Paul's Down-Home Page

I have Vonage and generally like it pretty well. Call quality is generally good, and their web-based dashboard is a slick way to keep track of missed calls, voicemails, and so on. However, a question from a former co-worker got me to thinking– he asked how Vonage handles 911 calls. The answer is a little scary– they route 911 calls to the local public safety answering point (PSAP) if you tell Vonage where their phone box is (so they have the physical address) and if you activate that line for 911. Fair enough, I suppose. The scary part is that your 911 call goes to the standard number at the PSAP, not the dedicated 911 lines that are answered 24/7. In Perrysburg’s case, that means that the call would go to the police non-emergency number. Since we’re a small city, that’s probably OK because the call volume is fairly low, but for a larger city that might not be so great. Vonage explains all this in their terms of service, but not as prominently as I might like. For us, it’s OK because we’ve also got two wired lines and two cellphones in the house, but this would definitely be a showstopper for using Vonage as a single-phone solution.

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W00t. Thanks to my friends over at BackupBrain, I now have a gmail account. It’s too early to tell if the search features are useful, since I don’t have a corpus of mail there.

Alex Salkever of BusinessWeek covered the AirPort Express in his column, but there were a few things in it that I found puzzling.
First, and biggest, he wrote:

A new piece of software, AirTunes, promises seamless synching between a computer — PC or Mac — and any Wi-Fi-ready speakers within range via the Express router… Alternatively, you can buy a wireless connection kit and plug a stereo directly into an Express to connect it to a desktop with a Wi-Fi card.

Actually, the AirPort Express (or the “AirPortable”, as I’ve taken to calling it) has two audio outputs built in: a digital output for S/PDIF and a mini-jack. If you have conventional powered speakers, you just plug ‘em in. You can use the S/PDIF output to plug the unit in to your stereo or A/V receiver, too. Apple does sell a connection kit, but it’s nothing more than some (overpriced) Monster audio cables. While there may be vendors selling “Wi-Fi-ready speakers” (I couldn’t find any but admittedly I didn’t look very hard) I’m not sure that’s the target device Apple has in mind.
Another nit: AirTunes doesn’t synch anything to anywhere. It merely encrypts and streams the currently playing iTunes selection and sends it, using Rendezvous, to the selected AirPort Express. Saying “seamless synching” implies that your music library is synced to the Express device.
Next, the article doesn’t mention one of the really cool features of the Express device: it can extend the range of an existing AirPort Extreme base station by acting as a wireless bridge (similar to the trusty Linksys WET-11). This is a killer feature, since a) it’s trivial to grow your network range by plugging one in and b) it only works with AirPort Extreme base stations– thus helping to justify their inflated price.

Apple’s new AirPort Express gadget is very cool (hey, maybe I’ll get one for Fathers’ Day.. hmm..) However, I can’t tell if it works with generic 802.11g base stations or only with AirPort Extreme units. I have a Linksys 802.11g station now and would prefer not to replace it just so I can use one of these.

Yesterday’s paper had a big ad for a Toshiba “S810” tablet, along with a prominent splash that said to visit bestbuy.com/ToshibaS810. That’s a dead link, of course; a little Googling reveals that they probably meant the M205-S810, which is identical to my M200 except that it comes with an external DVD-R/CD-RW drive (well, and it’s $250 less than what I paid, but who’s counting?) This is kind of an embarrassing mistake to make, though– I wonder if the “S810” labeling was national or just in our region?

I just got a press release from the fine folks at Scaled Composites. Their SpaceShipOne vehicle is scheduled for its attempt at the X Prize on June 21! I’ll be at Camp Bloch, or else I’d be on a plane to the desert (with, of course, press credentials). An excerpt from the FAQ:

Q: Are cameras permitted?
A: Yes.
Q: Who is invited?
A: Everyone, especially children. They will want to tell their children that they were there to see the event that triggered the industry of private space tourism.
Q: Are pets allowed?
A: Only in accordance with strict leash laws.

Update: I’m a moron. This isn’t an X Prize attempt because it’s not carrying enough mass. I suspect that it’s preparation for a prize attempt, though: if they can launch on 6/21 and then show a quick enough turnaround that should indicate that they’re ready for a full-up attempt.