Tag: SKYPE

It looks like Russia won't be banning Skype or Gmail, after all. The Kremlin was reportedly considering blocking both services, along with Hotmail, in response to a major cyberattack that crippled the country's most popular blog and an independent news site. Some within the Kremlin had believed the services posed a major threat to national security, but some critics had thought the government may ...

If it takes hours to download files on your Wi-Fi network, you might want to try clearing out some of your furniture and turning off your radios. According to a new study from Bristol University in the U.K., wireless connections can be "significantly slowed" by interference from electronic devices, or by physical barriers, like walls, doors, and other household items. The study, led by Prof. ...

Share On her wedding day, 27-year-old Helen Oh found herself standing alone at the altar, in front of 500 friends and family. Samuel Kim, her husband-to-be, wasn't by her side, and wasn't even in the same building. But the Big Day still ended on a high note, thanks to some resourceful improvisation, and a Skype connection. A few days before the wedding, Kim came down with a serious lung ...

After having already banned Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, the Chinese government has now decided to outlaw Skype, as well. The move, announced in the People's Daily, means that all Internet phone services will now be considered illegal within the country, except for those offered by two state-operated telecom companies -- China Unicom and China Telecom. In 2007, Skype launched a joint venture ...

Skype for the iPhone has finally gotten around to adding video-calling capabilities to its popular VoIP app. (You'll need an iPhone 4, 3GS, or the latest version of the iPod touch to use the feature.) Amazingly, you can place video calls over both Wi-Fi and 3G, and you can even switch between the front- and back-facing cameras, just as you can with Facetime. Obviously, the 3GS doesn't have a ...

December's been a tough month for the Web. The Tumblrpocalypse left millions unable to post earlier this month, and yesterday Skype service was shut down in a supernode collapse that left millions unable to connect to the VoIP service for most of the day. Reuters reports that 80-percent of users have regained primary voice and IM service, though offline IM and group video calling are still down. ...

The holidays are expensive enough. Why spend extra cash on tricking out your iPhone with sweet new apps? Besides, there are zillions of selections on the market; how can you even figure out which ones you really need -- or better yet, which ones won't chew through your battery and destroy your phone? Wouldn't it be great if there were a list of iPhone apps that were not only cheap, but essential, ...

Despite its uncertain future, VoIP company Skype has guaranteed itself at least a small core of customers by partnering with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to provide a custom, low-bandwidth video chat service to aid workers around the world. Aid workers supporting refugees are often shipped out with little notice, and can spend months at a time separated from friends and ...

Skype, the ever popular (but struggling) VoIP and video calling platform, officially releasing version 5.0 for Windows. The first thing regular users will likely notice is an overhauled interface that feels significantly more modern and clean than past versions. But the big news is that Skype will be integrating with Facebook using the social network's Connect feature. The interface will have a ...

Believe it or not, Skype, one of the most popular VoIP services, is only now available for Android. Skype has been available for Symbian and iOS for quite some time, but it wasn't until early Tuesday morning that it was available for what many expect to become the most popular smartphone platform in the world. Nothing terribly surprising here: you can make and receive calls over Wi-Fi and 3G ...

Facebook may not be officially developing its own cellphone, but the networking service is collaborating with another massively popular communicative tool. According to All Things Digital's Kara Swisher, Facebook and Skype plan to merge their diverse, respective services through a new alliance. The collaboration will reportedly enable Facebook Connect services for Skype members, while allowing ...

As part of their tireless struggle to prevent terrorist attacks and protect U.S. citizens, federal law enforcement officials are now pushing for new legislation to enhance their online surveillance capabilities. The bill, which the Obama administration plans to submit for Congressional deliberation next year, would require communications services like Facebook, BlackBerry and Skype to be capable ...

Take a moment to glance down at your laptop. Chances are, you see a bunch of hideous, glittery stickers, with the names or logos of companies like Skype, Intel or Microsoft [Ed. Note: Nope! Just see white. Cult of Mac!]. Don't try and remove them, though. Scratching off these stickers, as with Chicken Pox, will only result in even uglier scars and residue. So, why are they there? The New York ...

Highlights from this morning's big tech headlines... The new Skype 5.0 beta for Windows introduces 10-way video calling, for awkward and impromptu digital family reunions. [From: Engadget] A new study reveals that adults are finally catching on to this whole texting thing, with over 72-percent reporting that they're texting daily. [From: Pew Internet & American Life Project] ...

As recently as the early 1990s, a stint in the Peace Corps meant going off the grid. Now, according to an NPR report, Peace Corps volunteers are staying connected to friends and family back home via Skype, e-mail, texting, Facebook or even phone calls. "When they go back to their homes, instead of turning out the kerosene light and going to bed, they can get on Skype and they give a quick call to ...