Former Skype CEO Tony Bates is the first president of Microsoft’s Skype division reporting directly to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Skype offices and employees will stay in their original locations, so no change there either.

Skype users will be glad to hear that the products offered by Skype will remain as they are for the time being. Microsoft has plans however to integrate the technologies of the voice over IP software into other Microsoft products to increase Skype’s range and profits.

Microsoft has set up a Skype portal on the microsoft.com domain which currently redirects all links to the official Skype website.

How will Microsoft manage to get a return on their investment? It is likely that we will see integration of Skype into core Microsoft products. Possibilities include Microsoft Windows, Office, Xbox Live and the web products like Hotmail and Windows Live in general.

The goal to reach 1 billion users daily would mean that Microsoft would have to integrate Skype into nearly every Microsoft product available. Even then it is a very ambitious goal.

Skype recently struck a deal with Facebook to integrate the company’s video calling technologies into the social networking site to allow Facebook users to make video calls on the site. Microsoft could be thinking of similar options for their online products.

Probably the most interesting question at this point in time is if Microsoft will integrate Skype into the upcoming Windows 8 operating system. Doing so would boost the market reach of Skype significantly. Considering that Windows 8 will be optimized for tablets it could very well give Microsoft a much needed boost in that market.

What’s your take on the Microsoft Skype acquisition? Will we see Skype integrated in all Microsoft products in the next twelve or so months?

TeamSpeak 3 is a rewrite of the original TeamSpeak Classic and TeamSpeak 2. The new version boasts new and improved features, for instance cross-platform support, better latency and performance or a powerful SDK to make use of the TeamSpeak core in other programs and applications.

Listed in particular on the TeamSpeak website are Improved Voice Quality and Latency, Stunning 3D Sound Effects, Powerful Permissions System, Improved Security and Privacy and Firewall Friendly File Transfers.

• Improved Voice Quality and Latency – This includes new codecs and automated features like advanced noise reduction, echo cancellation or automatic microphone adjustments.
• Raising the Bar – TeamSpeak now supports Logitech G-keyboards.
• Stunning 3D Sound Effects – You can now place other TeamSpeak users anywhere in three-dimensional space, for instance to link that position to their position in a game, a conference call or presentation.
• Powerful Permissions System – Group permissions are more flexible under TeamSpeak 3
• Improved Security and Privacy – A new authentication system that is identity and server based.
• Friends and Foes – You now have access to a friends and foes list to track users and play custom sound events when they come online.
• Firewall Friendly File Transfer – Files can now be uploaded and downloaded more effectively if the feature is enabled on the server.

More interesting than this, at least for some TeamSpeak users, are client releases for the Android and iOS platform. TeamSpeak Mobile clients are now (or soon) available in both the Android Marketplace and Apple Store.

Here is the official announcement video:

TeamSpeak 3 can be downloaded from the official TeamSpeak website.

Facebook Chat in return has seen Skype integration, allowing Facebook users now to video chat with online friends. Security researcher David Vieira-Kurz discovered several vulnerabilities in the new Skype version that could allow an attacker to take over the Skype session of a user. What makes this attack even more dangerous is the fact that the attacker does not have to be a Facebook user’s friend or Skype contact to launch the attack.

The attack uses code that is entered into a wall or comment post. The Skype session information are then displayed on screen. The exploit is persistent in nature as logging off and on again on Facebook does not invalidate the Skype session. The vulnerability is caused by Skype’s inadequate escaping of data that is posted on Facebook.

David has posted a proof of concept video that demonstrates the vulnerability

Windows users who are considering updating to Skype 5.5 for the Facebook integration and chat functionality should consider waiting until an update is released by Skype. No workaround is available at this point in time.

What can you do if you have already updated to Skype 5.5? You could block the Skype app on Facebook under Privacy Settings until a fix is available. Please note that I have not tested this.

Google’s recent acquisition of the voice over IP company Gizmo5 has sparked speculation that Google would integrate that technology into their Google Voice services. (on a sidenote: Lifehacker has already posted a method to combine both services back in August)

The confirmation that they indeed will add voip to Google Voice came today in the form of a news article over at eWeek.

Voicemail transcription, inbox integration and threaded SMS are fantastic features, but we’re really just scratching the surface. Gizmo5 gives us talent and talent technology. They have specific tech and skills in further integrating telephony with devices and desktop and Web-based computing. We want to make sure you’re communication is available to you irrespective of where you are at, what device you have in your pocket, etc.”

What could this mean for the end user? Most likely a reduced phone bill as calls could then be made from mobile devices that are connected to a wireless network.

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.

Skype Portable as the name suggests is a portable version of the voice over IP client. It comes with the exact same functionality as the original Skype program but does not add any background processes or information to the Windows Registry.

To avoid legal issues with Skype the portable version will download Skype during installation. That download has a size of about 20 Megabytes in addition to the one Megabyte download of the portable Skype application.

Skype portable can then be started from the location the software was downloaded it. Information like contacts are tied to the Skype account which means that they are accessible for Skype users who log into the Skype network with the portable version of the client. Skype portable is available from the Portable Apps website. It is compatible with Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Another interesting addition is the contact importer which allows users to import contacts from services like Gmail or Aol. These contacts can now also be send again to other Skype users. Old time Skype users might remember that the feature was already implemented in Skype 3 but got removed in previous versions of Skype 4. Configuring birthday reminders is another feature that is making a comeback in Skype 4.1 Beta.

Windows users can download the beta of Skype 4.1 (via Download Squad) from the official homepage. Keep in mind that betas should not be installed in productive environments.

A pdf containing the Skype 4.1 release notes is available on the same website as well.

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.

The program provides access to a dozen filters ranging from Delay and Tremolo to Chorus and 3 Band EQ. While it is not currently able to change the voice in Skype to that of Darth Vader, or any other famous living, dead or fictional celebrity in this regard. Each filter can be configured separately by using the sliders that appear after the selection. The amount and function of the sliders depend on the selected filters. They usually range between 3 and 6 different sliders to change the frequency, length or delay.

Multiple filters can be combined with each other to use all their effects for the voice changing process. Skype Voice Changer is currently available for computer systems running Microsoft Windows. A version of the Microsoft .net Framework seems to be required to run the software although no details are given on the program’s homepage.

Skye Log View is a Nirsoft application. Nirsoft makes high quality portable applications that serve their purpose well. The main purpose of the software program is to list all conversations that have taken place in Skye chronologically.

Conversations meaning any means of establishing a contact between two or more users including phone calls, chats or file transfers. The exact date and time of the contact and the user name of the contact will be shown in the application.

Skype Log View can be pointed to Skype log files meaning that it works without Skype being installed. It provides the usual means to export data into html or txt files. The software program is compatible with any version of Windows since Windows 2000 including Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

That many features have its price though which observant users will notice after taking a look at the computer memory that the VoxOx processes uses. A little bit less than 100 Megabytes on Windows leaves surely some room for improvement.

The client is available for Windows and Macintosh with a Linux and mobile client in the making. The first step after installation is the account creation which is done easily in the interface. The program reminds the user that an email will be send for verification purposes. That message however seems to have been a leftover from the past because it was possible to login right after signing up to the service. An email was send but it did not contain a verification code but only information about the service itself.

A wizard will pop up after logging in that can guide the new user through adding accounts to the unified messaging software. It is possible to add AOL, ICQ, Yahoo, Google Talk, MSN or Jabber Instant Messaging accounts or other accounts such as Yahoo Email. Some of the options are grayed out which seems to suggest that these networks have not yet been implemented fully in the software.

The interface looks shiny and modern but poses a problem for users who like to change the sizes of their applications. The size of the application’s window cannot be reduced indefinitely which means that it will look huge on smaller monitors. It can be minimized though which reduces the memory usage tremendously as well.

The website and client are missing some vital information though, especially about pricing. There is no information whatsoever on costs for calls, text messaging or video conferencing. Business users should probably wait until those information are published on the developer’s website and in the client before they start evaluating the unified messaging software.

Skype messages were in the focus of privacy groups since first news about text filtering messages in China became known to the public. Back then Skype released an official statement that the text filter applied by the Chinese Skype partner Tom Online would not affect security and encryption mechanisms of Skype, that people’s privacy would not be compromised and calls, chats and other forms of communication on Skype would continue to be encrypted and secure.

Researchers and privacy activists of the University of Toronto discovered files on unprotected Chinese computers that contained filtered Skype messages that were recorded in China.

The filtering system uses a blacklist that contains words that will not be shown in Skype conversations. If a blacklisted word is send over Skype the word will be filtered and the conversation recorded including personal information about the users taking part in the chat.

Some of the words that cause the filtering and recording are Tibet, Taiwan Independence and Voice of America. There is no way of telling if and how Skype is working with authorities in other countries but who would want to risk that?

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has Skype replacements on their priority list with links to multiple voip clients that can be downloaded freely.

The complete report from the researchers can be downloaded at the Infowar Monitor website. The major findings list:

• The full text chat messages of TOM-Skype users, along with Skype users who have
  communicated with TOM-Skype users, are regularly scanned for sensitive keywords, and
  if present, the resulting data are uploaded and stored on servers in China.
• These text messages, along with millions of records containing personal information, are
  stored on insecure publicly-accessible web servers together with the encryption key required to
  decrypt the data.
• The captured messages contain specifc keywords relating to sensitive political topics such
  as Taiwan independence, the Falun Gong, and political opposition to the Communist Party
  of China.
• Our analysis suggests that the surveillance is not solely keyword-driven. Many of the
  captured messages contain words that are too common for extensive logging, suggesting
  that there may be criteria, such as specifc usernames, that determine whether messages are
  captured by the system.

Installation of the Teamspeak server is really easy but differs depending on your operating system. You simply install and run it on a Windows operating system. Admin and Superadmin passwords are shown at first start and you have to use them to login into the web interface and configure the server. (login details are saved in the file server.log, you can look them up there if you forgot to write them down).

You find a detailed instruction for linux at the teamspeak homepage – the process involves adding a user teamspeak, using wget to download the current version, unpacking that version and running the start script.

The web admin looks the same for windows and linux, there is no server version of teamspeak for mac.

Select Servers in the admin interface, one server is already running and you should select this one to change the configuraton of it. Server Settings displays some values that you can change: For instance the Server name, the welcome message, you can password protect the server here and define the maximum amount of users that can connect to it.

You also enable the codecs in that menu and are free to change the port the server is running on. You are free to add users from the server settings menu or from the client version directly.

Now, logout, start the Teamspeak client and select Connection, Connect from the menu. Right-Click Servers, Add a new Server and enter the login details of that server. Please note that you need at least the password of the server if the admin protected it with a password. This would mean you login anonymous using the server password. The other method would be that you are a registered user on that server and login registered with a username and password (and no server password).

Click connect and the connection to the server should be made. If you login using your admin account you are free to add channels to the server, maybe something like Chat, Game 1, Game 2, AFK. Big servers with lots of users (clans for instance) normaly have one folder for every game and then subfolders for that game. One example would be WoW as the top folder and the subfolders instance 1, instance 2, battlefield, grinding, level, raid, crafting, afk. You may add as much folders as you like.

Channels may be for registered users only, may be moderated, may use different codecs and may be password protected. Everything is highly customisable as you can see.

Teamspeak does not use lots of ressources making it ideal for multiplayer games but also for general voice communication. The website has a big forum that should help if you run into troubles setting it up or running it.