Recently in Computer Software Category

It seems new software comes out daily that enables you to run a VoIP application, such as Skype, on your mobile phone natively, through a bridged gateway, or using the Skype API. While Skype is certainly the most popular VoIP application, other software solutions exist that use the SIP standard. Still others provide SIP-to-Skype bridging capabilities. I thought it would be useful to have a rundown of the various solutions out there.

SoonR Talk - I broke the news about this first software application to enable VoIP on the Apple iPhone. It features a nice clean interface that emulates the Skype client look and feel, as seen in the screenshot to the right. The way it works is that the AJAX interface acts as a remote control for your computer where the SoonR service is installed along with Skype. There is nothing to install on your phone because SoonR Talk uses a browser that supports AJAX. You simply login into SoonR website.

Shape Services' IM+ for Skype - lets you run Skype on the iPhone with their IM+ for Skype application. IM+ for Skype, also works on the iPod touch. The beauty of IM+ for Skype is that it doesn't even require Skype to be running on your PC - it leverages the Skype API and servers run by the IM+ for Skype folks (Shape Services). You can find out more info in my Skype on the Apple iPod touch article.

SIP to Skype calls - Check out my article here for a how-to step-by-step guide that lets you deliver SIP calls directly to Skype. Essentially you can have a SIP DID number ring your Skype client. The workaround uses Net2Max.com's One Click Contact number (1CC number) to make this possible.

SippySkype - Java software that allows you to make and receive Skype calls from your SIP/VoIP adapter or SIP softphone. Basically it's a Skype/SIP Bridge/Gateway/Proxy. You'll need a SIP client on your mobile phone for this to work. But assuming your mobile phone can run a SIP client, you can make SIP-to-Skype calls.

iPhoneGnome, enables PhoneGnome calling from your iPhone. You can call other PhoneGnome numbers as well as anyone using SIP-based services, FWD, MSN, Yahoo, Google Talk, and any other numbers that you can call from your PhoneGnome account.

I should stress that there are non-Skype VoIP apps that run on mobile phones, many of which target the Apple iPhone, but not all. This next example, Jajah does support the iPhone, but they actually support any mobile phone.

Jajah - They have several mobile phone-to-VoIP solutions available. There's the JAJAH Apple iPhone and iPod Touch App. There's Jajah Direct, which allows you to simply dial a local access number to talk globally - no Internet or data access needed and you can skip having to dial from your PC using VoIP software (i.e. Skype). There's also the Jajah native SIP client. And of course there's Jajah Mobile Web (http://mobile.jajah.com) which gives you one-click access to their free or low-cost global calling service, directly from the browser, which works with any mobile phone with web access since no application download is needed.

truphone - truphone has native VoIP applications for several mobile phones. It currently works on many of the popular Nokia N-series (eg, N95) and E-series phones (eg, E90). truphone leverages the SIP standard for all of their softclients. Also, truphone supports the Apple iPhone and was the first to offer a true 100% native VoIP application on the iPhone. You have to jailbreak your iPhone to install it though.

Sipcall - This is an exciting new offering currently in beta. They offer a free Skype and SIP calling service called Hipsip that works from any mobile phone's web browser. You simply install their bridging software on your PC and then from your mobile phone you can access Hipsip and call any Skype or SIP user. The software will make a cell phone call to a local Hipsip number automatically. Hipsip converts the call to VoIP and bridges the call with the Skype or SIP user you dialed. (Hat tip to Markus Göbel for discovering this software and for the screenshot. Go check out his recent write-up!)

Talkplus - unique mobile phone service that leverages VoIP, identity management, scheduling/contact rules, and other advanced business/personal processes that make your mobile experience more productive while enabling privacy controls. TalkPlus gives cell phone users a 2nd virtual phone number with powerful accessibility and privacy rules while leveraging the cost savings of VoIP termination. TalkPlus's patented technology is network agnostic, and supports standard cell phones that support the BREW and JAVA platforms. They also support native clients for Nokia phones, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, and Palm. TalkPlus is also WAP compliant which virtually all mobile phones support. One interesting thing I talked about at ITEXPO with Talkplus CEO Jeff Black is that TalkPlus has built their own Skype gateway. In fact, when pressed further, Jeff mentioned they actually reverse engineered Skype's protocol. Although the Skype gateway isn't part of TalkPlus's launch today, Jeff explained that they have tested it in their labs and it's working very well.

iSkoot  - lets you call your buddy list from your mobile phone without needing your PC. iSkoot software is simply a software download to your mobile phone to enable you to make Skype calls. Supported phones include Nokia Series 60 handsets: 6600, 6620, 6630, 6670, 6680, 6682, 7610, N70. They also support Motorola
RAZR, Treo, and Nokia Series 40 handsets. Windows Mobile and Blackberry phones are also supported. iSkoot Mobile Network allows consumers to place and receive Internet calls with their mobile phones without the need for PCs or Wi-Fi hot spots.

Mobivox - Mobivox allows you to make free calls to other Skype users as well as free calls to other Mobivox users. What's unique about Mobivox is they offer 3 ways of initiating a call using ANY mobile phone. First, you can call a local access number and VoxGirl asks you which number you want to dial. Using speech-recognition it will connect the call. Second, you can use web call back. Logon to your Mobivox account and click who you want to call and Mobivox will connect you both. Third, using SMS you can 'text' MOBIVOX the name of the person or number you wish to call. VoxGirl will call you back and connect you.

fring - It's a thin client that allows you to talk & IM via your handset's Internet connection to other mobile phones and PC-based services such as Skype, Google Talk, MSN Messenger, SIP and Twitter for free. It also unifies all of your various contacts across all of these IM/VoIP networks so you can use a single app to view presence and initiate chat sessions or voice calls. It works on Nokia and Windows Mobile phones. You can also share files using fring.

eqo mobile-to-Skype solution - Essentially, eqo acts as the "glue" betwen online communities such as LinkedIn, MySpaces, orkut, or Skype with mobile carriers such as T-Mobile, Cingular, Vodaphone, etc. Their architecture is a patent pending core IP that uses proprietary call signaling, that is P2P-based and cross device/network domain. It leverages mobile data (SMS) to control the signalling and the mobile voice network for the media stream to the mobile phone, so you don't need the Skype client running on your cell phone. Essentially, their software client is a J2ME application that resides on your cell phone and which keeps your buddy list synched with Skype. eqo did a good job at keeping the application small since it's only a 121k JAR file, most of which is the graphics for the user interface. Their latest client, which still runs on Java compatible phones, lets you make VoIP calls, as well as instant message across networks (MSN, Yahoo, AIM, GoogleTalk, ICQ, Jabber).

And there you have it. Several ways to VoIP on your mobile phone using both Skype and non-Skype VoIP solutions. What's your favorite mobile VoIP application? Post a comment...

DVRMSToolbox For Vista 1.2.1.1 was just released. DVRMSToolbox is a very cool video converter utility for converting TV programs (in Microsoft DVR-MS format) on your Vista PC to .wmv for playback on the Zune video player. Even cooler it can auto-detect and strip out the commercials. With the proper profile setting it converts to a .wmv file with the proper settings such that the Zune software doesn't need to transcode the .wmv video file again (time-consuming). There's also a Windows XP version available that runs on Windows MCE 2005, the first version of Windows with Media Center Edition (MCE) built-in for capturing & playing bck TV programs, but that version is a little older. Looks like Vista is getting priority in development.

Relatedly, ZuneTVWatcher is another cool of software that also automatically converts DVD-MS and removes commericals and it sets the correct meta tags (TV, movies, etc). Encode360 is one of my favorite utilities for converting videos. I can rip a DVD into a single .VOB file and then use Encode360 to convert the .vob file to .wmv (with Zune bitrate settings) so I can sync it to my Zune. One final cool utility is dCut which lets you manually cut out commercials using the MCE remote control and then compress the DVD-MS format to .wmv, which can also have a profile set to download to a Zune.

Anyway, here's what's new in the latest version of DVRMSToolbox:

Along with the new features in bold below, a regression bug was fixed when writing meta data.

Version 1.2.1.1
- Key handling is only triggered while recorded tv is played back.  Should address sluggish UI issues.
- More attempts to detect playing file are made before giving up
- Addin will fall back to using Restart Manager if unable to detect the file using prefered method
- Changed wording on file can't be detected message to be more accurate given new detection method
- Waiting to process messages more descriptive
- Status writing is more timely
- Fixed a problem with DVR2WMV usage, should [finally] resolve hanging issues
- Added reprocess functionality to the addin (press 4 on the remote)
- Fixed meta data not available during recording issue
- Added FileName to meta data returned, will not be persisted in file
- Removed dependancy on Toub dll
- Removed m71 support
- Migrated all DirectShow code to use DirectShow.Net interfaces
- Fixed lost status messages when process ends quickly
- FindCommercials action waits one minute before scanning file.  
- Added ChangeRecordedDate action to MceActions.  Action sets record date to original air date; useful for series recordings on "Marathon" showings
- Added ChangeMCMetaData action to MceActions.  Alters meta data used by MC to display runtime slider none destructively (i.e. doesn't alter tracking ids); hopefully will allow spliced shows to be managed as series by MC for recording limits.
- OOTB mpeg "conversion" using DShow method deprecated
- Comskip 0.79.113 included and configured for live detection
- Added FixDvrmsDuration action
- Added resolution meta data attributes

How would you like to use your Slingbox with Skype or is it Skype with Slingbox? Anyway... For a few months now I've been playing with using Skype along with a Slingbox, a popular gadget that lets you stream your home TV content, enabling remote viewing of live and pre­-recorded television over the Internet. I've been a huge advocate of streaming live TV across the Internet for years, so figured I'd post my tips on streaming TV utilizing Skype, Slingbox, and TV tuner cards.

Slingbox includes a software player for remote playback of your TV/video content, so you're probably wondering why anyone would want to use Skype instead. Well, the answer is simple. Suppose you're driving out of state and the local radio stations don't carry your favorite sports team. Or suppose you're a Fox News, or BBC junkie and want to be able to listen to live "breaking news" while driving. Well, using a cell phone, Skype, SkypeIn, and a Slingbox you can stream the audio of any TV channel to your mobile phone, a device which you typically carry everywhere. I'll cover remote video streaming later in the article - it's a non-Slingbox solution.

Skype streaming Slingbox's audio

Basically, we need to "tap" into the Slingbox software player's (SlingPlayer) audio stream, which is played out your PC speakers. In order to hear what is being played over your PC's speakers you need to enable Wave Out Mix, also sometimes called "Stereo Mix". Essentially, the sound coming out of your speakers is looped back (via software) into your PC so you can record it or have another software application access the sound stream. You can of course use a 3.5mm to 3.5mm stereo line out/line in stereo jack and connect the sound card's speaker's output to the sound cards' microphone input and do a hardware-based loopback.

First we need to check and see if the Wave Out Mix option is enabled. In Windows XP it is usually on be default. You can check it with these steps:

1. Right-click your volume control in the system tray and choose Volume Control. (you can also access it via the Control Panel)
2. Click Options and then Properties
3. Click the Recording bullet.
4. Make sure Wave Out Mix is checked.
5. Click Ok
6. You should now be back to the main Recording Control screen. From here is where you can select 1 recording device. Choose Wave Out Mix to record the sound coming out of your speakers.
Note: When you want to use your microphone connected to your sound card, make sure to switch it back to Microphone.



Windows Vista is trickier since it is off by default. To enable it:

1. Right-click the volume control in the System tray and choose Recording Devices or select sound from the Control Panel and then the Recording tab.
3. Right click on the background of the tab and choose "Show Disabled Devices."
4. Right click on Wave Out Mix and click enable.


If you don't see Wave Out (or Stereo Mix, Mono Mix, WAV, Wav Mix, etc) your sound card may not support this feature or it may need a driver update to enable it. Dell PCs with Vista are notorious for NOT supporting Wave Out mix even with the latest driver. I've read rumors that copyright groups (i.e. RIAA) pressured Dell or Microsoft to remove Wave Out since Wave Out recording allows you to record anything on your PC in 100% digital quality, including streaming Internet radio. Apparently music pirates would record Internet radio streams, separate out the individual songs and then upload them to P2P networks. I'm not sure I buy this theory, but I do have one Dell Vista PC that doesn't support Wave Out and it's very annoying.

In any event, once enabled, you simply highlight it and choose Set Default. Now with that all squared away, let's get Skype working with Slingbox.

Configuration:
1. Run your Slingbox player (SlingPlayer) and choose the channel you want. You can do this remotely using VNC or Remote Desktop as well.
2. Make sure Skype is running on your home PC using your SECONDARY Skype account. This account should NOT be your primary Skype account otherwise all your buddies will be able to dial in and listen to your TV channels.
3. Next, in Skype click on Audio Settings and select the audio source that your Slingbox player is sending its sound through. It should be your sound card and not any USB audio devices. (USB audio sources don't support Wave Out Mix)
4. You'll need to turn on auto-answer incoming calls. You can do this by clicking on Calls, Call Settings, Advanced button, and then checking the 'Automatically answer incoming calls' box.
5. You'll need a SkypeIn number for calling your PC from your mobile phone.
6. Done!

Usage:
1. Call your SkypeIn number
2. Skype will auto-answer and start playing whatever TV channed the Slingbox is tuned to. Listen to your favorite TV program wherever you go!

Limitations:
- To change channels you'll need VNC or Remote Desktop, which if you're driving and listening via your mobile phone is kinda hard to do. Could always call home and ask the spouse or roommate to change the channel though.
- You use cell minutes, but if you have an unlimited plan, who cares? (SkypeIn doesn't charge per minute for inbound calls)

Earlier, I mentioned a video streaming non-Slingbox solution. The cool thing about this solution is that you get BOTH audio and video. The only caveat is that this solution will require a PC on both ends for the video to work. If you just want audio you can use a cellphone though.

Skype non-Slingbox streaming TV solution (TV tuner card)

All you really need is a PC TV tuner card and two Skype accounts.  In fact, you don't have to mess with turning on Wave Out mix for this to work.

Here's how you stream audio & video using Skype.

Configuration:
1. Go into the Skype configuration for the Video calling (Tools, Options, Video Settings) and instead of selecting your webcam, select your TV tuner card. You should see the current TV tuner's selected channel in the mini-video preview window.
2. Check the box that says "Start my video automatically when I am in a call".
3. Next, click on Audio Settings and select the audio source that your tuner card is sending its sound through. [again, no need for Wave Out Mix for this]
4. You'll need to turn on auto-answer incoming calls. You can do this by clicking on Calls, Call Settings, Advanced button, and then checking the 'Automatically answer incoming calls' box.
5. Make sure Skype is running on your home PC using your SECONDARY Skype account. This account should NOT be your primary Skype account otherwise all your buddies will be able to dial in and WATCH/LISTEN to your TV channels.

Usage:
1. From your secondary Skype account, call your primary Skype account (home PC). It will auto-answer and auto-start the video which will be your TV tuner card's video. Sweet TV video streaming goodness across the Internet using Skype's amazing compression codecs!
2. To change channels you'll need VNC or Remote Desktop to connect to your home PC. Your TV tuner card came with a software application that lets you change channels.
3. If you just want audio, similar to the Slingbox solution you can call via SkypeIn.

Limitations:
- Pain to have to remote desktop to the home PC to change channels.

Pretty cool eh?

If using remote desktop solutions to change the channel is too much of a pain, there is a Japanese company selling 'TV for Skype' that lets you IM the channel you want to change to, i.e. ##12# to change to channel 12. TV for Skype includes an analog tuner on a USB stick and their software was designed to capture Skype IM messages and change the channel accordingly. Considering the FCC is pulling the plug on analog TV channels, you may want to weigh your options before plopping $85 on this product.

I still like the second solution the best, since it gives you both streaming audio and video and it only requires an inexpensive TV tuner card. Many PCs already have TV tuner cards, so if you don't have a Slingbox, this is the best route if you want to stream TV using Skype.

3D animated avatars using either "cartoonish" or even realistic photos are nothing new. Gizmoz was one of the first to allow you to animate avatars that were based on real photos of yourself. The software would automatically detect and add facial movement, mouth movement, eyebrow movement, etc. when you spoke or moves certain facial features. Of course, you have Klonies, which also work with Skype. Then there is IMVU, which offers cartoonish avatars and I'm sure there are many other 3D avatar making pieces of software out there.

Now word comes from another company PQ Computing Corporation offering you the ability to animate pictures of yourself, family members, pets, etc. using their PQ Talking Photo application. They're known for their DVD video conversion software PQ DVD, which can convert a DVD to iPod, Zune, PSP, or 3G format. How or why they decided to branch off into 3D avatars is beyond me. But apparently 3D avatars are popular amongst teenagers and they are willing to pay for avatars just like they pay for ringtones. Personally, I feel ringtones should be free, since you can easily install your own custom ringtones, but what do I know? Ringtones are a multi-billion dollar market, so either there are a lot of ringtone buying fools or I'm just too damn techy (or cheap) for my own good. Even if 3D avatars don't reach the billion dollar plateau, it sounds like it could be a lucrative business.

In any event, below is a sample. Oh and if you are a blogger, you will receive a copy of PQ Talking Photo just by blogging it ($59.90 value for free). It's a limited time offer: you must blog before Xmas. Your blog cannot be newly created and must have at least 10 previous posts.

 

 

Adobe intends to offer a hosted version of its popular Photoshop image-editing program in the next three to six months.

According to reports, this hosted version of Photoshop is part of a bigger company strategy to introduce Internet-delivered services that complement its "shrink-wrapped applications" and head off likely competition from Google.

And that's good news for us folks who are used to buying the "shrink-wrapped" stuff or downloading it to get what we want.

Neat twist here with the online play is that this would turn into an ad-supported app (at least at some "lower" level/s) so we can play for free and then ante up some coin if we need to something more sophisticated.

Also interesting how Google has all kinds of companies watching their backs as the Big G heads -- or thinks about heading -- into other companies' backyards.

(Who would have thought micro payments would add up to so many recurring billions ...)

Click here for more from Cnet.

Nice to have piles of money and go around looking for things to do with it.

How about Google updating its direct-competition to Microsoft's Office franchise?

How many of you out there have made the move to Google for your basic apps?

And what do you think?   or

Yes, everyone has their favorite graphic design programs, but CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 is a comprehensive graphics suite that lets you tackle a wide variety of projects -- from logo creation and Web graphics to multi-page marketing brochures to or eye-catching signs.

(Is that the Geico gecko on the box?)

With the new bitmap-to-vector tracing in Corel PowerTRACE, new photo-editing features in PHOTO-PAINT, new suite-wide learning tools and enhancements in illustration and page layout, this suite combines design capabilities, ease-of-use, and affordability that' s a tough match-up for other graphics software.

X3 includes more than 40 new features and 400 enhancements. It's also now easier than ever to learn and work with:

• Hints provide dynamic, context-sensitive tips and tricks as you work, making the Suite easier to use and learn
• CorelDRAW Design Collection offers 100 creatively varied templates that are easily customized to suit specific needs
• CorelDRAW Handbook offers insights from experts and showcases practical, real-world examples of accomplished designs and best practices

MSRP: $379.00 Full Version; $169.00 Upgrade

www.corel.com

It's hard work selling a new OS today -- not like it used to be.

Now we have Bill Gates being interviewed on what Windows Vista means to me, to you and to all of us.

Guess if we really needed to make the move uptown -- and could clearly see the reason why -- we wouldn't get the media barrage.

It's good to give the mind some quiet time ...

All that software development time! yet we have problems already springing up in Microsoft's new Windows Vista!

Today's dilemma is all about speech recognition (more here from the BBC) -- truly a technology that would seem to be embraced by everyone, but still a technology that has not really crossed the chasm into mass market acceptance.

(Thanks to Kurzweil for the image -- it's been some trip from their music synthesizer to what they are doing now!)

Seems a really bad person can now take over your computer via speech, exploiting some weakness or other than wasn't supposed to be there in Vista in the first place -- they spent a lot of time talking about heightened security in the new OS at the NYC kickoff earlier this week, but I guess they forgot to check out a few things ...

Anyway, with many people sitting on the fence about upgrading their Windows XP platform -- or even considering buying a Mac instead, do we sense a bit of sales disappointment on its way back to Redmond?

Time, as always, will tell ...

I get all kinds of stuff in my e-mail (you can only imagine!), but intrigued with today's Wal-Mart Wire, which featured -- can you believe it! -- Windows Vista! (Wire is the weekly e-flyer from the big bad boy of retailing.)

Now I don't know about you, but I still connect buying software with computer retailers like CompUSA or CE big box stores like Best Buy or buying it on a vendor's site and opting for the download.

But hey! plenty of software is sold at stores outside of those channels, so why shouldn't Wal-Mart with all of its retail might make a strong play in this area?

You can buy the software there or get systems with pre-installed software; there's even a guide to finding the right Vista for you.

(How about a look inside the Microsoft marketing barage in this report?)

Maybe I will check it out ...