Rounding out its ubiquity push, in 2010 Skype announced deep integration of Skype software into the IP-connected TVs from Panasonic, Samsung and Sony.

On May 22, 2006, StreamCast Networks filed a lawsuit against eBay in hopes of stopping the distribution of its Skype software.

Fring was "using Skype software in a way it wasn't designed to be used," Miller insists.

Skype has implemented the VP8 codec into the Skype 5.0 software.

Some devices are made to work with Skype by talking to a desktop Skype client or by embedding Skype software into the device.

Right now there are not a lot more choices, other than taking along your laptop and using the standard Skype software that runs on Windows or Mac OS.

To make free calls to other PC's, users simply download the Skype software from the Web site; the PC receiving the Skype call also has to be connected to the Skype network.

With SkypeOut, introduced last year and now having more than two million users, PC's with the Skype software are able to call conventional phones.

In 2005, Skype invited a researcher, Tom Berson, to assess the security of the Skype software, and his conclusions are available in a published report.

Since the Skype software is installed without user consent, it is treated no differently than a virus or deliberate malware.