calling

Team up to take out telemarketers with Caller Complaints

Cold calls from telemarketers and other companies that ignore the do-not-call list are one of the banes of modern day civilization.

A simple Google search for a mystery number you've received usually lets you know who's on the other end before you have to pick it up. The problem is that cell phones don't have the same quality of caller ID landlines get (numbers not names); so that call you're getting could be something important like an overdue library book, or a pushy desk jockey trying to sell you a heavily discounted hafnium-forged non-stick pan … Read more

Skype to offer unlimited overseas calls

Updated April 21, 5:36 AM PDT to reflect the actual announcement by Skype.

Skype on Monday said it is now offering unlimited calls from the U.S. to phones in a wide range of international locations.

For $9.95 per month, callers will be able to ring folks abroad in 34 countries, including many in Europe, along with Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Malaysia. (The details of the new flat-rate subscriptions were first published in an Associated Press story Sunday evening.) There is one limit--in most of those countries, the calls must be … Read more

Super-easy VoIP calls coming to Java phones

Quite a few services on the market offer some variation on the theme of making inexpensive international calls. Fring and EQO dress it up with IM and a social networking aspect that grants free international calls between registered friends and cheap calls to everyone else. Likewise, there's Skype to Go and Talkster, which both require you to punch in local access numbers to get cheap rates. However, Packet8's MobileTalk has risen above them all as a mass market solution that sheds the extra messaging frills, money-making ads, and prep time to make the call. (Note: Give yourself a … Read more

Dashwire's new goodies make the most of your phone

Dashwire, a small Seattle start-up eleven employees strong, continues to impress with its growing service for managing and interacting with the contents of your cell phone online. To recap an earlier review, Dashwire synchronizes your cell phone to an online account, displaying on a flexible dashboard your call history, images, profile, texting history, photos, ring tones, videos, and contacts. You can roll up your sleeves and muck around with your phone from Dashwire, a much happier experience than crouching over your two-inch cell phone screen and tapping or clicking away through on-device management programs, particularly if you're not on … Read more

Equals Party Line: Instant group voice chat for your Facebook pals

Equals' Party Line is a new, free voice conference app that lets you instantly connect with up to five of your friends in a voice conference. Unlike the business-focused Vello, which we also like, Party Line is limited and designed primarily to connect you with Facebook buddies. However, you can cram non-Facebook users into it and it could easily be used in work settings.

Once you set up your "party lines" and invite friends into them, kicking off the voice chat is a snap. You can either initiate the conference from the Facebook app, or just call the … Read more

Black Hat goes interactive in selecting upcoming speakers

On Wednesday, Black Hat officials opened their Call For Papers (CFP) site to paid attendees registered for this summer's Black Hat USA 2008 Briefings and Trainings.

In February, speaking at Black Hat D.C. 2008, director Jeff Moss said his idea is to make the redesigned Black Hat Web site more interactive between speakers and attendees. The first improvement is to give future attendees a voice in choosing what speakers and presentations they'd like to see. Black Hat USA 2008, to be held August 2-7 at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, is the first conference to offer … Read more

Where the show is so funky it comes with Speed Stick

EPISODE 55

Today, we celebrate the 20th Year Anniversary of Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up." Plus, "What We Want" is for Ashley Alexandra Dupr? to never open her mouth and sing again. We also take some time to answer some real calls from the public, and Randall's wife and her t-shirt make a guest appearance today.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile implement unlimited calling plans

It's official: As of today, all four major national carriers now offer unlimited calling plans. Two weeks ago, Sprint announced a $119.99 a month Unlimited Access Pack available in select markets, but today Verizon, AT&T, and now T-Mobile have all matched it with an astounding triple-whammy announcement that all three will offer nationwide unlimited calling plans for only $99.99 a month. Verizon kicked it off this morning with its unlimited plan announcement, followed by AT&T a few hours later, and T-Mobile finishing it off a few hours after that. We won't be … Read more

Verizon Wireless goes flat-rate

It's not necessarily cheap, but $99 a month is at least predictable. Verizon Wireless is hoping that the flat-rate, unlimited-calling plan will also prove attractive to high-end customers. While other carriers have already launched flat-rate plans of limited scope, Verizon is making its offer available nationwide.

Read more at CNNMoney: "Verizon Wireless Unveils Unlimited Calling Plan"

IM photos and videos from phone to phone

If IMing friends from mobile to mobile is faster and cheaper than sending SMS messages, then IMing photos, videos, and music clips is even better.

Fring announced this week an update to its Symbian 9.1 and Symbian 9.2 offerings (sorry, Windows Mobile) that lets registered members swap files. This is the first I've heard of file-sharing from any mobile IM service, though saving the best perks for members is common to others, like EQO, that have far grander ambitions than simple all-in-one chat.

Much like file-sharing from desktop chat apps, fring (it really is lower-case) files ride … Read more