Today I became a virtual (graying) avatar sitting at a backgammon table in a rec room with some rock music playing. This was not a fantasy game rather an introduction to a remarkable new collaborative sharing space. Robin Good dressed in black introduced me to it. Leave a comment or ping me and and I'll send you an e-mail invite for a Friday at 9:00 am PST. This picture doesn't tell the full story.... ... continue reading.....

SkypeOut is active. Click on Skype "Tools" and "Go to my Account Page". It was simple to spend my first 10 Euros. My account took a few minutes for my Skype dialer to show the credit.

I then dialed New Zealand for a couple of quick test calls. I didn't experience any noticable latency on these calls. The wideband Skype sound was missing the low's and highs I'm accustomed to. I also had... ... continue reading.....

I'm about to go off and attend the pre-dinner Supernova event. Looks like a great crowd. Plus I put an initial post on the Supernova blog. The copy is also retained below.

Returning from my road trip I find Skype forums overflowing with with comments on the new Linux version. If you thought Mac users were zealots then the Linux response is even more fascinating. Check out Skype forums for more on Linux. Now Skype for Linux is an interesting marketing move. Skype is not open source, thus one can be quite cynical about the implications. Is this the way to make a splash with... ... continue reading.....

I've been looking back over my posts to capture a summary on "presence", the always-on VoIP factor that radically changes communications

VoIP Wi-Fi and Mobility are converging with "presence" to redefine communications environments. A failure to understand "presence" will lead telephony firms towards disaster. Making sense of presence is poorly defined by conventional distinctions between content delivery and communication. I believe the future of the industry is not making dollars on telephony rather it rests... ... continue reading.....

More details on the Skype VoIP showdown. See VoIP suffers identity crisis | The Register for "VoIP suffers identity crisis".

Still no rates published. So how much will it cost to SkypeOut? I've held back on this rate card for some time. However the address is still there. It's not officially announced and suggests European rates only. At less than two cents per minute US it... ... continue reading.....

I've been quiet on Skype. A different beta was just released on the forum. Try this link. forum.skype.com :: View topic - 0.98.28 For those interested in how the dial feature will be implemented download it now.

SkypeOut's presence format challenges all traditional softphones designs that are dialer centric. FireFly is another good example of a buddylist focused execution. It works okay however like most of... ... continue reading.....

Where does Yahoo fit in all the messenger systems? Compared to MSN and AOL it's is not winning on share. Still it recently had a facelift. Download here. From my perspective there is both good and bad. Still it brings some innovative new features worth thinking about.

The Good:
Voice Quality: Anecdotally Yahoo voice capability is much improved. I used to use Yahoo for PC to PC voice before discovering Skype last... ... continue reading.....

This post represents quick notes on Skype and Stanaphone. As Om Malik worries about a price war. Frankly I'm just surprised Stanaphone has the money and commitment to go down this route.

After Andy Abramson blogged Stanaphone as Free Calling... huh?. I downloaded it and made a couple of phone calls. They were adequate. I only made calls within the US. In one quick test we held a continue reading.....

Stowe Boyd has a nice post in DarwinMag this month on "The State of Social Tools". I like the tone and was great to learn that Stowe is now at Corante. Congratulations Stowe! There is a nice clear structure and set of points in the article. Let me share a couple of lines before adding my two cents.

The big story is that the global computer network is an enormous chat room, enabling us...

I just took a look at the list of people now signed up for Supernova in Santa Clara on June 24-25. Kevin Werbach has assembled a great group for another deep dive exploration into our decentralized future together. This will be the second time I'm attending having thoroughly enjoyed the first (December 2002) soon after beginning this blog. I'm going to be pressing the agenda for answers on Presence and Mobility with a... ... continue reading.....

"It is said that the present is pregnant with the future." ~ Voltaire Or similarly.... "the future is all around us we just don't know it yet!" --- a line delivered by many. If you read my last post you know I'm actively pursuing my future and it is all around me. One task I wanted to take care of before sending friends and colleagues to my second blog, and new company affiliation was to... ... continue reading.....

I'm getting inquires and questions. Stuart have you stopped blogging? Why no posts recently? The answer is complicated. This is a story about a blogger who found a new niche in an emerging industry with a new job through blogging. It also contain my thoughts and recommendations for companies that find themselves with a passionate blogger on the outside. For those that are blogging and looking for the "next thing" it may provide some lessons.... ... continue reading.....