tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97468012008-11-18T21:09:23.469-06:00A companion site to T1Rex.com, here's where you'll find easy to understand information about complex telecommunications and networking technology. T1 Rex explains how T1 lines work, VoIP telephone, Cell Phones, PBX, virtual private networks, digital audio transport, WiFi & WiMax, fiber optic carriers and other business telecom services. Written by John Shepler.T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comBlogger577125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-39394892441985747092008-11-18T00:31:00.002-06:002008-11-18T00:38:50.078-06:00

Mathematically, PI R Squared. Now cellphones are squared too. At least this avant garde entry into the competitive mobile wireless market is square. It's the LG Lotus LX600 and it packs a lot of power into a uniquely designed messaging phone. Yes, it's thin. It's light. It's square. But flip it open and you have a full QWERTY keyboard, backlit, in a package just slightly wider than a typical

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-58373158055322582292008-11-17T00:12:00.003-06:002008-11-17T00:23:16.158-06:00

Cisco's new edge router, the ASR 9000, is upping the ante on network bandwidth. This beast will deliver 6.4 Tbps when fully loaded at 400 Gbps per slot. Who needs a router this powerful? Probably not your mom and pop retail store. But they might be using services downstream from a carrier who has installed an ASR 9000. Why the need for even more speed? One word: Video. Video not only killed the

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-12542545989154257852008-11-14T01:47:00.003-06:002008-11-14T01:55:23.083-06:00

Where is it written than productivity comes only in shades of gray? Why can't technology be beautiful? Why can't business be beautiful? Well, why not? Oh, yes it can. As evidence, I present the BlackBerry Curve 8330 Pink for Verizon Wireless. Somebody should do a product placement in the movies. Call it, say, "pretty in pink." Oh, wait, that's been done. But the description still applies. This

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-5451096852784086592008-11-13T00:08:00.004-06:002008-11-13T00:34:44.060-06:00

Have you ever been in a class or a meeting where you were feverishly taking notes, only to later wonder if you really got it down correctly? One solution is to buy a pocket digital recorder and record what's being said as well as taking notes. But then you have the nightmare of matching up the audio with the text. it sure would be nice if you could automatically synchronize your audio and text.

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-73025334975821947592008-11-12T00:32:00.001-06:002008-11-12T00:40:42.949-06:00

You've heard about how reliable T1 lines are and that they can be installed just about anywhere you can get telephone service. So, you may be thinking that sounds like a good solution for home broadband. In most cases, no. The price will make your eyes bug out. But for some people, a T1 line may be the only option that makes sense. Residential broadband is designed to be as cheap as possible so

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-69201871860791361122008-11-11T00:08:00.004-06:002008-11-11T00:21:48.937-06:00

With all the hype over bundled services and broadband phone, you're probably thinking that only a chump would keep one of those old analog landlines. Not so fast. Despite all the heavy promotion, your cheapest telephone solution may well be that century-old technology combined with a competitive long distance service. Perhaps that sounds outrageous, but have you actually priced out your options?

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-52302813744391887822008-11-10T00:16:00.002-06:002008-11-10T00:20:12.681-06:00

If you've been using T1 lines to provide dedicated Internet service or point to point connectivity for your business, you may be wondering if there is a way to get more bandwidth without having to pay a huge premium to upgrade to DS3 over fiber optic cable. There is. It's called Metro Ethernet. Sounds great, but how do you find it? Finding Metro Ethernet service is easy if you know where to look

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-86584264533836245872008-11-07T00:09:00.003-06:002008-11-07T00:19:45.163-06:00

The original enV "envy phone" from LG turned a lot of eyes green. The new enV2 VX9100 upgrade makes the envy factor even stronger, especially for heavy text messagers, mobile gamers and mobile media aficionados. What makes the enV2 really special is the hidden full QWERTY keyboard. This phone doesn't force you to tap out messages on a virtual keyboard shown on a glass screen. Oh, no. This is a

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-16000266930330789852008-11-06T00:07:00.003-06:002008-11-06T00:20:22.184-06:00

Nervous about your job in this shaky economy? Just want to be looking around in case... gulp... the worst happens? Or perhaps you're an employer who wants to selectively, very selectively, add talent that's a perfect match to a specific need. In either case, you don't want to be fooling around with general job sites overcrowded with everybody and every job under the sun. What you want is just

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-84379747123086412582008-11-05T00:07:00.003-06:002008-11-05T00:16:48.563-06:00

Private Branch Exchanges, also known as PBX telephone systems, are the most popular business phone technology for medium and large organizations. Recent technical advancements have brought PBX prices down to the point where even small companies can upgrade from hard wired analog phones or key telephone systems. If you are in the market for a new PBX system or want to see what's available, you can

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-27837488805601914922008-11-04T00:06:00.003-06:002008-11-05T11:42:07.474-06:00

A short while ago, I had the opportunity to enjoy a dinner conversation with Adam Edwards, president of Telarus, Inc. Adam graciously let me interview him on my Zoom H2 Handy Recorder so that I could share the experience with you. In Part I of our interview, I asked Adam to explain the philosophy that has made Telarus a phenomenon in the world of business telecommunications services. Just 5

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-22326193322004088552008-11-03T00:11:00.003-06:002008-11-03T00:21:43.561-06:00

You want to port your retail business to the Web or start an online business selling products you know will fly off the shelves. So, what do you do? Rent office space and start interviewing programmers? Take the cheap-charley approach and build your own site using bargain software you found at the office supply store? Naw. What you want is a Yahoo! Store from Solid Cactus. Solid what? Solid

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-47766429449679087612008-10-31T01:10:00.003-05:002008-10-31T01:16:59.945-05:00

The holy grail of broadband is fiber optic transmission, with it's potentially limitless bandwidth. In practical applications such as FTTH, that backbone bandwidth is divvied up as it is delivered to homes and businesses on passive optical networks. Verizon FiOS, the leader in FTTH, now offers up to 50 Mbps download with 20 Mbps upload in selected areas. That's nearly an order of magnitude above

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-89268746281829919832008-10-30T00:15:00.003-05:002008-10-30T00:23:53.277-05:00

How many companies have the budget left to hire consultants these days? Fewer and fewer. Even if you think hiring a particular consultant could result in more money saved than spent, it's hard to justify spending in the first place. So what does a manager or business owner have to do? Wait until sales increase and cash flow improves? No. Just get your consulting help for free. Free consultants?

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-91562226128893389292008-10-28T00:11:00.003-05:002008-10-28T00:28:07.683-05:00

Sprint's XOHM (say zome, like home) wireless broadband service is off and running in Baltimore. This is the start of the long anticipated deployment of WiMAX as the next generation of high speed Internet service. If Sprint is able to realize its 4G dream, WiFi hotspots may become a thing of the past. DSL? Cable? Who wants to be tethered by a wire when you can roam wirelessly, gloriously, free?

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-47691454011615963652008-10-27T00:23:00.003-05:002008-10-27T00:35:08.753-05:00

Aficionados of Star Trek have long anticipated the day when we could simply beam instantly to wherever we want to go. Well, the technology just isn't there yet. There have been some interesting experiments in quantum physics that suggest physical teleportation may indeed be possible. But it's probably going to have to wait for another century. We we have now, thanks to Cisco, is virtual

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-7087736406492531892008-10-24T00:06:00.003-05:002008-10-24T00:15:35.895-05:00

The next time you feel like complaining about how hard it is to text using those tiny little buttons on your cell phone, just remember that somewhere in Kenya an elephant is probably texting right now. You don't hear THEM complaining about big feet, little buttons. What? Elephants text? Of course elephants send text messages. You expect them to use push to talk? Actually, elephants don't really

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-59032961295271537302008-10-23T00:08:00.003-05:002008-10-23T00:15:04.767-05:00

Your business is big enough and high tech enough that you have an in-house data network and a PBX telephone system. Perhaps you have even converged your networks with an enterprise VoIP phone system. But what you don't have is the budget for a full time IT staff and certainly not a telecommunications department. You need to hire the services you need as you need them. But is there an easy way to

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-42403569552945909162008-10-22T01:03:00.003-05:002008-10-22T01:15:50.527-05:00

You know that telecommunications costs represent a significant budget item, even for small business owners. We've already discussed how you can potentially slash your costs in half by switching to lower cost providers. You can check voice and data line pricing here. But how about taking an even bolder step? Why not get your business bandwidth for free? Hear me out before you click away. There is

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-33037832140888663662008-10-21T00:07:00.002-05:002008-10-21T00:14:22.286-05:00

You really want and need a T1 line for your business operations. But, oh, the cost. Those lines are really expensive, aren't they? Well, not if you know where to look. The reason that T1 lines have a bad rap of costing a small fortune can be traced to their origin. This technology, called T-carrier, was invented by the telephone companies for their own use and wasn't originally intended to be

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-64100700087707140442008-10-20T01:07:00.002-05:002008-10-20T01:14:29.779-05:00

Within the corporate environment, LAN networks have standardized on twisted pair copper and fiber optic Ethernet connectivity. But once you leave the building, it's a potpourri of telecommunication standards. How do you select the right service for your needs? Technology has divided pretty much along two lines, so to speak. They are the traditional TDM or Time Division Multiplexing standards

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-6722040870436191812008-10-17T01:07:00.004-05:002008-10-17T01:20:56.230-05:00

Conventional wisdom holds that cell phones are a big expense. But what if you could have the cell phone and service you want but reduce that expense to zero? What if you could even go beyond that and create a positive cash flow? There's a way to do it, with other people's cell phones. First thing to do is to get your cell phone without spending a cent. Stay out of those cell phone stores or

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-39918396559013299952008-10-16T00:34:00.004-05:002008-10-16T12:37:20.690-05:00

You'd know that you'd have more business opportunities if prospective customers could phone you from anywhere without having to pay for the call. It would be even better if you could just print one toll free number on your business card and put it in your advertisements. Clients could then reach you regardless of whether you happened to be in the office or on the go. But who wants to pay a bundle

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-31931227781281398412008-10-15T00:17:00.003-05:002008-10-15T00:24:10.952-05:00

The big stumbling block for businesses wanting to increase their WAN (Wide Area Network) bandwidth is something called "last mile" access. Sadly, this is just what it sounds like. Network bandwidth is readily available and more cost effective than ever. That is, until you get to that last mile... the one between you and the carrier's network. So near and yet so far. What's so special about the

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9746801.post-42422355939146656192008-10-14T01:10:00.003-05:002008-10-14T01:19:11.258-05:00

You can't help but notice that business activity is thinning out. Fewer inquiries are coming in and fewer order commitments are being placed. What's really scary is the "Out of Business" signs that seem to be popping up in more and more store fronts. So, what do you do to hang on? The platitudes such as "business goes in cycles" or "this too shall pass" aren't much help when you're staring at

T1 Rexnoreply@blogger.com