New VOIP App. Profiled

sniggly writes "Cnet News.com has an interview with Kazaa co-founder Janus Friis about their latest product Skype. Skype is a p2p VOIP technology that quote '... is addressing all the problems of legacy VoIP solutions: bad sound quality, difficult to set up and configure, and the need for expensive, centralized infrastructure.' Windows only beta client available."

Comments

Re:Is it wierd that ...

[flafish]

"Making modifications to the Materials or creating derivative works based on the Materials is prohibited, as is using the Materials on any networked computer environment or other website."

Huh? Then how the heck can you use it?

They found the money

[TransistorTv]

According to their FAQ there is no spyware. However it suggests that there is an Skype to fixed landline phone / mobile phone feature on the horizon. So they're marketing plan is probably, create a viral product, get everyone to use it, add a valuable service ( make a cheap call to your friends mobile on the other side of the globe ). So I don't think they need the spyware this time, and the apps quality is quite good also, although I would like to see conference calls implemented. Just hope we'll get a linux client soon.

Migration

[trolman]

This is the Free version of Voice over IP that will get the masses involved. The upgrade path is Vonage and company. This is a great thing. Thank you Kazaa Skype.

The 911 argument is and will come every time that VoIP is mentioned mostly due to the huge effort that went into building the system by alot of players. Getting the physical addresses changed and databased was big and kudos to those involved. This 911 effort is now built out and everyone is mapped so now all voice services can take advantage. Do not forget that every cell phone and telephone in the USA is required by federal law to be usable to call 911 out of the box and that no service activation or account holder is required.

Disclaimer: I use Vonage, turned off Bell South, and am a Geek.

Proprietary

[Anonymous Coward]

Odd pairing of questions and answers in the FAQ:

Can I use other clients, e.g. Windows Messenger to connect to the Skype network?
No you can't. We have crafted Skype with a proprietary technology that is not compliant with other clients at this time.
Can I use Skype to send instant messages to my friends who use AOL/ICQ?
No. AIM and ICQ uses proprietary closed protocols and make no efforts to be compatible with other IM systems. You should get your AOL/ICQ friends to use Skype instead :-)

Did the same person write these two answers? Our proprietary protocols are good, theirs are bad. It boggles the mind....

Re:What about spyware?

[Dark Nexus]

IIRC, it was after they'd sold Kazaa that spyware started showing up in it, or at least after they started having legal problems.