Simon Perry

Skype-Out Gets Caller-ID – In Some Countries
If you’re a user of Skype-Out, the service that lets you call landlines from Skype, you may have come across a peculiar reaction when you’ve dialed people abroad. Our experience has ranged from puzzlement to down-right bewildered, “Where’s dialing code 0000 from?”
This should change for some lucky Skype-out customers, now they’ve released Caller ID on it.
Once you’ve changed you configuration, the Skype-out number will be set to show your Skype-In number – hurrah.
Not all countries are covered, but the lucky ones are currently the UK, Sweden, Denmark, Japan, Hong Kong, Estonia and Poland. Countries that aren’t covered _may_ come on soon, after Skype’s “legal people continue to be busy working with our partners and governments.”
9 May, 2007
BBC Condone Torrent Downloads In Trial?
The BBC have been running three, weekly pieces reporting on the impact and progress of a four person UK family when starting to live their Digital- Lifestyles. So much so that they’ve got into Torrents already!
They been given a flat screen, Sky HD, Windows Media, Apple TV, Sono and the inevitable iPods (Apple must be rather chuffed). All of these bits have been linked together using a wireless network which is whizzing the data around for them.
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8 May, 2007
BlackBerry Curve On Vodafone UK Soon
Following the announcement yesterday of the BlackBerry Curve joining the now apparently ever expanding range of BlackBerry devices, Vodafone have been in touch to let us know that they’ll have it in the UK from 21 May.
The BlackBerry Curve looks pretty good from the shots we’ve seen. It’s finished in what they describe as a liquid silver colour with chrome highlights, smooth edges and soft curves – a guide to where they got the name from?
BlackBerry are also pitching it as “the perfect balance between work and play.”
New features are showing how the BlackBerry is becoming much more a consumer device, rather than just for business stiffs who feel it reflects they’re important, how often they can check worthless emails being pushed at them by The Man.
One such is that the 2Mpx camera with 5x digital zoom, built-in flash and night mode, can share its pics with just one click using either email, MMS, or Bluetooth.
BlackBerry Curve
Vodafone UK
4 May, 2007
Tiscali ‘Movies Now’ Service Launched
ISP Tiscali have launched a Movies Now service, giving their customers access to over 500 films and entertainment programs without a subscription fee.
There’s a choice to either rent the content or download to own, with prices starting at 99p for TV content or for older films.
They’re working with Arts Alliance Media, who are providing the content and the technology behind the serving and content protection.
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4 May, 2007
Boo.com Reborn To Travel
You can just imagine the cries of What!!! when we heard that boo.com was relaunching.
The first time around boo.com was at the peek of stupid behaviours in the UK Internet scene in the pre-bust days and its excesses are well documented. As we’re sure you all know, they burnt through close to $160m in 18 months, trying to create a portal (as they were called back in the day) to sell clothes through. They went bust in 2000.
Well the FT covers the story (by someone with an infeasibly long name, Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson) that someone has bought the domain and has launched a travel site using it – this time with the golden charms of Web 2.0. Does this harken the cry that Web 2.0 is just about to bubble burst?
Ray Nolan, the founder of Web Reservations International, who currently appear to be doing OK with €19m of earnings last year, pointed out to the FT that “It’s catchy, and it works across languages.” True enough – and the tarnish on the name might just have faded far enough to not be negative. Well, it got them in the FT and us writing about it, didn’t it?
Boo.com
4 May, 2007
NetGear Buying Infrant, RAID & NAS Vendor: UPDATED
NetGear have announced the execution of a definitive agreement to acquire the privately-held Infrant Technologies, Inc, maker of RAID and NAS technology.
Netgear will be putting $60m cash on the table, with a chance for the Infrant shareholders to gain an additional $20m in cash for over the next three years if, in the oft-used phrase, “specific revenue targets are reached”.
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3 May, 2007
Why Skype SMS Offer Doesn’t Include The UK
We put out a NIB (News in Brief) earlier today about Skype offering half price SMS’s.
It struck us that dear old Blighty (UK) _wasn’t_ included in the list of countries that people could half price SMS to.
Jeepers, Creepers, what’s going on, went the cry!
We got in touch with those who know (Skype-types) and after a short pause came the confirmation that, yes, the UK wasn’t included.
The reason?
“We’re looking at all markets and have started with those that we think will take advantage of the promotion the fastest. Everything is evolutionary at Skype – we rely on early adopter/usage feedback to make sure we get it right for other countries yet to benefit from the promotion.”
Doesn’t make a great deal of sense given the UK’s global reputation of madly texting at every opportunity.
Clearly Skype had to say something and while this might be the official reason, we wondered if it was something to do with the famously-inflexible UK mobile companies, and their unwillingness to show love (or enough of a discount) to dear Skype?
3 May, 2007
Takeaway Festival: DIY Media Next Week
Next week is the second annual Takeaway Festival at the Dana Centre at the Science Museum in London.
The event organisers at the Science Museum have a natty skill of organising some great events, so we’re hoping this one will be up to their normally high standards.
It’s a three day event (9-11 May) which sounds like it could just about start a revolution. They’ll “explore how emerging technologies are transforming creative possibilities, social structures and communication networks.”
By the structure of it doesn’t sound like it will give you a chance to get bored – even if you wanted to.
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3 May, 2007
Skype: SMS Half Price Offer
Those clever-types at Skype are trying to hook you into the habit of using Skype, not just for your spoken comms and IM, but for SMS to mobiles too.
The feature’s been there for quite a while in the PC version and for slightly less on the Mac, but we guess they think that not enough people know about it yet.
They’re using that old ‘make it cheaper’ ploy to attract your attention.
Until the 8th May, you (any Skype user, anywhere in the world) will be able to send SMSs via Skype for half their normal price to mobile owners in United States, Australia, Poland, Russia, Taiwan, Belgium, Thailand, Ireland, Austria and Italy.
How do you SMS in Skype?
Sending an SMS in Skype is a doddle, simply select a contact that has a mobile number stored in it and select the Send an SMS option.
It couldn’t be easier really, could it? … and it gives the advantage of having a full-sized keyboard.
Skype SMS
3 May, 2007
Digg HD-DVD Censorship Fiasco
If you don’t live your life in the Blogosphere or on Digg – and why should you? – you’ll have missed out on many knickers getting in a twist.
It all started off about the posting on Digg of an encryption key for HD-DVD that is intrinsic to the security of HD-DVD content.
Next major thing – many alleged that the administrators of Digg were removing posts about this key and the growing number of anti-digg comments that were littering the system.
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3 May, 2007