"On average, he estimates, Skype's users pay just 12¢ to 13¢ per month.
Despite its legal troubles, Vonage (VG) generates $28.38 a month from
subscribers to its Internet-based phone service."
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote in
news:4702437b$0$79890$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net:
> "http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/oct2007/tc2007101_49988
> 9.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_technology"
>
> "On average, he estimates, Skype's users pay just 12¢ to 13¢ per
> month. Despite its legal troubles, Vonage (VG) generates $28.38 a
> month from subscribers to its Internet-based phone service."
>
Dream on....Ebay isn't stupid. Skype was purchased to Ebay's BUSINESS
could operate across the planet, not to be the center of their business
model. Ebay is connecting their SELLERS with their BUYERS. Ebay makes
money every time that happens....
Larry
--
Please - Turn OFF cruise control when
you turn on windshield wipers!
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
noone@home.com (Larry) wrote in
news:Xns99BD8E2F11C4Anoonehomecom@208.49.80.253:
> SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote in
> news:4702437b$0$79890$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net:
>
>> "http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/oct2007/tc2007101_4
>> 9988 9.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_technology"
>>
>> "On average, he estimates, Skype's users pay just 12½ to 13½ per
>> month. Despite its legal troubles, Vonage (VG) generates $28.38 a
>> month from subscribers to its Internet-based phone service."
>>
>
> Dream on....Ebay isn't stupid.
Nor are they infallible:
On Oct. 1, eBay confirmed that it overpaid for Skype—by
nearly $1 billion—and that the popular Web-calling business
has not performed up to the rosy forecasts set back in 2005.
In announcing a $1.43 billion charge against profits, eBay
also revealed a broad management reshuffle in which Skype
co-founders Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis will be leaving
their posts.
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
On Tue, 02 Oct 2007 17:58:26 +0000, Larry <noone@home.com> wrote:
>SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote in
>news:4702437b$0$79890$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net:
>
>> "http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/oct2007/tc2007101_49988
>> 9.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_technology"
>>
>> "On average, he estimates, Skype's users pay just 12¢ to 13¢ per
>> month. Despite its legal troubles, Vonage (VG) generates $28.38 a
>> month from subscribers to its Internet-based phone service."
>>
>
>Dream on....Ebay isn't stupid. Skype was purchased to Ebay's BUSINESS
>could operate across the planet, not to be the center of their business
>model. Ebay is connecting their SELLERS with their BUYERS. Ebay makes
>money every time that happens....
eBay *WAS* stupid to buy a losing proposition like Skype. They
admitted they made a mistake. Just because you sit in your trailer
and make up excuses how Skype was such a wonderful purchase for eBay
doesn't make it so. So get back to your bottle, Skype pimp.
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
The Ghost of General Lee wrote:
> eBay *WAS* stupid to buy a losing proposition like Skype. They
> admitted they made a mistake. Just because you sit in your trailer
> and make up excuses how Skype was such a wonderful purchase for eBay
> doesn't make it so. So get back to your bottle, Skype pimp.
It was also front page news on this morning's San Jose paper.
Now that the money they paid is gone, and the infrastructure is in
place, the costs of continuing the Skype service is probably minimal.
They can't compete against true VOIP solutions such as Vonage and
Voicestick, but there's not much money in doing that anyway. If they try
to eliminate free computer to computer calls, then that's the end of
Skype completely.
They'll just continue on the way they're going. They're certainly not
going to try to copy the Vonage business model. They thought that last
year's free Skype out promotion would draw in a lot of paying customers,
but few people were naive enough to sign up for it.
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
At 02 Oct 2007 06:12:49 -0700 SMS wrote:
>
"http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/oct2007/tc2007101_4998
> 89.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_technology"
>
> "On average, he estimates, Skype's users pay just 12¢ to 13¢ per
> month. Despite its legal troubles, Vonage (VG) generates $28.38 a
> month from subscribers to its Internet-based phone service."
Apples and oranges. Unlike Vonage, Skype offers no hardware subsidies,
and has no telephony related costs for the 200 million "free" Skype-
to-Skype users.
(I'm not saying eBay didn't pay waaaay too much for it, just that
Skype and Vonage aren't in the same business.)
--
"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures
or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for
all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with
ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
At 02 Oct 2007 17:58:26 +0000 Larry wrote:
> Dream on....Ebay isn't stupid. Skype was purchased to Ebay's
BUSINESS
> could operate across the planet, not to be the center of their
business
> model. Ebay is connecting their SELLERS with their BUYERS. Ebay
makes
> money every time that happens....
That doesn't mean they didn't overpay. They could've just as easily
built their own "eBrey" VoIP/IM service from scratch (a la Yahoo Voice,
Google Talk, etc.) for a LOT less money. They obviously intended to
expand Skype into a full blown VoIP (and still might- heck, they sell
Skype stuff at WalMart these days- webcams, headsets, USB corded and
cordless VoIP phones, etc.)
--
"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures
or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for
all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with
ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
At 02 Oct 2007 11:21:27 -0700 SMS wrote:
> They can't compete against true VOIP solutions such as Vonage
> and Voicestick, but there's not much money in doing that anyway.
Sure they could. If they create a cheap reliable plug-n-play
hardware solution. SIP ATAs wholesale for less than $30 these days
compared to the $150 or so when Vonage was in Beta. A good Skype-
compatible ATA for your home phone, plus the ability to do the gee-
whizzy stuff (video, P2P, etc.) on your PC, and Skype could LEVEL
Vonage IF marketed properly.
Were it up to me, I'd start marketing to different countries
differently. A new "SkypeUSA.com" website that loses the prices in
Euros and the mentions of VAT, and adds E911 to all US-based Skype-In
numbers to make it a replacement for landlines, would be the first job.
> If they try to eliminate free computer to computer calls, then
> that's the end of Skype completely.
But why should they? It costs them virtually nothing, gets people to
try it, and could be marketed like cellcos push mobile-to-mobile as a
"free feature." Skype could push Skype-to-Skype as a method to
market pay-as-you-go or cheaper less-than-unlimited plans. When your
ARPU is $0.12, even selling low-end $5/month plans is a boon! Coup
e an unlimited VoIP plan for $10/month or less, with the ubiquity of
WalMart distribution and you'd lead the US VoIP market in revenue in
a year.
eBay's deep pockets could easily make that happen if they were
inclined to.
> They thought that last year's free Skype out promotion would draw
> in a lot of paying customers, but few people were naive enough
> to sign up for it.
I was! :-) $15 for a year of unlimited was too good a deal to pass
up as a backup. Hell, I might buy a MagicJack (www.magicjack.com)- a
tiny USB-to-RJ11 adaptor with a year of unlimited in/out for $40?
It's the cheapest "teen line" you can buy that can a "real" phone.
Qwest won't give me a second line for $3.33 month, and now neither
will Voicestick!
Magicjack has it figured out, IMO- market the service as a cheap,
portable, "second line" rather than try to go head-to-head with the
telcos. People will put up with a lot of hiccups and
quality/reliability issues for a $3-5 second line, that they might
not accept with a $25-30 primary service.
--
"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures
or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for
all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with
ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
On 2007-10-02, SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote:
> The Ghost of General Lee wrote:
>
>> eBay *WAS* stupid to buy a losing proposition like Skype. They
>> admitted they made a mistake. Just because you sit in your trailer
>> and make up excuses how Skype was such a wonderful purchase for eBay
>> doesn't make it so. So get back to your bottle, Skype pimp.
>
> It was also front page news on this morning's San Jose paper.
>
> Now that the money they paid is gone, and the infrastructure is in
> place, the costs of continuing the Skype service is probably minimal.
>
> They can't compete against true VOIP solutions such as Vonage and
> Voicestick, but there's not much money in doing that anyway. If they try
> to eliminate free computer to computer calls, then that's the end of
> Skype completely.
Voicestick? Skype finished FY2006 with $195 million in revenue (I'm too
lazy to dig through Ebay's 10Q for more current numbers) and is apparently
making an operating profit. This is a small number only in comparison
to their purchase price. Vonage does about that much revenue in a quarter
now, though it has yet to turn a profit.
Voicestick, on the other hand, in the quarter ended June 30, had $200,000
(yes, that's two hundred thousand) in revenue and spent about $2.2 million
in the quarter while making that. This doesn't seem like much of a business
at all, yet, though hope springs eternal if they don't run out of money
first.
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
On 2007-10-02, Todd Allcock <elecconnec@AmericaOnLine.com> wrote:
> Were it up to me, I'd start marketing to different countries
> differently. A new "SkypeUSA.com" website that loses the prices in
> Euros and the mentions of VAT, and adds E911 to all US-based Skype-In
> numbers to make it a replacement for landlines, would be the first job.
I wouldn't count on E911 working anytime soon. Even outgoing
caller ID still doesn't work in the US despite the fact that
this is close to the top of the request list for the complainers
in the Skype forums. And I once got shunted to my bank's
security department when I called their 800 number with Skype,
apparently because the random ANI number that came with the call was
on their "suspicious" list. Tight integration with the US telephone
network doesn't seem to be Skype's forte; this may be a reflection
of the fact (I think) that Skype's business has never been US-centric.
I'll agree that this, and everything else, could all be fixed if
Skype focussed on doing that. The thing is that Skype makes
sense now (except compared to their purchase price, but that
money's gone already), and apparently generates excess cash from
what it does, since it must cost nearly nothing to operate relatively
speaking. No hardware, no infrastructure, no advertising, no customer
service answering phones, just programmers in Estonia writing software
and payments to the VoIP wholesalers.
Right now it doesn't cost Ebay anything to keep Skype around
(that they haven't spent already). If they spent big I agree
that they could probably turn Skype into a much bigger player,
but pretty much all of the bigger VoIP players (that aren't
also landline phone companies dabbling in the business), unlike
Skype at the moment, are leaking cash.
They might be better off letting Skype live in its niche (a very
useful niche at that; I like Skype for what I use it for) and
see if they can slowly turn that into something.
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
At 03 Oct 2007 01:58:53 +0000 Dennis Ferguson wrote:
> I wouldn't count on E911 working anytime soon. Even outgoing
> caller ID still doesn't work in the US despite the fact that
> this is close to the top of the request list for the complainers
> in the Skype forums.
Agreed- I was simply painting a "what I'd do if I were King" scenario.
> And I once got shunted to my bank's
> security department when I called their 800 number with Skype,
> apparently because the random ANI number that came with the call was
> on their "suspicious" list.
Funny!
> Tight integration with the US telephone
> network doesn't seem to be Skype's forte; this may be a reflection
> of the fact (I think) that Skype's business has never been US-
centric.
Agreed, and eBay left Skype to it's own devices, but considering
their investment, apparent lack of results, and stepping down of it's
helm, I wonder if it isn't time for eBay to run it a bit more like a
phone company.
> I'll agree that this, and everything else, could all be fixed if
> Skype focussed on doing that. The thing is that Skype makes
> sense now (except compared to their purchase price, but that
> money's gone already), and apparently generates excess cash from
> what it does, since it must cost nearly nothing to operate
relatively
> speaking. No hardware, no infrastructure, no advertising, no
customer
> service answering phones, just programmers in Estonia writing
software
> and payments to the VoIP wholesalers.
Agreed. They just need to figure out how to wring some money out of
even a fraction of the 200 million "free" users!
>
> Right now it doesn't cost Ebay anything to keep Skype around
> (that they haven't spent already). If they spent big I agree
> that they could probably turn Skype into a much bigger player,
> but pretty much all of the bigger VoIP players (that aren't
> also landline phone companies dabbling in the business), unlike
> Skype at the moment, are leaking cash.
True, but I think that's because the business model of major VoIP
players is flawed. Most have tried being slightly cheaper, slightly
more featured replacement phone companies. I think the winning niche
could be as a MUCH cheaper second line/travel phone, with an emphasis
on the portability- your cellphone, PDA, laptop, etc. hell, even your
toaster can be a Skype device.
> They might be better off letting Skype live in its niche (a very
> useful niche at that; I like Skype for what I use it for) and
> see if they can slowly turn that into something.
I think the important think for them to do is keep getting the name
out, so "Skype" becomes to VoIP as "Kleenex" is to facial tissue.
The upcoming advent of WiMax makes mobile VoIP a possible alternative
to cellular, at least in metro areas, in which case those Estonians
better get on the ball and have versions of Skype ported to
everything electronic that's not nailed down, because the first VoIP
to market with portable WiMax phones might have a real opportunity
there, at least in the short-term.
--
"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures
or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for
all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with
ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
Dennis Ferguson <dcferguson@pacbell.net> wrote in
news:slrnfg5tqs.89.dcferguson@akit-ferguson.com:
> They might be better off letting Skype live in its niche (a
very
> useful niche at that; I like Skype for what I use it for) and
> see if they can slowly turn that into something.
>
>
Skype must be some kind of "threat", or at least a perceived
"threat", to some group, somewhere. Look closely at the attacks
in both these threads in the last 2 days. Why do the VoIP
experts in attack mode care so much what Skype does? Anytime
someone even mentions it, it's just like bringing up Adolph
Hitler at a meeting of the Jewish Defense League. They all go
berserk attacking this little non-telephone system millions of
people find useful, including Ebay's buyers and sellers.
There's got to be some "reason" for this attack phenomenon.
Someone must feel threatened or has lost money/jobs to the Skype
"threat", which is no threat at all to listen to them bashing it.
Most interesting....Maybe they have some guilt-trip because I'm
talking to Sergei in Siberia as I'm typing this and not paying
"them", whoever "them" are, a ruble to do so. If I were in the
phone biz, I'd be scared to death! It's like RIAA feels when
you're listening to FREE MUSIC or MPAA while you're watching FREE
MOVIES, right?
Larry
--
Ma Bell's hacks at the FCC used to do everything in their power
to make sure you couldn't talk to non-hams over ham radio, for
fear of lost revenues. I think this line of attack is a similar
phenomenon, come to think of it. They went ballistic when the
FCC let us connect the ham VHF repeaters to the phone system,
insisting we were going to bring down the entire network!
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
At 03 Oct 2007 01:16:52 +0000 Dennis Ferguson wrote:
> Voicestick, on the other hand, in the quarter ended June 30, had
$200,000
> (yes, that's two hundred thousand) in revenue and spent about $2.2
million
> in the quarter while making that.
Someone's skimming! ;-) What the heck could they be spending 2.2
million on? Certainly not advertising or their web site!
Kidding aside, I'm still surprised it took them this long to kick the
freeloaders like me out by adding monthly fees to the formerly free
accounts. One of their (former) management used to hang around BBR's
VoIP forums and said those free accounts were costing them about
$3/month in DID rentals and fees. A couple hundred thousand free
accounts would account for a half-million or lost per month.
They'd hoped the free incoming number would attract users to use them
for outgoing, but I suspect many (including myself) used them very
little, while they were still paying the freight for those numbers.
> This doesn't seem like much of a business
> at all, yet, though hope springs eternal if they don't run out of
money
> first.
While I appreciated what they tried, they've never figured out what
to be- when they first launched (as i2telecom) they were pushing cheap,
only quasi-configurable, almost proprietary ATAs, then the
"Voicestick"- just a 64MB USB memory stick with their softphone
preinstalled, so you could move it from PC to PC without installing
and/or configuring software each time. Not exactly the best idea to
base a whole service on, so then they tried this free incoming number
idea which has apparently worked out almost as well as the sticks
did!
--
"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures
or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for
all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with
ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
Todd Allcock wrote:
> They'd hoped the free incoming number would attract users to use them
> for outgoing, but I suspect many (including myself) used them very
> little, while they were still paying the freight for those numbers.
That's what I did. Every organization I was in that needed a phone
number, Voicestick was the answer because it cost us virtually nothing.
We never made any outgoing calls. It was nice that any group member
could check the voicemail on-line at the free gmail account!
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
At 03 Oct 2007 07:53:17 -0700 SMS wrote:
> That's what I did. Every organization I was in that needed a phone
> number, Voicestick was the answer because it cost us virtually
> nothing. We never made any outgoing calls. It was nice that any
> group member could check the voicemail on-line at the free gmail
> account!
Ah, so you're the b*stard that killed Voicestick! ;-)
Your story just reminded me of an (old) AT&T Wireless reseller called
JusTalk that provided free 800#s to compensate for the fact that
offered local numbers in so few areas. Like Beyond Wireless (TDMA)
their accounts never expired if you made a call every 60 or 90 days
(I forget)
I activated an account on an old broken TDMA phone (cracked display)
just to use as a free 800# VM box, only making a call (to myself)
every few months to keep the account alive.
Anyway, like with Voicestick, the freeloaders (like me!) ruined it
for everyone- they instituted a stiff monthly fee ($5, IIRC) and my
free 800# scheme was foiled. (And, probably like with Voicestick,
they went bust a few months after instituting the fees.)
--
"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures
or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for
all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with
ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
At 03 Oct 2007 12:07:38 -0500 Justin wrote:
> > Sure they could. If they create a cheap reliable plug-n-play
> > hardware solution.
>
> They have these. Netgear and Linksys both make them. Plug right
into the
> router.
An ATA? I haven't seen one. I know they make a phones that plug
into your router, but I'd like an adapter to wire regular landline
phones into. I haven't found any for Skype that don't work off of a
PC's USB port.
> > Magicjack has it figured out, IMO- market the service as a cheap,
> > portable, "second line" rather than try to go head-to-head with
the
> > telcos. People will put up with a lot of hiccups and
> > quality/reliability issues for a $3-5 second line, that they might
> > not accept with a $25-30 primary service.
>
> Except magicjack doesn't make international calls.
True, but a suspect a PINless dial-thru calling card like OneSuite
would work, until they get out of beta and (hopefully) add pay-as-you-
go international calling.
> My skype line has an inbound number in Australia, works reliably
except
> for those few days that skype was down, and rings out to anywhere I
> want. And it's independent of the computer.
Again, is it an IP phone, or an ATA (adapter?)
Thanks!
--
"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures
or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for
all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with
ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
Todd Allcock wrote:
> Anyway, like with Voicestick, the freeloaders (like me!) ruined it
> for everyone- they instituted a stiff monthly fee ($5, IIRC) and my
> free 800# scheme was foiled. (And, probably like with Voicestick,
> they went bust a few months after instituting the fees.)
If Voicestick can survive long enough for Vonage to go out of business
then they may be able to make it. There's probably enough business for
one of this kind of company. If all the Vonage and SunRocket customers
moved to Voicestick maybe it'd work.
I'd like to see OneSuite add the Voicestick type of service with
incoming numbers. Then I could consolidate my services.
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
Todd Allcock <elecconnec@AmericaOnLine.com> wrote in newsSUMi.8677
$UW5.2912@fe091.usenetserver.com:
> I know they make a phones that plug
> into your router
Doesn't plug in. My Netgear SPH101 is wi-fi! Logs on to any wifi system
it can logon to. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a webpage browser to
logon to the new webpage-based free wifi ports at
hotels/restaurants/airports/marinas, etc. For that, a new device has
emerged....The Nokia N800 I ordered Monday...(c;
I'll leave the Netgear at home for the bedroom extension phone on my wifi
router. The N800 will travel with me for internet, email and Skype
access...mobile.
I'd wait for the WiMax model, but given their awful history of turning
off features that come with every smartphone, Sellular companies cannot
be trusted to not hobble up the WiMax version of the N800 coming out in
2008. The hackers who have adopted the N800 in droves, seem to agree.
Unfortunately, unlike the hobbled up iPhone, N800's price hasn't nose
dived like iPhone. Net prices seem to have leveled, for now, around $360
for a new one. Tiger Direct has some rebuilt/returns for less. I wanted
a new one, not one some kid had been hacking physically and Linuxly.
Larry
--
Please - Turn OFF cruise control when
you turn on windshield wipers!
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
At 03 Oct 2007 17:52:03 -0700 SMS wrote:
> If Voicestick can survive long enough for Vonage to go out of
> business then they may be able to make it.
But why choose Voicestick oven any number of VoIPs- like one with
aregularly updated website, or one that actually contacks customers
30-days before changing the TOS, or one that responds to e-mails?
> There's probably enough business for one of this kind of company.
There's room for many of them if they do it right, which includes not
spending more on advertising than infrastructure! ;-)
> If all the Vonage and SunRocket customers moved to Voicestick
> maybe it'd work.
If all the Toyota and Honda customers bought Chryslers, they'd be #1.
There's just no incentive to!
> I'd like to see OneSuite add the Voicestick type of service with
> incoming numbers. Then I could consolidate my services.
What's OneSuite's SuiteAdvantage VoIP missing that Voicestick
has/had? It offers incoming DIDs for $2.95/month (cheaper than
VStick's N2N fees now!) and uses funds from your existing OneSuite
account to pay for it. SuiteAdvantage includes voicemail and VM-to-e-
mail delivery as well. While it doesn't have the "cellular bridge"
you don't really need it- any OneSuite local access number is your
"bridge."
--
"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures
or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for
all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with
ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
At 03 Oct 2007 18:19:39 -0500 Justin wrote:
> > True, but a suspect a PINless dial-thru calling card like OneSuite
> > would work, until they get out of beta and (hopefully) add pay-as-
you-
> > go international calling.
>
> A calling card would be something that my POTS line could use as
well,
> so don't see the point.
I meant if you were intending to replace a POTS line with VoIP, the
lack of direct-dial international LD wouldn't be an insurmountable
problem. In fact, some PINless cards have cheaper rates than Skype,
so theoretically you could save money using them with Skype if youhad
the Unlimited US/Canada plan.
> > Again, is it an IP phone, or an ATA (adapter?)
>
> I guess it's an IP phone.
Which is cool
but I'm wondering why no one's built a Skype-compatible ATA that
could plug into a router "Vonage-style" and hook your house wiring
directly into Skype so every phone in the house could use Skype.
--
"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures
or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for
all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with
ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
At 04 Oct 2007 01:42:28 +0000 Larry wrote:
> Doesn't plug in. My Netgear SPH101 is wi-fi!
I know.
If you read back a few posts, I'd wondered aloud why no one makes an
ATA (Analog Telephone Adapter- a device that has an ethernet port in,
and RJ11 out) that allows ANY REGULAR POTS PHONE to use Skype without
a PC.
Joshua misunderstood me, and said Linksys and Netgear make them, but
he was referring to "2-line" cordless phones that have base stations
that plug into both your router (for Skype) and a wall-jack (for
POTS.) That lets you use both POTS and Skype on THAT (proprietary)
cordless phone.
As I was saying, no box exists that I'm aware of that plugs into my
router and lets me plug into either a) my pre-existing POTS phone(s)
or b) lets me plug into my wall jack to turn every RJ-11 jack in the
house into a Skype jack.
These boxes are common for other VoIPs, but not for Skype's
proprietary system.
> Logs on to any wifi system
> it can logon to. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a webpage browser
> to logon to the new webpage-based free wifi ports at
> hotels/restaurants/airports/marinas, etc. For that, a new device
> has emerged....The Nokia N800 I ordered Monday...(c;
Certainly a wonderful device, but to tie it into the discussion at
hand, the 800 also desn't let me plug my POTS phone in! ;-)
> I'll leave the Netgear at home for the bedroom extension phone on
> my wifi router. The N800 will travel with me for internet, email
> and Skype access...mobile.
Ironic, isn't it, that my smallest cellphone is one I bought seven
years ago? (My beloved Nokia 8290.) Since then they've been getting
more feature laden and larger! Heck, you'll be carrying a web-tablet
now!
Back on point, however, pretend for the moment you wanted to have, say,
four cordless handsets around the house on Skype. You'd need 4
Netgear/Belkin/Linksys/whatever units at $125 per (or whatever they
sell for these days.) For a standard SIP VoIP, you'd need a $20-50
ATA, and one of those $99 cordless phone sets from Costco or Sam's
Club with 4 handsets included (that you'd have needed for POTS
service anyway.)
It's almost as if Skype intentionally tries to be as unphone-like as
possible, probably so they can maintain that they're not a "phone
service" and should be exempt from E911 regulation.
So instead, their users have to be tethered to PCs with goofy
headsets or USB phones, or be forced to pay $125+ for proprietary
WiFi cordless phones with (compared to a typical POTS cordless) god-
awful battery life. If Netgear or Linksys can build Skype software
into a WiFi phone, why not into an ATA?
--
"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures
or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for
all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with
ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
At 03 Oct 2007 23:04:45 -0500 Justin wrote:
> If the cards use an 800 number, you don't need the unlimited plans.
True- but typically the calling card rates are lower if you use non-
800 "local access" lines.
> > I'm wondering why no one's built a Skype-compatible ATA that
> > could plug into a router "Vonage-style" and hook your house wiring
> > directly into Skype so every phone in the house could use Skype.
>
> My guess is that it has something to do with the skype contact lists.
I'll bet you're right- but given that you can have unlimited
instances of Skype running simultaneously, using a Skype ATA wouldn't
preclude you from using PC-based Skype software/devices as well.
But I do think you hit the nail on the head. As long as Skype acts
more like an IM service than a telephone service, it's going to stay
PC-centric, I suppose.
--
"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures
or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for
all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with
ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
Todd Allcock wrote:
> What's OneSuite's SuiteAdvantage VoIP missing that Voicestick
> has/had? It offers incoming DIDs for $2.95/month (cheaper than
> VStick's N2N fees now!) and uses funds from your existing OneSuite
> account to pay for it. SuiteAdvantage includes voicemail and VM-to-e-
> mail delivery as well. While it doesn't have the "cellular bridge"
> you don't really need it- any OneSuite local access number is your
> "bridge."
I want to be able to forward the calls to the incoming number to another
number, and be able to change this number when needed. I don't see that
OneSuite can do this, but maybe I missed it.
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
At 04 Oct 2007 08:38:32 -0700 SMS wrote:
> I want to be able to forward the calls to the incoming number
> to another number, and be able to change this number when needed.
> I don't see that OneSuite can do this, but maybe I missed it.
Oh- that's a VStick feature I never used. I tend to forward to VoIP
numbers rather than out of them.
You might give OneSuite a call and ask- their website would never
make anyone's top 10 list!
While it doesn't help with consolidating your accounts,
GizmoProject.com offers DIDs for $35/year, supports forwarding, and
generally has lower outgoing rates than OneSuite. They lack a bridge
feature or local access numbers for using them as a caling card,
however.
--
"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures
or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for
all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with
ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
On 2007-10-04, Todd Allcock <elecconnec@AmericaOnLine.com> wrote:
> At 04 Oct 2007 08:38:32 -0700 SMS wrote:
>
>> I want to be able to forward the calls to the incoming number
>> to another number, and be able to change this number when needed.
>> I don't see that OneSuite can do this, but maybe I missed it.
>
> Oh- that's a VStick feature I never used. I tend to forward to VoIP
> numbers rather than out of them.
Forwarding to the VoIP number, and then forwarding the VoIP number
somewhere else, is how you keep your local numbers alive when you
are travelling with an overseas prepaid SIM.
I do this a lot with Skype, though Skype is a bit screwed up since
their rates to overseas mobile phones are generally quite high.
Voicestick's rates to mobile phones are usually really good
(better than OneSuite's, even), but Skype also sells overseas DIDs
really cheap and I use those too.
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
Todd Allcock <elecconnec@AmericaOnLine.com> wrote in news:rZZMi.4556
$Rv1.3288@fe103.usenetserver.com:
> Heck, you'll be carrying a web-tablet
> now!
>
Today, I had a discussion with the people at MobiTV about porting MobiTV's
broadband Television products to the Nokia N800 I've got coming. They
already have a Symbian-based product so the porting to the Linux-based N800
will be greatly simplified. They're looking at it....(c;
Widescreen HDTV/Skype for phone/webpages for webpage-based wifi logon and
browsing, popup camera for stills and full color video Skypephone, plays
all kinds of audio and video off 16GB of SD memory.....great product,
unhobbled by Sellphone companies.
Re: eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out
Justin <nospam@insightbb.com> wrote in
news:slrnfgb8eu.e8p.nospam@debian.dns2go.com:
> Larry wrote on [Fri, 05 Oct 2007 00:12:23 +0000]:
>> Todd Allcock <elecconnec@AmericaOnLine.com> wrote in news:rZZMi.4556
>> $Rv1.3288@fe103.usenetserver.com:
>>
>>> Heck, you'll be carrying a web-tablet
>>> now!
>>>
>>
>> Today, I had a discussion with the people at MobiTV about porting
>> MobiTV's broadband Television products to the Nokia N800 I've got
>> coming. They already have a Symbian-based product so the porting to
>> the Linux-based N800 will be greatly simplified. They're looking at
>> it....(c;
>>
>> Widescreen HDTV/Skype for phone/webpages for webpage-based wifi logon
>> and browsing, popup camera for stills and full color video
>> Skypephone, plays all kinds of audio and video off 16GB of SD
>> memory.....great product, unhobbled by Sellphone companies.
>
> How does that work for you where there's no wifi? Make lots of good
> calls?
>
Connect the N800 via Bluetooth to my Alltel BT phone's EVDO.
The N800 is made to connect to BT data streams from cellphones....without
exposing it to backdoor Sellphone virus access pushing software changes
in background and disconnecting features. It just seems like a better
idea. Alltel tells me it will connect to my unlimited data service on my
E815 ($10/mo more)
However, it's unnecessary in most places, here. The place is overrun
with open or webpage-accessible free wifi bandwidth. Most restaurants
are co-located with hotels, or are very near them. The hotels have great
free broadband and brag about it on the signs out front.
I have AT&T branded MobiTV for Broadband installed on my Gateway laptop.
It runs just great, after I followed their suggestion to use Firefox with
the WMP and MobiTV's ActiveX Firefox plugin. (MobiTV has a problem with
window sizing in IE7 at the moment). Firefox/WMP 11x/Mobi's ActiveX
control works great! I'm watching it on the main computer as I type
this. More channels will activate after my 14 day trial period is over.
Price for TVoIP from MobiTV is $20/mo and you can watch it on any
computer as it's browser based with your username/pw, not an application
like the one that trashed my Alltel E815 twice.... You're only allowed
to run and connect to ONE stream on one computer at a time, however.
Sure hope they can port it to the N800 like Skype did....
eBay admits Skype Mistake, Skype co-founders forced out 
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