Skype to offer Intel-only features, but why?
Voice-over-IP is promising in no small part because it's an Internet phenomenon. Using the global network to route calls is a powerful way to improve telecommunications reach while reducing overall cost. Since it is built upon the IP protocol, VoIP could become a lot like e-mail: standardized, cross-platform, and easy to use. And as we showed with our guide to customizing Asterix, VoIP allows for some pretty powerful customizations, too.
Yet some are worried that, like so many other promising markets, the VoIP territory could end up with a handful of fiefdoms and incompatible features. Those fears are likely going to be amplified by a new and interesting collaboration between Skype and Intel. The two companies today announced that they are partnering to optimize Skype for Intel's dual-core processor-based CPUs, and they have announced the first fruits of this cooperation. Meet 10-way calling. Skype 2.0 now supports free, ten-way voice conference calling, but there's a catch. To use it, you'll need a laptop with the Centrino Duo mobile technology package, or a PC using a Pentium D, Pentium Extreme Edition processor, and/or the Viiv platform. AMD users, PowerPC Mac users, and anyone with a PC older than a few months need not apply. You don't have that many friends anyway.
