Developages - Development and Technology Blog

Vonage today announced an agreement for a $220.3 million financing which is seen by many experts as crucial to its survival. Silver Point Finance LLC, which already holds a $216 million financing stake in Vonage, will lead the financial deal, which consists of $130.3 million in senior secured first-lien credit, $72.0 million in senior secured second-lien credit and the sale of $18.0 million of convertible secured third-lien notes. The proceeds will be used to help refinance $253 million of debt.

Analysts and bloggers such as the VoIPPrincess, have pointed out that the recent financial crisis and credit crunch made Vonage’s refinancing efforts very difficult. I too have had my doubts whether Vonage could secure more financing in this tight credit crunch market.

“We are pleased to reach definitive agreement on this refinancing at a time of unprecedented volatility in the credit markets,” said John Rego, Vonage’s chief financial officer. “This agreement provides clarity to our partners and suppliers regarding the Company’s liquidity position in these challenging financial times,” he said.

Even with the financial deal, Vonage still faces tough challenges ahead. It still has to replace 1/3 of its customer base due to churn and faces tough competition from Cablecos and phone companies that offer bundled & discounted triple play packages. Vonage started many years ago at $39.99/month (unlimited plan) if I recall and today′s unlimited plan has dropped to just $24.99/month. As voice minutes continues its spiral towards $0, it becomes increasingly harder for single play players like Vonage to be profitable.

That said, 8×8 is a single-play VoIP company, which offers Packet8 residential and business VoIP services and they continue to grow. 8×8 doesn′t get nearly the media attention that Vonage does, yet continues to perform well. Part of their success is that 8×8 has targeted businesses with their Virtual Office, Virtual Trunking, and Packet8 Hosted Key system offerings.

According to the VoIPPrincess, “In the last five years, 8Ҹ revenues grew 460.3 percent while Vonage’s grew 0.0 percent. 8Ҹ made $700,000 during the first quarter of this year. Vonage lost $8.9 million and is shopping for a $215 million refinancing deal to stay out of bankruptcy. 8Ҹ holds 73 patents. Vonage just got its first.”

I’ve talked to 8×8 over the past several years and when I remarked how much Vonage was spending on advertising and customer acquisition, 8×8 told me several times they did not intend to try and match Vonage’s huge marketing campaigns. I recall commenting to 8×8,  “I′m reminded of the turtle vs. the hare. Slow and steady wins the race, right?” 8×8 agreed with the analogy. While Vonage just got an injection of cash/adrenaline to keep the hare running, one has to wonder if and when the hare will crash and burn. If it does, I don’t think that spells the death knell for single-play VoIP providers just yet. It does however signal the end of high-flying, high-spending, VoIP (woo hoo) TV commercials on every other minute, which is good news for me, since I’m sick & tired of fast forwarding my DVR past those annoying woo hoo commercials. Lastly, I think 8Ҹ might just be in prime position to pick up many Vonage customers should Vonage fail.

Tags: 8×8, John Rego, Packet8, single play, voip, vonage

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Original post by nafiz

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

We knew the SlingCatcher was sneaking out into the wild, and hey — we just snagged one at retail in Chicago. We’re busy tearing into all the projector, Sling streaming, and media streaming features, but we figured we throw up the unboxing photos right away so you can get a feel for Sling’s latest, long-awaited box.

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

It’s been over a year and half since Sling first announced the SlingCatcher, but the mythical streamer is finally, finally here — it’s now officially for sale on Sling’s site and at other major retailers. You already know most of the details about the $299 box — Slingbox playback, SlingProjector computer streaming, extensive codec support including XviD, eventual Sling.com content delivery — so we’ll just let you hit the order page, but rest assured we’ll be tearing this thing apart when our test unit arrives.

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Despite years of lawsuits, fines and ISP restrictions, the illegal sharing of copyrighted material shows no signs of abating, at least if you look at how one of the most notorious contributors, PirateBay, has been doing over the last few years. The site reached a new milestone yesterday when it announced a record three million registered users and almost 15 million unique peers, or downloaders for those unfamiliar with the terminology. This is a hefty increase over December 2006′s figures, which showed 576,080 tracked torrents and around four million peers. Despite battling lawsuits and moving its servers numerous times to stay ahead of the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and associated bodies, PirateBay is notorious for ‘laughing in the face’ of efforts to shut it down and has published much of the, often rather aggressive, correspondence on the site for all to read. PirateBay co-founder TiAMO seemed oblivious to the impact the site has had on the industry when he stated “A big thanks to all our users helping to make the site what it is. We’ll keep growing for as long as you keep using the site, filing it with content, sharing”. It looks like the site will be around for a while then, and with Swedish rapper Timbuktu releasing his latest single exclusively on PirateBay it seems that some recording artists appear to recognise it as an effective form of marketing to boot. - Paul Lester [TorrentFreak] torrent piratebay DS copyright

Original post by nafiz

After a couple of false starts, Sony’s interesting news service Life With PlayStation service has gone live for Ṕ owners connected to the Net. This is a worldwide launch so everyone should be able access the ‘lifestyle service′ offering news and information from around the globe from the XMB. Fronting the application is a satellite based shot of our lovely planet where the LIVE CHANNEL service offers news on a ‘place′ and ‘time′ basis, meaning you can choose a major city and see the latest news there. This is what you can expect:Some of the live content includes; cloud imagery (provided by University of Wisconsin-Madison Space Science and Engineering Center), along with weather information (provided by The Weather Channel), news headlines (provided by Google News(TM)), and live camera images (partially provided by The Earth Television Network) of nearly 60 cities around the globe. Through LIVE CHANNEL, Ṕ users will be able to enjoy worldwide news and live information free of charge. Check out the video below to see what the key features of Life With PlayStation are. You can also pat yourself on the back as you’ll be helping out the worthy Folding@Home project which uses spare Ṕ [and PC] power to carry out massive processing via a distributed network into cures for many diseases.-Martin Lynch console ps3 news

Original post by nafiz

In another welcome kick in the nads for DRM copyright, 7digital has announced that its 4 million-song catalogue is now available as high-quality DRM-free Ṃ downloads. 7digital carries the largest UK catalogue of tunes from the big four music publishers: Sony BMG, Universal Music, Warner Music and EMI Records. Even better, those of you who paid for nasty WMA downloads will be able to get the DRM-free Ṃ versions for free. Downloaded songs will be high-quality 320Kbps versions too. To celebrate the announcement, everyone will get 2 free albums: the first features a sample of artists from EMI Music’s catalogue and the second is a selection of acts from 7digital indiestore. Other selected albums, from Queen, The Magic Numbers, We Are Scientists and Sigur Rós [pictured], among others, will cost just £2. Ben Drury, CEO of 7digital.com commented: “The high-quality DRM-free Ṃ format is what digital music consumers have been waiting for. Consumers see DRM as somewhat of a hindrance when purchasing legal digital music. The availability of all of the big four music labels in high-quality Ṃ is fantastic news for the UK music fan - everything they now buy from us they can be sure will work on all their devices.” 7digital is expected to announce a big European push this week in its drive to steal more business from iTunes.-Martin Lynch [7digital] mp3 music drm

Original post by nafiz

Thousands of the nation’s richest gadget owners have had their Internet nicked, literally, after a gang of thieves raided a nearby BT exchange. The thieves hit the BT exchange in Mayfair, London and made off with £2 million in servers, network cards and routers, leaving thousands of homes and businesses in the Internet dark. No buying the world’s smallest diamond-encrusted handgun this week then. BT is still working to get things back online. The irony is that some believe the raiders used the paparazzi scrum at a nearby 40th birthday bash for director Guy Ritchie [Snatch and Lock, Stock &amp Two Smoking Barrels], who dragged Madonna along for the knees up, as the cover they needed to break into the BT premises. Of course, it could have just been a coincidence but where’s the fun in that?-Martin Lynch [Times] internet crime movies

Original post by nafiz

While you’re out there in the garden, doing your best Monty Don impression, laying paving slabs and flashing your builders crack to shocked neighbours, it’s good to have some company. As most builders will tell you, there’s nothing better than a little radio to keep you company as you drink lots of tea and scoff Kit Kats for 8 hours. Intempo’s twist is a little portable DAB radio called the WorkMate, designed to be rugged and appeal to the nation’s weekend DIY horde. It sports a splash-proof rubberised finish in case of little accidents and comes in black with ‘zest orange accents’, presumably to make it feel at home with your other tools. It only costs £40, can be powered off the mains or 4 AA batteries and will scan and automatically tune in up to 20 presets. “WorkMate will be at home alongside your tool kit for all those DIY jobs or perfect for any outside sport, such as boating or fishing. It’s the perfect gift for dads and granddads so they can tune into talkSPORT while washing the car or gardening,” said Katie Richards, Marketing Manager at Intempo. I feel a pergola coming on.-Martin Lynch radio DAB music

Original post by nafiz

The most controversial makeover of the year has nothing to do with some fat, celeb with a facelift and a tummy tuck, but with a little old Web site called Facebook. This week, Facebook introduces its new look site as the only option for users by removing the option to keep using the old-look site. The result, in some quarters, has been outrage and handbags at dawn. The social networking site - with over 100 million users - claims the new site is better than the old one but there are millions out there who have been campaigning for the right to keep using the old one - something they’ve been allowed to do for the last few months. Mark Slee, product manager for the new look Facebook argued: “The new design is different, and we understand that some people will be uncomfortable with the changes. But over time, we think people will appreciate the advantages of the new design and the new features it offers. Even if you’ve already adopted the new Facebook, you’ll notice some updates to its look. Based on your feedback, we’ve simplified the top navigation. We also heard that people were confused about how to find their applications, so we are moving the Applications menu to the menu bar at the bottom of every page. This will make it much easier to get to your favorite applications whenever you want.” So far, around 30 million have ‘embraced’ the new look without quibbling but, like it or not, from the end of this week Facebook users will have no choice. Have you tried The New Vs. The Old and, if so, what’s your thoughts?-Martin Lynch facebook online internet

Original post by nafiz

Filed under: Announcements

For obvious reasons, we′re not really big believers in optimizing Engadget for individual devices or platforms. Despite the unrelenting number amount of requests for an iPhone-optimized version of Engadget, we thought we′d let Apple stand by its whole “the real internet in your pocket” thing. And then we ran the numbers. We could hardly believe it.

So far in 2008, the iPhone, iPhone 3G, and iPod touch account for some 95.8% of all mobile views on the site. We’re not even kidding. It’s pretty hard to argue with something like that, so we’re rolling out a new beta version of Engadget optimized for the iPhone at i.engadget.com. (Don’t worry, we′ll still be keeping m.engadget.com active, too.) Please feel free to let us know what you think in comments!

Oh, and for the stats nerds in the audiecne, you can check out Engadget’s mobile device breakdown after the break.

Continue reading i.engadget.com - Engadget for your iPhone or iPod touch

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Original post by Ryan Block

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Storage

Great, just great. Soon after Western Digital made a fool of itself by introducing an external hard drive “certified” for use with DISH Network HD DVRs, along comes Seagate to further fuel the hype machine. Announced at this year’s Cable Show (after being mentioned at CES), the Showcase storage solution is “designed” to extend storage capacity of DVRs and media centers. In a similar vein, the outfit’s newest drives are “compatible with Motorola’s s-SATA-capable HD DVRs,” and they also come with USB 2.0 ports and up to 1TB of space. No word on a price or any of that jazz, but those who can’t figure out that an external hard drive is an external hard drive can look for ‘em to land in Q3.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Da Massive writes “The number of open-source projects that use the GNU General Public License Version 3 has grown to more than 2,000, according to Palamida, which sells software and services for tracking open-source code within a customer’s code base. “Our database now contains over 2,000 projects that are using the GPL v3. “At this rate the GPL v3 is being adopted by 1,000 projects every 4-5 months, and if the trend continues, the license will be used by 5,000 projects by the end of the year,” states a recent posting on Palamida’s blog.”

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Original post by CmdrTaco

mutube writes “Open Source advocate Bruce Perens began petitioning for support in election to the OSI Executive Board. Because it’s a self-electing board, demonstrable community support is needed to attain a seat. Perens is standing on a platform of reducing over-representation of vendors in OSI leadership in favor of developers. In his petition notice, Perens suggests that recent Open Source involvement by Microsoft could lead to their being offered a place on the board. With his background fighting SCO and the Novell-Microsoft patent agreements, Perens would be a good counter-balance.”

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Original post by kdawson

Reservoir Hill writes “Antarctica claims some of the best astronomical sky conditions in the world &mdash devoid of clouds with steady air that makes for clear viewing. The very best conditions unfortunately lie deep in the interior on a high-altitude plateau called Dome A. With an elevation of up to 4,093m, it’s known as the most unapproachable point in the earth’s southernmost region. Now astronomers in a Chinese scientific expedition have set up an experimental observatory at Dome A after lugging their equipment across Antarctica with the help of Australia and the US. The observatory will hunt for alien planets, while also measuring the observing conditions at the site to see if it is worth trying to build bigger observatories there. The observatory is automated, pointing its telescopes on its own while astronomers monitor its progress from other locations around the world via satellite link. PLATO is powered by a gas generator, and has a 4000-litre tank of jet fuel to keep it running through the winter. The observatory will search for planets around other stars using an array of four 14.5-centimetre telescopes called the Chinese Small Telescope Array (CSTAR). Astronomers hope to return in 2009 with new instruments, including the Antarctica Schmidt Telescopes (AST-3), a trio of telescopes with 0.5-metre mirrors, which will be more sensitive to planets than CSTAR.”

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Original post by Zonk

Luca𜆳 writes “According to a Reuters′ story, Dutch inventors today took the wraps off a $110,000 car-fueling robot they say is the first of its kind. (It was inspired by a cow milking robot.) After registering the car as it pulls up to the pump, the machine matches your fuel cap design with those in a database and your car’s fuel type, and then a robotic arm fitted with multiple sensors extends from a regular gas pump, ‘opens the car’s flap, unscrews the cap, picks up the fuel nozzle and directs it towards the tank opening, much as a human arm would, and as efficiently.’ Wait till Hollywood gets hold of this scenario.”

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Original post by kdawson