Continue reading »]]> As you may have been reading in the news, Microsoft has recently agreed to purchase the popular VoIP service Skype. After a couple of previous acquisitions in the past, Microsoft has made it’s biggest purchase – this time worth well over $8 billion.

Before I even start, I think it’s fair to say that this is either going to be a monumental win or a catastrophic fail – one or the other.

The question is, what will Microsoft do with Skype? Obviously, Skype certainly hasn’t been in the green lately – it’s debts have definitely been on the rise. So, Microsoft have evidently got to make a few considerable changes – otherwise the rather large purchase will become rather a large waste of money – even on Microsoft’s terms!

I can imagine Microsoft will probably implement increased charges for the paid services. However, I do hope that Microsoft will lower the charges for features in Skype that could potentially become very popular – such as group video calling. I happen to think that group video calling was a very well implemented feature into Skype – but unfortunately Skype started charging ridiculous amounts of money for it. If Microsoft lowered charges to £1-2 per month, I would probably consider purchasing it.

The other big question is whether they will continue to support all of the operating systems that Skype currently supports. Microsoft has never really supported Linux and people are starting to ask if Microsoft will drop support for it. Personally, it wouldn’t surprise me hugely if they did – but it would be a real shame.

The sale probably won’t finalise for another few months at least, so we’ll just have to wait and see what changes Microsoft will inevitably implement. In the mean time, enjoy Skype in it’s current form while you can!

Continue reading »]]> I’ve been a fan of Skype for many years now – as it seems to be the most reliable and practical way to keep in touch with friends on the phone for free. I was a user of the Skype “subscriptions” for many months and was very impressed with the value for money and quality of the service.

However, it has come to my attention that the newer versions of Skype seem to be using extortionate amounts of RAM – even when the client is in idle mode.

Above is a screenshot of my Task Manager in Windows 7 32-bit on my netbook. As you can see, it’s using well over 80MB of RAM in idle mode. If you go into a call, this will trickle up to over 100MB.

I find this a little excessive – especially since the program is only trying to keep a login alive whilst in idle mode. Do something about it, Skype!

Continue reading »]]> Skype has recently introduced a new update for Skype on iPhone which introduces brand new calls over 3G. Previously, all calls had to be made over wi-fi.

The new update means that, for the time being, iPhone users can make free (or very cheap) calls to other Skype users as long as they have sufficient data allowances.

However, the use of the new feature is only available at no charge until the end of 2010. After New Year, Skype have said that they will introduce a small charge for the service, but the specific cost has not yet been confirmed.

In the mean time, if you have an iPhone, go make some calls over Skype. It could save you a lot of minutes on your contract.

Continue reading »]]> Skype, the giant VoIP network, has recently launched their new subscriptions which mean you can now by monthly subscriptions which give you a certain amount of minutes per month. This supposedly makes the service cheaper for users who don’t get through many minutes in a month.

You can also get plans with unlimited minutes (subject to fair usage) but these seem to have heavily increased in price.

Anyway, for the UK, the fixed minute plans actually seem to be very good value. The 100 minute per month plan to UK landlines costs just £1.19 per month (ex vat) and seems very practical. For 400 minutes, you’ll be paying £2.99 per month (ex vat) which also seems to be very good. However, you have to consider that this is a substantial price increase, as you used to be able to get unlimited (FUP of 10,000) minutes per month for £2.95 per month (excluding vat), so eBay (the company behind Skype) are obviously trying to make more money.

As for the mobile minutes plans, I’m very disappointed. In the UK, 60 minutes per month to UK mobiles costs a whopping £6.99 per month (ex vat). You might be thinking big whoop, £6.99 isn’t much – but when you consider that with giffgaff I get 100 minutes to any number + unlimited texts + unlimited calls/texts to people on the same network for just £10 a month, it matches Skype and has the added convenience of being mobile.

So overall, I’m pretty uninspired by the price increases. I think it’s just increased prices broken down into new plans, but I suppose some people will like the new plans which could be better value for people only using Skype casually for PSTN calls.

Oh and by the way, if you currently have one of Skype’s old subscriptions (such as the unlimited calls to UK landlines for £2.95 per month ex vat), don’t cancel it. You can keep paying the old, cheaper rate if you keep your subscription. However, as soon as you cancel it or miss a payment, you are subject to the new rates.

Continue reading »]]> Skype has recently made Skype Access available in its new Skype beta 4.2. With the new beta there are a few bugfixes (apparently), a new call transfer mode (which was apparently in previous versions of Skype but non existent since 4.0), and a new feature called Skype Access.

Skype Access allows anyone with Skype credit to be able to pay for public wi-fi access via Skype. You simply connect to a hotspot that is supported by Skype and then use Skype Access to pay, per minute, for the service. As far as I know, the service currently costs about 15p per minute.

There’s no contract or anything like that, and it is available whenever you need it as long as you are connected to a supported hotspot.

I think this is a really good idea – very handy if you’re in somewhere like an airport and you need to quickly check your email or your Facebook page. I’m guessing people with netbooks are more likely to use the service since netbooks are much easier to carry around.

Skype reports that the service can now be used at over 100,000 wi-fi hotspots (in the UK, I think).

For me I will enjoy it most when it becomes available on devices such as the iPhone or iPod Touch – which I’m sure it will do eventually – as that means I will be able to instantly get wi-fi in a number of public places.

Ah well, nice work Skype. This might actually pay off.

Continue reading »]]> I recently decided that, as I use Skype frequently for general phone calls to standard landline calls, I should get a proper Skype headset.

I found the Topcom Butler 4012 on eBay brand new for £14.99, which is a bargain considering that its RRP is about £70.

I have to say I’m very impressed with the handset. It’s really easy to use and works very well. There are a few pros and cons which I’ve outlined below:

Advantages:

• Battery life is very good
• Works very well with Skype using the USB interface
• The drivers work with Windows Vista and Windows 7
• It comes with a selection of ringtones and customizable features
• The sound quality of the calls is very good
• It works just as if it were a normal landline phone
• Wireless range is very good

Disadvantages:

• You have to dial the country code when making a call, even if it is in your local country (ie 0044 before the number in the UK)
• Must be plugged in via USB, no ethernet port
• Comes with EU plug (that is probably just the eBay seller, but it is probably worth mentioning)

Other than that I think it is a product that will prove very handy. I use it frequently now and I have to say it hasn’t played up at all yet.

So if you’re looking for a good value Skype phone, try the Topcom Butler 4012 Skype handset.

Continue reading »]]> eBay has recently agreed to sell Skype, which marks the end of its near 4 year ownership. The company has been sold to a group of private investors.

eBay has complained many times in the past that Skype wasn’t as profitable as they’d hoped. Ever since eBay bought Skype for $2.6 billion in 2005 they have admitted a few times that they have regretted buying Skype. Although Skype offers brilliant value calls to landline and mobile phones across the globe, the free Skype-to-Skype calling dominates the service which makes it very difficult for anyone to make a distinctive profit.

How much eBay have sold Skype for isn’t totally clear – but predictions would outline that eBay is expecting to make about $2 billion from the sale.

There is also little news as to whether anything will change under the new ownership of Skype. I’m hoping that very little will change, as I have recently subscribed to an unlimited landline service from Skype together with my own landline number. It would be a shame if the new owners either upped the prices or removed some of the services.

So, with any luck, there will be no changes to Skype in the near future as it would be a shame to see a change in service. However, you just can’t predict will happen, and if anything we might the service improve.

Continue reading »]]> Three UK mobile announced on 1st May 2009 that it was editing its usage policy of Skype on user’s mobiles. From now on, all users of Three mobiles will receive unlimited usage on Skype no matter whether you top up or not. So basically that means that users can now have free calls to anybody in the world, as long as they are on Skype.

The plan used to be that Pay As You Go customers had make a £5 top up once every three months to get Skype calls, and Pay Monthly customers had to have an internet plan. From now on, as long as you are on a 3 mobile you will get free Skype calls anytime, to anyone (on Skype).

I am glad that Three are finally using VoIP to a new level, and hopefully this will cause other mobile operators to follow on.

Continue reading »]]> Well after a long wait and several beta’s, Skype have finally released the final version of Skype 4.0.

It’s very simular to the last beta version of Skype, just a few bug fixes.

Check it out – calls and messages all work OK, so I guess it’s worth the upgrade.

You can grab a download direct from GEEK! as it’s on our Program and Website Resources page, so grab a direct download here.

Enjoy!