July 19, 2006, 10:16 AM PDT
AOL aims to get your business chatting
Posted by: Elsa Wenzel

Instant-messaging apps aren't just for emotive tweens; corporations rely upon IM for quick, cross-cubicle communication. But behind the smiley faces of many IM apps, lax security lurks. Pitching safer, SSL-encrypted messaging with virus scans, AOL launched AIM Pro today. This free corporate IM service integrates with Microsoft Outlook as well as the WebEx online meeting service, so you can collaborate with business buddies while having your calendar and multiple contacts on hand. AIM Pro also includes video and voice chatting as well as tools for IT administrators. You can download it at aol.com/aimpro.

So far, we like the simple installation and straightforward interface, which lacks ads. Once we signed into AIM Pro with our AOL identity, the app's Calendar tab immediately integrated our Outlook calendar without demanding any extra steps. A book icon within the Quick Contacts area at the bottom of AIM Pro allowed us to immediately add names of coworkers we had within Outlook.

AOL says that AIM Pro reaches 80 million users. AIM alone enjoys 47 million users, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. That's several million more than the combined user bases of both Yahoo Messenger with Voice and Windows Live Messenger, which just began allowing users to chat with each other.

AOL has been making other IM updates lately. It recently enabled AIM Triton users to get a free phone number through AIM Phoneline service, which charges $14.95 monthly to let you make outbound calls to landline and mobile phones around the world. By comparison, Yahoo Messenger charges $2.99 monthly if you want to get a phone number, which Windows Live Messenger doesn't provide.

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June 27, 2006, 11:05 AM PDT
Make free phone calls through Jajah
Posted by: Felisa Yang

A while back, we reviewed a VoIP alternative called Jajah, which allows you to use your normal landline or cell phone to make VoIP calls for a small per-minute fee. Today, Jajah announced free global landline and mobile phone calls between registered Jajah users.

Jajah divides the globe into a couple of groups. The first comprises the United States, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. The second includes Australia and most of Europe. Calls between Jajah users within each group are free, whether you're calling to or from a landline or cell phone, as long as you initiate your call from Jajah's Web site. If you're in a country not covered by Jajah's free global calling plan or the person you're calling isn't a registered Jajah user, you'll still pay Jajah's per-minute rate, which is usually less than 3 cents. (Registration is free.)

The really interesting part of this is that Jajah isn't asking customers to sign any sort of contract. Instead, it's relying on the hope that Jajah users will stick to a "fair use" policy, which asks that callers keep their calls to a "reasonable" number of minutes, which Jajah says is about an hour per day, five days per week, or about 1,000 minutes per month. Jajah will monitor individual usage and contact users they feel are taking advantage of the system. Users who continue to abuse the system will find their free calling suspended, though they can still make paid calls.

Skype recently announced a similar plan, though it limits free calls to within the States and Canada. And unlike Skype, whose promotion lasts only until the end of the year, Jajah's new free calling plan is its new business model. Jajah hopes users will take to Jajah and purchase value-added features, such as an 800 number with a Call Me button that users can add to their Web sites. Jajah already offers a number of free tools, including plug-ins for Outlook and Mac OS X address books, an extension for Firefox, and a toolbar for Plaxo.

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June 22, 2006, 12:43 PM PDT
Skype and Packard Bell announce a "Skype-top"
Posted by: Andrew Gruen

If technology dinosaur Packard Bell is jumping on the Skype bandwagon, it must be going mainstream.

Though it seems like we haven't heard from it since the era of yellow, text-only displays, the company announced a new laptop with a built-in Skype button yesterday. The button, located next to the Webcam above the machine's 14-inch wide-screen display, can either open Skype or answer an incoming call. The notebook's Webcam should also be useful with the video calling features available in the latest version of Skype.

We've seen a plethora of USB devices designed to make Skype work with your laptop or desktop, and we're seeing more and more manufacturers including Webcams on their laptops. But this is the first time Skype specifically has been baked into a notebook--and it's probably not the last time. With the prospect of municipal Wi-Fi, more laptops with built-in WWAN, and increasing fuel and travel costs, pushing nontext communication though the laptop is an increasingly attractive option for business users in particular. IP-based video- and teleconferencing is not only cheaper than a cross-country flight, it's also far more convenient than squeezing into coach.

Source: Gizmodo

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May 15, 2006, 10:48 AM PDT
Explain to me how Skype is making money...
Posted by: Felisa Yang

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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May 04, 2006, 1:43 PM PDT
Be your own talk-show host with Skypecasts!
Posted by: Felisa Yang

Version 2.5 (beta) of Skype's VoIP service is available for download from the company's Web site and includes a plethora of new features. You can easily import your contacts from Microsoft Outlook and call someone on that list using SkypeOut via Skype's interface. Also, instead of having to remember country codes, a new drop-down menu on the Dial Pad lets you choose the country you're calling, which is handy. The new SMS features lets you send text messages to mobile phones, though the feature allows only outgoing messages for now. Conference calling gets a boost, too: instead of trying to blindly track who's talking, the speaker's picture will flash on your screen as they begin talking. (No more trying to stay anonymous with the snark!)

Even bigger news is the preview of Skypecasts, which are live, moderated conversations for groups of up to 100 people. To use it, you'll need to download and install the beta of Skype 2.5. Go to the Skypecast page to browse the ongoing or upcoming conversations to find one that interests you and click "Join this Skypecast" to join the fray. If you want to host a Skypecast, you'll be asked to sign in, and pick a subject, give a short description, and schedule the Skypecast. As the host, you have the power to pass the virtual microphone, mute, or eject participants (oh, you tyrant!). You can arrange for the Skypecast to be an open discussion (like a huge conference call) or as a one-way broadcast (by muting all participants).

The CNET Buzz Out Loud folks will be using the Skypecast feature next Friday, May 12, to record a podcast in front of a live "studio" audience. If you want to hear Molly, Tom, and Veronica do their thing live, go to the Skypecast page that day to sign up for the Buzz Out Loud Skypecast. But do it early, as only 100 people can participate (we'll post the link when it's available), and I hear those three are pretty popular!

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April 26, 2006, 1:59 PM PDT
More Yahoo news...because you can't get enough
Posted by: Felisa Yang

Yahoo announced today that its Yahoo Messenger with Voice service (formerly called Yahoo Messenger 7) is out of beta. PC-to-PC calls to other users of Yahoo's messaging service are free. The Phone Out feature lets users call traditional phones and mobile phones from their PCs for low per-minute rates--calls within the United States and more than 30 other countries can be made for less than 2 cents per minute. The Phone In feature allows users to receive calls on their PCs from traditional lines or cell phones. Users pay $2.90/month or $29.90/year for a traditional phone number, which can be based anywhere in France, the United Kingdom, or the States (additional country-based numbers will be added soon).

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March 22, 2006, 1:55 PM PST
Yahoo unleashes Phone Out in the States
Posted by: Felisa Yang

Last August, we told you about Yahoo Messenger with Voice 7, which allowed users to make free PC-to-PC voice calls, à la Skype. Yesterday, Yahoo announced the availability of Messenger with Voice 7.5 to U.S. users. (It's been available in several other countries since December.) This latest version of Yahoo's IM and voice service includes the Phone Out functionality, which allows users to make PC-to-phone voice calls. Calls to the United States and more than 30 other countries average less than 2 cents per minute, which is 20 to 30 percent less than the average SkypeOut rates.

Yahoo's Phone In service lets users purchase a phone number for less than $2.50 per month. People on cell phones and landlines can call you on your PC, and you can even choose a number in a different area code or country. Skype's SkypeIn option lets you do the same thing but charges 10 euros, or approximately $12, for 3 months, making Yahoo's Phone In the cheaper option.

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March 14, 2006, 10:26 AM PST
Lessig champions Net neutrality at VON '06
Posted by: Felisa Yang

Lawrence Lessig, professor of law at Stanford University and creator of the Creative Commons group, spoke this morning at the VON conference about the concept of Net neutrality and its importance to continual technological innovation. At first, I was baffled about why someone who is known for his passion for updating copyright law to reflect the realities of the digital age was speaking to a roomful of VoIP professionals. But it quickly became clear that what he was speaking about not only affects individuals who are creating and consuming content on the Internet, but also the people who are creating the technology.

By drawing parallels between the Internet and previous innovations such as radio and newspapers, Lessig illustrated how quickly technologies can go from being "unlocked," that is, inexpensive and commonly available for people to innovate, to "locked" or "relocked," where the technology and the means to create are owned by very few. He sees the potential for this to happen to the Internet as a real and possible threat, as the few large companies who currently own the physical infrastructure lobby for more control over the Internet and move to create a pushed-content format, much like today's corporate-owned newspapers and radio.

Lessig argues for what he calls a read-write Internet (as opposed to a read-only), where the innovation--whether applications or content--happens on the fringe of the network and the network itself serves as the "stupid" structure on which everything else hangs. In this read-write scenario, people not only consume, but also create, and more importantly, innovate. As Lessig himself addressed the content side of this situation (by focusing on updating copyright law), he challenged the developers in the room, the employees of the Vonages and Googles, and the as-yet undeveloped start-ups, to carry the fight on the technology side. Their ability to do business and innovate depends on Net neutrality. "What are you going to do?" he asked.

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March 03, 2006, 3:36 PM PST
VoIP without the overhead
Posted by: Felisa Yang

Haven't gotten on the broadband bandwagon but still want to take advantage of the low cost of VoIP calls? Wary of investing money in a full VoIP service that may or may not work for you? Or maybe you just don't want to deal with downloading VoIP software or getting tangled in a USB headset? Jajah is turning the idea of VoIP calls on its ear. Simply go to Jajah.com, enter the phone number you want to call from (landline or mobile), then enter the phone number you want to call. After a moment, your phone will ring and when you pick up, you'll be asked to hold while your call is connected. After this, the call will proceed as normal. In fact, the person you're calling won't even know it's not a normal call (except that no number will show up in their caller ID screen).

What's happening here is that instead of connecting directly to the person you're calling, both sides are being called by Jajah over VoIP lines. The last segment of each call is relayed over PSTN lines, which means that voice quality won't be affected when you upload/download data during the call, as it often is over traditional VoIP services. After all, the call isn't relayed over your Internet connection.

How much does this cost? Well, it varies by region and by carrier. Rates to many countries can be as low as 2 cents a minute to landlines and around 15 cents a minute to mobile lines. A handy pull-down chart on Jajah's site lets you look up per-minute rates. Instead of operating on a prepaid basis, as SkypeOut does, Jajah will bill you regularly and provide itemized statements.

While Jajah's site and service are currently up and functional, their official U.S. release will be March 14. On that day, the site will be updated to reflect prices in U.S. dollars (prices are currently in Euros) and the customary structure of U.S. telephone numbers (for example, you won't have to enter the country code for calls within the States). Jajah offers 5 minutes of free landline-to-landline calls to test the service, so you can try it with no obligation.

We will have a full review of this Internet service after the U.S. site's full launch, so check back after March 14.

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December 13, 2005, 7:57 AM PST
MSN Messenger adds new VoIP service
Posted by: Allen Fear

As if we needed any more proof that the plain old telephone networks were on their way to extinction, it seems MCI has joined forces with Microsoft to offer a new pay-as-you-go VoIP service similar to that of Skype. The new service will allow users of MSN Messenger to make calls to VoIP phones and regular telephones for a fee. The number of instant messaging services with VoIP capabilities has grown in recent months. Microsoft's new MCI-powered service will go by the rather clumsy moniker of MCI Web Calling for Windows Live Call and will offer reasonably priced long-distance rates starting at around 2 cents per minute. MCI will sell prepaid calling time for the new service in $5, $10, and $25 chunks. Now if only the telcos would start making naked DSL widely available so that we all had real telephony choices.

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