Jan in Malaysia

The big cleanup. End of Skype Gadgets and Skype Watch.

I just decided (after the virtual cleanup was started on the matter of www.skype-gadgets.com and www.skype-watch.com) that the real life cleanup (moving boxes, wires, things... ) must start. Kind of amazing how much gadgets I have collected. The stuff you see below is only 1/10 of it. The rest I gave aways. All sample without value anyways.... On it's own, this could be an interesting phenomenon to study, more specifically; the effect of blogs on the shipping and box-wrapping industry. Hahahaha (joke). In the end it does not really matter because you'll end up throwing it away anyways, since there is always a better box to be moved by yet another box mover. There is no real business in it anyways. There never was. Luckily I found out before before engaging in anything more than just collecting some samples for testing, because that is exactly what I have been doing : testing people, concepts, boxes, software. Nothing more nothing less. Luckily my wallet did not get tested.

And this is where the story ends. For those "interested" in what went on well go here, here or here. Eitherways I am cleaning it up. Skype OUT for me.

For Skype related stories : www.skype-watch.com - www.skype-digest.com - www.skype-gadgets.com

Skype Video Phone in your WIFI Cellphone and some USB-phone boxes with USB-video attached to it...

I was just looking on google for a Skype Video Phone. Meaning a phone that provides me with Voice (maybe also with text-chat) and I also want to be able to connect my webcam-camera to it and why not link the incoming signal to my TV. You can do all that with a computer so maybe there are already phones out there that can do it too. With Skype. I found nothing really commercially available yet. At least that is what I thought, but after a few google search I thought differently. But still I found nothing that stands out or that really puts the video IN the phone. Too early, I guess.

I did find some websites that said they offer Skype Video Phones, but it kinds of nothing like a skype video phone. More something like a phone with USB-hub in for a webcam.. Still pointing to the computer.. Buy a nice store anyways at  www.skypestyle.com

Also found this great reference on the Skype forum : NEW - WLAN Skype Video Phone & Tri-band GSM  stating that XTV Mobile are proud to announce production of the XTV WLAN Mobile Skype Video & Voice & GSM phone.

Full information is at www.xtvmobile.com  

Then more … found this one at Amperor-Direct.It’s a phone with a hub for the webcamera and all that is connected to a PC, so kind of a funny concept. Not really a video-phone… But getting close… Nice store also by Amperor Direct. I hope I get to test this product in real life soon… But that could be a dream, since no samples are provided by Yealink or their vendors. You must buy it first… Okay then : so buy it. No hands review by me then for now.  

I wonder what is wrong with some of these manufacturors that they can’t see why blog and viral marketing can contribute to their marketing, by testing something (free testing an publishing okay, get it?). I would never believe a sales-person trying to sell me something if they are not capable of showing it real time. In the store. That is where those video-blogs come in handy. Living testimonials of a product. Hands on experience. Not flat marketing talk and flat images…. No, THE REAL STUFF.

Calculate the price of the 50 USD sample and devide it by 10.000 clicks or more on www.skype-gadgets.com and there you got your cheapo marketing-price… Then under each article add the Skype ID of the vendors or the distributors and the phone will ring. That is why we use Skype, right or are the distributors, vendors people that don’t pick up their skype phone anymore ?  Maybe too many Skypers are asking for a free sample…

Well not at Amperor direct they even got a little advertising icon to put on your blog. Nice enough, but I prefer to blog only about product that I have tested hands on. There is external reviews on the Yealink P4V USB VoIP Skype Video Phone anyways. Or maybe just go ahead and buy it. Burn some money…

Genius G-Talk USB Internet Phone for Skype.

Many people still continue to see Skype as a pure computer-related product. It needs internet and internet is related to their computer. Very simple. Wifi-phones are simple not yet present in their communications landscape. Only some lucky Skype Experts like Bill Campbell from Skypejournal and other early adaptors got hold of this great gadget. It will problably take a while. These phones also are not like readily and easily available and they still need to be adjusted for Public Hotspots (www.boingo.com). So I guess there is still some market for USB-phones. Many users don’t like headsets. Anyways here another Cable USB phone Genius (reminds me of the great early genius mouses…) works as a microphone and earphone with Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, MS NetMeeting, Xten, Dialpad, MediaRing, Net2phone. I did not test it yet. Good review here.

What I like about this USB-phones is that you can attach your headset to it. Many USB-phones don’t provide that feature. This one does.

- Built-in hot-key functions to operate Skype software as easy as using a normal telephone.
- LCD displays caller ID, contact list and calling list.
- Works as microphone and earphone with Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, MS NetMeeting, etc.
- Echo-eliminating function provides superior sound quality
- Buzzer function for incoming call alerts

Genius G-Talk USB Internet Phone for Skype (white color)

Netgear Phone. Video on Usage.

Testing a bit with embedding video of www.Youtube.com into this blog. To spice up the content. www.videoegg.com might be a solution too.

How many Skype users are there per country/continent ?

I guess Skype has got those data based on the IPnumbers and problably the profile of the Skype users will give an indication too. There are many reasons why one would like to know that. I wish Skype themselves would give some indication of this. Would say much more than 300 mio user or xxxx number of downloads…

Good summary here : http://mathaba.net/news/?x=408348

Ruell Consulting did some research too last year (thanks Jean Mercier for the tip)

Voice Cloak Plus; voice changer for Skype.

Voice Cloak Plus is a voice changer, a great way to mask your online identity, & the easiest way ever to record VoIP & Voice Chats!

http://www.blazeaudio.com/products/voicecloakplus1.html now allows Instant Recording & Security - for Skype or other On-Line Chat services. You can use it to make a podcast of your Skype or Voice Chat recordings, create voiceovers for presentations.. .

Using Skype is illegal and will get you behind bars. Therefore it must be blocked, so we can protect you.

At least in Burma on of the 15 black holes in the Internet (Belarus Burma China Cuba Iran  Libya Nepal North Korea Saudi Arabia Syria Maldives  Tunisia Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Vietnam). «"The decision to ban Gtalk and Skype were taken partly for financial reasons. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services were breaking into the profitable long-distance telephone call market, in which the state has a monopoly," said the press freedom organisation. "But it is also since, like webmails, this type of communication is very difficult to monitor. The Burmese Internet is more controlled than the Net in China," it added. The authorities, who already block access to Yahoo! and Microsoft (Hotmail) email services, want to force Burmese Internet-users to use Mail4U from Myanmar Teleport (formerly Bagan Cybertech), a state enterprise which filters and controls email content…. Every computer in the country has to be registered with the MPT, with those failing to do so liable to a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. It is the state which licences Internet cafés. They are forced to ask clients to produce proof of identity and to install software which takes screen captures every five minutes. All the data has to be kept on CDs and regularly sent to the authorities. The Burmese authorities have ordered filtering of independent online newspapers, websites defending human rights or promoting democracy and publications supporting the claims of the Karen people (an anti-government ethnic group in the east of the country). Internet users can access these sites and webmail by using proxy servers or tunnelling techniques (See Reporters Without Borders’ Handbook for Bloggers and Cyber-dissidents). The OpenNet Initiative has shown that the junta has, since May 2004, been using Internet filtering software sold by the US firm Fortinet.Finally, the creation of a website has to be approved by the authorities, and under a 2000 law, anyone discussing political issues online or posting articles "likely to damage the interests of the Myanmar Union" or "directly or indirectly harmful to state security policy" is liable to a six-month prison sentence.». source. Related : Skype is illegal | Skype must be blocked.

Integrate your blog with your Business. Be there or be square.

For example : this is company IP AGE in Johor Bahru. (www.ip-age.net) is selling VoIP phones and services for businesses and professionals, is now integrating a small business blog in their existing marketing and communications-strategy. They have just started using a weblog a business-tool, but are catching up very quickly.

Writing relevant content will bring you more readers. So the whole point is to continue writing interesting things, stay on top of things. Show what you have and what you know.

This weblog will be linked to a subdomain on their website, id est : http://news.ip-age.com. They even have a Skype Icon on their blog.

Note for example who they link to the website of one of their agents who is a reseller of the IP-age phones and who also has a weblog. Simple and to the point strategy to inform your customers, your network and raise topics in the industry. Very important to be present these days. No presence no business. It’s like not being there on a business fair. No communication, no business.

By using for example www.rssreader.com you can immediately suck up all the relevant news.

Company : www.ip-age.net
Newsblog : www.ip-age.typepad.com

New Skype 2.5. official release.

The Skype 2.5. version has gone official. Skype 2.5 SMS & Video Official release. Version: 2.5.0.113. Release date: June 14, 2006. File name: SkypeSetup.exe File size: 10 MB (Change Log)

What’s new in Skype 2.5?

• Easier to call ordinary phones
• Send SMS messages
• View and call Outlook contacts directly
• Buy Skype credit more easily

Features

• Make free calls to anyone else on Skype, anywhere in the world
• See who you are talking to with free video calls
• Chat with up to 100 people in group chats
• Conference call with up to four people for free
• Call ordinary phones with SkypeOut

 | Skype 2.5 SMS & Video | Integrate Skype / Outlook | Pamela Skype Answering Machine | SAM Skype Answering Machine | Yappernut-box | Vosky Call Center | USB-Telbox | Wiki describes Skype | del.icio.us/Skype |

Skype booming market VoIP link tapestry. 25 may 2006.

I don’t really have lot’s of time anymore to blog wildy (many of the thoughts are out there already, we are just multi-feeding eachother) and reflect intensively on the Skyposphere and neither am I or want to be a Skyperazzi that «needs» to blog (write, reflect) about a «Skype conspiracy» (according to p2pnet) which ends in Morpheus suing eBay and Skype for $4 billion over Peer-to-Peer Technology (read Top Cyber News 5/24 on that matter or listen the Motley Fool : Ring and Ka-Ching). Right now, I am just wading through a ton of obsolete RSS-feeds and google news items. Weaving them around some thoughts seems like fun. What is not fun is being spammed by tons of multi-level network marketing cockroaches (Pig 2 Pig, that is what they need) who have discovered the SkypeCloud to «prospect». Or how to lead a meaningless life a virtual door to door sales-«person» using low-level mind-probing techniques. Please go away or at least go somewhere else. I don’ t mind advertising as mentioned here IP Multimedia Subnet key to mobile growth. But I do mind spamming and related activities.

While Rupert Murdoch's MySpace Is In Search For Profit, Vonage heads for Internet-size IPO by selling 20 percent of it’s shares for $531M but it it dials up losses on New York debut, but it’s risky business., so let’s wait for the buyout. Lot’s of Market Turbulence… Note that Skype the Internet phone pioneer is making SkypeOut free in the US and Canada. What effect would this have on these stocks : GOOG, MSFT, YHOO, EBAY.

This explains why you should care about WiMax and hoeray :  Boingo Buys First Airport Connection. Skype is airborn.

Personally I think that Skype (being a P2P time-bomb to go off for the VoIP telephony and related business) is good for business but it will probably take some time before we see a real skype SME business on the market. Like forbes.com mentiones : Can Skype Cash In On Free? Keep in mind that many CIOs are fighting uphill battle against renegade apps. They don’t know how to manage P2P. It’s not client / server. You cannot easily control it. There is little administrative interface in Skype for the group-administration. We do have control over the payment-interface, but it lacks many features than can be found in SIP-systems. I also think that Skype discovered a hole in the market (SME don’t buy big PBX and related) consisting of people that will pay a little bit for p2p IM telephony, to have it run on their computer. For example just get a USB Bluetooth VoIP headset link it to your cellphone and to your computer and you can virtually call for free. It’s called The mobile phone revolution whereby Skype plays versus the Old Order. I just think we should forget about all kind of chunky boxes and think about services. Think about  Salesforce Integration with Skype. That is where the real business is. Nobody charges for email. They charged for connectivity. The same will happen (is happening) with telephony : flat fees per month and good service, that is what people need and want. The pay per minute will be replace by pay per click. We could be paying our phonebill per megabyte…

But don’t forget that Microsoft will tempt Consumers  with Windows Live Local & Maps Adds Traffic & Social Sharing, and with stuff like Microsoft Maps that makes A Move Against Google. Maybe it would be better to work together… Do watch how Internet moguls in deals, mergers speculation, the next trend for big Internet companies, which might lead to more interoperability and integration… Who knows. In mean time : TechEd 2006 messenger bot. 

On the matter of hardware well I would love to have a VoIP wifi enabled cellphone like this Nokia 6708, a Symbian-based smartphone, but the P51 will have email skype and GPS. A Skype Multimedia Phone will do too. Or maybe just this First Skype-Certified Mac Phone. Or maybe I should just wait for the Wi-Fi/VoIP iPod ? Or what about Verizon to ship $300 Motorola Q on 31 May ? Well just get this Plantronics thing. Phones are not phones anymore these days : they have become mp3–players, storage devices, tracking-devices, presence indicators. All hype if you ask me, but fun anyways. Maybe I am from a different generation that was raised in the belief «call somebody, make a meeting, state your topic, don’t waste your time chatting.» This is different today. No Cheap Chat, no business… or relationship that can be build up. Is this business 2.0. ? I don’t know but this system is an interesting example : The Thinking Man's Outsourcing (China). No more Language Barriers. it seems, but there is still the Chinese firewall to cross…

Finalizing with the topic of Free Encryption Software for VoIP Calls updated for Windows by the PGP creator who offers now VoIP crypto (it works with Gizmo Project 2.0) that carries very little interest for SME (they only care about the phonebill, and don’t have lot’s of IT-security in place). Which does not mean that security should be taken as something we don’t need… On the contrary. The point is that there is little awareness. Things need to go wrong first before people start acting in more a careful manner. Therefore : Skype did have a bug that may expose user data Skype dodges attackers by patching this security flaw called the URL Handling Flaw. or File-Transfer Security Flaw. It’s nothing special : Yahoo has an IM Worm Changing the IE Homepage. It just shows how Web conferencing tools can expose your data. Be safe. The Word is a Zero Day Vulnerability and there is no Net Neutrality.

 

Other business-links :

Voxilla Launches First End-to-End IP Communications Suite for SMBs
Skype CEO Announced Core Voice Technology Partnership with SPIRIT
Mobile industry must learn from past mistakes
Carriers betting on managed services, says Juniper
India has the right formula for success
Most Asian Markets Drop Significantly On Continued Global Weakness
TM Joins WiBro And Mobile WiMax Community
Toptone M808: a Skype phone and PMP love fest
 Covad Joins Leading Global Telecom Providers to Found WiBro
Skype Partners With SPIRIT DSP On Core Voice Technology
Toptone M808: a Skype phone and PMP love fest.

Know your time in the Skype Cloud. Don't play PIG 2 PIG (p2p).

Many of the people that call around on the skype system are pigs (without brains). They seem to have no understand of global time and don’t even start talking about cultural differences. For them there should be a new system inventend : PIG 2 PIG.  Nothing is more stupid or annoying than to call somebody at the wrong time. Take this into consideration since many people are already having their global free Skype Phone linked to their cellphone or fixed phone.

Know your time, tune your manners… .check this good yahoo global time widgets to keep track of global time. But If you do want to a be a swine well callto: PIG2PIG.

Skype for free and safe calling ? Who is listening in ? Spies, hackers, governments, Telecoms, Skype ?

I am still baffled by the fact that it is still possible to do a dual, triple, quadruple (and so on) simultaneous login to one Skype_ID (without notification). Anyways, it’s a feature… as I was told many times… (but one that annot be switched off). Security and Skype, always interesting as a topic. I have spiced up this article with google search links, while reading. The concent has been left unchanged of course. I am putting the full article here because it makes sense. It put’s the right things in perspective. Very interesting. A must read, mainly because it is full of contradicting statements, all expressing the different perspectives. When reading this (you can say and think what you want), it will be just a matter of time before  «P2P Kevin Mitnick scenario’s» pop up.

Two statement cought my eye :

• «Users preoccupied with Skype's security features "are usually criminals and other assorted nefarious types
  
• «Sauer declined to discuss Skype interactions with law enforcement, beyond saying the service "complies with lawful requests for information." Nor would he explain what calling records Skype keeps.»
  
• «Skype could become a juicy target for hackers.»

Internet service Skype (skype.com) last week offered anyone in the United States and Canada free phone calls from personal computers to telephones in both coun tries through Dec. 31. All you need is free Skype software, a headset and microphone for your computer and an Internet connection, preferably broadband.

"Nobody's listening in," Skype promises on its Web site.

Protection from snoops has been a Skype theme since the company introduced free -- and heavily encrypted -- computer-to-computer calls in 2003. Free and secure calls would seem an unbeatable combo, given the controversy about warrantless eavesdropping in Washington.

 

CIA director nominee Michael Hayden last week defended the National Security Agency's monitoring -- without court approval -- of domestic calls and e-mails involving overseas callers suspected of terrorism. Call records of millions of Americans also have been sifted by the NSA, according to USA Today.

Tom Berson, a security analyst hired by Skype last year, concluded, "The confidentiality of a Skype session is far greater than that offered by a wired or wireless telephone call or by e-mail and e- mail attachments."

But other security mavens, and comments from Skype, suggest Skype's latest calling plan isn't really a refuge for Americans worried about Big Brother.

Skype is "no absolute solution," said Tony Rutkowski, a security expert with VeriSign, of Mountainview, Calif., and president of the Global Lawful Interception Industry Forum.

For one thing, Skype said Internet calls no longer are encrypted when they reach a telephone. On the phone network, they can be tapped like other calls

And despite rebellious roots -- its founders riled the music indus try with the Kazaa file-sharing system -- Luxembourg-based Skype has warmed to authorities since being acquired last fall by online auction giant eBay of California.

"Skype has in place a process to cooperate with law enforcement requests," Kurt Sauer, Skype's chief security officer, said via e-mail. He referred to a 1994 law requiring telecom companies to ensure their networks can comply with legal wiretaps.   

By next year, Internet providers and online phone services also must comply, according to a 2005 Federal Communications Commission ruling. A coalition of Internet companies, libraries and universities is challenging the decision.

Sauer declined to discuss Skype interactions with law enforcement, beyond saying the service "complies with lawful requests for information." Nor would he explain what calling records Skype keeps.

In a lawsuit, the Electronic Frontier Foundation accused AT&T of illegally handing over customer records to the NSA.

Among tidbits emerging from that case is AT&T's use of a Silicon Valley company called Narus to analyze its Internet traffic. On its Web site, Narus advertises products for "lawful intercepts" of Internet communications, including playback of Internet calls and "Skype detection and blocking."

Since its launch in Estonia, Skype said its has attracted more than 100 million global users and 6 million in the U.S. The free computer-to-phone calls are meant to introduce Skype to a larger audience, and boost use of fee-based services like voicemail and ring tones.

Skype hopes to grow the market for a pay-per-call advertising business, similar to the pay-per- click model of Google and Yahoo. Skype envisions charging advertisers a fee each time someone uses Skype to call them.

Users preoccupied with Skype's security features "are usually criminals and other assorted nefarious types," Rutkowski said via e-mail.

In any case, barring software glitches, Skype's encryption should "make life much harder for an eavesdropper," said former AT&T researcher Steve Bellovin, now at Columbia University. Third-party products, like the open-source Zfone from encryption pioneer Phil Zimmermann, can add a layer of security to Skype calls, said Bruce Schneier of Counterpane Internet Security.  Government snoops may not pose the greatest privacy threat. Avi Rubin, a security researcher at Johns Hopkins University, said Skype could become a juicy target for hackers.  "I think it's a matter of time," Rubin said.

As phone services migrate onto Skype, Vonage of Holmdel and other Internet services, conversations can be stored as easily as MP3 music files -- raising many du bious possibilities, said Ira Winkler, a former NSA researcher and author of "Spies Among Us" (Wiley & Sons, 2005). Internet phone communications also are vulnerable to power failures, and maybe to "denial of service" attacks that choke targets with bogus traffic, Winkler said. One thing that does not worry him is the prospect of the NSA mining data from caller records.  He thinks bulletproof vests for cops would be a better investment. "Believe me, if NSA efforts had led to an arrest of some sort, they would be crowing like roosters right now," Winkler said.

Source : Internet phone offer: It's free -- and clear

Business Skype Online

Looks interesting. Defenitely Chinese style.

Smart name too : www.bisuo.net

Skype 2.5 beta updated. Get the latest version : 2.5.0.82.

Get it : Skype 2.5 SMS & Video latest update 2.5.0.82. Quite some things fixed and added. See the detailed change log.

Good review on what it actually does here.

Summary of the features :  

Call normal phones easily from Skype with our new SkypeOut Easy Dialing and new ways to pay.

Easily keep in touch with friends and family by using Shared Groups to share contact details and introduce friends.

Create a social space for your group for free with conference calling and group chat.

Call your Outlook® contacts directly from Skype.

Send SMS messages to your friends from Skype.

 | Skype 2.5 SMS & Video | Integrate Skype / Outlook | Pamela Skype Answering Machine | SAM Skype Answering Machine | Yappernut-box | Vosky Call Center | USB-Telbox | Wiki describes Skype | del.icio.us/Skype |

Plantronics taps into the VoIP cash cow with VoIP-Optimized Bluetooth.

I am always happy that I did not buy any of the early things, when you see these kind of products. It stands for freedom !

SANTA CRUZ, Calif., May 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT - News), today introduced the Voyager 510-USB, the first Bluetooth® headset system optimized for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) that provides instant wireless connectivity to PC-based softphones.

The Voyager 510-USB reflects Plantronics' commitment to developing innovative VoIP products that embody great style, sound and simplicity for both business and consumer applications. 

The Plantronics Voyager(TM) 510-USB is the first system that brings Bluetooth connectivity to enterprise-class softphones. The system integrates with enterprise softphone software from leading companies including Avaya Inc., Cisco Systems Inc., Nortel and Skype Ltd., among others, to offer call notification and remote call answering via the headsets. The Voyager 510-USB is also compatible with most popular consumer Internet telephony services, including AOL, MSN and Yahoo!

Global VoIP adoption is growing rapidly as businesses aim to realize substantial cost savings and value-added services. Aberdeen Group Inc. research estimates that the average Fortune 500 company spends $116 million on telecommunications services each year.

In addition, IDC predicts that more than 44 million households in the U.S. will have VoIP subscriptions by 2010. With this broad growth in mind, Voyager 510-USB is designed for all environments in which mobile professionals work, whether in the office, on the go or at home. More info about Voyager 510-USB can be found at http://www.plantronics.com/north_america/en_US/productName/Voyager510USB . 

Full article here : Plantronics Announces World's First VoIP-Optimized Bluetooth

 

Skype is great, but don't expect any support. No complaints accepted...

Just read this « Skype can be a big time and money saver so long as you don't expect too much, such as relying on it as your primary telephone provider, or expect support. Skype can be a big time and money saver --- unless you do things incorrectly. Here are the five top things you need to watch out for when using Skype» here

#1 Expecting Skype will act just like a PSTN call
#2 Relying on Skype as your primary telephone provider 
#3 Expecting 411 information and 911 (emergency) services 
#4 Expecting Skype to send or receive faxes 
#5 Expecting support

My take : I find it extremely ironic that «Skype the Global Internet Telephony Company» does not have an voice-enabled calldesk or helpdesk. Speculating that the communities and other business will do the support and everything around it, well I can’t imagine that. Something is not right here. And yet there supposedly 100 mio users. Maybe I am old school thinking that you need a 1st and 2nd line helpdesk ? I think not. Just try to contact the Skype people by phone. They are always busy (of course), there is nobody really taking the phone and you have to be extremely careful not to offend anybody… Meaning : you can’t complain. You must be quiet and swallow what is given to you. But is receiving and dealing complaints not what exactly what call and helpdesks are for : to complain and nag about flaws in the computer- and software-system so the next version will be better and generate less complaints… .

Untill something changes : NO callto//:support.skype.  But the email-support support@skype.net is okay and the forum.skype.com contains a ton of skype tip and lot’s of complaints too…

Skype in stealth, free-, ebay- and/or business mode ?

Just the take of today. For fun. weaving the link together into a hyperlink-mash-up. Somebody reported that Skype’s 2.5's new stealth mode is "cracked". Well okay. What’s new under the sun… While Skype «The Global Internet Telephony Company » (skype is not a telephony company remember that) says to all Telecoms that it is not the enemy which is frankly kind of hard to believe with offers whereby all Skype users can make free calls in US, Canada. Will all North Americans  be lured with free SkypeOut now.  The bigges free calls promotion in US and Canada.

But if all is for for free how will Skype not go Broke? And what about the privacy issues and Neutrality ?

It is being said this move towards free skype out is linked to  more business-like offering from Skype. I think that is right. The money is in the systems and network you can attach to the Skype Cloud (ever growing), so the more difficult you make it for people to jump on it, the slower it will grow. Strange on the other the Ebay / Skype does not do advertising on TV with such a powerful global brand. Yahoo does ! Even here on Malaysian TV. Kind of important since India, China propel Asia- Pacific broadband revenue higher and higher.  Once business get’s going between Asia, Europe, USA for many SME the Live Translation Service of Skype could be useful. I for example could provide translation from French to Dutch to English. I understand German too.

And see here how Mobile unit Celcom arrests decline in postpaid subscriber base. Maybe «soon» when stuff like www.iskoot.com, www.eqo.com, crawls into more mobiles phones we can save even more money on the roaming phone-bill. But currently Telekom Malaysia still sees spike in first quarter profits. The box Skycube from www.qoollabs.com is something to keep an eye on. It links your SIM card to your SKYPE line. Read this too Mazingo ICED mobile phone: VoIP and maybe one day we shall have Skype embedded in cellphones like Nokia who unveils their upgraded 770 Internet Tablet with Google Talk ... Maybe. In mean time Skype offers free calls to regular phones in certain parts of the world. In China too : if you've got the money.

And (it keeps coming yes) do keep a look at Telnic to launch .tel domain for VoIP calling. I hope Skype does not forget to get their www.skype.tel.

In mean there is not yet a business version of Skype but Instant messaging has evolved into regular chatterbox and it is used in corporate environments too. It would be interesting to have something manageable with business-features. Keep an eye on www.skype.biz to see if, how and awhen VoIP Goes to Business Class. What is also missing today is VoIP interconnectivity. Except maybe experiments like TelEvolution that Bridges the Gap Between Skype and Other VoIP   and Uplink just to name sth.

And would USB-phones stay in business now that USB wireless is moving forward ? I would love to just plugin my cheap usb-phone in the couch. I would never give my expensive WIFI-phone to kids…

To finish with China check these 2 posts : Business Digest & Skype goes freebie crazy across the pond and in Malaysia they say to share the market with smaller players, big telcos told while Michael Dell set on 'changing the approach' to stay ahead with his factory and research facility in Malaysia.

Related : Fixed Mobile Internet Convergence: Technology Trends and Market Dynamics | Consolidation – Main St. vs. Wall St. |

 

Change obsolete usb-sticks into a global phone.

Print a sticker of your with your Skype ID, get obsolete usb-sticks of 128 or 64 mb, (nobody want's those anymore), put a portable skype on it and pass them on as marketing gift to your customers ! just put your sticker with your company url and skype ID on it and pass the gift around. No need even to buy pre-embedded Skype USB-sticks, if you can do it yourself. On demand. It’s like giving away candy !

Skype : Call landlines and cellphones for free in US and Canada.

Somebody who I was just talking to (living in the US and Canada) wondered why his SkypeOut credit had not been touched, while he had actually been calling to landlines and cellphone via his Skype program. Well here is the answer :it is for free now.

But I wonder how Skype can know wether somebody is in the US or Canada ? Many interesting questions come to my mind. Interesting scenario’s can occur if you want to try to save money on your phone-bill.

How does Skype know that I am an American abroad (I am not because I am actually a Belgian in Malaysia) that still wants to use his free SkypeOut to call within the US or Canada ? People would of course try to login to their computer at home in the US via VNC or maybe even assume a different IP (like with TOR and others) to make their American based SkypeOut. What about businesses that will evolve around that model or concept. Basically it’s simple : put your communications in the country where it is cheapest. This means that you can now call for free from anywhere in the world but only to numbers within Canada and the US. It’s only a matter of being physically or virtually on the right spot.

Or how to erode the existing Telecom balance. I guess it’s the way of the VoIP. The are all searching for the cheapest route. No wonder VoIP is seen as something illlegal in China.

Related : www.ebay.com | Skype Accessories Store | Become a Skype Reseller |

 

| Skype 2.5 SMS a& Video | Integrate Skype / Outlook | Pamela Skype Answering Machine | SAM Skype Answering Machine | Yappernut-box | Vosky Call Center | USB-Telbox | Wiki describes Skype | del.icio.us/Skype | |

Uggliest usb-phone on the world.

While reading (now) this stuff on Microsoft and Google square up in fight for global control here is something I just noticed it in Low Yat Plaza and man, did that Net Phone from Comodow look uggly. It felt like total plastic, something you would expect from a baby toy. The interesting part is that it had a Skype logo on the box (not the Skype Certified one, just the green Skype logo) and that it was being sold at a store normally doing only Cellphones. More to come soon enough. For sure. After that I had a conversation with a sales-man at BB Plaza (lot’s of cellphones and mobiles there) who said that everything might be 3G and 4G network in one year from and that cellphones would never have full WIFI and that WIFI would stay in the internet and PC-corner. Being a consumer I could not care less how the sound travels to my ear. As long as it does at a flat rate per month. But no Motorala yet with VoIP WIFI in store. At least not in Malaysia, KL here. In the SIM LIM center in Singapore you can find surely more than just USB-phones. Already saw Dualphones and related over there. I will wait till I see the second version of the WIFI-phones. OEM WIFI-phones that will be the day.

Skype will find it’s way on the market with the help of the cellphone-resellers and the SIP-guys. Is that not ironic ?

The extinction of Traditional Telecoms ?

I don’t know exactly why but everytime when I think about traditional telecom systems and then take brief look at my fixed pstn-phone, I think about the word «extinction» and the term «old-fashioned». It’s probably a trend marketing issue.. Anyways an image says so much more than words. Soon the telecomargeddon will have to evolve or die out.

«Definition Extinction : In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of taxa. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of that species. Extinction is usually a natural phenomenon; it is estimated that more than 99.9% of all species that have ever lived are now extinct. ^[1] Through evolution, new species are created by speciation — where new organisms arise and thrive when they are able to find and exploit an ecological niche — and species become extinct when are no longer able to survive in changing conditions or against superior competition. A typical species becomes extinct within 10 million years of its first appearance, although some species survive virtually unchanged for hundreds of millions of years.» (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction). Related :  A mathematical model for mass extinction  

Or jokingly : replace in this posting and this one the word dinosaurs with telecoms. For sure disruptive technology like Skype like a big comet / meteor falling out of the sky and it is blasting a big crater in the minutes that Telecom are (not) selling anymore.  The extinction of the dinosaurs. Think about the shockwaves to follow and the changes to come.  Remember :  FCC Chairman Michael Powell says Skype is "fantastic"  

“I knew it was over when I downloaded Skype,” Michael Powell, chairman, Federal Communications Commission, explained. “

 (source).

Comments ? Contact : Telecom.Apocalypse or Telecom.Armageddon 

 

| Online: | Skype 2.5 SMS a& Video | Integrate Skype / Outlook | Pamela Skype Answering Machine | SAM Skype Answering Machine | Yappernut-box | Vosky Call Center | USB-Telbox | Wiki describes Skype | del.icio.us/Skype | |

This Skype blog has been moved.

Hi, change of location, in case you did not notice… My main blog has moved. I will leave most the current content online here. Thanks Michel to point me into the right direction about 2 years ago on the matter of blogging (time flies).

The «Skype Blogging» will continue at :

http://webtown.typepad.com = www.webtown.com.my – www.skype-digest.com, www.skype-watch.com, www.skype-gadgets.com which are domains currently pointing to the same location.

Welcome and see you there.

Jan Geirnaert
jan at webtown.com.my

Chinese blogger in prison, Skype(rs) next ?

I just read this on SkypeJournal : «Officials imprisoned fellow blogger Hao Wu for blogging.

Blogging is just a small step from Skyping and Skypecasting. You can read his sister Nina's blog, sign a petition, or write a letter. Skypers may be next.»

Here is my take on Skype and why some people (don’t) like it :

• you can call anyone you like anytime


• nobody can easiliy tap into your conversation


• you can send/receive files without being traced (easily), now that scares off many IT-managers


• you can phone for free from P2P and cheaply from skype to phones


• it bypasses a firewall easily


• it’s on all the time as a presence system and a chatbox


• you can program a system around it


• it pisses off telecoms and celcoms in a big way


• it scares paranoid governments


• it allows people to starting thinking and talking in a different way


• it stand for freedom


• it’s for everybody and it’s for free (it better than air and sun)


• we all like the updates


• you can send SMS with it.


• it’s linked to Ebay and you can attach it to your store or website


• it;s blue, green and red.


• it can be anonymous


• it’s unmanageable


• it keeps growing uncontrollable (it cannot be controlled, not even by Ebay or Skype)

 

Ebay drives Skype to the market. Who is the carrot and who is the donkey ?

just had to think about the carrot on a stick when I read this. I wonder what happens if the carrot is off the stick. Is Ebay the donkey or the carrot ? Or is Skype the donkey or the carrot ? I don’t know.  Different scenario’s here. The market moves fast. Either Ebay is the carrot on a stick for Skype (and Skype the Donkey going for the next 1.5 billion USD in 2008).

 

Or Skype is the carrot and Ebay the donkey running after the blue carrot (needing to have access to the Skype cloud, how big can this cloud actually be – meaning what is the global manageability (if any) of the P2P clouds).

Or maybe we are all the donkeys running after what I would call Skypebay. Eitherways the donkey will stop running without a carrot, maybe it’s just running after it’s tail ? And now the serious stuff. (like in Esher’s imagery).

Skype, PayPal To Drive Long-Term EBay Growth
Forbes - USA
... his price target to $39 from $41 following the meeting, which was held to showcase the strength of each of eBay's business units, eBay, PayPal and Skype. ...

Skype Hypes New Deals For Hardware, Software
Twice (subscription) - Newton,MA,USA
NEW YORK— Skype, the eBay-owned PC VoIP service, broadened its efforts to unseat traditional landline telephony with a new version of its calling software

Creative Labs Standalone Phone. A reminder how Skype is a deadly virus for Telecoms.

I think this is the big bulk of the market : people that will say «ow here, I heard about that «skype», it allows me to call for free, look such a cute blue logo… mummy can I have one, can I have one.» And grandpa joining : yes of course, no problem, because it does not need a computer anyways and it’s cheaper to calls. Even free from skype to skype… (if you get it on ADSL…) and then the sales person «would you not prefer the video-model» and with how much skype – credit please…. Shall I make your account ?   Right here :

I heard that Panasonic will have such a skype phone too. Great. Just something to put in the living room without any link to a computer. The perfect gift for Christmas (but not if you are the traditional Telecom).

Or maybe this; a USB-stick with headset-plugin that can be topped up with skype – credit (with an embedded skype) and something that I can stick in a computer or a phone with a usb-hole. Actually anything that has the potential to transmit sound over an RJ-11, RJ-45, or WIFI or any other channel and that has a little harddisk (stick) on it could become a carrier of the most deadly telecom-virus ever known to mankind : SKYPE.

The Skype are there.. Tadadaaaaaaa… Do I here some SIP-provider cry and die there in the background ?

What I find interesting is to see also is to evaluate how the inventors, developers of all kinds of Linux Embedded Skype will or will not get the permission of Skype to allow to get this on a range of phones. In mean time look at these nice headsets.

Skype.com.my still looks like shit, but here is : skypemalaysia.com and skypechina.com

www.skypechina.com ; outrageous !

I still find it strange that www.skype.com.my still looks empty but Skype registered www.skypemalaysia.com and here is of course Jyve.com stepping again on the toes of China and maybe of Skype. I just don’t understand why one which is representing a Skype Community group would continue that domain-name-grabbing. I am gonna say it. Here it is : how much more stupid can it get ? Really … Stepping on the toes of 9 billion Chinese and maybe also a bunch of Skype users, and maybe on the Skype toes. Hm. . Is this the type of community thinking and the kind of Web 2.0. that we want ? How much more offensive can one be towards a community. I would call this domain-name grabbing and it’s confusing and misleading. Talking about the skypechina.com now.

I think I have read this in «Spring Newsletter & New Terms» from Skype on the matter of using the word skype in domain names. « A note from the legal team You cannot register, use or own a domain name containing a Skype trademark, or any name substantially similar to a Skype trademark without permission, as such use is likely to constitute a trademark infringement. Skype, SkypeIn, SkypeOut, SkypeMe, Skype Zones, Skype Plus, Skype Certified, Skype Compatible and ‘the whole world can talk for free’ are all Skype trademarks.»

Don’t gimme that Jive (To talk nonsense; kid. or To cajole or mislead).

Oh yeah I forgot : www.skype-ebay.com is for sale. (not my business), but you can buy it.

NEW SKYPE 2.5 availiable. Now with SMS

Download here or here.

Call normal phones easily from Skype with our new SkypeOut Easy Dialing and new ways to pay.

Easily keep in touch with friends and family by using Shared Groups to share contact details and introduce friends.

Create a social space for your group for free with conference calling and group chat.

Call your Outlook® contacts directly from Skype.

Send SMS messages to your friends from Skype.

Download SKype 2.5 with Video and SMS.

SMC new Wi-Fi Skype phone, the SMCWSKP100. VoIP on the road.

USB phones are dead, but not yet and not totally.

Free To Call: SMC's Skype  The SMCWSKP100 is a perfect fit for business travellers, expatriates and foreign students. 2 interesting products below.

SMC has introduced a VoIP Gateway and Broadband Router for the traveling man who also wants to utilize the cost-effectiveness of VoIP on the road. All you need to do is to connect the WTVG (Wireless Travel Gateway) to an analogue telephone and telephone line.  Calls can be made over both VoIP and normal analogue lines using the same phone.  The device can share a single internet connection between a number of users while simultaneously routing voice communications over both the analogue phone system and via VoIP.

The second offering is for all those who have valid Skype accounts. SMC's new Wi-Fi Skype phone, the SMCWSKP100, is designed like the usual mobile phone.  The WSKP100 contains embedded Skype software.  The SMCWSKP100 Skype phone will sell for $299 and will be available in shops by June/July. (source).  The WSKP100 incorporates Skype features such as call conferencing, voice mail and the SkypeIn/SkypeOut services. source.

 VOIP of the People

Network marketing cockroaches and VoIP telephony. What's the link ?

I live in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur and today I went together with a VoIP integrator to some fair in Sunway Lagoon Shopping Center (a shoppingcenter next to an entertainment park in Kuala Lumpur). We were told there was a booth with such a phone and yes we saw one. Upclose; a real videophone. I did not work but you could touch it and the screen looked nice. It had a build in camera. I forgot my camera, so no pictures here… A bit further there was a booth of www.in-voice.com which showed all kinds of VoIP-boxes and phones of Linksys. I wondered why these guys were there. Linked to the network marketing guy – V Malaysia something – . Ah I see, where I have arrived now…. There was a conference of some network marketing company (the worst kind of sales people if you ask me… see my blog on network marketing cockroaches…I already pissed of a few of them in my life…). I am talking about those things like Usana, Amway, Herbalife and all that crap, which is now entering at high speed Malaysia it seems. Well of course VoIP telephony is something they use to call up people to become part of some stupid pyramid multi-level marketing thing. All idiots if you ask me.  I am so happy I am busy with something else…

Probably we will need a network marketeer spam/spim/spit filter on skype very soon… Something to make sure that

The answer to the question is that you don’t need a brain to sell, you just need to brainwashed, join some network multi-level network marketing system, they will tell you what to think and of you go. Hello ! You might even write book at the end of your career as an example for others. And that seems to work here in South-East Asia.

Tip : don’t buy a VoIP phone which is linked to some free advertising. You might and will be network-marketed.

Instant messenging instead of email.

File-sharing is the new email «Digital cameras and camcorders are fast increasing the resolution they capture, which in turn leads to larger files. But Internet service providers typically block users from sending files bigger than 10 megabytes to prevent large email attachments from clogging up their systems. For email recipients, it's no easier: Even though free services like Yahoo (Research) Mail and Google's (Research) Gmail now offer gigabytes of storage, it's easy to run through that limit with just a few photo albums or videos. "Most of us attach dozens of photos to an email and send them to our friends and family," says Pando co-founder Yaron Samid. "It is quite a big hassle, and you are never sure if the email gets to the person you are sending."»

Skype and VoiPBuster combined !

Yep it happened, it was due to happen, and somebody did it. All bees go here for the honey QBest software links Skype, VoiPBuster Dutch internet phone provider QBest has developed a software linking the VoIP services Skype and VoiPBuster. The software switches. I wonder how that will influence the Skype-out credit. Will skype make now a field in their software forward to VoIPbuster, forward to SIP ? They should. Why not ? How many other plugins will we see occurring ? Why not make a plugin that forwards missed voicemail via mp3 to your email or to your sip-account (like www.nch.com.au their skype uplink). The email-plugin exists in the form of Skylook or Orb, but maybe Skype might do it themselves ? But there is still the issue of authorized reseller and support… Skype does horizontal market penetration and these smaller companies do vertical market penetration. Forget the affiliates by the way, those will not be the persons implement