Virtual PBX Names New Officials

Virtual PBX, hosted PBX solutions provider recently announced that it has two new officials taking posts within its ranks. Lon Baker and Vincent Escamilla have stepped up to the respective roles of vice president of product development and director of operations.

Escamilla will have several new responsibilities in his role as director of operations – he will focus on network operations, network resource and IT management and carrier and vendor relations. Paul Hammond, chief executive officer of Virtual PBX said in a statement:

"Both Lon and Vincent have the technology experience along with the verve to help Virtual PBX continue pioneering into new markets."

"Their contributions allow us to further our development within the hosted PBX and VoIP markets, and each has proven to be invaluable to our future success," Hammond added.

Baker was in the position of director of product management, overseeing the company's entry into the VoIP market. Prior to Virtual PBX, he was an entrepreneur and founded MailTank.com, an e-mail management service.

At MailTank.com, Baker was a Virtual PBX customer for nearly 10 years. In his new role as vice president of product management, Baker will be responsible for the day-to-day development of products and services and will help to architect all of the company's new product offerings.

Escamilla has been with Virtual PBX for over six years and previously held the position of technical support manager, primarily working with new customers. Prior to Virtual PBX, Escamilla worked as a customer support consultant at Knight Ridder Digital and as a Web QA analyst at HorseCentral, LCC.

Here’s Virtual PBX Press Release:

Virtual PBX Names Lon Baker Vice President of Product Development and Vincent Escamilla Director of Operations

( www.virtualpbx.com/index.asp ), the inventor and leading supplier of hosted business phone services, today announced the promotions of Lon Baker and Vincent Escamilla. Baker will serve as the company's vice president of product development and Escamilla will hold the position of director of operations.

"Both Lon and Vincent have the technology experience along with the verve to help Virtual PBX continue pioneering into new markets," said Paul Hammond, CEO of Virtual PBX. "Their contributions allow us to further our development within the hosted PBX and VoIP markets, and each has proven to be invaluable to our future success."

For the past year, Baker held the position of director of product management, overseeing the company's entry into the VoIP market. Prior to Virtual PBX, he was an entrepreneur and founded MailTank.com, an e-mail management service. At MailTank.com, Baker was a Virtual PBX customer for nearly 10 years. In his new role as vice president of product management, Baker will be responsible for the day-to-day development of products and services and will help to architect all of the company's new product offerings.

Escamilla has been with Virtual PBX for over six years and previously held the position of technical support manager, primarily working with new customers. Prior to Virtual PBX, Escamilla worked as a customer support consultant at Knight Ridder Digital and as a Web QA analyst at HorseCentral, LCC. In his new role as director of operations, Escamilla will focus on network operations, including management of IT and network resources, and he will manage all vendor and carrier relations.

Woman illegally fired over Facebook Post

A Connecticut woman was illegally fired over her Facebook post disparaging remarks about her boss. A case was filed by federal authorities saying her comments are protected speech under labor laws. The Connecticut woman’s case is a first-of-its-kind legal case according to reports.

The National Labor Relations Board alleges that American Medical Response of Connecticut Inc. illegally fired Dawnmarie Souza from her job as an emergency medical technician late last year after she criticized her supervisor on her personal Facebook page and then traded Facebook messages about the negative comments with other employees.

The complaint, filed Oct. 27 by the board's Hartford, Conn., regional office, could set a precedent for employers to heed as more workers use social networking sites to share details about their jobs. Lafe Solomon, the board's acting general counsel said:

"It's the same as talking at the water cooler. The point is that employees have protection under the law to talk to each other about conditions at work."

Federal labor law has long protected employees against reprisal for talking to co-workers on their own time about their jobs and working conditions, including remarks that may be critical of managers. The law applies whether or not workers are covered by a union.

NLRB officials claim the Connecticut ambulance company has an unlawful policy that prohibits employees from making disparaging remarks about supervisors and depicting the company "in any way" over the Internet without permission.

"This is the first complaint we've issued over comments on Facebook, but I have no doubt that we'll be seeing more," Solomon said. "We have to develop policies as we go in this fast-changing environment."

The trouble for Souza started when her supervisor asked her to prepare an investigative report when a customer complained about her work, according to the complaint. Souza claimed she was denied representation by her union, the Teamsters Local 443.

Later that day, Souza logged onto her Facebook page from a home computer and wrote:

"Looks like I'm getting some time off. Love how the company allows a 17 to be a supervisor."

A 17 is the code the company uses for a psychiatric patient. Souza also referred to her supervisor with two expletives. Her remarks drew supportive Facebook postings from other colleagues.

John Barr, an attorney representing the company, said the real reason Souza was fired was because of two separate complaints about her "rude and discourteous service" within a 10-day period. He said Souza would have been fired whether the Facebook comments were made or not.

Barr said the company understands that workers have right to talk about wages and working conditions. But he said it stands by its policy against employees discussing the company on the Internet, including social media sites.

"If you're going to make disgusting, slanderous statements about co-workers, that is something that our policy does not allow," Barr said.

Jonathan Kreisberg, director of the board's regional office in Hartford, said the company's policy is overly broad. He acknowledged that the law protecting worker speech has some limits, such as not allowing employees to disrupt the workplace or engage in threatening conduct. But Kreisberg argued that Souza's Facebook comments did not cross a legal line.

"Here she was on her own time, on her own computer and on her own Facebook page making these comments," Kreisberg said. "If employees are upset about their supervisor and get together on their own time talk about him, criticize and call him names, they can do that."

A hearing on the case before an administrative law judge is set for Jan. 25.

Google Redraws Nicaraguan Border After Dispute Arises

Google Maps has retraced the border between two Central American countries after a territory dispute developed. Google on Friday night said it had updated the digital border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica with new data from the U.S. State Department. This follows a dispute that developed between those two countries over a piece of land near the San Juan River, on the Caribbean Coast.

A Nicaraguan official cited the Google Maps version of the border as justification for a reported raid of the area, according to local news. Google said in a statement issued on its Lat Long Blog, which covers mapping technology:

"It is our goal to provide the most accurate, up-to-date maps possible. Maps are created using a variety of data sources, and there are inevitably going to be errors in that data."

"We work hard to correct any errors as soon as we discover them."

Google says the U.S. State Department provided the faulty data. The tech company updated the map by requesting that the federal department update its information to reflect agreed-upon treaties.

The Google blog says:

"Once our updates go live in Google Earth and Maps we will be depicting the border according to the most recent and definitive records available."

"But as we know, cartography is a complex undertaking, and borders are always changing. We remain committed to updating our maps as needed."

Samsung 3DTV Unveiled

Would like to have a 3D TV at home? It is now available on movies and games but with Samsung’s 3DTV, it will soon be available at home.

Samsung’s 70-inch “Ultra Definition” 3DTV was developed with oxide semiconductor TFT technology and a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels. Samsung is touting the monster display as the “world’s first” 70-inch ultra-def 240Hz LCD panel. It’s difficult to think of any others like this, so they might just be right.

Unfortunately, no word yet on when this incredible piece of display technology will be available for consumers. Given that you need 3D glasses to fully make use of this Samsung panel, it is more likely to head for homes than commercial uses, at least until everyone starts walking around with 3D spectacles in their pockets.

Gingerbread Arrives

The long wait for Android 2.3 is almost over. Alvaro Fuentes Vasquez tweets yesterday that the Android 2. 3 (Gingerbread) is arriving in the next few days.

"Prepare your Nexus One (developer version) for Android over-the-air update 2.3 (Gingerbread) for the next few days."

Although, it can't be immediately confirmed that Vasquez or his prediction is for real but, Vasquez states on his LinkedIn page that he's been a member of the "leadership team and usability" for the Open Handset Alliance for the past two years. His blog seems to back up his credentials as a developer. And no one has cried foul yet on the original blog post regarding Vasquez's tweet or in an Android forum.

Neither Vasquez nor Google immediately responded to request for comment.
The comments made by Vasquez follow recent rumors suggesting Android 2.3 would be released on November 11. Those rumors say the version known as Gingerbread will feature an improved design, rather than deliver a slew of new features for the mobile OS. However, Gingerbread is expected to deliver WebM support and better copy-and-paste.

But until we see Gingerbread launch or hear from Google, consider this still a rumor.

Motorola Droid Pro Preorder Begins Tomorrow

The long wait is over as the Motorola Droid Pro preorder starts tomorrow. Yes, you read it right, Verizon Wireless announced today that the Motorola Droid Pro will be available for preorder starting tomorrow.

Verizon Wireless said customers will be able to preorder the smartphone at Verizon Wireless stores or on the company's Web site. Those who want to wait can buy the Droid Pro on November 18 when it officially goes on sale. The Droid Pro will retail for $179.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a two-year contract, Verizon said.

The Android 2.2-based Droid Pro, which sports a 1GHz processor and 5-megapixel camera, is a world phone. Customers should be able to access voice service in over 220 countries around the globe, and data can be used in more than 200 countries. According to Verizon, 120 of those countries offers 3G connectivity.

The device is designed with business customers in mind. It comes with Quickoffice Mobile Suite, which allows customers to create and edit Office files, among other features. It also offers 3G Mobile HotSpot functionality, allowing up to five devices to connect to the Internet through the smartphone's 3G connection.

Verizon's announcement of the Droid Pro's launch date doesn't come as much of a surprise. Since the device was first unveiled in October, rumors have been swirling that the carrier would make preorders available on November 9 and launch the device on November 18.