Python Magazine on Skype4Py

In December 2007 I wrote an article about Skype4Py for the Python Magazine. After that I was busy with other things and only lately spotted that it was published in the February 2008 issue. Here's the abstract:

Extending Skype using Python
by Arkadiusz Wahlig

Skype is one of the most popular VoIP clients and instant messengers, with features like voice and video calls, and chats. What isn't as well known is the fact that Skype's functionality can be extended using external programs. This article explains how to create extensions using Python thanks to the Skype4Py library. We will focus on some examples to show what this technology could be used for.

So, if you would like to know some details and see some examples of what Skype4Py can be used for, grab it. There is some other interesting stuff in this issue too.

Controlling Winamp from Python

There were some approaches to controlling Winamp from Python. Since I lately needed one, I started googling for a solution that would suit my needs. Turned out all of them give control only over a limited number of Winamp functionalities. So, I decided to write my own.

I'm publishing this to change the above situation. So, if you need an easy to use and comprehensive Winamp controlling module for Python, try mine. It even supports undocumented features like obtaining of the volume setting. It is based on the standard ctypes module so you won't even need the win32 extensions to Python. Just make sure you have at least Python 2.5 and it will work.

Download:
winamp.py

Note: I was too lazy to add proper docstrings but the code should be quite readable I think.

Photos from Italy

I came back from Italy yesterday night at around 3:00 am. The trip went very well, the flight was great. I've just uploaded the photos from the whole trip for you to take a look. Clicky, clicky.

Photos from PyCon Due, Florence, Italy

The pictures are captioned so you should get an idea where they were taken (they're also connected to Google Maps).

PyCon Due, Florence, Italy

Today I held a presentation of my Skype4Py binding at the PyCon Due conference in Florence, Italy. It was actually my first talk ever. It went OK but there is definitely space for improvement. It turned out I wanted to talk about too much stuff and was short on time. But the audience reaction was positive and it seems they had no problems understanding the concepts of Skype4Py. I'm looking forward to get some new library users.

The conference itself is very well organized. Lots of nice stuff is included in the participation fee, including a tasty launches every day and cakes during the coffee breaks. Besides normal talks, there are two interactive ones which seem to be an interesting way to get closer with the audience, unfortunately in Italian only, which I don't speak.

I also met with Antoine Bertout and Avo Nappo from Skype. We talked about the future of Skype4Py, how it fits into the Skype extras model and what can be done to promote it. Some ideas we came up with are very interesting so stay tuned.

I'm staying in Italy until Monday evening. I still have some time to walk around Florence and visit various famous places it has to offer. It's definitely a beautiful city, I like it very much.