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Logitech C920 Webcam: for a Superior Skype Video Calling Experience

By on February 1, 2012

From the time just over four years ago when Skype introduced High Quality Video at VGA (640 x 480) resolution and 30 frames per second (“fps” or “frame rate”) I have had the opportunity to test many webcams for Skype Video calling. In the fall of 2010 I reported on the launch of HD Video [...]

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Skype for TV: CES 2012 Update

By on January 16, 2012
http://youtu.be/ZQhj7za2uNk

Two years ago at CES 2010 Skype announced Skype for TV with two partners (Samsung and LG). It was only available on very high end Internet-enabled TV sets and required vendor-specific webcams. Effectively the cost of adoption was over $1,500. CES 2011 saw an expansion of the number of TV set vendors (Panasonic, Toshiba, Sony, [...]

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Logitech C920 sets new Skype HD Video standards

By on January 11, 2012

Last night at ShowStopper at CES 2012 Logitech was demonstrating its newly announced HD Pro Webcam C920; it sets some new performance standards that open up a much larger market for HD video on Skype: the first Skype-certified webcam to deliver 1080p video the minimum required upload speed is 1 Mpbs dual stereo microphones It [...]

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Skype from your Home Phone: Now Available in U.K.

By on November 15, 2011

Last week I provided a review of my experience with a recent production model of the FREETALK® Connect•Me Adapter for Home Phone, initially available in the U.S. and Canada. To quickly recall its primary feature, the Connect•Me Adapter allows you to make PC-free Skype and SkypeOut calls and, optionally, landline calls from an existing home [...]

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Skype on Your Home Phone: FREETALK Connect•Me – The Experience

By on November 11, 2011

While the FREETALK® Connect•Me Adapter for Home Phone became available in late August, I only received a production hardware version three weeks ago. I have now had a chance not only to verify the operation of all its features but also to observe some of the reviews.  But before talking about its operation I want [...]

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Make and Receive Skype Calls on Your Home Phone

By on August 31, 2011

Today the Skype Store launched two new ways to place and receive Skype calls, including SkypeOut calls, from your home phone. Each also has an option to continue using your landline. The options are: Make and receive Skype calls on an existing home phone using the FREETALK® Connect•Me Home Phone Adapter for Skype. Make and [...]

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Happy 8th Birthday Skype

By on August 29, 2011

Today marks the 8th anniversary of Skype’s launch as a free voice calling and instant messaging service running on Windows PC’s. Within the first month Skype had over 500,000 users; today Skype can boast of 170 million active users with as many as 30 million users online concurrently. Skype’s Jennifer Caulkin, in her post, Celebrating [...]

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SkypeKit: Emerging into Public Beta

By on June 28, 2011

Just over a year after Skype’s first announcement of SkypeKit as a closed beta program for third party developers, Jonathan Christensen, Skype’s Vice President, Emerging Opportunities, announced the opening up of the SkypeKit developer program to a public beta at eComm 2011 this afternoon. Yesterday I had the opportunity to discuss the program with Chris [...]

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Skype for TV – Not on Windows

By on May 25, 2011

While attending CES 2011 back in January, I spent an afternoon visiting the main television vendor floor where 3D TV was definitely the number one topic of interest; however, I found, and reported on, several vendors with display kiosks demonstrating Skype for TV. Michael Wolf, at GigaOm’s NewTeeVee, recently brought renewed visibility to the Skype [...]

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Microsoft Acquires Skype–Steve Ballmer Does Skype Europe

By on May 16, 2011

When an acquisition occurs, it’s always a good sign to see that the acquiring CEO is getting around to meet all the employees of the acquired company. When major announcements were being made at my last employer, our first priority was to make sure the employees understood what was being announced, the reasoning behind the [...]

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