WebProNews

Tag: communication

  • Discord Exploring Sale for $10 Billion

    Discord Exploring Sale for $10 Billion

    Discord is exploring a possible sale for $10 billion, as gaming and communication take on greater importance.

    Discord made its name as a service that allowed gamers to communicate with each. The service is especially popular among players of multiplayer games, as it provides a way for large groups of people to communicate effectively.

    Most recently, Discord began to pivot to chat as digital platforms became key to companies and individuals remaining connected and productive during the pandemic. That growth has helped propel Discord to new heights, and the company is looking to cash in with a possible sale, according to GamesBeat.

    “I know they are in active discussions with a select few parties,” one source said. “The market is in a state where they could command strong double-digit billions of dollars.”

    Much of Discord’s demand stems from the increased popularity of gaming during the pandemic. As individuals have remained in lockdown, gaming has become an even more popular pastime, with social gaming serving as an important way for people to maintain social connections.

    The ultimate decision will rest with Discord CEO Jason Citron, although a $10 billion sale is a powerful motivator.

  • Twilio Acquiring Customer Data Company Segment

    Twilio Acquiring Customer Data Company Segment

    Twilio has announced it is acquiring Segment, a leading customer data platform.

    Like many communication companies, Twilio has experienced significant growth during the pandemic. The company’s APIs make it easy for developers to add voice, text, video, chat and email communication to their services and products.

    The acquisition of Segment will help companies better know their customers and use data to build a complete profile. This, in turn, will help them better meet their customers’ needs.

    “Data silos destroy great customer experiences,” said Jeff Lawson, co-founder and CEO of Twilio. “Segment lets developers and companies break down those silos and build a complete picture of their customer. Combined with Twilio’s Customer Engagement Platform, we can create more personalized, timely and impactful engagement across customer service, marketing, analytics, product and sales. We are thrilled to welcome Segment to the Twilio team.”

    “Together, Twilio and Segment have an incredible opportunity to build the customer engagement platform of the future,” said Peter Reinhardt, Segment’s co-founder and CEO. “We created Segment to help businesses set themselves apart in the digital age and deliver rich, connected customer experiences built on high-quality data. By joining forces and applying our customer data platform to Twilio’s engagement cloud, we’ll be able to make the entire customer experience seamless from end-to-end.”

    The deal is an all-stock deal worth approximately $3.2 billion and is expected to close Q4 2020.

  • New ‘Spaces’ Feature Could Come to Outlook

    New ‘Spaces’ Feature Could Come to Outlook

    Outlook may be getting a major upgrade with a new ‘Outlook Spaces’ feature, providing a new project-based organization system.

    Twitter user Walking Cat (@h0x0d) tweeted a video of the new feature in action. Cat also posted a test form that contained the following description:

    “Spaces pulls together your documents, emails, and events using the search terms you provide here. In upcoming releases, we’ll be using AI to assist in discovering and grouping work items into Spaces.”

    As some users replying to Cat’s tweet have said, while the feature looks amazing, it will be interesting to see how well it does at a time when Microsoft is pushing Teams as a means of communication and collaboration. For many individuals, Teams is increasingly replacing email in importance. For those who still rely on email, however, this has the potential to be a major improvement.

  • Facebook Now Requires An Account to Sign Up For Messenger

    Facebook Now Requires An Account to Sign Up For Messenger

    According to VentureBeat, Facebook has ended the ability to sign up for Messenger without a Facebook account.

    In the past, individuals who wanted to use Facebook Messenger could use their phone number to sign up. In an email to VentureBeat, the social media giant confirmed that ability is now gone.

    “If you’re new to Messenger, you’ll notice that you need a Facebook account to chat with friends and close connections,” the email said. “We found that the vast majority of people who use Messenger already log in through Facebook and we want to simplify the process. If you already use Messenger without a Facebook account, no need to do anything.”

    As expected with a change this big, VentureBeat is reporting the transition has not been entirely smooth, with some users’ accounts being restricted.

    Facebook has made no secret about its desire to integrate its various messaging platforms, including Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram. The company wants its users to be able to communicate across its platforms. In a post, Zuckerberg emphasized this point:

    “**Interoperability**. People should be able to use any of our apps to reach their friends, and they should be able to communicate across networks easily and securely.”

    Needless to say, regulators are not exactly thrilled with this approach and there has been talk of the FCC trying to get an injunction to prevent the integration. It will be interesting to see if this move triggers further scrutiny.

  • Microsoft Teams Reaches 20 Million Daily Users, Double Slack’s User Base

    Microsoft Teams Reaches 20 Million Daily Users, Double Slack’s User Base

    Just four months after Microsoft Teams reached 13 million daily users, the company is reporting that number has reached 20 million.

    Microsoft Teams is a unified communication platform that competes with Slack, Google Hangouts and Cisco Webex Teams. Not surprisingly, since it’s part of Office 365, Teams integrates with Microsoft’s other applications.

    Slack, in contrast, reported last month that it had 12 million daily users. While that is substantially less than Microsoft’s 20 million, Slack claims that its users are far more engaged than those of Teams and other platforms. Even so, that hasn’t prevented Slack’s stock from taking a hit in the wake of Microsoft’s announcement.

    CNBC reports that Wedbush analysts Daniel Ives and Strecker Backe told clients:

    “Our checks in the field indicate Slack will have significant difficulty further penetrating the enterprise given the significant competitive offering from Microsoft’s Teams product that could slow growth going forward quicker than the Street is anticipating.”

    According to CNBC, “Ives and Backe initiated coverage of Slack with the equivalent of a sell rating.”

    Slack has estimated the workplace collaboration market to be worth some $28 billion, leaving plenty of room for multiple companies. However, to survive the competitive edge larger players bring, Slack will need to continue to evolve build on its strengths.

  • You Can Now Try Skype for Business for Mac

    You Can Now Try Skype for Business for Mac

    Microsoft announced that it is kicking off the public preview of Skype for Business for Mac. Commercial customers can request an invite here. Invites will be issued to IT admins first, and will be expanded to everyone else in the coming weeks.

    This is being rolled out in three phases. In phase one, users will see meetings for today and tomorrow based on their Outlook calendar, displayed in the Skype for Business client. You’ll be able to join any meeting with a click and get full screen video, content viewing, in-meeting chat, and the ability to invite others.

    In Phase two, Microsoft will add instant messaging, presence and contacts. This will happen in the next preview release in early summer. Phase three will add telephony and related features later in the summer.

    Once an IT admin downloads the preview client, they can manage its distribution to users within their organization.

    Image via YouTube

  • Skype Android App Lets You Schedule Calls, Open Office Files

    Skype Android App Lets You Schedule Calls, Open Office Files

    Last week, Microsoft announced Skype call scheduling from the Outlook apps for iOS and Android to make it easy to schedule and begin a group chat and call with friends and colleagues.

    The Outlook team wrote in a blog post, “It can be challenging keeping up with friends, family and colleagues. Finding a time that works for everyone and remembering to show up is difficult enough. And then sometimes technology gets in the way: “How do I find you? How do I invite you? Do you have this app installed?”

    “Outlook and Skype have solved this problem,” it added. “When creating a new event on your calendar, Outlook now includes the ability to add a Skype Call. When you tap the Skype Call toggle, Outlook includes a Skype link in the description of the event. When your scheduled meeting time arrives, recipients simply click the link in their calendar to launch Skype and join the conversation.”

    Now, the Skype app for Android has been updated to include call scheduling (via TheNextWeb).

    Under the “What’s New” section for the app on the Google Play store, it lists “Create calendar events,” and says you can tap on a contact, then tap the menu on the upper right and select “Schedule a call.”

    Also new is the ability to open Microsoft Office files. You can tap on a received Word document, Excel spreadsheet, or PowerPoint presentation to pen the file in its corresponding Office app.

    Image via Google Play

  • Skype Previews Slack Integration

    Skype Previews Slack Integration

    Teams using Slack can now take advantage of a new Skype integration to engage in voice and video calls. Skype announced that this is now available in preview.

    To set it up, just go to the Skype integration for Slack product page, and click “Add to Slack”.

    “Once the Skype integration has been configured, anyone on the Slack team can start a Skype call from a computer,” Skype explains. “Just type ‘/skype’ into the chat and when the call is set up, a join link will appear. Whether your team members use Slack on the web, Windows, Mac, iOS or Android, you’ll receive a Slack notification that a Skype call has started, so no one will ever miss a call again. Whenever you want to start a new call, just type ‘/skype’ into the chat again which will set up a new call for others to join.”

    “To join a Skype call, all you need on the desktop is a web browser, or you can get the Skype mobile apps to join from your smartphone,” Skype says. “Anyone can join as a guest from a computer, or sign in with a Microsoft account or Skype Name. Please visit the Skype integration for Slack product page for more information and detailed system requirement.”

    As the offering is only in preview mode, I expect there is potential for bugs, so keep that in mind.

    Image via Skype

  • Microsoft Buys Talko To Add to Skype for Business

    Microsoft Buys Talko To Add to Skype for Business

    Microsoft announced that it has acquired technology from mobile communications app Talko to bring it to Skype. Specifically, it will become part of Skype for Business.

    In addition to the tech, the Skype team is getting Talko employees.

    “Together, the new technology and talent will help us deliver great new features and capabilities in both Skype and Skype for Business,” says Gurdeep Singh Pall, Corporate Vice President at Skype. “I welcome the new team members and am excited about how Talko will fuel more innovation at Microsoft, whether it is enhancing the way family members stay in touch with Skype or building on the new Skype for Business services within Office 365.”

    “This is another example of our company ambition to reinvent productivity and business processes,” Pall adds. “We continue to invest in new technologies to empower people to more effectively communicate and collaborate across their personal and professional lives.”

    Talko says on its site, “As part of the Skype team, we’ll leverage Talko’s technology and the many things we’ve learned during its design and development. We’ll strive to deliver the best of our product’s innovations far more broadly than on our current path.”

    Talko was launched in 2014. The service will sunset over the next few months. Past conversations can be exported.

    Image via Google Play

  • Slack Group Messages Are Now A Thing

    Slack Group Messages Are Now A Thing

    As great of a communication tool Slack has proven to be for teams, one feature has been surprisingly absent until now – the ability to add more people to direct message conversations.

    The company announced group messaging as its latest feature addition this week. You can now add up to 8 people to a group DM.

    Optimized-Screen Shot 2015-10-28 at 4.28.56 PM

    “With this new feature, you can break into a private discussion with up to 8 other people (9 total, including you) whenever you see fit,” Slack explains in a blog post. “The conversation will persist in your list of Direct Messages and you can return to that group at any time, or hide it when you’re done talking. Messages will show up in your searches and you can find group conversations in the Quick Switcher when you search for names (bonus: a new DM-only Quick Switcher view is available with the cmd-shift-k on mac, ctrl-shift-k on win/linux keystroke).”

    “With the introduction of group DMs, which will cover many of the use cases that previously required private groups, we’ve transformed private groups into the brand new ‘private channels,’” it adds. “Private channels will be shown mixed in with your existing open channels alphabetically, with small lock icons next to the private ones. When the time comes to create a new channel, you’ll find a new public/private toggle on the configuration screen.”

    To use group messages on your mobile device, you’ll have to update your iOS app to version 2.50. The feature was actually quietly added to the last version of the Android app, so there’s no update necessary with that one.

    Images via Slack

  • Twitter Brings Back ‘Anyone Can DM Me’ Feature

    Twitter Brings Back ‘Anyone Can DM Me’ Feature

    Twitter just announced the launch of a new feature that lets users accept direct messages from anyone, even if they’re not following the sender. Historically, two users have had to follow one another in order to exchange DMs. That will no longer be the case when a user allows others to send them.

    That’s right. You have to enable the feature. You’re not automatically going to be opened up to private messages from strangers. So don’t let people freaking out about it on Twitter or articles about people freaking out about it on Twitter fool you. It’s totally opt-in, and it can only be a problem if you let it.

    There’s a new setting that allows you to receive direct messages from anyone. You should see the option on the Security and Privacy page of your settings once the feature has rolled out.

    You’ll also be able to reply to anyone who sends you a direct message, even if they don’t follow you.

    “Direct Messages are the best way to take your public Twitter conversations private,” says Twitter senior software engineer Nhu Vuong. “Today, we’re changing how direct messaging works so that it’s even easier for you to communicate one-to-one or with a chosen group of people, anywhere in the world.”

    Twitter launched Group Messages in January.

    “Communicating with people you may or may not know in real life just got easier,” says Vuong. “Previously, if you wanted to send a Direct Message to the ice cream shop down the street about how much you love their salted caramel flavor, you’d have to ask them to follow you first. With today’s changes, the ice cream shop can opt to receive Direct Messages from anyone; so you can privately send your appreciation for the salted caramel without any barriers.”

    If all of this sounds familiar, it’s because Twitter experimented with the feature back in 2013, before shutting it down.

    To go along with the new DM functionality, Twitter also launched a new DM button on its iOS and Android apps:

    The new DM changes should prove helpful to businesses who want to give consumers another way of engaging with them or simply contacting them. Twitter may not have the user base of Facebook, but Twitter users spend a lot of time on Twitter, and they also talk about brands a lot while they’re there. Still, not everyone wants to say everything in a public setting, and a DM might be a more comfortable venue for some. Most businesses will likely want to activate the feature.

    It would still be nice if Twitter provided an additional feature to leave that activated while blocking certain problem accounts from being able to send messages.

    Image via Twitter

  • Not Everyone Reads Your Emails The Same Way

    We talk a lot about how to improve email campaigns, whether it be writing better subject lines, increasing signups or open rates, or adjusting frequency. What isn’t brought up quite so much is how you’re talking to email recipients in one-on-one communications.

    For example, have you ever considered that you may be hurting your own reputation just by not using the right language in an email or by being too formal? You may want to consider who you’re writing to when approaching how you’re writing any given email.

    Do you craft your emails differently based on demographic? Let us know in the comments.

    BuzzStream and Fractyl partnered on a survey of 1,200 people between the ages of 18 and 64 to find out how they use email and how things like gender, age, and education influence preferences. The idea was to find how different demographics respond to different types of emails, so people who use email for business can get a better idea of how they should be approaching email based on recipient.

    “Every email you send adds to or detracts from your reputation, so professional success relies on your ability to write clearly and intelligently,” the report says. “Knowing when to keep your language simple, when to be more formal and even when it’s appropriate to add a bit of humor will help you develop and nurture valuable relationships.”

    One finding is that regardless of the recipient’s education level, people tend to be put off by emails that use overly complex vocabulary. You’re better off just speaking in clear terms that anyone can understand, even if you think you’re impressing someone with your language skills.

    In fact, you may want to actually try to be funny, as both males and females tend to appreciate humor in email correspondence.

    Interestingly, almost nobody seems to be ok with slang. The youngest people are somehow the most opposed to it.

    Males and females do appear to have very different stances on the formality of emails. Whereas males, according to the survey, find formal emails more persuasive, females find informal emails more authentic.

    “Nearly 50 percent more males find formal language more persuasive than their female counterparts,” the report says. “Men also find the sender to be more authentic – 17 percent of males compared with only 10 percent of females.”

    “Compared with men, 45 percent more women believe that an informal email is more authentic than one that is more structured,” it says. “They also believe the sender is younger and more reliable than their male counterparts.”

    You can find the full report here (via Inc.)

    Not everyone agrees with its findings, however. For example, while you’d think humor is almost a must based on the report, career coach Barbara Pachter, advises against it, saying, “In a professional exchange, it’s better to leave humor out of emails unless you know the recipient well. Also, something that you think is funny might not be funny to someone else.”

    In the end, it’s going to be best to consider your audience before writing any email. If your job requires sending out a lot of emails to different people, it can be tempting to use a template to speed up the process, but you’re better off crafting each message specifically for the person you’re talking to. As someone whose inbox is constantly flooded by people and companies vying for my attention, I can definitely tell you that the ones that feel like templates are often ignored. Sometimes, they even forget to change the name, making it look like the message was intended for someone else.

    The important thing to remember is that not everyone will react the same way to the same message, so don’t write the same type of message to everyone.

    What do you think of the findings. Any of them surprise you? Discuss.

    Images via BuzzStream/Fractyl

  • Lego Resume: Northwestern College Student Builds Her Way to the Top

    One college student’s resume has gone viral.

    Northwestern University student Leah Bowman constructed her resume based off of Legos, which has now been seen by a number of prospective employers.

    Bowman-who majors in Communication Studies: Integrated Marketing and Anthropology-started working on her creation via the Lego Digital Designer during her spring break in hometown Johnston, Iowa.

    The 20-year-old says that since Legos were always a big part of her Danish childhood memories, she decided to use the idea as an artistic way to land a summer internship at an advertising agency.

    The model of Bowman is accompanied by a Lego-inspired graphic designed resume with the headline: “Build the Perfect Account Service Intern!”

    Her resume outlines her obvious “eye for design” and “attention to detail.”

    She has even replaced the signature Lego logo with her first name instead.

    Bowman shared how searching for a job is quite challenging when going against competition.

    She wanted to do something that would make her stand out, and it looks like she achieved just that.

    Bowman told Mashable: “I’ve applied for dozens of jobs and had a handful of interviews, but sometimes there’s just another candidate that edged you out. I know I’d be a great addition to any team, but I needed a better way to communicate that rather than just sending in a boring resume.”

    Bowman ultimately wants to work for Lego, but she told Good Morning America Friday that any job would do.

    “I just want a job that gives me unique challenges every week and gain some great experience,” she said.

    Although her resume has grabbed major attention in the corporate world, Bowman has yet to secure an internship. She is quite aware that no matter how creative her resume may appear, it doesn’t guarantee her a job.

    “It’d be silly if I expected to be offered jobs based solely on a Lego set.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Gmail Gets Over 100 New Input Tools

    Gmail Gets Over 100 New Input Tools

    Google announced today that it is adding over 100 virtual keyboards, transliteration and IMEs (input method editors) to Gmail, giving users tools to type in different languages and keyboard layouts for improved international communication.

    “Finding the right words can be difficult, especially across languages, and once you choose them, finding a way to type them can be even harder,” says product manager C. Andrew Warren. “Try emailing family in Germany, chatting with friends in China or adding a Russian business partner’s name to your contacts and you may find yourself limited by the language of your keyboard.”

    Gmail Input tools

    “These tools enable you to type in the language and keyboard layout you’re accustomed to, making it easy to keep in touch with family, friends and coworkers from any computer,” says Warren. “You can even switch between languages with one click.”

    Google supports 75 languages with these tools, noting that Gmail only supported five when Google introduced indic transliteration to the product a few years ago.

    You can access these features by checking the box next to “Enable input tools” under “Language” in “Settings”. Then, you’ll see the icon for the tools next to the Settings button in your toolbar. You can turn input tools on and off from there.

  • Study Finds That People Aren’t Physically Interacting Much Anymore Due To The Internet

    I’m going to be straight up with all of you – I think I’m addicted to the Internet. While my job involves my sitting at a desk working online all day, I can’t get away from it once the work day is over. Upon getting home, I sit down at my desk and continue my regular online activities. With that being said, I don’t think I’m as bad as the people found in a recent study of so-called “technology addicts.”

    The Mail Online is reporting on a study from digital marketing group dnx on a troubling new trend that sees people obsessed with the Internet and technology going up to 48 hours without interacting with another human being. But people obsessed with the Internet totally interact with humans, right? Well, that’s true, but they aren’t physically interacting with other humans. For example, they aren’t traveling to their friend’s house to hang out on the couch, but rather texting or video calling them from the comfort of their room.

    The research study took place in the UK and interviewed a thousands adults. Most of those surveyed aren’t as bad as the ones described above. Sure, they still use digital communication technology to perhaps an unhealthy degree, but they at least physically interact with humans from day to day.

    The above groups combined make up about 16 percent of those surveyed and 19 percent of those people are the ones who save their human interaction for the chat rooms and Skype logs of the world. Not that that’s a bad thing. Surely they still interact with humans on their day-to-day errands, right? Well, as it turns out, this particular group of the population also avoids humanity every chance they can get by using machines to replace functions that would normally require human interaction like buying a train ticket or getting lunch by buying from a vending machine.

    Of course, the people who ran the study find this a little alarming. The messages seems to be that it’s great people are adopting technology so rapidly, but don’t forget that there are actual real people out in the world as well. Just because you can talk to your pal via text doesn’t mean you shouldn’t meet up with him for some good ol’ physical bonding.

    While there is a large portion of the population that is keeping up with technology, there appears to be a separate group who just can’t keep up. Seventeen percent of those surveyed said that they were being left behind by the constant onward march of technology. This leaves them making simple mistakes like ordering the wrong quantity from an online shop or clicking on malicious links because they really think that they’re about to win one of those newfangled iPads.

    The survey, while conducted in the UK, does point out a problem that has been plaguing pretty much every other modern nation on Earth. I’m going to pretend that my experience in the U.S. can be applied to any other technophile’s experience. I avoid contact with humanity whenever I can not because I hate it, but technology has made it easier to do. Why should I buy a movie ticket from the box office when I can just swipe my card at a machine that will print one out for me?

    The best example of this phenomenon, however, is seen in Japan. They even have their own special word for it – “hikikomori.” It literally means “pulling inward, being confined” but has since been applied to a rising portion of the population that essentially put themselves under voluntary house arrest to avoid the outside and the people who inhabit it. These “hikikomori” are even more hardcore than the people in UK study because they usually don’t even leave the house for more than six months. With more than 700,000 Japanese adults going with that lifestyle, I don’t know if the US and UK could ever, or even want, to catch up.

    All of this is to say that you should get out more. Technology is great and it does make our lives easier, but it doesn’t give you an excuse to ignore humanity. I’m as guilty as the next guy when it comes to avoiding people because it’s more convenient to use technology or, if you’re like me, have some form of an impediment that makes social interactions occasionally awkward. It’s still a good idea to brush up on those physical communication skills just in case you actually have to use them someday. While I don’t suggest you take a year off from using the Internet, you may actually have to interact with real people when it comes to a job or family.

    Besides, you’re going to get lonely one of these days, right? Right?

    Do you think your physical interactions have been negatively affected by technology? Or has it made you even more social? Let us know in the comments.

    [Lead image: TurboTax Ad]

  • Computer Scientists Developing Sign Language Translator

    Computer scientists in Scotland are developing technology that can translate sign language into text through a simple webcam. The technology, which has the potential to run on variety of camera-enabled digital devices, could be a big help to speech-impaired users trying to communicate, especially with members of the non-signing world.

    A full-fledged version of the software, called Portable Sign Language Translator (PSLT), is being developed by Technabling Ltd. (that’s Tech-nabling, not Techa-bling, btw), an offshoot of Aberdeen University specializing in technological solutions to physical and mental disabilities. PSLT aims to help young learners with speech difficulties, to empower mobility- and speech-challenged users to issue commands to their appliances and devices, and to allow people with speech difficulties to customize their language settings to a variety of regional variations and personal preferences.

    “The aim of the technology is to empower sign language users by enabling them to overcome the communication challenges they can experience, through portable technology,” says Technabling’s Director Dr. Ernesto Compatangelo, via The Scotsman. “The user signs into a standard camera integrated into a laptop, netbook, Smartphone or other portable device such as a tablet. Their signs are immediately translated into text which can be read by the person they are conversing with.”

    The technology will be portable, flexible, and customizable, stresses the company (although they spelled the latter with an “s”). When completed, PSLT will be released as an app for a variety of smart phones, tablets, and computers running Linux or Windows (provided they have a camera). It will be available for use with a variety of sign languages, including British Sign Language, Makaton, Technabling’s own Customisable Sign Language, and others (including ASL). Users will also be able to customize the app to a variety of jargon and idiosyncratic sign preferences.

    Not only will the camera help consumers use technology in their native language, it will also enable them to communicate in public in the absence of a speaking translator. Technabling also mentions that PSLT will benefit independent sign language learners. In the absence of a trained, fluent teacher, the software will be able to provide immediate feedback to learners, helping them make sure they are learning to sign correctly.

    Photo Source: PhysOrg.

  • [Exclusive] Can Hackers Create a SOPA-Proof Internet?

    [Exclusive] Can Hackers Create a SOPA-Proof Internet?

    What’s the shortest distance between two points? If you said a straight line, then you just earned a self-high five.

    We here at WebProNews we have already given you a guide on how to navigate the post-SOPA Internet, but suppose there was an alternative that would obviate any need to even deal with an Internet burdened with the bureaucratic cangue of the United States government. In other words, what if you could use a different Internet altogether?

    What if there were two Internets? Is freedom of speech and access to information important enough to you that you’d hop aboard a user-created and -controlled Internet? Does SOPA scare you that much? Let us know in the comments below.

    If one is to ever exist, the architects of that straight line to Internet freedom will be Hackerspace Global Grid, a cabal of hackers that have taken up the cause of creating a satellite-based communication network that would be capable of establishing an “uncensorable” Internet. It’s just one of the many goals of their ambitious project to pioneer a global grass-roots space program. Think of it as an open-source outer space mission.

    It all started in August at the Chaos Community Camp when Nick Farr issued a call to hackers to begin planning to build an Internet that couldn’t be censored by any government, citing the possibility of a SOPA’ed Internet as to why hackers – and everybody, really – should have an Internet unencumbered by censorship. HGG responded with the proposal of creating a satellite-based network capable of “defense against terrestrial censorship of the Internet.”

    While HGG states that an alternate Internet incapable of being censored is one possible utilization of such an ambitious project, it’s just one of the many uses from a distributed satellite ground-station network. Essentially, it’s a communication network that puts an emphasis on an open-source community of technology development. While there are numerous goals with undertaking this satellite-for-hackers project, the first goal of Farr’s is to establish a resistance against Internet censorship. “The first goal is an uncensorable Internet in Space,” Farr told BBC. “Let’s take the Internet out of the control of terrestrial entities.”

    So how will this ambitious goal of hacking outer space pan out? Two members of the HGG team, hadez and Andreas Hornig, spoke with WebProNews about how this mission developed and where it will go. As mentioned above, this call to arms is “a direct answer to Nick Farr, Lars Weiler, and Jens Ohlig’s call for a ‘Hacker Space Program,” said hadez.

    Hornig, who is actually more of an engineer than card-carrying hacker, adds, “Members of our two groups, shackspace and Constellation (me), came together and joined efforts. For my side I had an idea about a distributed ground-station network for my group and my university. I asked in HAM radio boards for help and a shackspace member found me and invited me to the shackspace, because I’m in their proximity. Because both groups share a lot of goals and we knew the project’s tasks are very challenging, we joined forces and combined our objectives and technical goals.”

    And speaking of that collaborative effort required to succeed on far-reaching projects, some readers out there might be wondering how on earth (oh, the pun) can a group of private individuals possibly hope to finance a mission to essentially colonize space? Hornig and hadez welcome any contributions to HGG’s cause since, as you can imagine, this is going to eventually tally up a pricey bill. “We’re open for any support because this project is ambitious,” Hornig said. hadez estimates that the group is “still below 500 EUR in total at this point largely thanks to the fact that there’s a lot of infrastructure present at thelocal hackerspace ‘shackspace’ in Stuttgart, Germany which we can use.” While that’s a good start, the pair admits, “There will be a point where a more significant investment will have to be made, especially once we’re going to build more than a few initial ground stations. We have not yet made any decision whether to ask for funding or who to ask.”

    Both members of HGG are adamant about maintaining the focus of the project on keeping the system open to both users and contributors while not compromising the goal with monetary contributions. hadez explains, “The core objective is building a fully open system (hardware, software, documentation) and keeping it that way. Funding which does not interfere with this goal and leaves us the same freedom we have currently would be a possibility.” Hornig emphasized the importance of the open-source aspect, saying, “We will rely on volunteers all over the world forming our global sensor and station grid (via Constellation) and higher costs for the hardware will result in less volunteers.”

    Everybody got this? Not only will everybody have Internet freedom but it’s going to be coming from space. It’s like a Choose Your Own Adventure, Future Edition. But before everybody gets ahead of themselves there, lets make sure everybody’s on the same page: this communication system isn’t going to support the bandwidth you’d need to stream the final season of Arrested Development in HD. The FAQ from HGG explains:

    If you’re in desperate need to communicate you do not care about watching videos on YouTube nor do you want to download the latest album of your favorite band to have the perfect soundtrack for whatever the hell you’re doing. You want to get a message out and receive updates. You want to inform and stay informed yourself. A first step will be providing bare-minimum communication infrastructure for that moment of feaco-rotary intersection that will hopefully never happen. But it did happen, several times during 2011 alone in several places. It will happen again.

    Think twitter updates, not video streaming.

    While the Internet capability is one of HGG’s many goals, Hornig points out that their broader mission is to create a “fusion” between science and society. “The sensor grid allows us to do research in various fields and communication could also be possible as a side effect,” he said. “Especially in aerospace a lot of people think, ‘What is it good for?’ and they forget that they use space technology all the time, like satellite navigation in their cars and cell-phones, weather forecasts and HD-channels via satellite-TV. But they just use it, they are not an essential part. In HGG they can be part and, even more important, they are relevant for the system in general.”

    At any rate, HGG doesn’t want to rule out “high-bandwidth links and geo-stationary community controlled satellites” in the future, but for now this would be an incredible gift to society. And before any of you start feeling deflated about this limitation: stop. Allay any of your first-world disappointments because this is a bigger deal than some people may appreciate. Recall when Egypt’s government “turned off” the Internet last January or when Syria tried to suppress users of iPhones or even China’s Great Firewall – all of these obstacles could potentially be circumvented by HGG’s project. And even here in the United States where a Congressional gerontocracy would limit the expression of speech and access to information via SOPA or PIPA, how far behind is the spectre of a total shutdown of the Internet?

    That possibility is a big If (hopefully), but if it becomes a real possibility, people like HGG will be your new best friends.

    So, do you think it’ll work? I know it sounds like The Future, but can individual hackers and scientists work together to really create a sustainable communication network that would support an alternate Internet? How do you think private industries would respond to such a bold endeavor? Let us know in the comments below

  • Texting: The Preferred Communication Of Liars

    You can take two important things from a recent study on honesty in communications. One, you really are more likely to lie in a text and two, that person you lied to is going to be incredibly pissed that you did it in a text.

    In a study yet to be published in the Journal of Business Ethics, researchers found that people are much more likely to lie if they are behind the text wall as opposed to communicating face-to-face or even talking on the phone.

    Here’s how the research was conducted:

    140 students were gathered to interact in a sort of role-playing game that put them in a situation where lying would prove fortuitous. One student was given the role of a stockbroker and the other student played the prospective stock buyer. The stockbrokers were told that the stock they were trying to sell would depreciate in value 50% in the next week. They then “gave the stockbroker a financial incentive to sell as much of the bad stock to the buyer as possible,” says the LA Times.

    What they found shouldn’t come as a massive shock to anyone. The stockbrokers were more likely to lie or “engage in duplicitous behavior” if they talked about the sale via text message, as opposed to other more personal methods of conversation.

    When you think about it, it makes sense. With a text message, you don’t have to look the person you’re lying to in the eye. Hell, you don’t even have to hear their voice. It’s easier to lie when they other person can’t see that you’re nervous – that your palms or sweaty or you’re stumbling over your words.

    The counterintuitive find from the study deals with people’s reaction to being lied to. The buyers reported being more angry when they were lied to via text message.

    Of course, this flies in the face of the common wisdom that one of the worst things you can do to a person is look them right in the eye and lie to them.

    “What we speculated was going on is there is some instant rapport-building, and some quick trust that happens when you talk to someone face to face, and it acts as a buffer and an inoculation — almost like a vaccine — against negative reactions. People are still angry or upset if they are lied to face to face, but when they are lied to in the leaner communications, they are more angry,” said researcher Ronald Cenfetelli.

    I wonder if these findings translate to emails as well. I guess it really might piss people off more when they are deceived in an email. My mother did always say, “If a person looks me square in the eye and lies to me, at least I know it had to be worth it.”

  • Skype iPhone/iPad Apps Get Updated

    Skype just got some new features on the iPhone and iPad versions. An update for the iPhone app includes a feature that reduces shakiness of an outgoing Skype video chat, when you’re using the rear-facing camera.

    “So, if you’re using Skype video to show friends and family what you’re up to or where you are, the image they see will be less shaky,” says Skype’s Heather LeRoy.

    It also gets Bluetooth support, so you can use Bluetooth-enabled headsets to make talk hands-free via Skype. “This will make life easier while you’re on conference calls, on the road, or simply don’t want to hold your iPhone or iPad in-hand,” says LeRoy.

    The update also introduces Skype’s ad platform, but paying users can avoid seeing display ads.

    The iPhone update also has a security fix.

    The iPad update includes support for both iPad and iPad 2. The iPhone update supports iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4 and 2nd/3rd generation iPod Touches, as well as both iPads.

  • Skype App Directory Launched

    Skype App Directory Launched

    Skype has launched a new application directory for apps built on the Skype API. There are apps for business, call recording, desktop and whiteboard sharing, faxing, integrations with popular software and mobile video communications.

    There are currently five apps in the business category. These include: Outbound Dialer for Virtual Call Center, PrettyMay Call Center for Skype, Virtual Call Center, VuRoom and Zaplee.

    Skype Business Apps

    For Call Recording, there are 4 apps for audio and video, and 6 apps for audio only. There are 3 apps in the desktop/whiteboard sharing category, 2 in Faxing, and 2 in mobile video communications (including Qik, which Skype recently acquired).

    The only “integration with popular software” currently offeed is Skylook for MS Outlook.

    The Apps in the directory are available for either Windows PCs or Macs or both.

    If you wish to submit an app to the directory, you’re asked to organize your app content an an .xml file, host the file in a location of your choosing (and provide that location) and review the terms and conditions.

    Earlier this week, it was revealed that Skype is acquiring popular group messaging app GroupMe.

  • Skype Updates for Mac OS X Lion

    Skype announced the launch of a new version of Skype for Max OS X in version 5.3, which includes support for Mac OS X Lion and HD video calls.

    “Skype 5.3 for Mac OS X is built to work with Apple’s newest desktop operating system, Lion, in addition to being compatible with past versions of OS X going all the way back to Leopard,” says Skype’s Krishna Panicker. “With Skype 5.3 for Mac OS X, you’ll also be able to send and receive HD quality video when talking to your friends and family.”

    Skype suggests an upload/download speed of 1.5Mbps for HD Video calls.

    @Skype
    Skype    Skype announces Skype 5.3 for Mac OS X supporting Lion and HD video calls http://bit.ly/pfJO0t 3 hours ago via CoTweet · powered by @socialditto

    Skype just launched version 5.2 for Mac about a month ago, shortly after releasing 5.5 for Windows (with Facebook integration). 5.2 added the ability to share screens while doing group video calls, as well as sharing documents, presentations, and photos.

    Last week, Skype announced the 2.1 update for Android, making video chat available on 17 Android devices that it was not previously available for. These include: the Acer A5, HTC Desire, HTC Desire HD, HTC Evo 3D, HTC Evo 4G, HTC Flyer, HTC Incredible S, HTC Sensation, HTC Thunderbolt, LG Revolution, Samsung Droid Charge, Samsung Galaxy S, Samsung Galaxy S II, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Sony Ericsson Xperia mini pro, Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY, and Sony Ericsson Xperia ray.