Google had reportedly nixed their desktop Skype killer in favor of a browser-based version. Now, a petition has started for Google to release the desktop client.
Backstory: Google purchased VoIP provider Gizmo5 last year in a move which seemed to indicate that they were going to merge their Google Voice and Google Talk clients to make a Skype-like service that would be able to call traditional phone numbers.
his is odd. Skype, which has offered an iPhone application for quite a while and recently released a version that gives users the ability to make calls over 3G, has vanished from the App Store. This is especially strange because Skype was recently featured on stage during the debut of iPhone’s OS 4.0, which will allow for the application to run in the background. Read the rest of this entry »
The FBI told the Federal Communications Commission that no matter how the battle for authority over Internet access ends up, the agency should not change law enforcement’s ability to wiretap.
In comments due Thursday to the FCC on a proposal to move broadband access services into the same category as phone services, the FBI said the FCC should not strip away law enforcement authorities’ access to communications networks.
“The rationale is as valid today as it was in 2006 – the need for clear authority to investigate and, if necessary, penalize non-compliant carriers and equipment manufacturers continues to exist, and the Commission’s expertise and experience regarding CALEA continue to make it well-suited to investigate and resolve compliance matters,” wrote Elaine Lammert, deputy general counsel of the FBI. “This established principle should not be disturbed by the Commission’s present efforts to establish a framework for broadband Internet services.”