Saddam Hussein executed (updated)

Honestly I don't how to compose this post... I have mixed emotions - I know the guy committed brutal crimes during his regime, and it was important to bring him to justice, but... well... never mind!

AP Photo: This video image released by Iraqi state television

The Video:







Nuerojava has the updated video of Saddam's execution... (Updated: 1/1/07)

Meaning of - Bulleh ki Jaana - by Rabbi Shergill

Bulleh! to me, I am not known

Na maen momin vich maseet aan Na maen vich kufar diyan reet aan Na maen paakaan vich paleet aan Na maen moosa na pharaun. Bulleh! ki jaana maen kaun Na maen andar ved kitaab aan, Na vich bhangaan na sharaab aan Na vich rindaan masat kharaab aan Na vich jaagan na vich saun. Bulleh! ki jaana maen kaun. Na vich shaadi na ghamnaaki Na maen vich paleeti paaki Na maen aabi na maen khaki Na maen aatish na maen paun Bulleh!, ki jaana maen kaun Na maen arabi na lahori Na maen hindi shehar nagauri Na hindu na turak peshawri Na maen rehnda vich nadaun Bulla, ki jaana maen kaun Na maen bheth mazhab da paaya Ne maen aadam havva jaaya Na maen apna naam dharaaya Na vich baitthan na vich bhaun Bulleh , ki jaana maen kaun Avval aakhir aap nu jaana Na koi dooja hor pehchaana Maethon hor na koi siyaana Bulla! ooh khadda hai kaun Bulla, ki jaana maen kaun

Not a believer inside the mosque, am I Nor a pagan disciple of false rites Not the pure amongst the impure Neither Moses, nor the Pharoh Bulleh! to me, I am not known Not in the holy Vedas, am I Nor in opium, neither in wine Not in the drunkard`s intoxicated craze Niether awake, nor in a sleeping daze Bulleh! to me, I am not known In happiness nor in sorrow, am I Neither clean, nor a filthy mire Not from water, nor from earth Neither fire, nor from air, is my birth Bulleh! to me, I am not known Not an Arab, nor Lahori Neither Hindi, nor Nagauri Hindu, Turk (Muslim), nor Peshawari Nor do I live in Nadaun Bulleh! to me, I am not known Secrets of religion, I have not known From Adam and Eve, I am not born I am not the name I assume Not in stillness, nor on the move Bulleh! to me, I am not known I am the first, I am the last None other, have I ever known I am the wisest of them all Bulleh! do I stand alone? Bulleh! to me, I am not known

Sufis, traditionally, spent their lives searching for the meaning of life, and for God, Himself. Those amongst them, who were poets, expressed this search, beautifully, through their poetry. Who is the Creator? What is the truth? What is the meaning of life? How can one find God? Who am I? These are some of the questions Sufis have tried to answer, by disassociating themselves from worldly knowledge and deeds, and moving onto a spiritual sphere, where they are no longer bound by traditionally interpreted religious or material restrictions.

Analyze This...

The following is from a movie I recently watched "Lage Raho Munnabhai"... If you understand Hindi, It'll make you think (I will translate later)

---

Shaher ki is daud mein daud ke karna kya hai
Jab yehi jeena hai doston to phir marna kya hai

Pehli baarish mein train late hone ki fikr hai
Bhul gaye bheegte hue tehelna kya hai
Serials ke kirdaaron ka saara haal hai malum
par maa ka haal puchne ki fursat kise hai

Ab ret pe nange paw tehelte kyun nahi
Ek sau aath hain channel phir dil behelte kyun nahi
Internet ki duniya ke to touch me hain,
lekin pados mein kaun rehta hai jaante tak nahi.
Mobile, Landline sab ki bharmaar hai,
Lekin jigri dost tak pahunche aise taar kahan hai

Kab doobte hue suraj ko dekha tha yaad hai
Kab jaana tha shaam ka woh bahana kya hai

To doston shaher ki is daud mein daud ke karna kya hai
Jab yehi jeena hai to fir Marna kya hai?

---

Cowboys - Going to the playoffs, but...

Dallas Cowboys are going to the playoffs for the first time in 3 years, but not with the momentum Championship teams have in December. They have been up and down after a shaky start. But after Tony Romo took over, I was very excited. I like this kid from IL. I think we can build a very good team around him. But the way they lost to Saints and Eagles just breaks my heart...

But I am a die-hard Cowboys fans so I will be watching them on Sunday... They play their last season game on Sunday against Lions. I know they will win it, but I really want is for them to clinch the division (that can happen with an Eagles loss). But I think Garcia and the whole Eagles team is playing with a lot of spirit...

Oh well, division leaders or not, who gives a crap? Cowboys are going to the playoffs and I am so excited. I think they'll end up playing Seattle... Can't wait! Get your popcorns ready!


(PS: Oh by the way, TO, stop dissing, start playing... and this is a team sport - you can will the Super Bowl by yourself - So can you please play with & for the team - once in your life?)

Forgotten Moments Remembered

One of my New Year resolutions is to START GETTING ORGANIZED.... I started doing that with my laptop... and I came across some old pictures, some great memories... forgotten moments... remembered!

In 2004, I was fortunate enough to be in Thandi Nadi, as we like to call it in Hindi (Actually Cool River Cafe in Irving, TX) on the same day Sergio Garcia won the 2004 Byron Nelson Championship.



The next picture is of my band - TATVA - THE ELEMENTS - creating their first song - JalJeera. We started this band sometime around August 2005... in Hidden Ridge, Irving, TX. There were 5 initial member (RR, KD, AV, CC, HY, SG) - Since then we have lost 3 but added others.... we have been able to create some really good music (5 songs so far). I will post some music here shortly....

damaka launches VideoMail with its SIP-based, Peer-to-Peer Communication & Collaboration platform

damaka launched its VideoMail service today, that will allow users to leave a video message using their webcam. The new VideoMail service is an addition to the already existing portfolio which offers free PC-to-PC phone calls, free Video calls, cheap PC-to-Phone calls, desktop sharing, file transfer, IPTV (Free Internet TV), Internet Radio, RSS, Voice Commands and much more.

damaka also allows small and medium-sized operators to use its P2P platform for offering triple play solutions (PSPN program).

• Read the Press Release (PRLeap)
  
• damaka Offers Videomail via VoIP (TMCnet)
• Collaboration Loop Staff
  

Roy Williams: Safety, Dallas Cowboys

I felt like writing about the player I always liked, but now, I have started to admire: ROY WILLIAMS, Safety, Dallas Cowboys (#31):

"Safety" (On-the-Field) -- Oh Hell No!
On the field the opposing players are never safe when Roy is there.... Nicknamed "Superman" & "Hammer", he is known throughout the NFL as a very intimidating presence in the Cowboys defensive secondary and can be a game changer with his bone-jarring hits. Williams injured multiple opponents with his "horse-collar" tackle before it was banned by the NFL. Due to this rule, critics of Williams are quick to point out that he is a dirty player. He may be a dirty player on the field, but off the filed, there is nothing dirty about this person.

"Safety" (Off-the-Field) -- Oh Thank God!
He is truly one jem of a person. Kids, single moms, and other people in need always feel safe when Roy is around, because they know he can be trusted to lend a helping hand. I was so touched to see his efforts off-the-field. There are so many NFL players that make millions of dollars but how many of them have the heart of giving something back to the community? Only handful...

After signing his first pro contract, Williams made a $100,000 contribution towards a new strength training facility at the University of Oklahoma, as a part of the school's new indoor workout complex. The new area, which carries Williams' name, complements the main Robin Siegfried Complex at the Switzer Center. As a member of the Cowboys 2002 Rookie Club - a program designed to introduce rookie team member to community service in the Dallas area - Williams participated in monthly charity visits to non-profit organizations serving children. He also participated as a guest speaker at the club's annual United Way Hometown Huddle event for 100 children involved with The Salvation Army. During the 2003 off-season, Williams served as a celebrity escort at the annual Children's Cancer Fund Fashion Show and Luncheon co-chaired by Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach.

In July of 2004, the Roy Williams Safety Net Foundation was formed with the goal of “enhancing the quality of life of low-income single mother households in the Dallas area.” According to statistics, Dallas has the largest percentage of single mother households in the state of Texas, ranking at 29%. Roy has eagerly pulled the weight of families in this difficult situation onto his shoulders.

Roy embraces his responsibility as a role model very naturally. Undoubtedly, his career will continue to prove top notch as he transforms from NFL rising star to Super Star.

Roy also loves to play the guitar, saxophone, and piano.

The real Opportunity - build community around your audience

"The real opportunity for media, in this day and age, is ostensibly the interactive platform, not just online, but mobile and gaming. Basically, promise a way for content companies to get closer than ever to their audience, to build community around their audience, to learn from their audience so they can put out better professional content."

According to Quincy Smith, the new CBS Digital President, in a Reuters interview.

Quincy also appeals to entrepreneurs:
"I want to make sure that this is an appeal to every entrepreneur of every company size... We want to see them all. We want to see everyone in there. And we want to learn.”

Read the complete interview

Kids With High IQs Grow Up to Be Vegetarians

As a child's IQ rises, his taste for meat in adulthood declines, a new study suggests.

British researchers have found that children's IQ predicts their likelihood of becoming vegetarians as young adults -- lowering their risk for cardiovascular disease in the process. The finding could explain the link between smarts and better health, the investigators say.

"Brighter people tend to have healthier dietary habits," concluded lead author Catharine Gale, a senior research fellow at the MRC Epidemiology Resource Centre of the University of Southampton and Southampton General Hospital.

Recent studies suggest that vegetarianism may be associated with lower cholesterol, reduced risk of obesity and heart disease. This might explain why children with high IQs tend to have a lower risk of heart disease in later life.

The report is published in the Dec. 15 online edition of the British Medical Journal.

Read the rest of the story

Obama not Osama! Jeez…

I stumbled upon this post on a great blog - "Almost As Good As Chocolate" by Shripriya. It is so funny!

There is a recent buzz around how Illinois Senator Barack Obama and Osama are so phonetically close. Some believe that Obama's own name will prevent him from the presidency or vp. And if you think that an average American voter knows the difference between Obama and Osama, you are in for a big surprise...

Check out Shripriya's post:

Do you think the average American voter knows the difference between Obama and Osama?
HECK NO!...

I am now a Technorati Member

Well, I have been wanting to do this for a long time (procrastinator!) - so finally today I signed up with them :-)


Technorati Profile.

Top 10 and 5 Fastest Growing Online Activities

New Internet activities such as blogs, video, and phone calls are the fastest-growing in terms of usage, while email, news/info, and online shopping continue to dominate Internet users' activities on the web, according to a report released by Mediamark Research, writes ClickZ.

Top online activities include e-mail (70.5 percent), reading news and current events (40.2 percent), and e-commerce purchases (34.2 percent).




Voice over IP calling is the fastest growing activity online, with year-to-year increase of 197.7 percent. Visits to blogs increased 163.9 percent from a year ago while use of online video sites rose 123.7 percent over 2005.



The data are a portion of an extensive survey conducted by Mediamark Research in September and October. In-person interviews were conducted in the homes of about 26,000 respondents. The subset of data in this release is limited to respondents with Internet access, about 80 percent of the survey pool.

MySpace is No.1 in Page Views

Fox with MySpace is No.1 in Page Views, Surpassing Yahoo - ComScore

Yahoo’s page views were down 9% month-over-month in November, allowing MySpace owner Fox Interactive Media to take the overall lead in that category for the first time, according to comScore data highlighted in an emailed note today from UBS Investment Research. (reports GigaOM)

Yahoo still maintains its No.1 position based on unique visitors, with nearly 130 million in November, according to comScore data. Fox Interactive is in 6th place, after Time Warner (AOL), Microsoft, Google, and eBay.

Personal Locator Services to Reach 20M Consumers by 2011

Personal locator services based on the GPS-enabled mobile phone will grow from their current low user-base of 500,000 in North America to a total of more than 20 million subscribers in 2011, according to a new study from ABI Research.

Such location-based services, recently launched as "family-finder" options by Sprint Nextel, Verizon Wireless, and Disney Mobile, have now been joined by a new offering from youth-oriented mobile operator Helio. Badged as the "Buddy Beacon," the service allows users of Helio's Samsung Drift handsets to build a "buddy list" and broadcast their locations to each other for display on GPS-linked maps.

"Helio's Buddy Beacon is going to be very popular," says ABI Research senior analyst Ken Hyers. "It's innovative. This is the first service of its kind in North America.

"First launched in South Korea and Japan, personal locator services could reach 34 million Asia-Pacific subscribers by 2011.

ABI Research's "Location-Based Services" report examines the market opportunities for LBS from a handset-based perspective, focusing on location technologies, operator deployment strategies, and GPS-enabled handset evolution.

Video Game Industry is doing good

Video game industry retail sales jumped 34% in November to $1.7 billion from $1.3 billion last November, according to data from the NPD Group. Total hardware sales soared 69% to $771 million on the launch of long-anticipated Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii.

• The portable Nintendo DS sold in the highest numbers, with 918,000 units.
• Sony's PlayStation 2 followed with 664,000 consoles sold.
• Microsoft's Xbox 360 sold 511,000 units.
• The $250 Nintendo Wii sold 476,000 units.
• The PS3, which retails for $500 and $600, sold 197,000 units

Worldwide, Both Sony and Nintendo expect to sell 6 million of their next-generation consoles by the end of March.

Software sales climbed 15% to $804 million from $702 million a year ago.

Here comes IPTV...

Seems like everybody's getting into IPTV, from Microsoft to AOL, Alcatel-Lucent to Deutsche Telekom to China Netcom. But do consumers really want it?

Well, to know the answer, just look at the numbers from Gartner:

• By 2010 the number of households with IPTV is forecast to reach 50 million from 3 million in 2005
• revenues could rise even more sharply, to $13.4 billion from $399 million

IPTV Around the World

Servicec providers all over the world are are trying to figure out how to build a "Telco 2.0" that delivers TV, Phone and Internet services over broadband pipes.

On Dec. 4, Britain's BT Group launched its IPTV service, setting a target of signing up between 2 million and 3 million subscribers. AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica, Swisscom , France Telecom, Korea's KT, and China Netcom are also in various stages of rolling out their own services.

It's not just the telcos that have a stake in this. Just about every major tech company wants a piece of the action. Alcatel-Lucent is joined by Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, and Cisco Systems as well as upstarts such as UTStarcom and China's Huawei. The rivalry is expected to help the market ramp up quickly.

IPTV relies on the same basic technology as streaming video over the Web except that the signals stay within the telco's network. If done right, IPTV shouldn't be all that different from the programs you're accustomed to viewing on cable or over the airwaves. Where IPTV has an advantage over standard broadcasts is its potentially limitless number of channels and instant, on-demand access to a vast library of content stored on a telco's servers.

VoIP Grew to 8.2 million Subscribers

Total subscribers to Internet-based telephone (Voice over-IP) services in U.S. grew 18% to 8.2 million in Q3 2006, more than doubling the figure in a year since 3Q 2005, according to market research firm TeleGeography.

TeleGeography predicted the market would grow by roughly 1.5 million subscribers in the fourth quarter to end the year with 9.7 million, or about 8.7% of the nation's households.

VoIP revenues are expected to reach $2.6 billion for the year, an increase of 250% from about $1 billion in 2005.

Top VoIP Providers, by subscribers, at the end of 3Q 2006:

1. Vonage Holdings (1.95 million)
2. Time Warner's cable TV business (1.64 million)
3. Comcast (1.35 million)
4. Cablevision (1.10 million)

Internet Video Revenues - $7 billion by 2010

Annual U.S. revenues from Internet video services – spanning user-generated content to television shows and movies – will exceed $7 billion by 2010, according to Parks Associates.

“Major broadcasters, movie studios, retailers, and content aggregators are all experimenting with new ways to distribute video content online and attach advertising to their offerings,” said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst, Parks Associates. “The early results have been quite promising.”


According to the report Internet Video: Direct-to-Consumer Services, online distribution has boosted viewership and advertising revenues for current primetime television offerings and serves a strong differentiator in an increasingly fragmented market.


Read the Press Release

From the Analyst Blog:

Question: What's the revenue forecast for Internet video advertising?
Answer: Annual revenues for Internet video advertising in the U.S. market will grow threefold between 2006 and 2010 to approximately $4.4 billion in 2010. Most of these early advertising dollars will be generated from non-embedded display ads on different video streaming Websites. Later, as the inventory of high-quality embedded advertising increases, we’ll see that ad revenue grow to surpass the non-embedded ad dollars.

VC dollars pouring again....

1. Pinger, a San Jose, California based voice messaging start-up, has received cash infusion of $8 million dollars from Kleiner Perkins, Caufield & Byers and DAG Ventures.
Pinger launched at DEMO earlier this year, and is essentially the next generation voice messaging service. Instead of leaving someone a voice mail, you ping them, and that results in a text message being sent to them, which can be clicked to listen to that voice mail.

Check out this DEMO video


2. Vinod Khosla has invested $6.2 million in iSkoot, the Cambridge, MA-based Skype-to-mobile extender service.


3. Wikia took a second round of funding provided entirely by Amazon (amount undisclosed). Wikia, founded by Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales and led by Gil Penchina (ex-eBay), provides a place for wikis on things that aren’t appropriate for an encyclopedia — most often fan pages for things like a team, product, or TV show. It had raised $4 million earlier this year.

4. Jangl, a Pleasanton, California-based start-up raised $7 million in funding from Cardinal Venture Partners, Storm Ventures and Labrador Ventures. Jangl has raised $9 million in two rounds so far.

Surviving Holiday Spam

Worldwide spam volumes increased from 31 billion messages a day in October of 2005, to 61 billion messages per day in October 2006 — an increase of nearly 100%. IronPort predicts that, this December, the number of spam messages will average 78 billion a day — up from 38 billion last year. :-(

A new technique known as image spam, reached a new high of 25% of total spam volume in October of 2006, compared to 4.8% in October 2005 — an increase of 421%. :-( :-( :-(

IronPort offers ten "do's and don'ts" to avoid the dangers associated with spam and other online dangers:

1) Don't Open
Whenever possible, do not open spam messages. Frequently spam messages include software that enables the spammer to determine how many, or which, email addresses have received and opened the message. A suspicious email is almost always spam.

2) Don't Respond
The best way to deal with email messages from unknown or suspicious addresses is to delete them, or allow your spam filter to quarantine them. If you respond to a spam message, even asking to be removed from their list, you will have confirmed to the sender that they have indeed reached a valid email address and your inbox may become the target of even more spam. If you are unsure whether a request for personal information from a company is legitimate, contact the company directly or type the website URL directly into your browser.

3) Don't Click
If you click on a link (even an "unsubscribe" link) offered in a spam message, you may infect your computer with spyware or a virus. Instead, delete the email immediately. If a message that appears to be from your bank, credit card company, eBay, Paypal, or others requests that you to click through to validate account details—don't. They already have your account details, so validation or confirmation should not be necessary. Simply delete the message. If you have questions about an email from a familiar organization, contact them by phone.

4) Don't Buy
Spam exists because it's profitable. It costs almost nothing for a spammer to send a million messages. If even one in that million people buy something, they're making money. Take the profit out of spam. Never purchase anything from spammers. Tell your friends and family to do the same—no matter how good the offer looks.

5) Don't Use Your Primary Email
AddressUsing your primary email address anywhere on the Web puts it at greater risk of being picked up by spammers. Use a secondary or temporary account for online transactions.

6) Don't Believe Everything You Read
Forwarded warning emails and chain letters are more prevalent during the holiday season. Spammers will harvest good email addresses from these forwarded messages. After a few generations, many of these letters contain hundreds of good email addresses. Consequently, people who were worried about the "missing girl" or the "desperate refugee" find themselves not only passing on a hoax, but also the recipients of more spam.

7) Do Use a Temporary or One-Time Use Credit Card
When in doubt; use a temporary or a one-time use credit card. Most major banks can provide these types of cards to help avoid abuse.

8) Do Check Security Policies
Use caution when posting in newsgroups, filling out unsecured forms on the Web, or posting your email address on websites. Verify the security policy of the website to ensure that your email address will not be shared with other companies.

9) Do Make Sure Your ISP or Company Has Spam, Virus and Spyware Protection
Spam emails are very often connected with viruses, so it's critical to have both anti-spam and anti-virus protection. Spam messages often include links to websites with spyware or malware. Check with your ISP or IT department to make sure you have adequate security against these kinds of threats. Having spam, virus and Web-based malware protection at the gateway can make a significant difference.

10) Do Use Your Common Sense
If it looks like spam, it probably is. Delete it.

Happy "Spam-Free" Holidays :-)

30 Essential Pieces Of Free (and Open) Software for Windows

Here are the top 10:

1. Firefox
2. Thunderbird
3. Sunbird
4. Abiword
5. OpenOffice
6. ClamWin
7. Gaim
8. BitTorrent
9. GIMPShop
10. Gnucleus

For the other 20 click here...

Google-YouTube: Deal Done for $1.78 billion

On November 14, 06, Google announced that they have completed the acquisition of YouTube. Based on the closing price of $481.03 per share, the deal is already worth $1.775 billion to YouTube’s shareholders.

But the combination of a YouTube copyright crackdown and increased competition could mean that YouTube may find it difficult to stay on top indefinitely, writes via CNN Money. Online video competitors are taking different approaches:

• Metacafe (Oct. traffic 3.8 million users) is trying to differentiate itself from YouTube by offering creators of user-generated content the ability to get paid based on how many page views their videos generate.
• Revver (Oct. traffic 262,000 visitors) inserts one-frame advertisements at the end of videos and shares the ad revenue with the creators.
• VideoEgg is trying to be more of a partner with larger firms as opposed to a destination site for user videos. In addition to tools, VideoEgg has also developed an online video ad platform that's used by social networking sites such as Bebo, Dogster and Tagged.

Internet Takes Over Window-Shopping

29% Holiday Shopping Goes Online

From browsing to buying, the Internet will play a larger role than ever in holiday shopping this year as almost 88.7%of consumers regularly or occasionally examine products on the Internet before buying in a store, according to a new survey conducted for the National Retail Federation by BIGresearch.

Shoppers, who are expected to spend $791.10 each this year on holiday merchandise, said they will use the Internet for an average of one-fourth (28.9%) of their shopping. Though nearly half (47.1%) of consumers plan to make at least one holiday purchase online this year, up from 36.0% three years ago, many will also use the Internet to browse before heading to stores to buy. Researching merchandise online (browsed online before buying in a store within the last 90 days):

• electronics (39.3%)
• apparel (20.0%)
• appliances (19.6%)
• home improvement items (18.0%)
• medicines, vitamins and supplements (16.2%)
• shoes (16.1%)

The survey found that shoppers use a variety of websites to research and compare products. Popular places for shoppers to begin searching for merchandise availability, prices and product specifics include:

• Google.com (23.6%)
• Yahoo.com (7.2%)
• Amazon.com (5.5%)
• eBay (3.7%)

damaka launches IPTV with its SIP Based P2P VoIP Application

Users can watch Internet TV while communicating using voice, video and IM

RICHARDSON, Texas- (Business Wire) – damaka™, a fast-growing communication and collaboration software company, launches IP Television. This service enables damaka users from anywhere in the world to watch TV via the Internet. BBC, ESPN, CNN, and NASA are among the channels available for damaka users. IPTV is a new addition to the software’s existing features list, which includes instant messaging, DialOut™, video conferencing, desktop sharing, file transfer, and Internet radio. damaka also plans to roll-out video-on-demand (TV channels and media content), subscription services, customization of video services, and video-based target advertisement.

According to Andrew Lippman, Head of the MIT Media Lab’s Viral Communications program, “Personal, global television has been a dream since the advent of the PC; damaka has just made it a reality. With high quality, multi-channel IPTV at your fingertips, both consumers and the new media creative community have an easy-to-use new delivery option. Now a kid in Sumatra can watch American, Chinese, and British television without having to even buy a television.”

With the integration of IPTV to its existing product suite, damaka now allows carriers, service providers, and media companies to cost-effectively deliver Internet Television and multimedia services to consumers. damaka’s approach to integrating IPTV functionality into its SIP based, peer-to-peer Personal Softswitch™ aligns with the requirements that many carriers have for out-of-the-box triple play solution to increase revenue and enhance customer retention.

damaka’s latest release with IPTV is available for free download from the company website. After logging into damaka and selecting a television channel, the user can watch online news, entertainment, sports and music. While running IPTV, a user can still make phone calls and send instant messages via the damaka software.

Click here for a Screenshot

Download damaka

Sign Up for damaka

damaka brings hispanic community closer together with Peer-to-Peer Voice and Video Communication

Affordable, private, end-to-end-encrypted, and scalable voice, video, and instant messaging solution launched for Spanish-speaking community

RICHARDSON, Texas – “Hola” is no longer just a word sent over a traditional telephone line. With damaka, “Hola” can accompany a smile transmitted over a private video channel, a red heart icon sent over instant messaging, and a sensuous voice traveling through the internet cloud. damaka has been working with Fonet Global which has a strong presence in Mexico to launch d00d, the world’s first SIP based secure, encrypted, peer-to-peer voice, video and data communication solution wrapped into a small software targeted for the Hispanic community (http://www.myd00d.com).

“The Spanish community is family-oriented,” said Hector Terrazas, CEO of Fonet Global, “Face-to-face meetings are important. damaka’s technology brings that togetherness to the desktop. The video feature will be an attraction, giving the community the chance to communicate and see their loved ones real time using the most secure technology out there.”

Fonet plans to take the scalable, damaka-powered solution to different revenue generating avenues including enterprise communication, family conferences, online learning, online dating, and 1-900 premium service.

According to Siva Ravikumar, Founder and CEO of damaka, “Because damaka’s SIP-based pure software technology has low infrastructure requirement, the start-up cost and time to market for a telecom operator is minimal. For a competitively priced licensing fee, a telecom operator can launch its own private-labeled unified communication and collaboration solution in less than 30 days.”

Hector further noted that Fonet Global was able to adapt to the new technology much faster because of the flexible nature of their operation. “We can cut through the bureaucracy and launch this product while the market is hot,” he said. “We want to move fast so that we can leapfrog our competition in providing the most secure and high quality communication and collaborative application to our customers.”

damaka recently developed and released the best-in-class peer-to-peer multi-party video (H.263/H.264) as the cornerstone of its video offering.

Download damaka

User-Generated Content Video revenues to exceed $850 million by 2010

User-Generated Content (UGC), such as that found on YouTube and MySpace, will continue to grow significantly in popularity and generate increasing revenue over the next several years. By 2010, the volume of downloads/views on these sites will surpass 65 billion, and revenues tied to UGC video are expected to exceed $850 million by 2010, reports In-Stat. Revenues are those directly linked to videos in the form of banner/skyscrapers, embedded video, Google Adsense, and/or branded pages/channels.

Other Highlights:

• The size of downloads/views are estimated to eclipse 1.1 exabytes of data by 2010, with uploads growing to more than 9.1 petabytes.
• 23% of the dozens of UCG sites studied currently support mobile access, with others making announcements for this support in the near future.
  YouTube holds the highest market share for video, but MySpace has the most visitors.

In related research In-Stat found that although Online Content Aggregators are in the early experimentation stages of rolling out video services, they will have some dramatic revenue-generating opportunities in the next five years. The worldwide market for online content services is expected to expand by a factor of 10, growing from about 13 million households during 2005 to more than 131 million households by 2010.

Damaka Launches DialOut™ Service for PC-to-Phone Calling – Price of Phone Calls Continues to Drop

A 13-year-old in Texas can clearly hear and see her grandmother in India without the high phone bills

RICHARDSON, Texas- (PR: Business Wire) – Cheap phone calls is now available to users worldwide using damaka’s DialOut™ service. After downloading damaka for free, a user can make a call from a personal computer to anywhere in the world at a fraction of the price charged by operators and phone card companies. Sample damaka per minute rates: US (1.9 ¢), India (9.8 ¢), China (1.8 ¢), UK (1.5 ¢), Singapore (1.4 ¢), Spain (1.7¢).

A cheap phone call, however, is just one of damaka’s product offerings. The standards-based solution comes with free video calling, free voicemail, Smart IM™, and soon-to-be-released, desktop sharing. These features, combined with the PC-to-Phone launch, makes damaka the most comprehensive, peer-to-peer, standards-based communication and collaboration software in the world. damaka also plans to launch DialIn™ feature shortly.

According to Chelsey Antony of Plano, Texas, “It took us about 30 seconds to download damaka from the Internet. After that, I could call my Grandma’s mobile phone in India and she sounded as if she was right next door. I could hear her excitement when I told her I got an A in math.”

According to Chandan Chopra, Director of IT at damaka. “Adding PC-to-Phone capabilities to our SIP-based, Peer-to-Peer platform adds a significant dimension to our existing suite of product offerings and underscores our commitment to increase user experience and deliver the next generation collaboration & communication software. “

damaka also offers an upgraded version of its software to corporations needing a one-stop-shop for unified communication and collaboration. A company can save the hassle of using one vendor for phone calls, another for video conferencing, and an unsecured third-party for IM. In less than 30 days, damaka can build, customize, and launch a private peer-to-peer network for companies ranging from a small start-up to a global conglomerate.

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damaka Launches World's First Standards Based Desktop Multi-Party Peer-to-Peer Video Conferencing

Desktop Video Conferencing for up to Four People at Once Brings Jetson-Like Environment to Home and Office

RICHARDSON, Texas --(PR: Business Wire)-- Before you call your loved ones, check out damaka's peer-to-peer video conferencing. Whether you are a businessman traveling in Japan or a mother wanting to talk to her son in Mexico, a simple download of damaka, paired with a webcam, will allow you to see your family and friends from the comfort of your desktop. With its breakthrough Personal Softswitch(TM), damaka launches affordable, multi-party video conferencing in pure software format, bringing Jetson-like voice and video communication to the office and home.

According to Siva Ravikumar, CEO, "What makes damaka unique is that it uses SIP-based P2P technology with no server in the middle. This means that data packets are transmitted directly from one user to another. Today's video conferencing technology uses the client/server platform, which requires expensive servers or the use of a third party provider. damaka is the only direct P2P video conferencing solution available in the world today which allows for affordable, scalable, end-to-end-encrypted video conferencing for up to four people."

damaka's vision is to use best-in-class video (H.263/H.264), combined with P2P telephony, instant messaging, email, SMS, and gaming, to create a one-stop-shop for all communication and collaboration needs. The unified communication solution gives higher flexibility not only for a CEO to have a private conversation from his/her office to counterparts worldwide, but also for families in different parts of the world to have affordable face-to-face chats from the comfort of their homes.

damaka licenses its software to operators who are interested in new revenue streams with minimal infrastructure investment and to enterprises interested in a secure collaboration platform. damaka also plans to work with online communities and dating sites interested in a low-cost, scalable, feature-rich platform to empower its members to communicate directly and privately with one another.

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damaka introduces Secure, Peer-to-Peer File Transfer

Latest release of damaka introduces Secure, Peer-to-Peer File Transfer: Instantly share files with your contacts through damaka. Peer-to-peer transfer is fast, reliable & secure. This release also allows users to setup their speakers, microphone and webcam to ensure high-quality voice and video experience.

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Damaka - Experience the Joy of Communicating

Latest release of damaka allows service providers and enterprises an exceptional opportunity to seamlessly unify Internet users everywhere into a global network for real-time communications in all media: voice, audio, video & messaging. Click here to download damaka

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Internet advertising revenues at a record $3.9 billion

Internet advertising revenues at a record $3.9 billion for the first quarter of 2006



The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) today announced that Internet advertising revenues reached a new record of $3.9 billion for the first quarter of 2006. The 2006 first quarter revenues represent a 38 percent increase over Q1 2005 at $2.8 billion and a 6 percent increase over Q4 2005 total at $3.6 billion.



“The steady growth of online advertising is a clear indication that marketers continue to believe in the opportunities and effectiveness that this medium delivers in reaching and engaging their consumers,” said Greg Stuart, CEO, Interactive Advertising Bureau. “The Interactive Advertising industry remains committed to the creation of a world class medium with best-of-breed standards, measurement guidelines, research and ad products for marketers and agencies.”

“The Internet continues to shape the media landscape as more advertising dollars are going online,” said Peter Petrusky, Director, Advisory Services, PricewaterhouseCoopers. “It is abundantly clear that marketers are seeing a compelling opportunity to leverage the Internet as a powerful medium that drives both branding and sales results.”

“Consumer habits are continuing to change and mature,” adds David Silverman, partner, Assurance, PricewaterhouseCoopers. “Companies are effectively learning to devote more of their advertising budget to this fast-growing advertising platform in order to reach the right audience at the right time.”

damaka Launches Operator and Service Provider Version of Its Peer-to-Peer Personal Softswitch

RICHARDSON, Texas--(PR: BUSINESS WIRE)--June 12, 2006--damaka, a leading provider of real time peer-to-peer multimedia collaboration and communication software solutions, announced the release of "damaka powered" Partner Operator version of it's Personal Softswitch(TM) that enables Operators and Service providers to offer unique high value, easy to use voice, video and data services to their customers with the highest flexibility and lowest cost of ownership compared to any solution available today.

"damaka now empowers Operators, VoIP Providers and ISPs with branded solution to leapfrog their competition by providing next generation services with secure, high quality Video and Voice (PC-to-PSTN/Mobile and PC-to-PC) communication," said Siva Ravikumar, Founder and CEO of damaka. "damaka's cutting-edge peer-to-peer technology based on SIP standards allows our customers to take advantage of its service enabling and highly scalable solution to increase revenue and reduce cost significantly."

damaka has announced their Operator launch with Mortel Telecom (www.mortel.com), a next generation Turkey based VoIP Provider focusing on Turkey and International markets. Mortel has implemented the complete "damaka powered" solution to deliver creative peer-to-peer services. damaka is currently working with numerous other operators and VoIP providers to enable them to launch their own peer-to-peer networks and be in the forefront of offering tailored communication and collaboration solutions to their customers.

"We require our partners' solutions to seamlessly integrate into our infrastructure so that we can maximize our capabilities, quickly deliver superior quality, and offer advanced services that touch people's lives every day. damaka's technology is changing the way we deliver services," said Vahit Aykut, CEO of Mortel. "The secure peer-to-peer model helps Mortel to scale with the most cost effective infrastructure possible today and this is a key element to our overall growth plan."

damaka has also recently developed and released the best-in-class peer-to-peer video (H.263/H.264) as the cornerstone of its video offering.

For information on how to have your own peer-to-peer "damaka powered" network contact: bizdev@damaka.net

India's cellphone users to reach 278 million by 2010

Analysts expect India's user base to rise to 278 million by 2010 as the low call rates lure customers. At 93 million, now it exceeds the combined population of Germany and Belgium (via Reuters/Yahoo).

India's domestic market, forecast to grow to $5.8 billion by 2010, is expected to consume about 55 million handsets this year, up 71 percent from 2005. Between 4 million and 5 million new users are coming into the market each month, attracted to the world's cheapest local mobile call rates of as low as 2 U.S. cents a minute.

There is still room for growth as mobile ownership is just 9 percent in India where the population is more than a billion and networks, even though they are expanding rapidly, are still largely city centric.

Nokia, which controls nearly half the $2.5 billion Indian handset market, and its suppliers are investing about $150 million in its Chennai unit, which makes a few million handsets a month and has already exported phones to south east Asian nations like Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.

More than 40 percent of the software that goes into Motorola RAZR handset is developed in its Indian R&D facility.

South Korean LG Electronics operates a plant in the western city of Pune that will churn out 20 million GSM and CDMA handsets by 2010, roughly half of which are earmarked for export.

Latest release of damaka introduces Free Internet Radio

Latest release of damaka introduces Internet Radio: Listen to your favorite music online. Listen free 24/7 to over 100 internet radio stations, from Alternative to Country, Classical to Trance, and lots more.


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damaka releases standards-based, best-in-class, Video offering

New release of damaka provides users with next generation, standards-based, secure, Peer-to-Peer Video calling feature. Video call allows you to see your contacts in real-time. damaka 2.0 Video is based on H.263, a popular ITU standard, that provides high-quality video. damaka also has the capability to provide Video services based on H.264.

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Meez Takes Avatars Mainstream

New Service from Meez delivers an Easy Way for Internet Users to Personalize Their Experience on IM, Blogs and Social Media Sites.

Meez provides custom avatars to use with IM, email and social networks including MySpace, Facebook, hi5, Xanga, Blogger, Tagworld, Xuqa, YFly, Windows Live Spaces, Yahoo Messenger, Skype and plenty more besides. You design your character using a neat little Flash app, adding facial features, clothes and accessories. The business model is to charge for special items using an internal currency called “Beenz” (very similar to Cyworld’s acorns). They’re also charging to add Meez wallpaper to your cellphone.

The company has raised $4.3 million in venture backing.

JaJah gets love ($2M) from Sequoia

Sequoia Capital has invested $2M in JaJah, an Austrian-VoIP start-up that wants to be what else: a Skype-killer.

The company, Jajah Inc., which pledged to make cheap Internet calls as simple as using a search engine, is starting its service in the United States. It also has an office in Luxembourg and a development center in Israel.

The service works once a user visits jajah.com, fills in her phone number and the number she's trying to reach. With a click of the mouse, the user's phone rings and the call connects to the other telephone.

Its founders say that many people have been slow to try Internet telephony -- services offered by the likes of Skype, Yahoo or Vonage -- because, until now, they've had to download software, speak through a computer or get a phone adapter and a broadband Internet plan.

Jajah is selling its services to consumers in 60 countries. Calls from those 60 countries can be made to any destination in the world. Jajah's rates will average around 1.7 cents to 1.9 cents a minute for domestic calls. International calls vary. Calls from the U.S. to South Korea, for instance, range from 3.3 cents a minute to 6.6 cents a minute.

Skype, others sued for Racketeering

Morpheus maker Streamcast has sued Skype and its founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis under RICO laws, which are more commonly used against organized crime groups. It's not all that common for RICO violations to be charged between companies, but it does happen. Andy Abramson has all the details, which Om Malik summarizes as being all about the money -- basically saying that Streamcast is pissed off that Zennstrom didn't sell them the Kazaa technology, before spinning it off to Sharman Networks. Streamcast says that the their own deal included a "right of first refusal" should Zennstrom sell the technology to anyone else. Streamcast also claims that the basic Kazaa technology is part of Skype.

Read what others are saying:

Skype sued over peer-to-peer technology
CNNMoney.com
StreamCast Networks claims Skype is using its peer-to-peer technology. Plus: Satellite photos show an iPod-like structure in western Australia. ...

StreamCast Sues Skype
Forbes
StreamCast Networks, creator of the Morpheus peer-to-peer communications software, has hit eBay's Skype unit and its two ...

Skype Founders Sued For Racketeering
InformationWeek, NY
The suit claims that peer-to-peer client maker Kazaa, also founded by Skype founders, violated StreamCast's exclusive rights to the technology behind Kazaa by ...

Skype and Kazaa named in StreamCast lawsuit
ZDNet UK, UK
The suit, filed in US District Court in the Central District of California, claims that StreamCast owns the technology underlying Internet-calling provider ...

Skype hit with racketeering charges
Register, UK
Skype, the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) provider bought last year by eBay, has been named in a RICO case brought by StreamCast. ...

StreamCast names Skype, Kazaa in lawsuit
ZDNet
SteamCast Networks, creator of the Morpheus file-swapping software, has filed a lawsuit naming Kazaa, Skype Technologies and its founders Niklas Zennstrom and ...

StreamCast Files RICO Charges Against Skype
CIO, MA
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) provider Skype, which is owned by eBay, is one of a handful of companies that had racketeering charges brought against it ...

Streamcast Files Racketeering Charges on Skype
VoIP Magazine (press release), CA
It would appear that Skype's p2p past is catching up with them. Andy, scooping just about everybody, has posted that Streamcast ...

RICO Suit Filed Against Skype Founders
Slashdot
Stitch_Surfs writes "Defendant Skype Technologies SA, Niklas Zennstrom, Janus Friis, Kazaa, Bluemoon Ou and a slew of others have been named in a Rico Suit ...

Skype, Kazaa Named in $4B RICO Lawsuit
InternetNews.com
StreamCast Networks, maker of the Morpheus file-swapping software, filed racketeering charges against the founders of Skype and developers of Kazaa. ...

Gates sizes up the Web's next generation

Bill Gates speaks with CNET News.com about the push into hosted services, competition with Google and mobile computing...

Click here to read the interview

Bill Gates, live from Mix '06 (Video)

damaka store launched

damaka users can now purchase accessories (headsets, speakerphone and webcams) from the store to enrich their communication experience.

Click here to go to the accessories page

Learn all about SIP...

SIP is a signaling protocol used for locating remote users and establishing interactive communications. It is analagous to setting up a call on the telephone network, with two critical improvements.

1. It is internet-native, and therefore interoperates well with other protocols including, critically, future protocols (more at SIP RFCs and Specifications)
2. It separates session establishment and session description, so specifying who (or what) you would like to connect to is independent of how you would like to communicate. (Compare calling someone's voice vs fax line, where the choice of how to communicate dictates how you connect.)

SIP is the glue for a new set of existing applications, beyond just the obvious 'IP telephone' to include multimedia, mobility, IM and presence, e-commerce, web services, and many others.

To learn more,:
http://www.toyz.org/cgi-bin/sipwiki.cgi
http://www.cs.columbia.edu/sip/ (Maintained by Prof. Henning Schulzrinne MUST VISIT)
http://www.tech-invite.com/Ti-sip-WGs.html