I missed the announcement on Feb 9 about Damaka. Damaka is ostensible another SkypeKiller, (the last one I checked out was Teleo) according to the Press. Like Teleo it is using the GIPS Voice engine and it claims it is SIP. After installing it, having a "crash" and my testing buddy two reboots we finally both managed to add each other as a buddy. It probably a bug but until we... ... continue reading.....

Will this group have any real impact? The Register reports on a new peering network.

Internet calls to landlines could get even cheaper, following yesterday's launch of an international peering network of VoIP providers. Fourteen companies have signed up to the free-of-charge interconnection service including Callme.se (Sweden), e-fon.ch (Switzerland), Magrathea Telecommunications (Great Britain), Musimi.dk (Denmark), MS Networks (Luxembourg), sipgate (Austria, Germany, Great Britain) and SIPphone (USA). continue reading.....

A potential cautionary flag. I've watched many announcements fly out on Skype to SMS. I've seen Skype Technologies quoted as if it is their program. It's not as far as I know. A few weeks ago I blogged that Connectotel had launched an SMS to Skype service using an SMS gateway. We tried it out and were impressed. Now they are testing Skype to SMS services. I think this is exciting. I... ... continue reading.....

Many Skypers want to record their Skype conversations, turn them into podcasts etc. Some of these solutions work. More often than not the first time you try it you only record the caller and not yourself. Then next step often leads you to hearing yourself talking when recording. Something I find distracting. It is why we went to such lengths to make it work SkypeCasting. Soon there will be integrated solutions that make recording... ... continue reading.....

At the top of everyone's wishlist is the "Skype Contact List". There is nothing worse than getting a new PC, being overseas and logging into Skype to realize that all of your buddies are missing. While some future version will almost certainly solve this in a "premium" Skype, for now we need some solutions and everyone should backup their contacts.

Don't be caught without them.

First it is possible to backup your... ... continue reading.....

A few weeks ago I blogged that Connectotel had launched an SMS to Skype service using an SMS gateway. We tried it out and were impressed. Now they are testing Skype to SMS services. We would add one cautionary note. Connectotel is the gateway between Skype and the GSM gateway which means there is a "security point" risk. You should be aware that your message is not encrypted end to end.

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More on the statistics front. Now James has a go. When we last looked at minutes (Two Million Reasons) on the 14 of February, just 10 days ago the daily run rate was approximately 36m per day. So one new add is that skype is currently growing at 400k minutes per day. Now according to Aswath Skype Minutes are probably double counted.

It's not clear yet what this announcement on Cidav means. There are some similarities to MrBlog's most recent post on owning your own phone system.

So take a standard Linksys router and toss this free code on it, and you have yourself your own SIP proxy server. No more NAT problem (the router has a real IP address and and can properly map to all SIP phones on the NAT LAN). It's open (not...

James Enck used to new strategy today to further his search for businesses that are using Skype. In this post from the EuroTelcoblog he uncovers language schools, pizza services and hotel and restaurant. If you have a business and you are using Skype and there's a story in it we would like to share it. Probable easier than James using the search directory.

See EuroTelcoblog

Skype announced the introduction of PayPal for SkypeOut today.

We just enabled PayPal payments in most of the countries where PayPal is available. It has been available to US customers for a couple of days now, things are going good so far, and so it's now open for others too.

Please note that right now the PayPal payments are labelled as BETA. This means that they are working fine, but we may make changes...

A new program by Twilight Utilities tries too hard to break new ground and comes up short. The intension is to use your modem to foward a Skype call to anyone. It provides buddy redirect options, so some get voice mail and other get forwarded through your modem connection to your cell or landline whereever you are. Potentially it's a Skype to phone and phone to Skype gateway.

Some things we learned... ... continue reading.....

What is Skype's impact on VoIP traffic? These numbers apparently from TeleGeography. This is a number I've tried to run down a few times. Still what's 4% today could be 10% tomorrow. Let's just say... it is big enough to count!

Estimated to carry 25% of annual VoIP traffic (as counted by TeleGeography), or the equivalent of 4% of total international traffic worldwide, the impact of Skype and other VOIP applications could put a serious...

Skype for Windows currently has a setting File/Options/Advanced/Auto-Pause WinAmp which stops WinAmp when a new call is received. Unfortunately after the Skype call WinAmp doesn't resume playing. This beta program MuteForSkype adds music handling capability to Skype for Windows Media Player, WinAmp and Sonique. If you like your music and Skype this may be the plug-in for you.

A wish from a Mac Skyper who would like to see Sailing Clicker connected to Skype. For those like me who had to look it up... Sailing clicker is a remote control utility for using your Mobile phone to instruct your Mac. I installed something similar to this on my Nokia "Bemused" was fun. The forum reader takes this further.

I would love to see someone build some scripts to integrate Skype with...

I've added a new category "WISH LIST" for all those desires we have for Skype enhancements. What do you think would make Skype better? Many ideas have been posted in the SkypeJournal overtime. However, I'm start a new category to add simple items so when they come up they get blogged. I know that a "Contacts List Backup" and "Video" are high on any list. There are also some workarounds for getting your wish... ... continue reading.....

Engadget may be hooked on Skype but still has reservations about the BenQ P50 one of the first phones to be shipped with Skype installed. I saw their new phones at CES and lust comes to mind. Check out Engadget for their review. I'm waiting for now. The next six months are going to bring many interesting new phones. It will soon be time to trade in my Nokia.

BenQ P50...

Ross Mayfield reports from Demo@15 how you can use ASAP Express from Convoq to create video and IM alternatives to WebEx and integrate them in a common workspace. It's good to see this example working. Presence dashboards are coming and important to implementing more efficient work practices. As Ross points out in his blog you can make this work for AIM, Yahoo!, Messenger and Skype.

People use Socialtext and Convoq in tandem. When...

It is actually the comments that make this story about Vonage and Skype interesting. While there is no new news, the overwhelming thread in the comment is how these two companies are helping families and small businesses lower their communications costs.

The BBC News website's business editor Tim Weber is a Skype user, while acting technology editor Darren Waters has been getting to grips with Vonage. continue reading.....

James Seng is running an exciting experiment with Wi-Fi handsets and SIP at Apricot 2005. Every attendee is able to use the new phones in the same old way. It's an important step. Wonder what they will be doing at TED in this regard this year.

Another point of view on why mobile operators should embrace Skype and similar solutions. Worth reading the whole piece.

“VoIP is a huge threat, but it’s one that’s coming from outside of the constraints of the mobile environment,” said Mike Mulica, president and CEO of BridgePort Networks during a panel session discussing the ramifications of VoIP on the mobile sector at the 3GSM World Congress in Cannes on Thursday. “Skype and these converged voice/data... ... continue reading.....

Here's an interesting point of view on Skype and Bluetooth. Bluetooth hasn't been the easiest to get working with laptops and PDA's. This "vent" catches the main point. It's just too hard and takes too much playing with to get many bluetooth apps to work.

Personally my slant is, and I hope, that Skype might instead bring about the end of the Bluetooth standards. Various revisions have not made it reliable and it would...

Should Skype Spin off SkypeOut? What do you think? This post found to a new telecom blog via Om Malik's comments. Telcoedge suggest that Skype is mixing being a "software" vendor with providing services. Well worth reading the whole post.

I posted a comment on Om Malik's post on recent issues Skype has been having with payments and billing. My opinion is it simply stems from the fact they consider themselves...

We know Skype is currently a key driver of Fixed Mobile Convergence. This post makes a good case for wireline carriers operating within an enterprise environment. At home and in the small business the equation may be completely different.

Many market trends and business drivers are pushing fixed mobile convergence (FMC) solutions that enable seamless handoff of calls--and call features--across wireline (Wi-Fi or 802.11) and wireless (cellular) networks to become a reality, today....

Skype maybe making moves to add PayPal as a payment option. (Not Verified). A possible small trial was reported via the forums.

Although in BETA testing, Paypal has been added today (02/1Cool as an Payment option. I just bought 10 Euro's (to be save and test the process first) of SkypeOut time. I just checked my account and the 10 euro's are showing up on my Skype account !!!!! continue reading.....