Mobile

My old friend and colleague Eric Benderoff described is his May 8 Chicago Tribune Tech Buzz column the way things should be for mobile device users.

He told of being at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last January and testing out gear from Intel and Motorola that transformed his car into a mobile hot spot using WiMax, an emerging technology that is sort of like WiFi on vitamins, if not steroids.

Among other things, Eric said he called back to the Chicago office on Skype via the car’s navigation system.
I saw a demo of the same WiMax technology aboard the good ship “Summer of George” on a Motorola-sponsored cruise on the Chicago River last summer. It’s amazing stuff and should be available soon.

If WiMax catches on, it would be great if the Federal Communications Commission would encourage phone and cable companies offering phone services open up their networks so everyday Americans, not just tech reporters, can use Skype while cruising like the Skype Nomad in their planes, trains and automobiles.

In the tradition of Phileas Fogg, hero of Jules Verne’s 1872 novel, “Around the World in Eighty Days,” Rebecca Campbell is setting out from London today to go around the world in 33 days.

This isn't a race with Fogg. The 26-year-old London resident, a native of Sydney, Australia, dubbed the "Skype Nomad," isn’t going for a time record.

Rather, Campbell is showing just how mobile Skype is as she covers ground in 15 countries. “It’s all about perpetual motion to show how truly mobile I can be," she said.

She'll be hopping from jet to rickshaw and bumboat in Singapore to a Fogg-esque hot-air balloon over the Alps in Austria, to gondola in Venice, a boat cruising the Yangtze River in China, cable car in San Francisco, dog sled in Alaska, the famed cross-continental Indian Pacific train between Sydney and Perth in her native Australia, and a boat ride across the Baltic from Sweden to Skype’s supreme HQ in Tallinn, Estonia to finish up June 6, “D-Day.”

Continue reading ""Skype Nomad's" excellent adventure in mobility" »

Retinal disease blinded Ed Gallagher, 57, of San Francisco, eight years ago.

But now, with a boost from Skype, Gallagher is “seeing” again—and a lot more than that.

With the help of a laptop equipped with a Wi-Fi card, a link to Skype, a webcam mounted on a helmet, and guidance on his headset from a visually able assistant, he is performing amazing feats:

—Sailing on San Francisco Bay, where he is commodore of BAADS, Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors.

—Walking without a cane or his guide dog Genoa for a first time since he went blind.

—Riding a bike.

—Shooting at a firing range and hitting the target.

Gallagher is the subject of a new documentary, Inner Space, featuring Skype. The movie debuts April 12 at Yuri's Night: The World Space Party, a celebration of art and space.

Continue reading "Blind adventurer uses Skype as his "eyes" in new documentary" »

Is Skype in the sky a pie-in- the- sky idea?

Not necessarily.

Gogo, a new service being tested this year by American Airlines and Virgin Air, will feature broadband service at 30,000 feet.

At its website, Gogo describes how people will go online on transcontinental flights to check their e-mail, buy stuff, etc.

But nowhere does it mention the possibility of Skype audio or video calls. Huh?

Continue reading "Skype in the sky: Part II" »

A new service is coming that could have you online while you’re airborne.

It’s called Gogo. It’s a Wifi service that initially will make Internet access available this year for flights between the East and West Coasts on American Airlines and Virgin America.

I can see it now: Gogo users will be going online at 30,000 feet, checking e-mail, catching up on the news, playing games and buying shoes.

Gog's website doesn't address the possibilities of Internet calling. But an American Airlines announcement last year indicated Internet calling was on the no-fly list.

Still one can dream of placing Skype audio and video calls and IMing on board.

Note to Gogo: Don't forget those of us in the "flyover." And please consider Skype in the sky. We promise to be considerate of other passengers.

Missionary Malcolm Lanham of course puts his faith in God.

But he and his team with Global Outreach, based in McDowell County, the poorest area in West Virginia and the fifth poorest county in the United States, rely on Skype to communicate with far-flung missionaries.

Continue reading "On a mission with Skype" »

Everybody and his mother have a mobile device. Now the market appears to be moving toward providing them with Skype on their devices.

Jonathan Christensen, head of audio/visual at Skype in San Jose, CA., says the next leap forward for the mobile world will be “unfettered mobile IP access on open devices. There is now a chance this will happen.”

Christensen, whose team develops software for Skype calls and video calls, was the opening speaker Wednesday at the emerging Communications (eComm) show at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA.

He says that economic forces, including Federal Communciations Commission auctions of spectrum and flat mobile phone plans, “are pushing the market in this direction.”

He says this will mean people using Skype on mobile devices will be able to do “many of the cool things they can do on their computers with Skype now.” This includes video calling as well as sharing files, pictures, moods and presence, the ability to see if your network buddies are available or unavailable for your call.

“It’s happening now and Skype is excited to be innovating at the edge,” says Christensen.

Meanwhile, let’s contemplate our mobile future on Skype. Better put on our sunglasses. As the band Timbuk 3 said: “The Future’s So Bright Gotta Wear Shades."

Continue reading ""Unfettered mobile" Internet access will open bright new possibilities: Skype engineering leader" »