Skpe-Microsoft Integration will first hit Windows Phone and Xbox. Will Lync be next?

It appears the primary path for Skype integration in Microsoft products will first occur in Windows Phone and Xbox.  Will Microsoft Lync be next on the agenda?


http://allthingsd.com/20120531/skypes-tony-bates-says-the-goal-is-to-get-billions-of-active-users/?mod=obnetwork

Cisco worries about Skype, Microsoft Lync integration

The Microsoft purchase of Skype may present some road map issues for business enterprises planning their future Unified Communications services.   It is expected that Microsoft will seek to integrate Skype with MS Lync and reduce interoperability updates with Cisco and other vendors especially in the video calling standards arena.

http://m.zdnet.com/blog/btl/cisco-worries-about-skype-microsoft-lync-integration/69554

Cisco Unified Communications Integration™ for Microsoft Lync

An outstanding article that summarizes many of the features, specifications, and discussion points from integrating Cisco Unified Communications and Microsoft Lync:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/voicesw/ps6789/ps6836/ps11390/data_sheet_c78-635040_ps11390_Products_Data_Sheet.html

New Internet Taxes from the UN and ITU?

There is a proposal to impose taxes for build out of the Internet infrastructure in remote parts of the globe.  While on the surface this may sound appealing to help those less fortunate, it turns out this is actually an attempt by frustrated international government officials to impose collection of excessive fees for telecom and data usages.  Traditionally, excessive fees and taxes have been charged in the past for phone calls.  But with the advance of Internet and Voice over IP solutions (e.g., Skype) the collection of large usage fees collections have dramatically eroded.  There are a host of problems brought forth by the new proposal to tax Internet usage.  Most fundamental of these are the negative impact on the free flow of information with remote users essentially isolating those who need that free flow to counter the repressive regime in power.

See this article:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57449375-83/u.n-could-tax-u.s.-based-web-sites-leaked-docs-show/

Laptop/Tablet Convergence using Windows 8

In Windows 8, the latest version of Microsoft's O/S which is still in beta, it will now be possible to combine a laptop PC and Tablet/iPad functionality inside one device.  Samsung has already accomplished this admirably as is outlined in the attached article.  While this makes sense for laptop/tablets, I still regard as highly unlikely that this kind of convergence can supplant the need for a full-function desktop PC.

See article:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57450013-92/windows-8-tweeners-take-on-apple/

Android's one killer feature that trumps iPhone: Alerts!

Android has Apple beat hands down in the usability and methods of their Alerts feature.  This is an area that Apple would be hard pressed to exceed over Android because it would require a full-scale rewrite of their IOS home screen software and operational features.  

I have personally experienced the limitations of the iPhone in the alerts area.  Although the new alerting schema in latest IOS 5.1 release goes a long way towards improvement, it still suffers from severe issues:  inability to delete alerts individually, lack of easy glance-ability to determine overall alerts status, and chronological ordering across all alerts.

See this article for details:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57449969-94/androids-one-killer-feature-that-trumps-the-iphone/?tag=mncol;popPosts