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Filed under: VoIP

Filed under: Macintosh, VoIP

Skype for Mac gets a Snow Leopard hotfix

Macby Jay Hathaway Sep 17th 2009

The latest version of Skype 2.8 for OS X fixes a whole mess of Snow Leopard compatibility problems. The bugs include everything small UI problems - the field where you type in phone numbers was too dark - to serious problems (like four different crash bugs and a broken hold button). It also clears up some problems with adding new contacts.

In addition to the Snow Leopard fixes, there are also some improvement for users of OS X 10.3 Panther, which Skype surprisingly still supports. If you already have Skype 2.8, this update won't show up when you use File -> Check For Updates. You'll have to download it directly from the Skype website. If you don't have Skype 2.8, I highly recommend downloading it, because the audio and video quality improvements alone make it significantly better than previous Mac versions.

[via SkypeJournal]

Tags: skype, snow leopard, SnowLeopard, voip

Filed under: Google, VoIP

GrandCentral closes its doors - time to update to Google Voice

by Brad Linder Sep 15th 2009

GrandCentral
Before there was Google Voice, there was GrandCentral. In 2007 Google acquired the internet telephony service that lets you ring all your phones from a single number, record calls, and set caller permissions. Eventually Google relaunched the service as Google Voice and added nifty new features like automatic voicemail transcription. But if you preferred the old interface you didn't have to upgrade... until now.

Tomorrow GrandCentral is shutting down and existing users will need to migrate their data to Google Voice if they want to keep using the service (and their phone numbers).

If you don't have a GrandCentral or Google Voice number, you can sign up at google.com/voice, but the service is still invite-only, which means you may have to wait a little while for an invitation before you can start using the service.

[via Lifehacker]

Tags: google-voice, grandcentral, internet-telephony, voip

Filed under: VoIP

Pamela call recorder, PamFax for Skype to continue

by Brad Linder Sep 14th 2009

PamFax
A few days ago we discovered that Skype was shutting down its Extras program which lets users download and install add-ons for the internet telephony software directly from the Skype client. But it turns out that doesn't mean plugins for Skype will all disappear at the stroke of midnight.

Pamela makes two popular add-ons for Skype, the Pamela application for recording Skype audio and video calls and PamFax, an application that lets users send faxes over Skype. Both of these applications use the Skype API and will continue to work even after Skype Extras are shut down. But you won't be able to purchase PamFax credits with Skype credits anymore, so the company is planning to come up with a new payment method.

The company does have a stripped down version of Pamela called Pamela Call Recorder which is distributed through the Skype Extras program. It's not clear what the future of this product will be.

It is good to know that by killing off the Extras program, Skype isn't sticking a fork in all of the applications that have sprung up around the platform.

In related news, TechCrunch reports that a Skype official is denying that the company is giving up on third party developers, but rather that future versions of the VoIP software will have a new and improved system for integrating third party tools.

Tags: pamela, pamfax, skype

Filed under: Audio, VoIP

Skype killing off Extras, developer program

by Brad Linder Sep 11th 2009

Skype Extras
Skype may be one of the most popular VoIP applications on the planet. But Skype's developer program for third party applications apparently never really took off and today Skype is telling developer that it's closing the doors to its Skype Extras service.

According to the letter sent to developers, "not enough people were using them to justify our continued support of the Extras program."

users can still download a number of applications from the Skype Extras site for now, but the company has stopped certifying new programs. When existing apps expire they'll be pulled from the Extras service and eventually all the free and paid add-ons will disappear from Skype Extras.

It's not entirely clear what this means for the future of Skype add-ons. Some popular applications let users record calls or send faxes. Without these add-ons, it'll be a lot tougher to do these things over Skype, although there are some third party programs that do things such as recording calls without directly plugging into Skype. Perhaps that will be how all Skype-related accessories work in the future.

Tags: plugins, skype, skype-extras

Filed under: E-mail, Web services, Google, VoIP

Google Voice now forwards SMS to email

by Jay Hathaway Sep 10th 2009

Being able to read and reply to incoming text messages makes Google Voice pretty convenient, but it just got even better. Now you can have SMS messages forwarded to your email account, and reply from your voice number via email, too. You can enable the feature in your Google Voice settings under Voicemail and SMS. Third-party services have been doing things like this for a while, but Google Voice does it at no charge, through a service you already use.

Getting SMS by email has plenty of advantages. The biggest of these is that you can turn off SMS to your phone, so you're not paying for it, and read messages by email instead. You don't have to keep separate Voice and Gmail windows open to read text messages and email in your browser anymore, either. Also, you can file your texts in the same inbox as your Google Voice voicemail, so all of your incoming phone-related messages have one unified location. Finally, if you're using a threaded email client (like Gmail, as Google helpfully points out), your sms conversations will be threaded, too.

[via Lifehacker]

Tags: email, forwarding, google voice, GoogleVoice, sms, text messaging, TextMessaging

Filed under: News, VoIP

eBay to sell Skype in a deal that values it at $2.75 billion

by Brad Linder Sep 1st 2009

Skype 4.1 beta for Windows
Online auction site eBay purchased internet telephony service Skype for about $4.1 billion in 2005. Today, the company has announced it will sell Skype for about $2 billion. eBay will keep a 35% stake in the company, which values Skype at about $2.75 billion.

Sure, on paper that means that eBay is taking a loss, but honestly, it's still probably a good deal, because as far as anyone can tell, eBay never really figured out what to do with Skype anyway.

Once upon a time there was talking about integrating Skype's VoIP service into the auction site to make communication between buyers and sellers easier. But really, who wants to call a comic book collector halfway around the world to ask questions about that $2.75 first edition Spider-Man #1 comic?

While a number of companies, including Google and Skype's founders, were said to have been interested, it looks like the buyer is an investment group. The deal is expected to go through before the end of the year.

Update: You can read Skype CEO Josh Silverman's brief comments on the deal in the official Skype blog post.

Tags: ebay, skype

Filed under: Linux, VoIP, Beta

Skype 2.1 beta for Linux

Linuxby Brad Linder Aug 31st 2009

Skype 2.1 for Linux
There's a new beta version of Skype for Linux. It's been nearly 2 years since Skype first added support for video to Skype 2.0 beta for Linux, and now that the Linux version of the popular VoIP client has hit 2.1 beta, Skype has cranked up the audio and video quality a bit. Now Skype for Linux uses the same SILK audio codec as the Windows and Mac clients, and packs support for high quality video.

Skype 2.1 beta for Linux also supports sending SMS messages, organizing contacts within contact groups, and a few chat enhancements. The update also brings support for Pulse Audio.

There's also a new panel icon that shows the number of missed events. Skype 2.1 is still beta software, so it might be rough around the edges. But if you're willing to put up with the occasional crash or dropped call, it's probably worth upgrading for the improved audio and video quality. Note that the image above was shot using a 0.3MP webcam and recorded over a Virtual Machine running Ubuntu 9.04, so there's a reason our screenshot doesn't exactly look stellar.

Skype 2.1 for Linux is available for Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and OpenSUSE.

Tags: skype, skype-2.1-beta, skype-2.1-beta-for-linux, skype-for-linux, voip

Filed under: Google, VoIP

Google Voice adds free calls to Canada (from the US)

by Brad Linder Aug 19th 2009

Google Voice calling
Google Voice lets users make free calls to phone numbers in the United States. And starting this week, users can also make free calls to Canada, a feature that was available in GrandCentral before Google bought the service and turned it into Google Voice.

The only catch is that you can only make those free calls if you're in the US, because Google Voice isn't available in other countries yet.

In order to make a free phone call, you can login to your web-based inbox and hit the Call button, use a mobile application, or call your own Google Voice number from a registered phone and hit #2 to place a call.

Tags: canada, google-voice, voip

Filed under: Office, Productivity, VoIP, Web

Real-time collaboration is simple with Team Apart

by Jay Hathaway Aug 10th 2009

Sometimes, the best people for a job can't all assemble in the same physical location. That's not a problem when everyone's working independently, but even the best remote coworkers sometimes need to have a meeting. Team Apart makes that possible, with really simple real-time collaboration features including audio/video chat and whiteboarding.

It's easy to invite people to your Team Apart workspace. In fact, you just have to send them the URL. Once everybody's in the room, you can chat via webcam and take notes on a shared real-time notepad. You can also share photos and documents, and Team Apart will store them in your virtual workspace. Team Apart is still in beta, with limited invitations available, but it looks like a simple and effective solution to some of the problems of remote collaboration.

Tags: audio, collaboration, real-time, team-apart, video, whiteboard

Filed under: Utilities, VoIP, iPhone

Get Google Voice speed dial on your iPhone

by Jay Hathaway Aug 5th 2009

Google Voice may have been rejected as an iPhone app, but you can still make Google Voice calls less of a pain. Try the Google Voice Speed Dial Bookmarklet Generator from Ironic Sans to speed up the process of calling your contacts from Google Voice. Once you've used to it save speed dial URLs for your contacts, you can save them in a bookmarks folder or assign them to contacts in your iPhone's Contacts app.

A couple of important notes from David Friedman of Ironic Sans: the first bookmark you set up takes a bit more time than the other ones, and the "submit" button doesn't mean you're submitting any contact data to his servers. The bookmark is created locally using Javascript. Someday Google may implement its own speed dial solution, but for right now, this generator is a lot better than nothing.

Tags: bookmark, google-voice, ironic-sans, phone, speed-dial

Filed under: Business, News, Apple, Google, VoIP

FCC demands details from Apple about Google Voice rejection

by Jay Hathaway Aug 3rd 2009

The FCC sent inquiry letters to Apple, AT&T and Google as part of an investigation into the rejection of Google Voice from Apple's App Store. The rejection was one of the now-typical "duplicates the functionality of one of Apple's apps" affairs, and the FCC is pressing for details on how Apple's seemingly inconsistent approval process actually works. Was Apple moving at the behest of AT&T to get rid of an app that might cut into the phone company's profits? Our sister site, TUAW, has the details on the questions each player was asked.

For Apple: What are the actual rules for app approval? Why was Google Voice rejected? Have any VoIP apps been accepted to the store? (TUAW points out that this question seems misplaced, because Voice is not a VoIP application.) Was AT&T consulted on the decision to reject Google Voice?

For Google: Have other Google apps been accepted to Apple's store? What's the approval process for Google's own Android app store? Are there other ways Google Voice might work on the iPhone without the app?

For AT&T: Did AT&T have anything to do with the rejection of Google Voice? Are any VoIP applications running on AT&T's network? What role does AT&T have in approving 3G-enable applications?

The companies have until August 21 to respond to these questions, and the answers should be quite revealing. It's funny that it might take an FCC inquiry to get to the bottom of Apple's mysterious, fickle-seemingly app store policies. iPhone developers will be watching closely.

Tags: app-store, apple, att, fcc, google-voice, iphone, rejection

Filed under: Business, Utilities, VoIP

Will a lawsuit spell the end of Skype?

by Jay Hathaway Aug 1st 2009

A disagreement about the licensing terms for a key part of Skype's VoIP software has brought a legal battle that's threatening to shut the online phone service down. Don't panic yet if you're one of Skype's nearly 500 million users, though. The trial between Skype's parent company, eBay, and the company that produced the technology, Joltid, is not set for trial until June 2010.

Skype is working to develop its own version of the technology, so the Joltid license won't be necessary anymore. This is expensive and time-consuming, and eBay warns that it might not be successful. However, "Skype is confident of its legal position," so the sky isn't falling just yet. Interestingly, the reporting on this battle doesn't mention what part of Skype runs on the Joltid-licensed software, only quoting eBay as saying that Skype could not exist as is without the technology.

[via CNN]

Tags: ebay, joltid, lawsuit, phone, shutdown, skype, voip

Filed under: Internet, Windows, Macintosh, VoIP

VoxOx 2 adds "personal assistant" to screen your calls

WindowsMacby Brad Linder Jul 28th 2009

VoxOx 2.02
VoxOx is a chat, social networking, and VoIP communications tool for Windows and Mac. When you sign up for a beta account, you're assigned a phone number which people can dial from any phone to reach you. You can also make free calls to other VoxOx users or cheap calls to phone numbers.

We first looked at VoxOx when the service launched in November. This month, the VoxOx team released version 2, which is more stable and which has a handful of new features including:
  • A digital "personal assistant" that screens calls, sends them to voicemail, or routes them to your phone depending on your preferences
  • Send and receive texts from your VoxOx number
  • Skype IM integration (as well as Facebook and MySpace)
VoxOx 2 also loads faster and uses less memory than the initial release.

Tags: instant-messaging, voxox, voxox-2

Filed under: Apple, Google, VoIP, iPhone

Apple pulls Google Voice apps from the App Store

by Brad Linder Jul 28th 2009

GV MobileApple doesn't particularly like it when developer release applications that compete directly with Apple's iPhone software. That's why you won't find any full featured web browsers in the App Store. And apparently it's why you also won't find any mobile apps for using Google Voice.

Of course, up until recently, there was an unofficial Google Voice app called GV Mobile that let you make and receive calls and access your Google Voice voicemail. But the developer says his app was removed, and Apple says it's because it duplicates features that come with the iPhone. Apparently Google ran into the same problem when the company tried to submit an official Google Voice application to Apple 6 weeks ago. TechCrunch reports that the app was rejected.

It makes sense for Apple to block a program like Google Voice, but not because it competes with Apple's software. Instead, Google Voice essentially lets users get around some of AT&T's fees by sending free text messages and making cheap phone calls, even to international locations.

But at a time when Google is releasing Google Voice apps for BlackBerry, Android, and other other platforms, does Apple really want to be the holdout here? Especially since Apple has already approved a Skype application, which also duplicates some of the iPhone's native features while letting users send messages and make phone calls without paying additional fees to AT&T.

[via TUAW]

Tags: app-store, apple, att, google-voice, gv-mobile

Filed under: Audio, Video, Macintosh, VoIP

Skype 2.8 Gold for Mac adds screen sharing and more

Macby Jay Hathaway Jul 22nd 2009


Skype 2.8 Gold, the final version of Skype 2.8, is now available for Mac users to download. The list of impressive new features for the popular phone app includes screen sharing, improved audio and video quality, and Skype Access, which is a way to pay for wifi hotspot access with your Skype credit. There are a few cosmetic changes to the UI as well, which

Screen sharing has been in Skype Beta for a while, and it works pretty well. The ability to share just part of your screen is a nice touch, and could especially come in handy for presentations. Skype Access - which is currently only available for Mac users - gets you past the annoying signup process for many paid wifi hotspots. Instead of entering your information and your credit card number, you can just pay with your previously purchased Skype credit. Even better, you only pay for what you use, which means an end to paying for a full hour when you only need a 20-minute session.

Tags: audio, phone, screen-sharing, skype, video, voip

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