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Technology Stocks : Voice-on-the-net (VON), VoIP, Internet (IP) Telephony -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Stephen B. Temple who wrote (1990)	11/27/1998 2:30:00 PM
From: Stephen B. Temple	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3178

Speaking of: <g> linking up internet, telephone networks November 27, 1998 Inter@ctive Week: An industry standard designed to let voice-over-Internet Protocol networks communicate with the regular phone network is gaining support. Last week, Bell Communications Research Inc. joined with a technical advisory committee headed by Level 3 Communications Inc. to consolidate their disparate technologies and present a unified group of specifications, called the Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP), to the standards-setting Internet Engineering Task Force for review. A completed standard is expected to be ratified in early 1999. The standard could drive down networking equipment prices and spur the voice- over-Internet Protocol market by making packet-based networks more scalable and flexible. MGCP is a hybrid of Level 3's packet-based Internet Protocol Device Control (IPDC) spec and Bellcore's (www.bellcore.com) circuit-based Simple Gateway Control Protocol. Both de facto standards address similar functions, including the way network connections are controlled, devices are managed and networks are secured. MGCP works with other network standards and technologies, such as the SS7 network that controls circuit- switched communications and the H.323 standard for sending voice and video over IP networks. Some experts suggested the H.323 protocol could be extended to support MGCP-like functions. "But that would be reinventing something that we've worked on very hard for a long time," said Isaac Elliot, senior director of voice network engineering at Level 3 (www.l3.com) and chairman of the technical committee that developed IPDC. Under the new proposal, call-management software, known as media gateway controllers, can be set up at various points along circuit-switched and packet- switched networks to allow for a transparent communication exchange between the two net- works. The media controller software resides separately from media gateway devices, such as voice-over IP gateways, voice-over-Asynchronous Transfer Mode devices, cable modems, private branch exchanges and circuit switches. MGCP's separation of call control software from multimedia devices lets service providers construct more flexible and scalable networks. For example, a service provider could sell mixed-media services off several media gateways -- in various parts of its network -- while storing and managing user information centrally in the network. "You can deploy gateways, like voice-over-IP devices, all over the world and only have to deal with dozens rather than hundreds of media controllers, " Elliot said. A Network Connection The Media Gateway Control Protocol is designed to standardize the way phone networks talk to Internet Protocol networks. It is based on a combination of existing Bell Communications Research Inc. and Level 3 Communications Inc. specifications. Bellcore's Simple Gateway Control Protocol: A simple language for call and connection control between network end points and media gateways, such as voice- over-Internet Protocol gateways. Level 3 Communications' Internet Protocol Device Control (IPDC): A specification that creates flexible management of media gateway devices. The Media Gateway Control Protocol removes the signaling transport portion of IPDC to cut down on the combined standard's overhead. [Copyright 1998, Ziff Wire]

To: Stephen B. Temple who wrote (1990)	11/27/1998 2:32:00 PM
From: Stephen B. Temple	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 3178

General Magic Announces NeTalk Acquisition; Patent-Pending Technology to Further Advancement of magicTalk Platform November 27, 1998 SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE) General Magic, Inc. (Nasdaq:GMGC), a leading developer of integrated telephony and Web applications, today announced that it had acquired the technology and assets of NeTalk Incorporated for a total of $1.5 million consisting of $100,000 in cash and 234,104 shares of General Magic stock. The agreement includes patent-pending technology for voice access to the Web as well as the exclusive services of George White Ph.D., a well-respected expert in voice technology and artificial intelligence. Founded by Dr. White after directing efforts at the Applied Speech Technology Laboratory at the Center for the Study of Language and Information at Stanford University, NeTalk's development team created applications providing users access to content from the Web using speech recognition technology. General Magic's speech team will utilize this technology to further the Internet capabilities of its magicTalk(TM) voice user interface platform and the Portico service. "George brings unparalleled technical and industry expertise in speech technologies to the General Magic team," said Steve Markman, president, chairman and chief executive officer of General Magic, Inc. "Our magicTalk platform features a sophisticated personality-rich voice user interface that engages the user and thereby provides a unique advantage to our business partners. The NeTalk acquisition is another step in our drive to make magicTalk the best voice user interface available today and a standard for Internet and carrier applications." About the Portico Service and the magicTalk Platform Designed for today's mobile professional workforce, the Portico service enables users to access, retrieve and act upon information using any telephone and a normal speaking voice. The only virtual assistant available today, Portico integrates voice mail, email, address book and calendar as well as content available on the Internet, such as company news and stock quotes. Information may be accessed over any telephone using magicTalk, General Magic's intelligent, natural language voice-user interface platform, or through any leading Web browser. In accordance with U.S. securities law, General Magic notes that this press release contains forward-looking statements. There are risks that may cause actual results to vary materially. These risks include, but are not limited to, the challenges inherent in the development and delivery of complex technologies; market acceptance of the Company's Portico service and its magicTalk voice-user interface platform; the Company's dependence on establishing distribution relationships; adequacy of the Company's financial resources to execute its business plan; the Company's ability to respond to competitive pressures; (resources) and the Company's reliance on attracting, retaining and motivating key technical, marketing and management personnel. These and other risk factors are detailed in General Magic's 1997 Form 10-K, and third quarter 1998 Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. About General Magic General Magic offers integrated voice and data applications making communication and access to information easy and convenient for people, no matter where they are. The Company's development efforts are founded on its patented agent technology, innovative user-interface and communication-centric designs to provide simple, yet effective ways for people to keep in touch with the information they need to be successful. The Company is headquartered in Sunnyvale. For more information on General Magic, please visit the Company's Web site at generalmagic.com. [Copyright 1998, Business Wire]

To: Stephen B. Temple who wrote (1990)	11/27/1998 2:36:00 PM
From: Stephen B. Temple	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3178

Why this new forum? Telecom Firms Form Multiservice Switching Forum November 27, 1998 FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A.,: A group of telecommunications companies have formed a not-for-profit coalition called the Multiservice Switching Forum (MSF). The aim of the MSF -- whose members include MCI WorldCom, Cisco Systems, Bellcore, AT&T, Alcatel, Ascend Communications, British Telecom, Fujitsu Network Communications, Lucent Technologies, Nortel Networks, Siemens, Telecom Italia, Telia AB, and US West -- is to accelerate the industry's deployment of multiservice switch technology. While the aims of the coalition are not all altruistic, the firms are clearly hoping customers will rush out and upgrade their network hardware once they learn of the technology from the MSF -- membership is open to all comers who share the aim of reaching a consensus on the implementation of ATM (asynchronous transfer mode -capable multiservice switching systems. These systems support voice, video, private line, and data such as ATM, frame relay, and Internet Protocol (IP) services, running across architectures such as DSL (digital subscriber line), cable modems, and older technologies such as time division multiplex (TDM) systems. Dave Hinshaw, senior US vice president of Alcatel, said that he believes the MFS has a key role to play in the deployment of networks providing voice and data conversions. "Alcatel has always provided strong support for industry forums and standards organizations that promote interoperability and open standards," he explained. Plans call for the MSF to encourage carriers to deploy open switching systems with components from multiple vendors. This will, the forum says, accelerate deployment of next generation networks supporting advanced, integrated broadband communications services. Interestingly, the MSF appears to have been created along the lines of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Newsbytes notes, with several working groups on the drawing board. Plans call for several working groups, covering issues such as architecture, switch control, and voice, to be created. The MSF's Web site is at msforum.org . [Copyright 1998, NewsBytes]

To: Stephen B. Temple who wrote (1990)	11/27/1998 3:43:00 PM
From: Stephen B. Temple	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3178

Interesting TurkeyDay-Tidbits on web-searching, the ultimate search> First as a researcher, then a surfer, I found this very useful as part of my search-arsenal for the web browsing. If this is way-novice, excuse the 101-surfer material! <gg> A little background on XML> When doing a web search, you can get hundreds of thousands of hits that are totally irrelevant to your query. Your search engine, which deals only with literal strings of text, doesn't know the context of the text. But if your hits are pages created with (XML), there's a high chance they'll be on the mark. That's because those documents have context programmed in, making Web searches and data gathering more specific. To do that effectively, documents have to be tagged. Tags are attributes assigned to a piece of information. Think of document-tags as rules of grammar, customized to each document, that dictate use of the document tags. When using an identifier <?> Here's an example of what is needed before entering the subject you are looking for: Say for example you are looking for Internet-Telephony related articles but only those articles found in telecomunication magazines. You would use - internet telephony - as always for the search, but enter it this way on the search space: <magazine>internet telephony<magazine>, this should narrow your search quite a bit. The same with a search for authors, <author>charles dickens<author>. Well, maybe you won't get all the right stuff, but you will be heading off allot of trash before it even gets to you! Try a tag yourself here with applying your favorite web site: siteowner.linkexchange.com Before today, I wasn't inserting the "arrow" <?> symbols, it is a definite help. Yea, I know that sounds to basic, but I didn't know it!! duh! <smile> Temps> TurkeyDay-TidBits