Leading VoIP software provider – Skype has recently decided to expand its dominant position with Skypecasts, a free audio conferencing service that allows up to 100 participants to join simultaneously.
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Source: Reuters |
Currently, users primarily utilize Skype for two-way conversations, although the software can support conferences with up to 10 connections at once. However, with the new service, the number of connections will expand tenfold.
To ensure that the conference runs smoothly, Skypecasts requires you to designate a “Host” to lead and manage the meeting. This Host will control who can speak and who can listen, preventing interruptions during discussions.
Saul Klein, Skype’s Vice President of Global Marketing, stated that the Skypecasts service is still in its “early” and experimental phase, and it will continue to be upgraded and refined in the future.
Users can also find Skypecasts on Skype’s website, where all conferences are publicly listed.
Skype describes Skypecasts as a new way for people to discuss shared interests and concerns. To date, Six Apart, the parent company of networking and blogging services TypePad, Movable Type, and LiveJournal, plans to promote Skypecast within its virtual forums.
Additionally, Skype has released a new trial version of Skype, allowing users to send SMS messages to mobile phones at low rates.
Other new features include: Direct calling from Skype to contacts in Microsoft Outlook; sharing contact groups with friends; and paying for services like calls to landlines without needing to close the application. In previous versions of Skype, users had to visit the Skype site to make payments.
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