Category: VoIP

Posted on

The Skype free ride is about to end

SkypeI have been greatly enjoying the free, unlimited calls to regular phones on Skype for nearly the past year. It’s been a wonderful way to call up friends and family back in the states. The quality is pretty good, but on heavy traffic days on the internet, not so much. How are you to argue with it being free?

Enjoy it while it lasts. The free, trial period is coming to a close at the end of this month. I had hoped that Skype would just eat the bandwidth and keep it free, but that stands to not be the case.

Internet phone service provider Skype plans to start charging U.S. and Canadian users US$29.95 per year for unlimited calls to regular phones in both countries, as the end of a free trial offer looms.

Users who sign up before Jan. 31, 2007, will receive a special rate of $14.95 a year and 100 free minutes of international calling, Skype said on Wednesday. Any user wishing to continue using Skype to make calls to regular phones or mobile handsets after the free trial expires Dec. 31, but does not want a yearly plan, can pay for SkypeOut at a rate of 2.1 cents per minute for calls within the U.S. and Canada.

Computer-to-computer calls using Skype software will remain free. [macworld]

Still, that’s not a bad deal to pay that much per year for free calls between the U.S. and Canada. Naturally, there will be some people who will think that this is a load of crap. In my hometown, we used to run a free, local BBS[wiki] (yeah, remember those things from 1995?) and users flipped when they had to pay $25 a year to dial in over their modems. Sometimes you just need a little help with bills, and I could really see paying to use Skype’s service. However, I am a total sucker for free stuff.

Posted on

Skype 2.0 goes gold for the Mac

Video panel in the preferences of Skype 2.0Skype is the staple of The Crazy Canucks podcast. I got it downloaded and tinkered with it just a little bit(the image posted here is a quick screenshot of the video panel in the preferences, which has similarity to iChat). We’re actually looking to record another episode this evening, but I doubt this will really effect anything involving VoIP. The major addition to this version is video support being added for Mac users, making video chatting available between PC users of Skype.

Posted on their blog yesterday:

Skype for Mac 2.0 goes gold today, which means that we’ve tested it, you’ve tested it and we all agree that it does a pretty good job. Download it now and video call your friends, family, colleagues or anyone else you’d like to see face to face. Remember not only does it work with other Mac users but it also works with Windows users too. That means even more people for you to video call with.

We’ve improved the video quality and made changes so that video calling can now work on older systems allowing more of our Mac community can use it.

Thanks for all your feedback and help to improve the quality of video throughout the beta. A lot of you have sent in your stories on how you’re using Mac 2.0 to get face to face with far flung friends and relatives and we’re delighted we can help to bring you all closer together. Many of you also told us that you’re using video calls with business colleagues across the globe or to see your family back home when you’re away with work. If you have any more stories you’d like to share with us please email them to stories@skype.net. [skype]

The question will be about quality when you make your video calls across platform. The quality of your video card combined with the quality of your webcam will offer mixed results, more so when it comes to the world of PCs. Regardless, you’ll still be able to see grandma wave to you over the internet, no matter how blurry or pixelated she might look. You’ll just never know if she’s giving you the finger or not.

Posted on

Skype releases 2.0 Beta for Mac; Video for everyone

I use iChat to video chat with my family back home all the time. That’s a strict, Mac-to-Mac application. Skype 2.0 Beta for the Mac[download] bridges video chatting with PC users of the VoIP/IM client.

System requirements

  • Mac computer with G4 800 Mhz processor or faster
  • Mac OS X v10.3.9 Panther or newer
  • 512 MB RAM
  • 40 MB free disk space on your hard drive
  • Microphone
  • Webcam: Suggested webcams include Apple iSight, Philips SPC900NC, or Logitech QuickCam Pro 400. Drivers for the Philips and Logitech webcams can be downloaded from http://webcam-osx.sourceforge.net/.
  • Internet connection (broadband is best, GPRS is not supported for voice calls, and results may vary on a satellite connection).

I have yet to put it through the ranks, but if you wanna talk and see your buddies over long distances, this is worth checking out.

Posted on

Belkin Wi-Fi phone for Skype

I have to say, I like the idea of this product a lot. Makes a lot of sense for some one like myself with all my family being back in the states.

Belkin's Wi-Fi Phone for SkypeBelkin today unveiled its Wi-Fi Phone for Skype that lets users make free Skype calls without the need for a computer. The device offers free, unlimited domestic and international calls over the internet to other Skype users, as well as low-cost calls to “ordinary” areas worldwide, according to Belkin. “With over 100 million registered users all over the world, Skype is enabling the world’s conversations,” said Mike Chen, director of product management for Belkin. “The Belkin Wi-Fi Phone combines the cost savings and enjoyment of using Skype with the convenience of Wi-Fi, making it even easier for people to stay in touch.” The Wi-Fi phone is slated for shipment in North America in August for $150, with launches planned in Asia, Europe, and Australia to follow thereafter. [macnn]

Yes, now you can waltz into those trendy cafes that offer free Wi-Fi connections and annoy everyone sipping their lattes while you speak loudly on your phone with people around the world. Just remember, speaking even louder into the phone will not make data packets get sent any better in order for the other person to hear what you are saying. That doesn’t work on copper lines, and it sure don’t for VoIP.