Maybe you are one of the lucky ones parlaying the high price of gasoline into a work-at-home gig.Just don’t kid yourself: You’re going to have show the boss you do more than pad around in your PJs all dayAnswering the phone is a big step. Nothing fills a supervisor’s head with visions of you sunning on the back porch more than a string of unanswered calls and e-mails. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m not sure why I don’t hear more about Skype extras (plug-ins). For people that work with others via phone and computer, it’s full of tools for communications and media collaboration.I’ve been testing out a few plug-ins that cover both these categories that enable me to use Skype as an application portal to manage communications, collaborate, share media and, when we need a break, play a few games. Read the rest of this entry »

Chances are you’d feel differently about all the new airline fees if you were getting something new for your money–especially if that something were to help ease the tedium of a long flight. Starting today, American Airlines will begin testing that premise with a sneak preview of Wi-Fi connectivity aboard two flights–one from JFK to LA and one in the return direction–allowing passengers to send and receive emails, download and send attachments, and surf the web while aloft. Read the rest of this entry »

Mac users looking for a third-party external webcam to fill the void left when Apple discontinued its external iSight have a new product to consider. Logitech today introduced the QuickCam Vision Pro Webcam for Mac, a USB device that’s compatible with Apple’s iChat, iMovie, and Photo Booth, as well as Skype. Read the rest of this entry »

Jaxtr, the dial-around service (see Jaxtr makes click-to-call really simple) that lets you make free calls to those people who have at one point called you via the Jaxtr widget, is launching a new service that lets you bypass the step of first connecting with callers via the Internet.Now you can make “out of network” calls directly from you mobile phone to anyone in the world. These calls aren’t free, though. As in Skype, if you want to use this service to call people on regular phones, you’ve got to buy credits on the system against them. Rates are either good or great, depending on where you’re calling: For example, calling a landline or mobile phone in China is one cent a minute, but a call to a mobile in the U.K. is 15 cents a minute. Read the rest of this entry »

Already established as the Internet’s most popular means of online voice communication (VoIP), free and low-cost telephony specialist Skype has this week begun public testing of its new Skype 4.0 update, which the provider hopes will inspire its audience to embrace the advantages associated with personal video calls. Read the rest of this entry »

With the explosion in the popularity of the Skype peer-to-peer voice over IP program, IT managers are finding themselves faced with some familiar questions: Should they curb Skype’s use in the company? Should they support the application, even when it comes in through the backdoor? Should they embrace the solution, deploying it from the get-go? Read the rest of this entry »