August 2006

Just got a question from Alok in India. He wanted to build a system for sending sms messages confirming parcels sent to his customers. Thought this would be something quite useful for others also.

There are several ways of doing this.

Continue reading "Automating Skype SMS" »

Guys,

We’re delighted to introduce our new manager and your advocate, Paul Amery :

I’m Paul Amery, the new Developer Program (SDP) director at Skype. I’m delighted that on my first blog for Skype I can announce the beta release of Skype API 2.6. Most of you knew Lenn Pryor, who has gone back to the US but stays in the family, working at eBay. Lenn and the team created a great foundation in SDP, and we’ll be building on this foundation.

So you know, these are the deliver priorities for us, based on your feedback:

1. A rich, evolving platform of API’s and supporting components. With the release of 2.6, and the upcoming 3.0, Skype is becoming even more extensible.
2. A rapid, painless and clear route to market for your apps and plug-ins.
3. A responsive support and developer education program.

Continue reading "Paul Amery on board !" »

Author: Don Kennedy

Currently I am a Moderator in the Skype forums, a Beta tester for Skype, a member of the Skype Developer Advisory Council and also a software developer for Skype applications.

My goals are to share the knowledge I have learned about the Skype API and Skype4COM lib with the hope that it will help others create applications for Skype that the Skype user community can enjoy worldwide.

I am a retired Tandem based systems programmer consultant of 25 years, some of my past clients have been the NYSE, most of the top 25 banks in the U.S. as well as being the founder of OverLord Inc. and the original author of the Overlord ANBS product for OverLord Inc. which automatically balances multi-processor based Tandem systems worldwide.

I plan to write Blog posts about methods that can help decrease development time for other Skype developers so that many more applications continue to be created for the Skype community by developers worldwide.

As you probably know Skype is translated to no less than 27 languages! Since we are such a global company it is important for us that as many people as possible can use Skype in their own language. If you are building any kind of add-on to Skype I strongly suggest that localization is important for you also!

Of our users 72% don’t have English as the selected language in Skype. So if your app is only in English - 72% of your potential users are not seeing it in the language they would prefer!

To make this a bit simpler for you, we have published a list of more than 2600 phrases used in Skype translated to all of the 27 languages. It’s a rather impressive list, imho:

To download - simply go to this URL: https://developer.skype.com/Download/SkypeStrings

The strings are in a Unicode text file that you can use on all platforms. We hope you will find it useful and that it will get you started towards doing a full localization of your products. Good luck!

Author: Antoine Bertout aka “Ants”

I’m responsible for the coordination between Skype and its Software partners, to support and make them engaging quickly with Skype.

Prior I was DevZone manager working in the Skype Developer Program from September 2006 to May 2997 (mostly based in London). Prior to this, Skype Devloper Support person from January to August 2006 (in Tallinn).

My main goal is to be the advocate of the developers community within Skype ecosystem. That means after having learned about the Skype APIs when I supported it and was a firefighter for partners, now I take over the general partners management process.

Otherwise, I am a frog-eater and also “Ants” for the Estonians. I’ve been working within Skype since December 2005 at first during a master internship of Information System management (UTT) but after a year and an half living in this wonderful country: Estonia, it has been time for me to come back closer to my country.

So from now, I am listening to you guys from London UK and just ready to defend all your great and smart concepts of application you want to develop with Skype.

To the happy fews,

Ants

Skype’s developer program team is expanding, and we currently need a couple of good developer support technicians.

Continue reading "Skype wants YOU!" »