voip

EU to investigate VoIP-tapping techniques

An investigation into the possibility of tapping Internet telephony conversations has been launched by the European Union's Judicial Cooperation Unit, also known as Eurojust.

Italy is leading the Europe-wide feasibility study, announced on Friday. The Italian government has cited concerns that organized criminals and arms and drug traffickers are using VoIP services such as Skype to avoid traditional, more easily tapped phone networks.

"The possibility of intercepting Internet telephony will be an essential tool in the fight against international organized crime within Europe and beyond," said Carmen Manfredda, Eurojust's acting national member for Italy, in a … Read more

Truphone offers local calling anywhere

BARCELONA--Mobile VoIP provider Truphone has a new service to help frequent international travelers bypass expensive roaming rates when using their cell phones.

On Tuesday at the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009 here the company announced Truphone Local Anywhere. This new service allows travelers to use one GSM SIM card to make local phone calls in several different countries.

Details about how much the service will cost and which countries and operators it will partner with to offer the service aren't yet public.

The service is essentially a substitute for the tried-and -true method of swapping out SIM cards for … Read more

Slideshow: Voice chat for free on your PC

You don't need a fistful of dollars to make an international call, just a computer with a microphone, speakers, and one of the six applications we gathered together for you in this collection of free voice-chat apps (some offer upgrades to premium services.) As a bonus, all of these fine downloads offer video calls to let you put a face to a voice.

VoxOx wants to be a voice for all

What if Digsby and Skype merged into one seemingly all-powerful VoIP and messaging communications tool is the question that VoxOx seeks to answer. VoxOx's many features have not yet been seen in one package. It's got multiprotocol chat abilities, social networking support, and Web-mail integration. It also offers a telephony service that includes call encryption, mobile-to-mobile calls initiated by either SMS or via a Web site, a free personal assistant-style call forwarding service, and a system for earning minutes by watching ads or responding to surveys.

In addition to the features listed above, VoxOx offers 120 free minutes … Read more

VoxOx wants to be a voice for all

What if Digsby and Skype merged into one seemingly all-powerful VoIP and messaging communications tool is the question that VoxOx seeks to answer. VoxOx's many features have not yet been seen in one package. It's got multiprotocol chat abilities, social networking support, and Web-mail integration. It also offers a telephony service that includes call encryption, mobile-to-mobile calls initiated by either SMS or via a Web site, a free personal assistant-style call forwarding service, and a system for earning minutes by watching ads or responding to surveys.

In addition to the features listed above, VoxOx offers 120 free minutes … Read more

Jajah adds calling and texting to iPod Touch

Internet phone company Jajah can turn the iPod Touch into an iPhone. (Download from CNET Download.com.)

The company, which competes with other low-cost Internet calling applications such as Skype, announced Thursday a new application that will allow Touch users to call and text messages using a voice over IP network instead of a carrier's cellular network.

All that is needed to start making calls is the Jajah application, the latest version of the iPod Touch, a microphone headset, and a Wi-Fi connection. While the Jajah service can reduce calling costs up to 98 percent, the fact that it … Read more

Skype 4.0 for Windows delivers truer video, sound

Skype 4.0 (download) became available for free on Tuesday to Windows users. The free desktop VoIP communicator is a worthy final version that brings some key enhancements with video and audio bandwidth, though it leaves behind some of the extra adornments of version 3.8, the last stable build.

Those who have been following the triple release of betas since the summer won't see more than a few changes. If 4.0 is new to you, however, the developments are more notable.

Skype concentrates on video size, quality, and performance in this version. From version 3.8 to … Read more

For Fring mobile VoIP app, a Last.fm add-on

Although Fring has long let you chat with friends over Skype, IM, Facebook, and Twitter, the recent introduction of a Last.fm add-on is the start-up's first foray into streaming content.

Starting this week, Symbian Series 60 users with the latest version of Fring (for Symbian 9.1 | 9.2) can sign on to their Last.fm accounts from the Fring add-on's screen.

From there, you can play custom- and public-streaming stations, with the familiar controls to stop, skip, save, and ban a song. There's album art on the mini player interface, and basic details about the … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 897: Talk to the Palm

Oh snap, as they say. Palm has decided to get all vague in Apple's face about patents. Molly's back and she's hazelnut brown. And we determine that tech is, in fact, pretty sucky. All that and more, if you can get your sucky tech to work long enough to listen. Listen now: Download today's podcast

EPISODE 897

Microsoft extends Windows 7 beta http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/operatingsystems/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212902415&cid=iwhome_art_Opera_mostpop http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windows7/archive/2009/01/23/general-availability-for-the-windows-7-beta-to-end.aspx

How many versions of Windows 7 will there be? … Read more