skype

CES 2010: Skype Adding HD Telephony To LG, Panasonic TVs

skypeSkype is partnering with TV makers to include their telephony service into TVs in 2010. So far, Panasonic and LG are signed up: LG Electronics will add Skype to its NetCast enabled displays, while Panasonic will add it to select sets equipped with its VieraCast services.

Of course, you will still need an active Internet connection in order to make use of this service, but it’ll certainly make it more convenient and comfortable to make calls from your sofa. It will be interesting to see how well this actually works.

Press Release

AT&T to allow VoIP apps on iPhones to work on cell network

Well, well, well. AT&T has just decided to reverse their prior stance and allow iPhone users to use Skype and other VoIP apps on the cellular networks. VoIP apps would work when the iPhone was on a WiFi network, but not when connected to the AT&T network.

Certainly, this is good news for consumers, but you do have to wonder why they decided to change their position. It’s quite likely that given the FCC’s current investigation into the competitiveness of wireless services, that AT&T decided to jump the gun on them being branded anti-competitive.

GfG’s Article Recap for Week Ending June 5, 2009

We kicked off the past week with a look at the Epson WorkForce 310 – a more compact and efficient version of its predecessor. We looked at CaseMate’s charging cases and took a look at the Powerlung lung capacity excercise tool.  For you RC enthusiasts, check out the Mini Cooper Convertible.

If you have pets that constantly want to go outside, then think about training them to ring a doorbell. And if you’re a gamer, a boardgamer that is, then you’ve got to get Settlers of Catan.

On the news side of things, Google have launched scripting to Google Spreadsheets and Microsoft have launched Bing, their newest search engine.  If you’re a Skype user, beware of scammers sending you messages.

Skype needs to run as administrator or with administrative privileges

After pulling my hair out for a while, I discovered that the Skype client needs to be run as a user with administrative privileges (I’m using version 4.x). I don’t see why this is necessary, but oh well, I’ll live. I’m not happy with Skype as I’d rather not have to run my applications with admin privileges.

While some security experts will disagree with me on this, I’d rather run my account with lower security privileges to at least ‘sandbox’ my account somewhat and prevent (at least some) malicious processes from getting away with too much. My user account is a member of the Power Users group.

Skype offers unlimited long-distance for a flat fee

Skype has just annoucned that for about US$10/mo, you can get unlimited long-distance (Skype-to-landline) to the country of your choice (well one of 34 at any rate). Not a bad deal at all. This turns the traditional long-distance market on its head. I still remember paying over $1/minute for long-distance calls (made in the same hemisphere no less). Yes, that is per minute.

Ok, so there’s a little * next to the ‘unlimited’ as in no more than 10,000 minutes per month, but seriously are you going to be using Skype for more than 5 hours a day?!

See the page on Skype’s site for more details on rates, etc.

eBay may sell off Skype

The ink had barely dried on the agreement to buy Skype before analysts were criticizing eBay’s $3.1 billion decision. Yes, that’s ‘billion’ with a ‘B’. Now, it looks like eBay is pondering selling it off.

Their reasoning is that if they can’t find a way to integrate it into their core business which is online marketplaces, then it’s of no use to them. I don’t completely agree, but I applaud eBay for having the fortitude to face up to and act on their bad decision quickly. AOL Time Warner comes to mind as an example of the opposite.

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