Spartan Daily - Serving San Jose State University since 1934

Issue date: 9/28/06 Section: News

Media Credit: Pearly Chan Phil Wolff, editor of Skype Journal, speaks about the history and the popularity of Skype during a talk in Dwight Bentel Hall on Monday. He says Skype is a household brand in every country other than the United States.

Phil Wolff, editor of independent online magazine Skype Journal, shared his expertise on the software and his opinion about the potential banning of Skype on the San Jose State University campus in a discussion on Tuesday.

The discussion was also "Skypecasted," or broadcast through Skype, for those who were unable to physically attend the discussion.

Wolff's visit was in response to a policy statement that was released two weeks ago stating that Skype, a voice-over Internet protocol, may be banned from SJSU for various reasons.

The policy was reported to be up for review some time this week.

"(The story) got global coverage," said Steve Sloan, help desk and information technology support services specialist, to the audience. "It was actually in Malaysia."

According to an e-mail written by Don Baker, interim associate vice president of university computing and telecommunications, there is nothing new to report in regards to the possible banning of Skype.

"Skype and San Jose State University agreed on a technical solution that is mutually beneficial and as a result, Skype will continue to be used on the campus network," Baker wrote in his e-mail.

"Skype is enormously popular everywhere in the world except the United States," Wolff said.

"I use Skype, basically, on an everyday basis," said Ian Koh, a senior majoring in radio, television and film.

Koh said he uses Skype to talk to his girlfriend and his family who live in Singapore.

"(It's) even better than using a cell phone," Koh said in regards to the clarity of the calls.

Koh said the ban would not affect him since he lives off-campus, but he feels bad for the people who live in Spartan Village. Koh added that another advantage of Skype is that the service is cheap.

"(The potential ban) is going to hurt (students') pockets real bad," Koh said.

According to Wolff, Skype can be used to talk to people all over the world. The software is free and using Skype to call another user is free, Wolff said.

Continued...

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