Archive for: August, 2008

Holiday season but things are cooking

Due to the summer holiday season the blog has been a bit quiet, but don’t be fooled. We are working hard on major projects that will launch after the holiday season is over.

First of all we are currently finalizing a major PamFax overhaul. This is neccessary due to the many changes and new features added since lauch in August 2007. Those areas that were not yet using our latest platform architecture have been ported to that. The result is more flexibility for future enhancements and a slight increase in performance on the user side as well as improves server utilization.

Most importantly though we have sort of silently launched the new PamFax credit packs and the Pro Plan. These are available via the new store at www.pamfax.biz/shop. The packs provide you with a significant discount and the Pro Plan also makes faxing really attractive. The Pay As You Go  prices have been lowered as we were able to negotiate better rates due to the increased volume. Keep faxing and we’ll try to keep pushing the prices down!

With the mentioned platform update we will also make available a new function for business users called the PamFax Business Control Panel. Very similar to the BCP you have at Skype, our BCP allows you to create a group and add Skypenames to the group to provide them with PamFax credit. We also provide the owner of the group with a set of tools to control the account, auto top up users, add/remove users and a lot more. This is a great function for companies using Skype with PamFax. And the good news, using the PamFax BCP is totally free!

We are working on a new Pamela for Skype release (4.5) which has two main new functions. One is a call scheduler which allows you to schedule Skype calls and Pamela will remind you of them automatically. Never miss a call anymore! The other function is automatic conference call manager. Ever needed to join or initiate a conference call and either the time zone or other commitments did not allow you to be at the PC? Well, now Pamela will help you with that. So, stay tuned for more news as the release date comes closer (yes, I wrote a post few months ago saying the same but we want to make sure the new release is as solid as possible).

Our Pamela Call Recorder product already has an update made public. Version 4.5 can be downloaded for free from www.pamcorder.com. Pamela Call Recorder is available in Skype under the tools menu and then Do More (just like PamFax). We’re going to release a minor update shortly with an automatic version check module facilitate an auto-update function. This is important as we want to inform people when there are new releases.

We at PamConsult wish everyone a relaxing holiday season and you will hear from us again shortly.

Happy Birthday, PamFax

PamFax turns 1!
Last year, on the 8th of August 2007, we released PamFax to the public. The first faxes were sent only a few minutes after we released PamFax.
This has been an exciting year: So many faxes have been sent via PamFax, so many new users joined the PamFax user-group, we have added so many features (like integration in salesforce.com, facebook, …).
We are looking forward to many more successful years with many more happy customers and more successful faxes.

Thanks to all users for using PamFax as their faxing solution and stay tuned for more exciting news around PamFax in the future!

Upcoming mcePhone brings Skype Video calls and chat to your TV

We are proud to announce the new version of mcePhone for Skype, which brings Skype to your TV using Microsoft Media Center (2005 or Vista). This next version 2.2 will have integrated Skype Video calls and Skype chat support.

This is a screencam of the complete overhauled version with new UI:

Unfortunately, Skype was unable to add an API to Skype in the past 3 years to give us access to the video of Skype calls directly, although we have asked and pushed hard for so long. As Skype video calls on TV was the most requested feature of mcePhone, we have invested a vast amount of time to make this possible even without any change from Skype’s side. With this new version, you will get fullscreen Skype video of the person you are calling on your TV and even see your video in the lower left corner (see ~1:30 in the video above).

Another very nice new feature is Skype chat integration: While you can still see the current media playing in the lower left corner of your TV (i.e. while the commercials are playing), you can chat with your friends and family. You even get a notification overlayed over your current media (TV, DVD, …) if a chat message comes in. With one click, you are in the chat conversation to answer the incoming chat message (see ~3:30 in the video).

We plan to make a beta of this new version available very soon to you. Be prepared to get a totally new feeling of Skype in your living room

Let us know what you think.