Skype to sell phone kits at RadioShack
It looks like eBay is taking Sykpe to the next level, signing a deal with RadioShack to sell kits for its web based phone service.
Skype Technologies, which counts 66 million users of its free- and low-cost Web-based telephone services, mainly in Europe and Asia, said on Sunday that it would distribute Skype phone gear through 3,500 RadioShack stores.
The move into the retail market promises to raise Skype’s profile with American broadband users, who have begun to switch from traditional phone systems and use alternatives that rely on Internet connections.
Skype is able to get past most firewalls, so even if you’re connected through VPN, you can use your Skype phone/account with no problems. This is true for example at McMaster University, where most of the campus is wireless and you connect through VPN.
A couple months ago I read an article in Technology Review about one of the early fathers of F-Secure — he forecasted that the next huge virus craze will be through Skype. This makes sense, half the battle is already won by getting through the firewall.
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