voip

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

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. Today, the service is launching its latest update in the hopes of wooing even more customers and keeping the current ones happy. Skype 5.0 features a streamlined interface, Facebok integration, and video conferencing 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 … Read more

Last week, the two biggest VoIP services got a chance to hash it out in a CNET Prizefight. Skype and new kid on the block Google Voice duked it out in five bone-crushing rounds, and although both are communication powerhouses that bring you free or cheap phone calls over the Web, only one can come out on top. Find out which one did.

We also took a close look at some music production software from Sony. ACID Music Studio 8 builds upon the already robust music recording, mixing, and creation tools with several new features and enhancements. It's not … Read more

Google could be ready to turn Gmail into a communications hub by adding the ability to make phone calls from the Google Chat interface.

CNET has learned that Google is testing a Web-based service within Gmail that will allow users to place phone calls from their in-boxes. It's launched from the Google Chat window on the lower left-hand side of a Gmail page and allows users to place and receive calls from within their contacts through a user interface that strongly resembles the one used in Google Voice.

Google has been edging in this direction for some time. Google Talk … Read more

While it's not hard to find a free chat app that lets you IM and call friends on multiple networks, getting one to elegantly inform you of incoming chats and let you easily switch among open conversations is slimmer pickings. It may not be the most visually exciting app we've seen, but Nimbuzz IM does a fine job delivering features and alerting you to chats when you talk with friends on Skype, Facebook, Windows Live Messenger (MSN), Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), MySpace, ICQ, or Gadu-Gadu.

The app will buzz by default when a new … Read more

The indignities start with problem in the New York studio that keep Molly from being visible on today's show, and then end with the realization that all those browser preferences are basically a trackable fingerprint that's further eroding any illusion of online privacy you might have ever had. Also, Google's getting into the phone business. Again.

In an apparent effort to improve the services it can offer online, Google is seeking to acquire Global IP Solutions (GIPS), a company specializing in Internet telephony and videoconferencing.

Google and GIPS announced the move Tuesday morning, saying Google offered to pay $68.2 million, a premium of 27.5 percent over the most recent trading price and of 142 percent from January 11, when GIPS announced interest from a strategic partner.

"The Web is evolving quickly as a development platform, and real-time video and audio communication over the Internet are becoming important new tools for users," said … Read more

Since it was introduced in late 2008, VoxOx has tried to cut a name for itself in the competitive multiprotocol chat client market by providing users with an aggressive feature set. These include VoIP, a "personal assistant" for managing incoming calls with more than a simple redirect, and SMS and Web-based callback to cut down on the cost of long-distance, transnational calls. The latest improvement is a universal translator that translates all text-based messages in real time, and with a reasonable amount of accuracy, for both the Windows and Mac versions of the program. It will work with … Read more

Alarm clock. Metronome. Guitar tuner. TV remote. The list of real-world items the iPhone can replace just keeps getting longer. The latest entry: wireless headset.

Shape Services' Mobiola Headset app turns your iPhone or iPod Touch into a wireless headset, suitable for use with Skype, MagicJack, or any other VoIP-powered applications. (I'm assuming it would work with games as well, though I haven't tried this myself.)

The 99-cent app works with all iPhone models and second-gen Touches (though the latter will need a plug-in headset, as it would for any kind of telephony).

On the PC side (Windows only, I'm afraid), you'll need to install the free Mobiola Headset utility, which connects your device to your PC over your home Wi-Fi network.

I tested Headset on an iPhone 3GS and a PC running Windows 7. The two apps recognized each other immediately (following a couple of firewall approvals), and from there it was smooth sailing.

The idea here, of course, is to avoid having to buy a wired headset for use with, say, Skype or Google Talk. And Headset gives you the freedom to mosey around the house while on a call--no need to stay tethered to your PC.… Read more