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MHL: Connecting Telephones and Computers Early in 1999, Howard Leshner was in New Jersey, experimenting with the Internet. While most computer users were just starting to use email and discovering the World Wide Web, Howard began to use Netmeeting, a program that comes with Microsoft Windows, and gives users free voice and video connections when calling from one PC to another. Howard was excited about this new communication medium, and used it frequently to call his brother Mike in Columbia, Maryland. Although the calls were free, something was missing. To use this new medium, a person had to speak into the microphone and listen to the speakers connected to a computer. Alternatively, one could use a headset for internet calls. But that was not satisfactory for Howard, who found that he did not like being "wired" to the computer, and wanted to plug in a cordless phone so he could walk around while talking. He went to the local Radio Shack, and searched for a gizmo that would allow him to connect a telephone to the sound card in his computer. After finding no solution there, he turned to brother Mike who had worked with telephone circuits in the past. The solution was the Phonebridge, an Internet appliance that let's you plug a cordless phone into a computer. Howard, and Mike are both mechanical engineers. Howard spent a few years working as a software engineer and then went into the jewelry manufacturing business. Mike worked in engineering management positions for several local companies including Bowles Fluidics and Ohmeda Medical. He holds 15 US patents on mechanical and electronic products. Now Mike handles the manufacturing and Howard manages their web site, which had over 350,000 website visitors in April alone. Phonebridge has shipped several thousand units over the last year to customers in 30 different countries. In late 1999, several new internet telephone services were launched that, for the first time, allowed people to use their computer to call a regular phone for free. Dialpad.com was the first, offering free long distance from any computer in the world to any phone in the United States. Microsoft followed with MSN Messenger, and by the middle of 2000 there were over fifty new internet telephone service providers (ITSPs) offering free domestic calls and low cost international calls. Since launching its product and web site in early 2000, Phonebridge has forged partnerships with leading ITSPs such as Deltathree, AccessPower, Mediaring, Wowring, Elthe, Paltalk and others. From its headquarters in Columbia, Phonebridge is preparing to ride the wave of new internet telephone services, providing the hardware people need to make these service easy to use.
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