chatting

Update: CNET has a hands-on with the upcoming software, which you can check out over here.

Skype jumped the gun today by posting a video of its yet-to-be-released iPad application to its YouTube channel before quickly setting it to private. The software is not due in the App Store until next Tuesday.

A reader of Razorianfly managed to record the video while it was still up, and repost it to YouTube. We've embedded it below.

The video demos the application's video chat capabilities, which rival that of Apple's built-in FaceTime service with a window for both the person you're chatting with, and one to view yourself in. Also included is standard phone dialing and integrated text-chat, the latter of which can be used during a video chat.

Skype's had an application available for Apple's iPhone since March of 2009, though it only added two-way video calling a few months ago. When Apple added dual cameras to the iPad 2, it seemed inevitable that Skype would eventually bring its application over to that platform to make use of the extra hardware. … Read more

Heads up, Skype.

Shortly after releasing software for audio and video chat as an open-source project called WebRTC as open-source software, Google is beginning to build it into its Chrome browser.

The real-time chat software originated from Google's 2010 acquisition of Global IP Solutions (GIPS), a company specializing in Internet telephony and videoconferencing.

The obvious beneficiary for the project is Gmail, whose audio and video communications ability today requires use of a proprietary plug-in. Gmail chat is getting more important as Google's VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) efforts mature and integrate with the Google Voice service.

But Google … Read more

CHICAGO--Cable giant Comcast is teaming up with Skype to offer its subscribers video calling on their TVs, in a move that could bring more affordable video conferencing to the home.

On the eve of the Cable Show here, the companies today announced that Comcast will be offering the Skype service through the TV to its broadband subscribers. The companies are still working out all the details of the service, and they're expected to begin testing it in the next few months. The Cable Show is an annual conference and trade show, where cable operators from around the country gather. … Read more

Phone Amego is a clever little menu-bar app that integrates your iPhone--or other Bluetooth phone--with your Mac and with the Google Voice service. At its most basic, Phone Amego provides onscreen caller ID (a small window on your Mac displays incoming callers, and you close the window to send the call to voice mail, or you can program it with AppleScript to respond when you speak the name) and enables you to call contacts from your Address Book with just a couple of clicks. There are also basics like a call log, timer, and a hot key for answering calls. … Read more

Is there anything worse than disappointing an excited child? Especially if you've promised the little tyke that he or she will be able to have an online chat with royalty?

It seems that an employee of a Tenafly, N.J., elementary school might be pondering this after promising kids, as a reward for their work, that they would be able to chat online with the world's most famous lady. No, not little Miss Kate Middleton, but the great Lady Gaga.

You might wonder how this employee thought she might have access to her ladyship. You might think that … Read more

Video calling apps are still fairly few and far between on the iPhone, but Oovoo for iPhone is already a step ahead in offering video conference calls with Oovoo for iPhone.

Features-wise, Oovoo on iPhone, which quietly entered the app store last week as a beta, closely resembles its Android cousin. It has a clean design that shows off the contact list, dialer, communications history, IM, and settings.

With it, you'll be able to place free voice and video calls to up to five other contacts, as long as they're using Oovoo on the iPhone, Android phone, PC, … Read more

Last night, Yahoo announced the update for the Yahoo Messenger app to work with the iPad, adding voice and video calling for iPad 2 owners, a sleek new iPad-optimized interface, and improved spam management that lets you block one or all add requests from a single view.

Yahoo Messenger (Universal) had already been available on the iPhone and iPod Touch since April 2009. But with this Universal update, iPad users will no longer have to use the unoptimized iPhone client on their larger iPad screens.

No longer just for instant messages, Yahoo Messenger lets you share photos and videos, make … Read more

Occasionally a situation arises where you need to transfer a file to someone but you have forgotten your external hard drive or burnable disc. In these situations, you can set up a private network and use iChat to easily transfer the file. This is particularly useful when no Internet is present.

To transfer a file using iChat with no Internet, click on the AirPort icon and choose "Create Network." Name your network, choose a channel (or leave it on automatic) and decide whether or not you want a password. If you're in a public place, a password … Read more

Trillian, the popular multiple-personality IM client, recently upgraded to version 5, giving it a refreshed interface, improved social integration, and, get this, all of the Pro features from previous versions, all for free. Now every user can enjoy themes, activity history viewer, and multiple location sign-in, along with the newly developed continuous client feature, which keeps chats synced across all devices. For now, these upgrades have only hit the Windows client (download) and the now free Android app (download). Mac, iOS, and Blackberry are all on deck.

While the idea of free is nice, as we all know, nothing ever … Read more