Software : Round up: Top 5 best Skype download alternatives |
- Round up: Top 5 best Skype download alternatives
- VMWare snaps up CloudVolumes for better desktop application delivery
- UK government injects £1.6m to finance HyperCat IoT standard
- Snapchat reportedly plans to make news and ads part of its vanishing act
- Vine finally lets you edit and upload old videos
| Round up: Top 5 best Skype download alternatives Posted:  VoIP and chat provider Skype has become synonymous with Internet video calling over the years. But as the company that owns it (that's Microsoft, by the way) has come to experience in recent times, just because you're one of the oldest on the block, it doesn't mean you're necessarily the best. Skype has been criticized for anything from security weaknesses to hogging users' internet bandwidth to handling notifications between different platforms badly. Some have turned their noses up at the program's Windows 8 UI, while others have jumped ship over its mobile offerings. Whether you're dissatisfied with Skype or simply want to try out something new, we've put together a list of five alternatives that will allow you to video call or message others for free. While the following Windows programs won't cost you a penny, we advise that you read the installation instructions properly before clicking through the different stages. Many will attempt to install third-party add-ons that you don't need for the program to run properly, which may slow down your computer - so you'll ned to opt out manually. If you have any suggestions that aren't in our list, let us know in the comments section below. 1. ICQICQ ("I seek you") is almost as old as the internet itself having being first released in 1996. It's built up a rich feature set in that time to include instant messaging and free one-click video chat with other ICQ users that can take advantage of fast broadband connections. In addition, you can log in and exchange messages over a number of social networks - from Facebook to Yahoo, Google Talk, Jabber and Ok. ICQ assigns you a unique identification number, making it a good option if you're not keen on giving your email address out to the people you want to chat with. Like Skype, ICQ allows you to make international calls over VoIP that are charged by the minute. There are programs with prettier interfaces out there, but if you're looking to conduct your video chats, instant messaging, VoIP calls and social network messaging from one place, ICQ is a perfect fit. 2. TeamSpeakPeople who play PC games online tend to use one of two programs to chat with other players. The first is Skype, and the other is TeamSpeak. Sporting a customisable, feature-rich user interface, it places a focus on high-quality voice chat, using techniques such as automatic microphone adjustment, advanced noise reduction and echo cancellation. Of course, TeamSpeak isn't just for gamers - you can use it to chat with other individuals or groups of non-gamers too. In addition to voice communication there's IRC-style chat that allows you to send 1:1 or group messages, which allow the use of emoticons and text formatting. TeamSpeak is free, boasts a high level of security and allows you to join hundreds of servers from around the world, making it one of the top choices if flexible audio communication is what you're looking for. 3. Google Chrome (Hangouts)Google's web-based services are all about simplicity, which is one of the reasons why its Chromebooks are becoming more popular. There are fewer hassle-free ways to conduct online video chats (or send messages) than using the company's Chrome Browser, along with its Hangouts feature. Using Hangouts, you can start 1:1 video conversations with a single click, or can invite up to nine other people to join you in video conference. Google has baked in a number of features that enhance the video conferencing experience - such as muting other participants when somebody is talking. You can also send emoticons and photos during group conversations, and if you leave the Hangout at any point, you can re-join at a later point in time (so long as two participants or more remain) to pick up where you left off. Hangouts works on computers, Android and Apple devices, meaning you can even join in the video conversation on the go. 4. TeamViewerTeamViewer isn't strictly a video calling or chat service, but it allows you to communicate with others while letting them view (or control) your desktop. This can be handy if you have something wrong with your computer and need somebody else to take control of your PC while you talk to them. You start by installing the program on your own computer before sending over a unique ID to the person you want to view or interact with it. The program can also combine built-in communication features with remote access through group meetings, allowing you to share your desktop (or view somebody else's) with several other people. This can be helpful if you want to play presentations while giving others the low-down over the microphone. Meetings can be scheduled to start at certain times, and a whiteboard feature lets you draw images and show them to participants. 5. FireFox (VoIP add-ons)If you don't use Skype because you find its international calling rates a bit too high, there are numerous add-ons that allow you to dial numbers by clicking on them within Firefox. By seeing what's out there, you may come across a service that offers you better rates for calling while affording the simplicity of dialling within the browser using a single click. To get started, download Firefox and then run a search for VoIP add-ons (or click here). Companies offering one-click VoIP calling add-ons include Google, OnSIP and Telebroad. Alternatively, if you decide that you wouldn't mind giving Skype another chance, it offers its own one-click dialling add-on for Firefox, which can be found here. |
| VMWare snaps up CloudVolumes for better desktop application delivery Posted:  VMWare has revealed that it has purchased CloudVolumes, a virtual desktop application service provider; terms of the transaction were not revealed. CloudVolumes whose mission statement is to eliminate the need for per-VM management, installation or upgrades, is an existing VMWare partner and the deal, on the face of it, is a logical one. "The combination of CloudVolumes and VMware Horizon will allow customers to build a real-time application delivery system that enables all applications to be centrally managed, always available and up-to-date, and delivered to virtualised environments for desktop, server or cloud on-demand," VMWare's senior vice president and general manager, desktop products, end-user computing, Sumit Dhawan said. The secret sauceBut it is VMWare's CTO, Kit Colbert, who spills the beans and says why the acquisition made sense. CloudVolumes' key technology, he says, is layering "a method of decomposing a Windows instance into a set of discrete pieces". It all boils down to the last mile virtualisation which allows CloudVolumes to avoid problems associated with installation-based delivery methods. Instead, CloudVolumes somehow managed to "ghost" its way into a system. Applications can be delivered to a running, logged in desktop without the system administrators having to plan for downtime. No files are copied, no settings are changed and desktops no longer need to be powered on for applications to be managed. |
| UK government injects £1.6m to finance HyperCat IoT standard Posted:  An extra £1.6m (about $2.7 million, AU$ 3 million) has been awarded by the UK government to the HyperCat consortium to continue work on a standard specification for the internet of things (IoT). The consortium has already received £6.4 million (about $ 11 million, AU$ 12 million) funding from the TSB (Technology Strategy Board), the government's innovation agency which initially backed it when it launched two months ago. The consortium is made up of 40 technology and communications companies based mostly in the UK, ARM and BT being the two better known. All about IoT supremacy?Further down the line, the BSI (British Standards Institution) will publish a Publicly Available Specification (PAS) using the consortium's research as foundation. The Internet of Things (IoT) represents a unique opportunity for the British technology industry to recapture regain its early 1980's clout when UK-based companies such as Amstrad, Acorn, BBC Micro, the Sinclair ZX80 pioneered home computing before it all went wrong. The advent of the Raspberry Pi and the resurgence of ARM and Imagination Technologies, all important players in the IoT field, coincide with the emergence of the HyperCat project. |
| Snapchat reportedly plans to make news and ads part of its vanishing act Posted:  As the old saying goes, nothing in life is truly free. Roughly 27 million Snapchat users may soon learn this lesson the hard way as their favorite disappearing message app starts getting cluttered up with revenue-generating content. The Wall Street Journal reports Snapchat appears to be enlisting new partnerships with advertisers and content providers in the hopes of monetizing the popular mobile app. Rumored to debut this November, the new Snapchat Discovery service would provide users with non-messaging content including news and advertisements from a dozen or more media companies, including magazines and television networks. According to unnamed sources, one of the first content providers tapped for Snapchat Discovery is MailOnline, the web presence for British newspaper The Daily Mail, which would presumably lend their brand of news coverage to the service. Mo' moneySince tossing a $3 billion (about £1.8b, AU$2.23b) acquisition offer from Facebook in the trash last year, Snapchat has accelerated fundraising efforts, but has yet to produce any meaningful income to show investors. With a captive audience of young, tech-savvy users, Snapchat Discovery could be the first baby steps toward such revenue thanks to a combination of mobile ads and content. Discovery reportedly works much like photos and messages do today; users will be able to read daily news content or watch clips of movies and TV shows by holding a finger on the smartphone display, and afterwards the content would vanish into thin air. Snapchat is no stranger to promotional gimmicks, but Discovery would likely provide far more lucrative income from companies whose deep pockets are finding new ways to get the eyes of millions of upwardly mobile users viewing such paid content.
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| Vine finally lets you edit and upload old videos Posted:  Recording six-second videos on the fly in Vine may have been part of the fun, but as of today the iOS app finally lets users simply import existing videos from their devices. Previously Vine users had to tap and hold on the screen for a total of six seconds while recording their videos on the fly. Thankfully Vine's overlords at Twitter have lifted that restriction, letting Viners upload videos they've already taken using their phones' normal camera apps, with the ability to cut multiple clips into a single Vine. It may take away part of the challenge of making great Vine videos, but it will also probably lead to more content on the service. The company is currently encouraging users to mine the depths of their old videos and publish them using the hashtag #VintageVine. Slow it down, free it upThe ability to import existing videos into Vine may also make the service more attractive to those who prefer Instagram's less restrictive video feature, which lets users trim, filter and upload up to 15 seconds of footage. The Vine update also adds new editing tools, like the ability to duplicate specific sections of video or mute certain parts of the audio, and new tools for recording footage, including a grid and a level to help ensure you're shooting straight. Finally the new Vine app also lets iPhone 5S owners use the smartphone's slow motion video recording feature. Unfortunately this update is currently available only for the iOS version of the app, though Vine iOS Engineer Richard Plom wrote in a blog post that Android users should "stay tuned" for their version. "When we introduced Vine, we wanted to make it easier for people to create, share and discover short, looping videos," Plom explained. "As the community continues to grow and more and more people find and watch Vines every day, we are excited to provide people with more tools to express their creativity and make even more, and more awesome, Vines." |
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