Skype

Skype P2P VoIP

Skype + Mouse = MouseFone

September 19, 2007

Apparently converging Skype with USB mice seems to be a trend. You've got the Sony VAIO VN-CX1/B Skype mouse, the BeyondTel VM-01L optical Skype mouse, and now the Skype MouseFone ASG-143 from Sysgration.

So using this device how exactly do you pretend to talk your wife or girlfriend when you're really checking email, and surfing the web? With the mouse being used for voice, you're forced to use the keyboard and keyboard shortcuts to navigate around the desktop and all those keystrokes are sure to give you away. "Are you listening to me?

Posted in Accessories, Gadgets, Skype, VoIP

Skip2PBX, SIP-to-Skype Gateway, is here!

August 31, 2007

Today, Skip2PBX, an Italian-based company announced it is ready to launch its SIP-to-Skype gateway running on a PC running Linux. Mind you, this isn't the first claim of a SIP-to-Skype breakthrough, however, they claim to be the only Skype to PBX Gateway to directly support a variety of telephony hardware including Digium, Eicon, or a USB box. Unlike Actiontec's VoSKY Exchange Skype gateway products which maxes out at 8 ports where as the Skip2PBX claims up to 30 concurrent Skype PBX lines on a single serving PC. Impressive!

It features the ability to automatically finds a free line/port for the incoming or outgoing Skype call.

Posted in Skype, TMCnet

Skype Explains the Perfect Storm

August 21, 2007

So we now know that Windows Update (as I accurately theorized) was the culprit behind the Skype outage. So many people has been asking me why this latest Microsoft Update and series of patches was any different than previous Microsoft patches to cause the Skype meltdown. The answer in short was that it was a "Perfect Storm" of events that happened in combination that brought the Skype network to its knees.

The Skype Heartbeat explained it very well as follows:

2. What was different about this set of Microsoft update patches?

In short – there was nothing different about this set of Microsoft patches.

Posted in Skype, TMCnet

Skype Outage - Lessons Learned

August 20, 2007

I've covered the Skype outage to death, so I'm going to pass the ball to Rich for his perspective. Rich Tehrani just posted an excellent overview of the Skype outage and the lessons learned. He discusses backup strategies and that you should stay informed on IP communications by reading leading VoIP bloggers such as Om Malik, Andy Abramson, and myself. While I think Rich excluded some other excellent VoIP bloggers from his list, don't take offense - he's busy preparing for ITEXPO, which is just a few short weeks away. He probably got tired of hyperlinking. I know I get lazy myself sometimes.

Posted in ITEXPO, Skype

Skype Outage caused by Windows Update

August 20, 2007

I'm never one to say I told you so, but it appears I was right about Windows Update (Patch Tuesday) causing the massive Skype outage. Many users were skeptical of this theory, as seen in the comments of my blog post. This from Skype Heartbeat:

On Thursday, 16th August 2007, the Skype peer-to-peer network became unstable and suffered a critical disruption. The disruption was triggered by a massive restart of our users’ computers across the globe within a very short timeframe as they re-booted after receiving a routine set of patches through Windows Update.

The high number of restarts affected Skype’s network resources.

Posted in Skype

Saturday Update on Skype Outage

August 18, 2007

Just received this email from Skype PR representative. Thought I'd share an excerpt of it. The gist is that Skype is now back to normal and on Monday they will finally provide a more detailed explanation. I'm kind of rooting for the tin hats' theory about the CIA and FBI bringing down the Skype network.

Posted in Skype, TMCnet

Skype Offline Latest Update

August 17, 2007

Last night I read on Skype's website the following: "Our engineering team has determined that it's a software issue. We expect this to be resolved within 12 to 24 hours." The glitch has affected every copy of the Skype software that had been downloaded since the service's started in 2003."

Really now? 4 years this bug has existed in every single copy of Skype and now it crops up? This is mighty fishy.

Posted in Skype

Latest on the Skype Outage

August 16, 2007

Skype's Villu Arak responded to all the rumors as to why the Skype network went down.

It's not due to any Microsoft patch(es) or any hacker attacks. Just some boring reason about an algorithm deficiency. Still pretty vague if you ask me, especially considering the hooplah surrounding this outage. In any event, here's what he said:

Hello everyone,

Apologies for the delay, but we can now update you on the Skype sign-on issue.

Posted in Skype

Skype 2.7 for Mac Beta released

August 15, 2007

Today, Skype released Skype 2.7 for Mac Beta. According to Skype, "With “beta” on the label, there may be some wrinkles, kinks and unsprayed bugs which we’ll remove in time for a public release. With that in mind, feel free to download and play with it."

Here’s what’s new:

* Group contacts – organize your contacts into as many groups as you need. While there are some pre-defined groups (like Online, Waiting Authorization, Recently Contacted), you’re free to add new ones that suit your life. This should be a godsend to those whose contact list has ballooned to hundreds of Skype users.

Posted in Skype

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