Some news stories to look over as we head into the weekend -

Microsoft taps LG-Nortel JV for Windows CE products
By Stuart Corner
Friday, 26 May 2006
Microsoft and LG-Nortel, a joint venture between Korea's LG Electronics and Nortel are to collaborate on VoIP products, specifically Windows CE-based IP terminals and the new Windows CE 6 videophone, code-named 'Yamazaki', Microsoft's new integrated embedded development environment for the next generation of smart devices.

The two have signed an MoU for a strategic alliance that will include joint R&D, cooperative marketing to customers and channels worldwide, and a licensing agreement for WinCE 6. The MoU extends an existing relationship between the two under which LG-Nortel has developed a WinCE 5-based multimedia SIP phone, the LIP-6824CD, and the world's first WinCE 6 videophone for global markets.

Microsoft continues to extend global partnerships and relationships. The handheld environment continues to grow. But they really need to abandon WinCE as a name forever and stick with Windows Mobile instead.

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Threat of Avian Flu Pandemic Makes VOIP Telephony a Wise Investment for Businesses
Download this press release as an Adobe PDF document.

VOIP telephony, a technology that allows employees to work from home, could be the most important measure a business takes today in preparing for the possibility of an avian flu pandemic. Without this infrastructure in place, death and illness and fear could easily cripple a business' workforce. Manufacturers such as Avaya offer all-in-one IP Office communication systems that enable a business to work virtually. With more and more households having high speed Internet access in place already, implementing VOIP is inexpensive and easy.

(PRWEB) May 25, 2006 -- VOIP telephony , a technology that allows employees to work from home, could be the most important measure a business takes today in preparing for the possibility of an avian flu pandemic. Without this infrastructure in place, death and illness and fear could easily cripple a business' workforce.

I've talked often about how a combination of survivable, remote access tools can help overcome a major incident like flu pandemic. More and more people are looking at using technology to keep employees safe and healthy should an outbreak occur.

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Vonage IPO Points to VoIP Weaknesses
by Shihoko Goto
May 25, 2006

WASHINGTON, May 25, 2006 (UPI) -- So much for thinking telecoms might be going back to the heydays of 1999.

After much fanfare, Internet telephone provider Vonage launched its initial public offering Wednesday, only to fall flat on its face. What's more, disappointment with Vonage's Wall Street debut has made some companies reconsider the timing of their own IPOs.

While many start-ups collapsed spectacularly with the dot-com bubble in 2001, some of the biggest losses were seen in the telecommunications sector, as companies invested heavily in costly technologies that were then no longer needed on such a vast scale. Since then, however, with the surge in mobile and online communications in particular, hopes had been high for a resurgence of the industry once again.

Yet Vonage's IPO proved to be the most disappointing among the public offerings offered over the past two years, as its share price tumbled 13 percent on its first day of trading on the Nasdaq exchange. The offering had been priced at $17 per share, but the stock actually ended the trading day at $14.85. As a result, the $531 million IPO led to a net loss of $67.5 million on the first day of trading, despite the fact that the company has enjoyed considerable attention from investors and has attracted over 1.6 million subscribers to its broadband telephone service since it started operating in 2001.

Vonage's IPO continues to disappoint and get plenty of coverage. Perhaps the worst impacted are those Vonage customers who thought investing at $17 was a good entry point. They've watched their money fly out the window. Many analysts are saying that Vonage won't hit $17 again.

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The shifting future of wireless voice
A blend of wireless broadband and VoIP is coming, but what form it will take remains to be seen
(Computerworld) -- The technology is in its early stages, there's no proven business model, and there's strong disagreement about how the trend will play out. But most experts agree that voice over IP (VoIP) will eventually combine with new types of wireless broadband to change how businesses and consumers acquire and use mobile and fixed voice services.

That means you eventually could walk down the street talking over a cellular network, and the call will seamlessly switch to voice over WLAN when you enter your office, which would cut down on the number of cellular minutes you and your company must purchase. Another example: Software in your phone will automatically route your calls over a voice-over-WLAN system when you are inside a warehouse where the cellular signal is weak and switch to the cellular network when you are outside where the WLAN doesn't reach.

Fixed Mobile Convergence stories remain in the news highlights every week. FMC is truly one of the coming hot technologies that will dramatically alter the way we work. Its tight integration with VoIP makes this a key technology to keep an eye on.