In today’s hustle and bustle, it is not uncommon to have your hands so full that you hardly have time to sit down at your computer and get things done. This is where having some practical apps installed on your smartphone comes in handy, as you can accomplish a lot…

While Skype Translator was announced last year, Skype is now accepting Skype Translator registration signups. The first roll-out of the Skype voice translation tool will be Skype Translator for Windows, with Skype Translator for Mac to follow. (For a Skype Translator demo, see below.)

Is your Macbook built-in iSight camera not working with Skype video chat? If you follow these simple steps, your Mac camera should work again with Skype video chat.

Skype has found themselves in a privacy PR nightmare as reports are slowly coming out that the online voice and video chat company may be cooperating with governing authorities to make private conversations more accessible. As those with privacy concerns fear that yet another communications company is selling out user privacy, Skype is quick to deny that anything is changing. They do acknowledge that they have made technical upgrades to the Skype systems, but are quick to assert that these upgrades have nothing to do with helping police spy on those who are possibly using Skype to discuss illegal activity.

Facebook announced today that it has integrated Skype into the Facebook framework, to allow users to make video calls right from Facebook. The announcement took place days after Google soft-launched the new Google social network, Google+, which also includes a video chat feature in the form of G+ Hangouts.

According to government officials and insiders, the Federal government is seeking broad authority and discretion to monitor all Internet communications, including communications on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, instant messaging systems, and even (or hey, perhaps especially) encrypted emails.

There are several reports that Facebook and Skype are about to enter into digital matrimony or, at very least, are becoming friends with benefits. According to the reports, while rumours that Facebook and Skype may merge are not true, it is true that a partnership is apparently in the offing, and that Facebook users are going to be able to talk to each other over Facebook, using technology that is, under the hood, decidedly Skypeish.

In a much-hoped for move, Skype and Skype Out now work with 3G, at least on the iPhone and iPad. The bad news is that Skype-to-Skype calls on 3G will cost you money (after a free period that lasts through at least August, and maybe through the end of the year).

Users eager to test whether Skype would work over the AT and T 3G network on their 3G iPads came up disappointed, and empty-handed. “You need wifi to call over Skype” reads the message displayed to those who try to use Skype with the 3G network on their iPads. “Skype calls over 3G networks are currently not allowed due to contractual restrictions.”

If you’ve always wished that your cell phone could be used as a Skype wifi phone, well, your wish for a Skype phone just came true – at least if your phone is a Nokia phone running the Symbian operating system. Now instead of having to have two phones (both a Skype wireless phone and a cell phone) in order to effectively use a Skype internet phone plus have cell service, you can have it all on one phone – your regular cellular service plus free Skype to Skype calling, free Skype text messaging, and all the other Skype goodies. Unlike those Skype cordless VoIP phones, Skype for your Nokia mobile phone works both on wifi and on your 3G network, turning your cell phone into a wireless Skype phone wherever you are! And, your nifty new Skype mobile wireless phone works for global Skype to Skype calls, too! Remember – this isn’t cellular provider dependent – “Will Skype work on a Nextel cell phone,” or “Will Skype work on a Verizon or AT and T cell phone” is no longer the question to ask (although there is also a Verizon-specific Skype available) – all you need to ask yourself is “Is there a Skype application for my brand of cell phone,” and if your phone is one of the Nokia phones with which this Skype for Nokia works, the answer is “Yes,” regardless of who your cell phone provider is!

Canadian activist group Citizen Lab, with the help of an article in the New York Times, has blown the lid off the newest Chinese censorship scandal: the government of China is eavesdropping on, and in some cases intercepting, text messages sent via the Skype network.