pda | ipod | mobile phone | GPS Info

Skyscapes launches MedStream 360, a service that delivers medical information by specialty to physicians’ mobile devices. The new MedStream 360 is a critical component of
the Skyscape STAT service that integrates dynamic up-to-the-minute content with its portfolio of over 450 trusted resources.

MedStream 360 aggregates content from a collection of medical information channels, including journal articles, medical news and research studies, and delivers the information directly to the mobile device. MedStream 360 extends the coverage of medical information that professionals can access through Skyscape’s context sensitive SmartLink and Knowtify technologies.

Skyscape’s MedStream 360 software is available for free, preloaded with content that includes MedWatch, CDC Spotlights, Preventing Chronic Disease and MEDLINE 360. With the addition of the American College of Physicians Journal Club, the service adds a critical component of evidence-based medical information. Journal Club presents valued-added abstracts and commentaries on articles selected from over 100 of the most respected medical journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, the Lancet, and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The articles chosen are those requiring immediate attention from physicians looking to stay current on the most important advances in internal medicine. Journal Club adds a prestigious selection of medical channels to the MedStream 360 portfolio including InfoPOEMs, the Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics, MedWatch and Drug News Weekly, which are available as fee-based subscriptions.
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One of the main features of Nokia’s recently released multimedia computers, the N95 is VoIP functionality. Apparently, Orange and Vodafone UK, that are offering the phone for their subscribers in the UK have disabled the Internet telephony option inside the handset.

According to the Inquirer, an Orange spokesperson has confirmed that his company has actually requested Nokia would ship the devices without the Internet telephony capabilities. Moreover, he claimed that this isn’t one of the mobile operators’ attempts to stop VoIP calls in general stating that the reason behind this is the lack of time to test the application thoroughly.

“It is not Orange’s policy to remove VoIP functionality from devices. This a handset specific issue and in this particular instance Orange was asked by Nokia whether they wanted the VoIP functionality switched on or off, and Orange selected off.” “We’re always working to ensure the customer has the right experience,” he maintained.
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FEELING SHUT out by the likes of Skype, the Beast of Redmond has decided it needs to make its own hardware to take advantage of its VoIP/Internet telephony software.

One of these devices, the Microsoft Roundtable (previously known as the Ringcam) was originally shown off late last year (2006).

It now looks like the Roundtable will form part of a suite of telephony products. The other two will comprise of a basic headset plus softphone software and a desktop handset with a 5.24 inch colour touch-sensitive screen.

According to a report in the Sunday Telegraph, at least one of these will go on public trial on Monday (26th March). This should be the basic softphone which will comprise of a USB style PC dongle married to a – probably Bluetooth compatible – headset.

The newspaper reports Microsoft’s Gurdeep Singh Pall as saying the Beast’s software is “so disruptive” that none of the conventional hardware suppliers would touch it. More likely is the fact that the Beast is anxious to counter widespread support for arch rival, Skype’s software.
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Though Internet voice providers are overcoming some regulatory and legal hurdles, the major barrier standing between them and the mainstream corporate market is still a glaring lack of security, analysts say.

More than 600 VoIP providers in the United States are currently jostling each other for a small but growing slice of the consumer market, but the lush corporate market remains mostly out of reach due primarily to security problems.

“VoIP technology is still in its infancy, and it is subject to the same security problems as any other IP application like email,” said Graham Titterington, a security analyst with Ovum. These problems include voice spam, phishing expeditions, and toll fraud, where hackers traffic illegal calls on VoIP networks.

So, corporations are unwilling to switch from their highly secure, circuit-switched voice services, Mr. Titterington said, to open yet another network window that can be compromised. Meanwhile, most consumers are unaware or unconcerned about VoIP’s security problems, he added.
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One attraction of VoIP technology is that you can—at least in theory—take your phone number with you anywhere you go. Because your phone service isn’t dependent on physical phone lines or a particular address, you can plug in the equipment anywhere there’s a broadband Internet connection to make and receive calls—and those on the other end of the calls will have no idea you aren’t calling from your usual location.

Of course, cell phones are also portable, but minutes can be costly, especially during weekday business hours. VoIP plans typically include unlimited calling within the United States (and sometimes to other countries) for a monthly fee that’s much lower than the typical cell phone service.

However, with the most popular consumer providers such as Lingo and Vonage, taking your VoIP service on the road can be a bit of a hassle. It involves unplugging your analog telephone adapter (ATA) box, which is typically about the size of a fat hardback book. Transportable, sure, but it does take up quite a bit of precious space in your luggage, and you have to be able to plug it into your broadband modem or router when you reach your destination. In addition, you need to take along an analog phone to plug into it.

But several companies have recently come out with USB devices that make it more convenient to take your VoIP service with you. Here’s an overview of some of your options.
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Vodafone Group PLC is demonstrating a service at the Cebit trade show that allows mobile phone customers to call and exchange presence information with users of Internet phone services such as Skype.

The prototype application, called Starfish, makes use of two switching systems: the circuit-switched technology used in GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) networks and the packet-switched VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) technology, according to Jochen Hertle, director of new business development at Vodafone.

Calls initiated on mobile phones are transmitted over the airwaves via traditional circuit-switching technology. A gateway at the mobile switching station coverts the call into IP and forwards the packets to the PC user via their VOIP service.
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