Microsoft Phone 1.0
will be shipping with Vista. This amazing new software product actually allows you to place telephone calls from your
desktop computer using the newly-announced Microsoft Live Web Phone Online Service, currently in beta. The basic
service, which allows you to have up to five "buddies", will be free, while the Enterprise Edition, available
separately for just $495 (per installed seat), will allow an unlimited number of buddies, but those buddies must also be
using Microsoft Phone. "Interoperability is very important to us," said Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. "We have a great deal of respect for companies like Cisco and Avaya, and that's why we've created a new software framework for interfacing between our Microsoft Live Web Phone online service and the telephony products of other vendors. For Cisco phone systems, we've created the Microsoft Hardly Interoperable Telephony interface. The MSHIT framework is far superior to SIP because, though, due to lack of developer interest, Microsoft won't provide the framework for Mac or Linux, MSHIT will be supported by all current releases of Windows. So, if you want to use Microsoft Phone with your current phone system, instead of the Microsoft Live Web Phone Online Service, then you only need to download the appropriate MSHIT components into the .Net development environment of your choice."
"We'll be offering a Macintosh version, too. It will not support outbound calling and will be limited to two rings per inbound call. We figured, since there are so few Macs hitting th Microsoft Live Web Phone Online Service web site, there must be very little interest from the Mac community in Microsoft Phone, and therefore we've only developed for the Mac version the features that we believe are essential. Two rings ought to be long enough for Mac users to answer the phone," added Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
It is also rumored that, sometime in 2007, Microsoft will also be release Microsoft Cell Phone, a software application that allows you to use your tablet PC as a portable phone. Once Microsoft Cell Phone is running, just hold the tablet PC next to your head, like a traditional cell phone, and--voila--you're in business. Of course, Microsoft Cell Phone will require Microsoft Windows Vista 2006 Mobile Tablet PC Edition Operating System Service Pack 2 with Telephony Extensions. More news at 11.
1. Haha, MSHIT. Good one.
April Fool's I suppose?
Almost got me except for the MSHIT-giveaway.
Cheers!
Posted at 7:51PM on Apr 1st 2006 by Vonage Review