Wednesday, April 27, 2011

LG-Ericsson ipLDK-60 Review

IPLDK-60.jpgThe LG-Ericsson ipLDK-60 is a flexible, feature-rich IP-PBX platform designed for SMBs, supporting up to 48 digital and analog extensions through a variety of terminals including digital, IP and analog phones, and fax machines. Calling it an IP-PBX is a bit of a misnomer since it’s more of a hybrid IP-PBX “key system”, supporting many traditional key system features that SMBs love. For instance, it supports Line Appearances, Call Park, Page and Call Pick-Up, as well as cost control capabilities such as prepaid call, barge-in, forced trunk disconnect, and LCR. The ipLDK-60 supports analog and VoIP trunks as well as IP phones and LG-Ericsson’s proprietary digital phones. They also offer their own softphone client to use with the platform.

lg-ericsson-ipldk-60-inside-top-view.JPG

                                                         LG-Ericsson ipLDK-60 Inside View (top cover off)

Leveraging IP Trunks, up to 72 ipLDK-60 branches can be networked together providing the ability to leverage features such as centralized attendant and voice mail, common dialing plan, transfer, follow me forward etc. The ipLDK-60 SIP Trunks enable third-party SIP products to interoperate as well.

LG-Ericsson came to TMC’s offices to demo the ipLDK-60 and have us test this product. One of the key differentiators for this product is that it is very flexible. For instance, you can use analog, PRI, or ISDN trunks. SMBs ready to transition to SIP can also use SIP trunks. The expansion modules in the ipLDK-60 are swappable and upgradeable. The configuration in the box we tested included support for 6 analog trunks and up to 16 digital phones. Here's a photo of the back panel ports:

lg-ericsson-ipldk-60-panel-ports.jpg 

The ipLDK-60 features your typical built-in voice mail and auto attendant for routing calls. It also supports computer applications such as TAPI PC Phone and Attendant as well as remote system access for system maintenance. Interestingly, it has support for H.323, the long forgotten VoIP standard, which is still prevalent in many conference rooms, especially H.323 videoconferencing systems. Some of the other features include Text Messaging (SMS), Caller ID name and number, 15 party conference, call recording, call coverage, and voice-over on a busy call.

One unique feature is the Voice Mail Notification which will automatically call your cell phone when there is a new voicemail. According to LG-Ericcson, “The ipLDK-60 includes several call budget control capabilities to curb your communications costs such as, call traffic monitoring and forced call control by authorized manager. Least Call Routing (LCR) is a call control feature that preselects the least expensive call routes, ensuring the lowest cost and greatest value.”

One cool feature useful in some SMBs such as legal firms is the ability to a user to temporarily override the toll restriction of a station to make toll calls from a normally toll restricted station. The user must input an Authorization Code in order to activate “Walking COS”.  The Walking COS is applied after the code is entered for the next CO line call. Similarly, it supports hot desking. When an Agent logs in, the Hot Desk will become active and will take on the attributes defined for the Agent’s station number, including all the personalized button mappings. When the Agent logs off, the Hot Desk station becomes inactive and the Agent’s calls are forward to the user-entered destination. A different Agent may then login through the inactive Hot Desk station. Another cool feature is that you can open doors with special feature codes, due to its door alarm integration feature. Relatedly, you can creating paging zones with certain extensions assigned to them so you can for instance page a group of phones and say “Hey accounting department. You have a delivery at the front door”.

While they were demonstrating the system LG-Ericsson showed how you could just about configure any feature you want using special key codes on the phone itself. This certainly harkens back to the day where there was no web-based configuration tools for phone systems and phone systems used the phones themselves for configuration. So certainly LG-Ericsson kept some of their legacy roots. They do of course offer a Windows-based admin interface for easier configuration. The admin interface also has a legacy telecom feel to it. I’ve used similar user interfaces to configure other key systems and PBXs. If you’re an expert on that particular brand of phone system it’s easy to figure things out, but if you’re a newbie, it definitely has a bit of a learning curve. It’s interesting that LG-Ericsson added more recent technologies such as VoIP phones and SIP trunking support, but retained the same admin UI, as seen here:

lg-ericsson-admin-tool.jpg                                     ipLDK-60 Admin Tool

I would have figured they would have switched over to a web-based interface. However, there is something to be said for leveraging their existing investment. Further, to ‘bolt-on’ a web interface into the underlying operating system might require an entirely new operating system, which defeats the purpose of this hybrid key telephone system to keep costs down while retaining a ton of features. The ability to centrally customize each and every phone’s button mappings was a powerful feature. Still, I wasn’t crazy about the admin UI, but I can see with a little time using it a telecom administrator can quickly configure new IP or digital phone extensions very quickly and even copy settings from phone-to-phone. Similarly, the softphone application, Phontage, has a Windows 98 look to it and could use some updating, though it is pretty functional and easy to use.

lg-ericsson-phontage.jpg
                            Phontage softphone application

Key Features:

  • VoIP Services (SIP, H.323/H.450)
  • PC Soft Phone
  • Automated Call Distribution (ACD)
  • Centralized Attendant Service
  • QSIG and IP Networking
  • Conference Room (15 parties)
  • PC Admin in Maintenance
  • Direct Inward Dialing / Direct Inward System Access (DID/DISA)
  • Call Recording
  • Mobile Extension
  • Call Statistics and Traffic Analysis
  • Internal SMS Text Messaging
  • Hunt Groups
  • Multiple Class of Service with
    Walking COS
  • Internal / External Call Paging
  • Door Phone Box
  • Least Call Routing (LCR)

Comprehensive Features List:

Auto Call Number Redial
• Barge In
• Call Forward
  - Busy
  - Busy/No Answer
  - Immediate
  - Off-Net
  - Preset
• Call Coverage
• Call Log
• Call Park
• Call Pickup
  - Directed
  - Group
• Call Transfer
• Call Screening
• Camp On
• Conference
  - Conference Room: up to 15 parties
  - Multi-Party: up to 15 parties
• Do Not Disturb (DND):
  - One Time DND
• Headset
• Hot Desk
• Hot Line/Warm Line
• Hold Preference
• Intercom Call Hold
• Intercom Mode Select
• Last Number Redial (LNR)
• Meet Me Page
• Messaging
• Mobile Phone Support
• Multi-lingual Display
• Mute
• Save Number Redial
• Speed Dial: Station (100)
• Station Serial Call
• Station Linked
• Station Message Wait/Call Back
• Voice Over
• Services
• Call & Queuing
• Forward
• Intrusion
• Override
• Positions: 5
• Recall
• Reports
• IP Address Dialing
• IP Phone Support
• IP Softphone (Phontage)
• VOIP Service: SIP H.323 / H.450
• VOIP Networking
• ISDN Qsig
• Centralized Attendant (CAS)
• Automatic Call Distribution (ACD)
• ACD Reports
• ACD Supervisor
• Account Codes
• Alarms
• Background Music
• CO Line Distinctive Ringing
• CO Line Name
• CO Line Queuing
• CO Line Preset Forward
• CO Line Step Call
• CO Line Ring Assignments
• Data Line Security
• Direct Inward Dialing (DID)
• Direct Inward System Access (DISA)
• Distinctive CO Line Ringing
• External Control Contacts
• Emergency Call Service
• ISDN Services
• Least Call Routing (LCR)
• Lost Call Printout
• Paging Internal/External
• Park and Page
• PC Programming
• PC Admin Maintenance
• Station Hunt Groups
• System Directory
• System Speed Dial (500)
• SMDR
• Tenant Service
• Tenant Groups (5)
• Traffic Analysis
• Wakeup Service
• Attendant Announcements
• Announcement Only MB
• Admin Mailbox
• Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
• One Touch Record
• Remote Mailbox Control
• System Greetings Recording
• System Prompts Recording
• Virtual Mailbox
• Voice Mailbox Features
- Play a Message
- Message Reply
- Forward a Message
- Add a Comment
- Send a Message
- Record User Greetings
- Manage Personal Option
• VM Message Notification
  - To Cell Phone
  - KTU Display
  - E-mail

Stations
Analog 47
Digital KTU 40
IP KTU (wired and wireless) 16
Door Phones 4
Maximum Stations 48
Trunks
Analog Trunks 12
Digital Trunks T1-PRI 24
SIP Trunks 8
Maximum Trunks 24 + 9

Pros:

  • Small footprint. Easily mountable.
  • Supports up to 4 SIP trunks
  • Phones have superb echo cancellation.
  • Supports TAPI TSPs for both 1st and 3rd party.

Cons:

  • Admin tool hard to navigate
  • Software apps have Windows 98 UI

Ratings
Score
Installation
Documentation
Features
Admin Usability
User Usability
Performance
Value
Overall

Conclusion
The LG-Ericsson ipLDK-60 is certainly a very flexible phone system supporting a plethora of trunk interfaces and configurations. This hybrid key telephone system certainly hits the SMB sweet spot with support for up to 48 digital and analog extensions through a variety of terminals including digital, IP and analog phones, and fax machines. The phones have excellent speakerphones with top-notch echo cancellation. Even with 2 phones sitting right next to each other there was no audio feedback when both phones are put on speakerphone. The ipLDK-60 certainly seems to hit all the right spots when it comes to features, so it pains me to lower the overall score due to the administrative UI complexity. The ipLDK-60’s UI is complex enough that SMBs might continue to use their VAR/installer to perform moves/adds/changes rather than doing it themselves. Because they have to pay for continued professional services, that affects the total cost of ownership (TCO). That said, the iPLDK-60 comes in two base configurations: $1100 for 3x8 and $1600 for 6x16. This economical price point along with the plethora of features might be enough to get past the complex administrative interface.

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    Gold plated bills

    Any idea whether you're getting a good deal from your mobile phone contract? No, me neither - but according to a group of Oxford mathematicians behind a start-up firm called Billmonitor, we are collectively wasting nearly £5bn a year by being on the wrong deal.

    Samsung Galaxy and iPhone 3G handsets

     

    Having put nearly 30,000 bills through their sophisticated number cruncher, they've found that most people massively overestimate how much they will use their phones - and so end up on a more expensive contract than they need.

    I used their system to look at my bills - and found that I was using roughly one third of the 600 minutes a month I'm allowed, and just under my 500Mb data allowance. But I turned out to be among the minority of mobile users who would not benefit by moving.

    But even the millions who are on a gold-plated tariff may not be able to do much about it in the short-term, though you may be able to get a cheaper deal from the same operator halfway through your contract. And if we really were able to save £5bn a year, the operators would have to respond to losing such a huge chunk of their revenue by adjusting prices.

    What I found more interesting in Billmonitor's report was what it showed about the changing pattern of mobile phone use - and the impact that the mass adoption of smartphones is having on our habits.

    So here's what an average mobile phone subscriber in the UK looks like. Every month, they will talk for 240 minutes, send 300 texts, and use 133Mb of data. The voice calls, somewhat surprisingly, are still slightly on the rise, but texting is up nearly 50% on a year ago and data use has more than doubled. As the graph shows, the average user is piling on more data every month as they surf the web on the move.

    Graph showing average monthly data use by UK mobile phone users

    Average monthly data usage by UK mobile phone users

    A few more insights into our mobile lives:

    • UK subscribers send 2.7 texts for every call
    • The average call lasts two minutes 35 seconds, and users spend around eight minutes a day calling
    • Calls peak at around 5pm each evening
    • The average user sends eight texts a day. Texting peaks later, at around 9pm
    • Women's calls are on average five seconds shorter than men's but they make 11 more calls a month. They are also heavier texters, sending 21% more a month than men, but men use 50% more data each month than women.

    But it is the explosion in data use that is really striking.

    A few years ago, the arrival of smartphone contracts bundled with unlimited data made millions of phone users far more relaxed about going online. Now, though, the mobile operators are trying to put the brakes on. First they introduced caps on those unlimited deals, now they're beginning to separate out data as an optional add-on to a contract.

    We are spending an average of 16 minutes a day using our phones to call or text. But there are no figures for how long we are tapping away at apps, updating our social network statuses, or checking out football scores on the web, though I wouldn't mind betting that for many people that is now the main use for their phones. But the years when that was a free bonus bundled in with a smartphone contract are drawing to a close.

    UPDATE: As has been pointed out, I got the abbreviation for megabytes wrong. It should be 133MB, not 133Mb.

    Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/rorycellanjones/2011/04/gold_plated_bills.html

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    Tuesday, April 26, 2011

    XNA Game Development Tutorial

    clip_image001

    From the makers of the ?XNA Game Studio Beginner?s Guide? DVD?s, the next evolution of Game Development training for Beginners!

    clip_image002clip_image003clip_image004

    Online. Plaintext Searchable Code. Lessons for Design, Art, and Programming. Everything You Need, Free.

    Jump in at: http://create.msdn.com/gamedevelopment

    Developed in Collaboration With MSDN Channel 9, XNA Game Studio, and App Hub

    Bite-Sized Lessons, A Great Single-Screen Experience

    This combination video and text tutorial set teaches basic 2D game development on Windows, Xbox 360, and Windows Phone 7 using XNA Game Studio 4.0.

    • Videos are each less than 5 minutes in length
    • Accessible with a web browser, no special installs needed
    • All source code is plaintext, easy to copy and paste
    • Assets and code projects downloadable for a quick jumpstart
    • Downloadable checkpoints throughout to keep learners on track
    • Entire experience can be run windowed, side-by-side with Visual Studio

    COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATION

    Learn the following lessons in our easy-to-follow chapters:

    • � Game Design from Start to Finish
    • � Animated and Static Art Creation
    • � The Game Loop Explained
    • � The XNA Content Pipeline
    • � Rendering Static and Animated Sprites
    • � Player Input on Windows, Xbox 360, and Phone
    • � Collision Detection and Response
    • � Debugging Game Code
    • � User Interface Design and Rendering
    • � Sound Playback
    • � Information on Xbox LIVE Indie Games and Windows Phone Marketplace

    How Do I Get Started?

    Just browse to: http://create.msdn.com/gamedevelopment

    You?ll Find the Link to the Tutorial Right On the Page.

    clip_image005

    You'll ALSO FIND?

    • A full ?graduation path? for game developers from Beginner to Pro
    • Step-by-Step guidance for each level
    • Information about Xbox LIVE Indie Games and Windows Phone 7 marketplaces.
    • Links to ?Going Professional? guidelines and contact points for Xbox LIVE Arcade and Microsoft Game Studios

    Special thanks to the Xbox LIVE Arcade and Microsoft Game Studios Xbox LIVE on Windows Phone 7 teams!

    clip_image006



    Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ComputerScienceTeacher/~3/vEhSqRHSP-A/xna-game-development-tutorial.aspx

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    IE9 Release Now Available in Japan

    The final Internet Explorer 9 is now available for download in Japanese at www.beautyoftheweb.jp.

    With this release, IE9 is now available to download in 40 languages worldwide. Please visit our worldwide sites page to download Internet Explorer 9 in a language of your choice.

    ?Swathi Ganapathi, Program Manager, Internet Explorer

    Source: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2011/04/25/ie9-release-now-available-in-japan.aspx

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    Monday, April 25, 2011

    O'Reilly helps Japan, offers entire e-book catalog for 50% off, today only

    O'reilly make some of the best computer books in the world. They also sell them as DRM-free e-books in a bunch of formats, including PDFs and Mobi for Kindle.

    They usually offer one "Deal of the Day", which is a 50% discount code for a book chosen for that one day. But just for for today, they've created a discount code -- DDJPN -- that gives you a 50% discount on their entire catalog, and they give a part of the proceeds to aid Japan relief efforts.

    So far they've raised over $60,000, and the day is still young. So if you've been recently hankering after some nerdy book (or three), now would be a great time to grab one.

    O'Reilly helps Japan, offers entire e-book catalog for 50% off, today only originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 14:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/22/oreilly-helps-japan-offers-entire-e-book-catalog-for-50-off/

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    HTC Sensation procures online real estate, launches sign-up page

    The G2X may be getting all the attention as the current flagship for T-Mobile, but HTC is bound and determined to make sure it doesn't stay that way for long. Curious souls may be happy to learn that a sign-up page has been set up for the HTC Sensation to update fans on news and announcements. This is a good sign that nary a precious moment of time is being wasted; after all, we've got a full six weeks before the heavily-rumored June 8 launch, and there's an abundance of opportunities for the two companies to get the word out like crazy between now and then. Who can blame them for taking advantage of one of the summer's hottest devices? Interested folks should head to the source link below to sign up.

    Filed under:

    HTC Sensation procures online real estate, launches sign-up page originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 24 Apr 2011 10:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink Android Community  |  sourceHTC  | Email this | Comments

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    Level 3 Buys Global Crossing for $3 Billion

    att-cingular-wireless-colbert.png
    Level 3 Communications announced on Monday that it would buy Global Crossing for $3 billion. Is it me or does it seem like the entire telecom sector is consolidating? AT&T acquiring T-Mobile being just one recent example. Not a good thing for consumers if we're back down to only a handful of telecom competitors. Look at what telecom expert Peter Radizeski has to say about this:

    Level3 finally buys Global Crossing for $3B including assuming $1.1B in GC debt.

    This is a merger that the industry has expected for some time. Honestly, I don't see how it works, because it's about synergies. My favorite word, because it means we will fire a lot of people with overlapping job titles, but not overlapping knowledge. The combined revenue will be $6.6B while the debt will be $7.8B. The L3 CFO is a magician! How he is able to wave his wand to hold back Wall Street, do an acquisition, and pay off interest is utterly amazing. (Although the press release does say that this transaction improves the credit report.) L3 also had to do some dancing to maintain its NOL's (Net Operating Losses). These are the same tokens that Carl Icahn fought so hard for at XO. (BTW, XO's CEO, Carl Grivner Resigned today too.)

    ...
    ...
    It's about scale. (Says so in the press release and every analyst report.) Rob Powell thinks this integration will be "easy". One exec at Level3 called this merger "exciting" this morning. Does he realize the axe will have to fall a lot to reach those synergies? And morale is already taking a hit with channel personnel losses from Craig Schlagbaum and Scott Mull.

    Read the rest of Peter's article for his thoughts.

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