John Dezember

Just added a template for mobile friendly browsing. . . Visit johndezember.com from your smartphone to check it out.

Developer: The Sipdroid Open Source Project
Website: http://sipdroid.org
Cost: Free
Available Via: Android Market or developer’s website

Sipdroid adds native SIP/VoIP to your Android dialer and contact list. With sipdroid you can connect to your personal or office SIP/VoIP service and make calls over Wifi, 3G, and EDGE.

Sipdroid allows you to connect to most any SIP or VoIP provider. Our office uses a Talkswitch phone system and I have a SIP client on my desktop and laptop computers. This is normally all I need to stay connected with clients, except for when I’m traveling down the highway or rebooting or any number of other reason that I may not have the SIP client running. With sipdroid I was able to quickly get connected to the Talkswitch phone system and now, no matter where I am, customers can reach me and I can respond.

Pros:
Price! You really can’t beat free!
Supported SIP/VoIP providers.
Ease of installation/configuration.
Active Open-Source community.
Frequent updates.

Cons:
Bluetooth headsets are not currently supported.
Occasionally there seems to be a noticeable delay in communication.

Sipdroid is a relatively new app, so some features are still being added or updated, but it is still very usable. There have been several updates since I started using it; I’m happy to see that it is a supported app. Unless you are connected via Wifi, you are at the mercy of the cell network when it comes to call quality. If you are lucky to live or work in an excellent 3G signal area then you should have no issues. I happen to work in an area that causes my phone to fight between 3G and EDGE towers, so Wifi is my friend.

Since I did a little write-up about foursquare yesterday, everyone should check out this article from InformationWeek:
PleaseRobMe.com Solicits Social Theft: “The Web site gathers tweets and online posts about people who are away from home to emphasize the risk posed by advertising one’s location.”

Link to Article from InformationWeek

Link to PleaseRobMe.com

As a foursquare and twitter user I was initially concerned. The security/privacy issue seems to only be an issue with publicly viewable twitter feeds. Since my tweets are protected, this site cannot “see” me or the posts about where I’m checking in. check out this link to the twitter page that describes the difference between public and protected accounts and how you can update the setting son your account:
http://help.twitter.com/forums/10711-getting-started/entries/14016-public-vs-protected-accounts

A family member forwarded an email today regarding the 2010 Census and ID theft. I copied the email here for your benefit:

AVOID ID THEFT DURING THE 2010 CENSUS

Zander Insurance wants you to be aware of scam artists using the 2010 Census as a means to steal your personal information.

THE CENSUS will be mailed to 134 million households on March 1. The form has 10 questions about your age, date of birth, race and whether you rent or own a home. It does not ask for your social security number or information about your taxes and income. If you do not return a completed Census Form by April 1, it is likely that a Census Taker will either call you or come to your door to obtain the information.

BE CAUTIOUS AND USE THE FOLLOWING SAFETY TIPS:

1. The Census does not ask for your Social Security Number – do not give that information out to anyone claiming to be with the Census Bureau.

2. Never invite a Census Taker into your home.

3. All Census Takers carry official government badges marked with just their name, a Department of Commerce watermark, and an expiration date.

4. The Census Worker is supposed to provide you with a letter from the Census Director on official letterhead.

5. The Census Bureau will not contact you via email.

6. Do not click on any websites that pop up disguised as a census survey. The Census Bureau does not solicit information over the internet.

7. The Census does not ask for credit card or bank account information.

Visit the U.S. Census website at http://www.2010.census.gov/ or call the U.S. Census Telephone Questionnaire Assistance Center at 1-866-872-6868 for additional information.

With all that they have to offer, how they continually add new features and services, there always seems to be some “buzz” about Google in the news. Now the rest of us can buzz. Simply put, Google Buzz lets you share whatever you have on your mind at the moment, a joke, words of wisdom, link to a web page, pictures, movies, news article, whatever. Not only can you share these great things from within the Buzz interface, but it can also pull your posts from other services like Twitter, flickr, YouTube, blogs and more. Whatever you post, wherever you post (except Facebook) is all pulled together and shared in one place and available to the people you communicate with most or the whole world.

Google buzz is easy to use and readily available to those using Gmail; a button to access Buzz is right below the Inbox button and you are notified of new posts in you Inbox. People that you communicate with frequently or follow with Google Reader show up in Buzz automatically. Buzz also integrates with your Google profile by adding a tab next to your About Me and Contact Info tabs.

I think Buzz is going to be a big hit for mobile users. You can access your Buzz from most mobile devices (but not a Blackberry due to a browser issue). The mobile interface allows you to post in reference to your location and also view the latest “buzz” near you (posts from your friends and those who post publicly). The newest version of Google Maps for mobile includes a Buzz layer.

While it’s still a very new feature/service, I think it has potential to really take off. So, use your Google account and check out http://google.com/buzz on your mobile device or desktop!