CNBC is reporting that Microsoft may be planning to announce a new Zune phone as soon as the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas this January.  As cool as that may sound to some, it could also be a big mistake for Microsoft. For years, Microsoft has been trying to get mobile device manufacturers to use [...]

In yet another sign of the times, Cisco Systems is looking to slash one BILLION dollars from its spending budget in the immeadiate term.  To do this, they will shut down for one week during the holidays.  This is an unprecidented action from the networking equipment manufacturer. Cisco is a powerhouse and a key peg [...]

Have you registered to win a free iPod Touch from Telecom Monthly?  Through the end of November, we are running a free promotion to give away an 8 Gig Apple iPod Touch.  We aren’t selling anything and your entry costs you nothing.  We just want you to sign up for our once a month email [...]

Chips modeled on the human brain are bring advances in speech recognition, telephony, and all sorts of specialized computers.  Bring on the Terminators! Since I was just a little iTodd, I’ve been fascinated by robots and sentient computers.  The robot from Lost in Space, Rosie the robot maid from the Jetsons, R2D2 and C3PO – [...]

If you’ve been to a telecom industry trade show or read a business magazine lately, you’ve no doubt encountered the latest over-used buzzword: “Unified Communications,” or often just “UC” for short. But what is it?  While there is no standard definition of UC, it really isn’t much of a new philosophy or idea.  Unified Communications [...]

As a telecom guy, I’m fascinated by the phenomenal growth of online video services like YouTube, iTunes, and Hulu.  Multiple services have grabbed the attention of the consumer, media, and advertisers alike with the potential of video entertainment on demand.  Watch exactly what you want, when you want, on your terms.  But, for me, it [...]

Restless iPhone users have been waiting impatiently for a number of much needed improvements and features.  Chief among these are the ability to cut and paste and to tether an iPhone to a laptop.  AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph De La Vega has confirmed in recent interviews that a tethering option will soon be available, allowing [...]

We declared October the “Spooky Season” not just because of the obvious tie-in with Halloween but also due to the economic meltdown.  Since then, the markets have made a minor recovery, but the roller coaster stock market, accelerating layoffs and lowered profit projections all indicate that November could be a real turkey. The harsh realities [...]