Too busy getting ready for Telco 2.0 event to write anything too substantive, so here's a quick thought.

I've tried a whole lot of Skype phones. I've seen a whole load more. I've not liked a single one. As I don't like to slag off products from small companies, I simply write nothing.

I don't use any of them. Why is this?

They put the traditional keypad at the front of the experience. But... ... continue reading.....

Guest post by Hans Blaauw

Many many months ago I wrote a Skype plugin called Mood-o-Matic. It could retreive information from external databases and publish it in your mood. It was limited because Skype did not support clickable mood messages. Now they do!

There seems to be nothing in the EULA about what you are allowed to put in the Mood message (I just checked with some Skypers).

So in theory I... ... continue reading.....

Just got home from the opening day of Yahoo!'s first open Hack Day. I thought it might be useful to contrast it with eBay's DevCon.

Messagr launched yesterday to help you find other people to talk to. Messagr is a new presence-based search engine. Register yourself, describe topics that interest you, and give your Skype name. When you want to discuss rugby with someone right now, messagr shows people both interested in those topics and available to talk. 

Messagr gets that value is rapidly shifting from the... ... continue reading.....

I just reinstalled SightSpeed on my "rebuilt" laptop and am always impressed with the video quality. It is reminiscent of the days about 25 years ago when the first color monitors became available for the mini-computer-based instrumentation I was selling at the time. My budget-limited customers (mostly university based researchers) thought they could get away with budgeting for a black and white monitor until they actually saw the color monitor ... it took all of... ... continue reading.....

Niklas Zennström chalks up two year delay to "technical hurdles and a lack of suitable handsets" in a Reuters summary of a Helsingin Sanomat interview (registration required). Duh.

One of the nifty features of Skype is its ability perform File Transfers almost on demand.  I find several time a day I need to transfer a file to a Skype contact but how I do it could happen in one of several ways. Peter Kalmström has posted on six ways to perform File Transfers within the Skype ecosystem:

1. Use the Skype  client's Send File button
2. In a Skype Chat session either use...

Skype Dev Zone is to get better and better. I found this out first hand 10 days ago when I met with Skype managers and executives in London. I got to see their nice new offices too. Very classy. (More on that next week.)

Paul Amery is the new Director of Skype Developer Program (SDP). Fresh blood; there is no substitute. Lot's of energy and a high level of commitment.

Here is Paul... ... continue reading.....

Absent any immediate threats, and after Monday's conference call with eBay's government affairs people, San Jose State University's University Computing and Telecommunications department (SJSU UCAT) said they will not ban Skype. [correction: it was Skype's government affairs person, not eBay's, on the conference call.]

I wasn't there, but if I were briefing them, I'd... ... continue reading.....

More people Skype in Chinese than in English. One of eBay's justifications for buying Skype was help entering China's consumer-to-consumer ecommerce. Now rumors: eBay will sell its Chinese operations to Skype partner Tom.com. Or to Skype rival Tencent, maker of QQ. Or eBay buying Tencent. eBay doesn't comment on rumors.

QQ broke 20 million simultaneous users in June 2006, compared to Skype's 7 million. They have 549 million accounts... ... continue reading.....

Mercora, presenting at Demo Fall, is showing off its IMRadio service. You download the client, build playlists and public folders, name your radio station, and start streaming. Share music among friends, "legally."  

Would you like to have these features be part of Skype? Or the network with your biggest list of buddies?... ... continue reading.....

Ian from Atlanta Skyped me with a family problem. His Dad can't use Skype at work and his sister just started school in Scotland. How can they keep in touch? Without paying a fortune?

TO DAD FROM SCOTLAND: Ian, your Dad just needs to create a Skype account. He can do it from home. He'll need to put few dollars into SkypeOut and set forwarding to a local phone number (home/office/mobile) of your choosing. After... ... continue reading.....

Yesterday Andy posted a reference to an article in today's San Jose Mercury News about various new "mobile lifestyle" companies that want to change the way we are using phones. But Michael Arrington has made an excellent point in stating that:

A bunch of VOIP services have launched to help people make cheaper calls from normal phones. None of them are compelling for the mass market.

The question any VC's... ... continue reading.....

Never wonder about the power of telephone companies. A few weeks ago Wessel van der Vyfer spoke for Telecom Namibia at the Telecoms World Africa conference on "The future prospects of the African... ... continue reading.....

After a lunch today at the Metreon entertainment complex's food court in San Francisco, Phil and I walked into the Sony store and found the new Mylo available for purchase. Yesterday was the launch day.

While we did not have an environment for any full testing (and the WiFi access was a bit flaky) three comments:

• Phil was able to call his mobile phone from...

How do you voice enable the whole web? With Adobe Flash. My host walks me into his tiny war room at Adobe North. The tables strewn with copies of VON magazine, and Sinnreich's Internet... ... continue reading.....

17 ways to celebrate the joy and diversity of the Internet with Skype:

1. Skype a friend.
2. Skype a stranger.
3. Turn on SkypeMe mode for the day.
4. Add your Outlook contacts to Skype and send OneWebDay greetings.
5. Install Skype on a friend's computer. Add yourself...

I'm getting back to blogging. I expect a few of my posts will turn up here on Skype Journal. For the most part that will be Phil's choice.They will also be posted on Unbound Spiral my personal blog and opinion. I first wrote about Skype there. I also wrote about many other topics, including Disruptive Innovation, Social Networking, Conversational Blogging, Identity, COMsumers, Strategy. I was less "bound" there than... ... continue reading.....

Since its inception the secret sauce that results in the excellent voice quality of Skype-to-Skype calls and facilitates quality in Skype-to/from_SkypeIn/Out calls has been the Voice Engine for PC and Voice Engine for (Windows) Mobile licensed by Skype from Global  IP Sound (often referred to as "GIPS"). Monday came the announcement that Skype has licensed a second player for voice engine software in embedded, PC-free consumer devices, namely, Trinity Convergence. Trinity's continue reading.....

My take:

1. Everyone is doing the right thing. Students sharing how they are using Skype now. IT managers learning everything they can about the technology, its risks, and opportunities. Faculty and staff researching best practices and comparing notes.
2. Ubiquity matters. The size of the Skype network should earn it a hearing. Telling people to use other "VoIP" products like Wengo or Gizmo, as UCSB did, is like trying to convince everyone to speak...

Seems that the discussion of the merits of email and (Skype) Chat are warming up again:

• Andy highlights the delays in knowing who is really online in Skype; he also mentions he has been receiving some chat spam.
• Jaanus admits that, despite claiming Skype chat to have many advantages over email fifteen months, ago he is still a heavy user of email.
• Rachel needs Skype presence to work in real...

Jean Mercier is our Skype Numerologist.

Skype was - in the past - proud of its viral growth. But business is business, and they try to attract people by gifts and promotions, hoping to generate more revenue through SkypeOut, SkypeIn and Skype certified products. The last two promotions in September were:

1. Free SkypeOut for France in France
2. September Giveaway for USA and Canada

For the time being this has been unsuccessful... ... continue reading.....