Creative WebCam Combines Motorized Pan-N-Tilt with Face Tracking

Creative introduced a new webcam with motorized Pan-n-Tilt, a 76-degree wide-angle lens, and "Smart Face Tracking" technology, which smoothly follows user movements during video instant messaging. The WebCam Live! Motion features a high-quality CCD sensor, and it delivers video at VGA 640x480 quality and software-enhanced still images of up to 1.3 megapixels. The device is priced at US$149.99. http://www.us.creative....

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NexTone Names New CEO

NexTone Communications, a supplier of VoIP session management solutions, appointed Malik Khan as chairman and CEO, succeeding Hank Fiery, who served as CEO during NexTone's growth phase as a technology startup.Khan previously was CEO of Converged Access, where he helped develop a family of traffic management products focused on serving large enterprise VoIP networks. Before joining Converged Access, Khan launched two startups, Indus River Networks...

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FCC to Establish New Public Safety/Homeland Security Bureau

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin announced the following steps that the FCC will take in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.Provide over $211 million of immediate relief to the affected areas using universal service funding. The FCC will use the Low Income Program to help those who have been cut off to reestablish their lines of communication. For all people eligible for FEMA disaster assistance, the FCC will provide support for wireless handsets and a package of 300 free minutes for evacuees and people still in the affected area without telephone service....

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Hurricane Katrina: A Damage Assessment and First Lessons Learned

The FCC held a special open meeting to examine the effects of Hurricane Katrina on communications services. The meeting was held at BellSouth's Emergency Control Center located in Atlanta. Some key points:More than three million people lost their phone service in 3 states, about 15% of which remain out-of-service as of September 14th.More than a thousand wireless towers were knocked down Over 11,000 utility poles are down, 26,000 spans of cable are down, 22,000 line drops are downThere was a serious breakdown of the 911 system across a wide area....

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Cisco Outlines Secure RFID Networking Solution

Cisco Systems outlined a networking strategy to help enterprises introduce Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies into their supply chains to increase visibility into product information and optimize business flow. Key elements of the Cisco RFID Solution include:Cisco Application Oriented Network (AON) for RFID, which includes modules that embed RFID middleware functions onto Cisco data center switches and branch office routers. The RFID-enabled Cisco AON modules can be installed throughout an enterprise's network; at the edge for...

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Cisco Launches QoS Certification for Switched Ethernet Services

Cisco Systems announced new certification requirements for service providers wishing to receive a "Cisco Powered Network" designation for Ethernet services.The Cisco Powered Network certification process requires the service provider to undergo an annual third-party, on-site assessment, to validate that the provider follows best practices for delivering recommended levels of network performance (including latency, jitter and packet loss) and customer support for the different types of video, voice and data services. The certification also specifies...

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DTECH LABS and N.E.T. Launch "WHISPER" VoIP Gateway

DTECH LABS has begun commercial shipments of its WHISPER900 Mobile VoIP Gateway product, which uses Network Equipment Technologies' SHOUT IP software architecture. To date, the WHISPER900 has been deployed in several operational scenarios, both domestic and international, for fixed locations as well as "mobile in-use" applications supporting both standard and emergency-on-demand communications scenarios. The WHISPER900 is a very small and light yet VoIP product designed for VIP and executive travel teams that are now beginning to rely upon IP...

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Broadband Services Forum Hosts Workshops at Digital Hollywood

The Broadband Services Forum (BSF) is hosting a mini-track to address the issues that relate to Content Providers, Service Providers and Technology Providers, its defined constituency, at next week's Digital Hollywood meeting in Santa Monica, California. The forum will be held on Tuesday, September 20, 2005 and is open to all conference attendees.The BSF will address how new technology developments, relationships between content and service providers, and the way subscribers think, act and feel will impact the entertainment industry.More information...

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Israel's Bezeq Tests WiMAX with Alvarion

Bezeq, the incumbent carrier in Israel, has deployed a pilot network using Alvarion's WiMAX-ready equipment. Bezeq is using the BreezeMAX 3500 platform and 3.5 GHz spectrum to provide broadband in the southern Israeli city of Rahat, an underserved community located in the Negev desert. The company is now developing plans to extend the network to other communities in southern Israel.http://www.alvarion....

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Romania's Astral Telecom Deploys Cisco Softswitch

Astral Telecom, Romania's largest electronic communication services provider, has deployed the Cisco BTS 10200 Call Control Softswitch solution in its national cable network. Since launching its cable VoIP services in 2003, Astral has expanded its VoIP services at the national level and is signing up hundreds of new subscribers every week. http://www.cisco....

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Intel Opens Asia-Pacific R&D Center in Shanghai

Intel announced the establishment of Asia-Pacific Research and Development Ltd. in China (Asia-Pacific R&D Ltd.) based in Shanghai's Zizhu Science Park. The facility will focus on product development and platform-level innovations from all Intel product & technology groups, including the Digital Home Group, Digital Enterprise Group, Mobility Group, Channel Platforms Group, Digital Health Group, Software and Solutions Group, and Information Services & Technology Group.Intel is planning for Asia-Pacific R&D Ltd. to employ more than...

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NTT Taiwan Deploys Juniper T-series Routers

NTT Taiwan has deployed Juniper Networks' T-series routing platform to expand the capacity of its core IP/MPLS network.NTT Taiwan is the 100th customer for Juniper's T-series router. Shipping since April 2002, over 1,000 T-series units are deployed in production networks today worldwide. http://www.juniper....

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Nortel Unveils Fixed, Mobile WiMAX Strategy

Nortel announced its commitment to offer fixed and mobile WiMAX products based on industry standards, and to work with Intel and Airspan Networks in bringing these products to market. These efforts are expected to complement work already underway with the LG-Nortel joint venture.Nortel said its WiMAX products will be designed to allow wireless and wireline carriers, cable providers, media companies and other ISPs to deliver broadband connectivity to consumer and enterprise users by leveraging existing networks and 'last mile' wireless links. They...

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Harris Demos Military Satellite Antenna at 105 Mbps

Harris Corporation completed multiple field demonstrations of a satellite antenna feed prototype that is capable of supporting selectable antenna polarization for satellite orthogonal transmit and receive operations. The feed prototype achieved user data rates of 105 Mbps -- more than 12 times the current satellite terminal capability -- using a modified, Harris-built Lightweight High Gain X-band Antenna (LHGXA) and a modified AN/TSC-85C terminal operating over the recently launched XTAR-EUR commercial X-band satellite."The technologies showcased...

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Verizon Wireless and Vodafone Offer GlobalAccess Wireless Broadband

Verizon Wireless and Vodafone announced GlobalAccess -- a new service that provides Verizon Wireless business customers with a two-card solution that gives them secure connection to the Internet in more than 60 major metropolitan markets in the U.S., as well as in Canada and in 50 countries throughout Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. Domestically, the broadband connectivity is provided over Verizon Wireless' Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) network, and internationally the service runs over Vodafone's 3G/GPRS network with data rates of up to...

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Dow Corning Targets Optoelectronics Market

Dow Corning announced that its Photonics Solutions business development program will become part of the company's mainstream Electronics business. The company plans to increase its level of activity in sales, marketing and product development activities to support creation of light management applications for a vast range of markets, including automotive, displays and telecommunications.Dow Corning said device manufacturers require performance improvements such as faster data transmission rates and more efficient light throughput than what conventional...

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