Over the past week I have been checking out some interesting new activities involving Skype video. I wrote about my experience with the Logitech HD Pro C920 and there are at least two more posts coming next week involving new experiences with Skype HD video calling.

Video calling has always had its own inhibitions and etiquette, especially when it comes to nervousness about being seen “live” for whatever self-conscious reason. Everyone has his/her own dress code in this regard.

But I’ve also learned that sometimes there are other social aspects to consider, especially when using Skype for TV. For instance, you have to be aware when others in the home may want to actually watch a TV program (is Skype for TV allowed during today’s Super Bowl in your home?). So you have to schedule Skyping on your TV appropriately. You probably want to think about the condition of the room from which you are calling; it’s probably not exactly a neat and tidy television news production studio.

But apparently there are other considerations also….

For developers planning to develop TV-based applications Skype lays out an entire etiquette under the topic “Design for TV: Skype on Your TV: A 6-Step Guide for Success” (you have to be a registered developer to see the entire guide):

What Makes TVs Different?

Despite recent advances, a television remains a primarily passive device—we watch it for extended periods of time rather than use it to converse, surf the Web, or run other software applications. And we rarely appreciate being interrupted when watching our favorite show!

Amber MacArthur, a Toronto-based social media guru (and author of the AmberMac test for Skype), is a frequent and long time user of Skype video, both for family calls and her participation on various video podcasts. Recently she was preparing to participate in an upcoming Fast Company show and received from her husband, Chris Dick (a video production expert), a list of things to remember when setting up for a web video conversation. She subsequently posted them in an extended Facebook post:

Here they are – please let me know if you have anything else to add to the list (I like #5 the best;):
1. Have a USB headset/microphone combination for maximum effect – failing that, use a pair of earbuds.
2. If you are using the on-board microphone, find a quieter location than a loud coffee shop or central office hub, both to minimize noise and possible colleague/passerby interference
3. If there is a large window or other light source, position yourself so YOU can look at it – rather than have it behind you, you don’t want to be backlit.
4. If you have an Ethernet connection for your Internet source please take advantage of it; wifi can occasionally be subject to drop outs
5. And lastly pop in a breath mint, you’d be surprised how advanced Skype is now

Certainly the first four are great tips and reflect my own experiences. However, imputing new features to Skype is an ongoing dialogue, especially for geeks. But this one has to amuse. Definitely not a new feature reported in the recent upgrades to Skype 5.8 for Windows and Skype 5.5 for Mac announced this past week.

Bottom Line: We’ll have to check out the SkypeKit developer information for the Halitosis API. And will we see Skype-certified breath mints on the Skype Store? Is it another intrusion into our privacy?

P.S. – Amber was the pioneer in using Skype for TV broadcasts: Skype Video for “Live On Location” Television – long before Oprah.

About two years ago my cableTV/Internet/wireless/HomePhone service provider, Rogers, started to use Twitter as one path for customer feedback and support requests. While many of their customers have expressed their frustration with service issues ranging from outages to account corrections via this Twitter account, there are nine Rogers employees who track and follow up at @rogershelps. Having met a few members of the team at local events, they report having significant success at addressing reported issues.

Over the past couple of months Skype has been upgrading both its community forum and social networking activity with a revamped community forum, called Skype Support Network, and a Facebook page.

Last Friday Skype announced the addition of the @skypesupport Twitter feed:

We’re committed to our customers and we know how important it is to provide support where you want to have conversations. It’s no surprise that a lot of our you are hanging out in social networks and forums, and want us to be part of the conversation providing answers and help wherever it’s needed.

So, we hope you agree that our efforts to increase our support presence in Twitter and Facebook will improve our ability to address your questions. But, we’re not done yet — there is more to come with the additional steps we’re taking to continue our path towards faster, better, more social ways of helping you. We are relentlessly committed to serving you and continuing to improve our products and support.

To use it, go to @skypesupport where you will find an ‘invitation” to “Tweet to Skype Support” (whether you are “Following” or not); clicking on the message box will enter the text “@skypesupport” after which you can enter your issue in 126 characters or less.

While a Skype user’s initial request will show up in the user’s feed, the response comes in the @skypesupport feed with a “^NN” at the end to indicate which of the Skype Community Support team (not necessarily Skype employees) has provided the response. Here’s one engagement that took place within an hour prior to publishing this post:

From the user’s Twitter feed	Skype Support Response

Bottom Line: It’s all about engaging the customer and letting him/her know you care; however, in today’s social media world there are many paths to engagement. Unless you frequented the former Skype forums, there were few paths to finding support until a month or two ago. Skype’s recent adoption of a new “community forum” format, Facebook and Twitter as support tools are certainly helpful steps in the right direction. It’s a challenge when you have a “free” service, yet so many demanding users. Hopefully, as Rogers has experienced, these will all lead to more adoption and acceptance as well as tools for learning learning more about real customer issues that need to be addressed.

One more resource: Check out Voice On The Web’s Skype Reference Guide in the sidebar where I am gradually updating the pages based of over five years of following Skype and adding new pages as new services and features become available such as Skype for iPad and the ability to make and receive Skype calls from your home phone.

Since the launch of Skype 5.2 for Windows, the Dial Pad features have been enhanced significantly to point where it actually has some intelligence to make it easier to place a call to the PSTN.

Normally the Dial Pad is used for SkypeOut calling for two purposes:

• to dial out to a PSTN number (to place a call)
• to interact with any Auto Attendant or Interactive Voice Response (“IVR”) menu that may answer the call (usually a call to a business or an automated service, such as for fax number deletion). (during a call)

Skype 5.5 for Windows gold release also restores the dial pad as an option during Skype-to-Skype calls; this option had been dropped in the 5.5 beta release. But you may ask why would one need a dial pad for a Skype-to-Skype calls? Turns out that there is a Skype for Business offering that requires access to the dial pad during what is really a Skype-to-Skype call to a business using this offering.

Over at the Skype Reference Guide I have added a page that describes all the features and benefits of the Dial Pad in Skype for Windows 5.2 and later. Find out why, when you click on the “Call Phones” button, you may end up with no numeric dial pad; learn about the only situation where you may need a dial pad during a Skype-to-Skype call and the minimal dial pad feature in Skype for Mac 5.x. Learn about Text-Tone dialling and how that simplifies making a call to a Contact’s PSTN number.

Related articles

• Skype 5.5 for Windows: Deeper Facebook, New Emoticons and More (voiceontheweb.biz)

One of the most helpful features introduced with Skype 5.0 was the Call Bar or Call Navigation Bar that comes up when you launch a call and is accessible during the call. (If it disappears during the call simply “mouse over” the “black background” call area and it will re-appear).

Its Call Quality Indicator feature is, frankly, one of the most useful tools which I find very handy when helping other parties ensure their mic, speakers and webcam are working ok during a call and to check the quality of the Internet connection.

But let’s look at the user experience with the Skype 5.5 beta for Windows proposed Call Bar; the icons have been modified and the order on the bar changed.

It’s a little vague, no "mouse over" bubbles to indicate the purpose of an icon.but you can find some information with tooltips that come up if you mouse over near each icon.  (Initially I did not find these icons during several calls but it was pointed out that the tooltips are there.) So either a user ignores them or has to guess. When you click on some icons you get a sub-menu (but that’s a click, not the more spontaneous bubble:

Here’s the issue. The majority of Skype users are not aware of the rich feature set that can support a Skype-to-Skype call. Make it easy to at least get a start at understanding the purpose of the various icons. For a starter the call bar tooltips, when found, are certainly helpful. A broader question is why change the icons (and icon order) that users are familiar with?

One new feature that is helpful: that right most “Display Call” icon that allows you to manage how and where the primary call window is displayed. Using the Pop-Out feature allows use of the full height of the Conversation pane for Chat.

Fortunately the Call Quality Indicator user interface remains the same and allows “ in call” monitoring of the audio, video and PC hardware as well as the Internet connection. One feature that also remains (and has worked for me in calls using this version) is the ability to recover a call if the Internet connection quality deteriorates momentarily during the call.

Bottom line: changes to look for in either the next beta version or gold release:

• Adding tooltips to the icons in the Call Bar to indicate what they do on a “mouse over”. Done.
• Change the End Call icon back to the familiar one. (and keep it consistent with the End Call button beside the Contact’s name in the Contact pane).
• Open a 1 inch/2.5 cm high portion of the Chat window to let users know they can still chat during a call.
• Don’t touch the Call Quality Indicator

But this all brings back another outstanding issue. Let’s hope  this same Call Bar (with the Call Quality Indicator) shows up in the next revision of Skype for Mac 5. Consistency helps user adoption, especially when it comes to learning about Skype’s extra features available during a Skype-to-Skype call. After all, with Firefox 5, I have almost the same overall User Interface on both the Windows and Mac versions … makes it real simple not only for users with both Windows and Mac PC’s but also for explaining a feature to a call participant independent of which OS the participant is using.

As a final comment: the real issue here with respect to user interface consistency is “innovation” vs a “company standard”. While there are some neat features unique to Mac OS that could be included in a Skype for Mac client, let’s see a consistency with the primary user interface both for managing Contacts and Conversations via separate panes in the client and for managing Skype’s extra features available during a call (the Call Bar). For instance, I have no objection to the way two or more participants are shown in the Call pane or Window during a call; but keep the basics similar!

Last month’s announcement of Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype certainly triggered speculation, misplaced blame and other conspiracy theories on the blogosphere. It often sounds like a reporter wants to use Microsoft as the most convenient excuse for a post or article. It’s superficial, to say the least. Until Microsoft completes the acquisition, Skype operates as an independent but fully operational company, complete with warts.

Having participated in the major restructuring of a NASDAQ-listed company (and some subsequent acquisitions) and the acquisition of one of my previous clients by a NASDAQ-listed companies (as well as having supplied due diligence information for acquisitions of some of my previous employers’ customers) I’ve had a chance to walk through these exercises.

This post is simply my perspective on the challenges involved in closing such a deal and the short term benchmarks I am looking for in order to measure the impact of the acquisition.

First, some public facts,

• Last fall Skype announced the appointment of Tony Bates as its new CEO. Tony brings many years of business leadership experience with a major (and disruptive) player in the IP-communications space. He has certainly participated in, or been an observer to, some of Cisco’s acquisitions.
• Skype signed a long term lease for new office space in Palo Alto and moved there last December.
• Skype has been on a hiring spree for the Palo Alto office with respect to product managers and developers/engineers.
• On May 10, 2011 Microsoft and Skype announced that Microsoft would be acquiring Skype for $8.5 billion, acquiring a Luxembourg-based company, using cash that Microsoft has kept in Europe (or at least has not repatriated to the U.S.).
• Microsoft has built up a significant Bay Area presence at its Mountain View campus and is in the same time zone as Redmond.
• Last week the FTC filed a notice of early termination, without comment, effectively announcing there would be no objection on their part to closing of the deal.
• Until the deal closes, Skype CEO Tony Bates is and remains in charge, making the key decisions re ongoing business operations; it’s still an independent company reporting to its current investors. (Microsoft could incur legal liability were they to interfere in Skype’s decisions prior to the close.)

Today has seen a plethora of third party posts about executive changes at Skype. However, in the course of an acquisition by a publicly listed company, Skype’s hands are tied by the securities regulators as to what they can say. The only response has been “As part of a recent internal shift, Skype has made some management changes”. On the other hand my first hint of change came when one executive wrote two weeks ago, in his Skype Mood Message, to the effect that he would not be anywhere near Palo Alto at least until August 1.

We spoke with one [current investor] just now who reiterated what other unnamed investors have said in the press this morning: That the decision was 100% Tony Bates’ call. Until the Microsoft deal closes, he has to run Skype like a stand alone company, and these were all executives he’d been considering firing for performance for some time. The timing had more to do with how long it took to go through the process than anything else, this investor said.

And, he noted, that these were all people on the business side of the house, not the technical side of the house. That indicates he was trying to fix part of the company [that] wasn’t working, rather than a wholesale firing of people who stood to get big payouts.

But I’ve seen all this before at other restructurings and acquisitions. In the course of closing the transaction C-level management figures out – some before the close, some after:

• the resources you need and what is duplication, what needs to be merged
  • what is critical to maintaining Skype as an independent business unit and the internal business relationship with other Microsoft business operations
  • how to maintain a culture that encourages innovation and nurtures employee morale
• what policies need to be brought into line with respect to human resources, financial reporting, IT services. marketing and other corporate infrastructure services
• performance of due diligence on all contracts, agreements and outstanding legal disputes – this is the most challenging aspect as these will always raise issues that need to be resolved before closing – and
• clearing regulatory hurtles. While the U.S. FTC has cleared the transaction, there would have to be some EU regulatory clearance required, given that the actual transaction will occur between a European registered company (Skype LLC) and a European subsidiary of Microsoft.

But overriding through all this is the need to not only continue the Skype business operations but also determine how to put together the team and resources that will grow the business. Of significant importance is ensuring the ongoing business operations – as measured by revenues and expenses – do not impact the initial financial basis for the transaction at the time of close.  When I was involved in a restructuring and an acquisition the final question that had to be answered for any of my proposals was the impact on sustaining and growing the business.

In particular, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will be under tremendous pressure to have success with Skype. After all, there is an $8.5 billion investment – the goal has to be both to recover this amount as profits and to generate shareholder return on the investment. This is achieved by not only continuing and enhancing the current user experiences vertically with upgrades and new services but also leveraging Skype technology through horizontal integration  into Microsoft Office, Lync, and Windows Live offerings. The bottom line is that any decisions during the transition and going forward will have to provide answers to that ultimate goal. And, if Tony Bates is to remain President of the Skype business unit at Microsoft after the close, he is going to have to live with his decisions during the closing period.

My real short term benchmarks will be Skype’s delivery of new and upgraded products over the next few months. Here’s what’s on the line:

• Developing a Skype for Mac 5.x that addresses a plethora of user interface issues, the most important of which is making the user interface consistent with the Skype for Windows 5.x user interface.
  • Skype Journal has an update on the Skype for Mac chat style contest.
• Evolution of Skype for Windows – beta version 5.5 with deeper FaceBook integration announced this morning.
• Launch of Skype for iPad – an iPad-specific version that takes full advantage of the iPad’s display format and iPad 2’s video features – a heavily used Google search keyword is “Skype for iPad” -  demonstrating the demand and expectation is there.
• Upgrades to Skype for iPhone (restoration of the keypad on Skype-to-Skype calls) and Skype for Android.
• Launch of Skype for Windows Mobile 7
• Launch of third party applications and hardware that incorporate SkypeKit
• Skype for Business customer success stories; we simply have not seen any since the Skype Connect launch last fall.
• Actual launch of announced services such as: Go To Meeting integration for collaborative desktop sharing, Skype for TV for Comcast cable customers.

Bottom line: It’s real easy, and naive, to blame Microsoft for recent outages and other Skype service interruptions.  When it comes to the Microsoft acquisition of Skype, we are simply going to have to wait out the process – securities regulations place limits on how much information can be made public. Investors and users have to hope the right business decisions are being made during this period; it’s really a matter of C-level management bringing the appropriate skills and experience to the table. This is a situation where trust in the C-level executives to make the right decisions is paramount. In the interim, Skype remains an independent business operation with its CEO in total charge.

But at least the above benchmarks provide some short term benchmarks that are indicators of how Skype will continue to support and upgrade services to its user base. And these benchmarks contribute to passing the ”AmberMac” test.

Update: Shel Israel expresses his perspective in Microsoft Acquires Skype.

Related articles

• Steve Ballmer & Tony Bates Talk About Skype-Microsoft Deal (gigaom.com)

Skype Premium upgraded for North American users along with an early summer special offer.

While I did some testing of Skype Group Video (on both Windows and Mac) during its beta period last fall, yesterday I hosted my first “business meeting” Skype Group Video call with a mentoring group in which I participate.They had been using HotConference, a push-to-talk collaboration service where only the speaker is on video, but the service went down in the middle of a weekly conference call. So I created a Group on Skype and launched a Skype Group Video Call.

Most noticeable was that the dynamics of the video conference call changed somewhat:

• Whom we saw: we could see video of each of the participants (except one who had no webcam and one who had Internet connection issues – they were audio only)
• Ad hoc and informal: Anyone could start speaking at any time without the “pregnant pause wait” that is inherent to a push-to-talk service.
• There is a blue halo around anyone who is actually speaking (see Megan in the image below)
• Change video image size: One of the participants wanted to demonstrate his new beach accessory. We could blow his image up to a “full size” while the others remained on the screen in small images (scroll to end to view).

The major feedback from this call – the participants did not realize that Skype Group Video could be so effective and powerful yet so easy to set up. There is definitely a need to generate first-time user experiences; Skype’s challenge remains building market awareness of the effectiveness and power of the group video calling experience.

A seven day trial is available; but somehow its awareness generation needs to go viral. (I do notice that launching skype.com these days does feature Skype Premium on the “Home Page” – at least for U.S. and Canada site visitors but experiencing it in operation is everything.) Certainly one member of that discussion was going to purchase a Skype Premium subscription as a result of this experience.

Where’s the Skype Chat pane?

One feature that gets lost when, on launching a voice or video call, the big black blind comes down to show who is on the call. Any other feature available during the call is left to guess from the icons on the call bar. Yet a complementary live chat session has become critical for any conference call these days, whether voice only or video.

This group missed out on the function of the blue icon third from the right which will open a (Group) Chat text entry pane. The chat session content can be seen by all call participants during and after the call. Several participants on this call were not aware that you could expose the chat session when I wanted to share a URL associated with our discussion. Just reinforcing the point made in my post on this topic yesterday.

One other hint that may encourage trials: while Skype Group video supports up to ten participants on a call, only the host needs to have a Skype Premium subscription. A Skype Premium subscriber may also receive a 1:1 Skype video call from a non-subscriber; the Subscriber can then Add Contacts to the to build up a Skype Group Video call.

Skype Premium Update

Skype Premium has always included Group Video Calling and Live Chat support. Recently Skype announced changes and a special offer (expires July 31, 2011) to its Skype Premium service for North American customers:

• Added unlimited calls to U.S. and Canada if a 3- or 12-month subscription is taken out.
• Offering 50% discount on a 12 month subscription and 25% discount on a 3 month subscription to July 31, 2011.
• 25% discount on a FaceVsion N1 HD video webcam.

Bottom line: at $4.50 per month the incremental cost for Group Video Calling beyond the basic 12 month Unlimited North America Calling Plan Subscription becomes $2.00 per month. While there is no benefit for those of us who already have paid for this calling plan or have a Unlimited World Calling Plan, it may be an incentive to drive the Group Calling user experience by Skype users who have been wary of the $8.99 per month cost. Now they can get to experience the power of Group Video Calling at a very low cost; once experienced they won’t go back.

And here’s the re-configured Group Video Call screen when Kurt demonstrated his beach accessory (Kurt found that a hard floor is not as comfortable as a sandy beach):

If Skype Extras is creating an issue with software bloat through its games partner, Easybits, why do I get a blank Skype Extras window from the Tools | Get Skype Extras menu in Skype for Windows 5.3?

In one of its previous lives, ca. 2006, Skype introduced a Partner program where they encouraged third party developers to innovate products around the use of Skype. These products arrived in the form of games, productivity tools, hosted business services and utilities that enhanced the Skype experience or incorporated Skype for its real time communications features. At the time Skype provided API tools that facilitated development of these products; they remain available even as Skype ramps up its SkypeKit developer platform. Products were made readily available to Skype for Windows users through the Tools | Skype Extras menu of the Skype client. One partner had over 3 million downloads between January 2009 and August 2010; a very significant number have become ongoing subscription-paying customers.

Original Skype Extras Window

During the summer of 2007 Skype held a Mashup Competition with regional and worldwide winners. PamFax, still in its infancy but sending faxes from a PamFax window, won the worldwide competition. (Watch Voice On The Web for a complete update on PamFax’s evolution to a one-stop multi-platform “Fax for business” solution in the next few days).

Some the Extras publishers were acquired; for instance IBM’s Lotus Sametime division acquired the popular desktop sharing utility, Unyte. Others went away due to either  a lack of market acceptance, a failed business model or impatient investors. And there were many issues with the level of support provided by the Skype Developer program at that time.

Skype announced the end of the Skype Extras program in late August 2009, pointing out that no new Extras would be accepted from that point forward and that Skype Extras would not be accessible from the Skype for Windows menu after August 31, 2010. However, while this menu is still available from the Skype for Windows 5.3 client, I get the blank window shown above. However they can still be found available on the Skype website: Skype Extras page and on the Skype Store.

So what puzzles me is the recent appearance of stories about an additional program, easybits.exe, being installed with Skype for Windows. Easybits provided the platform for the Skype Extras games; it seems that a recent update to Easybits inadvertently got into some users’ recent installations of Skype for Windows. Looking through my Task Manager, there are no traces of easybits.exe; the only item related to Skype Extras Manager is skypePM.exe and it’s not consuming much RAM. Phil Wolff, over at Skype Journal, has more to say on this, including Easybits response, in #Skype Extras partner EasyBits releases game uninstall tool.

Bottom Line: So my real question is, given the blank Skype Extras screen I receive as shown above (and have received for some time now), the lack of any trace of EasyBits software on my Skype for Windows 5.3 installation and the announcement that Skype Extras would go away last fall, what is the real status of Skype Extras today? Or is it just quietly withering away?

Skype’s statement: EasyBits Update for Skype Extras Manager

P.S. – many of the former Skype Extras publishers have continued to offer their software and even built additional products that use the Skype API’s. Within a few days I’ll provide an update on where you can find these products today and their evolution into even better offerings.

Related articles

• EasyBits releases removal tool for afflicted Skype users (zdnet.com)
• Skype pushes gaming software down users throats (go.theregister.com)
• How To Uninstall EasyBits GO (EasyBitsGo.exe) Completely (ghacks.net)

Over at Disruptive Telephony, Best Practices Chair of the VoIP Security Alliance, Dan York, summarizes recent reports on a security vulnerability in Skype for Mac.

Given that I basically live inside of Skype for Mac and use it extensively every day, this is obviously extremely concerning. Particularly because I do let anyone on Skype send me messages… and my Skype ID is easily found on my websites and many other locations (and since is rather obvious – “danyork”).

As a heavy user of Skype for Mac’s group chat feature, Dan questions why there has been no communications from Skype other than a response to ZDNet UK’s story where they say:

UPDATE (5:13pm): Skype has just sent ZDNet UK a statement promising a fix next week. The statement reads: “We are aware of this and will release a fix early next week to resolve the issue. We take our users privacy very seriously and are working quickly to protect Skype users from this vulnerability.”

This evening Skype has responded in their blog post, Security Vulnerability in Mac Client Has Been Addressed. To summarize:

• Skype acknowledges they were aware of the vulnerability, not only via Pure Hackers but also their own internal processes
• The issue was addressed in a “minor” update, version 5.1.0.922 released on April 14, 2011

This vulnerability … is related to a situation when a malicious contact would send a specifically crafted message that could cause Skype for Mac to crash. Note, this message would have to come from someone already in your Skype Contact List, as Skype’s default privacy settings will not let you receive messages from people that you have not already authorized, hence the term malicious contact.

However, they also stated:

As there were no reports of this vulnerability being exploited in the wild, we did not prompt our users to install this update, as there is another update in the pipeline that will be sent out early next week.

And go on to point out that customers will prompted to install a more comprehensive update to be released next week. But they made the following statement:

In the meantime, we recommend you update your software with the fix made available on April 14th, just click on Skype -> Check for Updates or you can download the software here.

I checked my installed version; it was 5.1.0.914. I did the “Check for Updates” and was told there were “no updates”.

Bottom line: download the updated software here (version 5.1.0.9220 and install it to ensure you have no exposure to this vulnerability. And expect to be notified of a more comprehensive update next week.

You can’t win … when customers are heavily prompted to update, there are complaints; when they are not prompted the story somehow gets out  anyway. Decisions, decisions….

One final question: will this update address any of the issues discussed not only in my recent posts but also in several other online discussions (listed at the end of some of these posts).

Update: Dan questions why this issue even had to come to light in ??Skype’s Security Communication FAIL – Why Issue a HotFix If You Don’t Tell Anyone?

Related articles

• Skype Bug Leaves Mac Users Vulnerable to Exploit (macstories.net)
• Expert: Skype for Mac hole can be used in remote attack (news.cnet.com)
• A bug in Skype for Mac could give hackers root access to OS X (thenextweb.com)
• Skype bug gives attackers root access to Mac OS X (theregister.co.uk)
• Skype vulnerability discovered by Pure Hacking (purehacking.com)

A couple of days ago I wrote about some new Call Bar features in the recently released Skype for Windows 5.2. But there was one other feature that I have investigated …

• Modified call phones dialog with integrated contact number search

It’s not huge but makes calling the PSTN easier if a Contact has PSTN numbers embedded in either his/her Skype profile or you have entered into a Contact’s profile via the “Add a Number” feature in the Call Bar.

To call a PSTN number a call has to be placed via the menu which brings up a traditional T9 dial pad in the Conversation pane. Previously one could enter a number and make a call; the default was to make calls to your local country code but one could also change the country selected. (Click the drop down to change the flag.)

With Skype for Windows 5.2 one can now start to type in a Contact’s name and place a call.  In Phil’s case on the right the options are his Mobile, Office and U.K. Skype Online number (Home). Select a number, click on the Call Button and the call is initiated.

One other subtle change: there are now several opportunities to Save a PSTN number that is not already embedded in your Contacts. In this case one can save the number prior to the call; however, at the end of a call there is also an opportunity to Save the number called.

Bottom line: Subtly Skype is generating more awareness of its PSTN calling options. Between the Call Bar changes in my previous post, the “Text Tone” feature described here and the opportunity to add numbers to a Contact’s profile on your local PC, Skype is attempting to increase what, to date, has been its largest revenue generator (according to recent SEC releases).

(Note that it’s not a true T9 dialpad, you have to enter alpha characters via your PC keyboard, pressing a number one, two, three or four times does not generate the relevant alpha character in the number bar. Yet, Skype does show the alpha characters in the dialpad; it’s the familiar user interface, after all.)

When I met Skype’s Vice President for Consumer Products, Neil Stevens, at CES 2011, one of his points was that he wanted to see more frequent Skype client upgrades, reducing the time between new upgrades from 12 to 18 months down to 2 to 3 months. Skype certainly demonstrated that last week when, two months after the launch of Skype 5.1 for Windows, Skype released Skype for Windows 5.2 with a set of subtle improvements that largely relate to the user experience when initiating calls.

The most obvious change is to the Call Bar. Whereas previously one would see:

the Call Bar has become:

The most obvious change is the switching of the order of the “Video Call” and (voice) “Call” buttons and the  elimination of a separate line for “Skype”, “Mobile”, “Office”, etc. numbers. No doubt the former is a result of two factors:

• the popularity of video calling where Skype claims that over 40% of all calls are now video calls and
• the recent introduction of Group Video calling as  a revenue generating premium service

Access to any type of voice call is now done via the Call Button, which has acquired an associated drop down menu. In turn this drop down menu provides the access to the contact’s various voice calling options. If the Contact’s presence is Online(), a Skype-to-Skype call would be the default.  Should be user not be available (Offline, Invisible or set for Call Forwarding ) but has entered a mobile or landline number into their Skype profile, there are three changes:

• the Call button has changed to read “Call Mobile” (or Office or Home)
• the Mobile, Home or Office number would be checked off as the default destination for placing a call.
• you have a “heads up” that a Skype-to-Skype call selection will result in reaching the contact’s voice mail

While the drop down menu shows a default based on presence, you can still select one of the other options to initiate a voice call but you are now forewarned that a Skype-to-Skype call to someone with one of the three “not present” statuses mentioned above could result in reaching their voicemail.

Note that the drop down menu also allows the addition of a phone number. Very handy when you know the contact’s phone number but they have not entered it into their Skype profile.

One more change to the Call Bar: the “Share Button” provides a ready access to sharing a Contact or File. If you are in a call, the Screen Sharing option becomes available.

Bottom line: while these changes can reduce the number of clicks to make a call or share information, they also provide, in a subtle way, readier access to Skype’s revenue generating Group Video Calling and SkypeOut services. With only 8% of Skype users actually using SkypeOut it would be interesting to see if these changes actually provide any more than slightly incremental revenues.

Watch for a post on the changes to the “Call Phones” menu.

Download Skype 5.2 for Windows here or go to Help | Check for Updates in your Skype for Windows client.

And should you even be making a voice call? Check out this New York TImes article: Don’t Call Me, I Won’t Call You. (Warning NYT may have initiated their pay wall.)

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Three weeks after announcing SkypeKit for Linux, Skype has lived up to its commitment to provide support for Windows and Mac OS X.

What does this mean for future deployment of Skype access?

Basically the ability to embed Skype within a third party Windows and/or Mac OS X application without the need for the Skype client to be open. Whereas the target developer audience for SkypeKit for Linux is probably hardware developers, there is now an offering available for software developers. From Jonathan’s post linked above:

Today, Skype is taking the next step by announcing a new version of the SkypeKit Beta SDK that works on Windows (x86) and Mac OS X. Now multiple desktop applications can offer Skype conversations — including video, voice, and text — without the need for users to separately download Skype software.

Look forward to seeing the innovation, especially with respect to video, in deploying Skype Everywhere within these future third party offerings.

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Over the past couple of days I have had the opportunity to complete calls using Skype for iPhone 2.0 over 3G to contacts in the U.K., the U.S. and Spain, not only while staying in one location but also at 100 km/hr crossing through several mobile phone cells along Canada’s busiest freeway that recently was equipped with a 3G/HSPA+ service by Rogers. Some of the outcomes:

Launching the application

First, we are still dealing with an iPhone that does not allow multi-tasking but Skype for iPhone only serves to build the anticipation of iPhone OS 4.0 and its multi-tasking feature. As a result you currently must be logged into the application to receive a call; not only that, each time you log in, it can take 30 – 45 seconds for your Contacts’ current “presence” status to appear. (And you need to ensure your own status is set to “Online”.)

“Near CD-quality voice”

Once the presence information is current, however, select a contact, make a call, get an answer and start the conversation. What follows is a recording of one of my first calls where Voxygen’s Dean Elwood set up a three party conference call via Skype for Windows on a PC. (Skype for iPhone itself cannot set up a multi=party conference call.) Pamela’s Call Recorder was used to make the recording. Listen for yourself.

Dean makes an important point during the call about how Skype’s SILK-based superwideband audio makes it much easier for him to understand all the various and several English accents he needs to deal with in the normal course of his business activity.

Note that, in order to maintain the audio integrity of the recording, no audio editors were used to filter out “ah’s” and “eh’s”, etc.

Moving Along the Freeway with Skype

First, for all those concerned safety advocates, I was not driving my car during these calls.

From Ontario’s 401 freeway (the main route between Toronto and Ottawa/Montreal) between Trenton and Cobourg, Ontario I made a 25 minute call to Andy Abramson who was on the I-5 in and around San Diego, California. At one point both sides had speakerphones going such that we had a four-party car-to-car conversation.

While providing the same crystal clear voice quality reported yesterday, the call also was sustained as we both passed through several cells of our respective networks (I could see the cell towers alongside the freeway). Let’s just say we were both traveling at or near the legal limit and there was no degradation of voice quality.

There was one point where we noticed a bit of fuzziness (along with an appropriate warning on the call quality indicator) but it recovered very quickly and the call connection was not lost. The other issue was not really a Skype issue but the volume had to be turned up a bit to overcome the automobile’s inherent background noise.

Battery Life

It’s still an issue. I found that leaving Skype for iPhone open continuously for over three to four hours would drain the battery. A significant challenge for iPhone OS 4.0 will continue to be battery life. It’s the one significant shortcoming I find with respect to overall iPhone performance.

Data Use

From initial observation, it would appear that about 2 minutes of a voice call will take up 1MB of data transfer. Simply a guideline but it can start to get a handle on what your data costs will be. I still would only recommend using Skype for iPhone over WiFi when roaming outside your home network.

Bluetooth

Andy Abramson reports that his attempts to use a Bluetooth adapter while making a Skype for iPhone call have failed. More investigation and feedback required.

Bottom line: Skype for iPhone 2.0 has brings new performance benchmarks to the mobile voice calling experience, especially when it comes to voice quality. However, lack of background processing and improved battery life management still make it questionable as to whether one would rely totally on Skype for iPhone for all one’s mobile calling.

But it’s impeccable for making outbound calls to all your Skype contacts where you as the user have total control of the calling activity. And, of course, the call cost is also right.

It’s an Always-On Life

But the most difficult aspect to become accustomed to, especially as I was driving along the freeway today, was to be aware that one could always be connected to Skype whether via a WiFi access point or a wireless carrier, provided the battery had not been drained. I could follow Skype chat conversations, see others’ presence information and mood messages and, if appropriate, make a (currently free) voice call. There’s a psychological shift in thinking that has to be made.

Note:: Ontario has recently introduced laws that prohibit texting while driving as well as making voice calls other than handsfree calls. And the stats showed that texting while driving can be as dangerous as impaired driving. Pull over to the side of the road or turn over the driving to another party if you absolutely have to engage in or continue “that conversation”.

What have been your experiences with Skype for iPhone 2.0? Put them in the Comments and join the discussion.

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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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While participating in an interview session earlier today at the National Retail Federation’s annual Shop.org summit in Las Vegas, eBay CEO closed off questioning about the pending sale of Skype with “… there’s nothing new on that; this deal’s going to close.” AuctionByte’s Ina Steiner put out this video on her post, eBay CEO: Skype Deal Will Happen, Open to PayPal Spin-Off:

The Cy.Talk blog, in eBay CEO says Skype deal “is going to close”, reports:

Backstage after the presentation, Donahoe showed Reuters an excerpt of an email message he received that morning from eBay Chief Financial Officer Bob Swan saying no “show stoppers” were identified in the recent spate of litigation.

“We’re marching along,” Donahoe said, adding that he still expects the deal to close in mid-November.

Bottom line: It ain’t over til it’s over, but ….

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When I went to sign up for InnerPass Share and Collaborate a couple of weeks ago I was surprised to find a 50% discount on their Professional Plan. Normally $4.95 per month, a twelve month subscription will only cost $29.95. But this promotion only lasts for another week to May 31, 2009.

Recall that document sharing is InnerPass core strength; they have integrated Skype and desktop sharing to build document rooms where shared documents can be persistently stored and retrieved as necessary by designated “room” participants.

Subscribing to any of the InnerPass subscription plans (Personal (free), Professional or Business) during this promotion (by May 31, 2009) also enters your name to win the new ASUS Eee Skype Videophone AiGuru SV1. Having had an evaluation unit for a few weeks, I’ll be providing a review shortly. In the interim, suffice it to say, it provides an interesting Skype video call experience – without the need for a personal computer. Simply plug into an Ethernet jack or sign onto a WiFi network, enter your Skype account information and you’re able to make Skype video calls.

As for using the InnerPass document management service, I am finding that its persistence feature is quite useful for project document sharing without the need for using more complicated ftp services to exchange files. Since its launch this past January (2009), over 800,000 hosts and guests have been exposed to InnerPass’s service.

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In CNet’s third annual Webware 100 poll over 600,000 readers participated to select 10 WebWare 100 winners in each of 10 categories. Once again Skype has been declared a winner in the Communications category. Webware editors selected the 300 candidates out of 5000 nominees but the final winners are purely based on popular vote.

Somebody out there continues to like Skype!

In a recent post, I provided some examples where Skype is being used by small businesses to build relationships with a worldwide supplier and customer base. In the same post I provided a couple of examples where current economic conditions are helping to stealth Skype into enterprises in the medium to large business category. Skype itself claims that about 30% of its use is by businesses. At a blogging for business workshop a week ago and a local WordCamp this past weekend I again encountered several entrepreneurs for whom Skype was a key tool for conversations.

It seems that Skype wants to build up a repository of case studies involving business use of Skype. Last week Skype asked businesses to share their experiences with Skype as a business tool.

We’re looking for businesses like yours to share their experiences with us at Skype. We’re looking for creativity and originality – companies which use Skype in innovative ways around the world to save time, save money or stay ahead, and preferably a combination of the three.

The contest will be judged with three prizes to be  awarded involving Skype credits using Skype’s Business Control Panel along with Skype certified hardware products. More details are available at Peter Parkes post announcing the competition.

While the application form encourages the use of photos and video to support entries, it would also be useful to learn about how Skype not only reduces costs but also how Skype’s services impact business processes, customer/supplier relationships and team building across a geographically disbursed operation. And it’s not simply about voice conversations but are you using Skype chat for virtual water cooler conversations and Skype video to enhance conversations? Or do your activities involve one or more of Skype’s partner’s products for conferencing sessions, call center operations or document management?

Do you have a story to share?

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Earlier this week Skype Journal reported on Skype’s sponsorship of Oprah.com’s Web Events involving “classes” discussing Eckhart Tolle’s book A New Earth. A unique aspect of this presentation involved “full duplex” video dialogues as viewers posed questions. In some cases the viewers were supplied with the appropriate webcam and dual processor PC so that they could use Skype’s High Quality Video to support the dialogue with Oprah and Eckhart. Unfortunately last Monday’s initial session was fraught with network congestion issues as Harpo Productions attempted to support viewing by over 500,000 participants. However, I was finally able to watch the entire presentation once the video download or streaming was made available Tuesday.

My one key observation about the impact of the video technology is being able to watch the viewer’s facial expressions change as her/his question is answered. It provides an additional perspective to the discussion through watching the viewer’s emotional response as a complement to the verbal dialogue between the viewer and either Oprah or Eckhart. Using High Quality Video allows the viewer to be seen at the same level of video quality as the primary video feed from the main studio. Even when the viewer was shown full screen there was minimal pixelation; it allows the technology to take a back seat to the primary presentation and discussion as opposed to being a distraction. Bottom line: a viewing experience that focuses on the subject matter under review. And [switching to Skype cheerleader mode] you had to love Oprah’s comment during one dialogue: “Thank God for Skype!”. Whereas a year ago I was a skeptic about the value of video in conversations, watching this show, following my Skype High Quality Video experiences of the past few months, changed my viewpoint.

This weekend Oprah distributed an email to her book club registrants:

To Students of A New Earth,

Like you, I was deeply disappointed that so many dedicated webcast participants around the world were unable to view our first live webcast.

Experts from both Limelight Networks and Move Networks, our partners in bringing this groundbreaking experience to the Internet, believe they have identified and addressed the programming problem that was unmasked by a historic number of simultaneous users. While we were certainly prepared for the more than 700,000 people registered and continue to be assured that capacity was not the issue…it is clear that pioneering this new platform will always come with risks. So, that said…the team believes we are good to go for another try.

Since Monday night, over 1.5 million people have streamed or downloaded the webcast, and that option will be available on Tuesday of each week after all of the next nine classes.

I have been encouraged by the thousands of message board posts cheering us on to continue the live classes on Monday nights, and so we will keep moving forward, attempting to break new ground.

If you are willing to partner with me in exploring this new frontier — I’ll see you in class live on Monday. Otherwise, you can stream or download the class on Tuesday or whenever it’s convenient. I understand the frustration and leave it to you to experience the class in whatever way works best.

— Oprah

For those who always asked about Skype promotion, does 1.5 million viewings over a one week period answer their concerns about Skype’s awareness generation in North America? I would probably expect around 1 million real exposures as there were four options for downloading and I’m sure, as I experienced, lots of visitors made a couple of attempts to determine a suitable format for viewing or listening.

[In case you had any doubt about the power of an Oprah endorsement: Earlier today, while visiting a Staples, I asked where I could find a Post-It Flag Highlighter -- a co-sponsor with Skype and GM Chevrolet division of this event. In an unsolicited response the Staples associate told me the store had been inundated with requests for this new book reading tool as a result of Oprah's using it on one of her shows. Also worth noting - While Skype's only appearance during Oprah's class is the actual use of Skype High Quality Video with the Skype logo in the name bar as shown above, the other two co-sponsors only had ads that were inserted every 20 minutes or so during the event.]

There was a caveat with respect to tomorrow’s second class (of ten):

We are asking you to arrive early to take your seat. On Sunday, you will receive an e-mail that contains your special link and specific time to enter class. If you arrive after 8:55/7:55c, there is a chance you will be unable to participate in the live Web event. Our goal is to provide as many of you as possible with a positive experience. If we should see a significant decline in video quality, we may limit the size of the class that evening.

Today I received that email with a link; I’ll report on the outcome.

• Dan York: The Oprah-tization of VoiP via Skype
• Harold Wolinsky: Oprah Goes Skype
• Skype Ad Page on Oprah.com

Tags: Skype, Skype High Quality Video, Oprah, Oprah.com, Oprah Book Club Web Event, Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth, Post-It Flag Highlighter, GM Chevrolet Division

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Getting an interactive Internet program broadcast out to 500,000 proves to be a true pioneering effort; Oprah.com and Harpo Productions demonstrate the value of transparent communication to your audience as a result of a communication technology breakdown. From the Web Event web site at about 10:00 p.m. EST:

Congestive heart failure is a disease where functioning of your heart continues but in a somewhat weakened state. Last night 500,000 logins was too much for Oprah.com. In spite of moving information over the Internet at 242 Gbps, Oprah’s Web Event¹ suffered congestive Internet failure. Some got a steady stream apparently during the first 15 to 20 minutes after a 9:00 p.m. start, whereas others (myself included) received intermittent coverage that eventually just froze. Harpo Productions, however, was quick to put out an apology and explanations, via both the Oprah.com website and emails to all who registered:

Harpo Productions, Inc., Move Networks and Limelight Networks recognize that interactive Internet broadcasting to a mass audience is still an emerging medium, and we’re proud to have been pioneers in pushing the industry forward. We deeply regret that some of our audience did not have an optimal viewing experience and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. The first session of the webinar will be available in its entirety for viewing on Oprah.com or for downloading as a podcast on Oprah.com or iTunes on Tuesday, March 4.

In the public relations space, it’s called quickly and transparently acknowledging your issues and getting a message (any message) out to your target audience.

As for Skype’s involvement, during the snippets I could watch in 15-20 second intervals, Oprah took two questions over Skype High Quality Video from Illinois, one an individual and one a group watching at a Borders store in Chicago. A couple of comments:

• The bar with the Skype logo remained on screen during the entire dialogue with each questioner. No brief ten second impressions here; this was an ongoing continuous five minute impression! And repeated for each questioner.
• At one point I heard Oprah say something along the lines of “Let’s go back to Kelly via Skype. This Skype is ‘wonderful’: I didn’t even know about Skype until a couple of weeks ago.”
• The Skype High Quality Video logo appeared continuously in the upper left hand corner of both the video calls I was able to view.

When the webcast is available later today, I’ll go back and listen for more details on what is hopefully an uninterrupted stream. Being available as a webcast and a downloadable podcast, there will be lots of residual impressions for Skype. As one of my fellow bloggers commented to me in a chat session: “OMG, the Oprahfication of Skype!”

With nine more Monday night “classes” scheduled, this will be as interesting for the communications technology story and associated public relations activity as for the book’s content.

¹ Due to the dynamic nature of this landing page, the content may change with time. As of 8:00 a.m. EST Tuesday, March 4 it started out: “Monday night’s webcast was one of the largest single online events in the history of the Internet. More than 500,000 people simultaneously logged on to watch Oprah Winfrey and Eckhart Tolle live, resulting in 242 Gbps of information moving through the Internet. Unfortunately, some of our users experienced delays in viewing the webcast. We are working to identify the specific causes for the problems experienced and will work diligently to rectify them.”

Take a MacBook with embedded webcam, add Skype video and mix into a WiFi Connection

Amber MacArthur is a local Toronto-based technology reporter who not only does daily television broadcast reports for CityTV but also has her own CommandN.tv online video podcasts. Last Wednesday at mesh 2007 I found her in one of the conference hallways broadcasting live to CityTV’s local cable information station, called CP24, being interviewed by an anchor back at the studio. The viewers would see the anchor while Amber appeared on a display monitor beside the anchor (unfortunately I had no way to capture the actual broadcast).

As her video source she was using her MacBook’s webcam, capturing the picture via Skype for Mac and sending it out over the conference’s WiFi network back to the CP24 studio where they were receiving the video on another Skype client and putting it up on the flat panel display monitor in the anchor’s studio. Because this was a live broadcast, she did use a mobile phone for the audio as they could not risk any audio degradation due to packet loss, etc. She did say that had it been a recorded event, they would have used Skype as they can then edit out any audio problems.

Amber uses Skype for Mac quite extensively for her own podcast interview recordings and has a Cyberspeaker for Mac to assist with these recordings. CommandN is produced weekly every Wednesday and can be uploaded to iTunes for viewing on a PC and is also available in several other formats. Recently she launched Webnation, another weekly technology show produced for broadcast on CityTV but also available for download via iTunes; once again Skype plays a key role in its production.

I’ll be watching for a future opportunity to capture an actual broadcast as viewed over my cable service. And there should be a contest for the most innovative application of Skype; this would be a winner!