Yesterday Skype announced the availability of Skype 3.6 for iOS (iPhone, iPad) with three key updates:

• Chat improvements: Copy and Paste & URL links now work
• UI improvements: Edit button reinstalled in Messages
• Stability improvements and various bug fixes

I installed the upgrade on my iPad (original version) and found the last item is the most important. The initial screen comes up much more quickly showing recent conversations in the left sidebar and “All Contacts” for your account. Go to “Online Contacts” and watch the Contact images “dance around” as Contacts come online or go offline.

Chat sessions with individuals now open up almost instantly when you select a Contact; new messages arrive immediately (at the same time I see them in Skype for Windows). The one remaining “laggard” is bringing up Group Chat sessions where Skype for iPad may take a while to initialize the session as it catches up with all the Contacts in the Group and brings in recent chat messages (in one case for my setup over 300).

I also checked out the Copy and Paste as well as URL links within a chat session; they both work fine. Touch on the message to get the “Copy” icon; touch within the message window to get the “Paste” icon.

Bottom line: Skype 3.6 for iOS is a “must do” upgrade due to these speed improvements. Normally I don’t get pushy about upgrades but this one makes such a performance improvement it is highly recommended. It makes Skype for iPad much more useful as an “always available” Skype platform; for that reason alone it’s worth the upgrade (done via the Apple App Store).

P.S. – When I find my “lost” iPhone I’ll do the upgrade there as well. (“Find my iPhone” did an update a few days after I lost it that would have helped immensely.)

Two weeks ago in the post, Whither Skype Extras Today? Withered?, I asked for a clarification about the status of Skype Extras.

Today Skype announced a HotFix that effectively removes access to Skype Extras although it shows up, greyed out, in the Tools Menu. Go to Help | Check for Upgrades. In Windows Task Manager you’ll find that SkypePM.exe is no longer seen in the Processes tab.

As PamConsult’s Dick Schiferli points out in the comments below the Skype Extras do remain available in the Skype Store and are also available from the various publishers’ websites. However, the good news is that several publishers of Skype Extras have not withered away but rather have upgraded their products to remove their dependence on the Skype Extras program while introducing new features.

The Skype Extras Survivors

PamFax – winner of the 2007 Skype mashup competition, continues to grow; their recent infrastructure upgrade means that faxes are delivered within a minute of clicking on the Send Fax button. No ongoing obligations yet there are subscription programs that include a fax number in 27 countries. Send and received faxes to/from PC’s, iPhone/iPad/iPodTouch and Android. Fax Dropbox documents; receive faxes in DropBox. Click here for a complete update on PamFax,

InnerPass is releasing a new team collaboration product, Group Mix, that aggregates all their document management, persistent “rooms” and desktop sharing expertise into a web-based product with a great user interface that is easily accessed in any browser from, say, a bookmark. The first release includes voice connections in several countries via the PSTN; they will bring Skype back in shortly. More details will be forthcoming in a post early next week.

Pamela continues to upgrade and add more features to the longest running Skype Extra. Call recording, conversation archiving and many other nifty features that enhance the Skype user experience.

Netralia continues to offer its Skylook Outlook plugin that has done very well in the customer relationship management space. More recently they launched and have upgraded VodBurner, capable not only of recording Skype Video calls but also performing editing of the recording and direct upload to YouTube.

Evoca has been building their online audio recording and hosting business where you can call in from any phone, Skype or PC mic, record interviews and conference calls. From their website:

Dial any of our U.S. and international phone numbers or use the Evoca Skype Call Recorder — available for registered subscribers. Our 100% web service securely saves and stores your audio file in digital MP3 format in your online Evoca account. You can keep it private, share it with colleagues, or publish it online for the world to listen.

OnState continues to provide and grow its web-based, pay-as-you-go call center/PBX offering. In fact, in addition to its Skype integration, it now supports Google Talk and Salesforce.com amongst other features.

There may be others; I’ll be glad to add them. But these are the publishers who have managed to build on their user feedback and market acceptance. They have continued development to enhance their products which incorporate Skype integration but can operate independently of the Skype Extras infrastructure.

Today Skype released the promised Hotfix to Skype for Mac 5.1 that addresses the security vulnerability that was the subject of much Internet angst last Friday.

Click on Skype | Check for Updates … and you will get this:

Release notes, such as they are, mention three issues addressed:

• Security updates
• Resolves video freezing in high-packet loss networks
• Fixes minor bugs

Dan York has put on his enterprise enterprise security manager hat in posting: Skype Issues 2nd Mac 5.1 Hotfix for “Security Issues” – But What Are Those Issues? and concludes with:

Seriously, Skype… security matters… and even more, communication about security matters. We all know that with any system there are security issues… no system is perfect and attackers will always try to compromise systems. We get that. It is how you react and communicate about those security issues that is so incredibly critical.

Update: Adam Asher, Chief Information Security Officer at Skype, has provided a post outlining why Skype is holding back on details of the security issue addressed by this hotfix as well as confirmation from Pure Hacking (who originally found the issue) that the vulnerability has gone away.

My approach on releases is to always wait for the majority of our users to update before detailing / discussing any of the specific issues that have been fixed. This minimizes the amount of time that would-be attackers have to try and exploit those of our users that haven’t upgraded yet.

Bottom Line: if you are running Skype for Mac 5.1 (or 5.0), do the update. If you chose to stay on Skype for Mac 2.8 while Skype addresses some much larger issues with Skype 5.x, you need do nothing.

Note: as of the time of writing this post, Dan reports that “Check for Updates” is not working for him. Probably needs to clear U.S. customs or similar border security issue. You can also get the download here.

Related articles

• Skype Security Blog: Security Vulnerability in Mac Client Has Been Addressed (blogs.skype.com)

This morning Skype released, for public feedback, Skype for Mac 5 Beta 1 with a range of new features and modifications of the legacy user interface. My first experiences with it over the past couple of days generate some interesting questions (that I’m sure many developers face when developing applications for both Windows and the Mac). Keep in mind that this is a beta and Skype is looking for user feedback; I’ve already reported a couple of minor bugs encountered in my normal use of the application.

First, what’s new? Many features from Skype for Windows 5 and then some:

Bringing it up to Skype for Windows 5 features:

• Multi-party video (beta with the 28 day free trial; no mention of charges)
  • Dan York: Skype 5.0 Beta for Mac OS X: A First Look at Group Video
  • Speaking caller’s name turns green (instead of a blue halo)
• Offline IM: so you can send and receive chat messages while the other party is offline
• Improved experience with network-compromised calls
• Recovery of dropped calls (A most useful feature in Skype for Windows 5)
• Scroll up the bottom of a conversation window to expose the chat window for the conversation
• Join an ongoing conference call
• Add phone numbers to a Contact’s Skype profile (been very handy in Skype for Windows 5)
• Integration with the native Mac Address Book (vs the native Outlook Address Book)

And here’s what’s different:

• A significantly different User Interface (which is supposed to be more Mac-like)
• A Call Control Bar that stays above any documents or other application window that you have open
• Maintain a set of Favorites in the Contact Sidebar for frequent Contacts
• Contact Profile also contains all recent conversations with the Contact
• A Contact Monitor that lets you see a list of Online Contacts (upper left corner of the above image)

Dan York has a second post that covers much of the above: Skype 5.0 Beta for Mac OS X: A First Look with Screenshots.

And here’s what’s missing:

• Call Status Bar from Skype for Mac 5 Beta 1

• Call Status Bar from Skype for Windows 5.0:

• I would really like to see the DialPad, Screen Share and Add to Call, as well as the Call Quality Information icons included in the one primary Call Status Bar as done in Skype for Windows 5.
  • at the moment they tend to be scattered around the conversation screen and not easy to find. For instance the Dial Pad is buried obscurely in the lower left corner of the call window.
• And, talking about the Call Quality Information, the new version of this in Skype for Windows 5 is a very handy tool for determining the status of hardware and network connections with a readily accessible single click:

This is one other “would-like-to-see” in Skype for Mac 5 as it has really helped with determining the cause of any call issues in real time.

The User Interface:

With the introduction of Skype for Windows 4.0 (and enhanced in Windows 5), we had to get accustomed to a new User Interface algorithm. Once I caught onto its separation of Navigation (Contacts, Conversations Directory) and Content (Chat content, call History, File transfer history, etc.) algorithm, it turns out to actually be very efficient for dealing with all my Skype conversation activity. I can easily find previous conversations, Search old chat sessions, check out Facebook New Feed, and find other content. (And if I don’t want to look at the FaceBook News Feed, I don’t have to.) Most significant is its use of Tabs to help maintain focus on the task at hand:

I still need to spend some time using the Skype for Mac 5 beta user interface; there’s something not quite so simplistic about it. There’s an attempt at separation of Navigation and Content but it’s not so obvious. Fundamentally Skype for Windows 5 has figured out how to use Tabs effectively; the lack of Tabs in Skype for Mac 5 beta is what I feel is hindering the ease of user operations. Whereas Skype for Windows 5 “hides” what you do not need, Skype for Mac 5 beta appears to be totally ‘in your face” and cluttered. I would strongly suggest having some discussions with the Skype for Windows 5 product management team along with an investigation of the use of Tabs.

In another post I ‘ll have more to say about Tabs in the Skype interface as they can be used to address another issue that is arising at this time as well (but not discussed here).

What do I like about Skype for Mac 5?

• Video call quality; in the few video conversations I have had, the video quality has been excellent
• Multi-party Calling and the way it is presented; very “Mac-Like” (acknowledgements to Dan York for the image on the right)
• The Floating Call Control Bar
• The Contact Monitor
• Mac Address Book integration
• Handling of Favorites

Finally, Dan York made a video this morning where he demonstrates many of the features of Skype for Mac 5 beta, including a multi-party Skype video call; an eight minute training video to learn about all the new features in action:

Bottom line: it’s a beta, there are a few minor bugs but it needs feedback from the general Skype user community. And I really think a usability review would be in order along the lines suggested in this post. On the other hand, finally Mac users can take advantage of many Skype for Windows 5 features; it’s definitely a step in the right direction.

P.S.: Did I mention that Dan holds a copyright on requesting upgrades for Skype for Mac?

Two posts from Skype:

• The Big Blog: Introducing the new Skype for Mac, now available in Beta
• Skype Garage Blog: Skype 5.0 Beta for Mac (including Release Notes)

Download it here.

Related articles

• Skype For Mac: The TNW Complete Review [TNW Apple] (thenextweb.com)
• Skype 5 Beta for Mac Now Available (macstories.net)
• Skype Group Video Calls Come To The Mac In Beta (techcrunch.com)
• With Facetime Looming, Skype Outs a Better Mac Client (gigaom.com)
• Skype 5.0 for Mac Beta is now available — includes group video chat (tuaw.com)
• Skype Group Video Calling Comes to Mac (mashable.com)
• Download: Skype for Mac 5 Beta (skypejournal.com)
• Skype 5.0 for Mac beta gets group video chat, redesign (macworld.com)
• Facetime for Mac: Adding Millions to the FaceTime User Base (voiceontheweb.biz)
• Skype 5.0 Beta for Mac Arrives…But Where’s Facebook? (readwriteweb.com)

Following on the heels of the recent launch of Skype for Linux 2.1 Beta, Skype announced to additional updates of note last last week:

Skype for iPhone 1.2

Peter Parkes sums it up in Skype for iPhone 1.2: adds call forwarding, SMS and quality improvements:

• You can set up call forwarding from your iPhone – forward Skype calls to a phone number when you’re not signed in, so you can pick up calls even when the Skype app isn’t running on your device
• Improved performance and better audio quality when making Skype-to-Skype calls
• It’s even easier to send text messages (SMS) – you can now send SMSs from the Call tab

The release notes provide a complete list of not only new features, but also improvements, fixed issues and known issues.

Using Skype or Truphone on the iPhone has always been limited by the fact you have to be in the relevant application in order to receive calls. (There are a few comments to Peter’s post asking for incorporation of “Push” for a reason.)

Adding this call forwarding feature to Skype for iPhone means that you will receive calls even when not in the application. However, there are costs: (1) it will use minutes from your carrier subscription and (2) as happens with call forwarding on Skype for Windows/Mac, you will need either a Skype Calling Plan subscription or Skype Credits to cover both the connection fee and and the Pay-As-You-Go rate for the length of the call.

Question: when launched it was mentioned that the SILK codec was “modularly designed for embedding into silicon”. We have also seen its migration into Skype for Mac 2.8 and Skype for Linux 2.1 beta. Has this version of Skype for iPhone incorporated the SILK codec as part of “improved performance and better audio quality on Skype-to-Skype calls”?

Skype for Windows 4.1 Hotfix 2

A hotfix does not introduce any new features; however, it does address known issues and it seems that Skype for Windows 4.1 had its share of them. However, the Skype for Windows (build 4.1.0.166) hotfix 2 released late last week addresses a long list of issues (document version). And the links also outline known outstanding issues, with work arounds where feasible.

Strongly recommended that you update either via the “Help | Check for Updates” menu item in the Skype client or by redownloading Skype if Skype itself does not offer to upgrade when you next log into your Skype account via Skype for Windows.

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• SocialScope: Why BlackBerry? (voiceontheweb.biz)
• It’s Upgrade Madness Week at Skype (voiceontheweb.biz)

This week Skype has released final “Gold” versions of three of their software offerings: Skype for Windows Mobile 3.0; Skype for iPhone 1.1 and Skype for Windows 4.1, their primary client.

Skype for Windows Mobile 3.0 goes Gold: From Peter Parkes:

It includes two cool new features: SMS and file transfer. Sending SMSs using Skype is a great way to reach friends and family instantly anywhere in the world – Skype’s low rates mean that you won’t have to break the bank to do it. And file transfer lets you send files quickly when you’re on the move.

Download here. Check out the Release Notes.

Skype for iPhone 1.1. While available for the new iPhone 3G S and the iPhone 3G, most important is that this release requires that you have performed the OS 3.0 upgrade to the iPhone 3G (initially sold last July); it should be offered automatically when you next connect your iPhone to iTunes on a PC. This upgrade adds features such as Cut/Copy and Paste along with many other improvements.

As for the iPhone for Skype software, it adds voicemail and SMS features as well as some improvements to the user interface. It also adds support for several languages such that the language support comprises: Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish and Traditional Chinese as well as various English versions.

This one needs to be downloaded from the App Store via iTunes or as an upgrade on the device.

Canadians are still awaiting a resolution of a G729 patent issue before Skype for iPhone becomes legally available in Canada. Canadians have to be developing a syndrome about being left out of certain Skype offerings freely available in the rest of the world. And  now many of us early adopters would like to be able to take advantage of Rogers’ iPhone upgrade offer.

Skype 4.1 for Windows goes Gold. By far the most useful new feature of Skype 4.1 beta has been the screen sharing where I have easily shared spreadsheets, performed PowerPoint presentations and reviewed Word documents, as long as the sharing in only with one other Skype user. (Remember this screen sharing is done via the Skype for Video channel for which only one-to-one video calls are permitted.) It also includes sound and video quality improvements. (The screen sharing is a catch-up to a feature available on Skype for Mac 2.8 beta for several months.)

Bottom Line: incremental improvements that provide evolution, not revolution, of the feature sets. My biggest issue is a request to restore complete support for Public Chat sessions where enhanced marketing support of this feature would drive new adoptions (or is it that Skype cannot figure out a business model for Skype for Public Chat? – purely my speculations).

Other posts:

• Rogers steps for up iPhone 3G customers. Early adopters of the iPhone 3G have a significant upgrade offer until July 31, 2009. I am given to understand similar offers are available in several other countries.
• Dan York: Skype launches version 4.1… (yawn)… still only Windows… still a fragmented product strategy

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• Accessing Skype on the iPhone and BlackBerry (voiceontheweb.biz)
• Will AT&T’s Randall Stephenson Mobilize Skype? (voiceontheweb.biz)
• Skype on Mobile: What Would Be a Realistic Skype Announcement at CTIA Wireless Next Week? (voiceontheweb.biz)
• Skype Without a Personal Computer (voiceontheweb.biz)
• iPhone 3GS? Not Enough to Justify the Cost (and AT&T Sucks) (smarterware.org)
• Qik Brings Live Video To The iPhone 3GS. But You Still Won’t Find It In The App Store. (techcrunch.com)

Over the past couple of weeks I have discovered a couple of “changes” that did not show up in the Release Notes for all the recent Skype 3.0 and Skype 3.1 for Windows upgrades.

Conference Calls: a year ago Skype announced that, if you had the then new Intel Core Duo processor, the Skype client would support conference calls with up to 10 participants instead of the originally supported five participant limit. With the release of Skype 3.0 last December the processor restriction has been lifted. However, one would advise using PC’s with either Core Duo or other fast (say, >1.5MHz) processors should you wish to host a conference call with more than five participants. For conference calls involving between 10 and 500 participants check out HighSpeedConferencing.com.

Video out of beta: with the release of Skype 3.1 for Windows, video calling is no longer in beta. Check Tools | Options | Video and you will find the word “beta” omitted. We have certainly been experiencing excellent quality Skype video during some demonstrations here at CeBit 2007.

Bottom line: upgrading to Skype 3.1 will ensure you are able to take full advantage of these changes.