First, the product is in beta testing. I like it, but it will be a different product when it comes out-of-beta and adds online payments to the user experience. How promptly will the alterred product be retested? How extensive is Skype's still new software testing? Who signs off on it? Was this waived for WebDialogs to be in time for CES?

WebDialogs aside, Skype's certification results remain a black hole; transparency is called for. To start: create a web page for every product certified, listing the tests passed and describing the specific release/version of the product tested, and provide a facility for voting/rating and other customer feedback on products. Then list all those certificates on a master page. This will help consumers verify product certification, promote recertification, clarify what specific certs stand for, and deter pirates.

Second, Skype made a big stink in the recent past about third party software changing Skype's GUI. They threatened small developers who'd added "V for video" or other buttons, bringing in lawyers before even Skyping these registered Skype partners. (EULA section 3.3.2: "You will not remove, overtake, hide or otherwise make the UI inaccessible for end users".) Skype Journal repeatedly called for UI APIs, but Skype hasn't published any. Unyte adds a "Share" button to Skype's main navigation bar. And Skype certified the product. Either:

1. Skype bizdev gave Unyte a pass on the terms of service,
2. Skype testing failed to notice a whopping big change to the UI,
3. Skype has a secret, for-very-special-friends GUI API that they shared with Unyte but keep hidden from the rest of the Skype developer ecosystem.

I suspect (1) and (3), both of which are piss poor business practices.

Skype's future depends less on blockbuster software alliances and more on creating a trusted environment where tens of thousands of firms and programmers know they are treated well, fairly, and consistently. I'm not picking on WebDialogs here; they did no wrong. Skype, on the other hand, should decide whether bizdev deadlines and public validation are worth breaking faith with an entire community of developers.

Niklas Zennström speaks on intellectual property rights. (Tony Hallet, Silicon.com) "Software patents are hindering innovation. Patents should be granted when there is real innovation and real investment in innovation." "We allow third-party developers to develop on our platform. It's a great way to do it. We are helping them be successful. But there is a mental threshold you have to go through. People [at Skype] say 'Maybe we could have done that'."

EULAscan about Skype: customer written EULA reviews. My line-by-line review of the Skype Terms of Service.

Wael Ghandour's Guide to blocking Skype Blocking Skype Using Squid and OpenBSD (Help Net Security). Instructions for network admins.

Macromedia and Jabber make secure IM a selling point to the US Government. (Les perles du chat). Whereas Skype's secure messaging gets it banned? the news release. Government is a largely untapped market for Skype.

overview of the vTraveller USB handset (Gadget Spy). Skype Certified. Dial by saying the names of people in your address book. From VoIP Voice.

Skype + Trillian = SkyLlian (Hesspoint). SkyLlian brings your Skype contacts into Trillian.

Torcamp Rocked! (Alec Saunders) Bohemian 2.0?

Don't Buy DSL From This Man ... If You Can Help It (Tom Evslin). "Ed Whitacre is CEO of SBC, the huge local telecom monopoly which is about to swallow AT&T. The excitement of the progeny buying the former parent may be going to his head." Whitacre is dangerous to Skype. He thinks users and Skype should pay SBC/AT&T for Skype traffic over the DSL or cable line you're already renting.

Popular Post: Bluetooth & Skype (Skype Journal, February 2005).