We've got reason to believe that Skype will be incorporating additional "Push to Talk" features in the future. (See this press release from GIPS)
From the forums the discussion leads to always on and push to talk. Always interesting to 'hear" how users think about the product potential.

1) It makes Skype even more personal and the communication more seamless - why wait for the ring and the formal answer to... ... continue reading.....

Skype off the edge? Climbing tall peaks? This link puts Skype to use in extreme conditions, innovatively connecting an expedition and later leaving nothing behind. Neat!

We started using SKYPE shortly after the launch back in 2003. Soon after, we began to toy with the idea of pairing SKYPE with another sensation of 2003; the RBGAN satellite modem.

The cheap and fast RBGAN was number one on a Himalayan expedition tech toy wish list...

Who are they? The Aussie Skype Users? Skypers put together directories of other Skypers trom the day it launched. I started a Bloggers on Skype early on when the "SkypeMe" buttons were just released and used it to create a Blogroll on MovableType (no longer being updated). Today Jyve is working towards providing directory services and so are other sites.

I am putting together a list of aussie...

Interesting thinking.

I wrote a while ago that Skype is also developing a very discreet IM strategy, that no one talks about... I wouldn't be surprised at all, if a SkypeIM to SMS were made available on the market real quick...

The next big question is how IM communities can be monetized... ask the big telcos why they are all developing big IM strategies? Fear of cannibalization of the SMS business ? Cross-selling...

Connectotel has launched an SMS to Skype beta service for GSM mobile phones. Say you have a buddy on Skype and you want them to call you on your mobile. Connectotel has the answer. Your Skype friend can now call you back from anywhere at SkypeOut rates. So if you want to receive SMS messages on Skype then add the Skype contact "smsgateway" to your contact list right now.

Instructions:

In the last few days I've found myself thinking about the exchanges we have and what facilitates them. As coincidence would have it, I also blogged Barlow's post on The Intimate Planet. I've had some similar experiences recently. I created a monocast radio using my iPodRadio and Skype. From a personal point of view this seems pretty pointless at first. One does lose their iPod! However, the calls have kept coming in, regularly... ... continue reading.....

Another developer is working on connecting Skype to a MySOL server. That will enable a nice scalable Presence Server solutions. More than a few people are waiting for this solution.

I'm writing a VC Win32 service to intercept all the events of Skype and store it into a MySQL Server. Next I'd like build a Presence server and other stuff (like php o java web applications)... I want to release it as Open Source...

Skype DJ on the loose! Skypers in the forums are experimenting with using Skype and shoutcast. Expect some instructions soon.

I use shoutcast and skype with no problems. what bitrate are you broadcasting at on shoutcast??? you maybe using up all you bandwidth if your broadcast is set too high and not leaving enough for skype. i broadcast at 48/kb.

forum.skype.com

A new user to Skype asks how to change their name. Maybe you would like to change yours too, or simply get smarter about the name field in Skype. This post tells you how to change your name and use it to better effect in Skype.

ZDNet reports on Skype use in business.

"I realized while I was traveling overseas how difficult it is for my remote staff and traveling salespeople to communicate with each other," said Don LeBeau, CEO of Aruba Wireless Networks, a maker of Wi-Fi networking gear. "Skype has been a great tool for helping us increase communication. Not to mention it saves us money."

... continue reading.....

Skype and emotional ties from voice. I've been learning a bit about music and Skype too. Read John's last line. Often there are real surprises when one engages with strangers. I had two quite different ones today as a result of iPodRadio. One finished by pointing me to "The Intimate Planet".

The bottom line is this: they reached at random out into the Datacloud and found a real friend. And I feel like...

Do you use more than one PC your Skype? Then perhaps you want to synch your Skype chat histories. This post from the forums suggest that working with a network drive is one way to do it.

well if you share the target directory of one of your computers (which must be turned on always !) then you could keep both histories in ine file !

I do the same on my skype... but...

This post provides a "how to" on creating a personal iPod Radio that you can use in your Skype calls or simply leave running for your friends to call. The implications are disruptive, and the "ease of use" likely to further Skype's adoption when solutions are available for effectively using Skype as a broadcast service. It's perfect for low volume delivery of recorded messages off websites. Perhaps another... ... continue reading.....

Travel agents have big telecom bills and this small travel agency in New Zealand has jumped right in to reading Skype. This report from Stuff NZ.

Tourism Resource Consultants, which develops ecotourism projects in Asia-Pacific, began adopting the free service this month.

Senior consultant Ross Corbett says Skype cuts the cost of keeping in touch with his staff.

"Most of our work is overseas, and we need to communicate with each other a lot,"...

First with Skype Radio? Another blogger discovers how to use Skype to monocast. His post points to a simple method for adding music to Skype. We Skype Radio type applications may just catch on.

I could change the input video/audio from a web cam to the tv card i had installed. anyone i then connected to could watch whatever i had my cablebox set to, though the quality was very bad. flashforward to earlier...

Are rants and raves a good idea? This post could be both. Are they necessary, helpful, etc. We all do it in some way. Could RnR's empower change if captured easily and offered free distribution? I started this post thinking about customer complaints. Once you wrote a letter and you had to be really mad and it took a lot of time. It went to a corporate black hole and disappeared. it you did it... ... continue reading.....

I was granted 10 opportunities to share Skype VM with others. I shared it with Buzz and I have this wonderful message back from him asking for 100 invites more. I know he actually wants 1000! Of course, I wanted to share this news and send it back to Skype. It's the sort of voice message people get a kick from. In fact in my life I find I don't forward many messages.... ... continue reading.....

Steve Gilmore shares a recipe for SkypeCasting on a Mac. It's a little more expensive than adding a few virtual cables to a Win PC. Still you purchase a fancy little mixer and a few cables in the bargain so it will set you back a few bucks. Then if you are in to podcasting, why not go for a star performance. As a set up it looks pretty straightforward and will enable you... ... continue reading.....

Skype and PChome announced today a USB phone for the Taiwan market. In addition the press release provides updates on Skype subscribers, and plays for Siemans to release Skype enabled mobile devices in 2005.

See Taiwan market: Skype launches USB phone

I've been trying out Skype's latest voice mail beta. It demonstrates to me just how important beta testing is. It's also better than specing the product to death before trying it out. So, despite right clicking the mouse and obtaining a "send voicemail" option, after using it I'm more convinced than ever that this is "voice messaging" (See also Future of VM) under development.

First a compliment. I keep saying that the audio... ... continue reading.....

We are investigating this one. A Skyper needs an official invoice for SkypeOut payments.

I paid for a skype out service and I need an invoice with my address on it. My requests sent to skype have no any answer. I tried to solve this problem through "Live Help". I got promise and that's it. Almost three weeks has passed and no invoice. Any idea how to solve this problem? Yes, fortunately skype have...

Engadet reports on Actiontec's USB Skype phone connector. We are looking forward to trying the device which enables you to make Skype calls from your regular phone

Sometimes when Skype rings we scramble to find the headset in time to answer the call. This wouldn’t happen with Actiontec’s Internet Phone Wizard. It connects a regular phone to a computer for making, and receiving calls using Skype. The box channels the sound through the phone...

For technical types wanting to play with the SkypeAPI which lets you build cool applications this link from via the forums may help.

The SkypeAPI COM wrapper is an ActiveX "layer" around the Skype API (documentation here). It's designed to make it simpler for COM-client development environments (VB, .NET, etc.) to communicate with Skype Skype API COM Wrapper

I'm not quite sure what to make of Skypeteer. Perhaps we will hear shortly from the founder. Skypeteer is building a portal around Skype API capabilities and provides a few "examples" of where development may go.

Skypeteer is a Skype addon and portal in one. The aim is to provide options that Skype currently does not have. Let me be clear, Skype has great features and I love it but there are still some...

Wow, that's really cool. Chat now synchonizes across all PC's. Add this one to Skype's constant list of improvements

This was true for "old" IM. In the new chat system, all chat messages (including your own) are synced to all PC-s, so all of them will have identical chat contents. forum.skype.com :: View topic - skype from multiple computers

Have a bluetooth headset? Using one with your mobile? At CES BT headset demos were everywhere. So I returned home determined to use my Motorola BT headset with my laptop. Part of the desire was just wanting to lose the wires that are always tangled round the headset just when I want to answer an inbound Skype call. There remains lots of discussion and desire to connect phones to Skype. I took a... ... continue reading.....

Some numbers are worth repeating even if they are speculation. These numbers on Skype suggest huge growth for Skype over the next three years. Implies 30-50 million Skypers by year end.

Evalueserve predicts there will be 140 million to 245 million Skype users by 2008, compared to about 15 million total today. Those numbers exclude enterprise users who might switch to future Skype business offerings, which could reduce telcos' revenues even further. ... continue reading.....

The future is voice messaging, not voice mail. Voice messaging only comes into its own when matched with "presence" applications like Skype. It's an important distinction, for voice messaging will be used differently.

Links in the forums and some recent press comment around Skype have included reference to voice mail. It's probably a natural reference as we talk about "left a" and "getting voice mail" all the time. However in Skype's case what... ... continue reading.....