Caveat: This post is mostly for the benefit of Canadians but then again if you're outside Canada where unlimited data plans are the norm, count your blessings. These plans do have implications for mobile Skype usage costs, such as with iSkoot. Update: maybe it is international - the story has made CNN.com

Rogers takes major steps towards lower cost data plans for Canadians but they still don't measure up to US and European benchmarks.

To review the Canadian wireless data scene:

• Rogers is the only GSM carrier in Canada
• the iPhone is to be launched July 11 with the introduction of the iPhone 3G.
• Blackberry Bold will be available on Rogers at some time this summer (indications point to a July launch; seems that Rogers has more HSPA experience than AT&T)
• Rogers is replacing the Blackberry 8800 with the WiFi-enabled Blackberry 8820.
• Rogers monthly data plans have been, to be kind, somewhat expensive ($60 for 25MB on Blackberry; $60 for 1GB on an Nokia N95). In one cited example, 500MB of data per month would have cost $1,600.
• These are the first popular WiFi-enabled phones to be launched by Rogers (their N95 8GB launch two months ago has not exactly been a roaring success). Canadian still don't have much experience using WiFi access points with smartphones.

As predicted here last fall and discussed again two months ago, the forthcoming Canadian launch of the iPhone  with the accompanying Rogers voice/data plans has been accompanied by new Rogers data plans for the Blackberry (at least for those using the Blackberry BIS service). While Rogers offers no unlimited plans, last week I was able to change my Blackberry data plan from $60 for 25MB to $30 for 300MB (4% of my previous per MB cost). Down from the $1600 per month mentioned above, 500MB of data now costs $50 per month. And they now offer overage protection or FlexRate in their plans with  incremental costs well below those of previous data plans from $5/MB to $0.50/MB for the first 60MB and $0.03/MB thereafter. Finally to get a feel for your usage, the Rogers Blackberry plans offer unlimited email and browsing for the first one/two/three months of a contract provided you take out a 1/2/3-year contract.

Higher capacity data plans are available; however, I found I was using much less than 25MB per month but I was also cautious with my usage. A good part of the reason for this low usage was related to my heavy use of the WiFi available on my evaluation Blackberry 8820 at my home office, in hotels with accessible WiFi and even at other locations with accessible WiFi -- this was especially true when traveling in the U.S.. In a couple of cases I even fired up my Linksys Travel Router to convert an wired Ethernet connection to an WiFi access point in my hotel room.

On doing a comparison of combined voice and data plans I found the Blackberry plans to be slightly (~5%) less than iPhone plans comparing 450 voice minutes, 100 Canadian long distance minutes and 1GB of data. Provided you take the $15 Value Pack (required for CallerID) they are equal on issues such as sent text messages and enhanced voice mail.

Here is the key point all the media coverage of the Rogers plans misses. The iPhone comes with WiFi in addition to GSM/EDGE/HSPA.Over the past year many Canadians who bought iPhones out of the U.S. simply limited their Internet access to WiFi access points (on an unlocked iPhone) and never used the voice service; some actually paid the AT&T monthly fee if they traveled frequently to the U.S.. But here are the consequences of the iPhone's WiFi feature:

• Rogers iPhone plans include free access to Canadian HotSpot network sites at Starbucks, Second Cup, major airports and other public locations.
• Home and office use: In Canada some broadband Internet services end up supplying a cable modem/router with WiFi access; at worst it's a one-time cost of $100 to buy a WiFi-enabled router to create a home or office WiFi access point.

I have now had about 8 months' experience with the Blackberry 8820 and Nokia N95; as mentioned above I learned how to adopt to maximizing WiFi usage and using the Rogers data network only when absolutely necessary. Speculation at crackberry.com is that Rogers is in the process of launching the Blackberry 8820 to replace the 8800. Check the linked Crackberry.com post for all the activity that can be carried on through a WiFi access point on the 8820; no doubt those same features will carry over to the Blackberry Bold when it becomes available.

But there is one key feature of Blackberries that will not be available on the iPhone (aside from Copy & Paste): Blackberry 8x20's also support the UMA/GAN protocol. This means that you can also reduce your cellular plan voice minutes by calling through a WiFi access point. T-Mobile has had this service, called T-Mobile @ Home, since their launch last September. Rogers is commencing the offering of similar but more limited service through its Home Calling Zone plan which also is rumored to include free access at Canadian HotSpot Network locations. Relative to T-Mobile's service, Rogers Home Calling Zone only works for WiFi access points within Canada whereas several of my acquaintances have been able to access T-Mobile's service through their hotel WiFi services in Europe and Israel.

So here are the outstanding questions:

• Why did Rogers issue a press release announcing their iPhone plans while their customers only learn about their new Blackberry plans via sites such as Crackberry.com? Is this the Apple hype machine in action or has RIM fallen down on the PR opportunity?
• Why do Rogers data plan rates for enterprises with BES servers remain unchanged at $25 per month for 25MB? One excuse is that this is what is charged by market competitors Bell and Telus (who use CDMA instead of GSM).
• Why do Rogers' plans remain much higher than the equivalent AT&T pricing for both iPhone and Blackberry (for both of which AT&T provides unlimited data usage plans)?
• What role does installed backhaul capacity have in these rates? Is it the need to build out more backhaul capacity that is causing Rogers to only offer "limited" plans. Pictured is a new cell tower near my home; yet I understand, in spite of having a fibre optic connection, it still uses only two T1's or two E1's to get back to an Internet consolidation point. (It's final connection was delayed several months awaiting municipal permits to run the fibre optic line under a major roadway.)
• When will RIM and Rogers make available the 4.5 firmware upgrade for 8xxx series Blackberries to improve the browsing and HTML email experience, amongst a multitude of other issues addressed? RIM upgraded all their BIS servers over this past weekend in preparation for this new firmware.

Going forward I recommend:

• Leverage WiFi wherever possible. Download programs, preview Map routes and perform other data intensive activities while at a home or office WiFi access point. On the Nokia N95 I only use data intensive applications such as SlingPlayer (coming soon to Blackberries upgraded to the 4.5 firmware, where available) and Qik.com when in a WiFi zone.
• For a real mobile phone, the Blackberry 8x20 series or Blackberry Bold: UMA/GAN support (8x20 Blackberries only), Copy & Paste, video services (especially with the Bold), proven battery life, true stereo Bluetooth support and MMS are some of the differentiating reasons.
• For mobile entertainment: wait for an iPod Touch with GPS and maybe a microphone and use it in WiFi-enabled zones for the iPhone browsing experience - no monthly subscription fees. Meanwhile I'll stick with my iPod.

The Looming Canadian iPhone Launch Flop: As for the iPhone's launch in Canada, some early "geek" adopters may rush to get them on the launch day but on reviewing the plans, especially with the incremental costs for voice overage ($0.35 per minute on the two lowest costs plans) along with the data caps, it would appear the only plan that makes any sense for a complete iPhone experience is the highest cost one at $115/month. This is especially true if you want an iPhone to be your primary phone; the overage charges will quickly drive you up a level or two, irrespective of data usage. Even then you need at least the additional $15/month iPhone Value Pack if you want to take advantage of callerID's ability to locate your caller in your iPhone address book. When combined with the requirement for a three year contract, this is not a plan that is going to really bring the massive uptake the Apply hype machine is trying to generate and Rogers is anticipating. Ah, the iPod Touch offers such a good alternative provided you can live with only using WiFi access points!

Other posts:

• Jack Kapica, Globe and Mail: Pig in a Poke; How Rogers Stacks Up
• Great Expectations About To Be Disappointed: Facebook Petition
• CNet News: Canadian iPhone 3G Plans lack unlimited data
• Mark Evans: How Badly Do Canadians Want an iPhone?
• Mathew Ingram: Rogers iPhone: Get a Second Mortgage

Tags: Rogers, iPhone 3G, Blackberry, RIM, Blackberry Bold, Blackberry 8820, Rogers data plans, WiFi, smartphones, iPod Touch, T-Mobile @Home, Rogers Home Calling Zone, Crackberry.com, Jack Kapica, Mark Evans, Mathew Ingram

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Posted by Jim Courtney at 09:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Talking

• Risatel Laughter Hotline has been a Skype Prime service since last fall. Call up and laugh with someone for twenty minutes. 2 € a call, first one free.

• Penn State student uses Skype to interview Spanish poets. Another Skype-in-Academe story.

• How to cope with a long-distance university relationship. Skype, phone, talking. The Independent.

• US politicos Skype vid into Personal Democracy Forum conference. Here's the YouTube video.

• Meebo traffic growth is in embedded chat rooms. Facebook and other social sites prove context drives conversation.

Access

• Built in webcam makes Skype video more accessible on the Toshiba Satellite Pro U400. SlashGear. 

• Dell's new 'Studio' brand laptops come with a webcam too, and Dell Video Chat, a private-labeled Sightspeed. Free 1-to-1 video calls, pay for 4-way video conferencing. Dell's experiment with Skype   

• Linux Journal is agitating for R-E-S-P-E-C-T for Skype for Linux. 958 diggs last I saw.

• eBayers missed Skype on the eBay Live convention floor.

Blocking

• United Arab Emirates still blocking Skype. Powered by Secure Computing of Silicon Valley.

• American Airlines trying in-flight Internet without Skype. But YouTube's OK? Freakonomics.

Technology

• Google oAuth-enables all data APIs. Looks like the oAuth cross-site access authorization protocol is becoming a de facto standard. Valet keys for your data. Something for the Skype directory APIs?

• JumpForward powers its Sports Relationship Management service with Ifbyphone. Skype wasn't an option. Features include click-to-call to both parties on their phones, call recording, call log data fed in the SRM's relationship history. YouTube demo.

• Can you build a Skype clone for $1000 - $3000? Francophone Quebec2009 writes "I need a complete clone of skype and functionalities. If you done similar project or working on one I would like to see. I do not have time to entertainn outrageous and unrealistic bid ... Please recommed Operating systems and Database"

• DIY Hack: Skype calls announced over PC speakers.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

With the emergence of iPhone 3G and Blackberry Bold, certainly from a North American perspective, one has to wonder where Nokia is heading in the smartphone space. Certainly a clue evolved Tuesday when Nokia announced they were acquiring the remainder of Symbian they did not already own  for $410 million along with a plan to put the key intellectual property assets into an open source "Symbian Foundation" under an Eclipse Public License. And they convinced other partners with a Symbian interest to also join the Foundation and contribute assets. Read Ed Burnette's full post for his analysis of winners and losers.

Om then wrote one of his epic posts, "Symbian, iPhone and the New Reality" where he talked the realities of today's mobile business:

1. Handset makers need to accelerate the release of their phones much faster than the current 12-to-18 month production cycles or run the risk of getting RAZR-d into oblivion, like Motorola.
2. Phones are now a fashion business in that you’re only as good as your last model. Phone makers need to release new models as quickly (if not faster) as Parisian couture makers if they want to remain hot and gain sizable share of the handset market.
3. They subsequently can’t afford to muck around with proprietary software platforms that can take months to be approved by the mobile carriers.
4. Carriers want standardization because they want to deploy applications quickly, without having to test them on different handsets — a slow and laborious process.
5. Users want high-end, smartphone-like features on low-end phones.

Om goes on to discuss how the industry is changing  such that not only are software platforms the only way to withstand this commoditization but also how Apple is changing the game with their overall distribution control and management of third party applications. Fundamentally third party developers can focus on development and marketing while they let Apple take care of the business development overhead by Apple's facilitating the carrier availability, the distribution and the transactions.

Yesterday I was asked to be guest host of Squawk Box where we got into an interesting discussion around this subject, involving at least one developer participant in this scenario, William Volk at My Numo, and industry participants PhoneBoy and Dan York. You can go to the SaundersLog post to hear the entire discussion.

P.S. -- Want to see a prime example of Om's "smartphone realities" - check out the Skypephone: low cost, media-savvy, carrier friendly (and no recruitment subsidy required), third party software platform and "cool" (read fashion statement), in the countries where it is available.

Tags: Nokia, Symbian, iPhone, Squawk Box, SaundersLog, Om Malik, GigaOm, Ed Brunette

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Posted by Jim Courtney at 04:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

CalliFlower: iotum rebrands its Free Conference Call service with a focus on a rich user experience not only for conference call moderators but also  for participants.

Value-add in the Web 2.0 world comes primarily through the user interface. There's a plethora of great technology innovation happening out there. But it's becoming acknowledged that ease of installation, implementation and operation has been one reason for many services' success to date, including Skype's. Yet with only 30-35 million "Real users" out of 300 million registered accounts, Skype has embarked on a new beta program designed to improve on the user experience and ongoing adoption rate for both new users and power users. In the end it's viral user adoption that builds a business.

Last fall iotum launched its Free Conference Call for Facebook service; over the intervening months,  participants on iotum's daily Squawk Box conference call, using their Free Conference Call service, have seen the evolution of a user interface that has set a standard for enriched conferencing services. While the host or moderator tools have established call recording, participant management and a comprehensive invitation process as basic requirements for any complete multi-party virtual meeting, it is the interactive participant interface that has made Free Conference Call  popular with not only the regular attendees of Squawk Box but have also found Free Conference Call being used for other series of regular Special Interest Conference Call events.

But Free Conference Call initially required you to be a member of Facebook; later a separate web-based user interface, independent of Facebook, was introduced to allow participation and hosting outside Facebook. On the participant interface itself we started to see pictures of all the attendees if fewer than 20 participants are in a call; otherwise there is a text indicator. Hand raising, muting and a chat wall all made the calls a richer, more vibrant yet still manageably spontaneous experience. And the calls are stored in perpetuity for later recall. Oh, and, other than being an Unlimited Skype user, I have never paid a cent to attend these Squawk Box calls. (Seven years ago I was paying $200 for a five party, one hour conference call.) Conference calls are as much about organizing, moderating and archiving as they are about the actual call connection.

And, with over 200,000 registered users, iotum learned:

• the need to focus on the participant experience as much as on the moderator experience
• participants valued the rich user experience
• every participant is a potential organizer or moderator
• its most active users were small business entrepreneurs

Building on this feedback and introducing additional features, iotum took on a mission to reinvent business conversations. Today iotum launches the beta of its rebranded conference call service, Calliflower, with two user interfaces - one for the moderator and one for the participants - that deliver an even richer user experience. A interactive dashboard for call moderators, calendar integration, a selection of call-in options and an interactive chat wall all contribute to establishing a new benchmark for a complete conference call experience.

Calliflower is targeted for small businesses who wish to conduct a more interactive and complete conference call experience for both the moderator and the participants. Their longer term goal is to have "open access" via any social network or any device. Yesterday I saw a demonstration of the service running through the iPhone browser but they are still working on the adaptation to the iPhone format. Certainly Nokia and Blackberry smartphones are also in their sights, provided they have appropriate advanced browser support.

But most importantly, iotum has demonstrated that an engaging, interactive, yet simple user interface is key to mass adoption of Voice 2.0 services. It's also a business fundamental being encountered by other service providers, such as Skype and the revamped SightSpeed for Business about which I'll be posting in the next few days.

Try out a demonstration of CalliFlower here; or sign up and organize your own CalliFlower conference call here. If you have a Facebook account, you can use your Facebook login information. You can access CalliFlower conference calls via SkypeOut; if you have a Skype Unlimited plan that includes either North America or France, that connection comes at no additional charge..

This morning Squawk Box turned the tables. Adam Somer acted as a guest host and interviewed Alec Saunders and Howard Thaw of iotum about the new CalliFlower service and their experiences leading up to its launch. Alec has putting up a recording of the call here; listen in for more information.

Tags: iotum, Free Conference Call, Calliflower, SkypeOut, Squawk Box, Facebook

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Posted by Jim Courtney at 08:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Use SkypeOut with Talkster to make SkypeOut calls to "Caller Pays" mobile phones at your "local" SkypeOut rates (= free, if on a Skype Unlimited plan).

A couple of weeks ago I reported on how North Americans can make calls on SkypeOut and send their mobile phone number as their SkypeOut callerID. This has had significant unanticipated implications for a couple of services that use your mobile callerID for immediate identification and access to their service.

iotum's Free Conference Call: I noticed that, over the past couple of weeks since making my mobile number my SkypeOut CallerID, I did not have to enter the PIN codes supplied for each of the Squawk Box calls I register for. When I initially registered for Free Conference Call last fall I had to supply a mobile phone number with which I would associate my FCC account. If I called into a call from my mobile phone I was immediately identified using my mobile CallerID and put into the call. But since I usually called in via SkypeOut, where the callerID had been "000123446" I had to enter a PIN code to access the call. However, now that SkypeOut sends my mobile callerID, I am immediately put into the Squawk Box call as if I called in from my mobile phone.

Then last week, speaking with Talkster CEO James Wanless, he pointed out that the availability of mobile phone numbers as the CallerID (CLI) for SkypeOut calls makes it feasible to make SkypeOut calls to mobile phones in "Caller Pays" countries at "local" wireless phone charges using Talkster's Free World Dialing service.

Prior to discussing Talkster's service, a reminder: for calls originating from any carrier or VoIP service, the charges for calling mobile phones in "Caller Pays" countries are approximately an order of magnitude higher than charges to landlines in these countries. Basically call termination rates are established by the various mobile carriers in these countries; the originating carrier or service has little control over this differential. For this reason Skype's various Unlimited plans do not include calls to mobile phones in "Carrier Pays" countries; the same general principal applies to calls from, say, Truphone or other VoIP-based services. Skype's Unlimited plans, where relevant, will include calls to mobile phones in U.S./Canada since it is the mobile phone owner who pays for the mobile connection.

Here's how Talkster's Free World Dialing to Skype works:

1. First ensure you have set your Skype CallerID¹ to be your mobile number, preferably, but not necessarily, a mobile number you have entered into your Skype profile.
2. Talkster asks you to create individual "pairings" with each friend's mobile phone number in the remote country.
3. You "register" your mobile phone number and your friend's mobile phone number in, say, Germany or U.K. as a pairing.
4. Talkster then gives you "local" phone numbers for this pairing -- for instance I get a "416" or "647" Toronto number; I am also given a "local" German or U.K. number for my German or U.K. friend to use.
5. SMS messages containing these numbers are sent to both yourself and to your friend. On my Blackberry there was an opportunity to add the phone number to my address book.
6. I then use SkypeOut to call the "416" or "647" number in Toronto; Talkster detects my mobile callerID at this number and automatically calls my German or U.K. friend on his/her mobile phone.
7. We then have ten seconds to confirm we want to talk; I stay on the connection. There is no charge for this confirmation step.
8. My German or U.K. friend hangs up and then dials back to his/her assigned "local" German or U.K. number and is immediately connected back into my initial call.

And the resulting costs:

• Wireless carrier charges: Each of us is paying "local" wireless calling rates (i.e. I use up "local" minutes from my monthly Rogers subscription, and my remote friend pays according to his/her mobile subscription arrangements for local calls in his/her country) for the wireless connection at each end.
• The call originator pays whatever SkypeOut rates apply for to the "local" Talkster number. Since I am on a Skype Unlimited plan there is no charge for calling the "416" or "647" number assigned to me by Talkster.

The end result is that nobody is paying those high "Caller Pays" rates for calls to a German or U.K. mobile phone (~ US$0.25 per minute according to Skype's rate schedule). It is not a traditional "Call Back" service in that I never hang up but rather stay on the connection while awaiting a call back from my remote friend to initiate the call. Effectively I am given a Toronto number for connecting to my friend in Germany or U.K.

Using SkypeOut with a Skype Unlimited plan for local access, Talkster's Free World Dialing now makes calls to mobile phones in "Caller Pays" countries at no additional cost, provided my remote friends are willing to make a "local" call back into the call.

Talkster is different from the Skype To Go service in that, on Skype To Go, the caller is still be paying those "Caller Pays" charges on a call to a "Caller Pays" mobile phone service and you may end up paying a connection fee. On the other hand the called party does not have to make a call back. (Not being in a Skype To Go country, I have not experienced this service but James understood the algorithm.). Whereas Skype To Go works in eleven countries, Talkster is available for 34 countries.

A few comments from my interview with James:

• The setup connection call becomes a form of presence indication in that the called party needs to answer to indicate that s/he can participate in a call.
• They do not use SMS for notification of a call since SMS delivery does not have sufficient reliability to send a message in a timely manner; also SMS does not necessarily indicate that the called party is available to take a call.
• An individual can set up separate pairings for each remote contact whom you call frequently. Talkster allows up to 15 pairings for Canadians, 20 pairings for U.S. users. However, their experience is that most users will only set up a maximum of five or six pairings. Pairings can be between numbers in 34 countries.
• With this calling algorithm, it's a "Friends and Family" service for your frequently called numbers but not one for generally making calls to these countries.
• While this service is driven by the cost saving for calls to mobile phones, it can also be used to make calls to remote landline phones in the available countries.
• Talkster is developing business relationships with online communities as a key target market where they would have access to (user permitted) demographics to target advertising more effectively. James has commented on this aspect in his recent post "Using the Social Graph for Targeting Ads". Rather than being "just another call back service", Talkster expects to monetize through advertising during the ten second period when making the initial setup call. They may also have a means to send out coupons via SMS.
• There are no termination charges associated with this algorithm.
• According to James, because there are two inbound calls connected, apparently this enhances the call quality. Confirmation would only come through experience.
• Whereas Skype Unlimited Mexico provides unlimited calling to three cities in Mexico (with significant discounts to other regions), Talkster recently announced free calling to 14 regions of Mexico.

A classic example where this lower cost service became available to Skype users simply by Skype's making CallerID available; there was no additional work required by either Skype or Talkster to make the service work.

Skype CallerID will only accept mobile phone numbers or your SkypeIn (online) number.

Tags: Talkster, Skype, Free World Dialing, Skype To Go, Skype Unlimited, iotum, Free Conference Call, Skype callerID, SkypeOut

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Posted by Jim Courtney at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

World events are good for Skype.

Don't you expect petrol prices will continue to rise in the next decade? $5/gallon gas is just starting to force the public to rethink how energy touches every thing in the economy, every service, in each step of every value network. I can't wait to see what happens with $10/gallon gas. Carbon dioxide cap and trade will change the cost of things too.

We will adjust, of course. What we wear, eat, drink. Where we sleep, work, play. It's a huge change in lifestyle and culture for most. I bet it's affecting military strategy and tactics, boosting the costs of infrastructure, armament, logistics and supply lines. Managers in the private sector are checking their budgets, their supplies, seeing how the cost of energy changes factors of production, consumer behavior, best practices.   

How did petrol rationing in World War II affect daily life? (see the "B" ration coupon above left and the flyer below right that asks "Is this trip really necessary?") What substitutes showed up for products that became too expensive?

I fully expect distributed families like mine (scattered over the US, Canada and Europe) to pay a big price in this. Ballooning air fares and abysmal car gas mileage will be the rule for another decade or two. So we'll make fewer trips, despite our very human need for connection.

The same applies to scattered workgroups, flattening further our open world labor markets.

Commuting and travel for job search will continue to be costly, driving (pardon the pun) people to seek work closer to home. Labor market friction will rise.  It will be harder for people to find work, since there are fewer jobs closer to home. It will be harder/costlier for employers to recruit employees since they are drawing from a smaller labor pool, paying for relocation, or subsidizing commutes.

I think tools like Skype video conferencing will become more important as a result, as we put off moving our atoms and substitute virtual visits. So Skype is betting well by investing in video fidelity, intimacy, and engagement.

Where are the energy costs in Skype's infrastructure?

Sure Skype has data centers to operate, but most of the Skype network lives on the users' Internet and local networks, paid for by customers. This is in contrast to what most large IM and VoIP networks do, running all conversation through hosted, centralized systems. So Skype has an energy/bandwidth cost advantage of scale over Microsoft, Yahoo!, AOL, and Tencent.

What energy costs will be passed on to Internet users by landline phone companies, cable companies, wireless companies, and local power utilities? Bandwidth and online storage are becoming more efficient, a la Moore's Law, but how much of your bandwidth is an electricity bill? And how much will that bill rise?Will those energy costs be shared 'democratically' or will some bear those costs more than others?

Skype could become a change agent in one other response to the higher cost of moving atoms: Location-aware software. I can cut 10 kilometers/month by better sequencing my errands, avoiding traffic congestion, and bundling activities/visits into each trip ("as long as I'm here..."). I fully expect more solutions to "the traveling salesman's problem (TSP)" to show up in mobile phones, car navigation, and desktop software. Since Skype, especially Skypephones and Mobile Skype, knows so much about who I talk to and what I do, it could improve TSP recommendations with my data and those of people in my social network.

I think a world where we drive and travel less yet need more face time in larger social networks is the perfect soil for growing a Skype economy.

P.S. Gas coupons were printed but not issued during the 1973 US oil crisis, like the one with the etching of George Washington at the beginning of this post.

P.P.S. Where's edge/p2p electricity production when you need it?

P.P.P.S. Are you going to Structure08 on Wednesday, 25 June? 10% discount with SKYPPW code.

P.P.P.P.S Umair’s questions via a vc, how do we:

Organize the world's hunger.
Organize the world’s energy.
Organize the world’s thirst.
Organize the world's health.
Organize the world's freedom.
Organize the world's finance.
Organize the world's education.

See also:

• Wikipedia: Economic Geography
• War Production Board
• Economic Geography Journal, Clark University

Posted by Phil Wolff at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We reported earlier that Mike Bartlett, Skype for Windows Product Manager, would be the guest on Friday's Squawk Box. With 15 fifteen participants, Mike answered questions ranging from features of the new Skype for Windows 4.0 Beta; plans and objectives for the beta program, the challenges of trying to launch concurrent (Windows, Mac, Linux) versions, interoperation with other services (such as iotum's Free Conference Call service that hosted the call) and other issues related to the evolution of Skype.

Three key points:

• The Skype for Windows 4.0 beta program is unique in that they are seeking out user responses to the challenges of getting new users started readily while leaving the flexibility and scalability features power users seek out. For instance, while the Beta 1 client takes up a full desktop -- largely to get user reaction -- there will probably end up being a way to "hide" the conversation content pane, leaving the left hand conversation management pane but they want feedback from all beta participants on the full desktop. As a result we will see several phases to this beta program with a final release date largely dependent on the beta program feedback (and they're getting lots).
• New users are randomly being presented with the beta to get the feedback from actual new users on how they adopt Skype. They want to improve on the adoption rate by new users; abandonment is an issue they are certainly conscious of. (Or does it help to answer the question as to, why, with over 300 million reported account registrations, are the ongoing usage rates in the range of 30 to 35 million "real users"?)
• Providing real time communications infrastructure is most efficiently handled when Skype can write in the native environment for each of the Windows, Mac and Linux platforms. As a result they do not want to compromise the performance through using a cross platform environment but rather want to provide user experiences that users of each environment are accustomed to. Yet this diversity approach to each platform allows the team for one platform to pick up features and experiences from other platforms. For instance the conversation management user interface of Skype for Window 4.0 beta was picked up from experience with the Skype for Mac user interface with its "slide-out" drawers.

There were many more issues discussed; go over to Saunderslog.com's "Squawk Box June 20 - Skype 4.0" and listen to the complete interview.

Once again, if you wish to participate in the Skype 4.0 for Windows beta program, read our earlier post for download information but also read the caveats.

Tags: Skype, Skype for Windows 4.0 Beta, Squawk Box, Mike Bartlett, Alec Saunders, Saunderslog.com

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Posted by Jim Courtney at 05:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

The Inquirer reports eBay paid to use Klausner Technologies' visual voicemail software. You may have seen this interface on an iPhone. U.S. Patents 5572576 and 5283818. This could be good for Skype desktop, mobile and embedded users.

Demo of visual voicemail on the iPhone:

Posted by Phil Wolff at 11:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

SkypeSync is a Skype for Windows plug-in that pumps contact phone numbers from your mobile phone to your Skype account. This makes it easy to call your contacts via SkypeOut ("call phones"). This is an example of contact data portability.

A few questions with Andrey Goltsov, SkypeSync creator.

Skype Journal: Why did you make SkypeSync?

SJ: What do you like or would like to change about SyncML?

Andrey: SyncML - it is long story. I started work with SyncML a few years ago when at the beginning of SyncML standard. The main problem of SyncML (IMHO) that is is a weak standard and all SyncML provider (phone and sever) interpret this "standard" as they want. But a huge number of devices on the market support it. I think like 90% of phones with SyncML support and 10% of others (iPhone, WinPhone, Android etc).

SJ: Does SkypeSync work with the 3 Skypephone?

SJ: What advice would you give to other developers about working with Skype?

Andrey: Read the developer forum at the beginning. Remember that users have different versions of Skype running on different OSs.

About SyncML.

• SkypeSync uses SyncML (short for Synchronization Markup Language). SyncML is a protocol built in to nearly all smartphones, and most phones made in the last four years.
• Mobile phone companies In the United States have turned off SyncML for nearly all phones, with the exception of a handful from AT&T. 
• SyncML was adopted by the Open Mobile Alliance's Data Synchronization Working Group in 2002.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 06:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

iotum's Squawk Box conference call has become a daily staple for many participants and observers in the X 2.0 world. Subjects can ranges from new Voice 2.0 services, the wireless communications world, intellectual property and copyright law through to social networking issues. It's a unique chance to catch up on current developments and discuss them with peers who bring their own special experience and knowledge to the discussion. Access was originally for Facebook members via iotum's Free Conference Call service but is now accessible by anyone who registers,.

Tomorrow (Friday, June 20) at 10:55 a.m. EDT (GMT-4) Squawk Box's guest will be Mike Bartlett, Skype's Product Manager for Skype for Windows. Mike's topic will be the Skype 4.0 for Windows Beta program launched yesterday. Bring your questions and initial feedback; pre-register now (Facebook members, public access) and join the call tomorrow. As background you may also want to view the Skype 4.0 videos Phil put up Tuesday evening.

Tags: Skype, Skype 4.0, Skype 4.0 for Windows Beta, Mike Bartlett

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Posted by Jim Courtney at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Caution: Skype 4.0 for Windows Beta 1 is about improving the User Interface but it is not a replacement for your ongoing Skype conversations on your primary PC and should only be used on a secondary PC to provide user feedback.

While over the years, over 300 million have figured out how to download and install Skype, it's become apparent that, in the end, it's the user experience that will drive more massive Skype adoption. Finding those initial contacts, getting the speaker/mic working properly, ensuring you have a good Internet connection and determining what hardware is optimal for a good Skype experience is all part of Skype's ongoing research and development. And perhaps the most important of these is having a user interface that "delights the user". Certainly new Skype President Josh Silverman has indicated this as a primary goal for Skype.

In working towards this end Skype has made available an early beta version of Skype 4.0 for Windows with the primary goal of making Skype easier:

• for new users who are just starting up with Skype
• for ongoing users to manage, archive and recall their Skype conversations
• to improve the quality of certain aspects of conversations but especially with how video is displayed during video calls.

Check out the videos provided by Skype that Phil has posted to get a more dynamic overview. A key to understanding release 1 of the Skype 4.0 beta is that its development is at a stage where the Skype product team needs some outside user feedback. As a result they expect the Skype 4.0 beta activity to last through the summer prior to releasing for general use in, say, September, 2008 (a speculative release date, not an official one).

On the other hand at this stage it is an EARLY beta and is missing some features available in the current Skype 3.8 for Windows client. As a result I recommend that you only try it on a secondary PC while keeping Skype 3.8 on your primary PC used for Skype conversations, especially if Skype is mission critical to your conversations. From Product Manager Mike Bartlett's post today:

We're sharing this beta with you a little earlier than normal because we know it's a big change, and sometimes change can take some getting used to. We're going to spend the whole summer listening to your feedback and making changes so that when we do launch the final version, we'll make sure it's perfect. Because we're releasing it early, a few little things aren't available in today's beta: full history and contact groups are two examples.

I can add Call Transfer and PayPal integration as two more 3.8 features missing from this Beta 1. Check out the full Release Notes, identifying the missing features. Via a "Contact Customer Support" Help menu item you can provide your feedback where they're specifically requesting your "comment, feedback or frustration".

If you're into beta testing; if you have a secondary or back-up PC on which you can try this out, give it a try (download here). There is going to be a learning curve to get familiar with the new interface -- keep in mind that, with Skype 4.0, it's more about the user experience than the technology (although technology performance bugs should also be reported). As the beta releases progress we'll advise you when it's ready to try out as your primary Skype client. And, as we get more experience with it, we'll be posting our comments.

Around the blogosphere:

Andy Abramson: VoIP Watch: Skype 4.0 Beta Comes To Life

As a basis for making new revenue, it shows me that Skype is looking beyond just selling cheap minutes. For now think of 4.0 as a canvas, that's only been outlined. The real version is weeks away and likely will incorporate more feedback from users.

Om Malik: GigaOm: Video Makes Skype 4.0 Grow Bigger, Wider

The real reason for the redesign, however, is Skype Video, which desperately needed a new layout because it requires an ease-of-use that eludes the current client. As I pointed out a few weeks ago, video communication (which accounts for about 28 percent of total Skype calls) has been one of the fastest-growing features on Skype, thanks to the easy availability of built-in cameras, especially in devices used by mobile workers.

Dan York: Disruptive Telephony: Skype 4.0 seriously disrupts the Skype UI - is this a good thing? Dan hits on the core of this beta program:

I'll also be curious to see how well Skype balances "simplifying" the user experience for new users while maintaining the functionality that "power users" have come to expect. It's a tough balancing act and it will be interesting to see how Skype does.

New York Times: A Redesign at Skype (registration required)

Sten Tamkivi: siekatsu: Skype 4.0 beta 1 is out! (Full disclosure: Sten is Skype's General Manager of its Estonia operations which includes the Skype development teams.)

Tags: Skype, Skype 4.0 Beta 1, Mike Bartlett, Andy Abramson, VoIP Watch, Om Malik, GigaOm, Dan York, Disruptive Telephony

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Posted by Jim Courtney at 02:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Here are three videos provided by Skype. They cover material provided in press briefings. The twitter tag is "skype".

1. Josh Silverman and Mike Bartlett from Skype give a briefing on the features of Skype 4.0 Beta for Windows.

2. Mike Bartlett introduces Skype, and demos the new Skype 4.0 Beta for Windows.

3. Mike Bartlett demonstrates the advanced features of Skype 4.0 Beta for Windows.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 05:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Firefox 3 - faster, new, improved

Flock 1.2 - new, improved

Spore Creature Creator - free trial, fun

Skype 3.8.0.139 for Windows; minor update - Gold, useful

PPLive 1.19 - 400+ television channels, live, in Chinese

Posted by Phil Wolff at 02:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Over the past three months I have attended two events where PC and Internet security issues were the theme along with a Google presentation on cloud computing where security issues certainly were an underlying theme. While we're not talking here about the security surrounding Skype conversations, these presentations each provided some key information about keeping your PC ready such that they don't impact your ability to handle Skype calls.

Mathew Glotzback, a Product Manager in Google's Enterprise group talked about the vulnerability of end points -- and it's not the technology that makes them vulnerable: laptop theft (10% within the first 12 months of purchase), handling of USB thumb drives and other removable memory devices; according to their research, 60% of corporate data resides unprotected on PC desktops and laptops. Of course, Google's answer is cloud computing where all the data resides securely on the "cloud's" servers and not on the remote devices.

A few weeks later I attended a breakfast presentation by David DeWalt, CEO of McAfee; of course this was all about PC and Internet security. His themes:

• biggest issue today: over 750 new threats are being seen daily on average
• the sophistication of cybercrime has reached the point where the US Air Force is seeing cyber defense as its second key mission after air space defense -- the Pentagon itself has become a key target of cybercriminals.
• data protection: expanding on Mathew's theme, David talked about security standards (in reality, the lack thereof), variability of intellectual property law and the need for not only modernization of law around cybercrime but also the international co-operation required as the Internet liquidates political borders, as well as the development of security as a service models.

McAfee has recently acquired Safeboot (enterprise data protection and encryption) and ScanAlert (commerce and website security) to expand its enterprise security services. In the latter case they are continuously scanning websites to ensure they are "HackerSafe".

But from a Skype user's point-of-view, Dave's most striking comment about consumer vulnerability: the failure to renew anti-virus and Internet security software subscriptions. There is a need to educate consumers that, with over 750 new threats per day, the moment that initial subscription expires, you've become vulnerable. He also spoke about the vulnerability of SIP as an insecure protocol creating new vulnerabilities and how VMWare's partitioning architecture can also provide the ability to share malware.

Finally, I recently attended a presentation by CheckPoint's Canadian manager where the discussion came back to the issues of enterprise data vulnerability. Here we have a company that is developing enterprise security services that deal with the issues of ensuring security while not impacting employee productivity and flexibility. USB drives, cache memories, iPods and employee education are all issues taken into account in their enterprise offerings. Most important is the need to have CxO's recognize the need for an active policy approach through identification of the costs of data loss and random, inappropriate exposure.

For the consumer CheckPoint is launching its Zone Alarm ForceField to protect against phishing, spyware, keylogging, and "dangerous" downloads as well as to erase your "surfing tracks" and to provide additional security related to banking and e-commerce activities. The primary consumer packages: McAfee's Internet Security Suite and CheckPoint's Zone Alarm.

Most important, make sure you're using an Internet security offering, not just for Skype activities but for optimizing your overall Internet experiences. In fact, Rogers Internet service sees this issue as so important to their customer service and support operations that all Rogers Internet subscribers have Symantec security software included as a free component of their subscription.

And, if you still need convincing about new threats: I provide volunteer PC support for a local non-profit where I am "webmaster" and manage the mail accounts, some of which are forwarded to my personal email account (info@, webmaster@, etc.). We have a Postini subscription for our mail servers as I do also for my personal account. There has recently evolved a threat, called "spoofing", where someone tries to take over your domain name for sending out spam email; I was receiving all the "Delivery Failure" notices as a result. But they were infrequent enough not to worry. But about three weeks ago I came down to find over 50,000 of these notices had been rejected over an eight hour period by my Postini, yet 3,000 still got through. The hosting service provider for the non-profit told me this was a new threat they were seeing; they had just developed the experience required to mitigate this threat. They made their changes to our account management; I made some changes and now my spam is very infrequent. Sometimes innovation comes at a cost to the rest of us.

Tags: Google, cloud computing, McAfee, CheckPoint, Zone Alarm, Force Field, Postini

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Posted by Jim Courtney at 01:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today is the first update since 27 March. Download Skype version 2.0.0.72 for Linux.

New features proven in the Skype for Windows UI:

• "Show 'Edited by' on chat messages if they were edited later.
• Added notifications for role changes in group chats.
• Add displaying new chat guidelines for public chat."

A few bugs were fixed, and Bulgarian, French, Lithuanian, Polish, Turkish languages were updated.

Have you noticed group chats now support 150 people, up from 100 this time last year? And conference calls can support up to 25 people if the host has a strong computer and bandwidth?

Posted by Phil Wolff at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Investors in Skype partner Mobivox hired Peter Diedrich as CEO to fill the vacancy left by Stéphane Marceaux. Diedrich joins board of directors. I'm glad; they need leadership to exploit the Mobivox opportunity and to answer the question: Whither Mobivox?

Company news release below the fold.

MOBIVOX NAMES PETER DIEDRICH AS ITS NEW CEO

Joins Board of Directors in Company Providing International Calling from Any Phone

MONTRÉAL—June 16, 2008—MOBIVOX, which makes it possible to connect with family and friends around the world from any phone, today announced the appointment of Peter Diedrich as Chief Executive Officer.

Diedrich, 44, was also appointed to the board of directors of MOBIVOX. He succeeds Stéphane Marceau, who left the company early this year.

Diedrich has more than 20 years of operations experience in technology and telecommunications, management consulting and venture capital.

He comes to MOBIVOX after serving since 2006 as president and CEO of TBayTel, the largest independently owned full-service telecommunications carrier in Canada, where he developed a new strategic growth blueprint and led turnarounds in financial and operational performance.

Diedrich has also held key leadership positions at a number of high-profile firms, including Bell-Northern Research, Nortel Networks, McKinsey & Company, Bell Canada Enterprises, RBC Royal Bank Financial Group and Skypoint Capital.

He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from Carleton University and a master of science in management from the Alfred P. Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He is a member of Professional Engineers of Ontario.

MOBIVOX is a privately held company whose investors include: IDG Ventures Boston, IDG Venture Investment China, IDG Ventures Vietnam, Brightspark and Skypoint.

MOBIVOX enables voice-activated calls from any phone to more than 40 countries. Registered MOBIVOX members can make free and inexpensive high-quality calls around the world by simply saying the name of the person they want to reach.

MOBIVOX is simple to use—no need for a calling card, PIN number, computer or complex download. Just a call to a local number connects you instantly with friends, family and colleagues. For more information, please visit http://www.mobivox.com.

#    #    #

Posted by Phil Wolff at 04:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

TechWack reports The recent Google+Yahoo! advertising deal said "Yahoo and Google agreed to enable interoperability between their respective instant messaging services, bringing easier and broader communication to users."

Hmmm. Microsoft, AOL, Yahoo!. Should put together a pool for when MySpace, facebook, and Tencent's QQ join the federation? After all, they have it easy with centralized IM services. Skype, on the other hand, would need to construct a central gateway, or expand the one they use with MySpaceIM.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 03:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Jim Courtney will be covering the annual eBay Developers Conference in Chicago Monday and Tuesday. Trip canceled due to ferocious thunderstorms here Sunday evening resulting in aircraft repositioning problems, the August 2005 Air France crash at Toronto Airport and no space on other Chicago flights today. Information technology allows the airlines to fine tune to average demand with no allowance for weather-related changes.

Members of the Skype Beta Tester program will be there, as well as members of the Skype developer relations team and a few Skype partners.

There will be four Skype-related talks at the DevCon.

• Partner Case Studies: Hosted by Skype, Ben Lilienthal (HiDef Conferencing), Christoph Buenger (Scendix Software)

• Skype and the Routes to Market for Partners, Antoine Bertout (Skype DevRels)

• Skype Developer Program Roadmap, Peeter Mõtsküla (Skype DevRels)

• The View from the Couch of the Future in Digital Living Room, Christoph Buenger

Since Skype won't be announcing anything at the mostly eBayish DevCon, I'll be looking at bigger picture news coming out of Supernova 2008 in San Francisco.

Professor Kevin Werbach is guiding us into a conversation about troubled waters. In his words:

The Network Age poses ten basic challenges for all of us interested in the future of technology, media, and communications:

1. Scarcity and Abundance
   (Both are sources of value, yet they cannot coexist.)

2. Choice and Coordination
   (Users are in control, but don’t they need guides to avoid being overwhelmed?)

3. Aggregation and Fragmentation
   (Network effects mean that the big players get bigger, but at the same time, markets increasingly specialize and personalize.)

4. Stability and Disruption
   (True innovation requires disruption, but disruption can be painful and costly, especially where investment and trust are significant.)

5. Behavior and Rationality
   (People don’t always act according to models of rationality, especially when connected to one another, but our economic frameworks assume they do.)

6. Complexity and Simplicity
   (Complex adaptive systems produce emergent behavior and growth, but simplicity is a virtue… in both life and information technology.)

7. Openness
   (Everyone agrees it’s good, even essential in a networked environment, but no one can say what exactly it means, or how much openness is beneficial.)

8. Governance
   (How much do networks and their users need to be managed or protected, and where do those controls come from?)

9. Scale
   (The local is different from the global, whether the subject is enterprise collaboration or usage patterns or cloud computing infrastructure.)

10. Sustainability
    (How to build organizations and systems that endure, especially in a world whose delicate ecology is itself a form of scarcity.)

OK. That's a huge agenda. And some of the best and brightest minds will be in a few rooms and hallways for the next three days. I'll try to twit what I can, blog as my head clears, and relate this to the future Skype will face.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 10:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I don't know if it's still true, but stuffed, floppy, colorful beanbags were seen at Skype. For example, photos from 2005, a blog post from March 2006 featuring beanbags in the office corridor. And here's a video from last year: 

If I may suggest, for that comfy Skype hallway feeling, try Sumo brand bean bag chairs, bean bag stools, and other bean bag furniture.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Jan Geirnaert skyped me early this morning from his post-surgery hospital bed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, after his appendix was removed yesterday. He looked good, considering. Blue hospital gown, sleepy wife, hooked up to IV pain meds and good Wi-Fi. He didn't show me his scar.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Jan.

Jan is an occasional contributor to Skype Journal and author of his own blog about VoIP and Skype. 

Posted by Phil Wolff at 08:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

The next iPhone remains a single tasking beast, seductive as hell. But the iPhone lacks the background processing Skype uses to keep you connected.

Skype does wonderful things in the background.

• Sharing your availability and mood message.

• Queuing inbound friend-requests and retrying outbound requests.

• Persistent chat room messaging.

• P2P supernoding that keeps the Skype network connected.

• File transfers that continue after you start something else.

• Updating the presence, profile, and mood of each of your contacts.

• And answering Skype calls, when you are using your device for something else.

Rob Hof of BusinessWeek live blogged Monday's Apple WWDC keynote:

[Scott] Forstall [SVP iPhone software], however, has more to talk about. He sets this up by trashing companies — he shows Samsung [Instinct] — that allow apps that run background applications after you think you've stopped an app. Forstall says this eats up battery life and slows performance.

So Apple instead is providing a push notification service for developers, which allows them to send various types of alerts after the application is no longer hooked up to the network. He says this scales better because there's only one persistent connection needed. This works over WiFi and cellular. It will be available in September.

Engadget quotes Forstall in more detail:

"There has been one feature request that doesn't currently exist... it's mainly come from clients like IM, where by their very nature they want to get a notification even if the user isn't running the app. We absolutely want to solve this problem, the question is how?"

"The wrong solution is to enable background processes... to allow an app to continue to run even after their user thinks they quit it." Windows Mobile, we're looking at you. Why's it bad? "First, battery life, it drains power. Second, performance, it sucks up cycles and makes other things feel sluggish." Uh oh, he's showing the WinMo task manager.

"We've come up with a far better solution -- a push notification service Apple will provide to all developers.

Apple will maintain a persistent IP connection to the phone, where a 3rd party server can ping Apple's notification service to your device. It can push badges, sounds, and custom textual alerts (like how SMS overlays look).

"The great thing about this: it scales... it's a unified push notification service for all devs. It preserves battery life and maintains performance. And it all works over the air -- WiFi and cellular. Available in September, but next month we'll be seeding to devs. This has been an update of the SDK, thank you!"

But this push service sucks.

1. It intermediates Apple. You want to talk to your customers? You have to go through Apple. It's a bottleneck, single point of failure, and a (gag!) walled garden.

2. It is hostile to P2P. Customers cannot talk to each other. One way notification goes from servers to phones. Phones can't send notifications back to servers or to other phones.

3. Notifications kill foreground sessions. For Apple's push service to do anything useful, they need to invoke an application on the phone. And since apps only run in the foreground, they will close your current foreground app to launch themselves. Is this consistent with good UX design? 

Finally, Apple's Push abandons Cluetrain values. Where the Cluetrain Manifesto empowers people, their tools and the edge of networks, Apple's Push Notification Service concentrates power in Apple's hands while tying user hands.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 10:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Before you interview for a job at Skype, build your tolerance to millimallikas (eesti for a type of jellyfish). Like a flatliner: a clear anise liquor like sambuca, and tequila, and a few drops of Tabasco for fire and color. Sometimes with tequila, vodka, and Tabasco.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 01:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A little sanity moving into the blogosphere? Local blogging colleague Mark Evans¹, in a post earlier today, "The Wonderful World of Web 2.0 Whining", comments on the demands for seven nines reliability and unlimited support from "free" services:

It's bad enough no one wants to pay for anything, but the expectations placed on free services to deliver 99.99999% reliability are astounding. Come on, what do you expect for nothing?

Still, kvetching about popular services such as Twitter, Skype or Facebook when they have technical hiccups has become a popular game. When it happens, everyone wants to get into the action by complaining, criticizing, attacking and pontificating. The best one recently was Webware's Rafe Needleman suggesting Twitter should close until its technical issues are resolved.

Ha!

For some more rational thought on the warped sense of free these days, check out broadstuff, who succinctly pointed out that:

"There is this weird idea in the air that if something is free to a user it is free to produce, and thus must still reach all those other norms we take for granted in paid-for services, like reliability, privacy etc."

"Free" can be a great inducement to try out a service. Skype-to-Skype calling can remain free because there is little capital or operating cost associated with providing the underlying peer-to-peer service with several million positive user experiences. (You and I pay the capital cost when we buy the "peering" hardware between which Skype makes calls.) Skype is a marketer's dream for sustainably building a user base while keeping the recruitment cost per user close to zero. Having built up this base, it becomes a target market for premium services such as SkypeIn, SkypeOut and partner offerings such as Pamela and Skylook.

Yes, we know Skype support is often via user forums and slow to respond; but then what can one expect for a "free" service. Skype can use their forums as feedback for determining which features are required to reduce support requirements while building more positive user experiences. New features such as providing CallerID for US/Canada users can drive adoption and usage.Of course they are missing a revenue opportunity by not providing a support service such as Red Hat does for Linux and Digium does for Asterisk.

Truphone, a great mobile VoIP service on Nokia N- and E-series mobile phones when in an accessible WiFi zone, finally started charging last week for calls to/from the PSTN while Truphone-to-Truphone calls remain free². Mobivox is finding they need to cover their costs, even for Mobivox-to-Mobivox calls; this tells me the infrastructure behind Mobivox Girl is an ongoing operating expense due to a different underlying architecture.

The Voice 2.0 Manifesto predicted that "voice will be free; the meter is off". But we are now starting to see some of the lower bounds of what voice will truly cost, even if minimal, in a Voice 2.0 world.

¹Mark is known to be a heavy Skype user in his business activities.
²Truphone also launched Truphone Anywhere a couple of weeks ago allowing users to call Truphone users for the cost of accessing a "local" GSM wireless PoP.

Tags: Skype, Mark Evans, Twitter, Facebook, Truphone, Mobivox, Voice 2.0 Manifesto

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Posted by Jim Courtney at 05:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

At eComm 2008 and Spring VON I had the opportunity both to listen to presentations by, and to have personal discussions with, Brough Turner of NMS Communications. If there is one authority on telecommunications infrastructure, back office and the business side of routing calls around the world, Brough is the person. He understands the backhaul issues; he understands the business environment that can both encourage and inhibit the launch and evolution of new telecommunications services.

Last week he was asked to provide a guest post for SIPCenter, SIP, in time, where he talked about the issues around deploying SIP and its failure to live up to the promise for it when it launched in the late 1990's. A few days later, in a reprise on his own blog, SIP Revolution, massively delayed -- but there's hope, Brough pointed out where he could see more promise for SIP, through a new PSPSIP initiative. He talks about how SIP was initially perceived as facilitating direct end-to-end connections supposedly bypassing costly infrastructure but, in practice, has become embedded into centralized PBX's and servers, thereby removing the cost advantages. "SIP has been adopted for use in the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), but this completely warps the original SIP vision." Yet through P2PSIP, there may be a route to realize some of the original vision.

Some of Brough's comments:

The biggest change in telecommunications in the past 12 years has been the global deployment of three billion mobile phones, all based on conventional circuit-switching and Intelligent Network technology — nothing to do with SIP. And arguably, the most interesting telephony service enhancement, after mobility, came from Skype with its seamless integration of presence, instant messaging, wideband audio and video. But Skype is based on proprietary protocols, not SIP. Finally, VoIP technology has helped drive down the cost of international calling, but using MGCP, H.248 &/or H.323 protocols much more than SIP, at least so far. ......

SIP assumes it's possible to make end-to-end connections over the Internet and therefore a SIP session can know about and use globally valid IP addresses. That was a naive assumption, even in 1996-1999 when SIP was being defined. The real Internet contains firewalls, network address translators (NATs) and other "middle boxes." They are not going away, it's only getting worse over time. Today, applications must be aware of and able to work around middle boxes and other network problems. ......

Actually, there is some reason for optimism. The advent and widespread adoption of Skype showed what was possible and suggested how one might distribute central services among peers, potentially avoiding the need for an explicit service provider. The past few years have seen rising interest in peer-to-peer SIP which has resulted in an IETF working group under the name p2psip. Their goal is "to leverage the distributed nature of P2P to allow for distributed resource discovery in a SIP network, eliminating (or at least reducing) the need for centralized servers."

Hat tip to Jon Arnold's Is SIP Living up to its Potential? for directing me to these posts. One of Jon's points:

Skype chose to use a proprietary protocol instead of SIP, and has proven by far to be the most popular web-based voice/IM application we've ever seen. It's conventional wisdom to knock Skype for being a walled garden that won't integrate with the other IM platforms, but when it comes to VoIP, Skype has proven its ability scale better than anyone. I guess this begs the question - could Skype have been as successful (let's leave profitability aside here) if they had used SIP instead? Would love to hear your thoughts on this one.

Interesting to note that Skype is one of the heavier users of SIP -- for its SkypeIn and SkypeOut connections. And, as Jonathan Christensen (who was heavily involved with SIP during his five years at Microsoft) pointed out during a panel at eComm 2008, instead of supporting its initial promise for the transmission of rich multimedia, SIP today remains largely a voice services interconnection protocol.

Tags: Brough Turner, SIP, Skype, Jon Arnold, Jonathan Christensen, SkypeIn, SkypeOut, IMS, eComm 2008, SIPCenter

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Posted by Jim Courtney at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Jim's right that Mobivox has problems.

There are two parts to Mobivox's value as I see it.

First, Mobivox offered a speed dial to Voxgirl, a software agent. Voxgirl lets you dial by speaking the names of your mobile or Skype contacts. Touch speed 1, Voxgirl answers, you say "Call Jim", Voxgirl says "mobile or Skype?" and you say "mobile" and you're connected. While some smartphones offer this as a feature, Mobivox was adding special signal processors to clear up background noise, speech recognition that worked across accents and dialects, and adaptive systems to learn from your preferences. With a little time and effort, Voxgirl could really understand you. Mobivox could addict you to the convenience of one button dialing.

Second, Voxgirl doesn't get off the phone when you make a call. This is the real genius, and the moneymaker. Once you become really convenient for people before their call (see above), you can be useful during a call.

• "Voxgirl, add Mary to the call."
• "Voxgirl, record this call."
• "Voxgirl, invite my facebook friends to join this call."
• "Voxgirl, find a french translator."
• "Voxgirl, read my email."
• "Voxgirl, transcribe this call."

Mobivox becomes a platform for adding third party services to calls. Some would be free, some not. 

These are promising points of value creation for users and for ecosystems. The Mobivox team and the investors who paid for the experiment may not be able to exploit them; execution's difficult. So far, I haven't seen this opportunity offered anywhere else. Hmmm. Would you want to buy the technology and team? Or build it yourself? 

Previously about Mobivox on Skype Journal:

• Mobivox has Voxgirl's number, maybe yours too
• Is Skype a telco?
• A Caution re Third Party Skype Access
• Managing Presence and Other Mobivox Issues: A Response
• Mobivox presentation materials
• In Case You Didn't Hear That Voice Mail...
• Skype as a Minute Stealer
• Mobivox: New Financing Round and Interesting User Demographics.
• Mobivox Acquires Some Skype DNA on Executive Team
• A Primer for Skype's Direction: Mobile Conversations
• CES 2008 - A Final Roundup of Coverage
• Brandon Holland and His Affinity for the Echo123 Girl.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 04:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Received an email this evening from Mobivox with the same text as the initial post in this linked forum thread. It probably explains why all the top Mobivox CxO executives have been leaving recently. (Check out the current management team; only one CxO in sight.)

Starting in July, because we’re going to be using more expensive networks to connect you to your contacts around the world, calls between Mobivox members will be charged at our regular low cost rates. You will still benefit from better service and big savings on your phone bill, while calls to your Skype buddies will remain totally free and unlimited.

In an age when the main driver of subscriber attraction and growth for a voice communications service is a minimum offering of free calling amongst users within a service, withdrawal of this feature can hardly be good news for Mobivox. Even my new Rogers Home Phone service has taken a cue from Skype and provides free calling to other Rogers Home Phone (and Rogers Wireless) customers across Canada. And the only free calls via Mobivox after July 1 will be those to Skype contacts.

I think Mobivox's statement says a couple of things about Skype:

• There are no termination charges for calls to Skype contacts from any service. We learned this from the iSkoot Skypephone presentation at eComm 2008. And it's reinforced by the text of the Mobivox announcement. A key benefit and advantage of Skype's peer-to-peer architecture and its impact on a service provider's operating costs.
• It reinforces the iSkoot architecture for making calls from mobile phones, whether to Skype contacts or via SkypeOut calls. (Also check out this post.)
• Skype's "HD Voice" call quality is obviously a challenge for other services to meet and sets a performance standard for voice services going forward. (And, as for SkypeOut calls where one cannot have the full HD Voice quality due to audio bandwidth limitations of the PSTN, the percentage of my SkypeOut calls with unacceptable voice quality has declined significantly over the past several months.)

If Skype could get Skypephone (working with iSkoot in this case) and their Skype hardware partner offerings into enough carrier and distribution channels, Skype has some significant business potential. (I am one of the few, if not the only, Skype users in Canada using dual mode Skype-enabled cordless phone, namely, the Philips 841VOIP, accessing both my Rogers Home Phone service and a separate Skype account. Works quite well, thank you.)

Perhaps Mobivox's main attraction at this point will be its ability to make low cost calls worldwide from any of the over 5 billion landline and mobile phones worldwide. But with the legacy PSTN carriers, such as Rogers and Bell Canada in Canada, offering lower long distance rates - close to Mobivox rates with more reliability and user familiarity, Mobivox is going to lose its viral marketing energy and become a much tougher sell.

Update June 9: Alec Saunders: Mobivox criticized for new pricing.

Tags: Mobivox, Skype, Skypephone, iSkoot, HD Voice, Philips 841VOIP

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Posted by Jim Courtney at 06:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

For some time now, Skype users in Europe and other countries could send their SkypeIn number as a CallerID (Caller Line Identification - CLI) for SkypeOut calls. Yet if a North American made a SkypeOut call, usually the recipient of the call would see a non-identifying "0000123456" or something similar.

This week Skype has modified this service such that Skype users can select either their SkypeIn (Online) number or mobile phone number as their CLI or CallerID to be sent with their SkypeOut calls. And now it applies to North American Skype users. Yesterday I signed up for the service (go to www.skype.com and select Account, login and select "Caller Identification"). You will then get a window with the following:

In this case the dropdown is showing two options: the mobile number associated with my Skype profile and my U.S.-based SkypeIn (online) number. Select which you want as your CallerID number when making SkypeOut calls and click on the "Save" button. You will then get a message notifying you that you should receive a "verification" SMS message within 24 hours.

While, at the time of writing I have yet to receive the referenced SMS message (Confirmation SMS received after 22 hours), 18 hours later I have made a test call to observe that the callerID is being passed through; in this case, I saw my selected mobile number. As the CLI service depends on SMS messaging for CallerID number verification, any number entered via "Enter another number as your CallerID" needs to be a mobile number (with the "+1" country code). Also note that, if your selected mobile or SkypeIn number is in the recipient's phone address book, the caller's name will also appear.

Update: Dan York at Disruptive Telephony has made a small test application: call +1 (407) 965-2790 via SkypeOut and the Voxeo voice will confirm your CallerID in use. Also have made a call to a third party who is not even aware of Skype or SkypeOut and he saw my correct CallerID.

The option to "Automatically display a number that is local to the call destination" is available for those Skype users who have multiple SkypeIn numbers (say, a U.S. number and a U.K. number). The service will detect the destination of the call and determine which of the two SkypeIn (online) numbers it should display. According to another third party source, this will also work such that called parties within Canada will see my (Canadian) mobile CalleirID while called parties in other countries will see my (U.S.) SkypeIn number.

For North Americans, seeing the "+1" country code would identify the call as coming from a Skype user as normally this is not displayed when receiving PSTN calls.

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Posted by Jim Courtney at 04:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Download Skype 3.8.0.139 for Windows. Change log as of 04.06.2008: One security fix, Skype File URI Security Bypass Code Execution Vulnerability; updates to IE plug-in, Firefox plug-in, and Skype Extras Manager; Google contacts importer removed; and three bugs that occasionally crashed Skype were fixed.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Over the past few months I have had reason to host, or participate in, voice calls involving more than two parties. Product demonstrations, daily Squawk Box sessions and weekly "broadcast" calls involving 200 or more participants have become part of my routine. But each is a different type of multi-party call.

Yesterday, along with several of my Contacts, I was involved in a test, initiated by Borderless Communicator's Hudson Barton, of several of these services:

• Skype's "Conference Call": hosted through the Skype Windows/Mac/Linux client where a Skype user can host a Multi-Party call but use of the term "Conference" call is a misnomer. Free for Skype participants; SkypeOut charges apply to participants on the PSTN. Up to 25 participants
• HiDef Conferencing: hosting business grade conference calls with a user management interface operated by the call's "moderator" or "host". Monthly subscription required to host; unlimited free access for Skype participants; toll charges may apply for participants calling in via the PSTN. Up to 500 participants
• iotum Free Conference Call: again hosting a multi-party calls that can be managed by a "moderator" or "host" party. "Free" participation; however, participant responsible for any toll charges to reach Free Conference Call server, and
• Skypecast: a Skype service for hosting public "voice chat" rooms where participants can discuss a topic of interest. Public access; free but only accessed as a Skype user; no PSTN participation. Up to 100 participants. Popular use: learning English at Kantalk.

I can see four types of multi-party.calls:

• Ad hoc multi-party calls, such as what is misnamed Skype Conference Call. Informal, host can easily add/remove participants, but no other participant management features. All participants are active; no agenda (think the "UNconference" call)
• Conference calls which are often scheduled, usually have an agenda and where participants are all active but can be managed by the host (and/or other designated participants).
• Broadcast calls, such as training presentations, news and analyst conferences, large audience sales presentations, etc. where there is a call administrator and usually one or two active participants who will make a presentation to an audience of several hundred or even a thousand passive participants.
• Public voice chats, such as Skypecasts where any Skype user can join provided they find the link (either by email or text chat invitation or from a directory of Skypecasts).

While all these types of calls use technology that merges the various voice streams to be heard by all participants, the user interface and degree of active participation are the key differentiators:

• Ad hoc multi-party calls: you can host a multi-party call simply by selecting multiple Skype and/or SkypeOut contacts and starting what is labeled as a Skype Conference call. If you see a need to add another participant, either add a Skype/SkypeOut Contact or call up an additional SkypeOut number. The host can also remove participants from the call at will. In yesterday's call we had excellent HD Voice quality, we could see who was speaking (see halos around Dan and Hudson, only is Skype for Windows) but individual participants manage features such as muting their own microphone. You can definitely detect who is on a SkypeOut connection due to the more limited audio bandwidth of a SkypeOut connection. Since the host is operating the call through his/her local PC, these quality of these calls can also be subject to variables such as the host's CPU power and Internet connection (especially the upload speed). Good enough for consumers and internal business calls but definitely not business grade. In a different graphic format, .Skype for Mac lets you see who is talking, including individual volume levels. Requires third party product, such as Pamela or Skylook, to record a call.

Free Conference Call Participant View

• A true Conference Call is one where an administrator or host effectively "chairs" the call, has the option to schedule the call and provide an agenda, can manage each user's level of active participation (mute/unmute, hand raising) and provide a hosted recording capability. Also these business grade calls are server-hosted to provide a consistent and manageable level of robustness and reliability as well as overall voice quality. Both HiDef Conferencing and iotum's Free Conference Call have these capabilities.
  • While HiDef Conferencing provides excellent HD Voice quality for all participants connected via Skype and has a Host user interface to manage the call, it could use a web-based interface for participants to see who is on a call, who is speaking and provide a common chat "wall". At one point during the test call, one participant went over to a PSTN connection and there was a very noticeable deterioration in his voice quality while on that connection.
  • iotum's Free Conference call has the above-noted participant user interface features but is difficult to enter (while not a requirement, having a Facebook account makes it easier to access). Limited by its architecture to the legacy PSTN audio bandwidth, call quality is acceptable but not HD Voice. It had a significant call quality issue for one participant and needs a "Leave Call" button on the participant user interface. On the other hand iotum's Free Conference Call has been shown to be robust and reliable enough to handle their daily Squawk Box conference call with relative ease; the ability to see who is participating and a chat "wall" are major benefits.
    
• In a Broadcast Call there are usually one or a few presenters while an audience passively listens unless they "raise a hand" to ask questions or make a point. When HiDef Conferencing calls get to the 100 participant level, it has usually become a Broadcast call. (In fact, VAPPS hosts the voice component of several other conferencing and meeting services, such as InstantTeleseminar)
  
• Our experience with the Skypecast trial today was one where there were significant difficulties joining the Skypecast (only four of our seven participants successfully got in) but where there was excellent voice quality. Limited participant management by host who can mute/unmite and eject a participant. Requires third party product, such as Pamela or Skylook, to record a call.

Some conclusions:

• Skype should rename their basic "Conference Call" to "Multi-Party Call". Its service is effectively a multi-party scaling of my former Bell Canada "3-party call" service. The initiator of the call hosts the call on his/her PC and does not always have complete control over call quality and robustness of the call.
• Conference calls are hosted calls with "moderated" participant management. The key differentiator here is the user interface for both the host and the participants as well as the ease of call access by the participants. While the ability to link the voice streams of all the participants is common to all these services, overall call quality itself can be another differentiator.
• Hudson measured some call parameters during each call. Basically all services were in the same ball park for jitter and packet loss (none to <1%) - most participants connected to the calls via either Skype or SkypeOut; on the Skype Conference Multi-Party Call latencies were definitely related to the distance of the participant from my hosting connection.

Tags: Skype, Conference Call, Skype Conference Call, HiDef Conferencing, iotum, Free Conference Call, Skypecast, Borderless Communicator, Hudson Barton, VAPPS Inc., Instant Teleseminar

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Posted by Jim Courtney at 03:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Congrats to Tristan Pineiro, who will lead the six person team at 3 Monkeys Communications. They earned the brief by working on the 3 Skypephone launch.  

See also:

• PRWeek UK: 3 Monkeys to re-educate consumers about Skype
• Jan Geirnaert: Skype is hiring 3 monkeys to re-educate consumers on how VoIP works. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.

News release below the fold...

3 Monkeys Communications is to spearhead a major PR campaign for Skype, the company famous for bringing free and very cheap calls over the internet to the mass market, following a competitive four-way pitch.

The brief includes both consumer and B2B work as well as co-ordinating Skype's other agencies worldwide. 3MC will support the Skype press office in its efforts to maintain Skype's position as the leading internet-enabled communication tool in the market today.

The account will be overseen by senior account director Tristan Pineiro and a team of six consultants, plus support from 3MC's dedicated Newsroom.

Tristan said: "After working successfully with the Skype PR team on the launch of the innovative 3 Skypephone last year, as part of our ongoing activity for 3, we're delighted to be working with them again on an on-going basis."

Imogen Bailey, Head of Global PR, added: "We loved working with 3 Monkeys for the 3 Skypephone launch and are really happy to have them onboard to spearhead PR activity on our consumer and B2B accounts. We look forward to seeing the results of our positive, focused and hard-working PR programme in the months to come."

Incumbent agency, Six Degrees, remains onboard on a project basis.

P.S. I'm puzzled by the logo/identity of a media relations company that references the "see no evil, hear no evil, say no evil" story of three wise monkeys. Contrast that with Google's mantra of "do no evil."  

Posted by Phil Wolff at 09:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)