Technology: Skype - the Next Big Thing

If Napster was bad, this is worse. Tune in, turn on, and drop out of the phone system. Even the VCs are hyping Skype to me. They know a disruptive technology when they see one.

The Skype is Calling
Fresh from upending the music industry, the duo behind file-sharing phenom Kazaa turn their attention to telecommunications.
MIT Technology Review By Eric Hellweg
November 19, 2003

Do you Skype? If Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom have their way, soon millions of people around the world will not only understand that inquiry but answer in the affirmative. The Swedish duo, who became (in)famous as two of the original programmers behind the peer-to-peer file sharing program Kazaa, are currently at work preparing the world for the first official, non-beta release of their new baby: an application that uses peer-to-peer technology to allow users to make phone calls over the Internet for free. They call it Skype, a nonsensical word they chose for its simplicity and catchiness.