You’ve probably all realised by now that something is up at Skype. Since 2pm GMT on Thursday there have been numerous reports of Skype users inability to login to the VOIP system and Skype posted the following message on their heartbeat blog

Some of you may be having problems logging into Skype. Our engineering team has determined that it’s a software issue. We expect this to be resolved within 12 to 24 hours. Meanwhile, you can simply leave your Skype client running and as soon as the issue is resolved, you will be logged in. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Needless to say, the doomsayers are out in force blaming the outage on amongst other things, Russian hackers, Homeland Security and the limitations of p2p. The truth will out as they say, but for now I’m sticking with Skype’s official line

The Skype system has not crashed or been victim of a cyber attack. We love our customers too much to let that happen. This problem occurred because of a deficiency in an algorithm within Skype networking software. This controls the interaction between the user’s own Skype client and the rest of the Skype network.

Unfortunately whatever the reason for the outage, it will obviously reflect badly on Skype (and eBay?). By producing such a popular product Skype have opened themselves up to be shot down at the slightest hint of a problem, and a 24 hour plus outage is more than a hint. I feel for the guys at Skype they’ve come up with a great product that has enabled people to come closer together (for free!) and has indeed made the world a smaller place. I’m not sure how this will affect Skype in the future, I know their icon will still be displayed in my system tray, but then I’m happy to accept the rough with the smooth. People who rely on Skype as part of their business may see it differently.

By the way for those people out there who are whinging about how this is damaging their business, and they do exist - here and here - I have a couple of phrases for you, ‘Risk Management’ and ‘Contingency Plan’, phrases which are quite obviously lacking in your business plans.

Skype, I look forward to seeing you back online soon. Good luck guys.

The new N800 from Nokia has 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 connections, integrated Web camera and not last Wi-Fi VoIP capabilities thanks to Skype. It also has 128MB RAM built in and 256MB Flash storage plus the expandable MiniSD card memory. This is Nokia’s vision of the Internet Tablet line, the concept being called “multimedia computer”. The display has a 800 x 480 and 65,536 colors and it’s touch-sensitive, this greatly diminishes dimensions and it makes it easier to use.

But the really interesting fact is that N800 can use Skype software to make calls over the Internet in areas with Wi-Fi coverage. Eric Lagier, Skype director declared:

“Working with the leading mobile-handset manufacturer puts us in a unique position to get Skype to the mobile masses. With the introduction of the Nokia N800, we are positioning Skype as the centerpiece of Internet conversations on this Wi-Fi-centric device. The Nokia N800 is an excellent platform for taking Skype conversations beyond the PC.”

And it really is interesting given the fact that you’ll get all the mobile internet you’ll ever need for only 399 EUR in Europe. For now N800 is commercially available in the US only but it will come in Europe in the first half of 2007.