February 2009

Jai Ho.

It turns out Skype is for Slumdog Millionaires--and an Bollywood Oscar song winner.

Indian composer AR Rahman won twin Oscars for best song, "Jai Ho" (Hindi for "Be Victorious") and best score for the film "Slumdog Millionaire" last Sunday.

The Wall Street Journal reported that next day he released an English version of the tune with the Pussycat Dolls.

The Pussy Cat Dolls' Nicole Scherzinger does the vocal, singing the chorus: "You are the reason that I breathe/ You are the reason that I still believe / You are my destiny."

The remix was created in mid-January with contributions on three continents. Rahman provided input via Skype from India, working with songwriters in LA and the touring singers who popped in and out of studios in the UK.

As I write this, I'm listening to the song here in Chicago, having downloaded it for 99 cents from iTunes. What a world, huh?

The English version, from Universal Music Group's Interscope Geffen A&M Records, is hitting a high note so far with Western fans. It's in the top 50 at iTunes. The original version is No. 10.

Jai Ho. Indeed.

Who says you can't take it with you?

With Skype being the it.

Back in 2007, Skype launched the Skype To Go number, which makes it possible to make low-cost international calls via Skype on landlines and mobiles.

On the main blog, Peter Parkes reports on how Skype To Go is now available to anyone with Skype Credit.

Parkes said: "When you're on the move, dial the Skype To Go number from any phone to reach your friends, family or business partners abroad. Skype To Go numbers are local numbers, so if they're included in your phone's calling plan, you'll pay only the low Skype rates for the calls you make."

Skype To Go numbers are available for the United States. They're also available in Australia, Chile, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

To get your Skype To Go number, go your account to activate the number. You'll need a Skype Credit or a subscription.

A low per minute call fee for the international call is deducted from your Skype Credit. This may also be free if you have a subscription to Skype.

If your subscription includes the US, for example, and you use Skype To Go to call the US, you won't pay a penny.

Back in January, Silvia Tolisano, the "langwitches" teacher at San Jose Episcopal Day School in Jacksonville, Fla., told me of her plans to take her school "Around the World with 80 Schools" in six months.

So it 's time for an update.

So far, the students in Jacksonville have talked on Skype Video with students with 16 other schools, covering North America and Europe, Asia and Australia.

Time differences posed an obstacle to reaching out to schools in the eastern hemisphere. But Tolisano's Tech Club overcame the issue by meeting on a Sunday evening before President's Day.

During a special "Skype Sunday," Tolisano and her students, from fourth through eleventh grades, visited classrooms in Australia, China, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.

She said, "Six schools in six countries in one hour. It was amazing."
Students visited with two classrooms Down Under. The USA was the sixth country students contacted.

Tolisano said Skype video experience has opened up the world to her students. They typically ask the other students about books they've read, sports they play and their favorite foods.

Tolisano, who herself is trilingual, said students have been especially impressed at how many languages students abroad speak.
She said the goal of making Skype video calls to 80 schools in six months may have been too ambitious since students have their classroom curriculum and preparation for standardized testing.

But given their druthers, she said the students would be on Skype video chatting up their new friend around the world.

You can follow the students' progress at a special wiki and at Google Maps.

Starting in the third quarter, High-end Nokia N-series phones, running the Symbian S60 operating system, will come with Skype calling and instant messaging out-of-the box via 3G and WiFi. the companies announced Tuesday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Scott Durchslag, Skype's chief operating officer, described the deal in the main blog.

He said: "It's a meeting of two great innovators and two great brands - the world's largest and most distinctive mobile manufacturer, and the world's leading communications software company. Together, we're going to develop and deliver a great mobile Skype experience that meets the needs of our many users who are also Nokia customers. It will also bring Skype to new mobile users in both developed and emerging markets."

He said Skype will be deeply integrated into the device's address book, "and calling using Skype will be very simple - it will be part of the phone's operating system, rather than a separate application, making it quicker and easier to start a Skype call or send an instant message."

Beginning in the third quarter, Skype will come pre-installed on new Nokia N97 devices, and existing N97 owners will also be able to get Skype functionality through a firmware update.

Downloadable versions of Skype already are available for the Android platform and more than 100 Java-enabled mobiles from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, Motorola and LG, as well as Windows Mobile devices. More than 11 million copies of Skype for Windows Mobile have been downloaded. Skype is adding SMS and File Transfer features as well.

Durschlag said: "Clearly, the mobile industry is at an inflection point. This year will see software and content owners, device manufacturers and mobile operators looking at more ways to work together. What has traditionally been a relationship separated by walls, will increasingly be about an open, collaborative relationship and the common need to work together. The faster this can happen, the better."

On the main Skype blog, Peter Parkes announces that Skype for Windows Mobile 2.5 Gold is ready for download for Pocket PCs and smart phones.

Skype also previewed the first beta of Skype for Windows Mobile 3.0 today at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. New features include SMS and file transfer.

Parkes notes: "With 3.0 Beta, you can send text messages from your phone at Skype's low rates, and send and receive files with your Skype contacts around the world. We'll be releasing 3.0 Beta in March, so keep your eyes peeled..."

Alex Pell in TimesOnline describes how the new version of Skype has improved video and can be used to hold video conferences and helps companies and people go green.

Pell notes in "Say hello to the virtual boardroom": "THE biggest step many businesses can take to slash their carbon footprint is to ditch unnecessary plane journeys.

"The good news is that it's never been less essential to belch out tonnes of aviation fuel en route to pressing the flesh of a business contact thanks to giant leaps in video-conferencing technology.

"Even better news is that the process has become far more cost-effective - and often free. Skype has just released version 4.0 (for Windows) of its popular internet-communications software and this promises greatly enhanced video quality for conference calls."

The article goes on to describe how Karen Hollands runs a global language school from her house in Weybridge, Surrey, UK, using Skype's free video-conferencing service.

"Our business is entirely virtual. We have over 30 native-speaking language teachers in 14 countries teaching hundreds of people globally," Hollands said.

Pupils can brush up on Mandarin Chinese from a teacher who is nearly 6,000 miles from the UK in Guangdong province in China. Lessons are recorded so students can practice pronunciation later.

Richard Moross, chief executive of Moo (www.moo.com), a contract-printing business that offers customizable stationery, is another Skype fan:

"Skype video is extraordinarily helpful to our business because we have 40 employees who spend a lot of time on the road visiting clients. We put a laptop with built-in webcam on the table and include people in our weekly meetings."

He shares designs over video links.

Buffalo TV station WGRZ was able to get the first images of the crash of Flight 3407 --with help from Skype.

Skype increasingly is being used in newsgathering, from the studio or even live in the field.

NBC 26 in Augusta, Ga. started to use Skype in the field.

The station explained this week how it had used Skype for the first time:

"26 News' Dustin Blanchard covered Augusta Day at the State Capitol using Skype technology on Tuesday.

"Skype is technology that only requires a camera, a computer and an Internet connection to broadcast a live report. News stations normally use microwave, satellite or fiber connections for live reports which require a reporter and photojournalist in the field and someone at the station to locate the live signal.

"Satellite connections also require an extra person to operate the satellite truck and communicate with the station.

"A live shot through Skype requires just one person to set up."

Last March, CNN, which bills itself as "The Most Trusted Name in News," added Skype into the mix for the first time. When CNN techies couldn't get a live feed to a reporter vacationing in Maui, they turned to Skype.

At the journalism website, Poynter Online, Amy Gahran makes the case "Skype: Why Every Journo Should Use it."

Sure, you can share a Valentine's Day audio or video call on Skype.

But on the main blog Nick Wright offers another suggestion:
a Valentine's Video Card.

He notes: "Because we know how special that moment can be, it's only right that you have an equally special way to say it. That's why you can now send your own Valentine's Video Card which allows you to get as personal as you like "

When you visit the site, just choose a card design, record your video message to that special someone and either send it directly or copy the unique link and send your own e-mail. And of course it's all for free.

Wright notes that the Skype Video Cards were a popular choice last Xmas when tens of thousands sent video greetings to friend and family and even posted them on blogs.

The important thing: Don't forget Valentine's Day

Skype video calling is being featured in the new Kohler LivingHome, a two-story model of energy efficiency and sustainability unveiled this week in Long Beach, Calif.

Attendees of the invitation-only TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) event, "where the world's leading thinkers and doers gather to find inspiration."

After that, for the remainder of the month, the home will be open to the public.

The home is built with high-design, low-eco footprint furnishings, materials, products and technologies.

Skype video calling is integrated into the Kohler LivingHome. Two laptops with the all-new Skype for Windows are featured in the home.

LivingHomes' environmentally conscious homes are designed to achieve U.S. Green Building Council's LEED for Homes Platinum certification. The Kohler LivingHome reflects LivingHomes' Z6 Sustainable Building Goals which include six key objectives for all LivingHomes' construction and operation: Zero Water, Zero Energy, Zero Waste, Zero Emissions, Zero Carbon, and Zero Ignorance.

When I opened my New York Times this morning, I was pleased to see personal tech columnist David Pogue's thumbs-up review of the new Skype 4.0 for Windows.

The headline on Pogue's review said the new Skype 4 for Windows helps "video chats overcome clunkiness."

He said: "Skype's audio quality has always been terrific-- more like a CD than a telephone, so if you have decent speakers, audio calls have an eerie, you-are-there presence. But the company says that the new version requires only half as much data to transmit all of that sound. In other words, no matter what your Internet connection, you'll probably hear an improvement."

He swas impressed with major gains with video.

Pogue noted: "Skype's video now offers some handy bells and whistles. You no longer have to begin a video chat by first starting with an audio call, for example; there's a dedicated Start Video Chat button. You can also expand the window to full screen, or capture a still image during the call, with one click.

"You can resize both your partner's video image and your own, smaller picture-in-picture image, or drag them around the screen to suit the situation. And a small utility strip below the picture offers space to type Web addresses or other instant messages to your partner. You can even send a file to your pal by clicking the Send File button in this box."

Pogue sees Skype as especially popular among people under 30 and that video calls are not going to replace old-fashioned audio calling. Pogue said: "In the end, video chatting isn't a replacement for phone calls but a supplement to them, a perfect way to check out someone's new place, check in with distant family members and friends or show off a new talent (or baby)."

There may be a generational component to this.

Still, I have encountered seniors who use Skype video. They're strongly motivated to see their children and grandchildren growing up faraway in the United States or even in other countries. And Oprah WInfrey's frequent use of Skype has helped mainstream Skype video.

As to video replacing audio...Skype reported recently that more than 25 percent of people making Skype calls opt for video. Even more did so on Christmas

I am a reluctant video caller myself. I don't like to see myself on video, but I am getting used to it. On the other hand, I enjoy seeing other people on video.

This week alone I've spoken on Skype video with people in Canada, Australia and South Africa.

I suspect that increasingly calls will be done using video as it becomes available on cell phones and mobile devices.

So Windows users, why not head over to Skype and download the program.

Seven and a half months ago, Zachary Sunderland, who turned 17 in November, set off on the adventure of a lifetime--a solo circumnavigation of the planet.

The teen, an experienced sailor and navigator, left on the yacht Intrepid from his hometown, Marina Del Rey, Calif., with the goal of being the youngest person ever to do a solo circumnavigation

Zac was born on land, but his parents Marianne and Laurence, a shipwright, immediately took him home to live on their sailboat after he was born.

He has been preparing for this journey throughout his life, He has raced, crewed and delivered yachts of all sizes. He often has been given sole responsibility for these yachts.

He's been home schooled.

Zac has already covered 14,000 miles. He spends his days taking care of ship matters as well as reading and blogging.

I caught up with him early Thursday. On Skype naturally.

I was in Chicago. Zac was in Cape Town.