By Greg Mills

Apple continues to tweak telephony technology with a real world video phone application called FaceTime. While FaceTime between iPhone 4 users was already up and running, FaceTime between Macs and iPhones is new. SInce all new Macs have a front facing camera and 99% hook up to the Internet, connecting Macs to the telephone network is pretty much a slam dunk.

My wife uses Yahoo to chat with her relatives in the Philippines computer to computer.  FaceTime between Mac is also established but FaceTime between Macs and iPhones is what is new. I predict that the front facing iPads that are about to be released will also do that trick.  

As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, Apple may well be ramping up a cell phone network using excess capacity of existing sell phone companies with technology patented by Apple invented by Tony Fadell. Imagine the entire system of Macs and iPads via the Internet connecting with iPhones that are subscribed to Apple's Cell Network all working together as a communications network.  

This effectively adds a Wi-Fi enabled telephone capacity to iPads and Macs with a $1 software upgrade. If your Mac OS is up to date, pull down the Apple logo in the left corner of the display and the third choice is App Store...
Let up on your mouse or trackpad and then choose "FaceTime" when it comes up in the display. Follow the instructions and suddenly your Mac can call anyone who owns an iPhone. How cool is that?

All of this is incremental to a fundamental push by Apple to grow into new markets.  Anything digital is fair game and Apple continues to outgrow the competition.

That's Greg's bite for today.

(Greg Mills is currently a graphic and Faux Wall Artist in Kansas City. Formerly a new product R&D man for the paint sundry market, he holds 11 US patents. Greg is an Extra Class Ham Radio Operator, AB6SF, iOS developer and web site designer. He's also working on a solar energy startup using a patent pending process for turning waste dual pane glass window units into thermal solar panels used to heat water see: www.CottageIndustySolar.com Married, with one daughter, Greg writes for intellectual property web sites and on Mac/Tech related issues. See Greg's art web site at
www.gregmills.info He can be emailed at gregmills@mac.com)