Science Addiction

A dormant blog by Devanshu Mehta

Disruption Alert: Skype for iPhone

Far from being a regular software announcement, this feels like a watershed moment.

A tipster — a very reliable one — tells me that Skype is almost ready to launch that iPhone version, perhaps as soon as next week. CTIA Wireless, a large mobile industry trade event, kicks off in Las Vegas next Wednesday, so perhaps the announcement will be made there. I am working on getting more details, as well as screenshots of the service.

[via Om Malik]

skype.jpg When millions of people have handheld devices that can be publicized for use as VOIP phones, bypassing the traditional gatekeepers (and replacing them with a new one), it feels like we’ve crossed a significant threshold. There already is a Windows Mobile version, but that doesn’t get quite the press and mindshare as an iPhone app does.

How Do You Say “Irony” in Chinese?

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman recently said at a news conference:

“Many people have a false impression that the Chinese government fears the Internet. In fact, it is just the opposite.”

The news conference was in response to the Chinese government banned all of YouTube, in response to a single video of Tibetans being beaten. [via Arthur Bright at the Citizen Media Law Project]

Road to Recovery: The 48-State Solution

rrtr.png

[From FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right: The Real Republican Road to Recovery]