We just heard from Skype with an official comment on what caused the service interruption today and what they’re doing to fix it.
“Apologies for the delay, but we can now update you on the Skype sign-on issue. As we continue to work hard at resolving the problem, we wanted to dispel some of the concerns that you may have. The Skype system has not crashed or been victim of a cyber attack. We love our customers too much to let that happen. This problem occurred because of a deficiency in an algorithm within Skype networking software. This controls the interaction between the user’s own Skype client and the rest of the Skype network. Rest assured that everyone at Skype is working around the clock — from Tallinn to Luxembourg to San Jose — to resume normal service as quickly as possible.”
Oddly enough, one of our nicknames for John is “deficient algorithm.” If you want to keep up on the the repair process, you can check the company’s blog.
Skype is down. Woe is Skype. Currently its millions of users (including me) are unable to log in to the service.
Skype staffer Villu Arak left the following on the company blog:
Some of you may be having problems logging into Skype. Our engineering team has determined that it’s a software issue. We expect this to be resolved within 12 to 24 hours. Meanwhile, you can simply leave your Skype client running and as soon as the issue is resolved, you will be logged in. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Curiously, the post is tagged “News, Events, Milestones”. I’m not so sure they’re going to want to remember this as a milestone but, hey, I’m just a guy with a keyboard and no Skype access.
Skype suffers major software glitch [Globe and Mail]
Skype login problems [Skype Blog]
Skype is introducing a fun new way to video chat with your family and friends with the inclusion of shared video content from sites like Daily Motion and Metacafe. Skype 3.5 for Windows allows you, dear readers, to include videos you’ve downloaded from said video-sharing sites and insert them in your Skype ‘mood.’ Imagine if you will, you’re talking with your buddy in Kazakhstan who doesn’t quite grasp the concept of ottoman humping or he hasn’t seen Jake Brown’s horrendous 45-foot fall. Now you can just direct them to your Skype profile.
Skype 3.5 has a couple more features like auto redial and you can transfer incoming calls to another person or group on Skype and Pro subscribers you can forward calls onto a landline or mobile phone.
Cheapskates that we are, people are always trying to find deals, like, say, being able to make phone calls for free. Yes, that works. Over at the Times, David Pogue bravely looked at several services that offer, in one way or another, free phone calls. Skype we already know, so who cares. But there’s three other services that seem neat: Jajah.com, T-Mobile’s HotSpot@Home and Ooma.
Jajah lets you make calls from your regular telephone, but you need to initiate the conversation with a Web browser. Jajah then calls both numbers and connects them, sorta like an operator.
Read More
Laptop Magazine has a good read about everyone’s favorite disruptor, Joost. The editors start out with a battle of the sexes-style argument and then move into the review itself. I agree with both of them, for the most part.
Joost is slick looking, I agree. Joost doesn’t have good enough programming to completely disrupt mainstream television, I agree. Live TV is overrated? Disagree. You’ve gotta have live TV for news, weather, and sports. That’s the biggest thing I see holding Joost back. Laguna Beach isn’t good programming? Agree, and I’ll throw in a “Laguna Beach is one of the worst shows in the history of American television. Same goes for The Hills.”
What I find most exciting about Joost is its potential for peripherals that hook directly into your TV. Coming from the same people that brought Skype into our lives, it’d be great to see them accessorize Joost similar to what they’ve done with Skype. After all, you can’t disrupt TV if you have to watch everything on your computer.
Joost: Battle of the Sexes [LAPTOP Magazine]
That robot in Rocky IV sucks. You know the one I’m talking about. It just cracked crappy jokes and brought people beer – kind of like Peter. Now that it’s 2007, the Spykee Spy Robot is the new hotshot robot in town. This bad boy comes with tank treads, WiFi, a camera, and microphone so you can conduct your own Barbara Walters interviews without risk of botox juice squirting on your shirt.
Oh, and did I mention the included Skype compatibility and motion detector Spykee has? With a built-in camera and mic, you can totally hold Skype calls with whoever you want via a robot. He plays MP3s too. If that’s not cool as hell, then I don’t know what is. Surprisingly, Spykee isn’t that expensive. Only $388 and you’ll be well on your way to checking out chicks in the locker room without getting caught.
Spykee Spy Robot – your mobile CCTV Skype friend [Red Ferret]
Nokia may not have a multi-touch screen, but they do have a few things up their sleeve that Apple doesn’t. The N800 isn’t a phone per se, but the Wi-Fi feature coupled with the latest upgrade makes the tablet a force to be reckoned with. The latest build, 4.2007.26-8, includes Skype, Adobe Flash 9, memory card support up to 8GB (potential support up to 16GB) and improvements to the battery life. The battery life improvement can be accredited to improvements made around the wireless connection. Content on external memory cards are also read more efficiently to help improve the longevity of the device.
A handful of other pre-installed content comes along with the upgrade. Internet radio channels have been updated as well as an easier way to install Real Rhapsody. A tablateer info applet and piquant (?) new Web sites have also been included. The Nokia Internet Call Invitation, which was in beta, is now over and the service will be teminated as of 08-31-2007.
Download now!
Feature upgrade release to the Internet Tablet OS 2007 edition [via Tablet Blog]
Siemens, which is no longer the shirt sponsor of Real Madrid C.F., did a mea culpa yesterday and ate crow over the fact that Wi-Fi-only phones have been a complete and utter failure. The company has been a big supporter of the phones, which are meant to connect to Skype and other VoIP providers, but is now prepared to scuttle the ship. The key phrase in those previous two sentences was “Wi-Fi-only,” because Siemens still sees a market for Wi-Fi-compatible phones, just not those that are exclusively Wi-Fi. The technology has evolved to the point where companies can now incorporate Wi-Fi into phones almost as an afterthought.
The holy grail of phones? One that combines cellular, POTS cordless and Wi-Fi service, which is pretty similar to what we heard at CES back in January.
Wi-Fi phones a no-go, Siemens says [CNET]
USA Today is running a little piece about how Skype is totally Pee Oooed about how some carriers won’t let phone owners run outside applications on their handsets. They were so angry, in fact, they wrote a sternly worded letter to the FCC about it and they intend to take this all the way to … zzzzzz… what? Oh, sorry.
Read More
Skype has announced that it will be offering a software developer’s kit (SDK) for its new GameXN framework. The plan is for Skype users to be able to invite one another into online games. No word yet on if Skype plans on allowing users to communicate via VoIP during the game, but I’d imagine it’s in the works. Windows Live Messenger already has some similar features, but a lot of people use Skype and it’s cross-platform, so maybe it’s onto something here.
Skype to pump out new games channel [TG Daily]
It’s morning again in America. Today, more men and women will use Voice over IP services like Skype than ever before. Knowing this, Skype and Wal-Mart have teamed up, with the giant retailer set to sell Skype hardware and $20 pre-paid cards in its 17 zillion, small town way of life-destroying stores.
Those who are curious about VoIP will find Skype headsets, Web cams and the like ready for hands-on testing in their local store. Good move for Skype, since there’s pretty much no better way to sell your wares to Joe Public than to have a cushy Wal-Mart setup. Wal-Mart probably could use as much new, high-tech products to stock its shelves with, considering the company just came off a fairly disappointing month. Can’t keep building stores forever to fix that bottom line, Señores Walton & Co.
Skype at Wal-Mart [Skype]
IM+ from SHAPE Services is about to make Blackberry owners cry out with pure glee. This client lets you IM and talk to Skype friends on the cheap. For $25 you get the ability to make calls not over WiFi, but over friggin’ GSM/3G/CDMA networks. Yeah, that’s right. Free voice calls to friends and cheap-as-hell SkypeOut calls without a WiFi network. Might as well lower your current cellphone plan.
Read More
Do you use Skype? Do you SMS people with Skype? No? Didn’t think so. Well, now there’s a bit more reason to give it a go. From May 2 to May 8 — which is the week of Saint Erasmus, the martyred patron saint of digital communications popular in Asia and Europe but not so popular in the United States — SMSes through Skype will be 50% off. What does that translate into big people money? That all depends on your location and target recipient, but rest assured that if you want to Skype people in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand or the US, Skype will let you do it for 50 percent off.
Product Page
Skype (my favoritest Internet communications service for voice, text and video owned by eBay) and Intel (my favoritest chipset company that starts with the letter “I”) are teaming up this Mother’s Day (May 13, 2007), giving users in the U.S. and Canada free SkypeOut calls to any landline or mobile number around the world.
The “Gift of Gab” promotion, as they’ve dubbed it, runs 24 hours. Use the time to apologize for not calling last year, or for her birthday, or coming home for Thanksgiving, or for that time you wrecked the car/burned the house down/puked on her shoes after drinking way too much Jägermeister. Oh and while you’re at it, convince her to sign up for Skype. More information about the “Gift of Gab” is available here.
 has built in echo- and noise-canceling circuitry that should put any qualms about VoIP to rest. What’s even better is that you don’t need any drivers and it only needs to be plugged into a USB port and you’re ready to go. It’s just $82, too, so you can’t really go wrong.</p>
<p><a href=)
Product Page [via Digital World Tokyo]
The City of London, financial district included, is now covered by a privately owned Wi-Fi cloud. The network was created by The Cloud, a company that provides similar Wi-Fi access across Europe. What makes this network different than, say, Google’s initiative in Mountain View, Calif. is that London’s is a mesh network. In the vernacular, this means you shouldn’t lose your connection even as you roam throughout the city.
Another major difference is that access to this network isn’t free. Rather, The Cloud has licensed it off to a number of companies, which will then offer wireless access at variable rates. The network’s backers think it should be popular with users looking to make VoIP calls from dedicated handsets. Approximately 355,000 people will be able to access the Wi-Fi network.
Switch on for Square Mile wi-fi [BBC News]
With the VOIP8411B, Philips jumps into the hurly-burly world of Skype handsets. Fortunately for the Dutch conglomerate, its handset is the best looking of the bunch. It doesn’t do anything that other Skype handsets don’t do—make Skype-to-Skype and SkypeOut phone calls—but it also works as a POTS handset. Remarkable!
Read More
And so it goes… SkypeWillMakeYaJump was the final secret subject line and it didn’t appear in an image — but did appear in a movie, a semantic difference that may create a firestorm of controversy that will last through the ages. And the final winner is: Kitty!
Special thanks to Skype and SMC for their great products and look for more contests from your friends at CG this year. And, as always, thank you for reading.
