Firefox looks like it's for real if 50 million downloads mean anything. Apparently, the newest alternative browser has 10.3% of the browser market while IE has dropped to 83.1% from 84.8% since the beginning of the year. If I could be so brave to make a suggestion to the Firefox development community, it would be to provide multiple pre-configured versions: lite (with no extensions), medium (some basic extensions) and large (lots of extensions for newbies).

An intriguing exercise is trying to read into 8x8 Inc.'s decision to keep the price of its Packet8 VideoPhone at at $99 following a promotional program. 8x8 said the decision is prompted by "favorable consumer demand" to a plan that is part a $19.95 a month, two-year service contract. The key question is how much of a hardware subsidy 8x8 is offering to attract consumers. The company believes the two-year contract concept is the right way to go given its success in the wireless phone business. Maybe this is the right way to go for 8x8, which was recently rated as offering the highest quality VOIP service. With competition mounting from all sides, 8x8 needs a competitive edge to stay viable. Otherwise, it will be destined to be a niche player - if it already isn't.

According to Rogers Cable's Michael Lee, there are problems with Primus Canada's VOIP software - which could account for QoS issues. QoS is becoming a bigger issue as VOIP service providers such as Vonage complain their packets being blocked to de-prioritized by broadband network operators. Lee said there are no regulations to stop this kind of behaviour, and currently no plans to implement packet prioritization policies. It is interesting Lee gave Rogers with some wiggle room in the future to do tiered service if push comes to shove. While it's tempting for a carrier or cableco to favor their own applications and services, the best product should be allowed to rule the roost. If Rogers' VOIP service, which will come out by "mid-year", can't compete with Vonage, then Rogers needs to improve its offering. The silver lining for any network provider is the consumer has to pay them for the broadband connection, which gives the provider the opportunity to promote Web-based services and applications, including voice. On another VOIP note, PC Magazine's Lance Ulanoff is getting some flack and some praise for a column he wrote on why he doesn't have VOIP at home. He cites reasons such as 911 access, local number portability and the chance of a power outage. While I have VOIP in my office, I haven't switched over in my home. Why? Perhaps the biggest reason is the cost of telephone service is reasonable in Canada so I haven't been totally swayed by the marketing messages of VOIP yet. Another reason is the aggravation of switching carriers given how busy our lives are these days. While I can keep my existing number, I'm not sure my wife would be thrilled if we had to survive on using a cell phone until our number was ported over.

While Nortel will file its 2004 fourth-quarter and annual results today with the SEC, analysts will have to wait until 8 a.m. Monday for a conference call with CEO Bill Owens and CFO Peter Currie. It is certainly not the best scenario for analysts who likely have to spend the weekend pouring over financial statments - if they are actually available - to prepare for the conference call. To appease the analyst community, Nortel would do itself a lot of good by holding a lenghty call to allow for plenty of questions. The 25-minute, four-question conference call earlier this week to announce the US$448-million acquisition of PEC Solutions Inc. left much to be desired. Perhaps Nortel is so focused on internal processes, it has lost touch with external perception. It's out there and it's becoming a factor if the Nortel's failure to win any of the US$19 billion BT contract is any indication.