Thursday, May 26, 2011

Useful link for PFI Project

Guidance and support

Audit bodies

Budgeting and accounting for PPP/PFI transactions

Devolved administrations

International links

Link for construction industry information

Accelerating Change: Dissemination and Consultation

Accelerating Change in Built Environment Education (ACBEE)

Action Energy

ACTIVE

Ajudication Society

Architects' Journal

Architects Registration Board (ARB)

Asset Skills

Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE)

Association for Project Management (APM)

Association for Project Safety (APS)

Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP)

Association of Building Engineers (ABE)

Association of Civil Engineering Departments (ACED)

Association of Consultant Approved Inspectors (ACAI)

Association of Consultant Architects (ACA)

Association of Consultant Building Surveyors (ACBS)

Association of Cost Engineers (ACostE)

Association of Interior Specialists (AIS)

Awarding Body for the Built Environment (ABBE)

B

Bathroom Manufacturers Association (BMA)

Be (Collaborating for the Built Environment)

BERR

BERR - New Orders in the Construction Industry

BRE

Brick Development Association (BDA)

Bristol Society of Architects | Bristol & Bath Branch RIBA

British Association of Construction Heads (BACH)

British Board of Agrément (BBA)

British Constructional Steelwork Association Ltd (BCSA)

British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM)

British Institute of Interior Design (BIID)

British Plastics Federation (BPF)

British Precast (BP)

British Property Federation (BPF)

British Quality Foundation

British Standards (BSI)

British Wood Preserving and Damp-proofing Association

British Woodworking Federation (BWF)

Building Centre

Building Centre Trust

Building Control Performance Standards

Building Cost Information Service (BCIS)

Building Magazine

Building Products Information

Building Services Research and Information Association (BSRIA)

Careers in Construction

Centre for e-Business in Construction (CITE)

Centre for Education in the Built Environment (CEBE)

Centre for Window and Cladding Technology

Change the face of construction

Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT)

Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB)

Chartered Institute of Marketing Construction Industry Group (CIMCIG)

Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE)

Chartered Institute of purchasing and supply (CIPS)

Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE)

Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT)

Chartered Surveyors Training Trust (CSTT)

CITB-ConstructionSkills

Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA)

Co-Construct web site - Construction portal linking the main membership based research associations (TRADA, SCI, BSRIA, CIRIA, Concrete Society)

Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE)

Concrete Centre (The)

Confederation of British Industry (CBI)

Conference on Training in Architectural Conservation (COTAC)

Considerate Constructors Scheme

Constructing Excellence

Construction Benchmarking Gateway

Construction Books Direct

Construction Clients Charter

Construction Clients Group (CCG)

Construction Health & Safety Group (CHSG)

Construction Industry Computing Association (CICA)

Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA)

Construction Industry Scaffolding Record Scheme (CISRS)

Construction Industry Standing Conference (CISC)

Construction Industry Training Board in Northern Ireland (CITBNI)

Construction Knowledge Exchange

Construction Licensing Executive

Construction News

Construction Plant-hire Association

Construction Products Association

Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS)

Construction Youth Trust (CYT)

Constructionline

CITB-ConstructionSkills

Consultant Quantity Surveyors Association (CQSA)

Continuing Personal/Professional Development (CPD)

Contract Flooring Association (CFA)

Contract Journal

Council of Heads of Built Environment (CHoBE)

CRASH - the construction and property industry charity for the single homeless

D

District Surveyors Association (DSA)

E

Electrical Contractors Association (ECA)

Electricity Association

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

Environment Agency

European Construction Institute (ECI)

F

Faculty of Party Wall Surveyors (FPWS)

Federation of Environmental Trade Associations (FETA)

Federation of Master Builders (FMB)

Federation of Property Societies (FPS)

Forum for the Built Environment (FBE)

Foundation For The Built Environment (FBE)

G

Gender and the Built Environment Database

Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF)

Government web sites

Ground Forum (GF)

Guild of Architectural Ironmongers (GAI)

Gypsum Products Development Association (GPDA)

Happold Trust

Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

Heating and Ventilating Contractors' Association (HVCA)

Highways Agency

HM Treasury

Housebuilders Federation (HBF)


ICE Online Bookshop

Institute of Clerks of Works and Construction Inspectorate (ICWCI)

Institute of Construction Management (ICM)

Institute of Highway Engineers (IHE)

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Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (ICES)

Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)

Institution of Structural Engineers

International Group for Lean Construction

IT Construction Forum

J

Joint Contracts Tribunal

Joint Industry Board for the Electrical Contracting Industry

K

KPI Zone

L

LABC

Landscape Institute (LI)

Lead Sheet Association (LSA)

Lean Construction Institute

Local Government Association (LGA)

Local Government Technical Advisers Group (TAG)

London District Surveyors Association (LDSA)

M

Major Contractors Group (MCG)

Materials Information Exchange

N

National Access and Scaffolding Confederation (NASC)

National Federation of Builders (NFB)

National Federation of Demolition Contractors (NFDC)

National Federation of Roofing Contractors (NFRC)

National Health Service (NHS) Estates

National Health Service (NHS) ProCure21

National House-Building Council (NHBC)

National Housing Federation (NHF)

National Specialist Contractors Council (NSCC)

NetRegs - guidance on environmental regulations for the construction and building trade

Network of Construction Creativity Clubs

New Civil Engineer

New Construction Research Innovation Strategy Panel (nCRISP)

NHBC Builder

O

Office of Government Commerce (OGC)

P

Painting & Decorating Association (PDA)

Planning Engineers Organisation (PEO)

Property Forum (The)

Pulling together Scotland

Q

Quality Mark Scheme

R

Rethinking Construction The report of the Construction Task Force to the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, on the scope for improving the quality and efficiency of UK construction.

RIBA Bookshops

RIBA Competitions

RICS Books

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Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS)

Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)

Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)

Royal School of Military Engineering (RSME)

Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI)

S

Safety in Design (SiD)

Scottish Building

Scottish Executive (SE)

SELECT (Electrical Contractors Association of Scotland)

shape Cambridge

Society of Construction Law (SCL)

Specialist Engineering Contractors Group (SECG)

SPONGE A network of young property and construction professionals who share an interest in sustainable development

Standing Conference of Heads of Schools of Architecture (SCHOSA)

Steel Construction Institute (SCI)

Steel Window Association (SWA)

Strategic Forum for Construction (SFfC)

SummitSkills

T

Technology and Construction Courts Bar Association (TECBAR)

Technology and Construction Solicitors' Association (TeCSA)

The Institute of Demolition Engineers (IDE)

The Survey Association (TSA)

Thomas Telford Books

Thomas Telford Training

Timber Trade Federation (TTF)

TRADA

TrustMark

U

UK cement industry

UK Contractors Group (UKCG)

UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC)

UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology

UK Steel Association

UCATT

V

Value Engineering Analysis and Management Academic Community

W

Welsh Assembly Government

Welsh Development Agency Property Services

Whole Life Cost Forum

working well together

Skype Ends Support For Open-Source Digium Asterisk VOIP PBX

Skype has terminated its partnership with Digium, effectively killing Skype for Asterisk, which integrated the VOIP service with the open-source telephony platform.


Two weeks after Microsoft said it would acquire Skype, the voice over IP company has begun cutting its ties with the open-source world. Asterisk was the first partner cut loose.

Skype decided not to renew its agreement with Digium, which allowed Asterisk, the open-source telephony system, to be integrated with the Skype service, Digium said May 25 in a letter to users. Digium is behind most of the work on Asterisk and sells commercial products based on the platform. Skype for Asterisk uses some proprietary code from Digium to connect the two products.

"It includes proprietary software from Skype that allows Asterisk to join the Skype network as a native client. Skype has decided not to renew the agreement that permits us to package this proprietary software,” according to Digium’s letter.

Skype for Asterisk sales and activations will end on July 26, but Skype has promised to continue supporting and maintaining the software for two more years. Skype may extend this time period “at their discretion.”

Many businesses and governments around the world rely on Asterisk for its free and flexible PBX to power their VOIP deployments. The integration with Skype gave access to low-cost voice and video calls without complex integration. After July 26, new Asterisk users will not be able to connect to the Skype network.

Skype may be moving away from Asterisk because Microsoft is expected to launch a Microsoft-hosted version of its Lync unified communications server this summer. Asterisk competes directly with Lync.

Digium may have seen this one coming, as the CEO predicted shortly after the $8.53 billion deal was announced on May 13 that Microsoft may “wall-off” Skype from competing products. Microsoft’s tendency toward “notoriously proprietary tactics” will slow the development of Skype as a business tool, Danny Windham, Digium’s CEO, wrote on the company blog.

“Microsoft plus Skype equals Microsoft,” Windham wrote.

While it may be easy to pin down Skype’s decision as yet another example of Microsoft trying to shut down the open-source community, Tim Panton, a Skype developer, pointed out on his blog that Skype for Asterisk has been dying slowly for a while because of issues with scalability and maintenance. Skype had “hobbled” the product with a number of license restrictions and the company delayed development, according to Panton.

“Skype probably never envisaged renewing, so when it came due, they pulled the plug,” Panton said.

“I do love a good conspiracy, and it would be great to pin this on Microsoft,” wrote Dave Michels, president of Verge1 Consulting, specializing in PBX strategies. However, Michels noted that it was unlikely Microsoft was calling the shots when the deal hadn’t even closed yet.

Michels also pointed out that while Asterisk is open source, Skype is not, so claiming Microsoft will ruin Skype because of its anti-open-source stance is “hypocritical jabberwocky.” Skype uses its own clients, its own codecs, its own signaling and its own firmware licensed to hardware partners. It does not interface with any other networks or equipment other than basic voice services. “If anything, Skype might teach MS a thing or two about being proprietary,” Michels said.

A Gartner analyst agreed that Skype’s decision had nothing to do with Microsoft. This is a sign Skype will open up its service to other telephony platforms via Skype Connect, Steve Blood, research vice president and agenda manager at Gartner, told eWEEK. While Skype for Asterisk was a bit deeper than what Skype Connect (formerly Skype for SIP) offers for other telephony platforms, it's a "stronger business proposition" for Skype to offer more customers Connect than to support a proprietary product for a specific vendor, according to Blood.

"I don't think Skype for Asterisk was compelling enough, nor did it generate enough money for Skype to continue to support it," Blood said.

Skype Connect currently works with telephony systems for Avaya, ShoreTel, and Cisco, among others. Digium will be validating Skype Connect next month, according to Blood, so Asterisk customers will continue to have some Skype support.

(Source - http://www.eweek.com)