In-built Fax over IP supported in GoldBolt FaxSkape Fax Server

Today I have been testing the latest build of the Goldbolt FaxSkape Fax Server. It is now at version 7.0 and since build 11162.570 it also supports Fax over IP. It includes support for SIP over UDP with RTP, T.38 and G.711a/u codecs.

The module having all this is cleverly called FaxSkape over IP which also has another proprietary Fax over IP system which is very simple to use yet it only supports sending to other GoldBolt FaxSkape Fax Servers but it has speeds up to 33600bps. It is a neat feature if you have multiple fax servers scattered around your offices and wish to have cost-free faxing between your offices.

Windows 7 First Impressions

I have used Windows 7 for about 10 hours in total. My first impression was that this was Vista version 2 but after a while I was really impressed by the performance of this Operating System. On the same machine I had Vista and comparing the performance of the 2 was made easier.

It was a breath of fresh air compared to Vista. All the Aero UI changes are very noticeable. Taskbar/Title bar remains transparent when maximized, Flip 3D is 100% faster, Snap to borders, Window shake, Taskbar previews they are all amazingly well done. The side bar was removed for a better gadget-based interface which gives more desktop room.

But the best feature that really made this version of the OS better is the configurable User Access Control (UAC) which was the most tedious thing in an operating system since Windows ME...

All in all, after using Windows 7 for just about 10 hours, I give it my thumbs up and I recommend it to anyone.

FaxSkape now supports Windows 7

It has been a year since my last post. It was a very busy year but now I'm back and I should be posting more frequently.

I'm writing about GoldBolt Software's FaxSkape Fax Server again. Windows 7 is now fully supported by version 6, although only business and ultimate are supported, it really does make sense for a server product. I have personally tested this on Windows 7 and it looks and works great! In addition to Windows 7, Windows 2008, 2003, 2000, Vista and XP are also supported.

GoldBolt Software FaxSkape Fax Server is the all-in-one fax and messaging solution that makes sending and receiving faxes a simpler and cheaper process with a very low cost investment. FaxSkape eliminates all the problems of manual faxing including physically printing documents, walking to the fax machine, waiting for the fax to go through, trying again in case of a busy line etc… All this can now be done from the client machine by just using the email client or the FaxSkape fax client.

Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4.0

And here we go again. Microsoft just announced some information about its next generation development tools dubbed Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0.

These tools should arrive late 2009 to mid-2010 with the same schedule as Windows 7.

More information can be found here

'SuperSpeed' USB 3.0 is soon with us!

Are you tired of slow USB speeds? Well with the new USB version 3.0, dubbed 'SuperSpeed', you won't be disappointed. The new specification boosts speeds up to ten times that of USB 2.0!!!

The new USB standard is backward and forward compatible with USB 1.0 and USB 2.0 but while the older USB standards run on 4 wires, the new standard adds 5 new wires to that for a total of 9 wires. The USB plug is still the standard rectangular plug we all know and love but the difference is that it seems deeper so that to allow the extra 5 pins.  

The additional 5 pins increase the thickness of the USB cable which makes it more like a UTP cable. The reason for the new wires are to implement high speed, full-duplex, high-speed communications over separate data links for concurrent bi-directional communication.

The new port standard also gives you more power; The current limit has been increased from 500mA to a whopping 900mA which gives you more power to charge your devices or makes it possible to eliminate some external power supplies for high power devices.

The USB standard will be available for hardware manufacturers by mid 2009 and for consumers by early 2010. We will be eagerly waiting...

Click here for more information

Lack of 64-bit support

I don't know what is happenning to the computing industry but 64-bit is here and is to stay. The first 64-bit capable processor from AMD came in April 2003 as the Opteron, so all machines from the last 5-6 years are 64-bit capable, so, I ask, why are you not supporting it? In processor age, this is 'a lot'. 

64-bit is a good platform that does not just offer more memory access but it also offers faster execution of code than 32-bit. Microsoft provides WOW64 for 32-bit compatibility which is good to keep making 32-bit applications but the implications and the constant switching from 32 to 64-bit makes any process suffer including the actual operating system.

The open-source community does have 64-bit support BUT mostly for Linux. Why not also Windows? In my experience working with 64-bit, it is not very difficult to support the 64-bit operating systems, so what is holding back?

I sure hope that next year we will have more 64-bit applications including the most popular ones which people use the most.

Windows 2008 Desktop Edition?

I have just installed Windows 2008 64-bit and it feels like I'm flying. Believe me this new OS from Microsoft really rocks your PC. Even though Microsoft says that it is derived from Vista SP1, it does not feel like it. And by the way, this is a server OS so it should be more powerful than a desktop OS and slower as a desktop in theory. There are no fancy user interfaces, just plain vanilla Windows but you can still install the Aero theme (which I did) and it still remains much faster than Vista. All the standard features are there including the annoying but helpful User Access Control.

The setup is a custom-built Intel Dual-core 2.4Ghz PC with 2GB RAM with NVidia nForce 610i chipset with on-board NVidia GeForce 7050 GPU and one SATA hard drive which is quite a standard setup nowadays.

I assure you if Microsoft removes all the server stuff and renames it Windows 2008 Desktop Edition, it will be a much better hit than Vista! Don't get me wrong, I do like Vista, but alas it leaves much to be desired in terms of speed and compatibility.

I'm quite fond of this setup and I am really hoping that Microsoft considers a release of Windows 2008 Desktop Edition as an interim OS before the so called Windows 7.