Skype has released it’s first beta delivering VoIP for Mac OS X. That might not be earth-shattering to most, but for Mac users, it’s been a longtime coming. Yes, we have iChat, which sports video conferencing, but it doesn’t perform well behind firewalls and doesn’t allow you to call traditional telephones. (Skype’s prices for those calls begin at about 2 US cents per minute.)
This new release lets a diverse range users to call Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and Pocket PC users for free. This might not sound like much of a feat. But with megacorporations like AOL, AT&T, cable companies and other Bells, soon entering the fray with their VoIP efforts, every user you can get now might provide a much needed advantage.
via ZDNet
Skype has released it’s first beta delivering VoIP for Mac OS X. That might not be earth-shattering to most, but for Mac users, it’s been a longtime coming. Yes, we have iChat, which sports video conferencing, but it doesn’t perform well behind firewalls and doesn’t allow you to call traditional telephones. (Skype’s prices for those [...]
Comments
@ 04:38
A friend and I tested it Monday evening. Both of us are on 3 Mb connections; he at Ithaca College, me in Takoma Park, Md. We found the quality impressive compared to other Internet phone clients we’ve tested in the past. Skype did a pretty good job with the UI, too.
We noticed that the app seems to be voice activated, in that there was no background noise when we weren’t speaking and sometimes half a letter was cut off when we started speaking.
There are few bugs we’ve discovered so far, including a problem with the Hang Up button not being available during a call; had to use End in the Action menu in the drawer. But there’s a Hang Up button in the IM window.
I look forward to testing with others and seeing newer versions as they come.