racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

It’s not exactly advertised on the Budget Card’s web profile, but PLDT has been distributing flyers to its landline subscribers that they’ve lowered their rates.

Yes, that’s 5 Pesos per minute!  They actually course the calls thru the Internet.  Yes, that’s PLDT going VoIP (they’ve been at it for some time now).

Check it out at Pinoy.tech.blog.

Carlos Perez of Manageability writes on Google Talk:

The question one needs to ask
is whether a network architecture like Skype can is feasible within a
device restricited mobile device. Technology will obviously improve
over time.
…
Extremely limited clients put the onus on servers. Anyone can develop
servers, however developing server farms that can economically scale is
Google’s forte. Google intends to leverage this expertise to roll out
ubiquitious services without waiting for the masses to upgrade their
mobile phones. It’s a pragmatic strategy.

Yes, buzz of eBay’s Skype acquisition overshadowed the fact that Google is getting into the instant-messaging and VoIP business. 
The competition is intense, with established IM networks already
abound.  And it is very difficult to ask IM users to switch over
to another technology, or more appropriately, another network. 
It’s not only going to be a technological feat, but a social one.

I myself am very fond of using Google Talk.  I believe it’s the
better technology because of the interface simplicity and speed. 
And the voice quality–I think it’s overcome even the standard set by
Skype.  But I only have a handful of friends on Google Talk. 
Yahoo Messenger seems to be the IM of choice for Filipinos both here and abroad.

So what’s Google’s business model for this?  Apparently, it’s yet
to be discovered, as with many of Google’s other services.  There
are speculations that they can partner this with location-based
technologies and put out advertising both location- and
context-sensitive.  For now, these remain to be speculations.

But for a company like Google with huge resources in terms of funds and
smart people, a viable business model may not be far behind.  They
have the edge, in this case, and it looks like they’re two steps ahead
of everyone else.

And so it begins. Another big contender joins the VOIP battle.

Previously, Yahoo! had bought Dialpad and incorporated built-in VOIP plus video features in its latest Yahoo! Messenger. Google recently released its Google Talk client, which features built-in VOIP and poised to be the Skype-killer largely because of voice quality and Google’s popularity.

Now EBay is buying Skype for US$ 2.6 billion!

Now I’ve considered Skype to be in the lead among VOIP technologies simply because of the voice clarity it offered, even on dialup connections. And it’s become the VOIP
client of choice for techies and non-techies alike. There’s value in a
brand, after all, and Skype is the in-thing among netizens getting into
VOIP.

What could be the reason behind this deal? Yuga speculates, and I agree. It is, indeed, good to have a single-point of
communication (SPOC) among trade partners, especially when negotiating
deals. And what would be better than instant voice communications
accessible through the auction site itself?

This is a good year for the ‘net. Who said there was no life after the dot-com bubble burst? This is just the beginning.