Archive for June, 2008
June 27, 2008
OK, so it’s not exactly breaking news that a certain mobile software provider packed up shop earlier this year and moved out to sunny California.
But at long last, we’ve got the photographic evidence to back it up! With brand new digs, a few shiny new faces, and one seriously abused acoustic guitar, iSkoot’s gotten a happy home in SF all fired up. Meet the team:
That’s our fearless Mark J owning the show up front, plus office manager Liz, Marketing guru Jake, and Product masterminds, John & George.
Occasionally, when not circling the globe, Jim Hudak has also been known to make an appearance (possibly related to the free breakfast stash we keep in the kitchen? hmm…) and once in a very great while, we’ll even get a cameo from one of our Israel-based team members (Eyal Elyashiv: towering over Liz. Yours truly: not so much).
And finally, the snap our team has deemed the “Reservoir Dogs” shot: That’s our UI whiz Victoria, rolling with an iSkoot entourage.
There’s no doubt the team is feeling right at home in our new space and in the new neighborhood. Next stop, Office-warming party?
Definitely stay tuned. 
Posted in: New Things, iSkoot Appearances | No Comments
Tags: San Francisco, team
June 16, 2008
Ah, hardware. You can’t live without it, but nonetheless it seems to have a funny way of deciding all on its own when (and how) it’s going to suicide mission on you.
Eerily, Friday the 13th left more than one case of “learned that one the hard way” in its wake. This iSkoot blogger recently witnessed the watery demise of her BlackBerry Curve in the Barton Springs of Austin, Texas. Last week, Dameon Welch-Abemathy (a.k.a. PhoneBoy) reported the untimely end (in spite of his best attempts at resuscitation) of his MacBook at the Ottowa airport. Jarring as these hardware casualties may be, they do have an interesting way of bringing into sharp relief those Web 2.0 features that are truly indispensable. Case in point: our favorite VoIP service, Skype.
Dameon warns those folks with a serious dependency on PC-based Skype to ready a contingency in case your computer suddenly bites the big one. A handy alternative? iSkoot for Skype of course! Dameon points out that iSkoot for Skype was prepped and ready on his Nokia handsets to save the day when his Macbook met its bitter end. Nice! And an interesting reminder that iSkoot for Skype doesn’t just free you from your PC, it can actually come to the rescue when your PC leaves you in the lurch.
And for those of us who watched an iSkoot-enabled BlackBerry take a fatal dip in Barton Springs? Lucky I work at iSkoot, I was able to sneak a 3 Skypephone out of the office to use for a couple of days. Jealous?
Posted in: The Word on Mobile VoIP | No Comments
Tags: 3 Skypephone, iSkoot for Skype, Phoneboy
June 4, 2008
Great news: Last night iSkoot for Skype earned the 2008 MITX Technology Award for outstanding innovation in the “Mobile” category!
The MITX Technology Awards, presented by the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange, recognize “innovative technologies developed in the New England area, as well as the individuals and organizations responsible for driving these advancements.”
The award was presented last night during a swanky dinner at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, just up the road from the original iSkoot headquarters - where it all started 3 years ago. 
A big thanks to MITX for this fantastic honor!
Posted in: awards | No Comments
Tags: MITX Awards
June 3, 2008
Robert Poe over at VoIP News did a stellar “how to” piece on our iSkoot for Skype software recently. With a step-by-step explanation of how to get going with iSkoot, Robert’s “How to Use iSkoot’s Mobile Skype Service” takes the reader by the hand through the basic iSkoot for Skype experience.
Another step forward for Operation: iSkoot Education.
Underscoring the Skype community’s eagerness to get mobile with their favorite Internet voice community, Robert explains, “Until recently…mobile users hoping to use the [Skype] service were mostly out of luck. iSkoot Inc. was among the few to recognize such users’ pain, having introduced in 2006 the beta version of a service that allows consumers to make Skype Internet calls from their mobile handsets. The client software earned Skype certification in January 2007.”
Robert’s write-up goes on to detail the 3 easy steps for “Getting Started” with iSkoot:
1) Register on our website
2) Choose to either get iSkoot delivered to your phone OR to download to your PC first
3) Install iSkoot on your phone
As he explains, “Once you’ve loaded the software, iSkoot for Skype will be one of your handset’s applications. Launching it will take you to a sign-in screen requiring your Skype name and password. You can also opt to log in to Skype automatically every time you launch iSkoot.”
Robert then dives into the good stuff - making and receiving calls with Skype. Step one: program iSkoot with your complete mobile phone number, so iSkoot can route your incoming and outgoing Skype calls to the right place.
“First, enter your mobile number in standard international format, including country code. Then scroll down to the field that says “Receive Skype calls to mobile” and click “Yes.” This setting is important because of how the calls arrive.”
Once you’ve set this up, you can easily call and receive calls from anyone on your contact list.
Robert reminds that “[a]ll iSkoot Skype calls, including SkypeOut and incoming and outgoing Skype-to-Skype calls, travel between your handset and a Skype Internet gateway via your cellular voice network.”
For those of you who haven’t tried our software yet, this set-up lets us offer you the highest quality sound for those Skype calls. Just ask our users!
Posted in: How To | No Comments
Tags: iSkoot for Skype, VoIP-News
