B2B-TechCopy Technology Marketing Blog

A VOIP Symphony…Support Knots…White Papers

Posted on December 20, 2009 by randylewiskemp

Interesting Support Experiences

I’ll try not to beat them up too much. I’m much kinder with folks providing free services – like Microsoft Office Live Small Business or WordPress [dot] com. You see, my experience was with WordPress.

The Problem? Well, it seems WordPress [dot] com didn’t like something I published. Rather then send me an email first, they locked out my account. It took over a dozen support tickets opened, before the root cause was determined.

You see, they didn’t like me publishing a link to XXX. XXX offers a free and comprehensive course on Internet Marketing. But they also sell products during the training. WordPress sees this as an affiliate program. Now I’m all too happy to coordinate – especially with folks providing a free service.

Here’s my concerns: Why not just send me an email first, explaining the actual problem? Then if I didn’t take steps to remove the links, then lock me out? I’m not an affiliate of XXX and I only published the information for folks to train – nothing more…nothing less.

Microsoft Office Live Small Business also offers a free service, along with free support. The difference? If I open a support ticket with Microsoft, I’m assigned a support number. I get a copy of my ticket – usually within four hours – along with a reply from tech support. Normally tech support is handled offshore (India, I believe).

But that’s not all! If I reply to the email with further questions, I get a response within a four hour window. The support number is still attached.

WordPress [dot] com should look into the Microsoft support model…also look into an informative email first. It will go a long ways to improving customer relations.

Should I charge for a white paper regarding writing tips?

Good thoughts (this week’s social media posed question). However, let me share a couple of thoughts regarding white papers.

Many companies and individuals give a white paper free, in exchange for an email opt-in. The purpose is usually to position the company or individual as an SME. The opt-in gives freedom to sign up for an ezine or have a company’s marketing/sales staff work on lead nurturing.
A second option is to give a while paper free. If it has good content, then it will spread via social media and viral marketing. I have read a few success stories along this line. This provides excellent free advertising – if done right.

I would call it an ebook. It’s like a copywriter selling a book on copywriting, available in a PDF download (for a set price).

VOIP Tests

Remember my last blog post? I bought this Skype phone from Ipevo and it’s very good. Nice sound quality.

I’m just like you. At one time, I didn’t know anything about VOIP. Nada! Zip! I’m seduced by those Vonage commercials – just like you. So I brought into their fluffy sales pitch.

Then I started to experiment (all behind a solid router).

First it was with Google Voice + Gizmo5 + Grandstream Internet phone. Now it’s with Skype and Ipevo Internet phone. How should I test these?

My friend Roger – an electronic engineer – had an interesting suggesting. Play a piece of music and listen to it via voip. So I make a phone call…Vonage calls AT&T…Skype calls AT&T…Gizmo5/Google Voice calls AT&T. Maybe I play Beethoven’s fifth.

Wallah! Instant symphony. Next I get out my label maker and mark 1, 2, and 3. Who will stay and who will go on 9/11? My money’s on Vonage, folks. If you have stock in the company – by all means – stick with them. I don’t!

Do the math! Skype out is $30 a year for unlimited USA calls (actually, they cap it at 10,000 minutes. Who talks that long in a month?). Google Voice/Gizmo5 is free for unlimited US calls. Both have low rates on International calls.

Did I mention all three have equal sound quality and reliability behind my heavy duty router? Who should “get the ax” on 9/11 (My Vonage renewal date)?

Filed under: Marketing, Technology | Tagged: IT Support, Vonage, White Papers, Wordpress | Leave a Comment »

My Vonage 9/11 escape plan…AT&T calls…Some light bulb jokes?

Posted on December 13, 2009 by randylewiskemp

Remember my BBB complaint against AT&T?

Well, guess what? I got a call from an AT&T representative. She mentioned I shouldn’t have been charged, since nobody ever came out to install anything.

That folks, was also a big mix-up. I was supposed to have service on a Monday. But I got a call on my AT&T land line the prior week. It’s a person trying to contact a certain business – not mine.

I called the folks at AT&T and explained what happened. They mentioned this business hadn’t used this number in years. I added that no technician needed to come out…nor was any remote work needed…since I already had the number.

No problem. Or so I thought.

I got a call the next Monday. A technician was on his way and needed directions. I explained that the number has been working for a week…there’s no need for any remote application…nor any technician to come out.

Did he get the message? I guess not. Fast forward: I asked the technician just to verify again, that my $90 fee has been waved. Confirmed! Great!~now just let me know how inter department communication got messed up.

Which departments did I talk with? Just trace the toll free numbers on my AT&T line

New Vonage Alternative Experiment

Remember my grief with Vonage? My problems were twofold:

Their Vonage router is faulty – unless you configure it behind a heavy duty router.
.They have questionable business practices, as the NPR radio article eluded to (from a previous blog post).

My Vonage anniversary is September 11. I ordered an Ipevo Solo S0-10 Skype phone, as reviewed at http://is.gd/5hlk2 . The price and reviews are good at http://is.gd/5hlmt (Amazon). Can this be my residential phone out and AT&T land line my residential phone in? Remember that Google Voice + Gizmo5 + Grandstream phone is my official business line.

Why test Vonage alternatives? It’s not because of technical issues – it’s business practices I have philosophical and theological objections to. Besides! If these alternatives work, they’re much cheaper than Vonage.

Know what else bothers me about them? I asked them to discontinue my Vonage 911 service. After all, I have 911 service with AT&T. They couldn’t do it. Even though a land line 911 service is more accurate and reliable than a VOIP alternative.

Come again? From my perspective, I can shave off $5 per month from the Vonage bill.

Christian Light Bulb Jokes

Hey! These come from a fundamentalist Christian friend. They are in good taste – I think.

Charismatic: Only 1…“Hands are already in the air.”

Roman Catholic: “None – Candles only.”

Baptists : At least 15.
“One to change the light bulb, and three committees to approve the change and decide who brings the potato salad and fried chicken.”

Episcopalians: 3
“One to call the electrician, one to mix the drinks and one to talk about how much better the old one was.”

Mormons: 5…“One man to change the bulb, and four wives to tell him how to do it.”

Unitarians:
“We choose not to make a statement either in favor of or against the need for a light bulb. However, if in your own journey you have found that light bulbs work for you, you are invited to write a poem or compose a modern dance about your light bulb for the next Sunday service, in which we will explore a number of light bulb traditions, including incandescent, fluorescent, 3-way, long-life and tinted, all of which are equally valid paths to luminescence.”

Methodists: Undetermined
“Whether your light is bright, dull, or completely out, you are loved. You can be a light bulb, turnip bulb, or tulip bulb. Bring a bulb of your choice to the Sunday lighting service and a covered dish to pass.”

Nazarene: 6…“One woman to replace the bulb while five men review church lighting policy.”

Lutherans: None…“Lutherans don’t believe in change.”

Amish: “What’s a light bulb?”

Filed under: Entertainment, Technology | Tagged: ATT, Christianity, Vonage | 2 Comments »

Acupuncture in the Knees…Monk Dies?…But Twitter Tips Served

Posted on December 6, 2009 by randylewiskemp

How do you treat an elderly parent with health issues? Would you try new and different approaches? Perhaps it might be homeopathy and acupuncture.

Did you ever see show No Reservations on the Travel Channel? (see http://is.gd/58bYl).

Unless I’m mixing it up with another Travel Channel program – guess what? This guy’s as much a material guy as Jed Clampett. But he’s not afraid to explore new ideas…some not within his worldview.

For instance: Once he visits an island, where the natives are fire-walking. They do some chants to focus they mind. Next step…one, two, three…our material guy is walking on fire…hot coals several hundred degrees warm. Then he scratches his head. “Did I just do that?” he inquired.

Another trip took him to Africa. He’s sitting in an all night native dance. The local shaman is working with spirits. Now I’m not going to comment on this. No theological, philosophical, or scientific commentary. Just the facts! The shaman picks up some hot coals and swallows them. “Did he just do that?” he inquired. Then something surprising happens. The shaman touches the host. The host mentions his life is flashing different life scenes – like all the near death experiences.

Then guess what?

This dude goes back to drinking hard liquor with the locals and having a good time. He probably forgets what he accomplished and experienced, unless he watches his TV shows.

I’m poisoned, Doctor

It actually happened – to one of my favorite TV characters. Enter the final season of Monk, the detective with mental health issues. It all centers on his wife’s death, in a car explosions.

But the villain who killed his wife poisoned Monk. Nobody on the hospital staff can identify the poison…the assassin hired by the killer to poison Monk dies…killed in a train wreck…Monk has about 3 days to live. What to do?

My Solution: bring in the brilliant medical detective House. They both share some common dimensions. Both are Sherlock Holmes prodigies. Both have absolutely horrible personalities – not that Sherlock Holmes is any better (Say – a new movie version is coming out in December 2009).

How would House treat the situation? All the hospital physicians can do is prescribe pain killers and wait for the inevitable. After all, the hospital staff could take weeks to identify the poison. I know. He refer Monk to a good homeopath and a could practitioner of C.T.M. (That’s Chinese traditional medicine, folks…Acupuncture and Chinese herbs).

Perhaps he can forestall the inevitable and buy more time. At least give House a chance to identify the poison and identify an antidote.

We’ll continue my mom’s story some other time. Let’s open some social media questions I received this week.

How Do I Increase Blog Traffic?

Many things. What are you using? Is it WordPress? Do you using one hosted by http://wordpress.com or http://wordpress.org (via your ISP). Something as simple as increasing your presence via a social media outlook, or using an SEO optimized platform (i.e. – like WordPress direct), helps immensely. What is your blogging platform?

Jessica shared some good thoughts. A good SEO plugin would be very useful. Put the SEO keywords in your title. Install some web Analytics packages and see where traffic is coming from. Google Analytics and Stat Counter are a couple good ones – free also. Something as simple as sharing constructive comments on other popular blogs in your niche helps (i.e. – you provide a blog link in the identification URL).

I don’ read Twitter guides – I like to get my feet wet

There’s got to be a balance between doing it yourself and studying from guides, books and courses. It reminds me of learning programing languages (which you elude to with the PHP web scripting language – works great with MySql and PostegeSql). I would love to experiment and learn by doing. But I also love to attend class at local US junior colleges, like the College of DuPage and Harper.

When I was in the Bahamas many years ago, I took a Scuba Diving expedition. The instructor gave us a 1 hour land course, followed by a live drive. I finished it – but was scared all the time. A nice – but slower – prep course at the local US YMCA would have been appreciated.

Yes – Twitter seems easy. Yet there are many tools out there that work with Twitter. It took me a while to work with the right combination of 3 – 4 tools. I would have loved if an expert gave me some book guidance.

Lastly, it’s a matter of learning styles. I personally believe in a balance of “doing it yourself” and “expert guidance from other sources.” I think local junior US colleges are missing the boat – they could make a fortune with credit and not credit courses around social media.

I realize you are more of a “let me get my hands wet” kind of guy. I appreciate that. I like to get my hands wet too. But I also like some guidance – that’s where the books come in (free from my local library).

FaceBook is bigger than Twitter

Is Twitter as big as FaceBook or Linkedin? I don’t know – unless someone shows me some independent statistics. I agree with you about social media consultants promoting their own success formula – for a price. It’s similar to folks selling Internet marketing success secrets – for a price. Yet you can go through a program like the XXX (Blocked out at request of WordPress) and learn some sound foundations for free. And yes – you get your feet wet by swimming.

There are some good Twitter tools out there and you can use the free versions. I do that for such tasks as sending automatic direct messages, targeting new traffic by select keywords, and unfollowing people no longer following me. It took me a while to figure out what’s good and bad – in tools. It really was a combination of “direct experimentation”, consulting with a couple of friends, and getting tips from ezines.

Twitter can feed other social media platforms. There are software applications to feed FaceBook, Linkedin, Friend Feed, etc., with Twitter Tweets. I like Twitter – in fact, I love it. But I realize it’s “not for everyone.”

Filed under: Practical Advice, Social Media | Tagged: Acupuncture, Monk, No Reservations, Travel Channel, Twitter | Leave a Comment »

Letters of Complaint – Is Anyone Listening? + Twitter Books/Rascals

Posted on November 29, 2009 by randylewiskemp

This week found me filling two complaints.

AT&T Complaint

The first one was against AT&T. Now I signed up for their measured rate service. Here’s my concerns:

When I inquired to various clerks regarding installation charges, I was told there were none.
I spent a considerable amount of time trying to drop the installation charge. Reason? I’m a returning AT&T customer

Here’s my letter to the Better Business Bureau. I filed this during my pursuit of item 2 above. A day or two later, the installation charge was wavered. I’ve yet to hear a response from AT&T to my complaint via the BBB. Here’s the complaint:

“When I signed up for AT&T measured rate service – number XXX-XXX-XXXX, I repeatedly asked differ sales clerks if there were any installation charges. I was told no. Then a bill of $90 appeared for installation. I repeated my concerns to different AT&T customer service representatives. While this was placed in the notes, the bill still appeared. To top it off, no technician had to stop in person to set up the service.”

“Currently I’m pursuing a waver, with a different AT&T division. It’s based upon the fact that I’m a former AT&T customer returning to AT&T. I have issues with this process also. In one case a clerk took the information but didn’t forward a note for a supervisor to approve. A week passed before I inquired again. Now the emails were sent to the supervisors but are still waiting for approval.”

“The final concern is that I keep getting asked if it’s OK to sell AT&T products, while on the current call to a customer representative. I keep saying no – as well as future consideration to products like AT&T U-verse. Not until this current issue is resolved.”

Dollar General Complaint

My other complaint was regarding a local Dollar General store manager. He refuses to double bag items when requested. What does he say? The customer can double bag if requested. It’s the store policy to save money, do to the price of oil. So I will verify what he said. Here’s my email to both the marketing and general customer service departments:

“Is it the D.G. store policy to only single bag? And if a customer requests to double bag heavy items, to have them do it themselves? This is my understanding according to the manager at XXX.”

“Can you confirm whether this is a store policy or not?”

“The only problem is that there are other dollar stores in the area – like Deals, Dollar Tree, and Family Dollar. None of the other dollar stores has such a strange policy regarding-double bagging. The explanation given by the manager is also strange. He says it saves money do to the price of oil. It sounds more to me like a bad case of laziness.”

I’m still awaiting a response from Dollar General.

Lessons Learned

AT&T doesn’t get it. How can you sell me big ticket items like Uverse down the road, when you can’t address a $90 billing issue?

Didn’t AT&T get into a battle with Verizon? It’s to do with their 3G network claims. Please look at Judge Denies AT&T Request to Pull Verizon 3G Ads at http://is.gd/52Sn7. Or view the article Apple Steps Into AT&T-Verizon Ad War at http://is.gd/52SzK.

So what to do?

Keep AT&T.

Why?

They are my VOIP backup, in case the Internet is down. Vonage goes to Google Voice when my ISP is down. Google Voice talks to my Gizmo5 phone, TracFone, and AT&T. If the Internet is completely down, AT&T takes my VOIP connections.

So the equation goes like this:

Residential Line Vonage down → Google Voice Business → Gizmo5 + TracFone + AT&T → Answering Machine

Hey…Dollar General…Listen Up!

You best answer my inquiries – that is – if you wish to retain customers.

You see, customers have many alternatives….food items can be obtained at Audi’s food stores….store brands are cheaper at Walmart’s “Great Value”… Myers, Target and Walmart OFTEN have better prices…CVS and Walgreens are more convenient…competitive dollar stores in the area (i.e. – Deals, Dollar Tree, and Family Dollar) “double bag” items upon request.

I believe in good customer service. That’s why I hammer away at Vonage, Comcast, AT&T and Dollar General – bad customer service is BAD marketing. Get the message?

You will – if customers start going to the competition.

I’m off my “soap opera” for now.

Question of the week – what about Twitter? How do I get started?

Check out this YouTube video: “Twitter in Plain English” http://is.gd/54dfR

How about the book “Twitter for Dummies” by Laura Fitton, Michael Gruen, and Leslie Poston? .

The book “Everything twitter – From Novice To Expert: The Unofficial Guide to Everything Twitter” – THE BLUE BOOK (Black & White Edition) by Monica Jones and Steve Soho

You can find these on Amazon and they have good user review ratings. And no – dummies and idiot guide books are NOT insulting – they put concepts, ideas and teachings into simple English…from top experts in the field.

Did I mention that Amazon will offer free shipping on orders over $25?

I don’t trust guides…Many schemes “rip you off”

You are right in that there are thousands of guides and schemes out there…stay away from them…unless you have a trusted source that used them.

The books I pointed out on Amazon are each to check out. If you are in the US, the local public library can access them free for you…either through their own library sources, or other libraries in their inter-library loan system. At Amazon, users have reported on the books and Amazon gives the collective rating. You can read through the book reviews for yourself.

Would I prefer to do it myself and spend countless hours of experimentation? Or would I prefer to read what other “experts” recommend? I have read different Idiots Guide and Dummies series and I’ve been highly impressed.

Twitter Rascals

“Father forgive them, for they know not what they do” – Christ

Or do they? I’m talking about new Twitter follows, who send direct messages like this: “Is this you?” (followed by a link). What they fail to mention is the site is a Trojan supply site. Luckily, I’m a bit computer savvy!

And that’s not all. Someone managed to sneak in a couple tweets under my ID. I suspect Direct Messages are triggering a Trojan message. I changed the Twitter password and now open direct messages in Chrome. Clues tweets are from me: Come from Twitbin or Seesmic – not web…follow my “general” tweet pattern…use URL shortening.

Business http://b2b-techcopy.com
Blog http://b2b-techcopy.net

Filed under: Marketing, Practical Advice, Social Media, Technology | Tagged: ATT, Dollar General, Identity Theft, Twitter | 2 Comments »

The AMC Village – A Marketer’s Paradise

Posted on November 22, 2009 by randylewiskemp

But first – 31 states vs Vonage. In case you think I’m the only one complaining about Vonage, look at this NPR radio article. Article: “Vonage to settle investigation involving 32 states” http://is.gd/4X5xA. Vonage agreed to pay three million to 32 states.

I’m not the only one complaining about Vonage – the NPR radio article proves it. Remember the old Superman black and white TV series? In one episode, a man and woman discovers Superman’s secret identity. He flies them up on top a mountain top. Then he supplies them with a tent, food and water. After he flies away, the couple try climbing down – only to fall to their deaths. Did Superman have anything to do with that? And did Vonage act like Superman, in the current NPR radio article?

The Prisoner

This is a cool show. Remember the blond guy in “The Man From Uncle” TV series? He was the prisoner in the 1960’s TV series, described in a Wiki article at http://is.gd/4XgkT. Currently AMC has made a six hour remake. It’s much better, folks! Look at the Telegraph review at http://is.gd/4Xgph.

Here’s the essence in a nutshell. Shows like the prisoner deal with two realities – one is real and one is artificial. But this is the dichotomy displayed in many arenas.

Many other movies play with this theme. Look at The Matrix, for example.
It’s a common ploy of idealistic philosophies, like Plato in the west, or Advaita in the East.
It’s the main theme of religious approaches like New Thought or Christian Science.
It is also played with in comic book worlds. X-men villains like Mastermind, create illusions with their mental powers. Other villains utilize chemicals – look at Scarecrow in Batman or Mr. Fear in Daredevil.
Magazines like Shamans Drum deal with Shamans entering alternative realities around the world.
Star Trek TV and movie launches deal with alternative realities or parallel universes (it’s based upon physics theory).

Here’s something I liked about the AMC Prisoner. In the Matrix, I wouldn’t agree with the “artificial” world. In the AMC Prisoner version (without giving away the ending), I might agree with creating the Village. It solves a problem the main female Prisoner character exemplifies.

The Village and The Marketer

Let’s go back to the AMC show “The Village”. Did you notice that they indulge in certain brands of beer, food, entertainment, etc.? We might be angry in that those choices are artificiality created desires. But aren’t we living in a variation of The Village?

How many times have you picked up Chest toothpaste over Pepsodent or AIM toothpaste (these brands sell for a buck)? What’s not known is that the company behind Arm and Hammer manufacture the Pepsodent and AIM toothpaste brands. How long has Arm & Hammer been around? Isn’t it more than 100 years?

Have you ever gone and picked up Tide laundry detergent? If you go to Walmart, you find a brand called Surf. What’s not know is that Surf is really All detergent, marketed under a foreign packaging. It’s also been around a long time – much like Pepsodent toothpaste.

Remember where the two older men were smoking “forbidden” cigarettes? Wasn’t that a Village brand?

Folks, I’m guilty – I admit it. As a technology copywriter and marketer, I prefer you to use The Village computers. Hey! They pay me, right? Well, if they did – guess what? I’ll convince you to use The Village computers…The Village bus system…The Village medical care system. Maybe I’ll even convince you to buy the pigs being sold…they stop the land hole anomalies. Now that’s a challenging Copywriting and marketing assignment!

No! I’m not on The Village marketing or copywriting staff.

Should You use FaceBook to market?

Here’s my final thoughts from a Linkedin group, where the question originated.

Almost any social media outlet can be made to work. It all depends on where you wish to engage your time and energy.

One of my Linkedin connections regularly works with many social media outlets. He had success with Twitter, FaceBook, Linkedin, Friend Feed, etc. His focus is on SEO content and blogging for corporations.
Another Linkedin contact works as an Internet Marketer and chiefly works with Twitter. He has three Twitter accounts with over 20,000 followers. A good percentage follow his I.M. ezine.
Another contact writes articles for self-growth and has a surprising number of annual website visits (2 million annually).
On the other hand, an MBA director of a local small business development center has luck with traditional marketing approaches. These approaches include giving talks as a subject matter marketing expert to different groups. She also engages some well known coaches to help her own personal development.

On a personal note, I wouldn’t mind learning from 1-4. Each could teach me a lot. I love studying what makes them successful.

There’s many different permutations and combinations of various marketing approaches – be it viral, direct response, SEO, etc. The key is to experiment and find out what works for you.

Twitter and blogs can feed other social media outlets

If you have a blog, you can set up FaceBook Notes to import blog feeds. Linkedin has applications for Word Press, as well as other blog formats. You can import blog feed summaries to Twitter via Twitterfeed ( http://Ping.fm is also a good tool to feed multiple applications).

You can feed Twitter posts (via applications) to FaceBook, Friend Feed, and Linkedin (among other social media outlets).

There’s many Twitter tools out there – some good, some bad, and some ugly (Hey! That would make a good movie title!). You just need to find the “right blend” to cook up a “Twitter Stew”.

Blog: http://b2b-techcopy.net
Business: http://b2b-techcopy.com

Filed under: Marketing, Social Media | Tagged: AMC The Prisoner, AMC The Village, FaceBook, Twitter, Vonage | 6 Comments »

Dollar Store Marketing – NOT! + Marketing/Technology Tidbits

Posted on November 15, 2009 by randylewiskemp

With the economy in such bad shape, it’s only natural to turn to money saving sources. For me – at least with some items – the dollar store becomes a desert oasis.

Now I have my weekly list of items. Let’s see now. Dental floss, paper cups, matches, razor blades, paper napkins, etc. These are things I wouldn’t obtain from places like Walmart, Target, or Myers.

There’s a few prized dollar stores I frequent. Among my frequented hall of fame includes Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, Deals and Dollar General.

Amish Dollar General Stores

Now these stories actually happened. In a town close to where I live. Yet I can’t say what happened there is typical. Know why? Down in Arcola, Illinois and in the nearby city of Aurthur, there’s a different story. They have 2 Dollar Generals, along with a sizable Amish population. In fact, some Amish folks even work at the stores.

The Amish are cool – I admire them. They don’t own modern technology. Yet they don’t mind asking for a ride…using your phone…or other technology favors. But if your house ever burned down – guess what? They would bring an army to help you.

If I gave a rate to Amish population Dollar General stores, I would give them two thumbs up. Excuse me if I borrow from the movie rating system of Sisco and Ebert.

Now the Dollar General Near Me

Let me share some stories about a Dollar General near me. My mom is about 88 years old and sometimes return items she purchased. She has the proper tag on the item, along with a store receipt. When she returned something to this Dollar General store, the clerk asked for a drivers license? Excuse me??? She has returned items to places like Walmart, CVS, and Walgreens. She had the proper store tags and receipts. Not once was she asked for a drivers license.

Another time I went to this store and asked the manager to double bag some heavy items. Guess what? He said it was against store policy to double bag items. Yet if the customer wishes to do this – they can. I say that this policy was very strange. He mentioned bag prices were related to the price of oil. What? Does that make sense?

My most pressing complaint is that the isles are always full of boxes. Not empty boxes, mind you – but boxes full of stuff that needs stacking. I never notice this at other dollar stores. Nor do I notice it at stores like Walmart, Target, Myers, CVS or Walgreens.

Let’s Return to Google Voice and Gizmo5

I’ll take a break from dollar stores and return to my Gizmo5/Google Voice hybrid. Google Voice now functions as both a business line, as well as an overall phone umbrella and answering machine. I just purchased a Grandstream Budge-Tone-201 phone for $50. Last week, I shared a configuration article how to set up a SIP phone adapter with Gizmovoice at http://tinyurl.com/ylql4uh. There’s a better article I found at http://is.gd/4UgFL. I had one more port on my router, which was used for this setup. This week sent me a surprise – Google Voice just brought Gizmo5 (see http://is.gd/4UAyx).

Guess what? This is now my “official” business line. I found a forum thread somewhere. A person wanted to run Vonage with another VOIP service. The Vonage folks say yes – use a router. It works perfectly, Vonage. Thanks for the tip. I enjoyed a wonderful Vonage-based conversation with an Australian friend.

Sound quality?

Google Voice + Gizmo5 + G.S.-B.T. 201 + Linksys Router = Vonage + Vonage Router + Linksys Router

Remember My Pre-Linksys router problem with IP addresses?

In case you don’t – please refer to early blog entries in the past 2 months. But I got an answer from Amazon forums:

The computer is looking for the V-Portal in both cases.

You can do the following when you make changes: In the search area under Start type in “CMD” without quotes. When the command prompt shows up, type in “ipconfig /release” then when prompted, type in “ipconfig /renew”
This will allow the computer to renew the ip address without rebooting either V-portal or the modem

Should I Market On FaceBook?

It’s a question on a Linkedin group I run. Here’s my answer:

Any social media site can be used for promotion: I chiefly use Twitter, FaceBook, Ecademy and Linkedin. While FaceBook is not where I’m actively engaged, it has some benefits. There’s an application where you can feed Twitter updates to Facebook automatically. You can also set up Friend Feed to take in Twitter feeds. I have made friends on FaceBook, whom I mutually follow on Twitter. Recently FaceBook has purchased Friend Feed, just like Google Voice has purchased Gizmo5. Friend Feed has the “potential” for being a competitor of Twitter. Keep options open but spend more time on what works. You need to test – a key component of the direct response marketing school – this also applies to the Social Media arena.

And now – drum rolls please!~You can add Twitter Tweets to Linkedin http://is.gd/4UTYM

Oh, Wow!

Oh, Wow, is right! I replaced 14 bathroom vanity bulbs with the new energy saving variety. Yet the best prices weren’t from the dollar store. I found this bulbs for $1 each at Myers and Ace Hardware.

http://b2b-techcopy.com – Business

http://b2b-techcopy.net – Blog

Filed under: Marketing, Practical Advice | Tagged: Dollar General, Dollar Stores, FaceBook, Gizmo5, Google Voice, Linkedin | 3 Comments »

I Was Mugged At Gunpoint…But I Finally Got Vonage To Work

Posted on November 8, 2009 by randylewiskemp

You’ll see what I’m talking about shortly. But first…a real cool YouTube video..Google Wave and Pulp fiction (don’t watch if offended by Pulp Fiction’s cussing) at http://is.gd/4NVv0

Setting up my home network

Remember the electrical engineer, who used to work at Motorola? It turns out that he was approached by ATT; made the switch from Comcast to ATT Uverse. Now he has a router not being used. Guess what? I borrowed it for an undetermined length of time. I’ve also gotten some good, technical feedback from Comcast.

Remember my Vonage problem regarding packet loss? I shared this article and thought I found:
“Another article by the same author at http://is.gd/4Ji1D, shares an interesting thought: ‘In my experience, and that of others I’ve seen on the forums, Vonage devices seem to work better when placed behind a more effective router.’”

As far as the router goes – out of 621 reviews on http://www.amazon.com , the average rating is 4 out of 5 stars (very good – see http://is.gd/4Mj7x). Here’s the configuration I followed from http://is.gd/4Ji1D:

Configuration Details

I have two computers and a Vonage router connected with Ethernet connections. All feed off the Motorola SurfBoard modem and the Linksys router. So far the test results have been excellent

The Vonage router was replaced as the primary router with Linksys
The Vonage router was demoted to just playing with bells (working only with phone calls)
Vonage tech support never suggested this solution
I implemented this solution without paying an outrageous $150 Comcast fee, for setting up home networking
I applied the suggestions of Motorola tech support (see last week’s blog entry) to use one IP address (via a router).

My Facebook account attacked by Cyberspace Criminals

Remember when I wrote about my FaceBook account being attacked by Cyberspace criminals? A friend mentioned he sent me an email, which I never received. Here’s the conversation (a pop up chat screen appears, courtesy of FaceBook). I’ll provide any commentary in italics.

Randy
hi. how are u doing? (I now use Generation X word shortening methods).

9:11am Ron
Doing OK. How’s things with you?

9:12am Randy
am not okay at the moment

9:12am Ron
Where are you working now? I’m at the XXX for a few months.

9:13am Randy
same place (Ya, sure. And we never got together?).

am stuck in UK

9:13am Ron
Contract or permanent?

9:13am Randy
Contract

i got mugged last night at a gun point

9:14amRon
Where?

9:15am Randy
united kingdom (Here’s something totally cool. Go to http://is.gd/4NrNa and set the cities to Chicago and London. It would be 3 PM in the afternoon in London if it’s 9 AM in Chicago. Is this chap drinking tea, while he spins his yarn…at the same time Ron has his morning Java?).

9:15am Ron
A long way to go to get mugged. RU OK?

9:16am Randy
i was hurt

i need your urgent help

9:16am Ron
How?

9:16am Randy
i need you to loan me $$ (He says he was hurt then asks for money. I would be more interested in the extend of injury).

to get my return ticket back home (Man! If this guy was me…he sure is dumb. Carrying all his cash around? Hasn’t he heard of American Express travelers checks and credit cards?)

9:17am Ron
What was the name of our writing instructor? (a brilliant question on the part of Ron – pay attention folks, in case this scam is used again.)

9:17am Randy
are u kidding me

9:17am Ron
No.

9:18am Randy
i will def refund it back to you (Sure he will…just like all the Nigerian letters that go something like this…I have selected you to help me get these millions transferred out of my country…you get a hefty percentage for your help…what they don’t tell you is that things get delayed…they ask for money to speed up the transfer).

9:18am Ron
What was the name of our instructor?

9:19am Randy
if am not the one i wont ask you to wire me money to my name

9:20am Ron
You can’t answer the question?

9:21am Randy
why are u kidding me (No, he’s not kidding you)

9:22am Ron
OK. This is a scam. (Yes, Ron…it’s a scam…pay close attention folks).

Here’s my current reply to my friend Ron:

According to FaceBook (after they investigated and reinstated my account), Cyberspace criminals hijacked my account. They then requested money from FaceBook friends. I wrote about his on my blog (a few weeks back) at http://b2b-techcopy.net. I now have new and more secure passwords in place.

For the record, you handled the scam artist well. Just ask them a question only the two of us would know. I never carry large amounts of cash around. You would find me mostly with credit cards and American Express travelers checks. In case I was robbed at gunpoint, they wouldn’t wipe me out. I would have contacted the local police and (if applicable), the following resources:

American Embassy/consulate.
Local American Express office
MasterCard, Visa and American Express card companies

If I ever did call friends (which I never would), they can at least be assured the crime has been reported to local law enforcement. Then you can call them directly to verify my story.

A few ideas on the Vonage router problem

Here’s what my electrical engineer friend thought, when the Vonage router was the only router I used:

I’ll bounce a few ideas about it. Since it seems to deteriorate over time it could be affected by:

Small memory leak gradually taking up space until there isn’t enough memory space to process the data
Cashe not cleaning up.
Bad memory hardware. When it tries to store data in a certain chunk of memory it loses data
Errors building up over time not getting cleaned up eating up processing or memory space.
Server switch over sending out bad data that the router filters out but Vonage doesn’t know how to handle.
Error recovery perhaps the Vonage unit doesn’t know how to get a resend of messed up data
Tighter adherence to specs in the Router for the handling the data stream or the reverse too tight adherence to the specs by Vonage.
Biggest hint is after a reset of the system the problem goes away. If there was a way to reach into the Vonage device and do selective resets to parts of the program or settings it might create an indication where the problem is.

These area all just shots in the dark.

Blog: http://b2b-techcopy.net
Business: http://b2b-techcopy.com

Filed under: Marketing, Social Media, Technology | Tagged: FaceBook, Identity Theft, Vonage | Leave a Comment »

Gold Stars For Motorola, McDonalds; Trader Joes – Vonage Sits In The Corner

Posted on November 1, 2009 by randylewiskemp

Remember this mystery I shared in last week’s blog?

Let me refresh your memory:

Here’s another mystery. Currently I connect Comcast -> Motorola Surfboard Surfboard SB5101 Modem – > Vonage V-Portal -> Computer

If I try to eliminate the Vonage V-Portal for tests, I can’t connect to the Internet via Comcast -> Motorola Surfboard SB5101 Modem – > Computer, without rebooting the modem
If I perform action #1, then I can’t connect to the Internet via Comcast -> Motorola Surfboard Surfboard SB5101 Modem – > Vonage V-Portal -> Computer, without rebooting the Modem, followed by rebooting the Vonage V-portal.

I did contact Motorola technical support and they shared this with me:

“The SB5101 uses a Lease table to assign IP addresses to devices. When the modem is connected to the internet service provider, it only has one IP address to assign: the IP address that the ISP gives you. Once a device connects to the modem and obtains that IP address, the modem associates the two together in its lease table. The modem will keep those two associated for an unknown amount of time even after the device is shut down or disconnected from the modem. When you power cycle the modem, this clears that Lease table and allows any device to obtain that IP address.”

“This method of assigning IP addresses has been addressed in newer versions of the modem’s firmware so that it will dynamically update the lease table for any device without the need of a power cycle. Unfortunately, the ISP controls the firmware, so you cannot upgrade that firmware yourself. The ISP automatically updates the firmware on all modems installed on their network to be sure they match what their systems support. This also includes downgrading firmware to versions that their systems support.”

“The only thing you could do at this point is to either contact your ISP to see if they will update your firmware for you. If they will not, then we’ll have to stick to power cycling the modem each time you switch the connection.”

“Alternatively, you could also purchase a router to connect to the SB5101. That way, the router would handle all the IP Addressing and the modem would only have to recognize the connection to a single device: the router.”

Vonage Lessons learned:

Time to beat up Vonage…to be fair, I’m not anti-Vonage (companies like Lingo probably wouldn’t fair much better) . This week, I tested talking to the University of South Africa via Vonage – very nice – when 0% packet loss. I’ll wait a year and see…do they fix their problems?

At least I give Motorola credit. They knew what the problem was – shared the current status – then confirmed a firmware fix would arrive, in the near future.

Remember my discovery in last week’s blog with Vonage?

OK Vonage – give me an explanation (Or for that matter, any competitors like Lingo can take a stab):

How come when I run tests with http://www.pingtest.net and http://www.voipreview.org, they both show a significant packet loss – at the same time I experience voice degradation via Vonage?
How come every time I recycle your device for 30 seconds – then run tests on with http://www.pingtest.net and http://www.voipreview.org, they both show zero packet loss – at the same time I experience excellent voice quality via Vonage?

“If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family anatidae on our hands.” - Douglas Adams

Let me share a cool layman’s article on packet loss at http://is.gd/4JhHN, before I discuss my technology discoveries this week. Another article by the same author at http://is.gd/4Ji1D, shares an interesting thought: “In my experience, and that of others I’ve seen on the forums, Vonage devices seem to work better when placed behind a more effective router.” Would this minimize my packet loss concern? Maybe I’ll test this with inexpensive routers, like those found at http://is.gd/4JkFx or http://is.gd/4JjOI?

Vonage tech support says things like, “it could be anything. It might be the router, the Comcast connection… blah, blah, blah.” A former Motorola electrical engineer – who has several patent applications over the years…designed and build cell phones…says it’s the Vonage router. I also contacted a “computer hardware genius”, studying computer engineering technology at DeVry University …says it’s the Vonage router. Common sense says that if I power down their device…then power back up…where packet loss is non-existent…it’s the Vonage router. What do you think?
I had a strange problem this week, where I worked with Vonage level 3 support (normally I get level 2). The level 3 support person spent 4 hours with me, trying to diagnose the problem. We came away with a mutual respect for each other.
The problem in item 2 was a Comcast issue. My Motorola Comcast modem is leased by Comcast. Guess what they did? They unregistered my modem on their side. Why? They mixed my account up with some other account. Excuse me? You win the Curly Stooge tech support award.
I mentioned that Google Voice works well with Gizmo5 (see http://www.gizmovoice.com/). Question: If I took a laptop to Mexico and initiated a call to a US number – would that constitute a free call?
I now have Windows 7 running and I’m impressed. Office Depot will install Windows 7 free in store – regardless of where you brought it http://is.gd/4I5fI

Or ask this question of Vonage – What is your definition of “unlimited service?”:

I recall seeing some Vonage TV commercials where they advertised unlimited world service. Yet if you carefully review their terms of service, they state that 5,000 minutes/month is what they consider normal, for usage with normal residential plans. Where did they get this number? Especially when Skype considers 10,000 minutes/month normal for their unlimited plan?

Or things like they can cancel a 30 day money back guarantee any time – without notice?

Suppose you brought sometime from the Internet. They offered a 30 day money back guarantee (like Magic Jack does). You send the product back after 15 days. They refuse to refund the money, because they claim they can cancel a 30 day return policy any time.

How would you feel? Tell me!

This is similar to some Magic Jack complaints I found via Google. Yet Magic Jack has no excuse - Vonage does – it’s stated in their “terms of service”.

Or (if I read this correctly), if you don’t cancel within a precise time frame – after one year of service – they can automatically renew you for another year?

What? Come again? I feel like I’m an actor in the TV series Star Gate – in order to return to earth, I need to enter the Star Gate within a certain time frame. Else, I’m stuck on a remote alien outpost for another year.

There’s So Many “Loopholes” in Vonage’s “Terms of Service”, an elephant can squeeze through – Lingo probably wouldn’t fair any better – didn’t they change their contract length from 1 to 2 years a few months ago?

One good thing I did was to buy another surge protector. Why? Plug the Vonage device into surge protector 2. Plug surge protector 2, the Motorola Cable modem, and other electrical components into surge protector 1. If I need to reboot the Vonage device, I just use the surge protector’s off/on switch. I can even boot the modem – followed by the Vonage V-portal – all by using surge protectors’ off/on switches.

McDonald’s Now

I’m not sure if you visited the McDonalds’ headquarters in Oak Brook. I have several times over the years. There used to be this former Roman Catholic priest (now deceased), who became a spiritual healer. Someone in his audience worked at McDonalds, so they were able to hold spiritual healing seminars there.

Someone else I knew had a connection with McDonalds. There were different presenters of homeopathic medical topics, over the years. It’s interesting that many medical doctors were audience members. There’s actually no disconnect between homeopathic medicine and spiritual healing. I find them to be quite complimentary. You can ever throw in traditional medicine into the mix and I would see them as potentially fitting together.

Speaking of McDonalds – their coffee is very good! Let’s not forget the excellent price also! I know some would rather pay he premium prize for Starbucks. Or buy these very expensive beans, rather than the excellent Trader Joe (a grocery store chain) “Joe” variety. I’ll tell you what. I rather invest the money I save, not going to Starbucks. Let me stick with McDonalds and Trader Joes store blends.

Blog: http://b2b-techcopy.net
Business: http://b2b-techcopy.com

Filed under: Marketing, Practical Advice, Technology | Tagged: Lingo, McDonalds, Motorola, Trader Joes, Vonage | 5 Comments »

Matrix Movie VOIP, Senate GOP Mayhem and Sweat Lodge Deaths

Posted on October 25, 2009 by randylewiskemp

Let’s start with a cool – yet funny - advertising talk at http://is.gd/4soxe.

An Independent Wonders About The GOP

For the record, I’m an independent. This means I vote for the right person in a particular job – regardless if Republican or Democrat. Yet lately, I have serious concerns about what the GOP is attempting, blocking passage of unemployment benefits. A few days ago, WFMT radio news announced that Illinois hit 10.5% unemployment. Great non-profit website talking about the plight of US unemployed at http://bit.ly/193uO2. Perhaps they plan on passing it just before Christmas. This way, they allow everyone a NICE Christmas present.

Vonage Again

Let me leave an update to my blog article last week. I did reach another good technician at Vonage (it’s the luck of the draw – same as Comcast). We conducted some tests and I replaced the cable, between the modem and V-portal. Pack loss is now minimal, with the testing tools at http://www.voipreview.org and http://www.pingtest.net . The voice quality is good. Let’s review what Vonage finally recommended:

A firmware update push to their Vonage portal.
I replaced the cables between the V-portal and Motorola Cable Modem, along with the cables from the V-portal to the computer. The replacement cables were Belkin from Wal-Mart.

I did ask an ex-Motorola electrical engineer on the cables, on what could cause a packet loss. He mentioned one of two things:

A connection problem with the cable (i.e. – corrosion).
A cable has an improper bend (i.e. – broken wire).

I still have strong ethical business objections to Vonage locking people into a year’s worth of service. You do this by imposing a stiff cancellation fee, costing about half a year’s service with you. This is probably more than twice what both ATT and Comcast charge for cancellation. This is OK – if and only if this practice is public knowledge.

I have issues with Comcast mentioning to take up my concerns with Comcast management and now following through.

In a way – I’m lucky. Comcast has their hubs in Elmhurst and Chicago, which is less than 30 miles from me. I’m also a short hop from a Commonwealth Edison facility. Remember a few years ago, with all the talk about using the electrical grid to deliver Internet connection? What became of that? I would love to have Commonwealth Edison become a competitor to AT&T Uverse or Comcast Cable.

Yet That’s Not The Root Cause

Here’s the thing. I decided to pray about the situation and be shown the root cause of my Vonage VOIP packet issue. Now I can’t say this is the result of prayer, in which God or angels are speaking to me. It might also be my subconscious speaking. But I hit upon the answer.

Imagine you were part of the Matrix, as shown in the movie’s namesake. Imagine that the bad guys with sunglasses were computer geeks. Imagine that you go to them, every time the Matrix is “not quite right”. So one software geek wearing sunglasses says it’s a firmware issue. He upgrades the latest firmware and reboots the Matrix. The problem resurfaces after a couple days. The second geek suggests to replace the cable and reboots the Matrix. Everything is fine. All your tests show 0% packet loss – for a couple of days. Then another geek with sunglasses says they need to program the Vonage device. Then they reboot the Matrix. The problem is solved, for a couple of days.

See the pattern here folks?

Paint the Matrix device blue and reboot the Matrix.
Put a picture of George Washington on top the Matrix device and reboot the Matrix.

In case you don’t see the pattern, I didn’t call the geek squad with sunglasses, when the problem resurfaced. Instead I conducted 2 tests.

I first rebooted the modem then the Vonage device. Everything was running fine and tests showed 0% packet loss.
Next time packet loss resurfaced, I just rebooted the Vonage device. Everything was running fine and tests showed 0% packet loss. I have now conducted this same test a number of times.

I talked to a ex-Motorola electrical engineer and asked what he thought. Our suspicions fell upon the Vonage device itself. Is it cache getting filled up? Is it a timer issue? My friend through out some possibilities. Couple this with the fact that Comcast shows 0% packet loss, remotely pinging to my Motorola Modem.

So the solution is NOT in making a fix within the Matrix, but rebooting the Matrix itself. I’ll be very upset if this is a known Vonage issue. Can the V-portal cause packet loss? Look at the Wiki article at http://is.gd/4uc08: “Packet loss can be caused by a number of factors, including signal degradation over the network medium, over saturated network links, corrupted packets rejected in-transit, faulty networking hardware, faulty network drivers or normal routing routines.”

I did follow up with Vonage tech support and shared my findings. I’ll be conducting more tests.

Cool Tech Trick:

Let me share a cool trick with http://www.pingtest.net and http://www.pingplotter.com. If you use the Ping Plotter free version, it combines both a trace route and ping, with a refresh every few minutes. Just set the URL to the server used by the Ping Test website. Cool, right?

Another Tech Mystery:

Here’s another mystery. Currently I connect Comcast -> Motorola Surfboard Surfboard SB5101 Modem – > Vonage V-Portal -> Computer

If I try to eliminate the Vonage V-Portal for tests, I can’t connect to the Internet via Comcast -> Motorola Surfboard SB5101 Modem – > Computer, without rebooting the modem
If I perform action #1, then I can’t connect to the Internet via Comcast -> Motorola Surfboard Surfboard SB5101 Modem – > Vonage V-Portal -> Computer, without rebooting the Modem, followed by rebooting the Vonage V-portal.

Here’s what my electrical engineering friend said:

“If the modem was locked to a defined IP address talking to the Vonage, I would have expected it to restart communication with it, after a reboot. After all, the modem should know it’s address. It sounds like the Vonage is dependent on the modem for communication initialization. The modem must not look for other addresses. Interesting that the modem stops talking to all other devices. I’ll have to mull that one over for a bit. It sounds like there is a conflict with it, that the modem doesn’t know how to handle. The handshake between the two devices is correctly reset by the recovery reboot sequence you did, starting from the modem then going to the Vonage.”

Note to Myself (for future testing):

Google Voice + Gizmo5 = Magic Jack clone travel kit? (see http://www.gizmovoice.com/).

Arizona Sweat Lodge

Did you hear about the folks conducting a lodge in Arizona, where 3 people died and many got sick? I talked to a Native American friend who runs lodges about this and he mentioned the Arizona leaders covered the entire lodge in plastic. Another who knows even a little about lodges – or for that matter, basic science – knows that you would suffocate if you can’t get air. My friend just covers his lodge with plastic around the base. What are their leaders thinking? It indicates two things:

Their leaders don’t know anything about Native American lodge building practices.
Their leaders don’t know anything about basic science (i.e. – physics, chemistry, and biology).

A Twitter Trick

Someone tried to play a trick on me. I follow people either based upon select targeted keywords, or someone who is following me. I happened to follow someone who is in the same niche I’m in. He mentioned we should critic each others work. Here’s the issue. He sent me a direct message. However, he wasn’t following me back. I couldn’t send him a direct message. If I reply to his message with @XXX, he gets free publicity. I was not born yesterday.

Randy Kemp

Blog: http://b2b-techcopy.net
Business: http://b2b-techcopy.com

Filed under: Entertainment, Marketing, Technology | Tagged: Arizona Sweat Lodge, Comcast, Senate Unemployment Extension, VOIP, Vonage | 4 Comments »

A Lesson In Solving VOIP Problems

Posted on October 18, 2009 by randylewiskemp

Aid From Comcast Via Twitter

I got a message from Melinda via Twitter, who’s a Comcast person offering to help. I referred her to last week’s blog entry and shared the following via email:

“Here’s some other factors to note:”

“I have both Vonage and Skype numbers. Whenever there is a serious degrade in Vonage voice quality it also shows up on Skype. They have two different VOIP protocols.”

“Whenever I have issues with the VOIP solutions and run a speed test at http://www.voipreview.org/, it indicates via their tests that the network wouldn’t sustain a quality connection, and indicates a significant packet loss. I understand from querying experts that a 5% packet lost is normal. I’ve seen as high as 21% with this site’s speed tests.”

When these things occur, I have also run tests with http://www.pingplotter.com/, using their freeware version; I see significant packet loss. I have utilized the websites http://www.boa.com and http://www.comcast.com.

“I’ve also done tests by doing ‘ping www.boa.com -n 100 -l 600′ and ‘ping www.comcast.com -n 100 -l 600′.”

“Keep in mind that the data doesn’t show a ’cause and effect’ relationship but more one of ’statistical correlation’. I used to be a software engineer at Motorola, within their cell phone division, for 7 years. I’m also a Motorola Six Sigma black belt. It should give me some knowledge and expertise for looking at both network and software issues.”

“As I related in the blog, the changes that a connection to Computer A, Computer B, and a Vonage device showing software issues, vs. the Modem being at fault, is very remote. It’s not necessarily a modem issue, but could be an issue how the Modem interfaces with the computer. Whenever I had modem issues under ATT Internet, they have me type in internal ATT IP addresses, within the browser. Sometimes they found duplicate entries in some Windows files.”

“ATT is in the process of setting up a basic phone service for me, which I plan on running Google Voice on. I’ll let you know when that’s available. In case of issues on my main number, I can provide a cell phone number also.”

Let me add a footnote to this. Pure speed tests at http://www.speedtest.net/ show an acceptable rate but voice simulation tests at http://www.voipreview.org do not. It shows significant packet loss and jitter issues. If I do a test at http://www.pingtest.net/, I’ve seen packet losses well over 40%. This occurs when I have sound quality issues on both Vonage and Skype (I.E – Skype to Skype). Strange, isn’t it?

A Comcast Email Inquiry

Here’s part of a context from attempting to use the email support system:

Comcast:

“Upon review of your e-mail and your account, I can see that you are using your own personal router. Unfortunately you have requested assistance on something Comcast does not support. In order to provide you with the highest level of technical assistance, Comcast must limit its support to the Comcast High-Speed Internet service. This means we will support your connection to the Comcast High-Speed Internet network and the software included on your Comcast High-Speed Internet CD-ROM. “

My response:

“I don’t own a router. I only own a Modem rented to me by Comcast. Unless you consider the Vonage device a router. Am I to understand that you consider the Vonage device a router?”

“If I were to experience issues – given what I have told you – would Comcast provide support if I couldn’t connect any computer directly to their modem?”

Comcast (partial extraction):

“ We do consider the Vonage box a router…In the event we cannot resolve your … issue, we can either escalate it to the network technicians or schedule a service call.”

My response (partial extraction):

“I will gladly work with support, in case of an issue.”

What is the root cause?

It reminds me of Middle Eastern stories regarding Mullah Nasruddin. My favorite story’s found at http://is.gd/4omCC. Basically, he lost a key in a dark area. But he looks for it within a lighted area – the light’s better.

Where do I go from here? The data I provided is just one of statistical correlation. It doesn’t indicate a root cause. Perhaps if I spoke with Vonage technicians? With my new measured rate ATT land line phone, a call to Vonage support was a breeze. It took a few minutes to relate my story. I included all the test websites and voice applications I used. The technician and I ran a few tests.

First we disconnected the Vonage device and hooked up the Comcast modem directly to the computer. Next we ran some trace route and ping tests.
Next we connected the Vonage device and hooked up the Comcast modem directly to the computer. Then we ran some trace route and ping tests.

Wallah! The root cause was outdated firmware (the stuff that runs the hardware) on my Vonage device. A definition is found at http://is.gd/4nFmg: “In electronics and computing, firmware is a term often used to denote the fixed, usually rather small, programs and data structures that internally control various electronic devices.”

My Current Phone Situation

Here’s a cool article: “Make Free VoIP Calls from Google Voice with a Gizmo5 Hookup” http://is.gd/4lh0F. I now have Gizmo5 configured to make calls over Google Voice.
There’s also a cool service at http://www.sipgate.com/. I applied for a number but they couldn’t send my TracFone a promotional code. A email to Sipgate tech support indicated a temporary issue with sending Tracfone SMS messages.
Google Voice is live and well. It’s a joy to test it. It works well both over Vonage VOIP and ATT land line networks.
Vonage currently sounds like their commercial, with the upside down phone conversations.
Comcast speed is really exceptional.
Tools like Skype are working well.

Comcast: The only disappointment’s that I never heard back from Melissa and Comcast management.
Vonage: I plan to explore other options after a year is up. I have strong ethical business objections to locking people into a year’s worth of service. You do this by imposing a stiff cancellation fee, costing about half a year’s service with you. This is probably more than twice what both ATT and Comcast charge for cancellation. How many Vonage technicians did I engage, before one finally diagnosed the root cause as outdated firmware? You should pay me for the spotty service for 1.5 months, along with all the wasted time, trying to find a root cause. I’m still seeing packet loss over 5%. One technician said I have an old device – exactly how old are the “refurbished” devices you provide?
Google Voice: I love your service so far. I’m very pleased at the quality, both over an ATT land line and a VOIP line. It’s a pleasure to know I can configure it with the Gizmo5 soft phone.

Randy Kemp
Blog: http://b2b-techcopy.net
Business: http://b2b-techcopy.com

Filed under: Technology | Tagged: ATT, Comcast, Google Voice, VOIP, Vonage | 1 Comment »

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