Video4Skype is clearly a hot item. Slashdot picked up the story today. According to a spontania representative: “we had 3000 downloads just in 24hrs and our server got colapsed. Right now it is up and running so you can proceed to download it.” In my experience that makes it the hottest Skype add-on ever.

The product also received coverage on the PRZoom Newswire.

Nicolas asked me to remove his Skype User ID form the pic in my previous post because he was getting too many requests for authorizations. (Girls… he is happily married.)

I have tested with about a dozen users now. So just how good is it?

CPU utilization is very low.

Colour is great.

Resolution: B+.

with three lines of text in Times Roman typeface. 12 point, 11 point and ten point. Buddies who test with me are asked to read it. All can read the 12 point, a few can read the 11 point. I have only found one other video conferencing system (SkypeSee and it is not on the market yet) where the 10 point type could be read. I also use a Video test pattern, 1956 vintage. Tests patterns show Video4Skype can resolve lines at 250 to 300 lives per inch. More applause.

Check Your Bandwidth.

So yes Video4Skype is hot. But it deserves the attention it is getting. Very well done, Spontania. Keep up the great work.

Posted by Bill Campbell at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBacks (2)

Mindmapping by yourself is slow, hard work. But talk with others and the ideas and organization just flow. In Japanese or with Google translation to English. More on brainstorming. Does Skype open up your creative juices?

Posted by Phil Wolff at 01:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)

Nicolas, a fellow beta tester in France, and I just tested the new Video4Skype a new 3rd party API Plug-in

Skype like and slick, one minute to download and install. I really liked its excellent colour renditioning.

It features:
• No network configuration
• End-to-End encryption
• Free

It is strictly one 2 one video conferencing for now.

It is a Beta 0.8 version and as such still suffers from a fair amount of pixilation.

The video bandwidth comsumption was medium to high. I was uploading at 8 Kb per second and downloading at 18 KB. I will test this further today.

I highly recomend test driving this product.

Posted by Bill Campbell at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (4)

Their statement: Restrictions on running Skype P2P software at CERN. Because Skype clients help each other find others on the net (acting as supernodes), basically behaving too much like KaZaA. via physics professor Jacques Distler's thoughtful blog post.

The stated reason seems a little shaky to me. Aside from the unsavoury nature of its cousins, the P2P filesharing programs, I don’t see why skype supernodes would pose an undue burden on the CERN network. It seems to be more of an “It’s the principle of the thing!” issue, than an actual concern about bandwidth or network performance.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 02:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Skype said it will be re-launching their Software Developer Program, SDP, this month. They have 2 days to go! Please hurry!

Since I was the first member of the SDP eight months ago I can say this is a much-needed upgrade. Skype continues to innovate. But the real long-term innovation engine will be driven by an ecosystem of global software and device developers. Small, like Khaoslabs in Toronto, Canada, with the two genius Kevin’s (Kevin 1 and Kevin 2) who we work with, and large, like Motorola.

This week also marks the beginning of COMPUTEX Taipei, according to them, the second largest IT show. COMPUTEX will show us some exciting new Skype-enabled devices. I will be reviewing one for you next week. And we can expect yet anther third party video program to be ready for download this week as well.

Soon Skype will announce a much needed certification program which will help users make purchasing decisions a little easier. This program will help build trust between the developer and user community. Trust is a big deal.

Summer is approaching. Tonight it was hot enough on my deck to barbeque without turning on the propane. The Skype API world is now heating up too.

Since the release of the Skype API last September we have seen many early innovations. My own Skype Presence Server, voice mail solutions like SAM and Pamela. We have the bluedude (Hans Blaauw) in the Netherlands cranking out many tools. And Markus in Germany with his Skype presence broadcasters. Markusin the UK with his SMS solution. Skype Bots from the 2 Kevin’s and bluedude.

These are the earliest of days. The big days are coming. There are some really sweet things coming from developers to make Skype really rock.

AND now we have Lenn Pryor at Skype to help us drive it forward. Lucky us.

Here is an example of the kind of innovation I am talking about. Web-2-Skype’n Back. Kevin L(2) in Khaoslabs gave me a demo of his prototype today.

So here Kev’s prototype. Next week we will publish it as an “Open Source” project so everyone can get involved. Probably along with his Presence server.

Like the name says, it allows anyone to an initiate a chat message to a Skype Client from a web browser. AND for the Skype Client to respond to that message. A real plus if you want visitors to your web site to contact you. Engage in a chat. BETTER too, because if they give you there mobile or landline number you can call them on SkypeOut. Why type?

Here is the interface for me on my web browser along with a system diagram:

Here is the interface for Kevin L:

Awesome.

I will follow-up this post up with more about the Skype Developer DNA, Business Models for Developers and more third-party product products that enhance the Skype experience.

Posted by Bill Campbell at 08:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Lives in Madrid. His day job is telecom engineering. Evenings and weekends are filled with all things Skype. He programs the Skype API using VB.NET via a COM Wrapper. He is host and administrator of the Hispanic Skype User Forum.

I have worked with Ramon for a year now. Ramon is a great example of the unique nature of the Skype Ecosystem. Like Ramon, the Skype community is dedicated, selfless and supportive. Reminds me of my early days in the MAC community.

It is no easy task translating our 60 page Guidebook Learning Skype’s Plug-In Architecture, but Ramon did it in less than 30 days, in his spare time. Thank you Ramon.

Conociendo la arquitectura del Plug-in de Skype.

Posted by Bill Campbell at 03:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

This paragraph sent to me by Louis Philip of SummitCircle made us both chuckle. He remarked: "I'm really not sure what went through the product marketing guys head when he decided that Skype compatibility... whatever that means in this context... is a must have feature!."

" This latest version of ìGuru also offers compatibility with ABIT’s next-generation Guru Clock peripheral. Part of the ìGuru family, the Guru Clock allows you to access and overclock your system while playing games or using utilities or office applications while in full screen mode without having to stop the application you are running. The convenient LCD display handily displays a bevy of system information, including fan speeds, temperatures, and voltages to give you peace of mind. What’s more, the new Guru Clock also features Skype compatibility, allowing you call friends and family at the touch of a button, while in any application." Hardwarezone

Posted by Stuart Henshall at 08:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Akshaya wins the PrixArts Digital Communities Award.

Akshaya is a project undertaken by the Kerala state government in India, to bring e-literacy to its people. Malappuram has become India's first e-literate district, with over 600,000 individuals having basic knowledge of computers, including the Internet.

From their website :
"Wiring up Malappuram, 3,550 Sq.KMs spreading from East to West section of Kerala is a huge challenge. Connectivity Requirements:
- Should support data and voice
- Should support Internet browsing
- Voice over IP,Multimedia, Video conferencing (at a later stage)
- E-learning
Minimum Internet bandwidth requirement:
- Maximum Information rate (MIR) : 64kbps & Committed Information Rate (CIR) : 16kbps.
- Should be possible for any of the Akshaya centers to enhance the bandwidth and/or download limit on request."

I also read Villages may get Net, telephony on cable in the Business Standard yesterday, where the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is planning a convergence of voice data services. It is expected to send a proposal to the government for allowing cable operators in rural areas to offer basic telephony and Internet services.

Good to see plans for VOIP and conferencing being integrated into these programs. Access is one part of being connected, communications takes it to a different dimension. And is so integral to really bridging the digital divide.

A great opportunity for Skype!

Posted by Dina Mehta at 07:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Phil Wolff at 12:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Grassroots activists found FreeConferenceCall.com in the 2004 U.S. election. As long as everyone pays for their own long distance call, it's free of service charges. They're now inviting Skypers to use the service. Their pitch: use SkypeOut to call in and cut your long distance charges to SkypeOut's $1.20 an hour.

Why not conference using Skype alone? Two reasons: scale and access. This service supports up to 96 callers at a time. It also supports Skypeless callers.

What capabilities would make a difference?

• The SkypeAPI makes it possible to program an app that lets me invite buddies to a non-Skype conference.
  
• FreeConferenceCall should be able to take Skype phone calls directly into a conference.
  
• Scale text chat to hundreds. When more than four people actively participate in a chat, readers can't keep up. The diversity of opinion within the flow makes it hard to follow threads. So design must address the cognitive challenges: information overload; thread clustering, navigation, contribution; peripheral vision and alerting; leveraging social and procedural contexts; turn taking, voting, and moderation.
  
• Augment with white boarding and desktop sharing. These features let parties to a call show presentations or demonstrate real-time screen captures. Some implementations even permit multiple users to share the same app. My dream would be a collaborative realtime wiki for a call, along the lines of SubEthaEdit

Posted by Phil Wolff at 01:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Blogged by Jordon Kalilich, 15, in Deerfield Beach, Florida, USA.

The other day I got a call on Skype from what sounded like a group of Hungarian students. At first, when the Skype Answering Machine (SAM) took over the call, I heard them speaking in Hungarian. I took control of the call and asked if they spoke English, and to my surprise, I heard a "Yes." They sounded like they were in their teens; there were at least two girls and a guy. They went on to ask me some questions about myself, and after each reply, there was some Hungarian jabbering as if they were trying to translate what I had said and figure out how to reply.

continued...

One of the girls asked, "What is she doing?" I asked what she meant, and she corrected herself: "What are you doing?" I said I was doing my homework. They asked me if I liked, basketball. I said I didn't, and that I wasn't into sports much. Their reply: "Do you no esport man? I don't like you." (Joking, obviously.) They asked me if I had any hobbies. I said I played the guitar. The guy said, "You are rock star!" I replied, "I wish." Then the guy asked, "Have good girl?" "Uh, no," I said. He replied, "This is horrible!"

It's horrible enough that I don't, but when people in Europe have to rub it in my face...

At that point one of the girls chimed in. "The Hungarian girls is very pretty woman." The other girl, who seemed to have a better grasp of the language, asked me if I had a Commodore (?). I think they wanted an e-mail address or an instant messenger screen name. Later, the guy said, "We are going to a disco tonight, goodbye." At the time it was 10:45 P.M. in Hungary (I looked it up), but I shrugged off that fact and said goodbye. At least they had someone to practice their English with. I'd talk to them again; they were a charming bunch.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 01:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Skype announces that they are no longer in Beta with PayPal. Now you can use PayPal wherever it's available. It's an interesting partner for Skype. Will announcments with eBay be next? What's the affiliation deal for PayPal worth when they sign up new Skype users. Hmmmmm aren't those PayPal users some of the early adopters? Strike up another win for Skype.

“With nearly 72 million accounts worldwide, PayPal is a proven online payment method for online shoppers,” commented Geoff Iddison, chief executive of PayPal Europe. “The partnership with Skype brings PayPal a global opportunity to expand our user base. PayPal enables Skype users to pay for the Skype services in a seamless and secure way. We look forward to sharing the convenience and security of the PayPal system with Skype users.” Skype

Posted by Stuart Henshall at 01:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

First off, let's look at writing. The American Management Association wants writing interns to write a book on making deals online. Has Skype helped you make a deal? If not, the you may want to swing by the World Association of Newspapers conference in Seoul. 29 May - 1 June. If blogging is journalism, what is skyping? The next day another conference, TrendTag (Trend Day) in Hamburg looks like a great time for quants and futurists. 2 June. For more events I find interesting, see my list on evdb.com, including The 8th Asia Pacific IP Telephony, Singapore, the Wireless Community Conference, Monterey, California, INBOX, San Jose, California (where I want to learn more about spam over IP telephony), and SUPERCOMM Chicago.

We all want more from Skype. A million Apple fiends are all goosepimply with excitement that Spymac is adding Skype, maybe to become SkypeMac? This popular Macintosh portal adds SkypeMe to its user profiles, forums, to push realtime conversation on news and user posts. I wonder what Skype video will do to portals and online communities? Or to libraries: 26 steps for effective web presence in libraries includes Skype.

Martin Geddes is craving a long list of Skype client features. He ain't alone. Jan's Tech Blog says Skype's SkypeOut Dialing Wizard helps you sort out international numbers before you spend those SkypeOut minutes. Build it into the next release, please.

I'm fascinated by Consumer Casting Conversations (fr) who are using Skypecasting for market research. via Franck Dumesnil. Reminds me of Sparkcasts' beercasting. Gregory Narain, are you listening?

Skype's shaking people up.
  Some band together: the Internet Telephony Services Providers’ Association is trying to make the world safe for Skype and Skypers and others of our ilk.
  Others resort to force, as Hello Estonia sees it: Next call for Net phoning : Regulation. The idea of using Skype for emergency calls is beyond belief, per Richard Cobbett. "What wonderful, idyllic, crime-free world does he see in the morning, where technology is reliable and the internet doesn’t die on a daily basis?" Read Richard's "He’s got a gnu!" for a serious chuckle. All the fear mongering could lead to an Online Dating Patriot Act sponsored by True.

If you take comfort in your toolkit, Make your own Skype phone. Not for the faint of screwdriver.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

This is another update on SkypeVM, voice messaging in my language and voice mail in theirs. In my initial post I figured that VM could be one of Skype most profitable early money raisers. Currently it's not performing to my adoption expectations and that traces to their execution. Let me illustrate with a story.

I spent time reconnecting today with a colleague who has a friend who doesn't like interruptions. It's the type of job they do. They don't like chat messages that popup they don't like incessant ringing of their cellphone which they just turn off. For my colleague it puts her off ringing them.

How'd this all come up and and does it predict Skype strategy? Well I was sharing an aspect of Pamela-Systems' soon-to-be-released Pro version. I was experimenting with personal answer messages and sharing that I could customize one for each one of my friends. Now she jumped at it for this guy. She said.. you mean I can leave and update messages for him when he calls.. so even if I am not here he gets them. The answer is yes!

Then I introduced her to Skype voice messaging. Pointing out that you need not interrupt someone to send them the voice message of up to 10 minutes! Something I blogged lots about when VM was in beta, constantly saying it's not voice mail it's voice messaging. She was excited. By contrast to chat, or a ringer, it's the least intrusive and most personal of all the messaging formats. Of course she wanted to be able to send a group / mass VM at the same time. I said I'm sure that will come. It's inevitable.

And that friends is the story of where and why the value is really in voice messaging and not in voice mail. Voice messaging is potentially really viral. It also allows new revenue streams for Skype to be created. I've long thought that there is an opportunity for a "commercial" channel and a "private" channel. It's even possible to set the system up so one receives 10 commercial messages a day. Depending on whether they are answered or listened to depends on whether Skype and the Skyper get paid. (Can't wait for the API hooks so I can play them at three in the morning and randomly tick off! ;-)) Profiles, all sort of things become available.

Where this leads is easy. Skype's charging for voice mail when they should be charging for voice messaging. It's a priviledge to leave a voice message, it provides a degree of care and sharing that's not available in a chat and not worthy or timely for a call. What's more it can even be controlled. E.G., accounts closed where inappropriate VM's are left. Accounts identified and charged where commercial opportunities are desired.

I think Skype has proven to themselves that their VM approach is very efficient. The only thing they have to stop is you can't send a VM to someone that hasn't logged on more than say 4 times in the last month. That limits their "risk" and enables them to give everyone receive-access to voice messaging. That folks is a viral solution. You start getting VM you will want to send VM. It's called reciprocity.

To reciprocate you will have to buy yourself a VM account. That is hugely profitable. My bet is this will happen in a few stages. VM account holders will continue to send VM. However now we will send to anyone. (All those messages... been thinking about you.. what are you up to... that ringing or texting may be too intrusive for. The reaquantances on your buddylist). Stage two will be lowering the price for VM sending from the current $15 which is too high. This could wait awhile. Still it's likely. Alternatively they launch a commercial channel where you can have a "cheaper" VM. There's lots of possiblities here.

Finally this becomes even more attractive when you are calling a cellphone. Don't you just wonder where they are. In a car? Safe? Send them a VM. Don't frighten them with a ring. Your presence indicator reading for them says on mobile. Actually I think there will be status that is "on mobile" and "mobileme" which says calls are good.

Case made. Voice mail is not viral enough. Voice messaging changes the game but needs early adopters to infect others. Currently you limit my infection rate. That's just stupid. Similarly when looking at Yahoo's new beta the other day, you can only leave a voice mail on a failed call. That's just old thinking. There's money in VM I know it. However as Skype has not announced adoption rates and SkypeIn which bundles it is limited my bet is it is hard to get people in the current format to sign up.

See also these posts on VM.

• Skype VM Update
  
• Skype Voice Messaging Fast Forward
  
• Skype Voice Messaging

Posted by Stuart Henshall at 12:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Could I be missing something when others query Niklas's cash flow claim? Is it too simple to look to the invoice numbers we quoted and looked at the other day. The chart is here.

Although subscribers only pay a few euros, these revenues would help to make the 2-year-old start-up cash-flow positive this year, he said.

"That's the case," he said, when asked if his company would be cash flow positive in 2005. The company has not yet given any indication about its profitability. Politics News Article | Reuters.com

My lastest order number on May 24th was 6523135 for an additional SkypeIn line. The day before my order number was 6515443 for a Euro 25 SkypeOut credit. Not 24 hours apart.

I had previously purchased a SkypeOut credit for 10 euros exactly one month earlier on April 23. That's 931508 orders in a month. Or some 30000+ orders per day.

So in maths, for cash flow that is E300000 per day in cash @ 10 euros per transaction. For the latest month it's likely that the total was in the region of E9+ million. Now that number excludes promotional gifts (bet that is not many on the orders) and assumes everyone bought a 10 euro voucher. It fails to add VAT that applies to all European orders. It's been a long time since I was an accountant in Europe, the Vat was paid the month after it was collected. Thus they have created a nice tidy little float there.

Which brings us to cash flow. Other than obvious staff (120 odd) and travel the biggest outgoing by far is paying for these minutes. Then there has to be a fair amount left over. So where is the rest of the money going. Lots on professional services, including marketing, affiliation programs, alliances, creating private labelling deals, paying the lawyers, for defending themselves, including regulations, alliances etc.

I don't know how many minutes Skype had to buy last month. We do know the approximate number of SkypeOut users. If someone wants to pay me to be more scientific I will. SkypeOut numbers have been announced crudely at various times over the last few months. Let's say it is 200k new SkypeOut users in the last month.

That means based on orders at 10 euro that they represent 20% of the purchases last month. We don't know how many minutes they will use. For the rest it means that we had approx 700K reorders. That means that up to 50% of the reported 1.4 millon on SkypeOut may be renewing monthly. It will be less because of heavy users, SkypeIn transactions and users opting for bigger prepaid card amounts etc.

700 k users pay 10 euros for a prepaid card in the month, thus revenue is 7 million euros plus taxes. The longer the repurchase cycle the more they have in cash flow.

I'm inclined to believe they are already cash flow positive and have been for quite a while. As for profit, that's not relevant right now. Cash goes into more developers and services which accelerate product development and prepares and protect Skype for a future in which PSTN minutes won't provide the cash or the opportunity to build a new company.

So is it smart to say cash flow positive this year? I'm betting they already are.

Now there are some choices to be made. How much to spend on the US market development, where Skype is a clear laggard? How to accelerate growth in markets outside the US where the customer acquisition costs are low? It's still a balancing act. What really matters is growing the user base.

Posted by Stuart Henshall at 10:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

As I write this my Skype buddy Gaurav Prasad is just waking in India. As he opens the chat message I sent him he will think he is still dreaming.

Gaurav is a Linux freak. He is a major contributor to the Learning Skype’s plug-in Architecture guidebook

I sent him this link. Business Week's coverage of the new Nokia hand-held “Linux-based Internet Tablet”.

How long will it take Gaurav to get Skype up on this platform? How long before he will have the Skype API enabled on it?

Nokia have made a bold strategic move. See it here. How long before we read about Nokia on the Skype Partner’s Page?

One thing is very clear in this report in eWeek. Nokia chose open source because they understand the value a strong developer ecosystem brings to their business.

Posted by Bill Campbell at 09:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A simple little tip. Skype likes slipping in new features and this one could have been there forever. It will be on some release notes. Still it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I learned you could "drag n drop" files into an open chat windown and that would auto-magically activate the send file transfer. Simple as that and much quicker if the folder is already open.

Posted by Stuart Henshall at 06:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

Niklas Zennstrom's presentation from VON Europe. What's changed and what's been updated since VON Canada?

Insert positioning Skype as providing free global roaming particularly with SkypeIn. Added in details on the affiliate program and providing a similar although stronger point of view on regulation. Plus still thinking ecosystem.

• Encouraging evangelizers
• Extensive API which is free to use
• Accessories which are Skype Enabled are very attractive to consumers
• Existing users recommend Skype to friends (as long as we are honest and respect our users)

Download file

Posted by Stuart Henshall at 01:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Nice post by Maja Brisvall a design strategist on Skype targeting the mobile space.

The design director at Nokia told me a month ago that his misjudgment of MMS was basically that people don't want to send images to strangers. Well this cannot be true, as Lunarstorm finds that what it's users do all the time is communicating by exposing photos of everything. And marketing director, David Erixon, of Vodafone Sweden agrees, it is to difficult to send MMS, the UI of the mobile phone is flaw.

By moving Skype to wifi phones p2p content will fly. The challenge for Skype will be to stay true to it's vision of being an honest company, avoid turning into a Telco and be wise enough to quickly develop a brilliant design strategy which will set the specifications for how Skype branded phones should look, feel and work. MAJA

Posted by Stuart Henshall at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

• Tech Digest: Nintendo DS sets sights on VoIP. Not this year
• Strategic Board Blog: The onslaught begins: Yahoo and MSN begin the assault on Skype More focused on serving Big Three customers than worrying about the new kid
• mambo software powers the blog, via Liew Cheon Fong's blog.
• Junior's Page: Portuguese tutorial on installing Skype.
• The Engadget Interview: Jeffrey Citron, chairman and CEO of Vonage: "That’s really what Skype is. A little more sophisticated. A little more electronic. But it’s still a calling card." He soooo wants to be a real telco when he grows up.
• Om Malik: Skype Versus Vonage. Skype puts downward price pressure on Vonage.
• Martin Geddes: three obsolete words: Convergence. try "displacement, divergence, fragmentation." VoIP. "Think: Presence, social network integration, identity, transaction integration." Telecom. "they’re getting a divorce, into Tele (the connectivity) and Com (the application)", Must read.
• Skype forum: This is how to make a Bluetooth headset work with XP SP2
• KDE: Interview with Will Stephenson of Kopete, a Linux messaging client. Help wanted for Skype integration.
• Enterprise VoIP Planet backgrounders. Nothing on Skype. Can you spell disruption?
• GB25: EZMP MP3 player and VoIP phone. And FM radio. Add a corkscrew and I'm there.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 09:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In The Jeff Pulver Shift Happens presentation at VON Europe 2005 he opens with "Net Freedoms" and "Consumer Empowerment" and then moves to Skype. These are some of the reasons Skype Journal was started and why we are blogging about "freedom" and "regulation", concerned about port blocking etc. From almost the first day I wrote about Skype I've seen it as facilitating a new market, and new forms of exchange. The learning from Jeff's presentation slides for me reading between the lines is VON "voice on the net" as defined today won't cut the cloth of the future anymore. Yes we are going to see "audio" / "voice" advances, however the focus that emerges is a completely new experience, that will be led by presence, identity, and relationships. VON conceptually is being superceded while the market is being transformed.

Posted by Stuart Henshall at 09:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Simon Perry of Digital Lifestyles reports from Von Europe where he interviewed Niklas yesterday who announced the formal launch of the Skype Affiliate Program.

There will also be "super affiliates" that will have their own Skype account manager - a first for them. The first two announced are Luna Storm in Sweden and SuperEva in Italy. Luna Storm is a online phenomenon in Sweden, having over 2m members, which in a country of 9m in total is pretty impressive. Skype Affiliate Programme Becomes Official - Digital-Lifestyles.info

The Skype PR announcement

Posted by Stuart Henshall at 08:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Dial 911 in Skype. This is what you get.

How many voip services can give you this feedback?

Personally, I think this is a mature response. This is Skype starting to think like a player engaged in a contest for political power with gargantuan telcos and cable companies. And a software company listening closely to its users. And its lawyers. I hear stories that telcos routinely spend eight times their R&D budget on "government affairs," a barrier to entry for new entrants. Since half of Skype's staff are involved in product development, that's not the case here. Yet. Read on to see the ex parte letter Goldberg filed on behalf of Skype.

LAW OFFICES
GOLDBERG, GODLES, WIENER & WRIGHT
1229 NINETEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON, D.C. 20036
HENRY GOLDBERG
JOSEPH A. GODLES
JONATHAN L. WIENER
BRITA D. STRANDBERG
LAURA A. STEFANI
HENRIETTA WRIGHT
THOMAS G. GHERARDI, P.C.
COUNSEL

(202) 429-4900
TELECOPIER: (202) 429-4912
general@g2w2.com

May 10, 2004

Electronic Submission

Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554

Re: WC Docket 04-36 Ex Parte

Dear Ms. Dortch:

On May 9, 2005, Skype Communications, S.A. (“Skype”), represented by Director of Operations Michael Jackson, undersigned counsel, and Brita D. Strandberg of this firm, met with Chairman Martin’s Chief of Staff Daniel Gonzalez and Michelle Carey, Legal Advisor to Chairman Martin, and separately with Commissioner Copps and Jessica Rosenworcel, Legal Advisor to Commissioner Copps, to discuss the application of 911/e911 requirements to IP-enabled services.

Specifically, Skype explained its position that those providing IP-based replacements for fixed-line wireline telephone service should provide equivalent access to 911/e911 emergency response services as available to consumers using the telephone services for which they are seeking a replacement. In this way, consumers, who expect to have access to emergency response when they replace their fixed-line telephone service, will not be exposed to potentially dangerous situations if their reasonable expectations are not met.

Skype emphasized that the Commission should define IP-based replacements for fixed-line wireline telephone service as services that:

• Assign users NANPA/E.164 phone numbers;
• Offer as a package real-time, two-way service that is able to receive voice communications from the PSTN and terminate voice communications on the PSTN;
• Provide, or enable use of, traditional CPE or CPE that, like traditional CPE, is always on and has dial tone.

Use of this definition will ensure that consumers buying phone service that is marketed as, and intended to be used as, a replacement for fixed-line wireline telephone service will be able to reach emergency services.

Naturally, Skype itself will abide by this proposal and will offer access to emergency response whenever it offers services meeting these criteria. Indeed, Skype is planning to integrate its IP offerings with its own WiFi handsets and will support the provision of reliable user location information to emergency services when consumers buy those handsets.

In the interim, Skype is concerned that overbroad application of 911/e911 requirements will impede rather than facilitate the provision of emergency services. Skype does not have access to reliable real-time location information for its users – Skype may determine a user’s IP address, but IP addresses (in addition to being vulnerable to spoofing) offer only the most general sense of a user’s location. Of course, Skype could request location information from users, but any self-reported information is likely to be unreliable. Skype users typically use Skype from laptops or from several computers, logging into their Skype accounts from home, work, hotel rooms, airports, Internet cafes, and anywhere else they have access to a computer and a broadband connection. Consequently, any user-reported location information, even if initially correct, will accurately describe a user’s location only some of the time, and could be off by entire continents.

Because it does not have and cannot obtain reliable location information from its users, Skype currently is unable to deliver emergency calls to the proper PSAP. It is likewise unable to transmit location and callback information. A Skype call to emergency services would run a serious risk of being routed to the wrong PSAP and would contain unreliable information once connected. Adding capability for such calls to Skype would reduce user security by creating a false impression that Skype can and should be used to reach emergency services and would burden PSAPs with improperly routed calls and unreliable information. Skype has addressed this limitation by warning users that Skype should not be used as a telephone replacement service and cannot be used for emergency dialing

For the reasons discussed above, Skype urges the Commission to limit the immediate application of 911 and e911 requirements to IP-based replacements for fixed-line wireline telephone service as defined herein.

Respectfully submitted,

Henry Goldberg
 Attorney for Skype Communications, S.A.

cc: Commissioner Copps
Michelle Carey
Daniel Gonzalez

Jessica Rosenworcel

Posted by Phil Wolff at 10:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (1)

Mixed messages? Two clips from the same day from Skype's website. Are recent E911 rulings scaring Skype? I find real mixed messages here for consumers too. As a Skyper, Skype has replaced the telephone for me. So it is a "replacement." Yet it isn't apparently a "replacement" service.

If VoIP providers want to win / and work with users to get the "right" regulation in play then better language is required. Users don't care about quibbles. Portray it as a "nomadic service", define it as a "socialnet", or augmented communications. It is both very much more and very much less. It is certainly different. Users know this.

What feedback is Skype getting from country regulators? How are the current experiments in the US, UK, Denmark, Poland, Finland, Sweden, France, and Hong Kong going? (Note Norway is no longer available.)How many numbers have now been issued?

While I'm happy with the service having spent another 55 Euro today on Skype for an English number and more minutes others may want to read the terms and conditions There are not a lot of guarantees there. We understand the emergency dialing, and then most phone companies would refuse to guarantee your number too.

Posted by Stuart Henshall at 08:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

One's just lonely, two's company, three's a crowd. Some bloggers are dropping other IM products for Skype. Is this a stampede? Myself? I turned on my Trillian a couple of times in the last few weeks. Only to get to someone who I haven't yet converted. My buddy list keeps growing. While I want to organize it renaming buddies kills the extra details (timezones, locations etc.) that my buddies keep updating.

My colleagues Jeremy and Tris are ditching their old instant messaging (IM) clients like MSN and so am I. I'm sick of having multiple instant messaging IM clients, especially now that I have one that works so damn well. WillPate May 15

I’ve decided to stop using MSN Messenger, as well as every other IM client out there. I now use Skype exclusively Jeremy Wright April 18

I was thinking, "yeah I prefer Skype too..." [end thought]. This morning I realized that just about all the folks I IM with on a regular basis are on Skype. So, why, pray tell, am I running a multi-protocal app to be available on MSN, Y!, and AIM? Tris Hussey April 20

I use Skype everyday, and quite a lot during the day, but rarely for voice services. Although the option is great, as is the multi-person capability, I use it for my IM. Group chats, simple interface, easy to manage voice to chat switches. Just simple. Arieanna Foley May 7

Posted by Stuart Henshall at 08:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

A BBC story about a family in Guyana that uses Skype.

Duane DeFreitas, an adventurer and guide living in the tropical rainforest of Guyana. ... Out here it pays to be self sufficient: the nearest town is across the Rupununi river and down a gruelling four-wheel-drive track - about three hours away in the dry season, or about three days away in the wet. There's no telephone, no mains electricity, no anything really.

Except, surprisingly, broadband internet access, in all its glory. With a satellite dish outside the house, and electricity provided by solar panels and a current inverter, DeFreitas is possibly the world's least likely internet nerd.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 06:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (3)

Last month we did two reviews of SkypeSee here and here. They have renamed the product wigiwigi which I hope won't last as a name.

The lastest version 17w is downloadable here.

This version should be considered a prototype or alpha release, but it is a very good one. The User Interface is rather crude, but it's truly worth playing with it if you are a video geek. It is the finest video quality I and my fellow testers have seen. Here is a sample:

It shows Carlo in Denmark and me in Kelowna, BC, Canada. Christian's photo is the "wallpaper" on Carlo's screen which provides a way to compare the over all quality of the video pics. The numbers below my pic on the right show how we set the call parameters for Quality at 40 and (Frame) Rate at 35. The bandwidth consumed is shown here.

At this time calls are made by entering "Call" plus the IP address as shown here in the lower left of the video window.

View image

Once the call is established you can enter Quality 40 followed by Rate 30.

Now here is a great trick. No other system I have seen can do this. Type in Mirror instead of Call. This places a call to yourself. Now set the Quality to any value from 4 to 128 and the Rate to a value form 1 to 70. You will see yourself as other's will see you.

The resloution is so good I can hold up what I call an "eye exam chart", i.e. a page of 11 point type and Carlo can read it. That is suburb resolution.

The audio quality is good too. All this puts more pressure on Skype to excel. :) :)

Posted by Bill Campbell at 04:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (1)

Martin Geddes provides a neat idea and wants a less interruptive communication system. Next time I'll send him a voice message! The objective is to send a message "I want to talk to you" with it's own signal. I'm pretty sure I've seen another IM system that has already done this. It effectively sent a highlighter to your buddylist. Thus I could quickly see who wanted to reconnect. Under the SkypeAPI it would then be connected to a contact management system which would provide the topic and follow-up context whenever the caller rang back.

I’d rather see is a little stack of names of people in the bottom right of my screen who want to talk to me. If they go offline, their entry fades out. Maybe the colour signifies the urgency of the request; a slowly draining sand timer icon indicates if this is a time-bound request. Telepocalypse

Posted by Stuart Henshall at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

About one-hour ago Skype began its blog! The main man running the blog is Estonian, Skype Staffer Jaanus Kase or known by the more familar handle "terminus" for those who visit the Skype Forum.

So the competitive pressure is on the Skype Journal. Well anyway I think we beat Jaanus with the news about 3 Million users online. :) :)

The site is bright; breezy. New facts too.

Congratulations Skype. Good work Jaanus!

Posted by Bill Campbell at 09:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (3)

Arieanna's share on Get Real resonated with me, although I can't still claim that I don't use telcos at all. But I use them less and like them less.

........ I don't use the telcos for anything at the moment. No landline or anything. .......... Part of my decision to stick with Skype is that I don't see any future product from either telco or cable provider to offer the same level of social connectivity. I use Skype everyday, and quite a lot during the day, but rarely for voice services. Although the option is great, as is the multi-person capability, I use it for my IM. Group chats, simple interface, easy to manage voice to chat switches. Just simple.

I find myself increasingly relying on Skype for a lot of my communications over the internet. I rarely use MSN or Yahoo messengers anymore with those who have Skype, I feel no need to use the telephone or send email or sms's to friends and clients outside Mumbai who are on Skype.

While my friends here on SkypeJournal are constantly pushing the bar on new uses for and applications around Skype, I'm still very curious to know how you USE Skype.

Some of my observations on my own usage:

Voice - Feeling Connected :

All of this week i've been in remote villages in India, which had no electricity, a smattering of landlines that donot work, a few cell phones. And i have been able to chat with friends in the US and UK on Skype and beam pictures to my blog from there. LIVE !

Apart from Skype, which I use almost daily, I use SkypeOut pretty regularly (nothing beats the 2 cents I pay per minute to the US or UK).

I use SkypeIn - I got myself a number in the US and we've been getting calls from my sister-in-law really frequently - for her now its just a free call. And the thousands of miles between us have vanished. I've sat in a rickshaw with my CDMA connection, and allowed friends abroad a peep into

street sounds in Delhi. When I travel abroad, it has become my main mode of keeping in touch with people back home. Imagine my delight when I was on a snorkelling trip on a small island called Koh Rock in Thailand with my cell phone signal really low, and I get a call from a friend in the US who is using SkypeOut to call me and we have this really cool conversation then.

I love the fact that people can leave me voicemails ... and that they can be really long long ones - a friend once left me one using the full 10 minutes :).

The two most compelling features for me are the voice quality and cost. More in-your-head, all ears, as Stuart said earlier. Quality of sound is far superior to even what I have on my landline - there's barely a crackle. Its changed the way I listen and participate, and is a great sensory experience. I can't wait for Skype Video now!

Chat:

One person and multiperson chats. Conference chat panes that are like running your own Yahoo "Chatrooms" or IRC channels. Here you select a topic, add those you want (no unwanted walk-ins) and stroll in and out when you wish - you will still be able to see all the activity there. The pane lives on. Its nice to pick up threads at a later time around a specific topic.

And you have archives of all text conversations. Why would I need other messengers anymore? Many are replacing their IM clients with Skype.

Transfers, reminders, notes, pings:

But its not just about voice communications and chat ... its the total package. I find it so utterly tedious to use email when I could just so easily send a ping on Skype, or transfer a file, not worrying about file size. I've been getting a lot of really awesome music from a friend in the UK this way - somehow my perception is that its quicker than when sent as an attachment to an email or synched in a space like Groove. Moreover, I don't need to bother with locating contacts from my address book or about typing in a subject. The Skype UI makes it so so simple.

Presence:

At several levels - the most basic is the invitation to call when you see someone is 'online', or the knowledge that you shouldn't be dist