Hasta La Gadget!

VZW leak teases HTC Thunderbolt update: Skype Video, Android 2.3.4 coming June 30th? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Jun 2011 16:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Look out, world — Microsoft just crossed another hurdle in its bid to swallow Skype whole. Earlier today, US antitrust approval was given on Microsoft’s largest (proposed) acquisition, clearing the path for all sorts of Windows / Xbox / WP7-related VoIP shenanigans. While many are still questioning the logic here, Skype continually brought around 145 million users to the table per month even while it constantly bled money. Whatever the case, it looks as if the accountants in Redmond just got FTC permission to move $8.5b from one column to the next, and with an initial investment like that, we’re hoping for a number of updated features as the attack plan unfolds.

Microsoft gets antitrust okay for Skype purchase, readies shockingly large wire transfer originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 23:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So, you’re looking to up your video chatting game using SkypeHD, but found that little camera in the lid of your laptop can’t cut the mustard? Good news, friend, because Logitech’s latest HD webcam, the C615, is here to shoot images of your face over the internet in 720p. Like its sibling, the C910, it works with both Macs and PCs and has one-click uploads to Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Additionally, the new unit takes 8-megapixel stills and 1080p videos (software limits video chat to 720p), plus it packs a 360-degree swiveling autofocus shooter to make viewing those hard to reach places easy. It’s available now in the States for $79.99, and is making its way overseas in September. PR’s after the break.

Continue reading Logitech lets loose HD webcam C615, $80 gets you video chatting in 720p

Logitech lets loose HD webcam C615, $80 gets you video chatting in 720p originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Jun 2011 04:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Uh oh, Skype’s experiencing its second big outage in the space of just a couple of weeks, as we’re hearing reports from the UK, Netherlands, and yes, even Bulgaria, claiming the online communications service is down. Our own Skype clients are currently unable to move past the “Connecting…” status note, both on Mac OS X and Windows 7. While we’ve confirmed it in Europe, the issue seems to be affecting people all over the world. Nonetheless, Skype believes only “a small number” of us have been hampered by whatever’s ailing it, and further details should be available soon.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: Our comments indicate issues are also being encountered in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Brazil, Belarus, and Croatia, among other places. Notably, we’ve also heard reports of Skype functioning in the UK, so it’s not down universally — that supposedly small number of affected users must simply be spread out very sparsely across the globe.

Update 2: Skype is now saying that the “situation is improving,” and we have also confirmed that the service is back up in at least some places where it was down before.

Skype goes down globally again, Microsoft starts wondering if it bought wisely originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Jun 2011 07:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Skype forums are a hive of panic and abuzz with accusations that either the company is bundling crapware with its VoIP app or has a serious security problem. Users are reporting that a strange, new, and difficult to uninstall program is finding its way on to their PCs called EasyBits GO. EasyBits is the company that has powered Skype’s games channel since 2006, but at least until now its wares have not been standalone software. One moderator has declared EasyBits Go is not part of Skype and suggested customers immediately run a malware scan, but mods are volunteers and not official representatives of the company, so we’re taking it with a grain of salt. Another (later) post from a forum admin simply states that Skype is looking into the issue and will release an official statement, though we have no idea when that might actually happen and we’re awaiting reply to our own request for comment.

It appears that a rep from EasyBits Media has taken to the forums to quell some of the outrage, but to no avail. Posts from the team are painfully vague, saying that it was part of an update to the gaming platform and apologizing for the misunderstanding, before linking directly to an .exe that it claims will remove the offending software. To say that forum users are wary of the executable would be an understatement (most responses have involved torrents of profanity). Reports are that the suspicious app is installing itself without any approval from users, but we can’t confirm this since any attempts to install in our lab of doom resulted only in errors while downloading. For now, we’ll just have to wait for word from Skype, and the company better move quick — the pain of the recent outage is still fresh in many customers’ minds.

Update: Skype has officially confirmed that EasyBits GO was erroneously added to its installer, and says that the buggy update has been disabled for now. Strangely, the official blog suggests that disabling the software is a temporary measure, and that it might reappear soon, as Skype will “work with them to correct the problems and user experience” that led to user qualms.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Skype taken to task by angry users over claimed crapware payload (update: disabled for now) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 May 2011 19:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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