For those of you who wonder how Skype is making money, here's another head-scratcher: Skype announced today that all calls within the United States and Canada--to other Skype users and landlines and cell phones--are free until the end of the year. No need to use SkypeOut to call your tech-averse uncle in Montana; just dial his number in Skype's dial pad, and you're gabbing for nothing. According to the e-mail I just got from Skype, the company hopes that the goodwill it garners from this offering will woo users into making international calls (the normal per-minute rates still apply); paying for features such as SkypeIn, voicemail, or ring tones; or purchasing Skype-branded accessories, such as headsets, from its online store.

As baffled as I am, I have never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I am off to Skype everyone I know to debate this unforeseen move--everyone I know in the United States and Canada, that is.

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