<?xml version="1.0"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"><channel><title>Download Squad</title><link>http://www.downloadsquad.com</link><description>Download Squad</description><image><url>http://www.downloadsquad.com/media/feedlogo.gif</url><title>Download Squad</title><link>http://www.downloadsquad.com</link></image><language>en-us</language><copyright>Copyright 2008 Blogsmith, LLC. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.</copyright><generator>Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/</generator><item><title>Jaxtr lets you make phone to phone VoIP calls </title><link>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/24/jaxtr-lets-you-make-phone-to-phone-voip-calls/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/24/jaxtr-lets-you-make-phone-to-phone-voip-calls/</guid><comments>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/24/jaxtr-lets-you-make-phone-to-phone-voip-calls/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/internet/" rel="tag">Internet</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/voip/" rel="tag">VoIP</a></p><div align="center"><img hspace="4" height="311" width="431" vspace="4" border="0" align="top" src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2008/06/jaxtr.jpg"  alt="Jaxtr" /><br /></div>
Internet telephony service <a href="http://www.jaxtr.com">Jaxtr</a> lets you add a widget to your web site that lets visitors contact you over the phone. Now the company is launching a new service that routes telephone calls over the internet whether you're taking the time to click a button on a web site or not.<br /><br />Here's how it works. When someone views your Jaxtr profile, they can click a "Call Me" button. Jaxtr will then bring up a local phone number they can call. So if you're in the US and the person who wants to call you is in China, they'll get a Chinese phone number. Jaxtr makes the connection over the internet, but once you've got a number, you can use it any time you like. No computer necessary.<br /><br />You can call other Jaxtr users for free, or purchase credits (called "Jax") which you can use to make cheap long distance calls.<br /><br />[via <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2008/06/23/jaxtr-raises-10-million-to-expand-cheap-international-calls/">VentureBeat</a>]<h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.jaxtr.com/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/24/jaxtr-lets-you-make-phone-to-phone-voip-calls/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/1235238/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/24/jaxtr-lets-you-make-phone-to-phone-voip-calls/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a><br />]]></description><category>jaxtr</category><category>telephone</category><category>voip</category><dc:creator>Brad Linder</dc:creator><dc:date>2008-06-24T13:30:00+00:00</dc:date></item><item><title>SkypeSync ports your mobile phone contacts to Skype</title><link>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/21/skypesync-ports-your-mobile-phone-contacts-to-skype/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/21/skypesync-ports-your-mobile-phone-contacts-to-skype/</guid><comments>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/21/skypesync-ports-your-mobile-phone-contacts-to-skype/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/utilities/" rel="tag">Utilities</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/windows/" rel="tag">Windows</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/productivity/" rel="tag">Productivity</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/voip/" rel="tag">VoIP</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://skypesync.com"><img hspace="8" vspace="8" border="0" align="middle" alt="" src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2008/06/skypesync.jpg" /></a><br /></div>
<a href="http://skypesync.com">SkypeSync</a> is a new service you can use to get all those numbers from your phone into your Skype list, so you can call them with SkypeOut, the Skype feature that lets you call regular phone numbers. It's built using the SyncML standard, which is supported by most recent phones, so the odds are pretty good that it'll work for your cell. <br /><br />Here's how to use it: point your phone's browser at zyb.com, a free synchronization server recently acquired by Vodafone, and store your contacts there. Download and open SkypeSync (it's only available for Windows right now) and use its Synchronization Wizard to import your contacts from Zyb to Skype. Voila! You now have all your phone numbers ready for use with SkypeOut.<br /><br />Obviously, the service is somewhat limited right now, since it only works with Zyb, but there are plans to support other synchronization servers soon. Right now, this looks like a decent solution if you're a big SkypeOut user, and don't want to face the prospect of manually entering every number you want to call on Skype.<h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://skypesync.com/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/21/skypesync-ports-your-mobile-phone-contacts-to-skype/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/1232345/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/21/skypesync-ports-your-mobile-phone-contacts-to-skype/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a><br />]]></description><category>cellphone</category><category>contacts</category><category>dataportability</category><category>mobile</category><category>skype</category><category>skypeout</category><dc:creator>Jay Hathaway</dc:creator><dc:date>2008-06-21T12:00:00+00:00</dc:date></item><item><title>Skype 4.0 beta puts video front and center, takes over your screen</title><link>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/17/skype-4-0-beta-puts-video-front-and-center-takes-over-your-scre/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/17/skype-4-0-beta-puts-video-front-and-center-takes-over-your-scre/</guid><comments>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/17/skype-4-0-beta-puts-video-front-and-center-takes-over-your-scre/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/internet/" rel="tag">Internet</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/video/" rel="tag">Video</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/voip/" rel="tag">VoIP</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/p2p/" rel="tag">P2P</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/beta/" rel="tag">Beta</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://www.skype.com/intl/en/download/skype/windows/beta/"><img width="440" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="246" border="0" align="top" src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2008/06/skype-4.0-beta.jpg"  alt="Skype 4.0" /></a><br /></div>
<a href="http://www.skype.com/intl/en/download/skype/windows/beta/">Skype 4.0 beta for Windows</a> is due out tomorrow. And this beta will represent a major shift for the VoIP client. While <a href="http://gigaom.com/2008/05/20/movie-clips-on-skype-sure-why-not/">nearly a third of Skype calls are video</a>, each version of Skype up until now has been designed with audio in mind. The client is small and easily resizeable and feels like an application for making phone calls. <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/06/17/skype-40-beta-its-all-about-video/">TechCrunch reports</a> that Skype 4.0 beta will be a full screen application designed with video in mind.<br /><br />The new version takes advantage of the larger window by spreading out the buttons a bit and adding support for new video features like picture in picture. There's also more room on the screen for text chat or for sharing files while conducting voice or video calls.<br /><br />Skype 4.0 beta also features improved hardware deection and tools for testing your connection. But honestly, we're not convinced that this whole full-screen design is the way to go. There's no doubt that the updated Skype client looks like it will make video calls far more pleasant. But more than 70% of the calls placed on the Skype network are still audio-only. And we're guessing that a lot of the people placing those calls like to have a bit of space on their desktops to multitask while making phone calls. <br /><br />Of course, if you're just using Skype for voice communication, you can always minimize the application while you're talking, web browsing, and playing World of WarCraft. Or whatever it is you do when you're on the phone.<h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.skype.com/intl/en/download/skype/windows/beta/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/17/skype-4-0-beta-puts-video-front-and-center-takes-over-your-scre/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/1228686/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/17/skype-4-0-beta-puts-video-front-and-center-takes-over-your-scre/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a><br />]]></description><category>skype</category><category>skype-4.0</category><category>skype-4.0-beta</category><category>video</category><category>video-chat</category><dc:creator>Brad Linder</dc:creator><dc:date>2008-06-17T23:00:00+00:00</dc:date></item><item><title>Skype adds Call ID for United States users</title><link>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/06/skype-adds-call-id-for-north-american-users/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/06/skype-adds-call-id-for-north-american-users/</guid><comments>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/06/skype-adds-call-id-for-north-american-users/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/internet/" rel="tag">Internet</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/voip/" rel="tag">VoIP</a></p><div align="center"><a href="www.skype.com"><img width="440" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="132" border="0" align="top" alt="Skype Caller ID" src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2008/06/skype-caller-id.jpg" /></a><br /></div>
VoIP provider <a href="http://www.skype.com">Skype</a> lets you make PC to PC calls or make calls from your computer to a telephone. But if you live in the US, up until now when you made a call from Skype to a telephone, ther person you were calling wouldn't see your number on the caller ID. They's see some random string of numbers like 000123456.<br /><br />Skype has now added a Caller ID option that will let you use your SkypeIn phone number or your cellphone number for Caller ID purposes. To activate the feature, just log into your account through the Skype web site, and select Caller ID from the Account menu. If you have a SkypeIn number to receive phone calls, that will automatically be selected as your new ID. If you'd rather use your mobile phone number, just enter the number and Skype will send you an SMS with an activation code. Note that it could take up to 24 hours before the changes take effect.<br /><br />If you have multiple SkypeIn numbers with different area or country codes, you can also select an option that will automatically display a number that's local to the call destination when available. <br /><br />Skype has offered a similar Caller ID feature for European customers for a while now. <br /><br />[via <a href="http://skypejournal.com/blog/2008/06/finally_skype_callerid_for_nor.html">Skype Journal</a>]<h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.skype.com/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/06/skype-adds-call-id-for-north-american-users/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/1217766/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/06/skype-adds-call-id-for-north-american-users/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a><br />]]></description><category>caller-id</category><category>skype</category><category>skype-caller-id</category><category>voip</category><dc:creator>Brad Linder</dc:creator><dc:date>2008-06-06T13:00:00+00:00</dc:date></item><item><title>Grab your shades, uvLayer has a bright future</title><link>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/05/grab-your-shades-uvlayer-has-a-bright-future/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/05/grab-your-shades-uvlayer-has-a-bright-future/</guid><comments>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/05/grab-your-shades-uvlayer-has-a-bright-future/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/video/" rel="tag">Video</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/web-services/" rel="tag">Web services</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/voip/" rel="tag">VoIP</a></p><img hspace="4" height="181" width="207" vspace="4" border="0" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2008/06/uvlayer---web-1.jpg" />You watch videos online.  From Youtube, from other people's blogs, and so on.<br /><br />But more than likely, you're not currently getting a desktop type experience with online video.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.uvlayer.com/">uvLayer</a> is a web based application that is similar to other web-based desktops. But there's a twist. uvLayer is built around search, discovery, and sharing of online video.  <br /><br />You add friends, and they show up on the left hand side of your uvLayer desktop.  Search for videos, and drag them out to your uvLayer desktop.  If you want to share a video with someone, simply drag the video onto your friend. It's that easy.<br /><br />Watching videos is pretty simple and it all stays within the uvLayer web environment.  <br /><br />They have an Adobe AIR app which is pretty nice as well, but we think the value here is the in-browser experience.<br /><br />If you're into online video and hate that you have to hop around different sites, copy and paste code, and jump through the normal hoops, then uvLayer is for you.<h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.uvlayer.com/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/05/grab-your-shades-uvlayer-has-a-bright-future/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/1216148/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/05/grab-your-shades-uvlayer-has-a-bright-future/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a><br />]]></description><category>adobe air</category><category>AdobeAir</category><category>uvlayer</category><category>video</category><category>youtube</category><dc:creator>Drew Olanoff</dc:creator><dc:date>2008-06-05T10:00:00+00:00</dc:date></item><item><title>WhitePages.com buys Snapvine, will provide free voicemail</title><link>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/04/whitepages-com-buys-snapvine-will-provide-free-voicemail/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/04/whitepages-com-buys-snapvine-will-provide-free-voicemail/</guid><comments>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/04/whitepages-com-buys-snapvine-will-provide-free-voicemail/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/internet/" rel="tag">Internet</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/web-services/" rel="tag">Web services</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/voip/" rel="tag">VoIP</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/search/" rel="tag">Search</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/web-2-0/" rel="tag">web 2.0</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://www.whitepages.com/"><img hspace="4" height="280" width="440" vspace="4" border="0" align="top" src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2008/06/whitepages.jpg"  alt="WhitePages.com" /></a><br /></div>
WhitePages.com has <a href="http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080604/20080604005450.html?.v=1">announced a deal</a> to purchase <a href="http://www.snapvine.com">Snapvine</a>, a company that provides voice applications for social networking sites. WhitePages plans to continue offering Snapvine's current services, including tools for "voice blogging," leaving voice comments on social networking sites, and adding voice comments to photos. But WhitePages also plans to roll out new services, including: <br />
<ul>
    <li>Free, private voicemail boxes</li>
    <li>Email</li>
    <li>SMS services</li>
</ul>
Last month WhitePages abandoned plans to buy <a href="http://www.jangl.com">Jangl</a>, a similar service. The WhitePages web site includes phone numbers for about 180 million people living in the US. Using Snapvine, WhitePages will be able to let individuals replace their phone numbers on the site with personal voicemail boxes or click to call buttons thet lets people reach them via phone without actually giving  away their phone number.<br /><br />[via <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/06/04/whitepagescom-to-buy-snapvine-for-around-20-million/">TechCrunch</a>]<h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080604/20080604005450.html?.v=1>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/04/whitepages-com-buys-snapvine-will-provide-free-voicemail/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/1215510/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/04/whitepages-com-buys-snapvine-will-provide-free-voicemail/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a><br />]]></description><category>acquisition</category><category>jangl</category><category>phone-directory</category><category>snapvine</category><category>telephone</category><category>voip</category><category>whitepages</category><dc:creator>Brad Linder</dc:creator><dc:date>2008-06-04T14:00:00+00:00</dc:date></item><item><title>Help us Obi-Wan - Holographic teleconferencing is closer</title><link>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/30/help-us-obi-wan-holographic-teleconferencing-is-closer/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/30/help-us-obi-wan-holographic-teleconferencing-is-closer/</guid><comments>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/30/help-us-obi-wan-holographic-teleconferencing-is-closer/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/video/" rel="tag">Video</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/productivity/" rel="tag">Productivity</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/voip/" rel="tag">VoIP</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/web-2-0/" rel="tag">web 2.0</a></p><a href="http://www.musion.co.uk/"><img width="180" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="240" border="0" align="right" alt="Holographic Teleconferencing" src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2008/05/skulls.jpg" />Musion Systems</a> and <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/07/27/cisco-picking-up-a-stake-in-vmware/">Cisco Networks</a> may be bringing our dreams to life.<br /><br />Ever not want to attend a meeting in person? Ok, dumb question. But you've never had an option, unless you lied and said you got stung by 100 bees, or were contaminated in some way. But even at that, you'd have to eventually provide SOME proof.<br /><br />Well, the future of laziness may be closer than we think.<br /><br />This HAS to be too good to be true.<br /><br />Maybe, but maybe not. With some fancy cameras and IP networks, you can have people on stage at an event or meeting that are not even there! Zuck could have done his SXSW keynote from Ecuador! And he would have been able to see the audience just like he was there!<br /><br />These two companies have teamed up to create the <a href="http://www.musion.co.uk/Cisco_TelePresence.html">Cisco On-Stage TelePresence Experience</a> using technologies from each.<br /><br />The possibilities are ENDLESS. Don't want to visit mom? No problem, hologram yourself to the Church group brunch. Have a long distance relationship? Feel closer than iChat with someone.<br /><br />We're not sure when this is going to happen but we hope to get a Beta invite.<br /><br />Check out this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQnffi6tN0g&amp;eurl=http://www.humanproductivitylab.com/archive_blogs/2007/11/15/cisco_experimenting_with_an_on_1.php">awesomesauce demo video</a>.<br /><br />[via <a href="http://life.firelace.com/2008/05/onstage-holographic-teleconfer.php">lux.et.umbra</a>]<h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://life.firelace.com/2008/05/onstage-holographic-teleconfer.php>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/30/help-us-obi-wan-holographic-teleconferencing-is-closer/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/1210610/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/30/help-us-obi-wan-holographic-teleconferencing-is-closer/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a><br />]]></description><category>cisco</category><category>holograph</category><category>musion</category><category>teleconferencing</category><dc:creator>Drew Olanoff</dc:creator><dc:date>2008-05-30T15:00:00+00:00</dc:date></item><item><title>Skype for Windows hits version 3.8</title><link>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/29/skype-for-windows-hits-version-2-8/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/29/skype-for-windows-hits-version-2-8/</guid><comments>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/29/skype-for-windows-hits-version-2-8/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/internet/" rel="tag">Internet</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/voip/" rel="tag">VoIP</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/p2p/" rel="tag">P2P</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://share.skype.com/sites/en/2008/04/skype_38_for_windows_goes_publ.html"><img width="410" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="294" border="0" align="top" alt="Skype 2.8" src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2008/04/skype-2.8.jpg" /></a><br /></div>
Less than a month after <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/02/skype-3-8-beta-for-windows-released/">releasing a public beta</a> of Skype 3.8 for Windows, the company has <a href="http://share.skype.com/sites/en/2008/04/skype_38_for_windows_goes_publ.html">launched a public version</a> of the updated internet telephony client. <br /><br />As a point release, you shouldn't expect to find a ton of new features in Skype 3.8. Most of the changes are under the hood, but users should notice improved call quality, meaning fewer dropped calls, less delay, and less background noise. The new version should also do a better job of automatically configuring your firewall and router settings.<br /><br />Skype has also hidden away user profile images from incoming requests. This might not sound like a big deal, but if you've ever received a request from someone with an avatar you'd rather not display on your work computer, this update could be a life saver.<h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://share.skype.com/sites/en/2008/04/skype_38_for_windows_goes_publ.html>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/29/skype-for-windows-hits-version-2-8/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/1180899/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/29/skype-for-windows-hits-version-2-8/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a><br />]]></description><category>skype</category><category>skype-3.8</category><dc:creator>Brad Linder</dc:creator><dc:date>2008-04-29T13:00:00+00:00</dc:date></item><item><title>Skype to launch unlimited international calling plan</title><link>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/21/skype-to-launch-unlimited-international-calling-plan/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/21/skype-to-launch-unlimited-international-calling-plan/</guid><comments>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/21/skype-to-launch-unlimited-international-calling-plan/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/internet/" rel="tag">Internet</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/windows/" rel="tag">Windows</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/macintosh/" rel="tag">Macintosh</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/linux/" rel="tag">Linux</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/commercial/" rel="tag">Commercial</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/voip/" rel="tag">VoIP</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://skype.com/allfeatures/subscriptions/#worldSubscriptionTab"><img width="440" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="206" border="0" align="top" src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2008/04/skype-unlimited.jpg"  alt="Skype unlimited plans" /></a><br /></div>
Have friends, relatives, or business contacts located in faraway lands? Internet telephony company Skype is launching its first plan that lets you make <a href="http://skype.com/allfeatures/subscriptions/#worldSubscriptionTab">unlimited international PC to telephone calls</a>, assuming you're calling a landline in one of 34 countries covered by the plan. <br /><br />Most of Europe is covered, as well as the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.The $9.95/month plan doesn't cover calls to cellphones in all areas, but you can call mobile phones in the US, Canada, China, Hong Kong, and Singapore. <br /><br />Or you can just convince everybody you know to install Skype on their computers and mobile phones so you can make Skype to Skype calls for free.<br /><br />[via <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080421/ap_on_hi_te/skype_international_calls">AP</a>]<h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://skype.com/allfeatures/subscriptions/#worldSubscriptionTab>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/21/skype-to-launch-unlimited-international-calling-plan/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/1173091/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/21/skype-to-launch-unlimited-international-calling-plan/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a><br />]]></description><category>international</category><category>skype</category><category>telephone</category><category>voip</category><dc:creator>Brad Linder</dc:creator><dc:date>2008-04-21T10:30:00+00:00</dc:date></item><item><title>Send free text messages to any phone with Jaxtr</title><link>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/16/send-free-text-messages-to-any-phone-with-jaxtr/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/16/send-free-text-messages-to-any-phone-with-jaxtr/</guid><comments>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/16/send-free-text-messages-to-any-phone-with-jaxtr/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/internet/" rel="tag">Internet</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/web-services/" rel="tag">Web services</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/voip/" rel="tag">VoIP</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/web-2-0/" rel="tag">web 2.0</a></p><a href="http://www.jaxtr.com/"><img width="205" vspace="16" hspace="4" height="263" border="0" align="right" alt="Jaxtr SMS" src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2008/04/jaxtr-sms.jpg" /></a>VoIP company <a href="http://www.jaxtr.com">Jaxtr</a> has added a new module that lets uses send free text messages to any cellphone from their Jaxtr homepage. There's no fee for sending the message, but if the recipient has to pay per message, you might want to think twice before sending dozens of messages a day. Unless you hate the person you're texting, of course.<br /><br />We first covered Jaxtr <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2006/12/19/jaxtr-to-blogs-make-the-call-free/">way back in 2006</a> when the company released a tool for blogger and web publishers to embed a widget on their web sites that let visitors place calls to the web site author. You can also add a Jaxtr widget to social networking pages like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and Orkut. <br /><br />Honestly, we don't know too many people who want to take phone calls all day from visitors to their web sites or social networking profiles. But now that we've discovered the free SMS service, we can actually see ourselves using Jaxtr on a regular basis.<br /><br />[via <a href="http://www.labnol.org/internet/tools/send-international-sms-text-messages-free-online/2988/">Digital Inspiration</a>]<br /><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.jaxtr.com/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/16/send-free-text-messages-to-any-phone-with-jaxtr/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/1169590/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/16/send-free-text-messages-to-any-phone-with-jaxtr/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a><br />]]></description><category>jaxtr</category><category>sms</category><category>text-message</category><category>voip</category><dc:creator>Brad Linder</dc:creator><dc:date>2008-04-16T20:00:00+00:00</dc:date></item><item><title>GrandCentral: What happens when your phone company is in beta?</title><link>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/13/grandcentral-what-happens-when-your-phone-company-is-in-beta/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/13/grandcentral-what-happens-when-your-phone-company-is-in-beta/</guid><comments>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/13/grandcentral-what-happens-when-your-phone-company-is-in-beta/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/internet/" rel="tag">Internet</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/google/" rel="tag">Google</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/voip/" rel="tag">VoIP</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/beta/" rel="tag">Beta</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://www.grandcentral.com"><img width="400" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="236" border="0" align="top" src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2008/04/grandcentral-inbox.jpg"  alt="GrandCentral Mailbox" /></a><br /></div>
Internet telephony company <a href="http://www.grandcentral.com">GrandCentral</a> was down for several hours this morning. That wouldn't be so bad if GrandCentral's business model didn't depend on telling users to give out their GrandCentral phone numbers instead of their cellphone, work, home, and other numbers. GrandCentral, which is owned by Google, provides a single number that can ring through to each of your phones. And most of the time it works brilliantly.<br /><br />But GrandCentral is still in beta. And while we've grown used to Google's beta products being more stable than many companies' final release products, we probably shouldn't be surprised when a beta product goes down. And this morning, a lot of people were probably worried about missing phone calls because of the outage. <br /><br />The service was <a href="http://blog.grandcentral.com/?p=144">restored by noon</a>, Pacific time. But the fact that a "power issue" at a single facility could knock out GrandCentral phone service across the country is going to make us think twice before giving out our GrandCentral phone number from now on. Hopefully one of the things Google will do before taking the beta label off of GrandCentral is build some redundancy into the system to avoid this sort of problem in the future.<h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://blog.grandcentral.com/?p=144>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/13/grandcentral-what-happens-when-your-phone-company-is-in-beta/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/1166171/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/13/grandcentral-what-happens-when-your-phone-company-is-in-beta/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a><br />]]></description><category>grandcentral</category><category>outage</category><category>telephone</category><category>voip</category><dc:creator>Brad Linder</dc:creator><dc:date>2008-04-13T23:00:00+00:00</dc:date></item><item><title>Skype 3.8 beta for Windows released</title><link>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/02/skype-3-8-beta-for-windows-released/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/02/skype-3-8-beta-for-windows-released/</guid><comments>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/02/skype-3-8-beta-for-windows-released/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/internet/" rel="tag">Internet</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/voip/" rel="tag">VoIP</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/beta/" rel="tag">Beta</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://share.skype.com/sites/garage/2008/04/skype_38_beta_for_windows.html"><img width="440" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="228" border="0" align="top" src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2008/04/skype-3.8-beta.jpg"  alt="Skype 3.8 beta for Windows" /></a><br /></div>
The Skype team has just released a new beta version of their internet telephony client for Windows. <a href="http://share.skype.com/sites/garage/2008/04/skype_38_beta_for_windows.html">Skype 3.8 beta</a> primarily focuses on audio quality improvements, with less background noise, less delay, fewer cut outs and dropped calls. <br /><br />Skype 3.8 beta also <a href="http://share.skype.com/sites/garage/2008/04/upnp_in_skype_38_for_windows_b.html">uses a new UPnP framework</a>, which should do a better job of automatically configuring your firewall and router settings. There's also a new extras manager and a bunch of bug fixes. The one known issue with this release is that you cannot send voicemails to users who have not authorized you.<br /><br />[via <a href="http://skypejournal.com/blog/2008/04/skype_for_windows_38_beta.html">Skype Journa</a>l]<h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://share.skype.com/sites/garage/2008/04/skype_38_beta_for_windows.html>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/02/skype-3-8-beta-for-windows-released/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/1156134/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/04/02/skype-3-8-beta-for-windows-released/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a><br />]]></description><category>skype</category><category>skype-3.8</category><category>skype-3.8-beta</category><dc:creator>Brad Linder</dc:creator><dc:date>2008-04-02T14:00:00+00:00</dc:date></item><item><title>Record Skype calls for free with Call Graph</title><link>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/03/29/record-skype-calls-for-free-with-call-graph/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/03/29/record-skype-calls-for-free-with-call-graph/</guid><comments>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/03/29/record-skype-calls-for-free-with-call-graph/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/internet/" rel="tag">Internet</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/windows/" rel="tag">Windows</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/freeware/" rel="tag">Freeware</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/voip/" rel="tag">VoIP</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/beta/" rel="tag">Beta</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://callgraph.in/"><img width="400" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="305" border="0" align="top" src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2008/03/call-graph.jpg"  alt="Call Graph" /></a><br /></div>
While <a href="http://callgraph.in/">Call Graph</a> certainly isn't the only Skype plugin that lets you record calls for free, it is certainly one of the simplest to use. And it's free, which always helps. Several other popular Skype recording applications like <a href="http://www.pamela-systems.com/">Pamela</a> let you record up to 15 minutes for free, but you'll have to pony up some cash for a license if you want to record longer calls. There are no such limitations on Call Graph.<br /><br />Here's how it works. You install Call Graph, and it will automatically record every call you make as a 128kbps MP3 file. You'll know it's working because a window will pop up letting you know the call is being recorded and asking if you want to stop the recording. You can also click the icon in the system tray to configure Call Graph so that it won't automatically record every call.<br /><br />When a call ends, a window will pop up showing you a list of recent calls. You can play, rename, tag, or delete files from this window. There's also a search bar to find previous calls, which can come in handy as long as you've been diligent about adding tags. <br /><br />Call Graph appears to be Windows only for now, and it's officially a public beta, although it seems to work pretty well. <br /><br />[via <a href="http://www.online-tech-tips.com/free-software-downloads/record-skype-voip-phone-calls/">Online Tech Tips</a>]<br /><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://callgraph.in/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/03/29/record-skype-calls-for-free-with-call-graph/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/1152392/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/03/29/record-skype-calls-for-free-with-call-graph/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a><br />]]></description><category>call-graph</category><category>call-recorder</category><category>pamela</category><category>skype</category><category>voip</category><dc:creator>Brad Linder</dc:creator><dc:date>2008-03-29T12:00:00+00:00</dc:date></item><item><title>Skype 2.0 for Linux drops beta tag</title><link>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/03/14/skype-2-0-for-linux-drops-beta-tag/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/03/14/skype-2-0-for-linux-drops-beta-tag/</guid><comments>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/03/14/skype-2-0-for-linux-drops-beta-tag/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/internet/" rel="tag">Internet</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/linux/" rel="tag">Linux</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/freeware/" rel="tag">Freeware</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/voip/" rel="tag">VoIP</a></p><a href="http://www.skype.com/download/skype/linux/"><img width="192" vspace="16" hspace="4" height="267" border="0" align="right" src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2008/03/skype-2-linux.jpg"  alt="Skype 2.0 for Linux" /></a>Skype has released the <a href="http://www.skype.com/download/skype/linux/">final version of Skype 2.0 for Linux</a>. The internet telephony application has been <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/11/07/skype-2-0-beta-for-linux-adds-video-support/">available as a public beta</a> since November, but the latest release includes a ton of bug fixes and a few new features.<br /><br />Skype 2.0's biggest feature is support for video calls, which means you can do pretty much anything with the Linux version of Skype that you can do with the PC or Mac clients. That includes making PC to PC phone calls or video calls for free, or PC to telephone calls for a fee.<br /><br />Packages are available for Ubuntu, Debian, Xandros, Fedora, OpenSUSE, Mandriva, and CentOS. <br /><br />[via <a href="http://digg.com/linux_unix/Skype_2_0_Final_for_Linux_is_out">Digg</a>]<h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.skype.com/download/skype/linux/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/03/14/skype-2-0-for-linux-drops-beta-tag/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/1140078/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/03/14/skype-2-0-for-linux-drops-beta-tag/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a><br />]]></description><category>skype</category><category>skype-2.0</category><category>skype-2.0-for-linux</category><category>skype-for-linux</category><category>video-calls</category><category>video-chat</category><dc:creator>Brad Linder</dc:creator><dc:date>2008-03-14T09:00:00+00:00</dc:date></item><item><title>Jaduka launches web telephony widgets and browser toolbar</title><link>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/03/07/jaduka-launches-web-telephony-widgets-and-browser-toolbar/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/03/07/jaduka-launches-web-telephony-widgets-and-browser-toolbar/</guid><comments>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/03/07/jaduka-launches-web-telephony-widgets-and-browser-toolbar/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/internet/" rel="tag">Internet</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/web-services/" rel="tag">Web services</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/voip/" rel="tag">VoIP</a></p><a href="www.jaduka.com"><img width="125" vspace="16" hspace="4" height="228" border="0" align="right" alt="dukaBUZZ" src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2008/03/dukabuzz2.jpg" /></a>
<div style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 4px;"><script type="text/javascript">digg_url = "http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/03/07/jaduka-launches-web-telephony-widgets-and-browser-toolbar/"; </script><script src="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>
Web telephony service Jaduka has launched a bunch of new tools that make it easy to initiate telephone to telephone calls over the web. The most basic service is called <a href="http://labs.jaduka.com/dukaDial">dukaDIAL</a>, and it allows you to enter any two phone numbers to initiative a phone call. DukaDIAL will call one number and then the other and initiate a connection. No computer headset or microphone required. Jaduka doesn't charge anything for these calls, but your telephone provider might.<br /><br />Jaduka offers several other services that use the same basic technology. For example, <a href="http://labs.jaduka.com/dukaBar">dukaBAR</a> is a browser toolbar for Firefox or Internet Explorer. Once it's installed you can click a button and automatically detect any phone number on any web page. A telephone icon will show up next to those phone numbers, and if you click on that icon, Jaduka will initiate a phone call between your number and the number on the page. Skype offers a similar browser plugin, but with Skype you're making a PC to phone call, while Jaduka initiates phone to phone calls.<br /><br />There's also a <a href="http://labs.jaduka.com/dukaBuzz">dukaBuzz</a> widget which you can install on any web page to allow visitors to leave listen to voice comments, and a <a href="http://labs.jaduka.com/dukaLink">dukaLINK</a> tool for creating clickable links that will initiate phone calls. <font face="Verdana"></font><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.jaduka.com/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/03/07/jaduka-launches-web-telephony-widgets-and-browser-toolbar/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/1134361/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/03/07/jaduka-launches-web-telephony-widgets-and-browser-toolbar/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a><br />]]></description><category>dukabar</category><category>dukabuzz</category><category>dukadial</category><category>dukalink</category><category>telephony</category><category>toolbar</category><category>voip</category><dc:creator>Brad Linder</dc:creator><dc:date>2008-03-07T14:30:00+00:00</dc:date></item><item><title>Amphibian: One (more) phone to rule them all</title><link>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/01/28/amphibian-one-more-phone-to-rule-them-all/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/01/28/amphibian-one-more-phone-to-rule-them-all/</guid><comments>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/01/28/amphibian-one-more-phone-to-rule-them-all/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/internet/" rel="tag">Internet</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/web-services/" rel="tag">Web services</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/voip/" rel="tag">VoIP</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/web-2-0/" rel="tag">web 2.0</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://www.ribbit.com/"><img width="440" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="290" border="0" align="top" src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2008/01/ribbit-amphibian.jpg"  alt="Ribbit Amphibian" /></a><br /></div>
Startup <a href="http://www.ribbit.com/">Ribbit</a> is preparing to launch in impressive looking internet telephony service in a few months. The company's Amphibian phone service provides a ton of features, but in a nutshell you could describe Amphibian as a cross between Google's <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/tag/GrandCentral/">GrandCentral</a> and Skype with a few extra bits thrown in like an open developer platform and some social networking features.<br /><br />Here's how it works. You can make calls from Ribbit.com or any website with an embedded Amphibian phone application. You will also be able to load up an Adobe AIR version of the software so you can make calls without firing up your web browser. You can see a list of received calls on the web, and you can see user profiles for missed or incoming calls if they're available.<br /><br />But you can also link Amphibian to your other phone numbers of VoIP accounts. So if someone calls your home, work, or cellphone number or your Skype, MSN Messenger, or Google Talk account you can take the call using Amphibian. <br /><br />Ribbit has also partnered with SimulScribe, a service that transcribes voicemail into text. This allows you to read or even search your voicemail. SimulScribe integration doesn't come free though. According to TechCrunch, Ribbit's business plan is to allow users to make PC to PC phone calls for free, but the company will charge a subscription fee for calls to telephones. Users who want to purchase additional services from third parties like SimulScribe will pay an additional fee, although we're sure some add-ons will be offered for free.<br /><br />[via <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/28/ribbit-readies-an-amphibian-attack-on-voice-apps/">TechCrunch</a>]<h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.ribbit.com/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/01/28/amphibian-one-more-phone-to-rule-them-all/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/1099383/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/01/28/amphibian-one-more-phone-to-rule-them-all/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a><br />]]></description><category>amphibian</category><category>grandcentral</category><category>internet-telephony</category><category>ribbit</category><category>simulscribe</category><category>voip</category><dc:creator>Brad Linder</dc:creator><dc:date>2008-01-28T15:00:00+00:00</dc:date></item><item><title>Pownce goes live</title><link>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/01/22/pownce-goes-live/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/01/22/pownce-goes-live/</guid><comments>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/01/22/pownce-goes-live/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/internet/" rel="tag">Internet</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/news/" rel="tag">News</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/web-services/" rel="tag">Web services</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/voip/" rel="tag">VoIP</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/social-software/" rel="tag">Social Software</a></p><img width="163" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="130" border="0" align="right" src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2008/01/pownce.jpg" alt="" />As of 12 AM PST, <a href="http://www.pownce.com">Pownce</a>, the <a href="http://www.twitter.com">Twitter</a>-esque social messaging tool created by Kevin Rose, Daniel Burka and Leah Culver, leaves private beta and becomes <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/21/pownce-opens-to-public-tonight-at-midnight-early-screen-shots-of-new-features/">open to the public</a>. Pownce became open to a limited group of users in June of 2007 and has thus far amassed 150,000 users.<br /><br />Although the developer has repeatedly claimed that Pownce is "not a Twitter clone," it is hard to look at the two services and not see the similarities. Both offer a way to send a message to a large group of people at the same time and have similar friend/follower structures.<br /><br />The differences are that while Twitter can be highly integrated with mobile devices and SMS messaging, Pownce can only be used from the web site or the Adobe AIR client. However, Pownce allows user the ability to share files (up to 10 MB for free users, 100 MB for Premium users), invitations and set-up personalized groups. When Pownce goes live, it will also make it easy to import friends from services like Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.<br /><br /> <div align="center"><img width="401" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="278" border="0" src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2008/01/pownce-_-christina-w..jpg" alt="" /><br /><strong>Pownce's Main Messaging Page</strong><br /></div> <br />Several of us here at DownloadSquad have been playing with Pownce on and off for quite some time, and while we think the service show considerable promise, Twitter still has our heart. The inability to use Pownce from an IM client or SMS outweigh the benefits of being able to share a file (we prefer e-mail or a link to a service like <a href="http://www.box.net">box.net</a> anyway) or send out a group invitation. We do like the grouping feature and really wish that Twitter would implement somethign similar.<br /><br />In the end, for us, it will all come down to what service our friends are using. As of right now, all of our friends are on Twitter; however, now that Pownce is open to the public, that could change. Check out Pownce and tell us what you think.<h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/21/pownce-opens-to-public-tonight-at-midnight-early-screen-shots-of-new-features/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/01/22/pownce-goes-live/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/1092745/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/01/22/pownce-goes-live/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a><br />]]></description><category>pownce</category><category>social messaging</category><category>SocialMessaging</category><category>twitter</category><dc:creator>Christina Warren</dc:creator><dc:date>2008-01-22T01:45:00+00:00</dc:date></item><item><title>Skype headed for the PSP?</title><link>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/01/02/skype-headed-for-the-psp/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/01/02/skype-headed-for-the-psp/</guid><comments>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/01/02/skype-headed-for-the-psp/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/utilities/" rel="tag">Utilities</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/voip/" rel="tag">VoIP</a></p><div align="center"><img width="440" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="207" border="0" align="top" src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2008/01/psp_skype.jpg" alt="Skype on the PSP" /><br /></div>
<br />There are some signs that <a href="http://www.skype.com">Skype</a> VoIP software may be coming <a href="http://www.sony.com">Sony</a>'s PSP. According to Sony's <a href="http://www.sony.com/ces/index.html">CES PR</a> documentation, Skype is going to be available on the PSP. We tried to contact Skype's PR department for an official word, but they said "No comment at this time". We'll see what happens when CES kicks off this coming week. <br /><br />For now, we can only rely on the fact that Skype is listed in the PSP's feature list on their site, as seen below.<p><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/01/02/skype-headed-for-the-psp/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Skype headed for the PSP?</em></a></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.sony.com/ces/index.html>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/01/02/skype-headed-for-the-psp/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/1075530/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/01/02/skype-headed-for-the-psp/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a><br />]]></description><category>psp</category><category>skype</category><category>sony</category><category>voip</category><dc:creator>Jason Harris</dc:creator><dc:date>2008-01-02T16:00:00+00:00</dc:date></item><item><title>Fring adds Yahoo! and AIM support, FWD connectivity</title><link>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/12/27/fring-adds-yahoo-and-aim-support-fwd-connectivity/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/12/27/fring-adds-yahoo-and-aim-support-fwd-connectivity/</guid><comments>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/12/27/fring-adds-yahoo-and-aim-support-fwd-connectivity/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/symbian/" rel="tag">Symbian</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/productivity/" rel="tag">Productivity</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/voip/" rel="tag">VoIP</a></p><div align="left"><img width="225" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="269" border="0" align="right" src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2007/12/fring2.jpg" alt="Fring" />We <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/06/21/fring-lets-you-make-free-voip-calls-from-your-windows-mobile-pda">introduced</a> you to <a href="http://fring.com">Fring</a> earlier this year, and now it has become even more useful. You've always been able to use Fring with Skype, Google Talk, Twitter, ICQ, and MSN Messenger; but now the application has the added ability to use AIM and Yahoo! Messenger.<br /><br />Fring doesn't support voice calls on the new services, but does allow for IM conversations. You can, however, use Fring to make VoIP calls on Google Talk and Skype, along with Fring to Fring calls. With the new service additions, Fring is now a premier universal IM client for the mobile platform.<br /><br />To use AIM or Yahoo!, simply load up Fring on your cellphone and go to settings -&gt; services and add your AIM and/or Yahoo credentials to hop on those networks. No update to the Fring application is required.<br /><br /><strong>In other Fring news</strong>, you can now connect with Free World Dialup (FWD) users using Fring. <br /><br />Because Fring supports SIP, FWD can easily be used to connect via VoIP to your FWD friends. Details are a little sketchy on how to make mobile FWD calls, but details can be found on <a href="http://www.freeworlddialup.com/learnmore/?p=features&amp;s=advanced">FWD's website</a>. You will need to have a supported handset and your FWD# and password.<br /><br />Note: you must have a Symbian or UIQ handset to utilize Yahoo/AIM.<br /><br /></div><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://account2.freeworlddialup.com/index.php?section_id=94&amp;PHPSESSID=f921cf316fbc346b1099365fc18775d2>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href=http://www.fring.com/blog/?p=130>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/12/27/fring-adds-yahoo-and-aim-support-fwd-connectivity/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/1071887/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/12/27/fring-adds-yahoo-and-aim-support-fwd-connectivity/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a><br />]]></description><category>AIM</category><category>fring</category><category>fwd</category><category>ICQ</category><category>MSN</category><category>telephony</category><category>voip</category><dc:creator>Jason Harris</dc:creator><dc:date>2007-12-27T20:00:00+00:00</dc:date></item><item><title>PamFax launches Skype fax add-on</title><link>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/12/21/pamfax-launches-skype-fax-add-on/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/12/21/pamfax-launches-skype-fax-add-on/</guid><comments>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/12/21/pamfax-launches-skype-fax-add-on/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/internet/" rel="tag">Internet</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/voip/" rel="tag">VoIP</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://www.pamfax.biz/"><img width="400" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="211" border="0" align="top" src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2007/12/pamfax-2.jpg" alt="PamFax" /></a><br /></div>
<a href="http://www.pamfax.biz/">PamFax</a>, the Skype add-on we told you about <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/08/10/send-a-fax-over-skype-with-pamfax/">a few months ago</a> that lets you use Skype to send documents to fax machines has come out of beta. While in beta, the service was unavailable to US customers, but now that it has officially launched PamFax makes it easy to choose a Word or PDF document from your desktop and send it to any fax line in the world.<br /><br />The application has a few other nifty new features, including the ability to work with Windows-compatible scanners. That means you can essentially turn your scanner into a fax machine by scanning an item directly to PamFax and then sending it off. There's also a PamFax print driver that lets you treat PamFax as a virtual printer. In other words, you can hit the print button in Word, Excel, Firefox, or any other application on your PC and sen the printout to any fax machine.<br /><br />It costs about $.24 per page to send a fax, and you have to pay about $1.42 to sign up for the service the first time you send a fax. So if you happen to have a real fax machine lying around, it's probably going to be cheaper just to hook it up to your phone line. But for anyone who needs to send an occasional fax doesn't have a fax machine or a land line available, PamFax is a convenient, easy to use solution.<br /><br />[via <a href="http://skypejournal.com/blog/2007/12/mashup_champion_pamfax_becomes.html">Skype Journal</a>]<h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.pamfax.biz/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/12/21/pamfax-launches-skype-fax-add-on/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/1068847/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/12/21/pamfax-launches-skype-fax-add-on/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a><br />]]></description><category>fax</category><category>PamFax</category><category>skype</category><dc:creator>Brad Linder</dc:creator><dc:date>2007-12-21T16:00:00+00:00</dc:date></item></channel></rss>