Skype?

[JustAnotherThou]

I’m not sure if I am allowed to ask this question on here. I don’t belong to any other forums so not sure where else I could ask and trust the feedback I get.

Anyway, does anyone use Skype?
What is it all about? Is it just another IM program? I went to their website and it talked all about this phone stuff.

HELP!!!

 

[Mirror_Mirror]

I’m not sure if I am allowed to ask this question on here. I don’t belong to any other forums so not sure where else I could ask and trust the feedback I get.

Anyway, does anyone use Skype?
What is it all about? Is it just another IM program? I went to their website and it talked all about this phone stuff.

HELP!!!

Yes Skype is another IM program, however as you have noted you can make phone calls through your computer as well. We have it at our home and have called a friend in Slovakia. He was able to talk to us as if we were on the phone.

We think that it is a great program. This is the best IM program that I have seen. Then again, I have not used all of them. I think that there are several posters on this forum that use Skype.

It is okay to ask that question, btw!

 

[lizaanne]

Skype is amazing!!! When my husband was still living in England during our engagement, we talked every day, at least for two hours, and it did not cost us a penny.

You MUST have a very high speed connection for this to work well, otherwise the delay will drive you crazy. Also, purchase a good quality head set with a microphone, not just one of those little things that hangs in your ear.

Calls inside the US are not free - but if you call internationally they are, or at least they were a year and a half ago. Wow - time flies, didn’t realize it’s been that long already!!

~Liza

 

[JustAnotherThou]

Thank you for your reply. I have a small business and someone suggested it as a way for online customers to contact me without having to have a 1-800 number.

For the phone thing, do I have to have anything special??? Like a web cam, headphones, microphone? I use a laptop and it does not have any of these features.

Thank you again for your reply

 

[JustAnotherThou]

OK, me again

I found the Skype Shop, guess I do need a headphone or something. Any suggestions on what type to get??? Like I said before, I have a small business, I do have high speed connections, I guess I was looking to use it mostly for IM’s although would be willing to take calls from it too. I am pretty much at my computer all day.

 

[lizaanne]

OK, me again

I found the Skype Shop, guess I do need a headphone or something. Any suggestions on what type to get??? Like I said before, I have a small business, I do have high speed connections, I guess I was looking to use it mostly for IM’s although would be willing to take calls from it too. I am pretty much at my computer all day.

Mine is a Labtec brand, model Axis-302. I think you can get them on eBay for way cheap (new, not used).

EDIT - yep - look here - this guy has 20 for sale.

~Liza

 

[Mirror_Mirror]

OK, me again

I found the Skype Shop, guess I do need a headphone or something. Any suggestions on what type to get??? Like I said before, I have a small business, I do have high speed connections, I guess I was looking to use it mostly for IM’s although would be willing to take calls from it too. I am pretty much at my computer all day.

We just bought one from Wal-Mart and it works fine.

 

[JustAnotherThou]

Ok, me once again.

So I think I have this much figured out…(sorry not much )

Skype to Skype is Free??? So if I have Skype and someone else has Skype they can either call me or IM me for free?

Skype to phone is not Free??? So if I call someone a couple blocks away on Skype I am going to be charged, although I can IM them for free right???

I am guessing that someone can not call my skype unless they have skype??? If they call me, I don’t get charged right???

Thank you all again for the help. I really have not used an IM program since I was on AOL, I haven’t been with them for a few years now so I am lost

 

[lizaanne]

Ok, me once again.

So I think I have this much figured out…(sorry not much )

Skype to Skype is Free??? So if I have Skype and someone else has Skype they can either call me or IM me for free?

Skype to phone is not Free??? So if I call someone a couple blocks away on Skype I am going to be charged, although I can IM them for free right???

I am guessing that someone can not call my skype unless they have skype??? If they call me, I don’t get charged right???

Thank you all again for the help. I really have not used an IM program since I was on AOL, I haven’t been with them for a few years now so I am lost

Ok- now you are going beyond my Skypeability - I used it for Skype-to-Skype international calls only, and those were free. But I’ve never used it for other calls so I’m sorry I can’t help you there.

Anyone else who might know? You may have to just tough it out and read through their site for the details.

~Liza

 

[SMHW]

In some ways Skype is just like MSN messenger or Yahoo Messenger because you can use those to ‘call’ other users or if you want to pay you can call or receive calls from actual phones.

But Skype is probably better known.

I haven’t really looked into it closely because I haven’t had reason to do so but I believe there is an option to have an actual phone number that others can use to call your computer but you can’t call out to an actual phone. It costs less than having the ability to call both ways

 

[JustAnotherThou]

Ok- now you are going beyond my Skypeability - I used it for Skype-to-Skype international calls only, and those were free. But I’ve never used it for other calls so I’m sorry I can’t help you there.

Anyone else who might know? You may have to just tough it out and read through their site for the details.

~Liza

It may just be me because I had a horrible headache yesterday, although their website did not appear to explain the Skype Chat feature that well (IMO).
I am giving up caffenie for Lent (soda) so a few more days of headaches and I should have this all figured out LOL
At least one thing I have figrued out is you pay as you go, so guess if I haven’t paid anything then I can’t go very far down the wrong path!!

 

[JustAnotherThou]

In some ways Skype is just like MSN messenger or Yahoo Messenger because you can use those to ‘call’ other users or if you want to pay you can call or receive calls from actual phones.

But Skype is probably better known.

I haven’t really looked into it closely because I haven’t had reason to do so but I believe there is an option to have an actual phone number that others can use to call your computer but you can’t call out to an actual phone. It costs less than having the ability to call both ways

I was actually one of the first 500 people to use AOL and was on it for years (was also a Prodigy member for years and 95% of the people online now days don’t even remember Prodigy), therefore I never had a need to use MSN Messenger or Yahoo Messenger guess that is the reason behind all of my confusion.
I quit AOL a few years back and really never found the need to communicate online other than email. Until someone that shops my online store suggested I get Skype.

Thank you for your help though, guess I just need to catch up on all of this stuff

 

[NoxSineStellae]

We just recently got Skype after being very wary for a very long time. I didn’t want to be tied to the computer - I could use ICQ or something for that. But we were spending $50 a month for me to call my mother in the US (from Europe) and I need a new laptop in the summer, and those are the payments, so we went for it.

Love it! But it is confusing. I don’t know about the 1800 number for business. But what we did was purchase a $60 Voice-Over-IP phone. Looks just like a regular phone. We signed up for Skype Pro, which is, I think, $3 a month. This lets us make calls to the states with the new phone for 2 cents a minute, any time day or night.

I’ve barely used that though, because with the Skype Pro, you can purchase a Skype In phone number for $20 a year. This is a local number for my mother, with her area code - she calls that with her regular house phone, a free call for her, and gets me across the ocean. It’s piped over the internet, and my computer has to be on, but hers does not (she has a wireless router though).

The quality varies. MOST of the time it is excellent. Clear as a bell. Sometimes though it echoes and crackles and drops out - we usually hang up and call back, and often get a better connection. Sometimes it’s just a bad day for it (traffic on the net maybe?)

I don’t know about the reliability when it comes to people calling you for business purposes - it doesn’t matter if my mom can’t hear half of what I’m saying, but a potential customer might get annoyed.