I spent time talking to Dick Schiferli of Pamela-Systems today. He's had me trying out his latest profesional version of Pamela. He's looking for a few more beta testers before it goes live. Beta testers get a free pass for thirty days to try it out. Send an e-mail to pamprobeta@pamela-systems.com

There are a number of new features in this version, and this edition may be more aptly characterised as a productivity and communications tool rather than just an answering machine. Building on the voice messaging functions they have added "call recording", email forwarding, customized messaging, and something they call pamcasting which allows recording to be uploaded to a website with a coresponding XML podcast file.

Pamela uses virtual audio cables and provides a clean recording. My interest is primarily in the quality I can achieve for SkypeCasts and the ease of use. Pamela provides warnings to other Skypers by both a "tone" and text message letting you know you are now being recorded. Experience so far suggest that good mics and as always good broadband connections are necessary to minimize noise,

Other features that are built in. You can now customize you messages and aswers for different parties. Thus German, Spanish and English messages may be activated. Greeting can be customized for each individual then depending on language and location. It could take some time to personalize a few hundred buddies.

Pamela also enables you to e-mail automatically or automatically upload them to any website you have available. If travelling either solution could be helpful. While it doesn't match the ease of Skype's voice mail solution it does demonstrate plenty of additional functionality to work out. You may even have to read the promised manual.

Problems I found with some quick tests.

• When recording a conference call hosted by someone else not everyone gets a you are being recorded text message. Similarly they can't hear the warning beep.
  
• When in a three way call and one person drops off it terminates the recording, rather than the last person to hang-up terminating the call.
  
• I had trouble launching a Pamela recording session on some occassions. Similarly stopping a recording and then starting again in the same call wasn't always possible.
  
• I had some problems when switching from one headset type to another. Pamela didn't always reset my audio setting to a workable combination and thus a manual reset was required.

There's still some UI issues. The options are complex. It takes some time to work through. If you want to make some podcasts trying the beta. It still needs some work. Tell us what you think.

Posted by Stuart Henshall at 04:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

Skype announced today a new affiliate program that pays you dividends!

How does it work?

Just set up an account with our associates at Commission Junction, and use our graphics or texts to link to skype.com. Whenever someone from your site buys or subscribes to one of Skype’s premium services (SkypeOut, SkypeIn, and Skype Voicemail), you will get a cut of the action.

Skype goes click through.

The FAQ will answer all your questions.

This program looks like it will help Skype reach 100 Million Users by the end of 2005.

Posted by Bill Campbell at 07:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (2)

• Skypers Unite! on LiveJournal.
• List of Skype-related Google Groups includes Skype in Africa, SexSkype, Skype Ebay, VoIP and Video Chat, and Skype.
• 58 Skype groups on Yahoo!

Where else do Skypers gather?

Posted by Phil Wolff at 01:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Kevin says Torrone finished most of his Skype Payphone project. Here's an 8MB Quicktime video of the Skype payphone before it takes money.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 04:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If you have a Windows Smartphone with GPRS (I'm waiting for the Symbian version) and an account like T-Mobiles unlimited $20/mth GPRS connection and love Skype then you will want to try out this beta. I'm sure this is the application I saw running on Niklas's iMate in Toronto. It's slick, it doesn't provide voice over GPRS, merely presence and text messaging. As a user of Agile messenger that's a pretty good start. Here's the link to the Skype Forum post.

We have early version of Skype for Smartphone available. Please provide feedback directly to me or in this forum.

Skype for Smartphone BETA
* participate in Skype network - log in, presence
* instant messaging
* centrally stored contact list support

Things to be aware of
* no voice (yet)
* network traffic usage - depending on your buddy list network usage can be quite large - up to several megabytes per day even without actively chatting, this is important if you pay per megabyte. There is option automatically disconnect then Skype is in idle and it's switched on by default, feel free to switch it off if you have flat-free rate.
Skype Forum

Posted by Stuart Henshall at 08:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Finally we are close to having our Mac friends participate in mulit-chats. You can download the beta via the Skype Forum link. I had to check out what Growl support is. Growl can display an attractive message on your screen Check out the application list here. Growl should enable mac lovers to really integrate a number of notifications with Skype. Hope someone writes up their experiences soon!

New version 1.0.0.30 of Skype for Mac OS X is released! Here are release notes: * feature: multichat * feature: Growl support (http://www.growl.info/) * bugfix: new incoming voicemails were added to the bottom of the call list Skype Forum

Posted by Stuart Henshall at 08:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Sharing files on Skype is easy, tracking what you may have sent is impossible for there is no history on what files and names were sent or received on Skype. That may be fine for sharing the odd photo with friends however for the 30% that are using Skype for freqent business use it actually becomes a problem.

Over the last few weeks we've been running a couple of different projects. Much of our file sharing is done in real time. When the notes are recorded in chat session and files sent back and forth it's a shame that there is no way to record which files and sometimes versions were sent when. I know there are better ways of synchonizing documentation. Still most of us are luddites and we amend a document and usually change the name (version number or date slightly) and share it yet again. It's got to the point where I've left files ready to send to offline individuals to return the next morning, the screen is blank. Did they get the file? How does one know? Plus I need something like the VM that suggests a received file share is still not opened.

If you have received 10 files at once it's easy to find that later you haven't opened them. Plus I'm now sharing so many that just dumping them into "My Skype Received Files" is way to primitive.

I believe I'd like an option, that duplicates the behavior I have in email. When I send a file I need a shortcut to the file saved to a folder. The folder is Skype File Transfers with sub-folders by log-in name for everyone that I've shared files with. In fact I think I'd like the sent and received files in the same folder. Where sent to multiple recipients I'd just have multiple shortcuts filed under each name. Even now on the receiving end I realize I could become more disciplined. I've typically filed them by project however that doesn't provide a record of who the file was from.

In all of these projects our email volume has been very low. Almost all arrangements are done via chat messages and that's where I need additional information recorded. The chat archive doesn't record when files are sent. Plus multichats are close to impossible to save. I need a feature that asks me when I leave a multichat whether I would like to save it to a Topic archive. It may also be important to enable all chats such that when I click leave, if I haven't provided a topic, it asks me whether I want to close the chat and save it to a topic file. While I can bookmark multi-chats that's not the solution. I may also want to save it under a topic that is not the chat topic.

To add to the list of additions. I also want a record of when voice mails were sent. Thus the chat record needs to become a time or lifestream record of the exchanges I've had with a buddy. I should also be able to save a copy of sent voice mails. It's nuts that I lose the instruction after it is sent. In fact all voice mails should be saved in my Skype Files / Buddy Records. This could be by default or alternatively by choice. As the VM is ready for despatch.. do you want to save a copy etc.

These are little things that are really big things. Add this data into the API and the Skype exchanges could be recorded into Outlook or another program.

Posted by Stuart Henshall at 09:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

• Aswath Rao's VoIP Daily article: Why Skype is No Different. Read before you pick up...
• Skype Security Center's Network Administrator’s Guide (pdf). "It contains configuration and operational information relevant to IT managers and network administrators."
• Columbia's Baset and Schulzrinne: An Analysis of the Skype Peer-to-Peer Internet Telephony Protocol (pdf). "This report analyzes key Skype functions such as login, NAT and firewall traversal, call establishment, media transfer, codecs, and conferencing under three different network setups. Analysis is performed by careful study of Skype network traffic."
• John Dvorak at MarketWatch: Yipe! Skype! Commentary: Free Net phone service is de facto standard. "No real marketing. No ballyhoo. No hubbub. No serious coverage by the major media. The result? Thirty million registered users -- so far. This is in a period of less than two years. It's from Sweden and it's called Skype. It's free. It's a phenomenon." It just works.
• Washington Times: Skype calls are cheap, reliable. It just works.
• James Enck: Skype on a USB stick!
• Jeff Pulver on a 911 strategy for VoIP that won't kill Skype.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 08:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Since nothing urgent happened at today's congressional hearing, I'll start you with the mood. [Ed. The self indulgent blather of a naive Capital Hill romantic exposed to the blunt realities of power and lobbying]

12:30 P.M. It is gorgeous out today. Blue sky, fluffy white clouds, pleasant breezes; shirtsleeve weather. Midday metro was uncrowded. Leaving the Capital South station, I scarfed a turkey sandwich and walked past congressional office buildings. Got my first glimpse of the Capital to my right between them. At Rayburn, through the security, up to the third floor. The Members Only elevator is broken and our elected ride with the rest of us.

The halls are quiet during lunch hour. You can hear echoes. The clack of heels like golf balls on pavement.

There's a line at the hearing room. The men are in uniform, something vaguely Brooks Brothers or a very conservative Armani. Blackberries everywhere, some juggling mobiles. Despite the air conditioning and the cool weather, everyone is sweating, flushed cheeks like red apples.

Folks don't carry much, those who do are from out of town, with no office to leave their stuff. A few read Communications Daily or printouts of the subcommittee's home page, updated a few minutes ago.

There are line holders, assuring that those who pay will get in. There's a line holder culture. Etiquette (one holder for one person, taking turns to go to the bathroom or to lunch). Fashion: cross Taxi Driver with Bike Messenger Chic.

1:00 PM. As one lobbyist puts it, "the usual crowd is here." The same folks. Lots of Hi, Howaryah, Seeyahsoon. And you can see pecking orders; those with access to congresspeople, some escorting witnesses, others who used to be insiders; relationships are currency here, like in junior high.

I run into a NATOA executive; her husband uses Skype.

1:30 PM. Starting half an hour late, they let us in. People stake out chairs like they're lining up for a rock concert. Then they mingle. Schmooze is a better word. They'd look more at home holding cocktails. It's slick. Mostly lobbyists, some guys with cufflinks that could have paid for a junket. The clubbiness of it all is typical. As is the insincerity with which most of the lawyers in the room advocate for their clients. There are more delays, so more shop talk: who's working at which firm, which riff is catching on.

2:20 PM. The sub-committee chairman, Upton, starts. Seven witnesses testify, five minutes each. A break for a vote. Questioning begins.

3:12 PM. First and only mention of Skype, I think by David Quam.

4:00 PM. All done. I go outside to breathe the fresh air and get the stink of aggrandizement off.

I walk uphill a block to the Capital. Watch people getting their pictures taken on the steps. Folks with Faith in Democracy. Sitting on a park bench, I'm thinking it was a good two hours for the congressmen. A few learned what local government had to say (let us do our jobs, you can't do it for us, taxation for right-of-way matters). Some even had a chance to get answers that justified how they're already planning to vote.

Everyone in that room was doing their job. But there was something about the straightforward witnesses being prepped and accompanied K Street lobbyists for big industry that makes me wince.

Where's that Starbucks? I need something bitter to wash out my mouth.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 03:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Some of you may know 2600, the hacker quarterly, and its Payphones of the World photos. Phillip Torrone of O'Reilly is building a Skype payphone for Make magazine.

• What features do you want in a Skype payphone?
  
• How do you collect money?
  
• How do you keep the costs down?
  
• Is localization a problem?
  
• Can you use the Skype user interface, or must you create your own?
  
• What more would you like from the API to help you build a payphone?
  
• Should the payphone keep logs?
  
• Is there a way to make call debris (chat transcripts, call logs, voice mails) portable back to a user's client at home/office?
  
• Can I get free SkypeOut minutes using a Captain Crunch whistle?
  

Posted by Phil Wolff at 09:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Hi, I'm in a suburb of Washington, D.C. this week and next. If you're here and would like to talk face to face about things Skype or blog, Skype me or call 510-206-1138. Lunch, coffee, dinner, nosh?

I'm trying to attend tomorrow's hearings by the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet on How Internet Protocol-Enabled Services Are Changing the Face of Communications: A View from Government Officials. This Wednesday, April 27, 2005, at 1:30 PM at the 2322 Rayburn House Office Building.

Next week I'm taking up Jeff Pulver on his invite to all bloggers (and this means you) to attend his "Peripheral Visionaries' IP-Based Communications Policy Summit" in DC on May 4.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 07:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

We at Skype, are very excited to present our first public competition. It's a competition for developers (that's software developers, not property developers). We would like you invite you to enter.

We're giving away 5000 Euros of cash prizes and in return we'd like you to use our API to develop applications that show-off the potential of Skype, and make it even easier and better to use in the future.

You can put forward as many entries as you like. All we ask is that you're happy for us to make them available to download for free from skype.com and that you get them to us before the deadline for entries on July 1st 2005.

After you work your way through the Details, tell Skype Journal about your project. If you're blogging it, send us a link. For some insights, be sure to read the free Skype Journal's "Learning Skype's Plug-In Architecture" guide.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 07:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I tend to say yes to new experiments and sharing ideas so podcasting is something I'm both experimenting with and willing to participate in. Richard Giles who hosts the Gadget Show out of Australia roped in James Seng and myself to talk about VoIP and Skype. From a technical point there's more background noise than I think should exist on a recorded show. It starts slow and probably gets better in terms of content. Yes it was done over Skype, the sound quality I've tested in other podcasts is much better.

James tells a nice story of travelling overseas about how VoIP enables him to listen and stay connected to full night and thus hear his baby walking around etc. Reinforcing how it make us think and use it differently.

I commented that you will have to give away the presence software to the individual for free, and provided some examples on Yahoo 360 and the lack of online synchonization with presence and your buddylist. So some points about real-time synchronization.

I had fun talking with these guys about VOIP, Skype and where the technology is headed. In fact, because the subject is so vast, I feel like relabeling this podcast "VOIP 101". The Gadget Show # 9

I expect to say more about new Skypecasting options soon.

Posted by Stuart Henshall at 09:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Finally! Skype has released a 30 page guidebook for Network Administrators. It is an "all you ever wanted to know about Skype" book. Simple, mostly non-technical language makes it an easy and quick read.

Topics covered:

Understanding how Skype Works

Make your network Skype-friendly

Configure the Skype software

Use skype safely and securely

On a page called Big Points for IT Managers it lists the discussion topics of:

Antivirus tools

Privacy

Firewalls

Spam

Costs

This guidebook will save users a lot of time. The information users need is now in "one place". Before today a user needed to search the Skype Forums, FAQ's, Knowledgebase, User Guides, and probably call up a few Skype buddies.

Is it complete? No I don't think so. It would be nice to see a section on VPNs and how Skype traffic is managed within a local area network.

And will it let me and others retire from our support role we play on the Skype Forum? Unfortunately not. Skype still has not overcome human nature. User's don't read guidebooks. Too bad. This is a good one.

If I am the CEO and I want Skype in... I can't use this book to convince my CTO. Thus it fails in addressing the primary question, "Is Skype secure?"

The guidebook should also deal with the security of SkypeIn and SkypeOut calls... similarly... one could comment about the security of a pocket PC using WIFI. But overall, the guide is a good step forward and like Skype itself a work-in-progress.

Posted by Bill Campbell at 09:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Andrew Ferguson is a disturbed young man. Brilliant, but disturbed. Funny and innovative. But disturbed.

You know the email spam you get that says, please call this bloke in Africa to send him money to (fill in the appeal here) in the wake of (insert natural or national disaster)? Well Andrew decided to call. Using SkypeOut. Interminably. At odd hours. Tying up the con-man's phone line.

Aside from the dark pleasure of petty revenge, what's going on here?

Skype's design favors offensive tactics

First, there's an imbalance in our cost of calling. As a Westerner, he can afford 10 Euros for 10 hours of calls. If he buys more, the rate falls even further. As a percent of disposable income, this is small potatoes to Andrew.

Second, there's an asymmetry in the opportunity cost of tying up the spammer's phone line. Others aren't getting through to the spammer, so every hour the line is tied up is a sucker missed and money foregone.

Third, Skype calls can be automated. So you can program a thorough barrage of short calls scattered throughout the day. And night. This optimizes your use of your SkypeOut minutes since there is not per-call charge, just a charge for the time. It also exploits the spammer's need to answer each time the phone rings or never talk to another sucker. So every call both increases the effort needed to capture a sucker, since for each sucker there are dozens or hundreds or thousands of fake calls. With little effort (one programmer coded this in 20 minutes) you can make it pointless for a spammer to keep a given number.

Take this a step further: decentralize. Create a spam filter that looks for, say, new Nigerian phone numbers in your email spam bin. Automatically grab them, and post to a listserve, sharing targets. Then have your Skype run the attacks against multiple targets, randomly selected by you and others. This decentralizes the work, aggregates your SkypeOut minutes, buying power, and exposure (if someone tries to find out who you are) among many Skypers. Putting the Power of Many to use.

This is a hoot.

Until the number being attacked is a fire department, or a hospital, or your home. Or air traffic control, or a credit card processing center. Or your mobile phone, where you have to pay high rates for every call, even one lasting just a few seconds.

What can you do about a telephonic denial of service attack?

Other than changing your number?

Maybe we can adapt defenses against flooding attacks in other media, like email and DNS. Maybe not; much of the information used on the Internet isn't available with POTS.

Can you detect an attack building up?

How about a distributed DOS attack?

Who would you call for help?

After the fact, which laws would apply? When would Skype cooperate with law enforcement or civil litigators to provide SkypeOut logs connecting calls to SkypeOut user accounts? Would Skype provide billing data?

And could we blame it on Andrew? Or his Doctor from Nigeria?

Posted by Phil Wolff at 03:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (4)

Bill and I sat down with Jeff Pulver at VON Canada and began to get a real sense of his deeper passion for the IP community. We discussed developers and more. This post focuses on what’s wrapped up in our “freedom to connect”.

I was pleased I dropped my iPod/iTalk on the table. Jeff spoke at New York speed and my scrawl was no match. Since then I’ve also had a little time to reflect. Jeff’s Von Canada talk was titled “Shift Happens” and he wasn’t only talking to the audience. He himself has made a shift.

He told me that the one thing people should understand from Skype is that they took off-the-shelf components and assembled them and made it work better. While the industry may be very defensive (think SIP etc) about that, the reality and the result is that end to end IP is really happening. He pointed out that based on the inflection points and Skype’s current trajectory it is not a question of when. It is now. So wakey wakey!!!

Jeff on looking to the immediate future…

1. End to end IP is happening thanks to Skype.. and empowering people that wouldn’t otherwise talk to each other.
2. Disintermediation of the PBX businesses as CEO’s realize they are only selling software.
3. Skype has the potential to be the operating system like Microsoft; however, they are susceptible to Microsoft. On the consumer side Skype is like an iPod. On the industry side they need to watch their back for they will create rage at AOL and Yahoo.

He alluded to a mindset war and not a technology war. I’m wrapping that into three points:

1. Skype must create a rich developer community, and enable new strategies to accelerate innovative products that were impossible over old networks.
2. The mindset is won with users, and the user experience. Skype must very carefully balance advancement with “trust” and doing good for Skypers.
3. The need to keep regulation and the old industry off the emerging VON solution set. Secure our freedom to connect.

Jeff on Net Freedoms:
We had a short segment on Net Freedoms which made the most impact on me. We take our freedoms to be self-evident until they are taken away. The battle above means a very different landscape for mobile providers, and traditional telecoms. The best of the smart service providers will become dumb access pipe providers when it is all over. “We” all need connectivity and our freedom to connect. Former Chairman Powell and the new FCC Chairman must work to ensure those net freedoms become adopted and subscribed to by the service providers of the world.

Jeff shared his activities in Washington over the last few months trying to explain what his fears are. He says they are taken too much for granted. We need to guarantee the freedom to run our own applications. There really is a greater need for a call to action. This one needs to be on more than just the blogger radar. He’s running a VoIP Policy Summit 2005 in Washington on May 4th and planning a rally on the steps of the capital at the end of June. Getting the people out for the rally means the message must become one about our basic freedoms. This is not just about technology.

My wish is.. that if you Skype then you will want to support Net Freedoms. As the largest VoIP community in the world this is not just about technology. It is the freedom to connect to whomever you want. It’s the freedom to converse, the freedom and rights to privacy, to exchange data, to control your own information. So free conversations and a great app like Skype is nice. However net freedoms is bigger than that. Skype is a vehicle and it is easy to associate consumer stories with it. It already makes the net freedom story easier to tell.

Jeff commented that he thought that Niklas may take this too much for granted and could be a blind spot. I’m pretty sure he’d like Niklas on the steps of Congress telling his story and sharing his vision. Niklas recently presented this paper (CEPT Conference Presentation). He’s not unaware, he’s just powerless relative to “users”. “We” Skype users are the ones to make the case, and be the ones to march on Washington. Skype is a great app as long as it has “consumer trust” and promotes user freedoms.

My conclusion: Net Freedom is a badge that all Skypers should wear as long as Skype preserves our trust. Something we will be blogging a lot more about here.

Posted by Stuart Henshall at 06:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Skype Journal confirmed that Skype users in the United Arab Emirates are blocked from the Skype.com web site. This prevents users of the Skype internet telephone system from buying minutes to call at highly discounted rates, of special importance to the many expatriates who work in Dubai. We don't know where the actual blocking is taking place (presumably at Etisalat's Emirates Internet and Multimedia, the only ISP in the UAE), at whose direction, or for what purpose.

Motives may be economic. About 2.5 million people live in the UAE, 1.6 million are non-nationals. There are more phones than people: 1.1 million land lines (operated by Etisalat) and 2.9 million mobile. Etisalat has a monopoly on telephony.

The motive may be one of political control. Skype automatically encrypts conversations, making it costly and difficult to tap conversations or determine calling patterns.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (79) | TrackBacks (1)

Martin Geddes wrote two posts that are must reads for those not shy about thinking, promoting, or strategizing on Skype. Down under we used to say just "stirring" like stirring the pot. He's doing a little more than that.

In the first post he points out why Skype isn't the next Netscape and points out the strategic power that Skype has to begin centralizing some functions. It's already building this with a centralized buddy list. This post also suggest that thinking 200 million on Skype should not be something that is out of the question. Telepocalypse The telecom earthquake

In his second post he adds some structure to Phil's voice mail post. Pointing out which requests are difficult or inferior on the PSTN and lamenting that there weren't enough impossibles. I'm with Martin on his belief that it remains difficult to think of really new ways to do something. It's not clear whether he knows or calculates in a comparison of costs to deliver these over the PSTN. My guess is it may be possible but in most cases cost prohibitive. Telepocalypse by Martin Geddes

What these posts signal is that as a business you must be able to answer "What's your Skype strategy?" Regardless of whether you are SAP or Oracle, Microsoft, Nokia or LG, or just a company offering a phone billing service for professional services. When Skype talks "web enabled" and developers are jumping on the bandwagon, there are a whole range of new things that Skype can become the conduit for.

Posted by Stuart Henshall at 04:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

There is the reported line and the unreported line. It’s not that CEO’s don’t tell the reporters where they are going, new facts sometimes get glossed over. It could be the world isn’t quite ready for more big Skype announcements.

My interpretation of Niklas’s presentation is the “themes” for what comes next are all there.

First a little history. When Skype first launched (Aug 2003)it was described as P2P telephony that just works and was compared with Net2Phone, MSN, and VoIP products. Then Skype started to go cross-platform and SkypeOut beta was launched. At VON Canada one year ago Niklas announced the SkypeAPI which launched officially six months ago. This year SkypeOut went live on all platforms and is now the largest SIP application in the world. Voice mail was launched and spawned voice messaging. SkypeIn is now in beta and the focus increasing on mobile, with recent deals announce with iMate and WiFi hotspot operators. Recently the suggestion to think of Skype like a “mobile operator” came into play. To Skype Journal readers all this is not news.

What was stated but not reported in the press.

1. Embedded Devices. Embedded Linux is a certainty and the SkypeAPI for Linux has just been released. This will certainly go into routers and similar products.
2. Web Enabled: This means that Skype will go into presence applications just like they have added voice mail. We can expect their first offerings to be simple. Solutions are likely to tie in with their centralized buddylist service. Expect it to appear in social networking and dating sites.
3. Small Business: Account upgrades that enables corporate multiple accounts will work well for small enterprises and enable a corporate presence directory.
4. Mobility. The short list includes WinPocketPC, Symbian and embedded Linux. He also held up his iMate (it’s a real nice device) and you know there will be more devices like these.

Where I’m still surprised and where I got confirmation that there is no development right now.

1. Pocket PC API. Apparently Skype is not working to extend the SkypeAPI to the pocket PC. This appears short sighted with the opportunities for small devices to act as a transport and conduit for other info sources. Eg a medical monitor. I can only infer that they prefer to go Linux. Embedded devices with Linux and Skype (both free software) will significantly undercut the price required to use the PocketPC platform.

My objectives and learning. Help Skype to accelerate development and communication with developers themselves. Similarly, while Skype have stated the case for leaving regulation out of VoIP and perhaps even regulating the incumbents, I’m not being active enough in promoting that cause. Skype should engage their users more effectively in driving this dialogue. More on that later.

Posted by Stuart Henshall at 03:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

After a visit to VON Canada and meeting the two stars of VON Canada Niklas Zennstrom of Skype and Jeff Pulver the organizer I sense that radical changes are in the works. VON is not yet Skype’s stage at least not from the point of view of VON attendees. However, if Jeff’s message didn’t get through it soon will. Today you can’t have a VON strategy if you don’t have a Skype strategy.

I’m yet to find a telecom or a mobile carrier that effectively communicates their Skype strategy. I listened to a Bell Canada presentation that followed Jeff’s opening. Carl Condon had screens that demonstrated just how he and his team used a Skype like softphone and video solution. It all looked wonderfully plausible and effective. Carl saw and promoted the collaboration advantages. However, I’m sure he still expects someone to pay for it. The Skype lesson for Bell Canada is to make it work for free. I doubt they can do that.

I spoke to others including journalists

some even interviewing Niklas who had never even opened a Skype client. I’m beginning to think that Skype should build in a “journo” factor in every Skype client and Niklas should refuse to take questions from those that haven’t done “time” on Skype. This is not uncommon and not limited just to journalists. Many device and handset manufacturers tell me they have looked at Skype, reverse engineered it and ---ah--- never made a Skype call. This is telecom speak for “it’s technology stupid” rather than “wow – user experience”. Big message for those hard of hearing. If you don’t immerse yourself in using Skype you will miss the nuances. It’s the little things that matter.

Next the nuances hidden in Niklas presentation……

Posted by Stuart Henshall at 03:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Skype released the Skype API for Linux today.

This is exciting for the Linux community, but it should be for device makers and users too. This new capability will open up a whole family of new, useful Skype Products like this. This new embedded market was highlighted by Skype CEO Niklas Zennstrom, during his keynote address at the VON Canada Event in Toronto earlier this week.

Posted by Bill Campbell at 02:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (1)

Skype released the Skype API for Linux today.

This is exciting for the Linux community, but it should be for device makers and users too. This new capability will open up a whole family of new, useful Skype Products like this. This new embedded market was highlighted by Skype CEO Niklas Zennstrom, during his keynote address at the VON Canada Event in Toronto earlier this week.

Posted by Bill Campbell at 02:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (1)

The Skype Developer Zone just got hot.

Skype has made third party API developer tools accessable from their web site. This is a welcome and historic move for Skype.

Six products are now listed (including the Skype Journal's own Guidebook, Learning Skype's Plug-in Architecture

I believe we will see a lot more activity in this area as Skype takes its Developer Community more seriously.

Along with this was the announcement of a new Skype API Developer Competition.

Very real prizes too. This is not a T-Shirt feel-good contest. Look at the prizes offered:

There's a grand prize of 2000 Euros for the overall winner. So if you are a property developer, that new underfloor heating system could finally be yours. There are also 6 runners up prizes of 500 euros each.

In addition, the winner and runners up will all be eligible for a year's free membership of our Software Developers Program which is normally charged at 1500 Euros.

Thank you. Well done Skype Staff!!!!!

Posted by Bill Campbell at 02:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What I would ideally like to see would be something that allows me to record calls, take notes and chat, and at the end of it all save everything together, so that when I rescan the call my notes and the chat are available to me.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 05:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Phil Wolff at 08:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

I want to do stuff with the message.

1. Let me save it to my hard disk
2. email it to a friend
3. send it to another Skype user's voice mail.
4. Playback effects, like time compression, skip ahead/back, repeat last 7 seconds. Pause button, please.
5. Play back during another conversation.
6. Transcribe messages using speech-to-voice technology. So I can preview content before/without listening to it.

Situational Welcome messages.

7. Different messages for named users. I want my lovey dovey to always get my mushy wooshy squeezums cudly little message. The Wolff clan can get my latest prank message. And strangers shall receive an appropriately formal and courteous invitation to leave a message.
8. When my Skype contact list lets me define categories or groups of contacts, like buddy lists do, let me set welcome greetings by group.
9. Messages tied to my Skype status/availability. My SkypeMe message should be different than my I'm asleep slumped over my keyboard message or my I'll be back in 18 minutes message.
10. Time of day greetings. "Good morning..." vs. "Good evening..." Based on the caller's time zone.
11. Alternate languages. I should be able to record a message for Spanish language callers (especially if I also speak Spanish).
12. Priority calls. Work exceptionally hard to get my attention if my kids are calling. Make a special noise. Flash something large and distracting on the screen. But let me know that someone who's a priority to me is calling.

Other things:

13. More notification of voicemail receipt. I may be on another computer or away. Send an IM. Send an email. Send an SMS.
14. ftp a copy of my voicemails to a web server of mine so I can archive them, perhaps even hear them anywhere.
15. Interactive Voice Response. Touch 1 if this is an emergency, 2 if you want to page Phil, 3 if you have a tip for SkypeJournal, 4 for a good time. Thanks. Please enter a callback number including area code. Thanks. Phil will call you back at 800-555-2983. Thanks.
16. Audio slam book. Let me survey callers, collecting both touchtone and spoken responses. Organize and tabulate the results.
17. Charge money. If you want to leave a message longer than 30 seconds, pay me.
18. All strangers go to voice mail. Just an option.
19. A "Record This Call" button that sends the results to voice mail. (not my idea, but stolen with enthusiasm)

OK, this is excessive. But if you routinely spend hours every week in your voice mail, you want Skype to make the experience rich and useful.

Bonus wish: Video voicemail with all of the above.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 01:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (2)

1. Put Skype callto: links on the disaster web site, both in the directory of contacts and with each post/update. As important as phone numbers, especially when bridging long distances. This lets volunteers forage for the right contacts. The html is <a href="callto:skypename">skypename</a>
2. Pick a "tag" for your disaster. TSUNAMI. MADRID311. TOMDELAY2006. Something simple and specific.
3. Add the tag to your Skype profile's About field. For example, TSUNAMI-HELP-NEEDED let's others search for it. Also write what you need in your profile.
4. Offer to help the same way. TSUNAMI-HELP-OFFERED. If you have something specific, describe it there too.

Now search the network for your new partners.

This leverages three great things:

• Motivation and tools produce solutions. Immediately after the 2004 Tsunami, volunteers stepped in and responded without central direction. The Tsunami blog and wiki helped teams of strangers form online. Then they used listservs and SMS to work. If you want emergent organization in a disaster, give volunteers tools to co. Connect, collaborate, communicate, coordinate.
• The Skype profile cloud is a rich but imperfect medium. Use the Skype cloud to help people find each other and start talking. This slashes the effort of connection (a barrier to group formation) and shortens the click-path between people. This model depends, like Skype itself, on cheap/free communication from the edge of a large network.
• People tag when they care. This is an example of folksonomy reaching into the Skype network to bring people together for action, perhaps to save lives.

So, let's try searching on SEX=Male and ABOUT contains "SINGLE" and see what happens...

"Single french man looking for single woman to share a tender and pleasant relationship. I can welcome you to Paris."

"Hey i am living in oakville and i am willing to chat with who ever wants to talk to me, i am currently single and looking (needs to around the area between toronto and hamilton)"

"ich bin schön, schlau und single"

">>>Single<<<"

Posted by Phil Wolff at 01:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

I have plenty of material to absorb. Some new learnings and no radical announcements. I sat through Niklas's pre lunch presentation and have just finished making notes from his hour long press conference. He's been the draw card here this morning although Tom Evlin injected some new thinking for many in the audience. See his post here. Bill and I will write up our notes after our interview with Niklas. We have a few questions still to ask.

Here's Niklas and Jeff.

Posted by Stuart Henshall at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Just caught this clip from Scoble on losing his boss to Skype. It's going to make life more interesting.

I'm saddened to see my boss, Lenn Pryor, leave Microsoft and go to Skype. He's one of the best bosses I've ever had the pleasure of working for.

Lenn is one of a few people in the world that can actually say they changed a big company. It's not easy work. Scobleizer: Microsoft Geek Blogger

Posted by Stuart Henshall at 09:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Jeff Pulver "From Telephony to IP: Shift Happens" is about to kick off the second VON Canada. He speaks of the communcations gap, the need for freedoms to choose and provides his questions for Skype. I've paraphrased many of his comments. Shift does happen. Reference to TV programs, Radar on Mash and the Jetsons, and the Get Smart shoe phone. They were the real mobility futurists.. integrating it into a shoe. These pioneers of mobility foreshadowed things to come. In 1964 the Picture phone.. later introduced.. Star Trek the Communicator. And R2D2 from 1977 could project a real time 3D holographic image. How much does this cost? Economically priced for everyone to have one. 3D presence so you can actually communicate with the person you are communicating with. While video works for training etc.. we really need to move to the point where we get the R2D2 type experience.

In the last year, end to end IP and broadband is taking off. VoIP is driving the infastructure buildout in places like China and voice is becoming an application. Concurrently there are freedoms we should aspire to ask for re content applications, personal devices and service plan information. Watch out for discrimination.

What's wrong with the IP inductry... to date VoIP has been about arbitrage, cheap voice replication. We essentially dare regulators to regulate. Differentiation is essential. He damns... those that come to market offering cheap voice.. to the extent that they are plying old rules. It's hard to say don't regulate them like that... kids with IM are different... build the communication services for this new generation. Communications will define this communication gap... many are missing the boat by not defining the communications for these kids.

Regulation / government must not stand in the way. New technologies are often used to replicate old applications. Soft switch replicated the function of the circuit switch. They simply ported the old technologies; this replicating is a mindset that we need to change to take advantages of the last 35 years. As VoIP minutes replace black and white minutes, there are very few purple minutes arising at the moment.

Jeff's lessons from Skype, asks whether Niklas Zennstrom is the "Steve Jobs" and Skype the "iPod" of voice and IP communications. He observes that Skype has made the communications experience on broadband internet better, because it is easy to use, works better than the rest (firewalls) and provided at the right price, so people adopt and use it.

Jeff's view and questioning asks whether Skype is really the future of communication. I understand him to say it is more than VisiCalc, probably Lotus 123 although no certainty that it is yet the Microsoft Excel and thus the next communications platform. At the Skype Journal we've been tossing around questions for Niklas for a couple of weeks. These are Jeff's questions...

• Has Skype become a "standard"?
• Does Skype become the new OS for communications?
• Will application developers build to Skype?
• Will Skype support the developer community?

If Skype is our iPOD,and what happens next in a Skype - enabled world? Still Jeff would really like an open source solution to emerge. The question may be is there still time?

Posted by Stuart Henshall at 07:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. How will mobile companies adapt/compete with the Skypes of the world?
2. What are the last-mile businesses doing to move consumers from midband speeds (1 to 3 MPS) to Internet 2 speeds?
3. Do you have IP in your car? In your mobile phone?
4. What have you learned about how people use video calls?
5. What would it take to offer interoperability between VoIP clients and networks? We still don't have instant messaging interop between Yahoo!, Microsoft and AOL a decade later.
6. What are the biggest Canadian telco regulatory issues we'll see in the next 24 months? Which ones affect the Internet, intellectual property, P2P, and VoIP?
7. As the different architectures and business models of VoIP prove themselves in the market, we'll see some consolodation. What characteristics of a VoIP provider would make them attractive M&A targets by a mobile service provider? by a landline telco? by a cable TV company? by an ISP?
8. If six guys in a garage can make Skype, what other disruptive technologies pose risks and opportunities for the established players?
9. How do Canadian telcos trade off the public interests of security vs. privacy when it comes to designing their networks?
10. Should the Federal government have a national commitment to rolling out IP to every Canadian?
11. Are you blogging yet?
12. What's your Skype strategy?

    Posted by Phil Wolff at 08:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)