Webjugate

3 Greenfield Crescent, a period building in the Calthorpe Estate in Edgbaston, recently received a makeover at the hands of Glancy Nicholls Architects (GNA), proving that these buildings can easily be used to meet contemporary business requirements without too much external alteration and repair.

The structure, which earlier featured a number of small, cell-like rooms and offices in accordance with the old style of architecture, now houses a number of modernised rooms, enlarged meeting halls, spacious offices, a kitchen area, a wet room, and a reception area, and it can now cater to multiple electrical and technological needs ideal for the desk space rental market.

By utilising the better features of the building’s original architectural style, such as high ceilings, which are rarely found in any office building today, GNA managed to create a more spacious interior with common areas where employees can meet, share information, and brainstorm in a less formal setting. The building now also features a ventilation system at par with any that may be found in a modern office complex.

The Edgbaston area is known for its period architecture, and as a result, local authorities give great importance to the retention of the historical character of the buildings in the area.

Speaking for GNA, Lyndon Glancy admitted that the project was therefore quite a challenge for the company, but he was also proud to announce that they had managed to create 750 sq. ft. of additional space in the building without altering its exteriors or damaging its classical look. The outcome of this endeavour is a fully equipped modern office building housed in a historically accurate exterior with all its original features intact.

They’re expensive.

Not true; there are models with 18 and 34 buttons that cost a little more, but
Avaya also has an affordable 6 button model, designed for price- conscious
customers.



Partner Phones don’t have the features I need. And let me tell you, I need a lot of
features.

You’ve come to the right phone. Avaya designed the Partner phones to fit the
complex needs of growing businesses. In addition to all the standard features,
Partner phones have back- lit displays, programmable buttons, and message-
waiting indicators, allowing you to work more efficiently. In fact, Avaya is the only
phone company to put easily read back- lit displays on their phones.


And, Partner phones use LEDs for the message- waiting indicators
instead of displaying it only on the display. Now, you know if you message from
across the room, saving you time.



I’m just a small business, I don’t need that much of a phone.

Avaya made the Partner phones with you in mind; they’re designed for small to
medium business, and the features will help you work efficiently and productively.



Partner Phones are hard to use.

In fact, Partner phones are easier to use than other business phones. Some
companies have a single button for hold, conference, and transfer, making things
more difficult. But Partner phones have separate buttons for each function, and a
fixed intercom button. And, the programmable buttons make the phones easy to
configure to match your needs.


Partner phones can be installed either on your desktop or as wall-
mounts, to best fit your space.



You can’t upgrade Partner Phones.

You sure can: they have an auxiliary port, so it’s easy and inexpensive to add a
headset, cordless phone, or an answering machine.



I’m a busy person; I always do 15 things at once, and when I’m on the phone,
I’m also typing reports, reading emails, and updating the schedule on my BlackBerry
via Bluetooth. I have no use for Partner phones.

You couldn’t be further from the truth; the phones work with headsets, have a
speakerphone, and have a hands free answer on intercom option. In other words,
you can answer calls without picking up the phone. It’s brilliant, and makes working
that much easier. So use the Partner phones and multi- task with abandon.



I have an old phone and data network, and these new- fangled phones won’t
work with what I have.

All Partner phones are backwards- compatible, so you have nothing to worry
about; they will work with your existing Partner network.



Yes, it’s all very well and good that Partner phones have LEDs as message-
waiting indicators, but I’m color- blind so this feature is useless for me.

Good news- the phones have both red and green LEDs, so if you have trouble
telling colors apart, you’ll do just fine with Partner phones.

Cameron Elliott is an Telephony specialist at avaya voip phone systems where he extols the benefits of Avaya
Phone Systems

I subscribe to Packet8 VoIP service, and was really glad to hear that they will be implementing E911 service beginning next month (Nov 2005). Other internet phone service providers are quickly adding E911 to their networks as well, due to new FCC requirements.

Earlier this year the FCC made it mandatory that all internet 911 calls be routed to local emergency services. This service is called E911 - or enhanced 911. It is designed to make sure emergency calls from the internet are answered by a 911 operator in the caller’s immediate area. It also provides emergency operators with a call back number and address of the caller.

Unlike the 911 service that is attached to a traditional land line phone, the operator that answers an emergency call from an internet phone has no way of seeing where the call is coming from. The caller must provide his/her address (including city and state) so the operator can forward the call to the closest 911 switchboard. During an emergency when every second counts, this method of relaying calls is time consuming and could mean the difference between life and death. E911 fixes this problem by automatically routing calls to closest 911 center. It also provides operators with a call back number and the callers address - enabling help to arrive as quickly as possible.

In order for E911 to work properly, the burden is on the internet phone user to maintain a current registered address with their VoIP service provider. This information is used to route emergency calls and provide caller identification. Since many people travel with their VoIP phone, or move and take it with them, it’s important that all subscribers update their address information every time their phone is moved to a different location.

E911 is finally here, and I’m relieved. The lack of a reliable 911 service is the only thing I don’t like about VoIP. Once enhanced 911 is implemented, internet phone service will be “perfect” in my eyes.

© Copyright 2005, Debbie Jacobsen. All rights reserved.

Debbie Jacobsen is an information technology professional and author of SaveOnPhoneService.com - an informative website about Broadband Phone Service. If you are interested in learning more about VoIP, or would like to compare providers, please visit: http://www.saveonphoneservice.com

There’s a revolution brewing in the telephone industry. But it’s not the recent demise of AT&T or the failure of Worldcom. It’s a new, yet proven, technology that lets you talk with friends, family and loved ones over the Internet.

It’s called VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) or broadband phone, and it lets you use your ordinary home or office telephone to dial and talk to anyone using the Internet as your “channel” of communication. Instead of dialing through the Bell System copper wires, you make calls through your DSL or cable Internet access provider. No microphones or headsets. Just use your existing telephone to talk throughout North America and the world.

This new technology not only saves you 50 to 60 percent on your monthly phone bill. It also provides a host of services the phone company cannot. One of these - a “virtual phone number” — can eliminate long distance charges to friends and family who want to call you. Here’s how it works.

When you order your VoIP phone service you can also order a second phone number in a distant city. For example, if you live in Philadelphia you’re in the 215 area code. And, if you have relatives in Los Angeles, you can order a virtual number in area code 818 (Los Angeles). Then, when a family member in LA wants to call you, they simply dial the 818 phone number, which is a local call for them. Amazingly enough, your phone rings in area 215. Your family gets to talk to you for the cost of a local call: for free.

Virtual numbers are great for kids going away to college. Rick and Patti live in Cleveland and have a son going to college at Kennesaw State University, near Atlanta. They can order a VoIP phone number with the Cleveland area code for the home phone, and get an Atlanta area virtual number. Then, when their son wants to call home, he makes a local Atlanta call and the phone rings at Mom and Dad’s house, 700 miles away.

Of course VoIP phone service also provides toll free numbers - usually at less than two cents per minute - giving you yet another way to make it easy for friends and family to stay in touch.

Get virtual! Join the millions of people jumping on the VoIP bandwagon and start enjoying the rich features and accessibility you can get through broadband phone service.

Allan Ramsay is a 25-year veteran of the I.T. industry and principal at http://www.VoIP-USA.net, providing voice over IP phone service, landline, long distance plans, cellular phones, cellular calling plans, broadband access to the Internet and a host of Internet and telecommunication services to residential, SOHO and small business customers nationwide.

Internet mogul and philanthropist Naveen Jain has a reputation for being a benefactor to almost every Washington-based organization. Devoted to children’s safety, education and healthcare, he focuses his attention more on the issues that trouble the youth of today.

Naveen Jain launched InfoSpace in 1996, and Intelius in 2003; both are Internet service providers. He is currently the chairman and chief executive officer of Intelius. The first is an Internet searching service, while Intellius is an information and background check service that gathers public information that can be utilized for information-related services like identity checks. Naveen Jain was named the 121st Richest American in the Forbes 400 in 2000.

With Naveen Jain as the head, Intelius keenly engages in a multitude of philanthropic endeavors and has given donations to an array of foundations committed to improving family and youth services, education, and healthcare. Together with several non-profits, the company has made possible several philanthropic agendas and events.

Among Naveen Jain’s philanthropic contributions is his donation to the Seattle Children’s Hospital. The Washington-based hospital was ranked by the US News and World Report magazine as one of the best children’s hospitals in the country at present. Being an advocate in child safety, Naveen Jain gave a huge amount to the hospital, gaining himself recognition as a donor of the renowned facility.

Among the facilities of the hospital are the General Surgery Center, the Heart Center, the Transplant Center, and an Orthopedics Center. The hospital is also a promoter of good babysitting, infant and child CPRs, poison prevention, and others. Sure enough, they have a center for Children With Special Needs. This fits the standards of the decisive Naveen Jain, who supports minor and major community activities such as these.