Google offer users free “voice calls” through Gmail

Google is taking on internet telephone companies like Skype by allowing users to call from its free web-based email service, BBC News has revealed.

The service allows users to make calls to landlines and mobiles from inside their Gmail account.

Phoning anywhere in the US and Canada will be free until the end of the year, while calls to the UK, France, China and Germany will cost 2 cents a minute. Until now Google offered computer-to-computer voice and video chat services.

“This is a real big deal because now hundreds of millions of Gmail users can make phone calls right from their Gmail page,” Craig Walker, product manager for real-time communications told BBC News.

“They don’t need to download an additional application or anything to start making really high-quality low-cost calls. For the user it means much more efficient and low-cost communications.”

The product link will appear on the left hand of the Gmail page within the “chat” window. A “call phone” option will pop up along with a number pad to let you dial the number of the person you want to talk to.

Google said money raised from international calls will pay for the free US and Canadian calls.

“What surprised me was that they actually said they hope to make money off the calls,” said Danny Sullivan, editor-in-chief of technology blog SearchEngineLand.

“Normally Google is like ‘We don’t know how we are going to make the money’ or ‘We will make money down the way, don’t worry about it’ and this stands out as a big benefit that they get actual revenue early on.”

Skype, which is the most successful internet phone offering, claims to have over 560 million registered users. The firm said 124 million used the service at least one a month while 8.1 million were paying customers.

The company is planning to offer shares to the public later this year. Observers said that it is too early to say whether companies like Skype should be worried.

Google hopes to roll the product out to users around the world soon

“Skype is a well known company in this place and they are almost like a verb in the internet calling world in the way Google is with search. You Skype someone. So I think there is some inertia there to get over and I am interested to see how Gmail users respond,” said Tom Krazit, senior writer with technology news site CNET.com.

“But you always have to worry when Google comes after what you do. They don’t do things half way and bring a lot of resources to any problem they try to tackle. It doesn’t mean you are doomed.

“Google’s product won’t work on your mobile browser so Skype has an advantage there but I don’t think it is a stretch to assume Google will come out with a mobile version pretty soon,” said Mr Krazit.

The company plans an eye catching way to get non-Gmail users to give the product a go. It is in negotiations with a number of university campuses and airports to install red telephone boxes around the country to give users the chance to dial and try.

Massive Changes to Ubuntu 10.10 Installer

The Ubuntu Installer receives a massive overhaul for the 10.10 ‘Maverick Meerkat’ release, since the installer is the first impression most users will receive from Ubuntu there has been a great deal polishing and refining.

To see all the changes and read more, please click here.

Ubuntu One Technical Aspects with Herald Sitter

Herald goes into some detail on the Ubuntu One implementation in Kubuntu.

He covers how it does authentication, how the libraries work as well as the user interfaces. It’s certainly educational if you’re interested in how the Ubuntu One client works. Herald also calls for help for more contributors on the Kubuntu Ubuntu One client.

To read Herald’s excellent post, click here.

Introducing 11:04 the Natty Narwhal!

Mark Shuttleworth announced the code name for Ubuntu 11.04.

Oh yes, it’s that time of year again, when numerate pollsters make nasal proclamations about the naming of the next next version of Ubuntu.

When gazers of balls crystal provide nifty suggestions for new new features and, of course, suitable nomenclature to match.

And so, we come swiftly to a conclusion: allow me to introduce the Natty Narwhal, our mascot for development work that we expect to deliver as Ubuntu 11.04.

To read more about Natty Narwhal and what Mark had to say about the thought process behind the name, go to http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/478

So, who’s up for making Maverick Movies?

Mark Shuttleworth has put together https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MaverickMovies as a starting place to aggregate content. If you update the page, Mark will get to see it.

If you want to find out more about the project, then check out Mark Shuttleworth’s blog.

Ubuntu = Community

Canonical developer Dave Walker investigates the importance of governance in a community as rich and diverse as Ubuntu’s.

Ubuntu and community have largely become two words that are known to work well together. The Ubuntu community comprises a large group of individuals from many backgrounds, not just the stereotypical bearded geek. With such a vast and diverse group of people, there has to be some form of governance. While this largely meritocracy-based control, where individuals are empowered based on their proven contributions, isn’t there to dictate what community members should be doing, it is there to try to organise what individuals would like to offer and how best they can go about that. It is also a support mechanism and network for all Ubuntu enthusiasts.

To read more of Dave’s very interesting article, click here.



LINUX FORMAT get “Annoyed by OpenSUSE’s forums”

Recently, I have subscribed to Linux Format magazine, after many, many months of borrowing it from my work colleague.

I have always found it to be a very intuitive and well rounded Linux publication, with articles and features aimed at Linux users of all levels (hence my subscription). Personally I believe Linux Format to be advised reading for any Linux enthusiast whether it be via the net or in print.

So I was quite interested to read the post on the Linux Format site from “Hudzilla” (Linux Fomrat Editor, Paul Hudson), which was generally in response to negative comments about the magazine on the openSUSE forum.

I couldn’t help feel that the openSUSE community were a little bit “spiteful” to Linux Format, for reasons unclear (although I’m interested to find out more). I also think that Paul Hudson provides a very “adult” response to arguments posed, despite his initial comments being deleted by the openSUSE forum as “spam”!

See what you think by reading the original post. Quite interesting I think.

What would you change about Linux? The Tux Radar ballot.

Tux Radar are gearing up to record a new episode of their great Linux podcast, and you – yes, you! – get to have a say. The question they’re asking is this: if you had the resources, what single thing would you change? Would you merge KDE and Gnome? Would you introduce a new package manager? (eek!) Would you find all mentions of “Linux” and replace it with GNU/Linux?

If you’d like your views read out on the Tux Radar podcast, please click here for details.