Whenever Skype has has a new feature announcement and I wanted to test it out, I would often approach Dan York who was always gracious enough to assist with the evaluation. And his Disruptive Telephone blog has become a wealth of information about the evolution of the IP-based communications world. He has become a significant reference for many of my blog posts.

About four years ago, Dan found what, for his skills and experience, was an ideal position, most recently as Director of Conversations, for Voxeo, a major vendor of hosted voice system solutions for businesses. The combination of his technical knowledge and writing skills brought an interpretation of the implications of the technology that became easily readable by his target audience, whether for technology personnel or from an end user perspective.

Dan has also been a resource for understanding open standards and security issues with respect to the operation of the Internet. Today he has announced his acceptance of a position as Senior Content Strategist for the Internet Society, a global non-profit organization with a very simple mission:

to promote the open development, evolution, and use of the Internet for the benefit of all people throughout the world.

where his role….

will very much be about the creation, curation and distribution of information. Writing articles, reviewing resources, blogging, creating videos, screencasts, etc. Once we have the initial repository built out, there will be a phase next year where we will be out on the conference circuit talking about these technologies and helping people understand how they can get started… and continually adding even more content.

Having always found the Voxeo team to set a high standard not only for their technology but also for dealing with its various market constituencies, whether developers, media (including bloggers) or its customers, this had to be a hard decision for Dan. I always appreciated the opportunity to deal with any of the Voxeo team members where Voxeo CEO Jonathan Taylor sets a leadership example to be emulated. Jonathan represents the ultimate entrepreneur who started experimenting with telephony hardware for PC’s several years ago and evolved a business that now is a major force in today’s telecommunications market.

Congratulations, Dan, and we look forward to listening to your evangelism for an open Internet. But we also expect that you will not let up on your mission as Chief “Skype for Mac” Equality Evangelist!

Related articles

• Voxeo Selected as a Top Vendor on “Shortlist” in Ovum’s Cloud IVR Decision Matrix (prweb.com)
• Voxeo Acquires Tenth Company in Four years: WebForPhone (prweb.com)
• Video: My Talk on “How IPv6 Will Kill Telecom” from eComm2011 (disruptivetelephony.com)

Bringing together over fifteen years’ experience as a user and follower of “voice” over Internet and other IP-based communications services, five years’ blogging experience, two years operating Voice On The Web – and meeting a great number of users and players in the Skype ecosystem – today marks the launch of the “New” Voice On The Web. My goals were simply:

• To make the site easier to follow and more readily navigable; bottom line, it’s a simpler layout.
• To continue to offer commentary, reviews and ongoing coverage of Skype, IP-based communications and the emerging smartphone and tablet markets
• To incorporate a larger role for social media with its opportunities to inform and engage readers.
• To update the Reference Guide (which had always been there but not easily discoverable) where I can have ready answers and responses to the many queries I get about using Skype.

I’ll be providing coverage not only of these developments but also interviewing Skype users to provide some perspective on how Skype is used in day-to-day life. I have certainly come across some interesting ones – such as how Skype video on an iPad 2 was used to have a “virtualized” father-of-the-bride escort his daughter down the aisle at her wedding when “Dad” had suffered a heart attack the evening before the wedding. My first interview video, to be published tomorrow, will report on another unique use of Skype video to keep a family with a road warrior father together and up-to-date.

So what’s behind this: first, there is a wealth of knowledge and experience gained over the years and it is of no benefit if I don’t share this with others. Skype and other services have helped to build a more communicative world, breaking down political, language and geographical barriers. I hope you can benefit from our coverage and information in some small way.

Second, I am continually encountering Skype users who are asking questions or don’t realize the full potential of Skype. The Voice On The Web Reference Guide gives a simple reference point that I can point to. Recently I became a participant in an Internet marketing mentoring forum that heavily uses Skype and realized that there is a significant lack of awareness of the potential of Skype and how it works out there.

Third, I have also gained extensive exposure to the use of Skype in small-medium business – especially when it comes to using Skype’s business services. To be frank, I am looking to monetize that aspect – more details will follow. Implementing Skype and other IP-based communications services, such as PamFax and InnerPass (Page coming), is wide open for both generating cost-savings and taking advantage of new business opportunities.

Finally, there is  now an opportunity to subscribe to Voice On The Web and its services. Fill out the Email Updates subscription form at the top of the sidebar and we’ll, as appropriate, send you information related to our coverage. Actually, within a few days, we’ll send you a “survey” asking how you would like to benefit from our subscriber list in terms of the information you wish to receive. We’re still learning the ropes with an email management system but you’ll eventually only get what you confirm that you want.

The site, especially the Reference Guide, is incomplete but you get an idea of where we are heading. We’ll get it fully operational over the next few weeks. Bear with us and thanks. My first order of business was to get the site design and navigation cleaned up; it’s there now.

I’ll get into details on the Acknowledgements page (to be updated) but I want to thank all those I have met over the past five years – especially the users and players in the Skype ecosystem and the encouragement of some of my closest acquaintances during this period. Without their support and interest there would be no Voice On The Web.

Finally I need to acknowledge my website developer, Boston Dell-Vandenberg, who brings many years experience as a website designer to the table. If you are looking for “Simple, effective web design and development”, have a look at Boston’s work and get in touch with him. (And that new Voice On The Web logo is a result of his work.)

Now to get on with the first post on the new site! (Yes, the previous 800 or so posts are still there….)

The evolution has been long and not without its hiccups. When I first used Skype five years ago video calling was just emerging with a 320 x 240 resolution and not the greatest speed; postage stamp-size video at best. Fast forward to late 2007 when Skype introduced High Quality Video supporting VGA (640 x 480) resolution at television quality frame rates (30 fps); Skype video calling took off in popularity, especially with the “grandparents” calls. Accompanying the observable video improvements Skype has worked to improve the reliability of the network operations behind the calls while reducing bandwidth demands. Then the video channel became available for ad hoc desktop/screen sharing during a Skype call. A few weeks ago we saw the emergence of HD resolution video calling when the conditions are appropriate. But video calling had only been possible for calls between PC’s.

Skype video calls now consume about 40% of all Skype calling minutes. It’s become a regular feature on Oprah and popular for news stories. Healthcare applications have arisen. Recently we have seen “beta trials” of group video calling; apparently Skype for Windows 5.0 supports up to ten participants (it’s tough to get more than three or four onto a call unless there’s a real driving purpose).

But then, last spring, Apple introduced smartphone video calling on the iPhone 4 with its high quality “Retina display” screen. Recently Apple’s FaceTime service expanded beyond the iPhone 4 to include MacBooks and iMacs using Snow Leopard (OS/X 10.6) resulting in a user base that reaches into the tens of millions. But it’s limited to users with either a WiFi or Ethernet connection.

On the mobile side, Skype for iPhone, launched April 1, 2009, has become, with over 30 million downloads, one of the top five free iPhone applications in 2010; it is downloaded on one in four iPhone activations according to Apple. Initially only available over WiFi, its support of 3G connections was announced seven months ago; this 2.0 version  also embedded Skype’s unique SILK code to deliver crystal clear superwideband audio (click on the link for a recording).

Today Skype is announcing (just in time for those New Year’s Eve video calls from New York’s Times Square) Skype for iPhone 3.0 with video calling support. But it’s not just for calls between iPhones; As pointed out by former Skype CEO Josh Silverman in an interview at CES last January, when Skype launches a service, such as video calling, it is immediately available to the over 125 million active Skype users in a quarter.

In summary Skype for iPhone 3.0:

• operates over 3G or WiFi connections
• employs Skype’s SILK codec to provide crystal clear superwideband audio
• supports two-way video calling between iPhone 4.0, iPhone 3G S (using its sol erear-facing camera) and 4th generation iPod Touch devices as well as with any Skype client on a PC (Skype for Windows 4.2 or later, Skype for Mac 2.8 or 5 beta, Skype for Linux)
• supports one way video calling from an iPhone or 4th generation iPod Touch to iPhone 3G, iPad, Android phones and ASUS video devices
• Operates in both portrait and landscape mode
• Support desktop screen sharing from a PC to an iPhone 4 or 4th generation iPod Touch
• delivers up to 12 fps video with QQVGA resolution (160 x 120)
• uses either the front camera or rear camera of the iPhone 4

This version only supports calling using the VP7 codec; as the Skype for TV client firmware only supports receiving calls using the H.264 codec, Skype for iPhone calls cannot make calls to the “Skype for TV” supported TV sets at the moment. Skype officials say that this will be supported in a future version; this is also the reason one cannot make calls between Skype for Mac and Skype for TV.

First images tend to be a little grainy with not quite the crispness of FaceTime video. But we’re also looking at half the FaceTime resolution. Also the video could tend to be choppy at times. These were over a WiFi connection at each end. Bottom line, however, is that it is possible to make video calls from an iPhone over not only WiFi but also 3G to over 125 million regular users on multiple platforms. In the end whether one uses FaceTime or Skype for iPhone will become a matter of user convenience: which application is readily available in the context of the call. (Of course this comes with the usual warning that, for calls over 3G, carrier data charges may apply.)

Finally it is also interesting to note that, while their primary video calling service is FaceTime, Apple has allowed another video calling application to become available on the Apple App Store.

• From Skype’s Peter Parkes: Skype for iPhone now with video calls.
• Seems like Skype’s client ads let this one slip out a few hours early.
• Skype Journal: Download: Skype for iPhone 3.0. Now with video over 3G and Wi-Fi
• VoIP Watch: Skype on iPhone, iPod Touch Now Has Video Calling.
• GigaOm: Skype Looks to Accelerate Mobile Video Chat With iOS App

Related articles

• Skype for iPhone updates to 3.0, adds video calling (tuaw.com)
• "Skype iPhone 3.0 to bring video calling to iPhone" and related posts (pocket-lint.com)
• Skype New Video Call Feature in iPhone/iPod touch/iPad Soon (mydigitallife.info)
• Skype teases mobile video calling ahead of CES (electronista.com)
• Skype for Windows 5.0 Upgrade: the Return of HD Video Calling (voiceontheweb.biz)
• Skype for Mac 5 Beta 1: Catching Up to Skype for Windows 5 But With a Mac Touch (voiceontheweb.biz)

Over the past six weeks I have attended four local social media and technology events – a PodCamp, a monthly social networking seminar, an annual project management ski day and  WordCamp Toronto 2010. At each I was able to bring along a few Skype Everyman headsets to be given away as prizes.

Prior to selecting the prize winners I had two or three minutes to talk about how the Everyman worked and their affiliation with Skype; the outcome was not simply a mere handing out of hardware but rather became an opportunity to learn about how broadly and enthusiastically Skype is accepted and used across a range of personal and business communications activities. I started by asking how many in the audience use Skype – usually about 50% to 60% raise their hands but at WordCamp Toronto Saturday about 95% of the 400 attendees raised their hands; three who came up to talk with me later said they had to start using it.

But here’s the best part – it was the spontaneous emotional enthusiasm they exhibited for their use of Skype. Not only when handing out the prizes but by the questions and inquiries I received during subsequent networking breaks. It was the smile on their faces telling about the success they had experienced.

I heard stories of weekly family calls back to South Africa, Europe and the Far East, often with video. I heard stories of how small business entrepreneurs depend on Skype for weekly conference calls to manage their projects and the use of screen sharing to build business relationships around the world.

On the other hand, some conversations would become a mini-training session. Skype has so many features of which users are unaware. Editing chat messages, one-to-one screen sharing and using the FireFox and Internet Explorer Skype toolbars were some of the subjects of conversations during networking breaks at WordCamp Toronto.

As a result Voice On The Web will be introducing two new features:

• Skype in My Life: how users use Skype to support their personal and business life.
• SkypeHints: a twitter feed that will provide daily tips and hints reminding users of the many individual features that are available within Skype with links back to more details at the Voice On The Web reference guide.

If you have a story, tip or hint that you would like to share send your suggestions to me at jim dot courtney at voiceontheweb dot biz or contact me on Skype (mention Skype Hints or Skype Stories in the chat message or contact request).

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• Skype mobile on Verizon Launch: It’s About the User Experience (voiceontheweb.biz)

Over the past two months you may have noticed that my blogging activity has not had the usual frequency of at least one post every day or two. And during the past three weeks it really amounted to reporting on the launch of client In Store Solutions’ FREETALK Everyman headset. Have I lost interest in other activity in the IP-based communications space? Not really, there are times that mother nature issues disruptive  challenges and I have had more than my share of them over the past month.

About four weeks ago I came home in the late afternoon from an event only to hear the drip, drip, drip of water on a document on a table beside my desktop PC. Looked up to find a massive water stain in the ceiling of my office. Needless to say, I had to remove all the contents along that side of my office before the ceiling crashed in on my desktop PC and other contents related to my business activity. Within a day I was learning about “restoration” services companies; three huge blowers and a dehumidifier spent three days in my office drying out the drywall. As shown a section of the ceiling could not be saved. A pinhole leak had developed in the solder at an elbow joint after 25 years of holding the pressure (the office is under two bathrooms with lots of plumbing in the ceiling). Last week contractors were here for four days stripping wallpaper, patching the ceiling and painting the walls. Hopefully I should have all my office items restored (or sent to the garbage) within the next couple of days. And the best news: the expense was fully covered by insurance.

But just to complicate life – and, in the process, give me some material for comparing servicing of landline phone services – our return home from a five day trip a week ago Saturday night resulted in finding the security alarm operating when it should not have, both my Bell Canada business phone lines and my Rogers Home Phone line dead and no cable Internet connection operating. (It did not help that my iPhone battery died two minutes into my first service call to the alarm company with the alarm’s piercing sound probably doing infinite damage to my hearing; my BlackBerry Bold finally came to the rescue in calling the various services technical support operations.)

To cut to the chase, my home had been hit by a surge resulting from a very violent electrical storm (that included a couple of much more damaging tornados within 10 km) a week ago Thursday evening. I later found the need to replace a central vac electronic relay board, repair a garage door opener and replace a light timer. It took six days to get these services all restored with visits by various service personnel or to service operations. But I’ll also be publishing a story as to how infrastructure-associated servicing costs may kill Bell Canada’s PSTN operations. And I have to thank my ex-Bell Canada engineer neighbour for sorting out internal phone wiring issues.

Points to note:

1. In spite of having an APC UPS with surge protection for my Internet cable modem, router, 5-port switch and another device to be introduced later this week, only the WRT54GS wireless 4-port router survived.
2. On Sunday I obtained a new cable Internet modem at a Rogers store; as a result for the next three days, Skype was my only landline service available until the Home Phone service person arrived. And, more ironically, during the same period, Skype was the only service available to use on my dual mode (PSTN/Skype) Philips VoIP841 cordless phones. I still had e911 service available via my BlackBerry and iPhone.

Bottom line: now that my office has been restored and reorganized and my services are mostly restored, it’s time to get back to blogging regularly. So I have set a goal for this week to publish one post per day not only to discuss some news announcements and product reviews but also to comment on some industry issues that have arisen recently.

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Voice On the Web’s Subscription Calling Plan page has been updated. Also Skype is offering a 25% discount on Skype Calling Plans if purchased prior to May 6, 2009.

Earlier this week Skype announced the addition of an “Unlimited Country” plan to the three plans available to Skype users in the U.S. and Canada.  At the same time Skype announced the addition of seven countries to their Calling Plan Subscriptions program which now supports 42 countries. Learning of these changes triggered a review of Skype’s Calling Plans.

One of the goals of Voice On The Web is to provide longer term reference information about Skype and other IP-based communications services. This overall reference guide is accessed via the links in the light green navigation bar above or further down the first sidebar on the right. (Improving this navigation is one of the goals for the next upgrade to Voice On The Web.) Many of these pages were written a year ago and are in the course of being updated to reflect current offerings and policies.

As a result of Skype’s announcement referenced above I have reviewed and updated the Skype Calling Plans page as there have been several changes since Skype Calling Plans were first announced a year ago:

• Six countries – India, South Africa, Argentina, Bulgaria, Columbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Thailand have been added to the various Skype Calling Plans worldwide
• An “Unlimited Country” plan has been added for Skype users in North America, providing a subscription option for those who want to call U.S. and Canadian numbers plus one additional country selected from the other 42 countries participating in the Skype Calling Plans.
• Rates for Skype “”Unlimited World” subscriptions, which now provide unlimited calling to 44 countries worldwide (up from 36), have increased to US$12.95 per month from US$9.95 per month
• A 25% discount applies to these plans if purchased prior to May 6, 2006. Click here to extend your current subscription at these discounted rates during the discount’s availability.
• Mexico remains a special case. Plans provide for unlimited calling to landlines Mexico City, Guadlajara and Monterrey. Discounted rates (which vary by plan) apply to calls outside these three cities and calls to mobile phones.
• There are unique plans for calling to Brazil, India and South Africa. None of these countries are included in any basic “Unlimited World” plan.
• Skype has modified their Fair Usage policy to a maximum of 50 numbers per day, six hours of calling per day and use by one Skype account only per subscription. All this in addition to the previous 10,000 minutes per month. Don Kennedy has written a utility, Subscription Monitor for Skype, that provides an real time accounting of your subscription status so that you know when time’s up.
• The 2 million Skype users who downloaded and installed Skype for iPhone can take advantage of these plans from any WiFi hotspot supported by the iPhone (not available to Canadians, argh!!)

Of course the most effective way to reduce SkypeOut and subscription usage is to have your contacts sign up for Skype. Skype-to-Skype voice and video calling is at the best price of all – Free!

You may notice a slightly different appearance to Voice On The Web today. On Sunday blogger Luca Filigheddu expounded on the virtues of Thesis as a WordPress theme, with his post Here Is The Best WordPress Theme Ever: Thesis, as a result today we changed over to the much heralded Thesis theme for Voice On The Web.

Well, it’s not quite that simple; about two weeks ago I started a small project with Aaron Brazell, otherwise known as Technosailor, to work out some kinks and problems with the original site setup. He recommended a change of theme to Thesis. Knowing that Luca had also changed and having followed commentary in the WordPress ecosystem, it was not a difficult decision to make. And, in the end, it provides much more flexibility in modifying the site setup.

A key change is the Feature box where a slider will work through the five most recent posts; but you can jump to any of them by clicking on the number at the bottom. We’ll polish it up with some graphics going forward and also want to see how it can work into the overall flow and navigation of the site.

There will be a few glitches over the next day or so while Aaron cleans up some small issues; I also know there are some issues, such as too much repetition of posts in the middle column, that will get addressed in the next revamp. Ideally I would like to see the middle column show the most recent post in a Category that does not appear anywhere in the leftmost column.

Voice On The Web is a work in progress but my main goal is to continue to provide valuable content. And, with eComm happening over the next few days, you should be seeing lots of content.

I thank you for following Voice On The Web, appreciate the support provided by many in the blogging community and look forward to an expanded role going forward.

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Earlier today I wrote my final post at Skype Journal: Jim Courtney moves on. Let me tell you about the objectives for Voice On The Web:

• To provide an ongoing weblog featuring editorial opinions, commentary on the business aspects of emerging communications, product and service reviews, as well as tips for using Skype and other IP-based and mobile communications offerings
• To encourage constructive and informative dialogue that engages Voice On The Web readers, initially through Comments.
• To provide a reference guide for the implementation of Skype and other IP-based communications tools and services
• To provide both consumers and businesses with a site for learning more about the background behind the features and benefits of emerging communications technology
• To take advantage of the power of the WordPress platform and ecosystem. Simply stated, WordPress makes it possible not only to support blogging activity in many ways but also to develop complete websites comprising dynamic blog posts and static content. (Hint: I will soon be involved in a couple of new websites that have nothing to do with emerging communications simply because of both the power and low costs associated with WordPress.)

Transparency: I am having discussions about potential sponsorship for this site. One rule is certain: this site neither has now nor will have any business relationship with Skype LLC other than any participation in the Skype affiliate program. Should sponsorships arise, they will be announced when launched; posts and other information will mention any such relationship.

Bottom line is to have an editorial integrity such that readers can place trust in, and benefit from, Voice On The Web content. To support this objective there are a couple of WordPress plugins that independently provide links to other posts and web reference material on topics and companies discussed in a post. I encourage readers to check out these links as well. (Did I say WordPress has a powerful ecosystem?)

I will soon be providing a more complete outline of the Voice On The Web’s editorial policy and privacy policy. Bottom line is that reader’s privacy rights will be respected (and, from a legal perspective, this site operates under Canada’s PIPEDA legislation).

Finally, I wish to acknowledge the assistance and support of those who have helped me make it possible to launch this website.

To get started I will be posting about:

• Announcements coming out of Mobile World Congress 2009
• Tips and observations when using Skype for Windows 4.0
• eComm 2009 – Lee Dryburgh’s conference that serves as a primer for learning about the emerging communications space

If you’re on Twitter, new posts will be announced here:

By TwitterButtons.com

This site still has lots of warts; content still needs editing; an ad server needs to be brought in; there are opportunities for search engine optimization. I am in the process of finding a WordPress developer who can provide assistance with incorporating these features as well as addressing overall maintenance and security issues.

Come, enjoy the ride. I look forward to your comments and feedback. I hope this site can help you have more rewarding and productive communications with relatives, friends and your business network.

At VON Canada 2005 I first met Stuart Henshall, the founder of Skype Journal; this Canadian VON event attracted bloggers from across North America. It was the only North American opportunity to hear Skype founder Nicklas Zennstrom personally while he was in legal limbo in the U.S. Later that year I was asked to write a couple of posts for Skype Journal; effectively Stuart had seen my personnel post about Skype’s newly launched email toolbar for which I had been a beta tester and asked if he could post it on Skype Journal.

The following April when VON Canada held its third (and last) show in Toronto, I had just completed a client business development assignment and was asked to blog on behalf of Skype Journal. Stefan Oberg, Skype’s current Vice-President for Business, spoke about Skype’s goal to be “Better than a phone…”. Today, with the SILK codec, Skype is much better than a phone; since its introduction I cringe politely when I have to go back to normal phone conversations.

But, more importantly, since then I have had a wonderful opportunity to meet many keen and passionate Skype employees, develop an understanding of what it takes to be a Skype Partner – especially with business applications — and participated with a network of great bloggers who all contribute to a better understanding of the business and technology issues of the emerging communications world.

Yes, there have been challenges; Skype has had to reorganize and restructure as a viable and growing business. Several players have attempted to get into the real time communications space; they need to find their niche and attract users and develop revenue streams. But, when I look at the outcome of the past three years in this space, Skype remains a strong player; it has become synonymous with disrupting communications barriers around the world at little or no cost.

New services have evolved; small businesses can enjoy the advantages of services that were previously only available to large enterprises.16 million users online concurrently every day around 2:00 p.m. EST (GMT-5) is half the population of Canada. And there are probably 30 to 40 million who use Skype daily with about 30% in business applications. Free video calling has become a reality.

But over the past eighteen months:

• Skype’s business application partners are looking for ways to have third party support marketing their leading edge services
• Other significant players have come into the real time emerging communications space offering a range of unique products and services
• Cell phones have evolved into smartphones
• Social media keeps everyone informed in real time about news, personal activities and individual opinions
• It’s the year of the Voice 2.0 world.
• WordPress has become the most powerful platform for not only blogging but also complete websites.
• Search has become a key tool in developing a significant web presence

As a result today I am launching a new website Voice On The Web – facilitating personal and business communications across a Voice 2.0 world. Check out my initial post for more details about the goals and objectives I hope to achieve. Note that all my Skype Journal posts are archived there and readily searchable. There’s still lots of warts on the site but one has to start somewhere.

At the same time Phil Wolff will continue to blog on Skype Journal, continuing to bring his perspective on the technology and business opportunities in the Voice 2.0 world. I will be providing him link love frequently for posts I feel should be checked out.

Time to move on… see you at Voice On The Web. And, thanks to Phil for the opportunity to participate on Skype Journal over the past three years.

By Jim Courtney, Toronto, Canada

Two weeks ago Skype released version 1.0 of its Skype for Outlook Toolbar, which had been available in beta versions over the previous three months.

From the Skype website:

“This toolbar brings all your Skype and MS Outlook contacts together in one handy place. That means you’ll be able to call Skype contacts who email you and make SkypeOut calls to your Outlook contacts who aren’t on Skype yet, all through the toolbar.”

Effectively Skype for Outlook Toolbar introduces the communications functionality of the Skype client into Outlook such that all your Skype communications activities can be managed from Outlook. It mines your Outlook for contact information, incorporates Skype Usernames and results in a Toolbar from which you can launch all communication via Skype, SkypeOut or Skype Chat. At a more abstract level, Skype for Outlook is an implementation of two of the building blocks of Voice 2.0 with its ability to combine both presence and directory information with single click access to trigger a communication session.

A detailed review of Skype for Outlook Toolbar can be downloaded here Download file
It covers all aspects of the Skype for Outlook Toolbar including installation, configuration, incorporation of Skype Usernames, presence information, e-mail integration, use with Outlook Contacts, launching conference calls and Outlook Journal entries. As an example, using all the recipient names in an email one can launch a conference call from a single window via the “Start conference call…” command:

From the conclusion:

Skype for Outlook Toolbar allows Outlook to incorporate Skype presence and contact information; it converts Outlook into a full service personal communications management platform. It gives you the opportunity to gain practical experience with two primary building blocks of Voice 2.0: presence and directories. You can even become your own conference call operator.

I have found Skype for Outlook most useful when traveling. Find a hotel offering high speed Internet, connect your PC, launch Skype and go to Outlook to launch all your phone calls, bypassing costly hotel switchboards and eliminating the need for calling cards. It was also very useful for me when recently doing a demonstration in a local hospital where I had no long distance authorization and was restricted from using a wireless phone, yet I needed to contact a tech support operation on the west coast.

A final comment: the beta versions of Skype for Outlook Toolbar were criticized for slowing down the operation of Outlook and several minor “irritants”. The release version has addressed these concerns either through modification or removal of features that inhibited the operation of Outlook’s primary function. ….. The result is a utility that is now a standard component of my Outlook operation; I can heartily recommend that you give it a try. For me it has passed the Jeff Sandquist seven day rule and become a part of my daily work life.

Over the past 33 years Jim Courtney has held general management and sales and marketing management positions with high technology companies addressing business, government, healthcare and academic markets. Ten years ago, while a business development manager with Quarterdeck Corporation, he had his first exposure to VoIP through Quarterdeck’s development of a pioneering VoIP software application, WebTalk, that worked on 100MHz Pentium PC’s with 28.8kbps modems. In early 1996 he participated in an analyst presentation in London, England from his Mississauga, Ontario office demonstrating Quarterdeck’s VoIP and web conferencing software and has continued to hold an interest in the evolution of VoIP and web conferencing as a communications tool. For the past nine years he has been a business development and business plan consultant to start-ups and emerging companies providing solutions in healthcare, communications and Internet infrastructure markets. 

Posted [on Skype Journal] by Guest Blogger at 07:06 AM