Deadpool: BT's Go!Messenger for Sony PSP

No more PSP-to-PSP voice and video calling with Go!Messenger, the product of a Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and BT Group joint venture. 

A year from its launch, too few people used Go!Messenger to justify operations. The service will end 31 March 2009.   

Skype is still available for the Sony PSP. Skype has scale advantages over Go!M: you are about 1000 times more likely to find someone you know within Skype's network. You have hundreds more devices to use, like mobile phones and PCs. You and everyone you know are that much more likely to have Skype dial tone.

Skype's scale advantage is so overwhelming that Skype wins even when BT offers video calling and video messaging and Skype doesn't. 

BT didn't rule out trying again. (Maybe with a flash solution based on BT's Ribbit platform?) Meanwhile, Sony is restructuring, bringing games, PCs, mobile electronics and software into one division.

tags: skype, sony, scee, bt, go!messenger, messenger, go, psp, playstation, portable, dialtone

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So you want an encrypted mobile phone?

Echelon Conspiracy opens today. An untraceable mobile phone shows up in the mail. And then the texting begins...

Echelon will be in some theaters this weekend. If we survive eComm's arduous schedule next week, and you're not going to CeBit in Hannover, maybe we can see it in the Bay Area.

P.S. Skype Lite was not included on this phone.

P.P.S. Can you name the phone used in the production?

tags: skype, mobile, fun, movies, echelon conspiracy, echelon, conspiracy, security, anonymity, privacy

follow @skypejournal and @Phil Wolff or and ask for an invitation to the Skype Journal private roundtable.

Freedom Wins Down Under

The Australian Communications Ministry's censorship scheme died in the senate today. Good on ya, Senator Nick Xenophon. Only you know if it was an open mind or reading the polls, but you stood up for civil liberties and the freedom to communicate against the Right Evil Stephen "Cleanfeed" Conroy.

Skype To Go without a subscription to boost International calling

You can now use Skype To Go without a subscription, using your Skype credits. This widens the market for this cost saving service: Skypers who call family and friends over international lines. Could be a good move: if if STG can switch newbies from calling cards to Skype. 

Andy Abramson argues this move cheapens the value of buying Skype subscriptions. I'd agree if this was a more popular feature. Since it isn't, there's little risk in offering it to all of Skype's users. And as Andy says, this could burn up some of the Skype credits burning a hole in eBay's balance sheet. Skype can't recognize your Skype credits as income until you spend them.

STG is a blend of SkypeIn, Speed Dial, and SkypeOut. Get an STG number near you. You set up a short list of numbers you'd like to call at Skype's discounted rates. Assign each number a speed dial code. To use, call your STG number from any phone, press your speed dial code, and you're call goes through.

In tough times (any time), lower the barriers to buying your service. Skype just did.

tags: skype, skype-to-go, voip, pricing

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art credit: Skype

Skype asks US LOC to legalize jailbreaking mobile phones

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF for short) petitioned the U.S. Copyright Office to allow people to put whatever software they want on their mobile phones. This would permit working around copy protection. 

Computer programs that enable wireless telephone handsets to execute lawfully obtained software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications with computer programs on the telephone handset.

Apple doesn't like this, saying the petition is an attack on the iPhone business model.

Apple is opposed to the proposed Class #1 exemption because it will destroy the technological protection of Apple’s key copyrighted computer programs in the iPhone™ device itself and of copyrighted content owned by Apple that plays on the iPhone, resulting in copyright infringement, potential damage to the device and other potential harmful physical effects, adverse effects on the functioning of the device, and breach of contract. The proponents of the exemption have also not satisfied their burden of proof of showing harm to non-infringing uses of the copyrighted works protected by the technological protection measures on the iPhone.

Specifically, it seeks through the proposed exemption to clear the path for those who would hack the iPhone’s operating system so that a proprietary mobile computing platform protected by copyright can be transformed into one on which any third party application can be run, without taking account of the undesirable consequences that would ensue from the transformation. EFF’s submission offers no proof that this proposed transformation would actually increase innovation or investment in creative works...

In other words, if just anyone can download just any software without Apple's approval, then Apple's stranglehold over the iPhone software market would be broken. 

The Mozilla Foundation likes the exemption, saying iPhone users should be free to use Mozilla's browser instead of the one MicrosoftApple includes (consumer choice and control). They also say the exemption promotes open access to the Internet. When users cannot choose their browser software...

The choice in access means is equally important to an open web. today, all consumers do not have a lawful means of exercising their choices, because some devices are tethered to particular software chosen by the hardware vendor. As a result, it limits the means by which users can access and use the Internet. When this happens, consumers' experience of the internet – an open and public resource – is artificially constrained and unnecessarily defined by the hardware vendor because users are required to use that particular software in order to access and use the Internet.

Paraphrasing, when one company controls your browser, that company controls what you see, how you see it, and how you participate. You may trust that company, but you shouldn't have to.

Skype supports the exemption [full text below]. Skype says the freedom to install software powers the freedom to use your phone with different mobile carriers. They say copyright law shouldn't be used to keep people from switching telephone networks (locking) or from using the software they want (blocking).

And there's Skype's obvious self-interest:

Copyright law should not interfere with a user using his or her phone to run Skype and enjoy the benefits of low- or no-cost long-distance and international calling.

The comment period ended 2 February 2009. Next steps are Copyright Office public hearings in the next few months and published decisions later this year.

See also:

• Copyright.gov: Rulemaking on Anticircumvention 
• Previous rulemaking rounds: 2000, 2003, 2006.
• Notice of Inquiry (pdf) requests comment.

 

Full text of Skype's comment on the petition below:

Before the
COPYRIGHT OFFICE
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Washington, D.C.
In the matter of
Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies

Docket No. RM 2008–8
COMMENTS OF SKYPE COMMUNICATIONS S.A.R.L.

Skype Communications S.A.R.L. (“Skype”) hereby files these comments in support of the proposals to exempt from the prohibition on circumvention of access control technologies computer programs that enable individuals to use software applications of their choice on wireless telephone handsets and that enable individuals to use such handsets on wireless networks of their choice (Classes 5A–5D in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking[1]). As discussed below, allowing consumers to use devices and software applications of their choice on wireless networks maximizes consumer choice and encourages innovation, and should not be restricted by copyright law.

Skype is a global software company whose software application allows its users to communicate with individuals around the world, either for free (when communicating with other Skype users) or at very low rates (when calling PSTN phone numbers). In less than six years since founding, Skype has revolutionized the voice calling market, giving hundreds of millions of users[2] an easy way of staying in touch with friends and loved ones and reducing their long-distance bills (particularly international-calling bills). The Skype software client marries the traditional appeal of voice calling with additional features such as video calls, instant messaging, file transfer, online payment, and so on. Like many software applications that use the Internet, Skype first became popular being used on wired broadband networks; however, its wireless software client is increasingly popular as wireless users seek the benefits offered by Skype including cheaper calls, online presence detection, etc.

Skype strongly supports open wireless broadband networks; i.e., wireless networks on which users can attach (nonharmful) devices of their choice (“no locking”) and use software applications of their choice on such devices (“no blocking”). In February 2007, Skype filed a Petition for Rulemaking[3] with the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) asking that wireless broadband networks be operated under these openness principles, in keeping with the FCC’s Broadband Policy Statement[4] and its seminal Carterfone[5] decision.[6] A few months later, the FCC adopted no locking and no blocking rules to a vital block of spectrum auctioned off for use by wireless broadband networks.[7]

Over the past several months, the nation’s wireless carriers have increasingly embraced the principles of open wireless networks — though their actions so far do not match their words. Wireless carriers and the handset manufacturers they strike deals with continue to employ various means to keep users from using devices and software applications of their choice — from terms of service to the software and firmware loaded on the handsets sold by the carriers. Where carriers and handset manufacturers allow the use of third-party software applications, such as Apple’s iPhone App Store (used on the AT&T network) or Google’s Android (used on the T-Mobile network), the carriers and handset manufacturers reserve the right not to permit the use of software applications that it deems harmful to its business. For example, while it is possible to install adaptations of VoIP applications on some smartphones,[8] carriers’ Terms of Service typically block more robust “end-to-end” VoIP products that use a wireless broadband connection rather than a narrowband connection that uses the carriers’ regular wireless voice minutes. The adapted versions of applications like Skype do not provide wireless consumers with the full range of innovative features that would be available if VoIP application developers were able to harness the full benefits of the wireless data plans that the consumers pay for.

Skype opposes any attempts to restrict the ability of individuals to use devices and software applications of their choice on wireless networks,[9] and, therefore, supports the proposals to exempt from the anti-circumvention provisions:

1. Computer programs that enable wireless telephone handsets to execute lawfully obtained software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications with computer programs on the telephone handset,[10] and

2. Computer programs in the form of firmware or software that enable mobile communication handsets to connect to a wireless communication network, when circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of lawfully connecting to a wireless communication network.[11]

These two classes of exemptions will ensure that copyright laws do not interfere with the no blocking and no locking open wireless network principles. Enabling wireless handset users to use their unlocked phone on a network of their choice and to use legally-obtained software applications of their choice on their handsets will ensure that they enjoy the benefits of choice and competition with respect to mobile software applications and handsets — not simply choice among wireless networks. Copyright law should not interfere with a user using his or her phone to run Skype and enjoy the benefits of low- or no-cost long-distance and international calling.

More broadly, users should be able to use their choice of devices and software applications on wireless networks rather than being limited to those devices and applications that are “approved” by the wireless carrier. Allowing end users to choose the devices and applications they use gives them access to a much wider array of devices and applications than would restricting their choices to those offered by wireless carriers acting as gatekeepers — particularly in instances where carriers restrict access to applications, such as Skype, that may threaten part of their business model. An end-to-end network, in which consumer choice is empowered, ensures that innovation occurs at the edges of the network where hundreds if not thousands of application developers and software manufacturers, rather than a handful of wireless carriers, can compete to meet consumer demand.

* * *

For the foregoing reasons, Skype supports the proposals to exempt from the prohibition on circumvention of access control technologies computer programs that enable individuals to use software applications of their choice on wireless telephone handsets and that enable individuals to use such handsets on wireless networks of their choice, i.e. Classes 5A–5D. Skype supports no blocking and no locking policies, and opposes any limitations on these wireless consumer empowerment principles that may arise from the DMCA.

Respectfully submitted,

SKYPE COMMUNICATIONS, S.A.R.L.

Henry Goldberg
Devendra T. Kumar
GOLDBERG, GODLES, WIENER & WRIGHT
1229 19th St., N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 429-4900 – Telephone
(202) 429-4912 – Facsimile
Of Counsel to Skype Communications, S.A.R.L.

Christopher Libertelli, Senior Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs – North America
SKYPE COMMUNICATIONS S.A.R.L.
6e etage, 22/24 boulevard Royal,
Luxembourg, L-2449 Luxembourg

Dated: February 2, 2009

Footnotes:

1. Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies, Docket No. RM 2008-8, 73 Fed. Reg. 79,425, 79,427 (2008).
2. Skype has over 400 million registered users worldwide.
3. Skype Communications S.A.R.L. Petition to Confirm a Consumer’s Right to Use Internet Communications Software and Attach Devices to Wireless Networks, RM-11361 (filed Feb. 20, 2007) (“Skype Petition”).
4. Appropriate Framework for Broadband Access to the Internet over Wireline Facilities, CC Docket No. 02-33, Appropriate Regulatory Treatment for Broadband Access to the Internet Over Cable Facilities, CS Docket No. 02-52, Policy Statement, FCC 05-151 (rel. Sep. 23, 2005).
5. Use of the Carterfone Device in Message Toll Telephone Service, 13 FCC 2d 420 (1968).
6. The Skype Petition remains pending at the FCC.
7. See Service Rules for the 698-746, 747-762 and 777-792 MHz Bands, Second Report and Order, WT Docket No. 06-150, FCC 07-132, at 88, ¶ 189–230 (rel. Aug. 10, 2007) (“700 MHz Order”).
8. See Bob Tedeschi, Phone Smart: Free Internet-Calling Services Join the Cellphone App Market, N.Y. Times, Jan. 29, 2009, at B5, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/29/technology/personaltech/29smart.html.
9. The only exceptions to open wireless networks should be for devices that harm the network and for restrictions on the use of software applications that result from reasonable network management practices.
10. 73 Fed. Reg. at 79,427, Class 5A.
11. 73 Fed. Reg. at 79,427, Class 5C. Note that Classes 5B and 5D are almost identical to Class 5C and are treated as such in these comments.

tags: skype, life, regulation, jailbreak, iphone, mobile, rights, fcc, copyright, copyright.gov, drm, freedom

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Eurojust coordinating anti-Skype project

In response to evildoers trusting Skype encryption and police seeking more power, Eurojust, the Europe's Union's judicial cooperation unit, set three goals last week:

1. Overcome technical obstacles to intercept Skype calls
2. Overcome judicial obstacles to intercept Skype calls
3. Prevent criminals from using Skype

"Skype remains interested in working with Eurojust despite the fact that they chose not to contact us before issuing this inaccurate report," a Skype spokesperson told TechRadar.
Skype's Brian O'Shaughnessy told National Journal Online "It is unfortunate that Eurojust chose to release this inaccurate report without first contacting us. Skype has extensively debriefed Eurojust on our capabilities and programs. Skype cooperates with law enforcement where legally and technically possible."
Heise Online reports a "trojan is one of the solutions being discussed for intercepting internet telephony before it is encrypted." 
From the Eurojust news release:

NOTE: This is an update of the press release issued on Friday 20 February 2009. Some of the information in this press release was issued prematurely and is therefore incorrect, as there is not yet an official case reported to Eurojust.

Ms Carmen Manfredda, acting National Member for Italy, will take the lead in coordinating a Europe-wide investigation on internet telephony (VoIP).
At the request of Direzione Nazionale Antimafia in Rome, the Italian Desk at Eurojust will play a key role in the coordination and cooperation of the investigations on the use of internet telephony systems (VoIP), such as “Skype”. Eurojust will be available to assist all European law enforcement and prosecution authorities in the Member States. The purpose of Eurojust’s coordination role is to overcome the technical and judicial obstacles to the interception of internet telephony systems, taking into account the various data protection rules and civil rights.
Background
Criminals in Italy are increasingly making phone calls over the internet in order to avoid getting caught through mobile phone intercepts. Police officers in Milan say organised crime, arms and drugs traffickers, and prostitution rings are turning to Skype and other systems of VoIP in order to frustrate investigators. Skype's encryption system is a secret which the company refuses to share with the authorities. Investigators have become increasingly reliant on wiretaps in recent years. Customs and tax police in Milan have highlighted the Skype issue. They overheard a suspected cocaine trafficker telling an accomplice to switch to Skype in order to get details of a 2kg drug consignment. Investigators are convinced that the interception of telephone calls have become an essential tool of the police, who spend millions of Euros each year tracking down crime through wiretaps of landlines and mobile phones.
Following a meeting with the judicial authorities in Milan, Italy, Ms Manfredda commented: “The possibility of intercepting internet telephony will be an essential tool in the fight against international organised crime within Europe and beyond. Our aim is not to stop users from taking advantage of internet telephony, but to prevent criminals from using Skype and other systems to plan and organise their unlawful actions. Eurojust will make all possible efforts to coordinate and assist in the cooperation between Member States”.

tags: skype, eu, europa, eurojust, police, mafia, privacy, security, events, voip, freedom

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In An Effort To Become Ubiquitous, Skype Partners with Nokia

Skype, the darling of PC-based Internet telephony, announced news today that will extend the company's reach beyond the personal computer. At Mobile Wold Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Skype announced a partnership with mobile handset maker Nokia whereby Skype software will be pre-loaded onto some NSeries phones starting in the third quarter of 2009.



The upcoming Nokia N97 will be the first Nokia handset to receive the Skype software. With Skype pre-loaded, Nokia NSeries users will be able to IM and call their Skype contacts using Skype's VoIP infrastructure, rather than via traditional GSM networks.

The Primitive Skype Mobile Experience Thus Far

For some time, mobile users have had ways of conducting limited Skype functions. For example, an older version of Skype has long been available for the Windows Mobile operating system. More recently, Skype has released 'Skype Lite' versions, which are essentially Java-based versions of their VoIP/IM software for a variety of mobile platforms including Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, and LG.

Additionally, products such as iSkoot and hardware platforms such as the 3 Skypephone make it possible to have Skype IM/calling using mobile handset software. With the 3 Skypephone, users can make Skype-to-Skype without using their GSM minutes thanks to the iSkoot implementation UK mobile carrier 3 has arranged. The 3 Skypephone also allows one to see their Skype contacts' presence information within the phone built-in address book.

A New World?

The new Skype version that will be on Nokia handsets is a native version that will be tightly integrated with the Symbian operating system. In fact, Skype will be available via the phone's firmware. For those who purchase an N97 before Skype is released, an updated firmware will be made available.

With Skype will be integrated into the N97's address book, it will be possible for users to see when Skype contacts are online alongside their existing phone contacts. If a Skype contact is online, users can either send their Skype friend an instant message or make free and low-cost phone calls via a 3G cellular connection or Wi-Fi. Skype-to-Skype calls will still remain free and SkypeOut calls will adhere to the low calling rates we are accustomed too.

Globetrotters Targeted

The Nokia and Skype partnership will be a major benefit to any mobile user who either frequently travels or otherwise needs free/inexpensive calling. Skype has long been a great option to communicate while traveling internationally. With today's announcement, Skype will be as close as your mobile handset. For anyone who travels frequently knows, it is alarmingly expensive to make phone calls while abroad. Having Skype on a mobile handset will make it very cost-effective to communicate with your colleagues, friends, and family.

Skype was wise to partner with Nokia. The Finnish handset maker is the world's largest and most dominant mobile handset maker with roughly 40% of the phone market. Now, with a Nokia/Skype partnership, both parties stand to benefit. For Skype, they will see a rise in SkypeOut calling and yearly calling subscriptions, and Nokia will see globetrotting professionals look to NSeries handsets for their communications needs.

Carrier Reaction

It will be interesting to see how mobile network operators will rereact to this new Skype offering. SkypeOut minutes, if heavily used, could seriously dent international calling revenue. In today's mobile network market, where carriers are looking for any method to monetize the mobile communication experience, Skype on a mobile could cannibalize international calling and texting profits.

What are your thoughts? Could you see using Skype on your mobile handset, especially if the Skype experience is tightly integrated into your mobile phone book? Please leave a comment and lets discuss!

Skype Journal columnist Jason Harris, engages communities for corporations and explores internet telephony, mobile technology, and the leaders who bring them to market on his Techcraver blog and on Twitter.

To follow Jason further: see his website, follow him on Twitter.

Evildoers trust Skype encryption, Cops seek more power

BBC News reports:

Officers in Milan say organised crime, arms and drugs traffickers, and prostitution rings are turning to Skype in order to frustrate investigators.

The police say Skype's encryption system is a secret which the company refuses to share with the authorities.

Investigators have become increasingly reliant on wiretaps in recent years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan have highlighted the Skype issue.

They overheard a suspected cocaine trafficker telling an accomplice to switch to Skype in order to get details of a 2kg (4.4lb) drug consignment.

So:

1. Get your friends to use Skype!
2. Police don't like to tap PCs – harder, more dangerous for officers.
3. Police should enjoy intercepting Skype Lite for mobiles and Skypephones since gateways run by Skype or iSkoot should be convenient and safe.
4. Police and intelligence agencies in the UK (explained more recently), Germany, the US,  and now Italy are trying to pressure the public to give them more surveillance power, using Skype's encryption as the pretext.
5. Word Of Mouth Works!

tags: encryption

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Truphone Adds AIM to iPod/iPhone VoIP App

Truphone, the internet telephony application for mobiles, has added AOL Instant Messenger to the list of IM systems it can interact with. Now, in addition to Google Talk, Skype, Windows Live Messenger, and Yahoo, you can chat with your AIM buddies while on Truphone on an iPod Touch or iPhone.

I have written about the Truphone app before, and this AIM announcement makes the iPod/iPhone version of Truphone a much more useful portable communications platform.

Truphone is also set to make another announcement tomorrow that they are calling 'major'. I'll post about it when I get more info from Mobile World Congress.

Skype Journal columnist Jason Harris, engages communities for corporations and explores internet telephony, mobile technology, and the leaders who bring them to market on his Techcraver blog and on Twitter.

Former eBay CEO and three former Skype presidents are campaigning for California governor

Meg Whitman, former eBay CEO, is running for California governor. Here's MegWhitman.com. 

"Meg 2010 - A New California" is the site tagline. Yet the language that follows is Reaganesquely nostalgic. "A New California, simply put, is returning California to the time when it ranked first among the nation in prosperity, education, and quality of life. Meg Whitman believes that, together we can rebuild our Golden State."

Henry Gomez, former eBay marketing SVP and a Skype president, is one of the people behind Meg's online presence.

The design elements are clever. The blue-green coloring taps into democrat and lefty color palettes; you cannot win statewide in California without getting some of the left and center. Meg standing by a redwood tree for the environmentalists. The masthead typefaces are very Californian, going back to our Arts & Crafts movement.

I particularly like the use of "The Power Of Many." "The Power Of Three" was Whitman's/Gomez's campaign slogan for buying Skype. The "three" were eBay, PayPal and Skype, each helping the others speed growth and profitability; it convinced shareholders to spend billions buying Skype.

The Power Of Many is a bandwagon appeal to tell personal stories; we'll see if that works. Personal storytelling is at the heart of political activation. It was a core grassroots cadre-forming technique used in the record breaking political campaigns of Dean, Kerry, and Obama. Encouraging those interested in Meg's campaign to share stories of pain and loss, of hope and inspiration, those stories bond both teller and listener to each other and to the campaign that fosters those stories. The story sharing service runs on Tokoni, of which Gomez is a director.

Tokoni, a startup funded in part by eBay, is full of eBay alumni. Alex Kazim, another former Skype president; Mary Lou Song, eBay's third full-time employee; Brian Sweeney, an eBay technology executive; Annette Goodwine, an alum of eBay's corporate communications team; and Rajiv Dutta, another Skype president. According to MegWhitman.com,

Tokoni, Inc. – Website and Online Media
Tokoni, Inc. is a company dedicated to shaping the next generation of social media by creating communities that allow anyone, anywhere, to have a voice. Founded in August 2007, Tokoni breaks down social content and connection barriers and leverages the Web’s natural ability to enable a shared understanding around issues, individuals and brands.  Tokoni is developing Meg’s Internet presence for the campaign.

The campaign site is paid for by the "Meg Whitman for Governor Exploratory Committee." In the US, exploratory committees are how political candidates raise early money before officially launching their run for office.

While Tokoni is supporting Meg Whitman's exploratory committee, that doesn't necessarily mean all its employees endorse Ms. Whitman's candidacy.

tags: skype, ebay, politics, california, gop, republican, campaigning, campaigns, campaign, story, stories, storytelling, tokoni

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Jim Courtney moves on

At VON Canada 2005 I first met Stuart Henshall, the founder of Skype Journal; this Canadian VON event attracted bloggers from across North America. It was the only North American opportunity to hear Skype founder Nicklas Zennstrom personally while he was in legal limbo in the U.S. Later that year I was asked to write a couple of posts for Skype Journal; effectively Stuart had seen my personal post about Skype's newly launched email toolbar for which I had been a beta tester and asked if he could post it on Skype Journal.
The following April when VON Canada held its third (and last) show in Toronto, I had just completed a client business development assignment and was asked to blog on behalf of Skype Journal. Stefan Oberg, Skype's current Vice-President for Business, spoke about Skype's goal to be "Better than a phone...". Today, with the SILK codec, Skype is much better than a phone; since its introduction I cringe politely when I have to go back to normal phone conversations.
But, more importantly, since then I have had a wonderful opportunity to meet many keen and passionate Skype employees, develop an understanding of what it takes to be a Skype Partner - especially with business applications -- and participated with a network of great bloggers who all contribute to a better understanding of the business and technology issues of the emerging communications world.
Yes, there have been challenges; Skype has had to reorganize and restructure as a viable and growing business. Several players have attempted to get into the real time communications space; they need to find their niche and attract users and develop revenue streams. But, when I look at the outcome of the past three years in this space, Skype remains a strong player; it has become synonymous with disrupting barriers to communications around the world at little or no cost to the user.

New services have evolved; small businesses can enjoy the advantages of services that were previously only available to large enterprises.16 million users online concurrently every day around 2:00 p.m. EST (GMT-5) is half the population of Canada. And there are probably 30 to 40 million who use Skype daily with about 30% in business applications. Free video calling has become a reality.
But over the past eighteen months:

• Skype's business application partners are looking for ways to have third party support marketing their leading edge services
• Other significant players have come into the real time emerging communications space offering a range of unique products and services
• Mobile phones have evolved into smartphones
• Social media keeps everyone informed in real time about news, personal activities and individual opinions
• It's the year of the Voice 2.0 world.
• WordPress has become the most powerful platform for not only blogging but also complete websites.
• Search has become a key tool in developing a significant web presence

As a result today I am launching a new website Voice On The Web - facilitating personal and business communications across a Voice 2.0 world. Check out my initial post for more details about the goals and objectives I hope to achieve. Note that all my Skype Journal posts are archived there and readily searchable. There's still lots of warts on the site but one has to start somewhere.
At the same time Phil Wolff will continue to blog on Skype Journal, continuing to bring his perspective on the technology and business opportunities in the Voice 2.0 world. I will be providing him link love frequently for posts I feel should be checked out.
Time to move on... see you at Voice On The Web. And, thanks to Phil for the opportunity to participate on Skype Journal over the past three years.

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role play on skype

If you will play D&D, GURPS, or White Wolf RPGs online with dragon8u (aka Rob from San Jose, California), he will download Skype again. Help Skype. Drop Rob a line.
(Skype Journal, building the Skype population one person at a time.)

tags: skype, dungeons, dragons, gurps, white-wolf, play, fun, rpg, rpgs, collaboration

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Tell a love story. Win two webcams.
The POValentine's Day Confession Contest.

US$Billions for Broadband

The US plans to spend $7.2 billion over the next 18 months for a broadband buildout. Faster, better, more, and net neutral broadband makes Skype better, so this should be good for Skype. Next steps: congressional conference committee combines House and Senate versions then sends the bill to President Obama, maybe by Monday. More details and analysis by Stacey Higginbotham, Karl Bode, and Sam Churchill.

i heart the skype test call lady

Happy Valentines Day!

Tell a love story. Win two webcams.
The POValentine's Day Confession Contest.

Weekend Reading

Crash witness speaks out via Skype on CNN. TV news continues to pipe Skype video.

Ear Candy makes your Gnome Desktop a little bit smarter. Turns off your music or video when Skype rings, for example. 

NSA offering 'billions' for Skype eavesdrop solution. Hallway talk at the Counter Terror Expo in London.

Skype Growing by 380,000 Users a Day. "The number of its users is growing by the population of Singapore (more than four million) every 12 days and nearly a third of its registered subscribers now use it for business purposes."

Pamela 4.5 shipped Wednesday. The new Call Scheduler and Conference Call Manager look handy. Still the best for recording Skype video calls.

Tip: How to run two Skype 4.0 instances at the same time.

Skype Your Stylist: Cyber Cuts in the New Age. 15 minute previews of your new hair.

Star Trek USB Communicator. Generic USB speakerphone, volume controls, with velcro for mounting.

tags: skype, cnn, video, earcandy, linux, nsa, security, terrorism, stats, statistics, pamela, tip, startrek

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NSFW: Skype, sex, and the sex industry

OK, all the sex stuff's a been a bit much. But I wanted to let you get a feel for yourself. 

We've never really covered Skype in the bedroom. So, in the run up to this weekend's Valentine's Day, I've been sharing first hand accounts from twitter and the blogosphere about Skype and sex.

I wanted to show the healthy, relationship-positive side to Skype and sex. So I went and found it.

In Skype Sex Will Turn Software Hard a college student explains how Skype video supports her long distance relationship with her boyfriend. And in The Dangers of Skype-Sex.. a true story a woman laughs about a hangnail injury during video sex with more casual lovers. Emiliey checks with two budding lovers did u have skype sex? because she heard a rumor.

When the phrase "phone sex" becomes "skype sex," you're hearing a cultural phenomenon go mainstream.

This is great for Skype.

Nearly every technology gets used for sex when it becomes

• cheap or free,
• reliable, and
• many people have access.

Skype is far past that tipping point.

What attracts lovers to Skype are the very things that make Skype attractive to a grandmother vidding her grandkids. Free, high audio quality, video quality at full screen, chat and presence for arranging calls, agile bandwidth management, privacy, and interruption management.

The bedroom is the last part of the home to get technology, and Skype is winning its way through that door.

Downsides.

• Skype Spam. I'm tired of sex spam in Skype chats, IM adverts for webcam sex sites. Beyond the rude interruptions of SPIM (messaging spam), they cheapen the world's perception of my favorite conversation channel.
• Skype Prime limits. Skype forbid selling "adult, sexual or pornographic" services through its Skype Prime terms of service.  Skype's own brand is cute and wholesome. Prime's beta protects that image and avoids criminal issues by keeping the service family friendly.
• Harassment. Women often "decline to state" their sex in Skype profiles. This sometimes prevents unwanted attention. Dina Mehta's landmark report, SkypeMe Eve, showed the dramatic difference between the number of stranger approaches received by men and women.

Opportunity.

I occasionally follow adult industry information technology. In many respects they lead the Internet by a year or two.

• They drove the inventions of payment systems for phone calls and for Internet commerce, long before Skype Prime, PayPal and Amazon.
• They drove innovation in video distribution and cheap video production back in the VHS days and later in the early webcam and pre-torrent download days.
• They pioneered bandwidth management and traffic analysis.

If you talk with young adult performers today, so many of them have sysadmin skills and talk about Ruby on Rails and CDNs and SEO and all the other geekery that boosts the right traffic, keep operations up, and keep site costs down.

Skype's technology doesn't offer the right connections for integration into today's commercial sex services. Skype would need to offer:

• Pseudonymity. Privacy is important in commercial sex services.
• Voice, video, and IM gateways. To pipe video between Skype users and the hosted media-stream management systems that route stored and live video.
• Payment system integration. So you can pay, confidentially but reliably, with Skype credits.

Talking dirty pays well, as you'd expect in an US$18 billion industry. I expect to see the Skype network interop with adult businesses as the technologies and markets mature. If landline and mobile phone companies, ISPs, web hosting and payment services do business with adult service providers, why not Skype?

People using Skype for sex among themselves affects the sex industry. It raises expectations for quality and personal engagement. It lowers expectations for cost and redefines speed and convenience of setting up a video call. Perhaps most important: Skype sex is market evidence that adult IT providers trust, spurring entrepreneurship in two-way video chat technology.

Summing up.

So people's love lives are joining the rest of their onlives. And Skype is just the latest utility to bring people closer together. Saint Valentine would be proud that Skype serves Cupid.

Have a lovely Valentine's Day weekend. Skype someone you love.

tags: skype, sex, love, valentinesday, usage, video

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Skype Sex Will Turn Software Hard

Guest post by Dallas journalist Dana Olsen, reprinted with permission from her 2008 column in the UC Santa Barbara Daily Nexus, Issue 57 / Volume 88.

I’ve never been in a long-distance relationship, but from what I’ve observed, it seems like cross-country coupledom is the way to go - especially in the technologically advanced and emotionally independent era we live in. Who needs roses and candlelight when we have webcams, emoticons and the ability to airbrush away our imperfections?

Globalization has swept the business world, and it’s bound to affect all of our personal lives sooner or later. Long-distance relationships are the wave of the future, so hop on the Skype train and ride.

Sometimes, when I’m arguing with my boyfriend about his excessive inebriation or his inability to properly display emotion or various other petty and pointless topics, I compare my relationship to my friends’ long-distance counterparts and the green envy monster rears its ugly head. I’m downright jealous of my friend who has daily Skype sex with his British girlfriend, and I kinda wish it were me instead of my roommate who got to send semi-pornographic photos via airmail to Kenya.

Granted, the long-distance thing can be a deal breaker for certain couples - Turkey Drop, anyone? - but I bet all you overzealous freshmen who broke up with your high school sweethearts over Thanksgiving break would think twice if you knew the sex can actually be better when you’re not sharing the same zip code.

Sure, long-distance sex has the potential to suck, but international intimacy can also blow, if you really put your mind to it. Phone sex is potentially awkward - Wait, where did you say your hand was? - and text sex is almost impossible. But I’m pretty sure webcams, what with their visual design and high speed, were invented to solve both of these problems.

The first thing any long-distance couple needs to pair with their webcams is Skype: It’s free, it’s convenient, and, when used correctly, it’s the best practical-turned-sexual invention since handcuffs. Once you’re all wired and the webcam is set up, your lover feels so close it’s like their wet mouth is right between your legs. Of course, when I say “their” I mean “your,” and when I say “wet mouth” I mean “sweaty hand,” but work with me here - it’s the perfect combo of sex and masturbation.

The beauty of Skype sex, aside from the beautiful alliteration the term lends itself to, is you can pretend your girlfriend is a porn star. Of course, nobody actually wants their girlfriend to star in sex tapes and aid in other dudes’ quests to cum, but who hasn’t fantasized about their woman prancing around onscreen? Think back to seventh grade - the Playboy bunnies were goddesses. Now, your girlfriend is a goddess, and it’s an exclusive peepshow for only your eyes to see. My buddy, whose girlfriend is 6,000 miles and a Skype connection away, said it best: It’s just like a Wednesday night at YouPorn.com, except you get to talk to your favorite video girl afterward.

And it’s not just the boys who reap the benefits of cyber sex. For ladies, the beauty of bringing yourself and your partner to the big O over a webcam is the advance warning implicit in the arrangement. You know how sometimes, you go over to his place with plans to cuddle up and watch “A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila,” but his dirty male brain has something else in mind? In a long-distance relationship, this dilemma is nonexistent, because there is no such thing as surprise Skype sex. You’ll never be caught with extra hair down there you were meaning to shave tomorrow, and you’ll never feel obligated to give a half-hearted blowjob. Right after you two plan the next time you’re gonna meet up on the ‘net, you have the chance to plan the lighting scheme, pick out matching underwear and decide exactly how much eyeliner achieves the elusive balance between lady of the night and girl next door.

Long-distance sex is superior for both genders: It’s the ultimate equalizer. It’s much easier for the ladies to fake an orgasm, and the guys don’t have to cuddle afterward - everyone wins.

If you need me, I’ll be at the airport. I’m flying as far away from my boyfriend as possible… just as long as there’s an Internet connection.

Daily Nexus sex columnist Dana Olsen wonders why there isn’t an emoticon for her “O” face. Photo credit: Kiss Lips by Anyaka.

tags: skype, sex, skypesex, porn, intimacy, video, alliteration, masturbation, nsfw

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The Dangers of Skype-Sex.. a true story

Guest post by Kyle who blogs on Butchtastic. NSFW.

I’ve been an aficionado of cyber and phone sex for a while now but only recently added visual stimulus to the mix. The webcam works ok through IM clients, but through Skype it really rocks. Last night my wife was on a date and my daughter was on a sleep over and I had the house to myself for a few hours.
And so I found myself on a Skype date with the luscious Roxy and the handsome and sexy MrRoxy. We listened to music, I played a little guitar, we flirted and laughed and talked some more. She was wearing very close to nothing, and I like nudes but love and get hard over almost nude. What is hidden is as sexy as what is revealed.
Things progressed and I demonstrated how my snap front shirt opened, and things kept progressing until we were demonstrating our “come faces”. And that’s when the injury occurred. I don’t know if I flailed back and struck the wall behind me or if it happened when I was spasmodically gripping the couch cushions but I tore my fingernail down to the quick, drawing blood.

This injury must heal quickly, dammit, that’s my right hand.. not that I don’t use both hands, but come on…

Despite the injurious outcome, we all had a great time. At one point, MrRoxy and I were talking shop (we’re both computer software geeks) in the middle of the action. At another, I was calling out encouragement and direction to him.
It was a great date, thank you Roxy and MrRoxy.. you are both sexy beasts and wonderful, fun playmates.

tags: skype, sex, skypesex, valentinesday, love, play

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i heard it through the skypevine

"soooo....i heard u had skype sex with PK ;)"

Tell a love story. Win two webcams.
The POValentine's Day Confession Contest.

did u have skype sex?

I sooo want to use that API.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Tell a love story. Win two webcams.
The POValentine's Day Confession Contest.

142 hour marathon Skype call

142:54:50, to be precise. Just shy of six days (144 hours).

Richard and Kelly from the Netherlands kept a Skype voice call running for 143 hours from Wednesday, February 04, 2009, until 10:00AM Tuesday, February 10, 2009.  Richard sent a picture file to Kelly during the call. A system error cut the call. Richard used Skype 4.0 BETA and Kelly used Skype 3.X on Windows.

Why? "Well... to see if its possible, and we are trying now to break this record to a new record ;)"

Richard said "during the conversations we had no problem, other then after a file transfer the line went bad, so we muted the thing for one second and then it worked. We didn't think it would be a world record, but we think its great!!!"

This is a day longer than the previous record by Monty from Palmdale, California.

See also:

• Marathon Skype voice call: 66 hours 40 minutes. October 2008.
• 115 hours in a Skype call. November 2008.

tags: skype, marathon, 143, call, statistics, record

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gross, kinda

"Wife just coined a new word in normal conversation: skype sex. The word I said in return was: gross, kinda."

Tell a love story. Win two webcams.
The POValentine's Day Confession Contest.

Skype hosts video cards for Valentine's Day

Skype sets the mood with free video valentines. Pick your cover…

Record your love note using a webcam, and address it to the one(s) you love.

From the Skype media team:

Roses are Red, and Violets are Blue
Chocolates are sweet, but what about you!?

To make someone smile and giddy with glee,
Just video call your Valentine; it's easy and free!

With a click and record, your readers can share, 
Their Valentine's wishes as though they were there.

While overpriced roses can stir up some hype,
What better surprise than a quick call on Skype!

So say 'I Love You' to him, her, or mom, 
By recording a video card at Skypevideocard.com.

Observations from the 2008 Christmas/Chanukah Video Greeting Card version still apply: Skype can use your video as they like, including your name and the name of your recipient. Skype will delete your videos when it suits them. No encryption. While Skype video cards are a great example of marketing fun and elegance, my concerns still stand:

The video card site doesn't use Skype. At all.

• No use of Skype names or address books to send video greetings.
• No use of the Skype client to record the video message. Or to view video messages from others.
• No use of the Skype client as a way to continue the conversation in a voice, chat or video call.
• No use of Skype's advanced audio/video codecs for higher quality.

Skype Video Card highlights where Skype's technology is creaking with age at the end of 2008.

<geek>

• Skype doesn't offer a browser-based client. Rich Internet Apps improve virality and adoption with less downloading and faster time-to-value.
• Skype's APIs don't expose an open web services platform beyond simple presence. So third parties cannot build Skype into, oh, say, video card apps running in browsers.
• Skype doesn't support third-party authentication, identity interop, profile synchronization, or personal contact synchronization, or personal contact group synchronization. Far from the data portability ideals.
• Skype's identity model does not facet identity. So you're stuck with one profile for everyone. For family. For every job. For every relationship. Forever.
• Skype clients don't support inline media sharing. No playing of images, videos, sounds or other objects during a conversation.

</geek>

Love, Phil

tags: skype, ebay, identity, dataportability, marketing, promotion, advertising, video, eula, greeting, greeting card, video mail, videomessaging, facebook, stumbleupon, furl, delicious, digg, friendfeed, reddit, valentinesday, holiday

Talk with Phil Wolff on Twitter or FriendFeed or on Skype.
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skypesex bad for sleep

"That's not healthy. I'd recommend less skype phone sex. It'll help regulate normal sleeping."

i will sex you up

"Tyler, seriously, you need to get skype. It is far superior to both AIM and MSN. I will sex you up via web cam if you get skype"

promises, promises.

(Is Skype still hiring a marketing vp?)

do people use it for other things too?

"Ah, yes, my beloved Skype. How could i have virtual sex with my boyfriend without it? Do people use it for other things, too?"

How important is Skype to your love life?

Jealous of Skype for Mac's screensharing?

Need relief for Mac envy? Skype for Macintosh lets you turn your desktop into a webcam, so you can share your computer (including videos, applications, your browser) with someone else in a Skype video call.

Windows users can do this too. The Nyanyan Virtual Desktop Camera for Skype (2006.05.29 edition) is a free download. I've used it for years. Works great. Skype thinks it's a webcam. Enjoy.

Technorati tags: skype, windows, collaboration, screensharing, desktop sharing, webcam, virtual webcam, nyanyan, camera, video

Skype for Windows 4.0 Gold: Blog Coverage

Since its launch Tuesday, Skype for Windows 4.0 Gold has received some interesting coverage:

• David Pogue, New York Times: in addition to his column discussed here yesterday, he has produced an amusing video: Skype 4.0: The Cheapskate where a video starring Mr. Cheapskate shows a Skype video session with his daughter, Kim Cheapskate, obviously a student. But it also serves as a humorous introduction to Skype for Windows 4.0's features.
  
• Alec Saunders: Saunderslog.com: Skype 4.0 audio: smooth as SILK:

Perhaps the biggest improvement, though, is audio quality. We all thought that Skype audio was great, right? Skype’s internally developed SILK codec slipped into the final release, despite not having been in prior betas. A wideband codec that delivers the goods at half the bitrate of prior codecs, SILK makes talking on Skype a pure pleasure.

• Tom Keating: Skype Launches 4.0 with Super Duper Weenie Wideband Codec. Images conjured up when a new codec is lauded with reduced network bandwidth. Obviously Tom has his favorite food hangouts.
  
• Update: JK On The Run: Geek Session: Skype 4.0 and the HP Mini 1000 MIE provides a ten minute video recording of Kevin's Skype video call with James Kendrick from a netbook running Windows 7 beta. Not a Skype High Quality video call but still demonstrates a reasonable quality video call, even at full screen (select "HD On" in upper right corner if you go full screen) . Would love to have knows the fps and resolution from the Skype tech specs for the call.
  

Have a good weekend.

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party with us later

"Don't go to sleep. Come on Skype and party with us later."

Valentine's Day is coming up. Share a love story, win two webcams.

David Pogue, New York Times: Video Chats Overcome Clunkiness

Columnist David Pogue in a New York Times article reviewing Skype 4.0 starts by going back to the AT&T video phone demonstrated at the 1964 New York World's Fair and user experience from then. Not a lot of calls due to technical and psychological issues. He talks about why Skype has been so widely accepted (did he remind us it was "free"?) and why Skype has been a survivor when up against iChat, MSN Messenger, SightSpeed and others.

He goes on to mention several issues that have inhibited video calling in the past but then says:

The video quality still varies when you use Skype. Fast Internet connections and fast computers still work better than slow ones. But if you do have a good setup — wow. With certain Logitech or Philips webcam models, Skype 4.0 can deliver a picture that’s as big and sharp and smooth as a TV picture (30 frames a second, 640 by 480 pixels), with almost no delay.

In my test calls to friends in California, New York and Virginia, we were amazed at what a difference it makes when the delay goes away. (Maybe, for its next trick, Skype can lend its technology to the world’s cellphone carriers.)

He then went on to make calls using iChat, ooVoo and SightSpeed: "None of them matched Skype’s immediacy or video and audio quality." He discusses Skype's new level of audio quality (with the SILK codec) and reduced network bandwidth speed requirement. He mentions some features that he would still like to see and mentions what differentiates services such as SightSpeed. His closing comment places Skype video calling into a historical perspective:

..... Will we one day adjust to the idea of being on camera every time someone calls?

Nah.

In the end, video chatting isn’t a replacement for phone calls, but a supplement to them, a perfect way to check out someone’s new place, check in with distant family and friends or show off a new talent (or baby). They saw the possibilities back in 1964 — they just didn’t realize that we wouldn’t always want to use them.

Go read David's post (free registration may be required); it's an excellent yet objective review of the personal video calling space from the end user perspective. I guess David doesn't watch Oprah; she seems to be using Skype High Quality Video almost daily according to reports from my wife.

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Set Up and Make CalliFlower Conference Calls from Your iPhone

Over the past eighteen months iotum's CalliFlower has evolved into a complete audio conference call service. While they still offer a basic free service, in January they launched a premium service that provides document sharing, local calling numbers in North America, Europe and Australia as well as a feature that allows administrators to set up, but not necessarily participate in, a conference call. The most important feature is "no per minute charges"; you get "unlimited calling with an unlimited number of participants".

Last week, over at Web Worker Daily, I wrote a post "Search Transforms CalliFlower Sessions from Events to Social Media Elements" where CalliFlower had announced that they had made all public CalliFlower sessions searchable such that they become part of an ongoing social networking conversation. My conclusion:

If you are into social networking by engaging your customers through blogs, Twitter and/or Facebook, check out CalliFlower as one additional element for carrying on your ongoing public customer conversations.

Yesterday the CalliFlower team woke up to learn that their CalliFlower for iPhone had been added to the Apple App Store overnight. (Yes, apparently "it just happens"; Apple uploads new or upgraded applications with no notice.) The iPhone application provides access to all of CalliFlower's features with the exception of document sharing (which requires Adobe Flash - an issue for all smartphones). Set up a call, see your upcoming calls, see who's on the call, participate in the chat wall and, of course, call in from your iPhone - they're all there providing a unique mobile smartphone conference call experience. iotum CEO Alec Saunders provides more details in his post "CalliFlower on iPhone releases" where he states:

And Calliflower on iPhone – well, let me just say that you’re going to love it. We’ve remained faithful to the Calliflower experience on the web, while taking full advantage of the iPhone experience giving you the hands down BEST mobile conferencing experience ever. Here’s a few examples of what I mean.

Check out my Web Worker Daily post and Alec's full description of CalliFlower for iPhone. Also note that CATA makes Calliflower available to 28,500 members. If you have not signed up for the service, give it a try.

Full disclosure: the author is a user of the service for a non-blogging related project with great success. I call in to CalliFlower calls via SkypeOut.

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Skype 4.0 Gold – The Walkthrough Screenshots

Updated 3:40PM: These screenshots are in my flickr set Skype for Windows 4.0 Gold. We're walking through download, install, orientation, and testing. Five minutes or so if you do everything.

Download

So you've heard of Skype and this new release.

The download page, for you Windows users.

Looking closer...

Further down the page, selling benefits:

So you download to your desktop and run the installation program.

Install

Skype has a new two-step installer. A small program downloads the 22MB bulk of Skype for you, and installs it.

Let's look at the options.

If we cancel, Skype sends you back to their web site. 

But we are happy with Skype's EULA and privacy statements, so we'll click Install.

The Browser Highlighter plug-in recognizes phone numbers and turns them into clickable Skype links. The same thing for products for sale on eBay.

Moving on, we're going to wait for a few minutes while Skype downloads and installs. This depends on your bandwidth; not bad on any broadband.

Skype cycles through these benefit messages until you "sign in" or create a new account.

Then Skype says hello.

So we see what's new.

You get the idea. You can skip the orientation.

Import friends

Let's find friends using Skype from Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express or your Yahoo! webmail accounts.

Test your gear

A wizard tests your sound gear and your webcam. Also optional.

Notice it parallels the "what's new" guide.

First, check your speakers.

Then check your microphone.

Make a test call to echo123 if you like.

Test your webcam.

If you're looking presentable, take a snapshot for your avatar.

You're done with getting ready.

And then Skype loads.

Next, walking through the Skype client UI.

Technorati tags: skype, screenshots, windows, 4.0, configure, ijnstall, download, orientation

Skype 4.0 Gold – Why Pave the Newbie Journey?

Software is always too hard. Skype's advantage five years' ago was it just worked. That's no longer enough. Skype serves pioneers and early adopters just fine, but now Skype is mainstream and needs to be easier, simpler, more streamlined in turning prospects into loyal users.

4's user experience revamp shows much of that thinking.

Skype needs Scale

Skype is actively driving for scale. Despite being the world's largest VoIM network, they feel small. With more people using Skype (new record set yesterday), Skype can earn three benefits.

• Social Graph Lock-In. When everyone you know has a Skype name, you need a good reason to leave the Skype network. When all your contacts are organized nicely and you'd have to recreate those relationships elsewhere, you're going to stay.
• Becoming a default communication channel. Do you reach for your phone when you want to talk to someone? Or do you reach for Skype? Once you have that kind of mind share, the cost of getting and keeping customers goes down and rates of use go up.
• Better people discovery. Think white page and yellow page directories. Less important for close friends and family, more important for finding useful strangers and friends-of-friends. 

Why do you rob banks? Because that's where you keep the money.

Where do hundreds of people talk to each other?

• Online. Voice over Instant Messaging (VoIM providers like Microsoft, Google, Yahoo!, AOL, Tencent and many others) and social networks (like facebook).
• Mobile Telcos. Serving billions.
• Landline Telcos. Serving billions. 

While it's great that up to 16 million people are logged in at the same time, thousands of millions of people have mobile or landline dialtone.

So Skype is still small.

And needs to get more customers, keep them, and help them become active.

Skype is bringing in people from many sources. But Skype loses people to just three: death, defection to a competitor, or abandonment of Skype-like activity. What can Skype do about defection and abandonment?

Optimizing User Experience for Heightened Experiences

While Skype doesn't use this language, they've applied industrial engineering ideas like the Theory of Constraints to improving design. The TOC says to look at your factory, discover the biggest throughput bottleneck, unplug it, see how throughput changes, then start over with the new biggest bottleneck.

Skype applied this to the newbie journey, finding points of pain and abandonment (and improving them), and moments of joy and satisfaction (and enhancing them).

For every thousand people who hear of Skype, only a fraction look for it, download it, try it, and have delightful experiences that keep them hooked on Skype.

Skype's improvements should translate into higher download rates, more new account registrations, more contacts per address book, more first voice calls, more first video calls, more IM chats (a surprising number of people don't know Skype has instant messaging features), longer calls, more time logged in (Skype dialtone), and stronger word of mouth.

Next up, the newly paved experience.

Technorati tags: skype, design, strategy, ui, ue, ux, theoryofconstraints, toc

SILK: Skype's New Audio Codec Sets New Performance Standards for Voice Conversations

The most recent hotfix release of Skype for Windows 4 Beta 3 had one key new feature:

• feature: Super Wideband audio codec

The associated Skype Garage post went on to say:

... Starting from this version we've included the new Super Wideband Audio codec. This is our second in-house built audio codec especially designed for calls over the internet with superb quality. The Super Wideband Audio codec will help you most on lousy network conditions and when you have lower bandwidth available, although it also improves quality in normal conditions too.

Today Skype for Windows 4.0 Gold release will now allow the entire Skype for Windows user community to take advantage of the SILK codec's features.

SILK is basically a significant improvement on Skype's previously acclaimed HD Voice performance. I have now experienced a couple of calls where this SILK codec was available at both ends of the call; it certainly provides a clearer, crisper audio experience. (For those unfamiliar with the term "codec" they are algorithms engineered into the voice communications network for converting audio waveforms into digital streams for transmission over the communications network and then converting them back to an audio waveform at the receiving end.)

Last week I had the opportunity to interview Jonathan Christensen, Skype's GM for Media Platform to learn more details about this "SILK" codec. This codec is the outcome of a three year development process with a focus on:

• improving the audio bandwidth out to 12,000 KHz
• providing bandwidth management to deal in real time with degraded network conditions
• balancing the codec optimization between voice, music and background noise, each of which can have an impact on the overall user experience
• overall robustness to provide a more consistent user experience, regardless of network conditions and an individual caller's voice signature.

While the human ear can hear sounds up to 22 KHz the actual sound produced by human vocal chords has a frequency range of 20 Hz to 14 KHz; however, sounds below 70Hz are not what you would call "pleasant" (as experienced with those "thump, thump" car speakers). Skype's SILK codec is optimized for the transmission of audio between 70 Hz and 12 KHz. Compare this to the bandwidth of the PSTN's standard G711 codec of 400 Hz to 3.4KHz; wider band codecs, such as AMR-WB and iSAC cover the range of 50 Hz to 7 or 8 KHz respectively. And, as indicated in both the AMR-WB and iSAC Wikipedia entries, there is a major licensing cost consideration:

AMR-WB has been standardized by a mobile phone manufacturer consortium for future usage in networks such as UMTS. Although its speech quality (similar to Skype, including glitches) makes it likely that older networks will have to gradually be transformed to support wide band, its high legal costs may limit its uptake.

However, in order to deliver on this audio bandwidth, Skype also had to consider getting the voice stream across the Internet. SILK interacts with Skype's redeveloped (network) bandwidth manager that uses a feedback algorithm to provide "adaptive bandwidth management". SILK is a "variable bitrate" codec that can scale the bitrate (amount of data being transmitted as voice packets) up and down as necessary. The key network parameters governing this adaptation are packet loss and jitter changes. Fundamentally, to the end user, this means incorporating a level of call robustness that results in improved consistency of call quality, especially for lower speed Internet connections (below 3Mbps) with no user intervention required.

Another factor to be considered are accommodations for differences in perception of audio quality depending on whether there is voice, music or random background noise involved in the audio signal. Suffice it to say that Skype's engineers have been involved in a balancing act amongst these factors in the development of the SILK codec.

The bottom line is that Skype has set new barriers for voice call quality and and the associated user experience. Since there needs to be SILK at both ends of a call, the number of calls I have experienced with SILK has been limited but, as mentioned above, those I have made had a very crisp, clear audio quality. With Skype's launch today of Skype for Windows 4 Gold release almost all my Skype-to-Skype calls will be able to achieve this performance level. Going forward expect to see SILK incorporated into Skype for Mac in the near future. But the the SILK codec has been modularly designed for embedding into silicon; we can expect future Skype-enabled hardware platforms to be able to take advantage of SILK's performance.

And finally note that, in order to keep costs low while improving call quality, Skype has no licensing costs associated with their proprietary codec. Is there a potential for a new Skype revenue stream by licensing this codec to other communications service providers as well as hardware vendors?

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Skype for Windows 4.0 Goes Gold; Improved UI, Audio and Video Performance

Over the past eight months 1.2 million Skype users have participated in the Skype for Windows 4.0 beta program (stage 1, stage 2, stage 3). During this beta period, not only current user feedback was sought but also feedback from new users installing Skype for the first time. The goal was to provide a user interface that was more intuitive while encouraging users to go beyond simply voice calls to experience and use chat and video conversations. Today Skype is announcing the Gold release of Skype 4.0 for Windows. From the download page:

We've built this brand new Skype so you can have the conversations that make a difference to you, every day. It's easy to use, plus step-by-step guides help you get started.

While most of the new features have been revealed during the beta period, Skype's marketing will focus on three key features:

• New user interface; with over 25% of Skype-to-Skype calls involving video this new release has been designed with a focus on improving the video call user experience.
• Improved call quality: Skype 4.0 for Windows incorporates Skype's new SILK codec whose features are discussed in a separate post today. Bottom line is a crisp, crystal clear audio experience, yet only half the network bandwidth of other codecs is required to support a voice call.
• Bandwidth management: a new bandwidth manager has been developed with the goal of improving overall call performance by adapting, in real time, to degraded or low speed network conditions, such as those caused by excessive packet loss and/or jitter.

The new user interface also has taken into account factors that encourage users to explore Skype beyond voice calling. Incorporating beta user feedback Skype has found that the new UI is driving up adoption rates for Instant Messaging, file transfer and video. When you open a contact window launching a voice, chat or video conversation requires a single click on the respective voice ("Call"), chat or video button. The associated text pane tracks not only chat messages but also voice and video call detail information (launch time, end time) as well as file transfer information. And, as in the past with chat, the entire record is all archived on your local PC for future recall.

Other features: You can choose to view your Skype activity in one larger window or in individual "conversation" windows. During a call a drop down menu on the "call audio control bar" provides quick access to making any necessary audio or video settings. Single click buttons allow you to quickly change or add conversation modes to adapt to the context of the conversation. A wizard provides assistance with testing audio and video settings. During their testing they found that these features drove new users to more quickly experience chat and video while there was an increase in usage of these modes by legacy users.

On-the-fly the bandwidth manager can adjust both video and audio transmission by making real time adjustments to parameters such as video resolution, frames-per-second or audio bandwidth. to ensure an ability to maintain a basic level of communication while enduring these conditions. When combined with SILK's reduced network bandwidth requirements, the overall goal is to improve the overall user experience with minimum or no user intervention required.

Two changes;

• The SkypeMe! status button has been removed as a result of its tendency to be used for spamming and other forms of unwanted calls. (Of course you also still have the option to only allow callers in your Contact list to call you.). Along with this Skype has introduced "abuse reporting" which is monitored by Skype personnel for dealing with undesirable calling activity.
• While you can still participate in Public Chat sessions launched or joined from Skype 3.8, there is still no ability to launch or join a Public Chat from Skype 4.0 for Windows. This is my primary complaint about the new user interface. We have had a Skype 4.x Public Chat discussion ongoing since May, 2007; it has provided an interesting dialogue amongst Skype users and Skype personnel, including some feedback on features in Skype 4.0. And it has supported many other informal "water fountain" conversations amongst special interest communities of Skype users. Skype for Windows Product Manager Mike Bartlett claimed yesterday, during an interview, that Skype was reviewing how to embark on "public conversations" in today's messaging world where services such as Twitter and Friend Feed also provide ongoing dialogues. However, Skype Public Chat has its own "space" in terms of user community; it needs to be brought back as soon as possible.

Over the next few weeks, with more experience using Skype 4.0 for Windows we may cover some features in more detail. In the meantime you can download it here. We look forward your feedback in the Comments.

Yesterday Skype went past 16 million concurrent users around 1830 GMT. It will be interesting to monitor both the concurrent user number and Hudson Barton's "real user" indicator as Skype 4.0 for Windows installations grow over the next couple of weeks..

Of course, the best news is that Skype-to-Skype calls (including multi-party calls), chat and video calling remain free. And there are calling plan subscriptions available for low cost calling to landlines worldwide.

From the Release Notes:

• feature: New style when copying and pasting text in an instant message (text quoting)
• featue: Video Call in separate window
• improvement: Skype now creates thumbnails of display pictures
• change: Get more ringtones and custom sounds link removed from options panel
• change: Removed display bandwidth usage option
• change: Dial pad will be opened automatically on call to landlines or mobiles
• change: Increased minimum window size in compact mode

Other Posts:

• Product Manager Mike Bartlett: Skype 4.0 - It's All Yours
  
• Mike Bartlett Discusses Skype 4.0 Beta on Squawk Box
• Skype's videos about the 4.0 beta limited release
• Mike Bartlett Comments on Skype 4.0 User Feedback
• Mike Bartlett on Skype 4.0 Beta 1 Feedback

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Skype 4.0 For Windows Brings A Fresh New User Experience

With the rollout of the new 4.0 version of Skype for Windows, Skype has completely redesigned the user interface of the popular internet telephony and instant messaging platform. Skype has long had a user experience that is very familiar "instant messenger" look and feel, not all that different form other IM clients such as AOL Instant Messenger or Yahoo Messenger.

Redesigned For Usability

In an interview with Mike Bartlett, Director of Windows Product Management for Skype, he told me the new version of Skype was re-built from the ground up to enhance ease-of-use with regards to interacting with your contacts and getting Skype set up to use your microphone and webcam.

Skype version 4 uses a fresh user experience, incorporating more of a conversational point of view. When loading Skype 4.0 for the first time, users might be shocked to be greeted with a client that takes up much more screen real estate than before. The new Skype version is tailored around those who hold open multiple IM conversations, calls, video calls, and file transfers in one horizontally arranged tabbed window. Before this new user experience was integrated into Skype, users were required to manage multiple windows for each open conversation.

Have Your Conversation Your Way

The new Conversation Tabs is aimed at make it easy to manage multiple conversation and IM streams in a single window. By separating the open conversations away in a separate tab than your contact list, Skype has made it very easy to track open communications, whether they are IM conversations, voice calls or video calls. Of course, if you don't like the Conversations view, you can switch to Compact view that will separate each active contact into it's own window, much like the classic Skype client versions.

As you can see in the screenshot, video calling is a major component of the new user interface. A prominently placed video call button is present when conducting an IM conversation. Also, another very useful feature: conversations with new unread messages or actions will flash orange to draw your attention to the new messages, whether they are from an individual or in a group chat.

Also, with a single click on a Skype contact, you reveal the various options. These options before were hidden behind the right-click context menu, as Skype was centered around voice communications in prior versions. The new version helps bring to life the various contact options that have always been available.

Summary

While Skype 4.0 on Windows took a while to get used to, I see the usefulness in the conversational views and refreshed user experience. In fact, I recently went back to a computer that is running an older 3.0 version of Skype and missed the conversational changes in 4.0 Also, being able to see freshly updated conversation items as they happen makes conversation tracking easier.

This post is written by Skype Journal columnist Jason Harris, an internet telephony writer and enthusiast.

To follow Jason further: check his website, follow him on Twitter. Also, you can reach Jason via Skype as harrisja or on his mobile at: +1 503 334 2574.

Download Skype for Windows 4.0 Gold

Download Skype for Windows 4.0 Gold, now out of Beta. The full Skype Journal treatment coming momentarily.

tags: skype, software, download, windows, 4.0, gold, joltid

Talk with Phil Wolff on Twitter or FriendFeed or on Skype.
Follow Skype Journal on twitter

16 million simultaneous online

By Jean Mercier, Skype Numerologist, of Belgium.

The fastest million ever.

It is the second time in 3 months that I have to use the same blog post title. Indeed, it took only 21 days or three weeks to add another million.

I made a very wrong prediction in September last year and believe it or not, I am very happy that I was wrong!

This is the first time ever that Skype crosses four times a million milestone in a Northern hemisphere “fall-winter-spring” period, or "School Year"! And, this ten months period is only half way, therefore we could see at least one more million, or perhaps even two! Exciting!

16,159,211 is today's reported peak.

Editor: See also: Jason Harris crediting this to London's snow storm and people working from home. Thanks to Julien Decot, Chaim Haas, and Neil Lindsey for progress reports from San Francisco, New York, and Vancouver.

 

See Skype Journal's alert last Monday (27 January 2009) as we approached 16 million.

Technorati tags: skype, trends, stats, statistics, million, millions, census, population, users, usage, simultaneous, concurrent, online, dialtone

Skype Usage Soars to 16 Million, Due to UK Snow?

Skype, as of the time I'm writing this post, has 16,097,842 users concurrently logged in. That's a historic number any means.

Could this spike in usage today be attributed in any way to the snowstorm the UK is experiencing?



This post is written by Jason Harris, an internet telephony writer and enthusiast. To follow him further, read his blog.

What could Skype do with 1Gbps Broadband to the home?

Multiparty video chat.

In super-duper-ultra-hi-def resolution.

In Surround Sound 5.1 audio.

While watching HD television together.

In Seoul in 2012.

That's what I call a national broadband policy.

Korea plans to boost their 100Mbps to the home to 1000Mbps while the US is barely averaging 1 to 5.

Technorati tags: skype, broadband, bandwidth, kr, korea, design, policy, fcc, stimulus, jobs, wishlist

P.S. And smell-o-vision.

P.P.S. Maybe without the chimps and popcorn.

get thee to sleep

"GET TO SLEEP, but if not, get on skype :D"