Work technology vendors very commonly — for decades — have suggested that their shiny brand-new tools will deliver us from the tyranny…
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Orange’s Libon app lets you take calls to your number over Wi-Fi
Libon, the WhatsApp and Skype competitor from French carrier group Orange, has an interesting new feature called Reach Me, which will allow…
Read MoreKim Dotcom puts MegaChat secure Skype rival into beta
Kim Dotcom’s Mega has launched a public beta of its MegaChat end-to-end encrypted audio and video chat service, which it claims will…
Read MoreSkype can translate spoken Spanish to English in near real-time
Microsoft started rolling out a new feature for Skype on Monday called Skype Translator which will translate communications from users using different languages in near real-time -- that is, as you're chatting on Skype.…
Read MoreSkype dragged into LuxLeaks tax scandal
Skype used Luxembourgish and Irish subsidiaries to avoid paying corporation tax for five years, according to a Guardian report. The newspaper, which…
Read MoreFirefox’s built-in Skype rival begins to evolve
Firefox Hello, the WebRTC-based video-calling feature that Mozilla and partner Telefónica revealed as a beta feature in October, hit the mainstream —…
Read MoreMicrosoft unveils Lumia 535 Windows Phone with no Nokia branding in sight
The Microsoft Lumia 535, a selfie-focused budget handset, is the first offspring of the company's Nokia purchase not to use the Finnish firm's branding.…
Read MoreRussian lawmakers propose then immediately shelve plan that would limit SkypeOut calls
Russian lawmakers seem to enjoy introducing then backpedalling on crazy new ideas for controlling communications. This week's scheme would have forced VoIP operators to display the caller's "real" phone number when calling regular phones. Spot the problem.…
Read MoreMSN Messenger to shut down in China, its final stronghold
It may have disappeared in the rest of the world last year, but MSN/Windows Live Messenger still hung on in China -- until now.…
Read MoreDear politicians: These days, everything is communications, and you are not entitled to everything
Lawmakers in some countries are updating traditional intercept regulations so they take in new kinds of communications channels. I don't believe they understand the implications of what they're doing.…
Read More5 things that you need always-on broadband to accomplish
Good broadband isn't just fast, it's consistent as I've learned in the last few months when my service decided to get a bit dodgy.…
Read MoreImproved Skype for iPhone looks a lot like the Windows Phone version
Microsoft released Skype for iPhone version 5.0, which brings performance improvements as well as a Windows Phone-style theme.…
Read MoreGoogle Hangouts go corporate with integration into business apps
Need customer support? Want to interview a potential hire or work with your far-flung team on a document? There's a Hangout for that, says Google.…
Read MoreSkype will soon get real-time speech translation based on deep learning
It's been many years in the making and it may take a couple more before it's widely available, but Microsoft's research into real-time voice translation looks set to pay off.…
Read MoreSkype sets group video calling free on desktops, Xbox One
Skype(s msft) group video calling will be free on desktop computers and the Xbox One, said Microsoft in a blog post Monday. Previously,…
Read MoreSilent Circle gets its first telco distributor, as KPN prepares to offer encrypted communications
The strategic partnership is important for Silent Circle, as it promises to make the encrypted Skype rival much more usable by widening its pool of users.…
Read MoreThe winners and losers in the landmark net neutrality ruling
The courts invalidated much of the FCC's net neutrality rules. While consumers will lose, the winners may surprise you.…
Read MoreAT&T’s Sponsored Data plan isn’t the end of net neutrality but it is a new model for wireless
AT&T's Sponsored Data plan is a potentially new advertising and revenue model for the wireless industry. But is it a problem that regulators or startups should fear? Not on mobile networks.…
Read MoreViber takes its battle against Skype to Windows 8
The messaging service is now tightly integrated with Microsoft's PC-slash-tablet OS, although the recently-launched Viber Out feature doesn't appear to be included.…
Read MoreHey multitaskers: Skype for Android tablets works atop other windows
It just got easier to hold a video call and work in another app on an Android tablet. Skype for Android 4.5 supports a floating window for your call, even when using a different application.…
Read MoreWhy Microsoft shouldn’t celebrate Cisco’s European Skype defeat too much
The EU's General Court has dismissed Cisco's challenge against the European Commission's approval of Microsoft's Skype takeover. But it did so mostly because Microsoft is no longer the market-dominating powerhouse it once was.…
Read MorePrivacy campaigners lose Luxembourg bid to censure Microsoft over NSA links
Luxembourg's data protection regulator says Microsoft and Skype's transfer of Europeans' data to the U.S. remains legal, despite the Snowden revelations about what happens to that data. It's a messy situation where neither side is, strictly speaking, wrong.…
Read MoreSkype exec Mark Gillett leaves Microsoft to return to Silver Lake
This is a return trip for Gillett, who joined Silver Lake in 2009. He's returning now as managing director and chief of value creation.…
Read MoreSkype faces NSA-related privacy probe in Luxembourg — Updated
With its international headquarters in Luxembourg for tax purposes, Skype apparently now finds the little duchy's privacy officials on its back over allegations of NSA collusion, following a complaint by activists.…
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