Skype

by **oyajikun** » Sat Nov 29, 2003 12:40 pm

Someone turned me one to this yesterday and I thought it would make an essential application for the FG toolbox. Hope you enjoy it.

http://www.skype.com/

"Skype is the next phenomenon from the people who
brought you KaZaA. Just like KaZaA, Skype uses
P2P (peer-to-peer) technology to connect you to
other users – not to share files this time, but
to talk for free with your friends."

by **Mulboyne** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 7:38 am

Skype has been around for a while but I've never used it. Any views?

Asahi: Free Net telephony takes off

As many as 250,000 Japanese are estimated to be making free phone calls around the world over the Internet thanks, indirectly, to a controversial file-swapping technology.
...The software has been translated into Japanese and is available for free download at the Skype Technologies S.A. Web site, although user registration is required.

Previous FG mention of Skype by oyajikun: Here

by **Ol Dirty Gaijin** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 10:13 am

We have started to use it with our UK head office in the last week. Clean and does the job. No longer use call back.
Will give more details later when it's been given a good bash.

by **Ol Dirty Gaijin** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 10:33 am

Sorry , more to this Mulboyne.
We have been using Webex in the past for demos etc also, but looking into Interwise. Will give a run down next week if interested.

by **kansaiboy** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 12:21 pm

Mulboyne wrote:Skype has been around for a while but I've never used it. Any views?

Asahi: Free Net telephony takes off

As many as 250,000 Japanese are estimated to be making free phone calls around the world over the Internet thanks, indirectly, to a controversial file-swapping technology.
...The software has been translated into Japanese and is available for free download at the Skype Technologies S.A. Web site, although user registration is required.

Previous FG mention of Skype by oyajikun: Here

I use skype all the time to talk to friends across Japan and also in Australia....Very clean, not buggy at all.... but its not a "controversial file-swapping technology"...why r the press trying to Kazza it...?

by **Watcher** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 12:50 pm

What's the difference between Skype and any of the IM Chats (MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, etc.)? I use MSN Messenger chat most of the time and it works just fine.

by **Mulboyne** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 5:45 pm

Ol Dirty Gaijin wrote:We have started to use it with our UK head office in the last week. Clean and does the job. No longer use call back.
Will give more details later when it's been given a good bash.

kansaiboy wrote:I use skype all the time to talk to friends across Japan and also in Australia....Very clean, not buggy at all

Cheers. It seems straighforward enough but I'm usually one of the last people to use any innovation. This time, since no-one I know has picked up Skype to date, it will be up to me to get them registered so I can call them and I thought I'd best get a second opinion before I do that. Thanks.

by **cstaylor** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 5:48 pm

I'm working on as Asterisk IAX2 PBX... not quite there yet. :wink:

by **Ol Dirty Gaijin** » Fri Sep 17, 2004 5:04 pm

Mulboyne,
We have run this on a number of computers.

Nice plus, multi-platform.

Small problem, uninstalling it on machines that use NetMessenger causes a problem with the registry. The callto url does not get updated. A small fix to the registry fixes everything again. Just google it, plenty of sites for help in doing this.

by **sirwanksalot** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 2:00 pm

Skype is by far the BEST thing ever for my savings account. I've got my friends and family on it. It's better than a phone and is hands free. You can also post on FG if you want. Gee this sounds like SPAM.

by **Mulboyne** » Sun Sep 19, 2004 2:36 pm

Thanks for the feedback. I'll be giving it a go.

by **FG Lurker** » Tue Dec 21, 2004 11:17 am

Watcher wrote:What's the difference between Skype and any of the IM Chats (MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, etc.)? I use MSN Messenger chat most of the time and it works just fine.

I know this is an old thread, but instead of starting a new Skype thread I figured I'd add to this one.

To answer Watcher's question: Skype works flawlessly through firewalls, something that Yahoo and MSN do not. Skype also supports up to 2GB file transfers, and all connections are encrypted end-to-end.

Skype also offers "Skype Out" now, very cheap phone calls from computers to POTS (plain old telephone service) land lines. Skype Out's sound quality is not always as good as a standard phone call, but it is usually better than a Keitai call, and a lot better than a land-line call that gets routed via satellite. How cheap is cheap? How about 1.7 Euro Cents per minute to Western Europe, Canada, USA, Chile, Australia, and New Zealand. They have also added a few other countries/cities I see, have a look at that link for the complete list. Other areas are still cheap, just not quite as cheap as 1.7 Euro Cents.

I don't have any connection to Skype other than as a user. It's free, it works without special network setup, it has good sound quality. Try it!

Ian

by **Mulboyne** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 4:11 pm

Japan Today interview with Skype CEO

In Japan, Skype estimates it has 600,000 registered users and is growing every day. The company has teamed up with livedoor to deliver free Internet telephony through livedoor's portal. Since last summer, stories about Skype have been appearing in the Japanese technical publications and magazines SPA! and Weekly Playboy.

by **FG Lurker** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 5:04 pm

I'm still using Skype for all my international calls. The price is unbeatable.

However I've had problems paying for SkypeOut credits recently. They won't take a Japanese credit card, and they won't process my Canadian card at all because I am trying to use it from a Japanese IP. With 600,000 Skype users in Japan you'd think they would get their shit together from the payment side. (I heard a few days ago they take PayPal now, so I guess that is an improvement. Still, direct transactions would be better.)

On the good side though, Skype has worked flawlessly for me out of HK hotel rooms! Great to pay SkypeOut rates instead of rip-off hotel rates! As long as your hotel offers free broadband you also get ultra-cheap phone calls -- with encryption. Nice.

by **Steve Bildermann** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 5:58 am

I have been using Skype almost since it started. Excellent software. Works consistently and has excellent quality. I have removed my local phone and my Keitai bill is way down.

Next thing must be a Skype capable Keitai. Now that would be something!

by **Mulboyne** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 6:21 am

Interesting to see if this kickstarts IP telephony in general.

CNN: AOL to offer VoIP
America Online plans to offer an Internet-based telephone service to its customers within a month, and will eventually offer it to anyone with a high-speed Internet connection. Jonathan Miller, AOL's chief executive, announced the service Tuesday in a speech to an Internet telephone conference, AOL spokeswoman Anne Bentley said. Pricing details were not released. The service by the world's largest Internet access company will be similar to that of Vonage Holdings Corp., which uses a customer's high-speed Internet link to send and receive telephone calls. Vonage announced earlier this week it had reached 500,000 lines in service.

by **Steve Bildermann** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 7:08 am

Such voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) companies typically charge less than traditional telephone companies thanks to lower network costs. Vonage sells unlimited calling for $25 a month, and some smaller providers offer unlimited calls for less than $20 per month.

What's with this $25 a month business?

I assume that is the equivalent to Skypeout allowing users to call regular POTS telephones. I buy Skype credits every few months and I swear I never get anywhere near $5 a month.

by **FG Lurker** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 9:30 am

by **emperor** » Tue Sep 13, 2005 4:28 am

Skype have been bought by eBay today.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticleSearch.aspx?storyID=253881
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4238258.stm

Many worried comments by users on the skype forums, foreseeing pop-up ads and spyware - theres speculation on how they will integrate it into the ebay buying and selling process, maybe skype itself wont change that much...

Gizmo is another popular alternative:
http://www.sipphone.com

by **IkemenTommy** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 5:53 pm

Anyone using Skype? I want to test it out with anyone. Thanks

by **IkemenTommy** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 5:53 pm

It's been almost 2 years since the original post.
This is a great software.

by **etto_neh** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 6:34 pm

Yes, it *is* great software. I've been in .jp for 1 1/2 years and I have never ever had to pay to call anyone in the US, my home. My conversations from Osaka to South Carolina are clear... almost perfectly so. I also use Festoon on top of skype for video. The encryption is on by default and, according to some study (i think sponsored by skype?) quite secure.

What's bad about skype, from a more techy point of view is that it's;

1)closed software, so we don't *really* know what's going on
2)ya have a tough time blocking cause it'll take over http ports if it has to. Maybe you'll notice a choppy conversation if you browse the web while on a voice chat.
3)this may lead to a bigger trend of apps that use whatever means to reach the outside. Web apps have been doing this via javascript (and now ajax) for a while. This sort of willy nilly programming threatens a lot o' stuff.

You think you're secure running (eff.org) Tor + Privoxy? Hell no. I can still find out where you live via your IP address if you still visit my site (if I made one)... that is, unless you use something like Sockscap to redirect every call from your browser to the Tor proxy. Case in point, try to simply proxy to

http://www.themidnightcoders.net/examples/messageserver/chat/mapchatajax-room1.htm

Tor and privoxy alone won't prevent you from been tracked.

Plus, i think skype was just bought by ebay.

I'm not a paranoid person at all... I just try to take these sorts of things into account after years of fighting spyware and viruses and various attacks from one source or another. I've never done anything illegal (outside of speeding, and downloading TV shows/movies. Oh yeah, and there was that trespassing charge... oh, and that DUI... and, umm, well, that guy DID look at me strangely and so begged for a beatdown) and my browsing habits are pretty boring. But, ya know, sometimes you just wanna stay anonymous.

by **FG Lurker** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 9:30 am

Skype 2.0 is out..........with video!

The LA Times has a review up about it, I'll post it in the next message as they require annoying registration to read their stuff.

by **FG Lurker** » Fri Dec 02, 2005 9:33 am

by **mr. sparkle** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 10:51 am

How does Skype compare with say, iChat A/V, which is free with OS X? I'd rather not pay if I don't have to.

by **FG Lurker** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 10:53 am

mr. sparkle wrote:How does Skype compare with say, iChat A/V, which is free with OS X? I'd rather not pay if I don't have to.

Skype is also free.

by **IkemenTommy** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 10:59 am

Look at who came in at number 8

http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,120763,pg,12,00.asp

by **emperor** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 11:53 am

mr. sparkle wrote:How does Skype compare with say, iChat A/V, which is free with OS X? I'd rather not pay if I don't have to.

the Mac version dosent support video yet & it wouldnt replace msn messenger (or Adium on the mac) for me - but its handy for making international calls on the cheap

by **ichigo partygirl** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 4:22 pm

Philips launches PC-free Skype phone
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3783649a28,00.html

Dutch electronics group Philips has said it would introduce the world's first cordless DECT phone that can make Skype internet calls without being connected to a personal computer.

The product will be available before the end of the year, Philips chief of consumer electronics activities, Rudy Provoost, told journalists at the IFA electronics fair in Berlin.

Skype, which popularised free phone calls between computers over broadband internet connections, is a unit of eBay.

Philips is the world's biggest lighting maker, a top three hospital equipment maker, Europe's biggest consumer electronics producer and the region's number three in semiconductors.

by **Mulboyne** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 3:04 pm

Anyone tried Jajah? I don't have a landline to give it a go myself.

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Skype

Skype

Skype in Japan

Re: Skype in Japan

Skype enables video calling

beware. security rant.

Skype 2.0 Clarifies Video Chat Picture

Skype vs. iChat A/V?

Re: Skype vs. iChat A/V?

Re: Skype vs. iChat A/V?

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