April 2009

I have been writing regularly about how other people have been using Skype to stay in touch.

'This post is about my son David, the Chicago editor of the Onion's Decider.

This morning at about 6:45 .m. Chicago time the phone ran. The wake-up call was from David.

He was calling on SkypeOut to our suburban Chicago landline from Tokyo to let us know he had arrived safely and to share first impressions of Tokyo. He could just as easily have called my mobile.

My wife Judi marveled afterward at how wonderful this is for parents. I recently recounted the Boston area mom who wrote about staying in touch with her daughter in Africa on Skype.

As David would say, per Seinfeld, Skype is super, terrific happy--and inexpensive or free.

Follow David's journey in Japan at his superterrific blog.

Educators have been pioneering new communications with Skype.

Take Prof. Sugata Mitra, a technology education professor at Newcastle University in the UK, whose research inspired by the Academy Award-winning movie, "Slumdog Millionaire." Hes now using having Brit grannies read fairy tales to kids in the slums in India--on Skype. The kids pick up a Brit accent that may help them find jobs and get out of the slums.

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.

She gave me a progress report five days ago: "Adventure is continuing. Not as fast as I was hoping. We are on our 23rd connection. This week, we will connect with Argentina. I am trying to schedule another marathon during the first week of June, since I am conducting a week long Tech Camp at my school and hopefully be able to connect with European and possibly with a South African country at that point.

"It is wonderful to see other schools starting to gain momentum too. A 5th grade class in Bangkok, Thailand is close to their 20th connection. It was a wonderful opportunity to be 'on the other side' of the screen when I was visiting their classroom physically during my Spring Break. I was able to witness and participate while they were making a connection with Japan that morning."

Now, writing from India, educator Jim Moulton reports:

"Though my cell phone's functionality has been terrible, Skype has been nearly flawless. I have called Oregon, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, and Chandigarh, India. True, when the wireless connection becomes a little funky, I dropped a call or two. But overall, Skype has been great.

"If you are a Skype user already, none of this will surprise you. But if you aren't, I think you'll be glad to learn about it. Skype is free software that enables users to make telephone calls via the Internet. It is free when making calls to other users of the service, and so are calls to toll free numbers. Calls to other landlines and mobile phones can be made, but for a fee. Skype also offers instant messaging, file transfer, and videoconferencing.

"Yup, that's right -- voice calls to any Internet-connected computer are free. Videoconferencing to other Internet-connected computers is also free. And, as I have become oh so aware of on this trip, calls to any land line in the world can be made for a very small fee.

"My cell phone carrier had told me I would be charged $2.99 per minute for calls made while in India. 'OK,' I thought, 'I'm going to be gone for over three weeks, so it will be worth it to stay in touch with home.' But I have been talking a lot with friends and family for the last few days -- once I gave up on the cell phone -- and I've used up about $6 of Skype credit in my account. And that is for the calls to landlines. I've also had several other video chats that have been free."
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The new Unlimited Country Skype subscription can help out here.

Moulton added: "So, what might you and your students do with Skype? I have heard of cases in which an ill student was able to stay connected to her teacher and classmates via Skype, returning to school caught up, instead of behind. In January 2009, the School Library Journal published this article, which suggested using Skype to allow authors to virtually visit your classroom. And, being a librarian, the writer also included a nice task list to help you get started with Skype. I have to believe this is the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Because of its profoundly simple power to connect people to people in a variety of ways at an extremely low cost, I know many other great things have to be happening as well."

Phil Wolff at Skype Journal provides an insightful analysis on the economic benefits of TV using Skype.

Skype has become a "disruptive technology" for TV stations, providing a new way to obtain live images as well as cutting costs.

Over the past year, I've been reporting on how shows such as Oprah's and local TV news operations have adopted Skype.

People use Skype to save money--so do TV stations.

Phil notes: "Today's remote live video shoots might cost $25k+ for satellite time, gear, van, and a crew (camera operator, sound recordist, producer, hair & make-up artist, lighting technician). This is more production value than a field reporter.

"On the other hand, let's say it costs $10k for a high-end Mac including free Skype software, webcams, insurance, geek time, mobile Internet, and a mobile phone for the control channel. Spread the cost over twenty guests/interviews, you might spend $500 for a shoot where the guest hooks themselves up in 15 minutes (power into the laptop, plug in the webcam, turn it on, fire up Skype, press the green 'Video Call' button). And now guests like (Ashton) Kutcher are Skype-ready; no cost to you."

He's referring to the actor who made news last week as he took on CNN to connect with one million Twitter followers. He went on Oprah to discuss--via Skype.

Phil said: "You can see that Ashton's end of the show is poorly lit, color balance is off, he's not been through hair or makeup (or wardrobe), his office is badly decorated to get unlicensed art off the wall behind him. Nobody cares. Skype's dialtone made that show possible without blowing the show's budget, without flying Kutcher from his office at Katalyst Films to Chicago for three days, spending five hours hosting a remote crew at his office, or even three hours to drive to a local television station for fifteen minutes of air time. It was almost as easy as having someone phone in. But with better audio and with live two-way video."

In addition to the money savings, backpack reporters can use Skype to get scoops, bringing home stories first, such as the first images from a plane crash in Buffalo, N.Y.

Dr. Loren Olson,who lives, practices psychiatry and raises cattle in the country outside Des Moines, said Skype Video can help overcome the shortage of psychiatrists in rural areas such as those he practices in Iowa and around the country.

Instead of spending a lot of "windshield time" driving for hours to rural outposts, he told me in the video below that Skype can help psychiatrists maximize their time to see more patients.

Olson, who plans to dedicate space in his office to a Skype "studio," said there is adequate bandwidth for patients in the country to use Skype.
He told a couple stories about seeing patients with Skype.

One patient was so engaged that the 60-mile distance went unnoticed. In fact, said Olso, "He asked me to get him a glass of water."

Skype Video may be the next best thing to being there--and in fact in at least once case may be even better.

Olson said: "I asked a schizophrenic how he felt about being interviewed over a (webcam) rather than in person and he said, 'I think I prefer it this way.'"

A major TV show is looking to feature doctors who use Skype in their practices.

If you're a doc with a Skype Video story, please share it in an e-mail. Send it to skype@kaplowpr.com.

Skype Video is being upgraded to High Definition, Julian Spittka, product manager and senior engineer for Audio and Video at Skype, told the National Association of Broadcasters Show in Las Vegas Tuesday.

Spittka said: "Skype is currently testing HD Video calling which can deliver up to 720p. If broadcasters have the pre-requisite HD camera, HD capture card, a fast PC, and enough bandwidth, they too can start testing HD Video calling over Skype."

He noted that over the past year broadcasters have worked with Skype to make communications inroads.

"There have been many game-changing developments in the broadcast industry as many broadcasters have looked to technology and social media tools to tap into content from viewers. Look no further than CNN's iReport that is constantly gathering news tips and multimedia from viewers; or look at The Oprah Winfrey Show, which uses Skype's High Quality Video calling htt on a regular basis to include special guests on-air from virtually anywhere."

Just last week, actor Ashton Kutcher was talking with Oprah about his Twitter campaign to take on CNN to get one million followers--on Skype.

I've reported on how TV reporters are using backback units to get live shots using Skype, including images from that airplane crash near Buffalo, N.Y.

Spittka said, "Broadcasters are embracing Skype because it complements traditional news gathering options (e.g. satellites, camera crews, etc.) in an easy and low cost way. With just a dual-core PC, broadband Internet connection and a webcam, broadcasters can use High Quality Video calling with Skype to fulfil their content needs. Even better yet, millions of people around the world are using Skype already, so it makes it easier for broadcasters to find someone to talk to over Skype."

Skype has a new deal for American and Canadian subscribers: unlimited calling to landlines in a country of choice for $5.95 per month.

Say you have a cousin in Ireland or a friend in New Zealand. You plunk down $5.95 per month for Skype's Unlimited Country subscriptions to reach them on their landlines.

And you can use your iPhone or iPod touch to make these calls, too. More on that in a moment.

The low-cost calling is available in more than 40 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guam, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, and United Kingdom.

"In a tough economy, everyone is looking for more ways to save. With the launch of Skype's Unlimited Country subscriptions, we now offer very simple, cost effective one country calling options," said Don Albert, GM and vice president of Skype Americas. "Our users can make calls internationally to virtually any regular phone any time of day, without a long-term contract, hidden fees and other restrictions."

The Unlimited Country subscriptions come with other perks too, including voicemail and up to 50 percent off an online number, where available. Users with a subscription can also use other features such as call forwarding, conference calling and Skype To Go (which enables subscribers to make low-cost international calls from mobiles and landline phones). This is on top of free Skype-to-Skype calls, video calls, chat, conference calling and send files,

Subscriptions for domestic calling to landlines and mobiles within U.S. and Canada have already been available for $2.95 per month. For individuals who are making calls to many countries, Skype offers an Unlimited World subscription, which now includes calls to over 42 countries, instead of 36 countries. A purchase of any 12-month subscription includes a discount of 25 percent ff until May 6.

Also, iPhone and iPod touch users who have downloaded the new Skype for iPhone can make calls to these numbers from Wi-Fi hotspots.

And that's lots of you. Since the Skype for iPhone application was launched on March 31, it has been the No. 1 downloaded free iPhone application in more than 40 markets, with downloads surpassing the 2 million mark in fewer than 10 days.

A major TV show is looking to feature docs who use Skype in their practices. And maybe you can help.

Telemedicine isn't new. But the availability of Skype Video offers new opportunities to make house calls to far more people--in their homes, offices, Internet cafes.

I have heard of doctors diagnosing patients long distance over Skype, like the MD dad who scoped out a throat infection in his son who was in the UK and saying Ahh over Skype Video. Or the sex therapist who kept up with her patients, holding Skype Video sessions while she was in South America,

And psychiatrists who do talk therapy over Skype Video. This approach could help address the psychiatrist shortage.

If you're a doc with a Skype Video story, please share it in an e-mail. Send it to skype@kaplowpr.com.

Flashback: Actor Russell Crowe made big headlines in 2005 when he had a "phone fit" and threw a telephone at a hotel clerk in NYC. Crowe was angry because he couldn't get a phone call through to his wife in Australia.

Cut to present: Crowe is a new man. Now a daddy, not a baddy. And he's throwing Skype at his communications needs--calmly connecting with his wife and two young sons back in Oz.

Crowe uses Skype to stay in touch with his sons, according to Parade magazine and the Celebrity Baby Blog.

The blog is entitled: "Russell Crowe's Solution to Separation? Skype!"

The native Kiwi-born actor, who makes his home Down Under, is gaga for fatherhood.

Declaring himself "blessed," Crowe gushed to Parade: "It was the right time for me to become a dad, I needed it."

How does Crow balance family life with bringing home the bacon from his flicks, including the just-released "State of Play" ?

The blog notes: "His temporary solution? Skype! With a camera that allows him a peek into the family home, the proud papa jokes that 'every now and then I can sort of just burst into the playroom,' much to the delight of both father and sons.

"When they seem happy to see me, even if I'm thousands of miles away, it's pretty special.

What's good enough for Crowe to crow about is good enough for you to download. So why not join the A-list?

Use Skype. No need to throw phones.

Ashton Kutcher was crowned King of Twitter on Oprah Winfrey's show Friday no less.

He beat out CNN in reaching a mind-boggling one million followers.

He uses Twitter to rally people around his favorite causes, such as fighting malaria, and to control images and photos of himself and his wife actress Demi Moore.

"There are giant things that we can do through this platform," he told Oprah in this video available on YouTube.

Kutcher shared his thoughts with Oprah on Skype. Natch.

He even got Oprah to start tweeting--so he better watch his back as the Queen of Media could overtake as Empress of Twitter.

Oprah has been a big Skype fan and has used it to reach out to to her huge audience over the past year. I wrote some of my first blog entries about Oprah.

Twitter is growing fast with over 14 million members worldwide. You can follow me there. I'm journotwit, writing about Skype, life as a freelance and college prof, genetics, the changing media, whatever strikes me.

But for the record, Skype is a potent social medium itself, attracting 350,000 new users a day with a network exceeding 400 million.

Social media are big and getting bigger. You better get on the juggernaut before it knocks you over. Where Oprah goes, the mainstream audience is sure to follow from old-fashioned dead-tree books to modern media, such as Skype and Twitter.

Back in 1998, Clay Cooper took an immersion Spanish class in Antigua, Guatemala.
He was impressed with the effectiveness of the method.

But he told me he was stunned to discover that his tutor, a university-educated man, lived in poverty. He told me that the tutors were paid low wages and had few students in the off-season.

Cooper told the Miami Herald: "I felt that the only thing preventing him from earning more money was just not enough [year-round] demand for his services."

Cooper and his wife Cindy, of Portland, Ore., decided to set up an Internet-based business that would link tutors with students year-round and that would pay them a fair wage. Their company is called Speak Shop.

He said that Skype proved to be an effective method to deliver lessons on video or audio. He said even tutors in Guatemala and Nicaragua who had not previously used computers found Skype to be easy.

Students go to the Speak Shop website to pick a tutor and schedule a class. They pay tutors $7 to $10 per hour--about twice the going rate locally. Plus, students pay Speak Shop a monthly stipend based on how many lessons are taken per month.

Over the years, I've taken Spanish, but feel stuck. I'll see if my tutor, Osberto, can move me along with a little help from Skype. I'll let you know it goes, amigos.

Family courts Down Under are allowing parents to leave the country with their children--if they agree to use Skype to stay in touch with the parent who remains in Australia, The Australian is reporting.

The newspaper tells of an author with an offer to develop her career in the US being allowed to take her young son with her so long as the lad "has reasonable access to a computer which has a Skype program installed, together with a webcam, in order that the child may communicate with his father by that means or by email at times which the child and his father may mutually agree upon."

There were have been 10 such cases in family court in Australia so far this year.

Skype to the rescue again.

The new Skype for iPhone app was downloaded one million times within 48 hours of becoming available on March 31.

Now Peter Parkes reports on the main blog that the app has been downloaded more than 2 million times.

That comes out to two to three downloads per second.

Once you have downloaded the software on an iPhone or a second-generation iPod touch, just head over to a WiFi hotspot and start making calls and chatting.

Peter says the iPhone team will be offering a new version soon.

Patrons of the Tigard (Ore.) Public Library are using Skype to reach out to relatives and friends around the world.

Len Anderson, reader services manager at the library, said the free and low-cost service enables families to speak to loved ones in the military in Iraq and Afghanistan as well grandparents to call grandchildren around the country and world. Patrons pay the low cost for service if they call regular landlines.

"We currently have eight computers with Skype software downloaded and usable. We have, to date, purchased four Skype phones, but plan on adding four more in the very near future. Depending on demand, we may expand to have all 16 computers in the Technology Room Skype enhanced and also order additional Skype phones."

Anderson said he has checked the library literature and didn't find other reports on libraries offering Skype.

Skype is available during limited hours three days a week and will be expanded if demand warrants.

Anderson said the library uses Skype phones to keep users' voices down--since the librarians find people have a tendency to speak loud when microphones are used.

Ning Wang, an adult services librarian, who works in the Tigard library's computer lab, said sometimes all four of the Skype phones are in use at one time as patrons call Bulgaria, Germany, Russia, Scotland, Sweden and growing number of countries around the world.

Anderson said some library patrons have learned how to use Skype in the library and then download it and use Skype at home. To meet this need, the library is inaugurating classes on how to download and use Skype.

Wang, who comes from China, has been using Skype for four years and now reunites with his family there on Skype video.

Jason Fischl has joined Skype as director of developer relations.

The former chief technology officer at CounterPath, he'll head the Skype developer Program.

Jason shares his thoughts on his new role in the video below.

Jonathan Christensen, Skype's general manager for audio and video,said on the main blog, "Personally, I'm thrilled about Jason joining. We have a great opportunity to revitalize our developer program and he has the skills and experience to lead this effort. He has an excellent track record working with industry standards bodies like the IETF in and is a thought leader in open source software development."

Last month, Skype made news when we offered our advanced SILK speech technology - which is incorporated into Skype 4.0 for Windows - to developers for free, and positioned it as a new standard for high quality audio.

Jason said he plans to continue work in this direction, continuing to give third-party developers access to tools such as SILK - and making Skype a platform for ground-breaking innovation.

Loads of companies are bi-coastal, Pacific and Atlantic.

With some help from Skype, Yola Inc., the developer of free tools to develop websites, manages to be bi-continental and bi-coastal facing the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Yola was founded in Cape Town, South Africa. But a year ago, the company moved its operation to where the digital action is--the Bay Area, while maintaining a developer team and other staffers in Capetown

Randy Almond, vice president of marketing at Yola (known until a week ago as SynthaSIte), describes in this video how Skype video, audio and chat are "critical" for this company to operate on two continents.

"Skype helps put a face" on personnel in North America and Africa, he explained.

Beau Sharbrough has been a major figure in the intersection between genealogy and technology. In his latest effort, he is using Skype to bring expert speakers to local groups via video calls.

He served for five years as president of GENTECH, a genealogy technology society. He worked on family tree products for Ancestry.com. (Disclosure: I write the NextGen column on tech and genealogy for Ancestry magazine. Check out my column on DNA testing on my dog Rufus: A Shaggy D(NA)og Story.)

Beau also worked as vice president of content for Footnote.com, the history Web site.

Recently, Beau and his pal Dick Eastman, a tech gadget columnist and a Skype advocate, held a workshop using Skype between London and St. George, Utah. Beau said it very much resembled a typical genie conference with a speaker and a PowerPoint.

Beau noted in his The Unofficial Footnote Blog: "Dick and I tested the basic Skype connection as part of the St George Expo in late February. He was in London, England, and I was in St George UT. I was using the internet connection on my mobile 3G modem, which can be good or bad. On that particular day, it was pretty good. Those present could see and hear Dick just fine, and he was able to hear questions from the audience.

This inspired Beau to develop an easy system using Skype and Yugma to make expert speakers available to local genealogical societies that otherwise couldn't pick up the tab. He said the airfare for a conference often was about as much as the speaker's fee.

He noted: "With Skype, you can eliminate [travel costs]. It's just plain old vanilla 'distance learning' applied to genealogy society meetings. I want to help small groups that never get expert speakers develop the simple skill set required to have them. And let's be clear, Skype is easy."

Beau is offering free lectures to local groups to test out his idea. He's talk about Genealogy 2020, online search assistants, what's new at Footnote,com, what's new at Ancestry.com, etc.

Any interested groups should contact him at sharbrough@rootsworks.com.

New York Times tech guru David Pogue gives kudos in his review of the new Skype for the iPhone in The Times as well as on CNBC.

He notes in his column: "Skype for iPhone app works great. It's good-looking and familiar, and permits both typed chat and audio calls. (Not video, of course.) Sound quality is excellent.

"Pretty cool, when you think about it, that you can now make free iPhone-to-iPhone calls (or Touch-to-Touch calls).

On CNBC's "On the Money", Pogue made the case that people should be flocking to Skype in the economic downturn to save money. He said that the new iPhone application is helping Skype move from the college crowd and parents checking in on their student children to the mainstream.

Pogue said in his column the significance of Skype for the iPhone and iPod Touch is that "now 30 million people can make Skype calls without being tethered to a computer."

He said the downside of Skype for the iPhone is that it works only works a Wi-Fi hot spot. "So the real meaning of Skype on a cellphone--that fantasy of ducking cellphone airtime charges forever--doesn't quite come to fruition. (On some other smartphones, on the other hand, you can place Skype calls over the cellular airwaves. If you have an unlimited data plan, that's a lot cheaper than making cell calls.)"

He observed: "Now, iPhone programs like TruCall, Fring and NimBuzz also let you make free Wi-Fi Skype calls--and, in fact, offer typed chat with a much wider variety of instant-message networks (not just Skype). But it's nice to know that a big player like Skype is now officially in the game, with its 400 million customers ready to receive your iPhone/iPod Touch calls. If I were a phone company right about now, I'd be starting to sweat."

If you downloaded the new Skype for iPhone application at the Apple Store, you weren't alone.

In fewer than 48 hours, Skype for iPhone has been downloaded more than one million times. That's about six downloads every second, making this new app one of the most suucessful iPhone apps on record.

The new Skype for iPhone app is good in WiFi zones for the smart phones and the touch iPods, which may require headsets with mikes.

Matthew Bird isn't even in kindergarten yet. But he's already "Skype-ing," according to WKYT-TV in Lexington, Ky.

The station reports on how Matthew and his mom Jennifer use Skype to communicate with his grandparents.

Inspired by Oprah's use of Skype, Jennifer said: "It's so simple and so easy to use. Anyone can use it. You just click and make your user name, and there you are."

Matthew's grandmother reads him bedtime stories.

"To Matthew this is just all normal. At night, he'll say 'I want to Skype grandma,' and so he's ready to get on the computer, and visit and have our daily chat," Jennifer Bird said.

Back in February, I reported on some ideas from a Seattle blogger,, Michael Lieberman to use Skype to promote books, what he called "biblio opportunities."

He suggested that prisons set up Skype reading rooms so inmates can read to their children and that poets do readings on Skype.

He also recommended that authors use Skype video to reach out to book clubs to speak with readers.

Dawn Kairns, author of MAGGIE: The Dog Who Changed My Life/ A Story of Love, has done just that.

She describes here how she used Skype to reach out via Skype Video from her home in rural Boulder, Colo., to a book discussion group in South Padre Island, Texas.

She said she felt the reception was warm and enjoyed being able to discuss her book with people who had read it. She plans to do more Skype book discussions.

Here's an excerpt from her book about her late dog, Maggie:

"Once in every dog lover's life, if you're lucky, that special once-in-a-lifetime dog comes along. You know this relationship is golden, a gift from the spirit world. You have found a soul mate. Animal and human spirits are inextricably intertwined, and you know there will never be another dog that comes close to the presence of this one and the bond that you share. For me, Maggie is that dog.

"You know it when it happens. You think a thought and your dog responds. She knows what you're asking of her, even though you never trained her to do it. You recognize that your communication is beyond words, beyond training. How do you explain it? You peer into her eyes and know you are looking into the depths of a loving, advanced soul. You may wonder, as I did, who are you in there?"

For more on Kairns go to her website. Contact her at dawnkairns@yahoo.com to arrange a book discussion.

On the main blog, Scott Durschlag provides an update on Skype's upwardly mobile plans following the availability of the Skype for iPhone app in the Apple Store on Tuesday.

Talk about upwardly mobile. Peter Parkes reports that Skype for iPhone was the No. 1 app in the United States and other countries out of the box.

Scott notes that mobility is a major interest among consumers:

"I spend a lot of time travelling - I'm in Luxembourg and London one week, San Jose the next, and Tokyo the week after that. Each and every week, no matter which city or country I'm visiting, I get asked the same questions: Why can't I use Skype on my cell phone? When will I be able to take Skype with me on my iPhone? Is Skype really serious about going mobile? And it's not just me - Skype t-shirts are a magnet for questions like that "

He notes that Skype is available for or soon will be available for mobile devices powered by every single one of the world's six major mobile operating systems - Android, BlackBerry, iPhone OS, Java, Symbian and Windows Mobile.

He said that a Lite version of Skype, will be available for BlackBerry smartphones in Beta in May.

"This 'thin client' version of Skype lets you make Skype-to-Skype calls and SkypeOut calls to landlines and mobiles, send instant messages to/from individuals or groups, and lets you see when your contacts are online. TThe Lite version of Skype is currently available on the Android platform and hundreds of the most popular Java-enabled cell phones from the top five handset manufacturers - LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson."