Skype Translate offers several advantages over Skype Translator, a similar software program which we reviewed earlier this year. The latter used a software client that the user needed to use to write and translate messages. Skype Translate on the other hand runs in the background and works out of the box with the Skype interface making it very comfortable to work with.

The translation service needs to be configured after installation. This is done by selecting the primary language of the user and allowing the application access to Skype so that it can translate the texts. One interesting feature is that Skype Translate will detect the language of the contacts automatically (which can be changed if incorrect) so that all texts that are posted in another language get translated into the detected or selected language.

Skype Translate supports dozens of languages including English, German, French, Spanish and lesser used languages like Finnish, Czech or Welsh. The program is by far the most comfortable translation service for the voice over IP software Skype. It is compatible with most Windows operating systems and can be downloaded from the developer’s website.

The folder where the recorded conversations are stored can be selected in the same interface. The recordings will be saved as mp3 files which reduces the storage space requirements on the computer’s hard drive. It is also possible to change the recording mode to Mono, Stereo or Joint Stereo and the recording bitrate (quality) to 32,64 or 128 Kbit. The Skype call recorder can record conversations to Skype online numbers as well as SkypeOut calls which are calls from Skype to regular phones.

Skype Call Recorder runs on Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista. It requires the Microsoft .net Framework 2.0 or later and an installed version of the VOIP software Skype.

Problems will arise however if you want to remove the chat history with one contact from the list. This is not possible in Skype. We mentioned a manual way of clearing the Skype chat history for one contact but that was a rather complicated way of achieving this. Our reader Primoz mentioned a program that he wrote in the comments that can be used to automatically clear the chat history with one contact from Skype chat.

The program is completely portable and works with both Skype 3 and Skype 4. Skype has to be closed to run it. All the user needs to do to clear the chat with one contact from Skype chat is to pick a user account and enter the name of the chat partner. The software program will automatically remove the chat history with that client from Skype and leave the rest of the chat history in its current stage.

Primoz suggests the following steps to run the program:

• Close skype
• Create backup if something goes wrong for folder \Documents and Settings\{win username}\Application Data\Skype\{skype username}
• Run application (.net 2.0 framework is required)
• Input skype username and contact username and click remove button.
• Run Skype again

Backing up the Skype databases is an important step in the procedure to avoid loosing data if something goes wrong. Skype Chat Remove can be downloaded directly from the Skype forums.