Gmail video chat: what it is not
Yesterday, Google let loose their video chat to the masses. If your account doesn’t have the option yet, Google promises within a day or so you will. The new option for video is very simple and many users are wondering, how does this differ from other online video services like Skype?
Skype is a full-featured video calling program. It is easiest to think of Gmail voice and chat as augmenting their instant messaging chat rather than something completely new. One of the biggest differences is Gmail’s version only allows video chatting with other Gmail users who have downloaded the plug in (about 2MB). With Skype, users are allowed to contact both online and offline numbers, albeit for a fee. There is not an option to go offline with Gmail voice and chat.
See what else Gmail voice and video users won’t be doing anytime soon.
3D webcam becomes a cute reality
I don’t know if any of you can remember the old 3D films where the glasses were given out at the start, but just the memory recalls feelings of nausea. In fact it is these films that automatically put me off anything with ‘3D’ as a prefix. However the “Novo Minoru 3D Webcam” (Minoru meaning “reality” in Japanese) is different and not just because it is cute.
The webcam is really two cameras that are positioned roughly the same distance apart which is important as it means the images can be correctly interpreted by the brain that sees them. Conveniently, this also means that when coupled with a study and well designed plastic case, it can create a particularly cute creature that appears to gaze at you. This is enhanced by the multi-position stand which, when upright, look suspiciously like two arms. Plenty more after the break.
DECT: A reason to get excited about cordless phones again
Today we’ve got a guest post by Scott McGrath. Scott has worked in the IT industry as a consultant and Sysadmin for 12 years, and has enjoyed communications gadgets since he got his Fisher Price telephone at 2 years of age. Like what he said? Hate what he said? Go over to Scott’s blog at http://www.scamwagon.com and let him know.
Believe it or not, I’m in the market for a cordless phone. Before you laugh, there’s actually plenty of reasons I maintain a land line, not the least of which is the fact that I have poor cell coverage at my home, and not the most of which is the fact that cellular usually can not hold a candle to the real deal PSTN or good VoIP line, in terms of quality. Cordless phones still have life since some can pair to your cell phone so you don’t have to rush to find that tiny handheld when it rings. If you’re a Skype user, you can be untethered with some cordless phones.
Continued after the break.
New book says tech is better than books
I have to admit, recently, if text is not staring at me from a screen I become uninterested very quickly. Although, from reading about this upcoming book, I might have to actually read a book, or find a Kindle to read it on. The book is called “iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind,“ by Gary Small. Small is a neuroscientist from UCLA. The idea of actually reading the book somewhat defeats the point made in the book, however.
The book says that through technology, we are learning to use more parts of our brains. Through doing simple things most of us probably take for granted such as sending text messages and Internet searching our brains become “more adept at filtering information and making snap decisions.“ The book also claims that technology is increasing creativity and and accelerating learning. Sounds pretty good to me. Find out more after the break.
Skype’ing free calls on Android; catch unvieled
Launched yesterday in the Android application store, iSkoot for Skype became the first Skype client for the new T-Mobile G1. This application allows users to place and receive Skype calls just like they can do from their desktop, but now on the go.
Free calls always sounds good, but whats the catch? Oddly, iSkoot does not use the cellular data network for these calls. Instead, iSkoot uses voice network for a local call, and you are billed for airtime, just like placing a standard voice call. Additionally, iSkoot apparently plays well with WiFi assuming the app works the same for other mobile OSes iSkoot works on.
Find out how much money Skype will save you after the break.
The all new Joost: No download required
Remember Joost? The peer-to-peer video client made from the guys that made Skype and Kazaa? Yeah, sometimes I forget it exists as well. But that’s okay, because the somewhat annoying desktop client is gone. Joost has finally gone to flash, just like Hulu and a number of other services.
Joost is touting its sort of social networking aspect to try and get people to use it. You can use JoostFeed to watch the videos your Joost friends recently watched, or you can “Shout” about videos to your friends to tell them to watch it. It might be a bit hard to actually use the feature unless your friends are those who haven’t already forgotten about Joost. More after the break.
China monitoring Skype messages
Researchers in Canada have discovered that Skype’s Chinese venture with Tom Online, called Tom-Skype, is filtering text chats and monitoring them. Chats are routinely scanned for politically censored keywords. If any are found, those chats and personal information are stored on insecure and publiclly accessible servers. They are encrypted, but the key needed to decrypt them is stored right alongside them!
Their report, called “Breaching Trust: An analysis of surveillance and security practices on China’s Tom-Skype platform,“ stops short of implicating the Chinese government, but does suggest that Tom-Skype is cooperating with them. The filter appears to scan for usernames and certain keywords relating to Taiwan independence, the Falun Gong, and any political opposition of the government.
Skype to twart any wiretap requests
In the hostile world of today it is good to know that anything you say, or type, is safe from the prying eyes of family member’s, government organizations or even just a nosy person of the street. However, unfortunately, that is not always the case. A recent News.com survey into privacy revealed some pretty interesting results, the most notable of which is that AOL AIM is the most secure with no logs and secure logging-in and secure conversations, and Facebook Chat is the worst as they refused to answer lots of questions and also have an insecure log-in and insecure conversations.
One of the questions asked was “Have you ever received a subpoena, court order or other law enforcement request asking you to perform a live interception or wiretap, meaning the contents of your users’ communications would be instantly forwarded to law enforcement?“
CallerID comes to US based Skype users
CallerID has become something that, while not always accurate we have come to take for granted. As nice as a service that Skype has been, it has been more than a little annoying to send or receive a SkypeOut call and see “+0000123456” on the CallerID display.
Now US based SkypeOut users will be able to configure their own number to display. Simply login to your Skype account and set the number by selecting Caller ID from the Account menu. You can set the number to reflect your personal cell number, which will send you an SMS message to confirm that you are not spoofing the ID display or if you already have a SkypeIn number that will be reflected by default.
Its nice that we here in the US will finally have an accurate CallerID display, something that European customers have apparently had for a while now. Its also a nice option to be able to have it reflect your cell phone, as my Skype account is already set to forward to my cell when I am not logged in.
Via [jkOnTheRun]
Related- Gmail video chat: what it is not
- HTC, Russian carrier Scartel intro world’s first GSM/WiMAX phone
- Make Android more like iPhone visual voicemail
Skype activates mobile client for Java-enabled phones
Getting pressured by eBay into proving its worth seems to be working well with Skype. After recently offering unlimited calls to their users at an affordable rate, Skype is making headway yet again with the beta release of their mobile client. The Skype for Mobile now works with around fifty Java-enabled phones worldwide. Yes, this new service works with incoming calls from Skype and SkypeIn features. It also features chat, chat group and Skype presence.
In addition, Skype for Mobile features Skype-to-Skype and SkypeOut calls for mobile handsets, but only for Brazil, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Poland, Sweden and the UK.
If you want to give Skype for Mobile a spin, as I know you really want to just like me, you can either download the application directly into your mobile phone or download it into your computer before transferring it into your mobile phone. And if you are not sure whether your mobile phone supports Skype-for-Mobile, you may check out the Skype-for-Mobile site and look into the directory of mobile phones supporting this Skype mobile client.
Read [Skype]
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