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UPDATE: Skype released a native iPhone application on Monday, March 30, 2009, eliminating the need for the third-party Fring application to make VoIP calls.  Accordingly, I’ve written updated instructions here.

My wife is traveling internationally next week and we’re not keen on paying AT&T $3.49 PER MINUTE from the country she’s visiting for every phone call. Skype, the internet telephony service, provides a way to make computer-to-computer voice chats for free or, for a relatively small charge, from computer-to-phone. Buying SkypeOut minutes (AKA Skype Credit) allows you to make these computer-to-phone calls, whether landline or mobile. Although Skype is not available directly for the iPhone, there’s a kind of backdoor solution with an app called Fring. Armed with Fring/Skype and Wi-Fi access, you should be all set.

We spent the better part of two hours searching various sites and forums before we got it to work. To save you the trouble, here’s what we did:

1. Get yourself a Skype account and install Skype on your computer. If you intend to call from your iPhone to a landline or mobile phone, you’ll also need to buy some Skype Credit. We bought a block of credit for $10. If I understand the fee structure correctly, this should give us around 480 minutes of talk time.
2. Install Fring on your iPhone. You can find it online or in the iTunes app store. Set up your user ID and password with Fring.
3. If Skype is running on your computer, close it.
4. Start Fring and “subscribe” to Skype services. You’ll need to add your Skype ID and password. Some users at the Fring discussion forums have reported long login times with Skype. Keep trying. You may have to reboot your iPhone after installing Fring before it will subscribe to Skype services.
5. You can now use Fring/Skype to voice chat with another Skype user by calling their Skype user name.
6. Set up the phone numbers for the phone contacts you want to call with Fring/Skype on your iPhone. VERY IMPORTANT! In order for Fring to use Skype to call someone’s phone, the phone number has to be configured like this: + country-code area-code number. For example, a US number might look like +12175555555. Here’s a list of international country codes.
7. You should now be able to use Fring/Skype to call another person’s phone number.

Once you get to your destination, you’ll likely want to ensure that you don’t make or receive cell network calls and accrue those $3.49 per minute charges. Remember–you’re using Fring/Skype to call over the internet, not through the cell network.  Do this:

1. Set your iPhone to Airplane Mode (Settings > Airplane Mode > On).
2. Turn Wi-Fi on. Airplane Mode turns off Wi-Fi, so you’ll need to turn this back on manually.  Fring/Skype should now work over the Wi-Fi network, thus enabling your VoIP calls.

We’ll report back after my wife’s trip on the success of this. Readers who have experience with Fring/Skype–has this worked for you?

Filed under: Computing, Lifehacks by Michael
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From an opinion piece in today’s WSJ, Daniel Henninger writes:

Barack Obama meets with a flock of nervous bankers at the White House tomorrow to reassure them he understands their interests. Good luck. There has always been tension between the Democratic Party and the private sector. That tension is over. With its vote in the House of Representatives to punish corporate bonus payments, the national Democratic Party has disconnected itself entirely from the private sector.

…The current version of the party has largely broken free of any understanding whatsoever of the private sector — how it works or what it needs to function.

…Imagine any of this generation’s Democratic establishment taking a job at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati as a middle-manager responsible for a division of employees and its annual profit and loss. It is wholly inconceivable. Or helping an owner of an auto-parts company manage through a real crisis. They wouldn’t have a clue.

More: Democrats Bid Business Adieu

Filed under: Business by Michael
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I spoke in a colleague’s class today on time management principles for college students.  Since I made a similar preso last fall and posted some resources then, I’ll just link to the original post.  Cheers.

Filed under: Education, Lifehacks, Presentations by Michael
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Good looking resume?  Check.

Good looking suit for the interview?  Check.

Polished interviewing skills?  Check.

Electronic trail showing all your stupid misdeeds and bad attitudes?

Check.

Filed under: Job Hunting by Michael
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A couple years ago I began my journey into the world of Off Camera Light.  I’ve learned a great deal from Zack Arias and David Hobby, the two heavyweights in this arena (and that’s really not a jab at their size–these guys know their stuff).  I’ve been on a steady diet of David’s Strobist blog for two-and-a-half years now and attended Zack’s OneLightWorkshop in Indianapolis almost two years ago.  If you’re looking to learn off-camera light, these are great places to begin.

In all that time, I had never owned nor used a light meter.  A light meter is a little gadget that reads ambient and/or flash light levels and tells you what shutter speed and/or aperture settings to use on your camera.  With digital cameras that have a monitor on the back, you can shoot your subject and look at the histogram to check your exposure.  If the histogram is pushed too far to the right or left, you adjust your aperture or shutter speed accordingly, take another shot, and check again (this is called “chimping“).  Repeat until the histogram looks good.

I’ve followed this approach since I got started with off-camera light and always considered a light meter an unnecessary device.  Recently, though, I picked up Austin-based photographer Kirk Tuck’s Minimalist Lighting.  Kirk’s approach in this book is very similar to that of the others: use small flashes and less expensive gear when the situation warrants.  He talks about metering a little bit in the book but not a great deal.  At any rate, Kirk started a flickr group and has made it known there that he uses a light meter almost all the time.  This intrigued me, especially since the Strobist/OneLight approach typically eschewes light meters.

I’d found over the last two years that my chimping method usually produced good exposures but sometimes I’d get the images back on the computer and find I was significantly over- or under-esposed.  Not good.  I like to get things right in the camera and not have to fix them later.  So Kirk’s continual beating of the “use a light meter” drum came at the right time and finally wore me down.  I bought a Sekonic L-358, a popular model with studio photographers.

So far I’ve had occasion to use it on two sessions in the last week: an engagement shoot and a quick portrait for a podcast series I do for my employer (http://insidelccs.com).

For the engagement shot (below), I set my flash, a Nikon SB-800 connected to a PocketWizard Plus II, on the banister behind the couple and took a meter reading where I expected them to stand. I put them into position and went outside. It was really cold so I didn’t want to mess around, running back and forth changing flash power settings, chimping, etc. I shot a frame and checked the histogram–maybe a stop less than what I wanted to see. Backlighting was the culprit, I’d guess. I bumped the ISO up a stop, took another frame, and–bam!–I was in business. Very quick workflow on site, and a small tweak to the exposure in Lightroom in post-production got the photo where I wanted it.

I made the headshot below this morning. Very simple setup: a Nikon SB-800 bounced into a reflective umbrella, subject about 8 feet in front of the wall. The flash was set on 1/4 power, I took a meter reading–good to go. A dozen frames later and we’re done.

Guess what? Meters work, and they can make your life easier!  If you haven’t used a light meter in your off-camera lighting, seriously consider it.  They can save you time and help ensure that your subject is properly exposed without having to resort to guesswork.

Filed under: Photography by Michael
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OmniGroup is making four of its Mac applications–OmniWeb, OmniDazzle, OmniObjectMeter, and OmniDiskSweeper–available for free.  I use the excellent OmniGraffle to make tasty charts and diagrams and will likely give OmniDiskSweeper a try.  Check ‘em out.

Filed under: Computing by Michael
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Atlanta-based music/commercial/corporate photographer Zack Arias produced an incredibly thoughtful reflection on photography, success, failure, and the important things in life for Scott Kelby’s blog. Sometimes we need to question our work and our contribution, and yet still keep pressing forward while sorting out what matters most. There are lessons here for anyone engaged in creative work, whether photography, the arts–even teaching.

Filed under: Photography, Teaching by Michael
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From Seth Godin today, especially relevant as we’re at the start of a new year.

Filed under: Lifehacks by Michael
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David Bergman made a 1,474 megapixel (yes, that’s 1.5 gigapixels) image of Barack Obama’s inauguration.  This remarkable photo is a panoramic composite of 220 individual photos–quite something!  Here’s the photo and here’s the story.

Filed under: Government, Photography by Michael
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This from the BAM Network:

“My basic theory was this: “Charities” raise funds and redistribute them. By nature, value is destroyed in the process. You hope a well run charity might take your $1 donation and turn it into 80 cents of giving. A for-profit company, however, creates value. An investor expects their $1 to generate income over and over again. What if you created a for-profit business, then used the resources created for ministry?”

An interesting question.  World Vision, a ministry I admire for their theological commitment and compassionate humanitarian services, began funding microbusinesses in 1993 and now helps entrepreneurs in 40 countries around the world.  Money given to the microenterprise program is distributed to small business owners as loans.  Loan receipients are given training and business coaching to help ensure the success of their businesses.  As the businesses grow, the loan repayments are pooled and used to fund further business development in the region.

For me, the main thing missing from this model is the return for the original investors.  Kiva does this and I wish World Vision did as well.  Contributions to World Vision’s efforts are helpful at tax time–and certainly helpful for the receipients of the loans–but there’s less incentive for investors since they receive no return on their investments: they are donors, not investors.

Back to the BAMN quote above–how much value in the original investment/donation to a charitable microenterprise effort gets eaten by administrative overhead?  Wouldn’t a more efficient, for-profit model be more beneficial?  Are there some organizations doing this already?

Filed under: Business, Church/Ministry by Michael
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