Text4Help Press Release: What is SIP? Session Initiation Protocol........Is this the Future of Telecom?

 

 

 

 

SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) is a protocol used in VoIP communications allowing users to make voice and video calls, mostly for free. I’ll keep the definition in this article to something simple and practical. If you want a more technical insight of SIP, read its profile.

Why Use SIP?

SIP allows people around the world to communicate using their computers and mobile devices over the Internet. It is an important part of Internet Telephony and allows you to harness the benefits of VoIP (voice over IP) and have a rich communication experience.

But the most interesting benefit we derive from SIP is the cutting down of communication costs. Calls (voice or video) between SIP users are free, worldwide. There are no boundaries and no restrictive laws or charges. Even the SIP apps and SIP addresses are obtained free.

SIP as a protocol is also very powerful and efficient in many ways. Many organizations use SIP for their internal and external communication, centered around a PBX.

How SIP Works

Practically, here it goes. You get a SIP address, you get a SIP client on your computer of mobile device, plus whatever else is necessary (see the list below). Then you need to configure your SIP client. There are a number of technical stuff to set, but the configuration wizards nowadays make things really easy. Just have your SIP credentials ready and fill the fields whenever required and you will be set in a minute.

What is Required?

If you want to communicate through SIP, you need the following:

• A SIP address/account. This is obtained free from many providers. Just register online.
• 
  
• A SIP client. This is a program that you install on your computer or mobile device. It contains softphone functionality and some other features and provides an interface for you to communicate. There are different types of SIP clients. Among the most common ones are the applications offered free by VoIP service providers, to use with their VoIP services. Some of them support SIP. But you have clients that are built for SIP and do not depend on any service. You can use them with any SIP account, and can even use them within a PBX environment. Here is a list of the most popular free SIP clients on the market., and here is how to configure a SIP client.

• An Internet connection. With sufficient bandwidth for voice and video communication. Not much is required for voice communication, especially if you are using enhanced codecs for low bandwidth consumption, but you need solid bandwidth for voice communication. You will prefer a DSL connection.
• Hearing and talking devices. You need what it takes to get your voice through and to hear what is being said, and what is being presented in images. A headset, earpieces, a microphone and a web cam for video communication.
• Buddies to talk to. Maybe this is the first item in the list that’s checked. You may have buddies, but they need to be using SIP too, if you want the calls to be free. Share the SIP addresses just like you do phone numbers.

How About Skype and The Other VoIP Providers?

VoIP is a wide and expanding industry. SIP is part of it, a building block (and a strong one) in the structure, possibly one of the pillars of VoIP. But along with SIP, there are a number of other signaling protocols used for voice and video communication on IP networks. For instance, Skype uses its own P2P architecture, as do some other service providers.

But luckily most VoIP service providers support SIP both in their services (that is, they give you SIP addresses) and the VoIP client apps they offer to be used with their services.

Although Skype does offer SIP functions, you will want to try some other service and client for SIP, since what Skype proposes is paid and intended for businesses. There are so many SIP address providers and SIP clients out there that you won’t need Skype for SIP communication. Just check on their web sites, if they do support it, they’ll make it a must to tell you.

So, go ahead and take a SIP.

 by Nadeem Unuth

Updated April 28, 2017 

 

Nadeem is an ICT enthusiast, specializing in technical writing, software development and wireless networking. He has been a lecturer on various computer-related subjects since 2001. He is also very conversant with latest technologies, including IP telephony. 

 

 https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-sip-3426669

Text4Help Press Release - Rocky Mount Telegram Highlights Uncle Milton From Do it For the Kids The Golden Platter

Singer entertains at train station

Milton Bullock, right, performs with Peter Somerwine on Wednesday during the Motown Memory Lane Showcase at the Helen P. Gay Rocky Mount Historic Train Station.

by LINDELL JOHN KAY
Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Lucky rail travelers passing through the Rocky Mount Train Station are treated once a week to a blast from the past in the person of a world-famous local crooner.
Milton Bullock was born and raised in Edgecombe County. His adventures as a member of the Motown group The Platters took him all over the world, landing him as a guest on Johnny Carson, producing music with Prince and creating a children's charity with the late great Mohammad Ali.
All that history is wrapped up in a neat package when Bullock performs the Motown Memory Lane Showcase from 10 a.m. 1 p.m. every Wednesday. The show is held in conjunction with the Twin County Museum and Hall of Fame, which is located inside the Train Station.
The classic set includes music from the early Rock and Roll era like favorite chart-toppers “Only You” and “The Great Pretender.”
Bullock was inducted into the local Hall of Fame in 2006.
“We get a super reaction,” Mae Parker, the museum's curator, said of Bullock's show.
Parker said groups from Raleigh including the Redhat Ladies have come to see Bullock perform his greatest hits.
“We have people come for anniversaries and birthdays and ask Milton to sing their favorite songs,” Parker said.
Folks waiting on their trains will often start dancing to Bullock's songs, said B. Farmer, a ticket clerk for Amtrak.
Bullock, now performing as the Golden Platter, is featured in the most recent edition of North Carolina's Eastern Living Magazine. He uses his celebrity status to inspire at-risk youth with his “Do It For The Kids” organization.
Bullock said he's looking forward to volunteering as an Amtrak Train Host once he finishes training later this month. The program is supported by N.C. Transportation Department.
“The impact is tremendous and I'm honored to be a potential part of its success,” Bullock said.
With four to six trips a year, Bullock will get a chance to meet fans and tell folks about the many great things the Twin Counties has to offer.
“Who knows, I may even give the passengers a mini rendition of “'Only You,'” Bullock said.
Bullock is a proud native of Tarboro and product of the Edgecombe County Public School System.
Bullock is a town commissioner in Princeville. His current charity project is bringing the historical Candy Bomber to the Rocky Mount-Wilson Airport for local students to tour the world-famous C-54 plane that played a crucial role in the Berlin airlift in 1948-49. Inside the plane is a museum filled with historical artifacts, displays and information.

  

Pictured in the very middle is Sam Williams II. One of the original members of Do it For the Kids.  And founder of Text4help.org.  (ME lol)

Gotta love Uncle Milt.  He paved the way for me and many others.  I vow to continue this work with or without funding.  Lives are at stake.  And as long as he keeps singing peace will still be attainable.

This man is a saint and has done so much for the world that has been over looked.  Uncle Milt is a blessing to the world.  I look forward to seeing how we can learn from his example.

Do better. Do it For the Kids.

Sam Williams II

Credit: Lindell Kay Read original article HERE 
End Addendum: Sam Williams II

Text4Help Press Release - How Is Synthetic Marijuana Dangerous?

What Is Synthetic Marijuana?

 

 

Fortunately for public health, most of these products have been outlawed, but they have not gone away. Marijuana comes from a plant called cannabis. It contains thousands of natural compounds, some of which have mind-altering abilities. It is for these compounds, called cannabinoids, that people smoke marijuana. They give the user a pleasant, sleepy, relaxed feeling. As a mind-altering, psychoactive product, marijuana is illegal in most places.
In an attempt to profit from the demand for marijuana, manufacturers have developed products that contain synthetic versions of the natural cannabinoids. They spray the formula onto some type of dried plant and sell it as incense, potpourri or even cleaners. These products are labeled in a way that makes it seem as if it is not a drug to be smoked. Of course, the intention is exactly that. Young people are enticed to buy it and smoke it, and then they suffer the synthetic marijuana side effects.

How Is Synthetic Marijuana Dangerous?

Real marijuana poses health risks, but the synthetic versions can be even more harmful. The main problem is that you can never be sure what is in the product. Marijuana is a natural product that is dried to be smoked. Synthetic versions may contain a whole host of compounds that the makers do not reveal. Some of the synthetic marijuana health effects that have been seen in users include anxiety, paranoia, shaking, emotional instability, hallucinations, panic attacks, dizziness, hot flashes and convulsions.
After too many teens and young adults were harmed from using synthetic marijuana products, lawmakers took action to ban the substances used to make them. Unfortunately, there are almost infinite possibilities when it comes to making synthetic variations of cannabinoids. When one substance is banned, drug manufacturers simply come up with another one. In most states, you can no longer buy the products that were disguised as potpourri or herbal smoking blends, but that does not mean synthetic marijuana has disappeared. Some people are still using it and are experiencing the ill effects. Be aware of this lab-produced drug and make sure that your children understand its risks.
Learn More About Synthetic Drugs And Their Dangers

See the full article here......
http://www.drugrehab.us/news/tag/synthetic-marijuana/

Text4Help Press Release - MMTC March 2017 Social Media Buzz

 

@SadeOshinubi @Text4Help @anandaleeke You've been quoted in MMTC March Social Media Buzz Storify blog. https://t.co/7Q33d4VY45 #mmtconline

— MMTC (@mmtconline) April 7, 2017