Tag Archives | Instant Messaging

Life Before Skype – RIP: Last Remnants of Telex Disappear

By on June 13, 2013

In the early part of my career the Telex machine and associated services played a major role in my business communications. When working with a company with operations in Germany and Switzerland, Telex was our “email” of-the-day. Sit down at a clunky QWERTY keyboard and “punch” the message onto a tape (error correction not allowed!). [...]

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Facebook Messenger: Voice Calling Extended to U.S. But whither goes it?

By on January 19, 2013

About two weeks ago I reported on participating in the trial of Facebook Messenger’s voice calling service for Canadians who had Messenger 2.1 for iOS on iPhones and iPads. But it was limited to calls between Canadians over WiFi or wireless data plan connections; earlier this week it was expanded into the U.S. When it [...]

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Skype for Windows 8: The Surface Experience

By on November 7, 2012

Over the past few days I have had a Microsoft Surface and checked out Skype for Windows 8 on a touch device. While there was no major issue using Skype for Windows 8 on a legacy screen with mouse navigation, using a touch screen is somewhat more intuitive. While many of the results reported earlier [...]

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Microsoft Acquires Skype: What is the Fate of Windows Live Messenger?

By on November 5, 2012

When discussing the Microsoft acquisition of Skype in Experience Skype to the Max, I made the statement: The key to the Microsoft acquisition is for Skype to build out its current platform, often working with third party developer partners, while integrating Skype’s software and technology into Microsoft products such as Office (Outlook, especially), Windows Phone, [...]

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Skype 5.11 beta: Initial Steps to Microsoft Integration

By on September 20, 2012

Last week Skype released Skype 5.11 for Windows – beta and Skype 5.11 for Mac – beta. And the key word here is “beta”. But it starts to give a picture of how Microsoft intends to integrate Skype into its offerings, especially as Microsoft approaches the launch later this year of Windows 8, Office 2013 [...]

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Skype 3.6 for iOS: An Essential Upgrade for your iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch

By on December 16, 2011

Yesterday Skype announced the availability of Skype 3.6 for iOS (iPhone, iPad) with three key updates: Chat improvements: Copy and Paste & URL links now work UI improvements: Edit button reinstalled in Messages Stability improvements and various bug fixes I installed the upgrade on my iPad (original version) and found the last item is the [...]

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Skype iOS5 3.5: Hotfix Addresses Performance Issue

By on November 17, 2011

Applicable to both Skype for iPhone and Skype for iPad, a Skype for iOS5 3.5 hotfix released to the Apple App Store earlier this week restores Skype chat sessions on the iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad to pre-version 3.5 performance. While Skype on my iPhone or my iPad is not my primary platform for using Skype, [...]

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SkypeKit in Action: Trillian 5.1 for Windows

By on November 3, 2011

Last week Skype announced some changes to their developer program. In that post I mentioned that the only application to date where one could experience SkypeKit Desktop in action was a beta version of Trillian for Windows. Earlier this week Trillian released version 5.1 to the Skype Apps Directory. Trillian aspires to become a single [...]

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Skype for Android 2.5: More Phones, Enhanced Video and Ads

By on September 29, 2011

Today Skype announced the release of Skype for Android 2.5 with support for 14 additional phones, taking the total of supported phones to 41. Notably, Skype for Android is now supporting five Motorola phones, the popular Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and LG Optimus models, including the LG Optimus Black that has a Skype edition for [...]

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Skype 5.5 for Windows: Deeper Facebook, New Emoticons and More

By on July 29, 2011

Yesterday Skype released the “Gold” or “user” version of Skype 5.5 for Windows. Many of the features, including the Facebook integration, were discussed in Skype for Windows 5.5 beta: First Impressions with Facebook Integration and Skype for Windows 5.5 beta: The Call Bar. In the final release these have been enhanced; at the same time [...]

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