chat

The word you're looking for is "finally." As in, "Oh look, Skype has finally stepped up to the competition by adding two-way video chatting to its VoIP iPhone app!" Indeed, this anticipated addition is one for which Skype-watchers and users have been thirsting since Fring's two-way video calling app nosed into the iPhone app store this past July, following Apple's introduction of its own Face Time video chatting software. But more on that later.

What iPhone users worldwide first need to know is that starting today, an update to the free Skype for … Read more

Software and services aren't the main attraction at CES 2011, but that doesn't mean there won't be plenty of innovation at the show for the coming year. Of course, we won't know exactly what that innovation will be until we get there, but you can bet we have some ideas about it. Most notably, we'll be seeing even more of a shift from the computer to mobile devices, with companies aiming to keep you connected and entertained on the go.

The cloud expands

Mobile devices are great for both business and pleasure. There's just … Read more

Right now, millions of men all over the world are sweating.

They are poised over their laptops, wondering what to write to a girl whose fetching photograph they have espied on Facebook, eHarmony or, perhaps, Lifestyle Lounge.

They are wondering whether to tell her she has beautiful hair. They are twisted about whether to compliment her eyes, her cheeks or even, perish the daring, her obvious intelligence.

One false step and they will disappear into the trash.

I want to save these men from themselves and their torture. Thankfully, armed with new research from dating site Badoo.com, I bear … Read more

Chrome extensions are proliferating, giving Google's free Web browser a real chance to challenge Firefox, Internet Explorer, and other browsers contending for space on your desktop. A case in point is CHAT, which adds pop-up instant-messaging capabilities to the Chrome interface via the free eBuddy Web and mobile messaging service.

We downloaded and installed CHAT in Chrome. The extension placed an icon on the toolbar that opened the pop-up eBuddy instant-messaging manager when we clicked it. This ad-laden dialog offered the opportunity to sign in to several chat networks: eBuddy iD, AIM, MSN, Google Talk, ICQ, Yahoo, Facebook, and … Read more

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Facebook gets ready to make an announcement about mail and messaging

AOL unveils its new Webmail client, Project Pheonix

The Sony Dash touch-screen device snags Hulu Plus

Netflix can now stream on Android but only on a select few handsets

Google Earth adds user-contributed panoramic photos

Popular and preeminent VoIP service Skype has wooed its fair share of people with an itch to ditch the landline and an Internet connection, especially those with international contacts. With its latest update to version 5, the company hopes to win over even more customers and keeping the current ones happy. Skype 5.0 features a streamlined interface, Facebok integration, and videoconferencing functionality.

First, Skype tackled the overall user experience of the software. The new Home page integrates a feed of mood messages from your contacts and yourself, and it offers a variety of tutorials to help you use the … Read more

Skype's VoIP calling is by now well known to most Mac users, and the ability to make computer-to-computer calls anywhere in the world for free is already extremely popular to international users. Skype's official version on the Mac is 2.8 and is still a bit behind its Windows counterpart (Skype 5 for Windows). But a beta release today brings the software to version 5.0 on the Mac, and the Skype team has added some great new features to get excited about.

Sporting a familiar, more iTunes-like interface, Skype makes it easy to search through contacts and … Read more

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed from our readers. This week we have questions on opening files directly leading to the launched application being treated like it's being opened for the first time, how to consolidate hierarchies of files of the same type into one folder, and the difference between iChat and FaceTime. We continually answer e-mail questions, and while we present a few here, we certainly welcome alternative approaches and views from readers and encourage you to post your suggestions in the comments.

Question: Opening files directly causes first-time application launch warning

MacFixIt … Read more

Better wipe the face grease off that smartphone if you've got one: Yahoo plans to bring video chat to users of its mobile chat application.

In an interview yesterday with Reuters, Yahoo's VP of Mobile for the Americas, David Katz told the news outlet that the feature was on the way to the next version of the company's messenger app for both Android devices and the iPhone.

The video chat feature, which is said to work over both Wi-Fi and through carrier's networks, will also be cross-platform, allowing users on their phone to video chat with … Read more