Adobe

Flash gets its VoIP due

Doug Mohney — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 22:23:23 -0400

Phweet is the most infamous example of Flash bringing VoIP into web-based applications, but there are a number of other sites using Adobe's technology to incorporate telephony into the web.

Raketu is one of the newer companies, as it uses Adobe Flash in its recently released RakOut WebPhone service, says a VoIP News piece conducting inventory. Previously, Raketu had used a PC-based client for VoIP-based services, but a browser-based solution opens up the world of Mac (and iPhone) and Linux users to Raketu's network for lower cost VoIP calls.

Other companies tapping into the power of Flash include Ribbit and Adobe themselves for its free ConnectNow web conferencing services. Ribbit built VoIP into their services using Flash as a foundation block while Adobe's web conferencing services delivers both voice and video communication through Flash.

Of course, Phweet has generated more than its share of attention over the past week by using Flash to conduct VoIP calls as an end-around for call filtering conducted by Aircell's Gogo in-flight broadband service. In theory, any VoIP-incorporating Flash-based app should be able to get around Gogo's filtering as of last week; needless to say, Aircell is working on countermeasures to keep American Airlines cabins quiet and calm.

For more:
- VoIP News gives Flash its due. Article

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SPOTLIGHT: A Phweet conspiracy?

Doug Mohney — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:12:29 -0400

Twitter users can now VoIP directly to their contacts via broadband using a new service called Phweet. Chronic bloggers Andy Abramson and Jeff Pulver tossed up posts for the new service within 24 hours.

Pulver, a big lover of social media these days, embraces Phweet as a natural extension of Twitter.

Abramson pulled a bigger rabbit out of his hat, setting up an in-flight call with a journalist onboard an American Airlines Aircell demo flight. Andy says Phweet is written in Adobe Flash, so unless Aircell wants to filter all Flash traffic - a very ugly prospect given how embedded the software is around the web - Phweet and other Flash voice services will be an open hole to conduct in-flight voice calls.

For more:
- Jeff Pulver's little Phweet call
- Andy Abramson establishes an in-flight VoIP call with Phweet.

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The power of VoIP in Adobe Flash 10

Doug Mohney — Sun, 18 May 2008 22:07:43 -0400

Adobe Flash 10 beta is being credited with super powers with the inclusion of peer to peer (P2P) and the ability to seamlessly integrate VoIP without a Skype install. Using P2P, Flash sites will be able to serve higher quality video than YouTube at a fraction of the cost. VoIP is enabled by a combination of the Speex audio codec and the Real Time Media Flow Protocol (RTMFP).

Anyone in the client-side VoIP space is vulnerable, says Adam Fisk. Writing a VoIP app now becomes as easy as writing a Flash video play, with all the "hard stuff" already done. And since it's in Flash, you don't need to worry about a separate install--unlike Skype. Finally, the code is not based on SIP or P2P-SIP in any way. Adobe's SIP work has so far only been shown in Adobe Pacifica, not in the Flash Player.

Adobe has put a lot of money into SIP, including the hiring of Dr. Henry Sinnreich, the "Godfather" of SIP. There has been continued talk Adobe would be offering some sort of service revolving around SIP, but the company has yet to make any official announcements. If Adobe could implement a P2P CDN and/or P2P-SIP infrastructure through Flash, it would be a serious game changer.

For more:
- Adam Fisk's blog on Flash 10 Beta being a YouTube, Skype, and BitTorrent Killer
- GigaOm chimes in on Flash P2P being disruptive; comment reading recommended.
- A prediction Flash based VoiP, Adobe please wakeup!
- A Spartan Adobe Pacifica Blog

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