STATIC IP ADDRESSES - 4 THINGS YOU'LL NEED ONE FOR

                      This is a guest post from Kip ( BroadbandCompare.com.au )

                            Most of the time, Internet and network users can operate without even thinking about IP addresses. This is because most systems dynamically allocate available addresses behind the scenes using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), so all you have to do is plug in your device and enjoy. Once configured, DHCP works within the parameters of IP networking standards, to manage all the addresses on a given network. When a device connects to the network, the DHCP server will give it a new IP address which could be different from the one it had before.

DHCP works well for most machines and devices, but some services require their address to remain the same so that users and other devices always know where to find them. Such an address is static, meaning that a machine will keep the same IP address even after rebooting. Here you will read more about static IP addresses and 4 things you will need one for.

1. Voice over IP (VoIP) phone systems: Because many networks segment their VoIP phones onto separate IP networks, you will often find that they are configured with static IP addresses. The static IP addressing scheme is used to prevent phones from accessing network DHCP servers and thus configuring themselves on the host data network rather than on the voice network. VoIP phone systems use features such as VLAN and priority tagging as well as Quality of Service (QoS) implementations to guarantee the best possible performance for voice packets on a network.

Another reason static IP addresses are used with VoIP phone systems is to correlate a phone with a specific user. Because the phone always has the same address, locating resource conflicts on the network is easy when they occur. Also, network administrators can restrict the IP addresses that are useable on the voice network to prevent the addition of unapproved devices on the voice network that could degrade its performance.

2. Self hosting websites: When you sign up for a hosting service, your server is usually assigned a static IP address. This is important because you are able to access your site at any time, even if it doesn’t have a domain assigned to it (or if your domain name expires). You can access FTP and other services by using your server’s IP address so when and if you assign a domain name to it, your server will be ready to go.

Static IP addresses are important to most servers, even in home and corporate environments. Administrators, client PCs and other services need to know where network resources are located at all times, so dynamic addressing usually won’t work for things like the mail server, DNS server, voice server, gateways, and other devices. Giving these services static addresses make sure that network services are always accessible.

3. Remote access: If you need to access a machine remotely using remote services, Terminal Server, VNC, or other solutions, you will usually need to know the static IP address of that machine in order to connect to it. Just think of how difficult remote access would be if a remote access server was configured for dynamic addressing: every time its address expires or the machine reboots it would get a new address which remote users would have no way of discovering, creating obvious connectivity and productivity problems.

 

4. Gaming servers: Servers that host games must have a known IP address so players can connect their games to host servers. When gamers choose to enter multiplayer environments, their game asks them to input the IP address of the server. Without a static IP address, the gaming server will routinely change addresses, leaving many gamers disappointed with the inability to play.

These 4 services are just some examples of the many things that you might find that either require a static IP address or work best with one. Keep these services in mind so when you need to configure them you will have some static addresses ready to assign.

Kip is a freelance writer who currently writes about ADSL broadband for BroadbandCompare.com.au.

GOOGLE VOICE

Google releases so many products—most of them free—that it’s easy to overlook one that’s really special. Google Voice qualifies.

Thanks to its features and competitive potential, Google’s relatively new service has been quietly sending tremors throughout the telephony industry.

And Google Voice—a service that’s like a supercharged telephone number that you can use from your cell phone, smartphone, or from Gmail—is gaining traction, offering features that are either unavailable with other phone numbers or available only at a fee.

There is, though, a bit of bad news—at least for some. Currently, Google Voice is only available in the US.
However, the internet is full of workarounds for international users who sign up for the service via virtual private networks (VPN). And once a number is procured , the service can be used freely.

Moreover, Google plans to roll out Voice internationally . The only question is when.
But whether you get Google Voice now or in the near future, it’s likely to make you rethink your current phone setup —or , at the least, to provide you with some attractive, free options for enhancing how you use your existing lines. So what can the telephony product do for you?

AGGREGATE PHONE NUMBERS

Anyone who juggles multiple phone lines and hates missing calls will love Google Voice. Once you have a Google Voice phone number, you can set it up so that any calls you receive on the service will automatically ring all of your other telephones, acting as a real-time call-forwarding system. If there’s a telephone nearby, you’ll get the call.

INTELLIGENT VOICEMAIL

Google Voice takes voicemail to a new level, thanks to a number of features that will be a boon to those frequently playing voicemail phone-tag.

One feature allows you to set up personalised greetings for particular callers or particular types of callers.
So, for instance, you might want to set up a fairly formal greeting for business associates, while friends and family would hear a whimsical voicemail message , complete with music and sound effects.

Even more useful, however, is Google Voice’s ability to transcribe voicemail messages into text. With this enabled, you could automatically receive an email transcription of a voicemail message while you’re in a meeting.

You’ll also have an instant record of all voicemail messages received—thanks to Google Voice’s integration with Gmail—and you can easily forward a voicemail message by email as well.

The transcription capability in Google Voice is a transformative feature that might make you say goodbye to listening to voicemail messages the usual way, and it works surprisingly well.

CALL SCREENING

For anyone who hates the peremptory nature of carry-everywhere cell phones and smartphones , Google’s call-screening feature will be welcome. With it, you can preview who is calling and then determine whether to answer the phone or send the person directly to voicemail. The choice is one-touch simple.

Voice also makes it easier than traditional phone services to block particular callers. Can’t seem to shake pesky calls from a business or acquaintance? Just select the record of the calls in Gmail, and follow the instructions for blocking unwanted calls.

USING GOOGLE VOICE

Once you’ve set up a Google Voice number, there are multiple ways that you can use it. Firstly, it is available as an internet-based application, through your Gmail or iGoogle account, with a simple and clear interface.

In this sense it’s very much a competitor of Skype, which up to now had pretty much locked up the internet telephony market.

Skype still has the edge over Google Voice in some ways. In particular, there’s no video conferencing feature in Google, whereas in Skype, oneon-one video calls are easy and fun.

Google Voice’s conferencing feature - which requires adding additional callers to your current call as the calls come - is arguably less friendly than Skype’s as well.

But Google Voice’s crowning achievement is that it can be used from most smartphones—removing you from the need to be at your computer to make or receive calls and potentially cutting down drastically on your cell phone bill.

BlackBerry, Android, and Nokia users can point their phone’s browser to m.google.com/search to get the right version of Google Voice installed on their phone. iPhone users need to get Google Voice from iTunes.

Once installed on your smartphone, though, most of what makes Google Voice worth having is available at your fingertips, no matter where you are. That’s why, once fully rolled out, Google Voice may just be the next must-have app for the masses.

GOOGLE INSTANT--A NEW ADVANCEMENT TO GOOGLE SEARCH

The freshly launched Google Instant is the latest search innovation added to Google Search engine that is destined to make the search engine smarter and humans lazier.

Google Instant combines three core features - dynamic results, auto-complete predictions and scroll-to-search functionality. This new interface combined with infrastructure enhancement claims to save up to 5 seconds on a typical search query.

Web search giant Google has made its newest real-time search innovation - Google Instant available for the Indian domain. New Google Instant search stands up to its name and literally makes every other search engine look outmoded.

Last month, Google Instant was launched on Google.com domain. You can check out the Google Instant by visiting Google India search - www.google.co.in.

Note that Google Instant is only available on Google Chrome web browser and we don't know how long will Google take to bring Instant for other browsers as well.

In recent times, almost every browser comes with a search engine box next to the address bar or web search incorporated in the address bar itself. People who visit Google.co.in regularly will easily notice this change.

Google stated that after enabling Google Instant, people had adjusted to the new search experience and looked at their search queries without hitting the enter key.

Though this new search experience is meant to make users happy, many aren't pleased with the new Google Instant. Hackers took up the challenging task to find out and compiled a lengthy list of blacklisted keywords to which Google Instant doesn't respond.

Google Instant remains to be Google Search home page experience and isn't included in the Google Chrome's Omnibox (Address bar that incorporates search).

SPANKING NEWS FOR CAR LOVERS--"FIAT LINEA T-JET"

The next generation Linea T-Jet is launched by Fiat India Automobiles on Friday(08-10-2010).The company claims, that the car will redefine the luxury standards and performance.

The Fiat Linea will be the first car in the premium sedan segment to vaunt a turbo charged petrol engine and the car vaunts a new T-Jet engine with imported power train delivering 114 PS and a torque of 207 Nm.

The Fiat Linea T-Jet with 13 new features and seven class leading equipment sets new benchmarks in the areas of performance, safety, comfort, ride , handling and in-car infotainment.

Fiat India will initially focus on two of the most important markets- Mumbai/ Pune and Delhi/National Capital Region, which constitute 60 per cent sales volume in the C plus segment.

In terms of safety, it offers standard four disc brakes, dual airbags, ABS with EBD. It has bigger 16 inch alloy wheels with wider 205/55 R16 tyres and longest wheel base of 2603mm and enhanced ground clearance of 170mm.

Speaking at the launch, Fiat India Automobiles President and CEO Rajeev Kapoor said, “The Linea T-Jet is a product that has been refined according to the feedback received from existing and potential customers.It literally sets a benchmark in the C plus segment with its robust engine and the never ending list of features. Linea T-Jet is sure to give competition in the C plus segment, a run for its money.”

The Linea T-Jet is available in eight colours and will be available at Tata Fiat showrooms in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and the NCR before it is launched in a phased wise manner across the country.

As a special introductory price for the two variants, the T Jet is priced at Rs.8.84 lakh (ex-Mumbai) and the T Jet Plus at Rs.9.29 lakh (ex-Mumbai) while the same products are priced at Rs.8.55 lakh and Rs.8.99 lakh ex-Delhi, respectively.