work.”

This sounds great in theory, but it will fair dismally in reality. They are really in two different camps. Let’s just look at something like OpenOffice and LibreOffice. Both got their start from Oracle.

LibreOffice differed with Oracle and started an open source model, at some junction point. They used an Oracle base to start with. Then Oracle donated code to Apache, because they wanted to get out of the OpenOffice business.

So far, LibreOffice has made significant advances in releases made. They are also what comes standard with most – if not all – Linux distributions. Would OpenOffice join the LibreOffice camp – or vice versa? Hardly.

Is it a mess that there are two major competitors in office productivity suites? Or for that matter, two major Linux desktop GUIs?

As an aside, I found it interesting that Oracle purchased MySQL.

Death of TweetDeck

TweetDeck

TweetDeck (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For the longest time, I’ve hated the tool. It always needed an update – either Adobe AIR or TweetDeck itself. Then it had that horrible noise associated with it. I heard it was going away, which made me embrace HootSuite instead. It’s a great tool.

But they are continuing to work on TweetDeck – just a web-based version. There’s now a Chrome extension. The one element I use is mentions. I can see if anyone is communicating with me or mentioning my name.

On the other hard, HootSuite allows posts to a Google+ business page. It’s a great addition.

On the Yahoo work front

I get this newsletter from a person with the first name of Dianne. Here’s what she shared recently, on the Yahoo work from home recall:

“Ive got a third theory that I have not seen anywhere. Before I put it out there, recognize that I have no insider knowledge and don’t even work in the IT industry.”

“Now here goes: Yahoo wants to prevent employees from taking on outside freelance and consulting assignments in addition to their work at Yahoo.”

Interesting theory. It might account for some folks. But it’s probably not the main reason.

RCA tech support

USB flash drive

USB flash drive (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Interesting. I wanted to update my RCA blu ray player. So I called a couple RCA customer service and tech support people. I needed to confirm my understanding.

One told me not to use USB flash drive and plug my machine directly into an Internet source. The only problem, he didn’t tell me if I needed a modem and/or a router to go between my Blu Ray player and the Internet source. Luckily, I knew the answer already.

The other guy told me to use a USB drive. I had to probe him about the direct online connection. Personally, I think that option is the best. After all, there’s less change of human error. You can get the wrong firmware from a website. Perhaps you pick the wrong model or version number.

You could just follow the YouTube advice at Abt Electronics How-To Guide: Updating Your Blu-Ray Firmware

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  • about.me

    Randy Kemp

    Randy Kemp

    Committed to providing persuasion artistry for B2B software and IT marketing communications.

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