Microsoft to Launch "Skype Killer" 294
TheChillPill writes "Microsoft is due to announce the launch of a service to rival Skype following the acquision of VoIP provider Teleo.
While a crude version of VoIP is already included in most Instant Messaging programs, Skype is currently the only provider to allow calls to landlines and cellphones.
Microsoft intends to launch the service by the end of the year. "
Yeah whatever... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Yeah whatever... (Score:3, Informative)
DialPad allows users to make calls from their PC to landlines/cellphones.
Re:Yeah whatever... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Yeah whatever... (Score:2)
Re:Yeah whatever... (Score:5, Funny)
Yeah, now it's only a death blow when Google does it.
Re:Yeah whatever... (Score:5, Interesting)
Chris
Thinking like a geek (Score:5, Insightful)
You're thinking like a geek. $10 bucks says most people's mothers who use MSN already (like those that use Yahoo, ICQ, AOL, etc) will use the service that pops up and says "Would you like to make a voice call to 'Your son in Italy' for only $10/mo". Probably saying to themselves: "A monkey is asking for my credit card number... That seems fair."
This is the world we live in. We talk about marketing being just FUD, but it's really not. People buy whatever people sell. I've seen funny stuff on infomercials that people obviously buy (a vacuum that sucks up your hair and cuts it with a blade inside the vacuum attachment- this was in the 'cut your hair at home' stage of the late 80's).
People will buy what seems reasonable and what you tell them to buy. Ask any marketing student. 99% of the market is uneducated as to what Skype is. Vonage has only made such headway through significant marketing, which M$ could outdo anyday... and who wouldn't switch to a M$ product that already runs their office, home, and play communications needs?
M$ integrates an ad and the feature into MSN Messenger, and they'll instantly have a LOT of people. No having to download additional software, no setup, no confusing additional software that may or may not hurt your computer... just works.
-M
Re:Thinking like a geek (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Thinking like a geek (Score:3, Funny)
outch I instantly imagined a handfull of painful (or realy painful) way of misusing this gadget..
Re:Thinking like a geek (Score:3, Insightful)
Maybe for once this is a good thing (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Thinking like a geek (Score:2, Insightful)
I can just picture it now: Okay, first give the monkey your credit card number, now you need to plug a headset into your computer and, oh yeah, you'll need to be sitting in front of your computer to make phone calls.
Given that all my non-techie friends (that would be pretty much all of my friends) have relegated their computers to basements, dingy corners, etc., I really don't see this as a big draw. Now, if MS were to start providing some hardware, a la Vonage, so that you
Re:Thinking like a geek (Score:2)
Hmm... Microsoft has made some nice peripherals in the past. How about a USB telephone?
Re:Thinking like a geek (Score:2)
This is what happened with the case where the EU forced them to start selling a version without the media player.
Re:Thinking like a geek (Score:3, Funny)
bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!
Re:Yeah whatever... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Yeah whatever... (Score:2)
Re:Yeah whatever... (Score:2)
one more thing. (Score:3)
Re:one more thing. (Score:5, Insightful)
Will MS's product be SIP (standards based)? The Teleo beta products was, so I'd assume so but I haven't heard anything for sure and with MS you never really know.
Re:one more thing. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:one more thing. (Score:3)
MS will steal ideas from apple and google and then find a way to make their product incompatible with the rest of the world.
Re:one more thing. (Score:5, Insightful)
Skype is good because it JUST WORKS. Skype should add a SIP bridge, though, to leverage the SIP installed base, like they leverage the POTS installed base.
Now if Skype switched to the IAX2 protocol used by Asterisk, that would rock. But NO SIP PLEASE.
Re:one more thing. (Score:2)
Re:one more thing. (Score:2)
THAT is literally a killer application.
Re:Yeah whatever... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Yeah whatever... (Score:2)
Here in the UK, "naked DSL" (DSL without the POTS connection) is not available - I think until BT are forced to implement naked DSL at a reasonable price the VoIPPSTN gateways won't be able to seriously compete. I mean, how many people are going to be interested in a VoIP service (especially one which probably costs the same as BT for the actual
Re:Yeah whatever... (Score:2)
So even though everyone I know with DSL (including myself) has to pay for a phone service to get a constant connection, some of us get a bi
Re:Yeah whatever... (Score:4, Informative)
Technically, most modems above about 600bps are "broadband" (in the true, uncorrupted sense of the word). Marketting dweebs corrupted the technical meaning of the term and the ITU-T have now officially classified broadband speeds as anything greater than the speed of a PRI (1.5Mbps in the US, 2Mbps in Europe). That said, the advertising standards agency here in the UK has ignored all definitions of broadband in the past and gave NTL a bollocking for using the term "broadband" in reference to 128Kbps cable modems (which use broadband modulation). The advertising standards agency meanwhile think it's fine for everyone else to market 512Kbps DSL lines as "broadband" despite them nowhere near meeting the ITU-T criteria.
barebones phone service only for the purpose of internet, and then use VoIP for actual calls.
The problem is that BT's "bare bones" package isn't that bare-bones - it's still a reasonably pricey monthly charge and has "inclusive minutes", so once you're forced to pay that then VoIP isn't actually that cost effective. I guess if I had relatives abroad then it'd be cost effective to use a SIPPSTN gateway to call them, but then the UK VoIP gateways would still not be getting any of the market share because I'd be using a foreign gateway to get the best rate.
Re:Yeah whatever... (Score:2)
In any case, almost all DSL connections in the US would be classified br
Re: (Score:2)
Who needs Vic's? (Score:2)
Yeah, with pungent vapor like this, who needs Vic's Vapor Rub?
Chances are if this actually does come out, it will be late, vastly inferior to Skype, bug ridden, and have all kinds of "Big Daddy Gates wants to monitor your communications" crap built into it (for those Microsoft apologists who are about to collectively scream "that's unfair bashing
Codename "Hype Filler" (Score:3)
why not wait? (Score:5, Insightful)
Microsoft intends to launch the service by the end of the year.
Why not wait until the end of the year to make an announcement when it will be news? Anything more than that is free advertising for something that doesn't exist. *sigh*
Re:why not wait? (Score:2, Insightful)
Now give the PR guys a break! They leak these types of press announcements at very deliberate and strategic times... usually right before their job review.
Landlines and cellphones (Score:5, Informative)
Thats not entirely accurate. British Telecom have an add-on to Yahoo messenger that allows calls to landlines and cellphones.
Re:Landlines and cellphones (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Landlines and cellphones (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Landlines and cellphones (Score:2)
My guess is that it's going to be making a comeback soon.
Re:Landlines and cellphones (Score:2)
Infact it's a completely false statement - there are a good number of SIPPSTN gateways all over the Internet. And what's more - they use industry standard protocols instead of closed propriatory systems, so they can all interoperate.
The only advantages Skype have are:
1. Marketting (they seem to be rather better at this than everyone else... hopefully Google will do a good job of mark
Review (Score:4, Insightful)
VOIP to landline not new? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:VOIP to landline not new? (Score:3, Informative)
Net2Phone, perhaps? Started out pretty decent, as far as free apps went. Usually only
Re:VOIP to landline not new? (Score:3, Informative)
To clarify, this was of course referring to free calls. For a pretty reasonable rate (4 cents a minute, I believe, which was pretty darn good at the time), you could make all the calls you wanted for as long as you wanted.
Wake me... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Wake me... (Score:3, Funny)
For some strange reason, I first read that as
"when it runs on Marx and Lenin's boxes".
I just had to share.
Only Provider? (Score:5, Informative)
Oh, really? What happened to all the H.323 and SIP based services? Did [telio.no] they [sipgate.de] all [sipphone.com] vanish? [dialpad.com]
Re:Only Provider? (Score:2, Interesting)
And in other news... (Score:2, Flamebait)
What about Gizmo (Score:3, Interesting)
What about the Gizmo project [gizmoproject.com], which I believe I first saw mentioned right here on
Arnar
Re:What about Gizmo (Score:2)
Been using Gizmo while playing World of Warcraft since it supports unlimited (?) connections in group mode.
Gizmo (Score:2, Informative)
Best strategy for Skype (Score:4, Insightful)
My question is (Score:3, Interesting)
that old microsoft technology??? (Score:2, Informative)
I used to be able to call my friends in new york from canada for free....what ever happened to those good old days? I have been using skype religiously although without the skype in / out featur
Re:that old microsoft technology??? (Score:5, Interesting)
Windows 98 did not contain some magic software to allow you to call your friends for free.
I'm not sure what you're describing - but I suspect you dialed New York at standard intl rates & the company you worked for footed the bill.
They already blew their chance (Score:2, Interesting)
Microsoft VS. Google rumors (Score:2)
Google has a great strategy for bleeding out Microsoft.
Maybe not a killer, but could easily get big (Score:2)
Re:Maybe not a killer, but could easily get big (Score:2)
Off the top of my head:
Sure, ICQ may have fixed the above, in some cases quite quickly, but MSN jus
Microphone? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Microphone? (Score:2)
OFFICIAL: Slashdot sucks. (Score:2, Interesting)
When I read a classic Slashdot story like this in a print publication 8 hours before it appears on Slashdot, then it says to me that Slashdot's going seriously downhill...
voipbuster and others (Score:3, Informative)
voipbuster [voipbuster.com] also allow net2phone connections (and even free for some european countries!!)
there is also a manual to work with linux [dw-perspective.org.uk]
but there are more, at least around here (portugal/europe) http://voip.necty.com/ [necty.com] its also testing a voip to phone and it use kaix as its oficial client (so both windows and linux works fine)
This is why we *had* anti-monopoly laws (Score:2)
Federalist Society members see nothing wrong with that. In fact, they want stock and seats on the board of directors.
Microsoft can use its monopoly in the OS to spend unlimited amou
check your facts! (Score:4, Informative)
"Skype is currently the only provider to allow calls to landlines and cellphones."
I currently call landlines on stanaphone [stanaphone.com] (via both softphone and hardware-based SIP), iconnecthere [iconnecthere.com] (both softphone and hardware-based), and packet 8 [packet8.net] (hardware based). Skype is certainly not the only one allowing calls to the PSTN, and they're certainly not the most flexible.
Mac/Linux (Score:2)
Don't want a PC phone (Score:2, Interesting)
I want a VOIP appliance I can plug into my NAT/firewall and link up to my existing phone cabling.
That's one reason not to have Skype. But two reasons not to have a Windows solution.
B*llshit ;-) (Score:2, Interesting)
C'M'on MS instead of trying to "kill" people opponents, try to innovate and not buy startups
ISVs: wake up and smell the coffee! (Score:2)
Any antitrust regulations will only give them a slap on the wrist after they have made insane amounts of money from their behaviour. There is simply no way they will stop, it is too lucrative.
Any independent software vendor should ask themselves if they can really gamble their whole future on making so
*yawn* (Score:2)
And breaking news: Water rumoured to be wet!
Supposed to be beta on connect.microsoft.com (Score:2)
No beta on there though, but the teleo site says there should be.
Painful registration as well, very slow... stupid
Anyway
It brings back memories (Score:5, Funny)
I wonder what ever happened to that Google company after that.
Re:It brings back memories (Score:2)
I wonder what ever happened to that Google company after that."
Or that AOL Instant Messenger killer.
Or that Sony Playstation2 killer.
Or that TiVo killer.
Or that QuickTime killer.
Or that iTunes killer.
Next?
Microsoft announces... (Score:2)
Oh my frickin' good, that's one BORING company...
Wake me up when Microsoft announces that Paul Allen will publicly fsck Bill Gates up the ass, so I can run in the other direction.
From Skype to Hype (Score:2)
Ug...Audio Spam? (Score:2)
If MS goes through with this, I hope they handle it a lot better than MS
Staking a territorial claim... (Score:3, Insightful)
This is really about Microsoft staking its claim in an emerging market. It doesn't mean they're going to strike oil. WebTV hasn't really led to a rush to adopt a Microsoft-dominated media/PC convergence model. And neither has Windows MCE. Microsoft's ventures outside its traditional Windows and Office franchises have not been particularly successful.
Nobody would think of phoning people through their PC if there wasn't temporarily a tariff anomaly - that's simply not going to persist in the long term.
The kind of thing that will persist is a rather different kind of innovative integration that delivers services that can be used on familiar devices (phones, televisions, etc) as well as PCs - an example of which might be HomeChoice [homechoice.co.uk].
Skype - not alone, what about VOIPBuster? (Score:3, Interesting)
Quality is fairly good. A friend of mine has dumped his local phone service and is using this for all his calls.
Re:Skype - not alone, what about VOIPBuster? (Score:2, Interesting)
Best Regard's
xbox killer app? (Score:2)
I probably shouldn't give them any of my good ideas... Quick to the patent office!
Damp Squibs are good things (Score:2)
I used Skype and love the service, but I feel they're a little lazy. For instance, Skype-In. You can get Skype-In numbers in such populous, economic power house countries as Estonia or Finland. But for
Anti-Competitive? (Score:2)
How MS can kill Skype (Score:2, Insightful)
There are a huge range of numbers that aren't accessable from Skype. This of coarse depends on which the country. In Spain for example, Skype cannot ring the special service numbers used by banks and other companies. These turn out to be very important for normal users, so in fact this what prevents people from replacing their phone compleatly and using Skype.
These are the so-called "special numbers"
This wo
Typically Microsoft (Score:2)
In this case it is totally irrelevant, since the Microsoft offer either probably will break the SIP standard, or will be a closed island like skype, and to the worse will run Windows only as well, while all other alternatives are available on all platforms...
Microsoft should be more worried that their company could go down with the rest of the economy if
Skype details (Score:2, Informative)
Leveraging its MONOPOLY MICROSOFT will (Score:2)
Like Netscape, et. al., Skype won't have a spot on the DELL desktop, so they are at an instant market disadvantage because folks have to seek Skype out,
Publicity-based phone calls... (Score:2, Funny)
please dial number you want to reach after the tone...
I never though I would overcome my intimate problem but Zentaz made me happy...
sound of you dialing...
your cal will be forwarded in a moment please stay on the phone to maintain your calling priority...
Enlarge you Manhood!...
dring... dring... dring...
The person at the end of the line as pick-up the phone, what do you want to do now? press 1 to ask this person name, press 2 to identify yourself and state the r
Microsoft seems to suffer from institutional ADD (Score:5, Insightful)
A 'google search killer'
An 'ipod killer'
A 'bittorrent killer'
A load of X killers that I can't be bothered to remember
now a Skype killer
How about, well I don't know, eh, ACTUALLY MAKING A DECENT OS THAT'S FINISHED ON TIME?
I guess that's asking too much.
Come on MS finish what you start before you do something else.
we NEED a slower operating system on our computers. It's the only thing that will lead to faster processors.
Or do you think it's a mere coincidence that since the introduction of WinXP and the long wait for it's successor, processor speed suddenly stopped doubling every 18 months?
Skype killer from Microsoft? That's easy... (Score:3, Insightful)
Ahhh... history... why do you repeat yourself?
Re:Microsoft, just don't..... (Score:2)
Re:Microsoft, just don't..... (Score:2)
Before announcement
Total of 2 potential choices.
After announcement
Total of 3 potential choices. I don't have a degree in advanced mathematics, but it appears that the # of choices has actually increased after Microsoft's announcment.
It is funny though that the con(ned)sumers are still swayed by the MS name. I have heard people in shops debating over buying a mouse
Re:Microsoft, just don't..... (Score:2)
He said, "in the end" dumbass. Along with no degree in advanced mathematics you also by-passed Reasoning and Logic 101. We're at, say it with me, the B-E-G-I-N-N-I-N-G of Microsoft's foray into VoIP. Class over. Go rest your brain.
Re:Microsoft, just don't..... (Score:2)
Re:Microsoft, just don't..... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Microsoft, just don't..... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Love It (Score:2)
I thought that they were trying to outcompete everything.
Landlines as a network bridge for proprietary code (Score:2)
However I would not be surprised if my mother installed it on her laptop.
And that is where it will get weird. Skype isn't going to inter-operate, nor will MS. Both will protect their own walled gardens.
Strangely, I foresee that traditional landlines and the ability to call and receive over them may actually remain the bridge between them.
My mother would dial my SkypeIn number (whichever of mine is closest to her) and I will receive on Sky
Re:does anyone have the feeling (Score:2)
Re:Microsoft capitalizing on user apathy again (Score:2, Interesting)