GigaOM’s Katie Fehrenbacher posed that question to start off her article on the subject. “If it is up to consumers and brand recognition alone, the company could easily dominate many of the world’s mobile search markets,” she notes.

But “carriers, and handset makers, still dominate the mobile deck,” Fehrenbacher continued (as Yahoo fans pointed towards the Linksys CIT310). “Yeah, mobile web users can just type in any web site in a mobile browser, but the deck still dominates mobile eyeballs and some carriers don’t want to do a deal with such a dominant search brand like Google.”

Vodafone was more than happy to arrange for a strategic alliance with Yahoo last week, though, and Sprint and Microsoft worked out a similar deal. Fehrenbacher constructed a timeline of “Google’s mobile search deals with advertisers” for comparison, and the company seemed to come up a little short.

Google’s five most recent deals were with Leap Wireless, SK Telecom, NTT DoCoMo, Celecom, and Optus – names that simply don’t carry a lot of weight. Fehrenbacher concluded her article by polling her readers about their mobile search habits, however, and as she predicted at the beginning of the piece, the numbers clearly favor Google.

50% of respondents chose the Mountain View-based company. The only other answer with comparable numbers was “You can search on mobile phones?” with 30% of the vote.

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The Linksys CIT310 is probably only a “must-have” for Yahoo messenger fanatics who are in need of a new phone, though. Randy Savicky describes it as “a tempting home phone system replacement,” but raises a couple of issues in his “Room for Improvement” section.” Our own Joe Lewis compares this arrangement to the Skype service.

Linksys seems quite proud of its new phone, regardless. “The CIT310 is our first product to couple the Yahoo! Messenger with Voice experience and access to Internet services like Yahoo! Local Search,” noted Tarun Loomba, a senior director of product marketing for Linksys, in an official statement.

“We share the same vision with Yahoo! of not just improving the experience of internet phone calling, but also offering a valuable combination of internet-enabled features and services that customers will use and really want,” he added.

Jeff Bonforte, senior director of Yahoo’s Real Time Communications, was proud of one feature in particular, saying, “The CIT310 cordless phone is also embedded with the industry-leading Yahoo! Local Search service, to provide consumers with an easy way to find local restaurants and businesses and quickly make a call with one touch.”

The CIT310 is available on Amazon.com, where the current first and last tags for it are “voip” and “cool,” respectively. Yahoo and Linksys have to be happy about that.

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Bill Campbell lists them all. The one I’ve set up straightaway is being able to send SMS messages from Skype to mobile phones which your friends or colleagues can then respond to – and you receive their messages on your mobile phone, not in Skype.

Setup is a simple procedure involving getting a verification code for your mobile phone from Skype which sends it as an SMS message:

Works great based on an SMS I sent to my wife. The cost is the same (0.10 in The Netherlands) as if you had sent the SMS directly from your mobile phone.

It would be neat if you could also receive any SMS reply message in Skype if you wanted to.

Another feature that I will definitely try out is the Skypecasting service:

[] Skypecasts are large, hosted calls on Skype. Let your opinion be heard on subjects close to your heart in groups of up to 100 people participating from anywhere in the world.

I plan to get to that one soon.

Overall, I’m pleased that this Skype beta works seamlessly with my Linksys Skype phone, a really useful device that is my primary means of using Skype for making and receiving calls. Then I noticed a link in Bill’s post to the Polycom Communicator speakerphone for Skype.

Not yet available in The Netherlands, more’s the pity

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This is a phone that works with the Skype internet phone service which you use to make and receive phone calls via Skype as you would make and receive calls with a normal cordless phone. The contact list in the phone replicates the contact list in the Skype application that runs on your computer. So, as with a normal phone, you select a contact, hit the call’ button and make your call. Dead easy.

Not only that:

[] The Handset supports SkypeOut dialing as well as your Skype contact list. It rings when you have a Skype or SkypeIn call coming in, and shows the caller’s ID on the screen. The Handset also supports call waiting and Skype’s optional Voicemail service. When you’re on a call, you can hit the Mute button for privacy, or use the speakerphone function to let everyone join in. You can even use the phone as an intercom – each Base Station supports up to four Handsets.

This phone is also sold here in The Netherlands, but the price is quite a bit more than in the US – for instance, Dixons has it on sale for 140 ($167) versus $130 in the US ($140 including California sales tax).

The only negative was that, after buying it, I discovered that the power supply for the charging unit was US voltage only. You would have thought that it would have been universal to work in any country. But a $10 purchase at Fry’s got me a step-down voltage converter which works fine. Adding that purchase, the total cost is still less than if I had bought the phone here.

Very neat.

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The plug-in, called Linksys Wireless-G Music Bridge, connects via standard cables to a home stereo to receive signals from the home computer.

Yahoo! offers a free Music Engine that has been configured to broadcast music through the wireless device. The Music Engine allows users the ability to play and save songs, share music using Yahoo! Messenger, transfer music to compatible portable devices, access pre-programmed radio stations, burn CDS, and create playlists.

A survey from In-Stat revealed that more than sixty percent of respondents expressed that they were at least somewhat interested in connecting their PC to a stereo system to listen to digital audio files.

“Sending audio from a PC to a home entertainment center was the top response in our study as to what type of media consumers wanted to stream using a home network. The Linksys and Yahoo! relationship should help make customers even more aware of what they can do with their music services and where they can access them,” said In-Stat analyst Joyce Putscher.

The Wireless-G Music Bridge is expected to sell for around $100.

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The highly portable 3G / UMTS Router is supposed to be very secure, with Wi- Fi Protected Internet and network Access and powerful SPI firewall protection, even when using the wireless connection.

With the router, up to five people can use the wireless LAN capability that’s already in most laptops, to access high speed mobile data services provided by the Vodafone 3G network.

The 3G/UMTS WLAN Router combines the Linksys WRT54G3G Wireless-G Router, which provides Wireless LAN coverage for users, and the Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G/GPRS data card.

“The 3G/UMTS Router makes it even easier and more cost effective for teams on the move to work anywhere as though they were in the office.” said Vodafone Chief Marketing Officer Peter Bamford.

In addition to providing instant group access to networks, email and the Internet the 3G / UMTS Router allows additional devices, such as printers, to be easily connected using Ethernet or 802.11g wireless connections.

The router is first being launched in Spain today and then will be launched in Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Sweden and the UK over the next few weeks. More countries will follow.

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The deal becomes the second one made for Linksys by Cisco; the company acquired Internet phone maker Sipura Technology in April.

But this deal poises Linksys, known for its home consumer networking products like wireless routers, more deeply in the consumer entertainment market. According to a press release, KiSS makes DVD players and recorders capable of being a conduit for video on demand.

The concept has consumers buying a networked device for their home, and then purchasing a either a monthly subscription to bring content to that device for playback at home, or buying a single movie at a time.

Recently, Intel announced a partnership with Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman to provide first-run movies via digital delivery over the Internet. Perhaps Cisco sees a need to compete with Intel on future demand for online video content.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.

Cisco Systems, Inc., and its Linksys division, today announced a new program called the “Linksys to Cisco Trade-Up Program” that helps small businesses in the United States protect their network technology investment when they purchase select Linksys business products. Through a rebate directly to the end user, the Linksys to Cisco Trade-up Program pays up to 100% cash back when qualifying purchasers are ready to migrate to Cisco routing, switching and wireless solutions.

This program offer enables small businesses to grow their network as their business grows without losing their investments in network infrastructure. Small businesses can start off building their network with Linksys products and when their business has grown to require more advanced features and more enhanced integration services; they can trade-up their eligible Linksys product to an eligible Cisco product under this program. Customers who register and qualify for the program and trade up to a Cisco product after 90 days and within three years of the select Linksys product purchase date will receive a cash rebate*.

“When small businesses purchase an eligible Linksys product today, they’re also buying an opportunity for future equipment trade-in from the eligible line of Cisco SMB products,” said Charlie Giancarlo, president of Cisco-Linksys. “We are also providing the small business with a three year program that looks out for their investment plus an upgrade path to the products they’ll need as their business and network grows.”

“As part of our small and medium business strategy, this trade-up program helps Cisco to broaden our value proposition to the small business marketplace,” said Peter Alexander, VP world wide commercial marketing. “The program will also enable Linksys customers to become more informed of Cisco offerings and the business benefits that Cisco networks can provide.”

Cisco and its Linksys division currently plan to continue adding eligible products to the trade-up program as new products are introduced. The official list of eligible products and rebate values, as well as program terms and conditions can be found here.

How the Program Works:

(1) New and existing Linksys customers would register for the program online. At this webpage, customers can find more information including the program brochure, check product eligibility, and review program terms and conditions. Participants who register will also be eligible to receive the award winning Cisco iQ Magazine for small and medium-sized businesses.

(2) When customers are ready to upgrade to a Cisco solution (anytime after 90 days and within three years of the Linksys product purchase date, while the program is still active), they simply contact their local Cisco reseller from the list of authorized resellers participating in the Linksys to Cisco Trade-Up program and identified on the website.

(3) The Cisco reseller chosen by the customer will recommend a Cisco product configuration that fits the equipment needs of the customer and their business. When the customer has purchased an eligible Cisco product, the reseller will provide the customer with a rebate form, or the customer can download the form from the Cisco program website.

(4) Once the Rebate Form process is completed, the customer will receive a cash rebate check from Cisco for the eligible Linksys product returned.

This Linksys to Cisco Trade-Up Program is only available to eligible customers and partners in the United States.

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Usually to provide shared access to DSL, I install a Linksys DSL router, typically available under $75. It connects between the DSL modem’s Ethernet port, and the Ethernet network, allowing Macs and PCs to share the DSL transparently. However in the case of a school, concerns over the content available on the net prompted us to investigate other options which would allow the blocking of XXX and other objectionable sites.

One option would be to install software such as Intego ContentBarrier on each Mac. However, this would require individual installation on each machine, and keeping every Mac updated would be a challenge. Plus, there’s the possibility of the software being circumvented by the users. A centralized solution would be more preferable.

After doing some research, I found the SonicWALL Pro 100, a firewall and DSL router which performs a similar function as the Linksys, but in addition offers a Content Filtering Subscription to CyberPatrol’s CyberNOT List, ideal for educational institutions. The CyberNOT List classifies objectionable material into 12 categories from a dynamically updated database of over 1.5 million URLs.

This enables the SonicWALL device to monitor usage and control access to unproductive and objectionable Web content according to established criteria. Every week, the SonicWALL automatically accesses the CyberNOT list and updates its list of URLs, without any manual intervention. You can set the Content Filter to allow/deny access to the following categories.

• Violence/Profanity (graphics or text)
• Partial Nudity
• Full Nudity
• Sexual Acts (graphics or text)
• Gross Depictions (graphics or text)
• Intolerance (graphics or text)
• Satanic/Cult (graphics or text)
• Drugs/Drug Culture (graphics or text)
• Militant/Extremist (graphics or text)
• Sex Education (graphics or text)
• Questionable/Illegal Gambling (graphics or text)
• Alcohol & Tobacco (graphics or text)

The Network Administrator can specify domains or hosts (e.g., “yahoo.com”) that can access can be allowed (“Trusted”) or denied (“Forbidden”). This feature can be used to customize the Content Filter List, or to allow Web access to sites on a custom list. With careful screening, this can be close to 100% effective at blocking objectionable material.

The SonicWALL can optionally scan both the filename field and host field for specific keywords, and block any requests that contain them. For example, if the administrator enters the keyword “sex,” access to sites such as http://www.hotsex.com will be blocked. When a site is blocked, a customized screen is displayed instead of the site, explaining that the site has been blocked.

Overall, I am impressed by the SonicWALL. It is easily configured via a web browser, and offers many firewall options. There are three ports – the WAN port connects to the Ethernet port on the DSL modem. The LAN port connects to the Ethernet network. A third port, labeled DMZ, allows internal and external access to a web server. A log file is emailed to the administrator every day, so I can see the many intrusion attempts and viruses which have been blocked by the firewall, as well as attempts to access banned sites. The SonicWALL Pro 100 Education model, available for about $1000, includes the first year’s Content Filter Subscription; after that it’s approx $400/year. Not cheap, but the peace of mind it offers is worth it!

First appeared at http://www.mactalent.com

Doug Noble is the founder of MacTalent.com, the leading job site for
Macintosh experts. MacTalent offers resume posting, free job postings and
free searching of talent and job pages for “MacTalented” people. MacTalent
also provides professional website hosting, email services with webmail and
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After the deal closes around the end of June, Linksys will be operated as a division of Cisco, but will continue to be led by its ceo, Victor Tsao.

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