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| Skype 1.0 a real improvement with Address Book integration | | Date Created: 03 Feb, 2005, 03:34 PM |
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Having used Skype's VoIP software for the Mac for a few months now, I have been patiently waiting for it to reach non-beta status, like its Windows-based cousin.
Betas had been coming thick and fast the last few weeks, and two days ago version 1.0 was released. Windows is at 1.1
Supporting Apple's Rendezvous technology for local network file sharing and instant messaging is available, and it now has added better Address Book integration.
From the Contacts menu, one pulls down the "Import from Address Book" link which opens an Address Book page listing your contacts. One highlights the chosen contact and their phone number, and Skype brings it into your Contact list.
Two caveats: The phone number must be conformed as +123456780000 or 0012356780000 where "+" or "00" represents your international access code (even if you are calling your next door neighbour!) and inclusive of your area code, then the number.
Also, it will import one number at a time, say mobile or home. Which means one person might be listed three times in your contact list depending on how many numbers you insert. In (...) after the number will be the type of phone such as mobile or home depending on how it is listed in your Address Book.
Note that when you click on the contact's info. panel. the numbers will not show up there necessarily. It is up to the contact to list for themselves their own numbers, which remain on Skype's servers.
When you assign a new number in the contact list, the small green icons you see (showing away or available status) are now in blue with a small phone icon. Neat. And the person's name is shown as in your Address Book - not their Skype nickname, which remains as is until they change it. There seems no integration of information you get from your Address Book with that your contacts supply.
This means of course that Address Book needs to be upgraded so that one of the fields available is devoted to Skype not just iChat. I can't see Apple doing that anytime soon, given it wants to place iChat as a premier conferencing tool.
Of course, it's using the AOL protocol and doesn't allow VoIP - the SkypeOut feature which costs a few cents per minute - but there is enough overlap for Apple to leave out Skype integration for the time being.
Skype also allows mutliple user chats over Mac, Windows and Linux as well as PocketPC.
It will also let you audio-conference with four others, and engage in a text chat conference with up to 48 other people. No video conferencing has been announced, but has been discussed by Skype's CEO, Nick Zenstrom as a major project for 2005.
File transfer seems much quicker now in Version 1, and call quality was excellent on two calls I made to the US. One to a friend in San Diego, and one to Shawn King's Your Mac Life today towards the end of the show using their 1-877 number.
Shawn and co-host Jay Curtis seemed blown away when I said I was using the inbuilt mic. on my Powerbook, expecting as they were some delay. It was harder for me as I was using some earbuds which prevented me hearing myself very well (sounded to me like I had a cold). I will have to listen to the audio replay of the show (I had been watching the live videofeed - excellent quality, btw - but dropped out of it so as not to the 7-second delay I expected from a live show) to judge how it really sounded.
So it seems this is very powerful disruptive technology which cost me about 5c for the call of about 3 or 4 minutes. I also discussed with Shawn a dufus report from our local Consumer Reports magazine, Choice, comparing OS X with XP Home, and several versions of Linux, intended for use by the consumer not business.
Biggest loser for OS X? Not enough Help files and it default setting for the firewall was "off".
When Tiger arrives and we start seeing reports of the videoconferencing abilities of iChatAV, I expect Skype will be well advanced in its development towards achieving similar features and quality. Its biggest drawback for many will be how to call in from a landline - how can the Skype user be assigned a phone number?
Interesting times ahead for VoIP, and it will be fascinating to see if Apple's iSight camera will be compatible with any videoconferencing capacity of a future version of Skype.
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 UPDATE: There are some clever and quick Mac people out there, already coding Applescripts and plug-ins to go into your Address Book pulg-in folder in your Library.
These allow you to Skypeout via your Address Book entry, as long as the number is written as an international number, even for a local call.
The picture at right lets you see what it looks like in Address Book. Once you make the call, you can go into the recent call list in Skype and add the contact to you contact list. Neat!
I expect we'll see more Skype for Mac OS X functionality coming down the highway soon! |
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