Skype vs. Scrabulous

Scrabulous is the popular Facebook application that got into trouble for ripping off the original Scrabble game.

It appears that they also have a strikingy similar logo to Skype. :)

Skype + MySpace

Skype and MySpace just announced a partnership to allow MySpace users to make calls to one another using Skype technology. I think this is a smart move on Skype's part, they've been fairly absent from social networks recently and in my opinion were falling behind in space that seems like a natural fit.

The only question I have is whether MySpace is the right partner? I personally don't use (or like) MySpace and think Facebook is much further ahead and there's been more hype around it recently. Is Skype latching on to old news? I don't know, hopefully this doesn't mean they can't do similar deals with other social networks.

terminuz

I just read that Jaanus Kase is moving on from Skype and going to do his master degree in the States. Congrats! Skype is loosing a valuable resource, someone who has contributed a lot to the development of their community but he's been around a long time and it's natural to move on. I'll remember shortly after I started at Skype Jaanus and Tarmo took me out to lunch at some theme restaurant in Mustamae and helped me get an idea of how the company culture works and what I should be aiming to do, it helped a lot.

Now that he'll be in the US in the fall maybe he can make a trip up to Canada to visit. I know how much he enjoys long cross country drives. :)

Where's Skype?

I was looking at bidding on an item on eBay and decided to use the "Watch this item" feature as the end date is a couple of days away and I wasn't interested in bidding yet. I noticed that you could be notified by IM so I thought that getting a Skype update would be cool. Unfortunately as I went forward I see that Skype isn't one of the options for notification, surprising considering eBay purchased Skype for $2.4 billion awhile back. :(

Any chance of getting Skype updates on eBay anytime soon?

SkypeIn and the CRTC

Skype announced a cool little feature whereby your SkypeIn number will be displayed when you call via SkypeOut. I know that this has been requested since the first day SkypeIn was launched and it's nice to see it finally arrive. There are ton's of legal and regulation issues in each country regarding this type of service.

Unfortunately in Canada we still don't even have SkypeIn numbers. This is thanks to the wonderful CRTC which controls our airwaves. They are here to "protect" the consumers which is funny considering Canada has some of the highest mobile/phone rates in the world. We have 3 companies that control most of the phone, tv and internet in the country, one of which will probably go private in the next little while. If the CRTC was serious about protecting the consumer then they'd open up the market and allow some additional competition in from the US and Europe. Then maybe we could finally get SkypeIn numbers. :)

Skype 3.1 Beta

Skype launched their Beta 3.1 version recently and there are a couple of cool new features that have been in the works for awhile. First off is Skype Prime, which allows users to setup their own paid content service and charge customers to call them. This is a great way to monetize the user base and get some additional revenue. The one thing I did notice is that any pornographic type of calls aren't allowed. I understand the logic behind this (protecting kids, keeping the community "clean", etc) but wonder if there is a plan to open it up a bit more in the future to tap this potentially large market. Maybe something like "escort" services which are technically legal all over North America but everyone knows it's just prostitution will pop up?

For me the more interesting new feature is Skype Find which is a community built tool to help users find and contact all types of businesses and services. I love this feature, especially the part that shows me what my friends have added and rated recently to be very useful as I can figure out what friends would recommend in various places. Currently there are about 3900 reviews listed by 1500 users, once this version goes gold and more people start using it I can only imagine it being one of the best new features in awhile.

The new version also has the much requested "show when the other person is typing" feature but with a creative twist.

Good job guys.

(Note: For full disclosure I used to work for Skype but now have no affiliation, just great affection for the company and people)

Venice Project

I've been reading up on NZ and Janus' next venture, the Venice Project. Anyone have a invite to the beta testing that they'd be willing to share with me? I'd love to test it out.

UPDATE: I got an invite to the Venice Project and have checked it out a bit. I'll post a review later this week after some more testing. Unfortunately I don't have any invites to pass out atm but if you want one let me know and I'll send it out when I get some more.

He left... apparently empty handed.

Apparently Bush wasn't to excited about his gift from PM Andrus Ansip. Postimees is reporting that after Bush was given an official gift of a brand new Skype phone he put it down on the table (unopened) and left it there when he walked out of the room. They're blaming it on his tight schedule but I suspect it has more to do with his distaste for secure calls. ;-)