andyabramson.com

Bye Bye SkypeKit…What’s Next

Today users of Invoxia were notified that SkypeKit is no more. While a few months ago rumors were that SkypeKit enabled devices would keep working, I was telling others that I wouldn't count on anything that was hardware related that worked with Skype to expect it to keep working. Invoxia's revelation pretty much shows the … Read more

Are Skype’s Days Numbered?

Every day I see Yet Another WebRTC based service come to life. Today its "ROOM" which has a very simple beta list signup going on where if you tweet their existence you get immediate access to the beta. Services like Slack, Hall, HipChat, Vobi and many others are offering what I'm calling Skype Takeaway Service (STS) often for free, often even richer in experience … Read more

France: More Reasons for Uber and SnapCar

There’s another reason for Uber in France and the French government needs to pay attention. It’s customer service with taxi drivers. Just like in San Francisco where Uber was born there’s a pattern of behavior that exists with taxi drivers that causes great frustration with the regular traveler. It’s called being declined a ride because … Read more

Wowed and Impressed-Alcyone, Intercontinental Marseille

I have to admit that hotel dining can be either hit or miss. Happily the experience at both Les Fenetres and Alcyone in the beautiful Hotel Intercontinental Marseille exceeded on every count. For starters a Monday lunch on the patio at Les Fenetres with the sun overhead, the Vieux Port before us and amazing cooking coming from … Read more

Why The Uber Economy Works

Last week I used Uber X and Uber all over the Bay Area. Using Uber X my costs for a nice car, usually a Toyota Prius or something a bit larger was under $15.00 and often closer to $12.00 for rides to lunch, dinner or to get from a meeting on Treasure Island to my … Read more