Looking to chat to a bunch of mates around the world, simultaneously, for free?
Skype have announced that the latest version of their free VoIP software can now support up to 10 people in a conference call. There are, however, some catches.
The bad news is that this function will only work if you have a dual-core Intel processor: a
Pentium D or a Core Duo. It seems the Boys in Blue wanted to put one over the Guys in Green and have done a deal for a period of exclusivity on the new functionality. If you run an single or dual-core AMD Athlon 64, or any other single-core processor, you will be limited to five simultaneous users.
Henry Gomez, general manager of Skype North America, said the 10-way calling feature will be exclusive to Intel's chips for a limited time, but would not comment on when this exclusive agreement would expire, therefore allowing Intel's rivals to catch up.
One question on our minds is this: will Skype for Mac OS X support 10-way on the new
Core Duo MacBook Pro? At the time of reporting, nobody appears to know.
Have Skype shot themselves in the foot with this deal, or is it all fuss over nothing - how often would you need to conference call with more than five people anyway? Let your feelings be known in our
News Discussion forum.
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