A cold, verkoudheid , förkylning, Erkältung and avatars

Avatars in Skype are popular. They show the user in real, a persiflage or are an addition to the mood message.

With bad weather you see avatars with rain, snow, storm.
During a period of too much rain in Holland, I saw avatars with boots in over flown streets.
Users who are out to their favourite sports event, put up avatars wit their favourite player.
Some of my favourite avatars are those of Antoine: he has them of all sorts of Ants (his nickname)
Birthday bunnies show party-avatars.

Skype designed special avatars called WeeMee’s.
I love to browse Google Images for matching pictures and there are loads.
I was also looking for a “Sneezy” avatar because I have a bad cold.

I should not mention my cold in public because it will spoil my cold free reputation.
I managed to maintain this reputation for 10 years and I was so proud of that.
I hardly wear coats, love cold weather, don’t mind rain and considered myself immune for viruses and bacteria’s

But, it happened. Here I am; sneezing and sniffing. Tears are running down my cheeks and tissues are at hand in all sorts and sizes. I still can speak, still have a voice but only with a low tone. With higher tones you hear a mouse-like squeak. I sound more like a man (amazingly none of my callers asked if Ike was around….)

I don’t have a flu (wouldn’t have the time for one either), just an ordinary, healthy cold.
Of course there are many pictures of sneezing and coughing people but non even looked like me.

Yesterday evening I asked in a Beta chat if someone could design a sneezing Emoticon for me.
This seemed to be an impossible task because Emo’s don’t have a nose and therefore probably never have a cold.
But, they can get the flu so my wonderful Skype SuperUser and Moderator colleague Carola Clavo designed my own private Emo with a thermometer in it’s mouth (and Carola is an excellent designer!!).
Private means private so I am not going to share my Emo with you …. ;-)

But as a lovely bonus, she also designed an avatar! She used the standard Skype avater and coloured its forehead slightly red (the fever) and put a thermometer in its mouth.
It is a great avater and it will stay in my Skype profile for as long as I have this cold.

No, I am not ill, not in bed. Just working like I always do. Thus is my avatar visible to everybody in my contact list.
And for those without authorization? No, I am not going to change my blog rule “No pictures”….. sorry….

Skype Service Restricted in China

It are not just the UAE and Israel (see elsewhere on my blog), also China has put a hold on Skype’s services in some area’s.

Skype quickly became popular in China with over 23 million users currently online. However its Chinese partner has stated that the service is now restricted in some areas.

Skype's popularity quickly grew despite formally entering the Chinese market only two years ago when a joint venture with Chinese internet service provider TOM.com was created.

The enterprise must comply with China's tight censorship policies and right now is unable to provide its "call to landline" service, because of China's monopoly on Telecom service providers.

Mr. Tu, a TOM manager, believes that use of Skype will continue to increase in China and become an important revenue generator. "In the past year, our development has been very smooth; the increase has been fast, especially in the past several seasons. Honestly, the increase in use is beyond our expectations."

TOM spokesperson Mr. Wei denied that the reduced functionality of the service would result in a loss of customers. "We are not worried, the current customer profile is quite good, and having many Skype users around the world also helps to attract domestic users."

Currently, Skype claims to have 100 million customers globally, with the number of customers in China showing the largest increase. Wei said that in China, 100,000 people register for Skype service through TOM every day. It is estimated that in the near future, China could be the major user of Skype services.

TOM.com is a listed company in the U.S. and Hong Kong. The company's recent financial report shows that, although its Skype-related business had a large increase, all its other internet business ventures have decreased over the past several months.

Source: “The Epoch Times”
The original article in Chinese

Mobile, another useful ‘machine’….

Laptops, sound devices and mobiles, the Heart of Varras Consultancy.
And I am always on the look for something innovating and useful like the global launch of X-Series from 3. The X-Series is a service that enables broadband Internet use from mobile devices. Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. will install Skype software on Nokia and Sony Ericsson telephones.

The X Series launch has an Israeli aspect. The Skype solution that will enable Hutchison to offer customers Skype calls is from iSkoot Inc., a company founded and run by Israelis, which has a 35-man R&D center in Beit Shemesh. iSkoot’s software enables people to use Skype via their handsets from any location. Skype selected iSkoot’s solution, and Hutchison is the first mobile operator offering the new service to its users.

3 is a Hutchison division, and together with Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd. (NYSE:HTX; HKSE:2332), has licenses to provide communications services to 175 million people. In the past three years, 3 has developed a new mobile broadband network for 3G services.

Published by Globes: “Israeli solution allows Hutchison to launch cellular Skype”

Batwoman… or a monkey?

No, no, I don’t have the intention to fly around rescuing people in distress, dressed like the female equivalent of Batman.

I was more thinking about the Bat as an animal. I am very fond of these little creatures. We have quite a few of them in my village. They live in the old vicarage and come out during the evening.

My view from my little backyard is fields and of course Friesian cows. There is a ditch in between the field and my garden and this combination attracts mosquitos. And they attract Bats. And they attract me.
I like to view them on their hunt for food. They come quite close to catch the insects and seem not be bother by my presence.

During the Summer in Sweden, being in the Lake with my ears just above the surface, I can hear the sound they make to locate the insects.

Right now it is too cold for the Bats although you can still see them occasionally on a warmer evening.
But over the weekend, I have been acting like a Bat. No… I don’t eat insects (and they don’t eat me). Let me explain.
I have spent most of the weekend insulating the last part of my top floor and this is a slope roof all the way to the floorboards.
I am gluing the insulation tiles and need to hold them in place for a few minutes before I can move on to the next one. The best way to do this is pushing them against the roof lying on your back, using hands and feet.
A 'serious' business and with nothing on my mind for a few minutes, I suddenly pictured myself and thought I must look like a Bat hanging upside down. Waiting for the twilight to go out hunting, my wings nicely folded around my body, my toenails holding on to the roof.

Or did I look more like a Monkey? Or just a hardworking woman…. or maybe someone in the middle of the evolution process?

Anyway, the transformation of my top floor into a bedroom is progressing nicely and steadily. The first beams will be painted tonight and the side boards for the storage area need to be ready at the end of the week.

Anyone reading this feeling bored, ready for a building job? Volunteers welcome…

Adapters for landlines and Skype

Most of my blog visitors know that apart from being a distributor for TipTel Holland, I am also more or less addicted to their products. The software for Holland is especially developed for our telephone systems and their Support is fantastic.

When the TipTel Cyberbox250 arrived on the market (February 2006), they sent me one for free and I am more then happy with it. It is very functional and switches seamless between my landline and Skype calls.
I can also call my Skype contacts from any landline or mobile phone by calling my home number, dialling a code number which connects me to Skype and then dialling the speed dial of my contact.
Of course Skype needs to be running on my computer.
The Tiptel Cyberbox costs € 50 ex VAT and P&P. For a complete overview of all TipTel's VoIp products, click here

TipTel was one of the very first with this box but not the only one anymore. This morning I received an e-mail with a link to similar products: the Intenet Adapter SIPTalk, the TeleVoIP stick and the PointVoce (only US and Canada). I like to highlight the PointVoce.

PontiVoce is the new TeleVoce software-only product that is the start of a platform that creates new utility for Skype users. This first version sets up a mini-app that uses a Skype API to allow remote callers--who you select, to make calls through your PC. This is of particular interest with the current free calling promotion, but it will become much more.

Right now this is very useful to extend call options beyond a simple call forward. From anywhere in the world I can use your Skype to call you or family members at work, home or cell. This sets a new relationship with PontiVoce buddies who have special rights to contact you. You can appear to be away and not available to others on Skype, but those with PontiVoce can still reach you at any phone.

For more info visit “Televoce”

The Skype User Satisfaction Survey

A while ago there was this post on the Forum:

“A group of students and myself from the University of South Florida are conducting a simple survey on Skype user satisfaction.

It consists of a short automated Skype call, followed by a brief questionnaire. The entire process should take less than three minutes.

If you would like to help us with our research please visit: http://skype.cse.usf.edu/

We appreciate your participation, and feel free to suggest the survey to any friends or family that use Skype.

Regards,

Rodrigo Gutierrez”

Indeed a simple survey but done in a very clever way! You need to have Skype downloaded on your computer and when you click the link, you get connected to a voice that asks you to leave a short message. After 20 seconds, a chat message pops with the instructions for the short survey.

I am impressed; they made use of Skype in an intelligent way. Please visit the link and join the survey. It is worthwhile.

How Human is Polystyrene?

Like a human being, Polystyrene has a character of it’s own. Not something to mess about with.

It is present in bulk form, so are people.

It even has backbones but each of the 'chiral' backbone carbons lies at the center of a 'tetrahedron' - Mmmm, sounds more like a Dinosaur though.

It is tough - like some humans. “Pure polystyrene is brittle, but hard”

Expanded polystyrene is very easily shaped and cut - Ah, wished this with some stubborn people I know…

It plays a critical role in pharmaceutical research - So do people.

In the United States, environmental protection regulations prohibit the use of solvents on polystyrene - Doesn’t have the US environmental protection regulation for human polluters too? The fees are high!

Do we have more in common with Polystyrene then we thought we would have??

Here some real facts about Polystyrene, it changed my view on those “white plaques” that are insolating my little house…