The Blog known as Skype-watch.com, Skype-gadgets.com.

Where you have to get your Skype when you are in Hong Kong

Right here : http://www.skype.com/intl/zh-Hant/download/skype/windows/downloading/

Former Skype CEO/Founders Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis raising a total of 300 million serial euros ?

Check this out.... Any new disruptive technology coming up ?

Skype Boys Raising a Massive New Fund24 Apr 2008 by Om Malik 
Skype co-founders Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis along with ex-Skyper Geoffrey Prentice are raising a new fund for their investment vehicle, Atomico. The plan is to raise a total of 300 million euros ($450 million), 100 million euros ...
GigaOM - http://gigaom.com - References

Skype Folks Raising New Fund To Conquer Europe15 hours ago by Stan Schroeder 
GigaOM reports that Skype co-founders Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis, together with another ex-Skype employee, Geoffrey Prentice, are raising a big new fund which will invest in European startups through their investment group, ...
Mashable! - http://mashable.com - References

New Fund, New Insights on the Skype Boys
Conde Nast Portfolio, NY - 10 hours ago
Next came Skype, and then Joost. (Which I wrote about earlier this year.) Few entrepreneurs ever have that kind of serial success. ..

Skype co-founders said to be raising new venture dollars
CNET News.com, CA - 8 hours ago
The co-founders of Skype, Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis, are raising about $450 million for their London-based venture fund Atomico

Company : Atomico™ - An Investment Group Search more on Atomico Investment group.
People : Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis, Geoffrey Prentice.
Background : LinkedIn: Niklas Zennstrom, LinkedIn: Geoffrey Prentice (could not find Janus Friss)

source image.

Skype mobile “thin“ client

"Today, Skype released a beta version of Skype for your mobile, a mobile “thin“ client that works on about 50 of the most popular Java-enabled mobile phones from Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson. Take a look at the product pages to learn more about what it can do" source.

2 or 3 years too late I think. Instead of having developed around the computer platform mainly, they could have spent a bit less time and energy on the Skype extra platform and an more time to the mobile applications.... That is where the future for Skype is anyways. I always wondered why nobody from Hutchison has send out a Telecom CEO...

Skype's half mobile project.

Skype Offers Half Pregnant Java Mobile Phone Client
Mobile Skype Beta app debuts on 50 handsets
Skype comes to mobiles Pocket-lint.co.uk
Skype for mobile in beta - runs on S60 and UIQ All About Symbian
Skype Mobile to be Launched for Mobile Cell PhoneMathaba.Net

Some movement at Skype, alpha mobile phones and 3G and international calling plan.

Let's start with a real life scenario. Few days ago I activated my global skype calling plan and even embedded it in one of my projects www.amazing-giftshop.com. I activated 3 global skype in numbers, and a global calling plan. It's a pitty skype does not have skype in numbers in belgium, but I solved that by using a gizmo in number from www.gizmoproject.com. The result is that people can call us via a local phone number and it will be routed to my skype ID. This is good. Works quite seamless also. It seems like a good and stable solution. Normal non geeky people can call us via a local call. And we can call them back on their fixed phones on a fixed budget per month. That is a great solution.

Maybe i'll even top it off with a skype 3cellphone (www.3skypephone.com), but it's like this device is more expensive in hong kong as compared to the UK. Even then such a phone would be quite useless to me since Hutchison has currently no network coverage in Malaysia. Maybe one day. A pitty that the 3skype press office did not have the courtesy to send their promised sample. It's something I learned in my early life as a computersales-person. Always deliver your promise... Don't talk too much hype, it will return to you like a boomering if something goes wrong with the undelivered promises. People forgive, but they don't forget.

Something mubled on Skype users land in anti-malware net, lot's of talk the matter of Skype Folks Raising New Fund To Conquer Europe but still Microsoft mistaking Skype for a Trojan even with :

Skype's international unlimited plan FierceVoIP, DC - 17 hours ago
 Skype launches "Unlimited" monthly service World Student Press Agency
New Skype Service Takes On The World Smart House
Skype Announces Unlimited Flat-Rate International Calls

Take a look at :

Vapps Makes HD Skype Conferencing Globally Friendly
VAPPS Rebrands Its Service: High Definition Conferencing

and

Skype Mobile to be Launched for Mobile Cell Phones 

Skype Releases Mobile Beta for Java-Capable Handsets

Skype intros beta Java  client for mobiles
Skype for Mobile Java - limited release works

 

yet one says taht Skype for Mobile is Disappointing, but hey it's Skype for mobiles now out in beta

I do wonder what blocking limitations cell phone providers (other thans www.three.co.uk) will pull up when they see a bit too much foreign cannibalizing VoIP traffic on their channel.

but still Skype's Advances are not Much Comfort to eBay. How is that possible ? And why are there still messages referring to eBay selling  Skype and eBay nudging Skype towards the block

What Bigger Fish doe Skype have Fry ? maybe they are talking about the FCC Hearings and Skype on the Rise...

this is how google keyhole.com activates accounts as compared to skype...

  this is how google activates accounts 
  Originally uploaded by jan geirnaert in malaysia

Accounts should not be directly activated without any external authentication. skype could apply an authentication mechanism via sms and/or via email. google has figured that out long time ago. skype development is stubborn. simply stubborn. things and people that don't adjust have no change in the web 2.0. world. for the rest it's cool.

Basically after the account has been applied for then you will get a confirmation like this and only then the acocunt is active. Much easier to manage.

A not so spectacular version of the Skype Netgear phone version 2...

Nothing much to say about this, because they don't send out samples anymore. They guys at netgear must think that making convincing video's and putting them direct on youtube, must have the most convincing viral marketing effect ever conceived.. hahahahaa. Hilarious, really. Same like the interview of the Skype CEO by one of his own staff. Very convincing. Do you think the questions were screened ?

Maybe this is a better review...

Compare that to the Hype on  NETGEAR CEO Patrick Lo on CNBC. Last year, yes.

The new Skype CEO talks.

source img

Skype CEO says pleased with support from eBay
Guardian, UK - Apr 21, 2008
By Nicola Leske and Jens Hack MUNICH, April 21 (Reuters) - Skype's new chief executive is pleased with the support the Internet calling company has received

And here some harsch words again by J.A. Watson. It's like he talks on every opportunity to break down Skype. What have they done to J.A. Watson to make him so angry and bitter ?

New Skype CEO "Interview" - He Still Doesn't Get It!
ZDNet UK, UK - 2 hours ago
Skype has just published a so-called "interview" with their new CEO. First, rather than face the press and public, and possibly have to answer some hard

Villu Arak today published an interview with Skype's new CEO, Josh Silverman (source SJ)

More on Josh Silverman Skype or Skype CEO (it's time they write a bit more online articles about the new skype ceo because for example on google image search, it's still Niklas Zennstrom popping up all over the place...). When is somebody over at Skype going to inspire it's population/community again, or has Skype become a p2p Telecom, or VoIP vendor ? I mean what has Skype actually become ?

Well, I would just ask Skype why in every country in the world they have not setup Global offices under the embrella of Ebay/Paypal as a start..

Finally, it's kind of funny to read this kind of inhouse PR.. I mean a staff of Skype interviewing it's new CEO... Why not have Skypejournal.com and the more critical ones in this business ask the new CEO some questions. You would surely get a different perspective... Time to freshen up...

The power of the 3 three is with three.co.uk... Somebody in Scotland called me with his 3g 3Skypephone.com and it worked. Maybe Skype should be by bought by Hutchison Whampoa.

I have not had the honour to test a sample, unlike the promises that the 3 skype press office made me, but hey I am going to Hong Kong to knock on their door. Maybe they'll give the small guy from www.skype-gadgets.com a sample.. who knows.

It is a pitty that you cannot make SkypeOut calls on this gadget, but hey it works fine for surfing on your computer too. And this phone works with Msn too, it has gotten gmail too. Smart not to put only Skype on it...  See the 3skype phone reviews on youtube.com. I have not the honours to receive a sample of the 3skypephone...

It seems to be a good solution if it is supported in your country. Great gadget too. Try it out. Here is where you can buy these phones. Why so little countries ?

I noticed that the 3G service is available in Indonesia. Nice !

Keep your eye on this one. Maybe Skype should be by bought by Hutchison Whampoa, as far as I am concerned.... After all they are providing the 3G expanding network for Skype. And why would google need to buy something like Skype i f they can build their own Apple/Skype compatible open source phone...

Take a look at who is buying the licences in each country...

Product : www.3skypephone.com
Company : Hutchison Whampoa Limited
Operator : www.three.co.uk

Azureus to Fight BitTorrent Throttling ISPs.

" ISPs have been throttling BitTorrent traffic for quite a while, but only since the Comcast debacle has this been picked up by mainstream media. 

A few months ago Azureus petitioned the FCC, which led to a FCC hearing in February. One of the complaints from the commission was that there is little data available on the scope of BitTorrent throttling, a gap Azureus now tries to fill by collecting data on the prevalence of TCP-resets among ISPs worldwide." source.

Skype has done something. Unlimited international calls for 9.995 $ per month.

Skype Adds Unlimited Land-Line Calls to Europe, Asia2 hours ago by Kristen Nicole 
While Skype already had unlimited calling options to land lines in the US and Canada, Skype has extended this offering to a total of 34 countries.

Skype to sell unlimited international calls for $9.95/month
Forbes, NY - 3 minutes ago
By PETER SVENSSON 04.21.08, 3:05 AM  ET Skype, the Internet calling subsidiary of eBay Inc., is introducing its first plan for unlimited calls to overseas ...

The Associated Press

Skype to sell unlimited international calls for $9.95/month The Associated Press - 4 minutes ago NEW YORK (AP) — Skype, the Internet calling subsidiary of eBay Inc., is introducing its first plan for unlimited calls to overseas phones on Monday. ...

KIMA CBS 29

Unlimited Skype calls for $9.99 a month TECH.BLORGE.com, Australia - 3 hours ago By Erna Mahyuni All-you-can-eat Skype, anyone? eBay’s troubled little VOIP provider is now pushing an unlimited call plan to overseas phones. ... EBay's Skype To Sell Unlimited Flat Rate Overseas Calling Plans In ... RTT News New Skype Unlimited International Plans TMCnet all 80 news articles »  EBAY

Skype/Ebay sell-out rumours keep coming. Is Skype becoming a ghostship ?

They should make those CEO's write blogs, so we could read in between the lines what they really mean. Whatever is being constructed there at the top, I don't it will really affect what people will do at the bottom. I think the bottom here is the skype developers, sqeeuzed in between "what the community wants" and the new ebay-managers that have been sent to clear up the company and straighten it out (phase 2)... In my humble opinion, it's no wonder skype is suffering, first the cut of the head, then some major organs from the body (in public, internet is public territory right...) and now the new CEO - sent by ebay - has got to glue the broken pieces together. Not an easy job, maybe even impossible.

It would be best that somebody buys up skype, so it can be revived. Google style, not Ebay style. I have said that many times.. Apart form the funding ebay gave to skype, there is no visible synergy that I see between something like ebay and skype. I have always felt that the two company ebay/skype are incompatible also. Just an observation from far far away.

Why for example does ebay/paypal not have international numbers for their global skype business devision per country. I refuse to believe that there is nobody interested manning those battlestations. But I believe that every ship needs a direction... And that is clearly  missing right now. No direction, just rumours.

Anways here digg into the rumour mill.


eBay's Skype: what went wrong, and who can fix it
Ars Technica, MA - 1 hour ago
Expanding on those comments to a Financial Times reporter, Donahoe explained that "If the synergies are strong, we'll keep [Skype] in our portfolio. ...
EBay weighs selling Skype Sydney Morning Herald
Ebay to mull Skype sale if synergies not strong: report Reuters
eBay ponders Skype bail out Register
Los Angeles Times - Telecom Paper (subscription)
all 48 news articles »  EBAY

eBay considering selling off Skype TechWhack (press release), India - 17 hours ago John Donahoe CEO of  eBay has been quoted as saying that the company is considering selling off their Skype division if they fail to find a user for it to ...

eBay Mulling Skype Sale Slashdot - Apr 18, 2008 MaineCoasts writes "The Financial Times reports that Ebay's new CEO is evaluating a sale of Skype if new ways cannot be found for the fast-growing service ...

Skype in the hot seat as eBay considers sale TECH.BLORGE.com, Australia - Apr 18, 2008 By Leslie Poston It seems I am not the only person who dislikes the way Skype interfaces (or rather, doesn’t interface) with other applications and services ...

Google Skype Acquisition Rumor Dslreports - Apr 19, 2008 Every so often, a rumor starts going around that Google will be purchasing Skype. That rumor is back in action again today; as usual, Skype has refused to ...

EBay bolstered by Skype and PayPal results ZDNet UK, UK - Apr 17, 2008 EBay has released its latest quarterly results, showing strong performances from its Skype and PayPal subsidiaries. Skype has done particularly well, ...

A daily dose of postings from The Chronicle's technology blog ...
San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - Apr 19, 2008
Incoming eBay CEO John Donahoe has set a deadline at the  end of this year to determine whether to keep Skype, the Internet phone service the company bought

The internet is dried up.

Good video here.

Funny fight over the most clicked youtube.com video's.

Funny video. Found it here. I wonder if anybody and why nobody has made some funny video on skype/ebay. it's not like there is nothing funny to say about it...

eBay's Skype, Napster, and Microsoft's Groove are also listed as potentially infringing on the patent in P2P.

Multi-Channel Communication Patent Up For Sale
Slashdot - Mar 25, 2008
eBay's Skype, Napster, and Microsoft's Groove are also listed as potentially infringing on the patent in P2P.

Has the cash-cow skype become a carcass ready for the slaughterhouse ?

Ebay dumping Skype ? Rumours confirmed according to this article. Has the cash-cow skype become a carcass ready for the slaughterhouse ? How much meat can be scraped of it at this moment in time ?

Some links.

eBay considers Skype sale
Thomson Merger News (subscription), UK - 17 hours ago
eBay, an online auction giant, has confirmed what market pundits have been suggesting for several weeks: that it is considering selling Skype.

EBay considering ditching Skype?
San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - 4 hours ago
At the time, Whitman talked of using Skype to connect eBay buyers and sellers through Internet phone calls. "Communications is at the heart of e-commerce ...
EBay weighs selling Skype Sydney Morning Herald
eBay Mulling Skype Sale Slashdot
Ebay to mull Skype sale if synergies not strong: report Reuters
Register - Los Angeles Times
all 362 news articles »  EBAY

Technology Briefing
Seattle Post Intelligencer - Apr 17, 2008
EBay Inc. said it will consider selling its Skype telephone division if it cannot be integrated with other units.

eBay will consider selling Skype
CNET News.com, CA - 3 hours ago
New eBay CEO John Donahoe told the Financial Times the online auctioneer will consider selling Skype if it can't find a way to make the service better

Why Skype Should be Sold to Google
TMCnet - Apr 17, 2008
In fact, perhaps when Motley Fool writes about just how atrocious the Skype purchase was for eBay I should just accept it.

eBay Ponders Skype Sale
Telecomweb - 9 hours ago
Auction site eBay reportedly considering putting Skype on the block,

Did Ipevo.com not sell enough Skype hardware ?

Skype hardware vendor Ipevo seeks additional investments from ...
DigiTimes, Taiwan - Apr 17, 2008
Ipevo, a branded VoIP and Skype hardware vendor, is seeking additional investments of NT$150-200 million (US$5-6.6 million) from angel investors.

My take : you can't live from hype and plastic... referring to Skype, well I would not leave the marketing of their brand/software to the hardware vendors... and if I was a hardware-vendor/manufacturors, I would not have made Skype devices only. I would have made devices that can work with SIP and other VoIP also.

Now I also understand why the POV camera has not been blogged alot... maybe there is no money left to send around free samples.

Call Ipevo now... to donate. If every Skpye user would donate (via paypal, from ebay) 1 usd then the problem is solved.... Joking of course.

More on Ipevo.

Ebay getting rid of Skype ?

Ebay to mull Skype sale if synergies not strong: report
Reuters - 7 hours ago
O: Quote, Profile, Research) Inc will think about selling its Skype unit at the end of the year if it cannot find ways to make the Internet phone service ...
eBay ponders Skype bail out Register
EBay may consider selling Skype phone division Los Angeles Times
Ebay may consider sale of Skype Telecom Paper (subscription)
MarketWatch - ZDNet UK
all 345 news articles »  EBAY

eBay: Life After Meg
Motley Fool - Apr 17, 2008
By Rick Aristotle Munarriz April 17, 2008 The company behind the PayPal financial transactions platform, its eponymous auction site, and the Skype Web-based ...
eBay Snoring, Skype Roaring GigaOm
Numbers: Skype Reports $126M Revenue, 33M New Subscribers in Q1 Mashable
Ebay (EBAY) Good Q: PayPal Magnficent, Skype A Dog 24/7 Wall St.
Smartmoney.com - ZDNet
all 74 news articles »  EBAY

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