beta @ amanzi

Skype recently released their latest beta version to interested testers. This release brings a few exciting features as well as interface improvements that makes the Skype window a lot cleaner and easier to use.

Interface

The main window hasn’t changed too much so you will still see the familiar interface, but the tabs have been cleaned up and are now much tidier. The big toolbar buttons have now been removed and the functionality included into the relevant tabs. Contact cards have been added so that when a contact is selected in the main window, you are provided with a neat card that includes the contact’s profile details as well as actions that are associated with that contact.

Live

The Live tab gives you access to the main, new feature in version 3 – SkypeCasts. Skype describes SkypeCast as: “… large, hosted calls on Skype” which doesn’t really give the service justice. Anybody can host a SkypeCast and your SkypeCast can be made public in the directory. Typical uses of a SkypeCast could be to start up a “talk radio” station where you can get callers to dial-in and talk about whatever topics you choose. Or you could use it as a large, public conference call. I dialed into a couple of SkypeCasts and although I didn’t find anything of interest, I could definitely see the potential. It’s worth checking out for yourself.

Extras

Another new addition is the ‘Extras’ section which is an interface that developers can use to extend on the Skype interface with plugins. Skype have provided a couple of games which can be played with other Skype users, but only if they are also running the latest beta version. This is not really big news for any user that has used an IM application from MSN or Yahoo, or others. But this is interesting anyway, and I look forward to seeing some useful plugins coming from the Skype developer network.

Browser Integration

Although this isn’t a new feature, there have been plugins available for a while now, Skype are now including browser integration plugins into the application installer. This means that during the installation you are asked if you would like to install plugins that convert phone numbers in web pages to links which activate Skype automatically so that you can dial numbers directly from the web. This last screenshot shows how Google’s contact details appear once the plugin is active.

Conclusion

Overall, this new release is a huge improvement over the current 2.5 version, if just for the cleaner interface. The SkypeCasts features could herald a new wave of talk-radio shows, and we’ll have to wait to see what the developers have in store for us with the Extras plugins. Let us know in the comments what you think…