Anyone use Skype?

doctorwho · Post by **doctorwho** » Mon May 15, 2006 1:32 pm

Just wondering whether anyone has comments on Skype - I am not currently using it, but am thinking of doing so.

melibreits · Post by **melibreits** » Mon May 15, 2006 3:11 pm

My husband uses it, and loves it--it's a great way to talk "live" to some of our friends in the UK without paying pricey telephone fees.... It really is a great service.

bassdroid · Post by **bassdroid** » Mon May 15, 2006 4:05 pm

I use it to talk to my friends in Denmark and elsewhere...one of the best deals going!

bitzerguy · Post by **bitzerguy** » Tue May 16, 2006 2:47 am

I've had it since version 1. Works great. I have used it for well over a year now to keep in touch with my family in BC.

I have my PC connected to a Technics power amp and some Acoustic Research monitors. Sounds like they are right there in the room with me!

...Dean

shamustwin · Post by **shamustwin** » Tue May 16, 2006 3:55 am

For 5 years my wife has been talking to her family in Vietnam over the internet (Yahoo), no charge. I'm assuming Skype allows you to do the same?

melibreits · Post by **melibreits** » Tue May 16, 2006 4:42 am

Yes, Jerry, it is a similar service.

doctorwho · Post by **doctorwho** » Tue May 16, 2006 10:36 am

The reason this has come up is a current promo:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060516/wr_nm/telecoms_skype_free_dc_13

Skype launches free call promotion
By Eric Auchard
Mon May 15, 9:22 PM ET

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Skype, the Web telephone company, said on Monday it would allow consumers in the United States and Canada to make free phone calls, a promotional move that marks a new blow to conventional voice calling services.

The offer, which extends through the end of 2006, covers calls from computers or a new category of Internet-connected phones running Skype software making calls to traditional landline or mobile phones within the United States and Canada.

Previously, users of Skype, a unit of online auctioneer eBay Inc., were required to pay for calls from their PCs to traditional telephones in both countries. Calls from North America to phones in other countries will incur charges.

Skype already offers free calling to users worldwide who call from computer to computer.

The company is seeking to accelerate usage in the North American market, where adoption of its voice-over-Internet technology has lagged other regions of the globe. Based in Luxembourg, it counts more than 100 million registered users globally, including 6 million in the United States.

Henry Gomez, general manager of Skype North America, said he believes the move would rapidly accelerate adoption of the service. Skype will pick up the interconnection costs of making calls to phone networks owned by other carriers, he said.

"Skype anticipates that completely free calling in the U.S. and Canada will expand Skype's increasing penetration in North America and solidify Skype's position as the Internet's voice communication tool of choice," Skype said in a statement.

The offer is likely to put price pressure on rival voice-over-Internet phone service Vonage Holdings Corp., which is expected to go public later this month. A spokesman did not return calls seeking comment.

Although Vonage and Skype serve somewhat different markets -- with Vonage acting as a full replacement service for traditional phones over Internet lines, and Skype considered by most as a complement to existing service -- the free offer could siphon customers away from Vonage.

"In one stroke, Skype simplifies the choice to try Skype," said Phil Wolff, an editor at Skype Journal, an independent consulting group that publishes an online news site on Skype developments. "This promotion targets Skype's hardest market: North America."

The move puts pressure on rival Internet services such as Microsoft Corp., Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news), AOL, Earthlink and Google Inc., which charge small per-minute fees for computer-to-phone services, Wolff said.

Skype, which allows free Web-based calls between members, said the offer to U.S. and Canadian consumers is made feasible by the low cost structure of North American telecom markets relative to other countries, where phone tariffs are higher.

"The structure and efficiency of the telecommunications industry in the U.S. and Canada make it possible for Skype to offer free calls," Skype said on its Web site.

In October, eBay CEO Meg Whitman signaled that Skype users could eventually expect to make telephone calls for free, with no per-minute charges, as part of a package of services through which carriers make money on advertising or transaction fees.

"In the end, the price that anyone can provide for voice transmission on the 'Net will trend toward zero," she said.

The company is betting that by combining electronic markets, online payment systems and Web-based communications, eBay can emerge as a leader in all three businesses.

Gomez said the free phone service promotion will not alter the company's plans to generate more than $200 million in revenue during 2006, up from roughly $60 million last year. Skype will promote the offer via online advertising, radio spots and ads in selected local cable TV markets, he said.

melibreits · Post by **melibreits** » Tue May 16, 2006 10:44 am

COOL! Hey, everybody sign up for Skype....then we can have LIVE Ric forum chats, LOL!

One of the features that we like about Skype is that you can add parties to your chat at any time, so if you've got a few friends who have Skype it's just like being in the same room with them, even if they're half the world away....

alanz · Post by **alanz** » Tue May 16, 2006 12:33 pm

USians, if you want to keep using Skype and other services that your ISP does not provide you for a fee, then make sure your Senator and Representative vote for your interests and not the cable and telecom industry's interests with the COPE Act.

You want your rep to be in favor of net neutrality and not a tiered internet; you want them in favor of the so-called Markey Amendment to the COPE Act to ensure we as users have full and equal access to all sites and not have 1200 bps data rates for sites that have not paid an "access fee" to ATT, ComCast, Verizon, etc, (such as this one, no doubt).

If the HR5252 in its current form (that is currently in temporary limbo but will be coming back for a vote very soon) becomes law you can forget about VoIP unless your ISP provides it.

firstbassman · Post by **firstbassman** » Wed May 17, 2006 10:39 am

My only question about Skype is the cordless factor.
My wife loves to walk around with the cordless handset while she talks on the phone.
And I believe VoIP companies like Vonage also use regular telephones. (No?)
But the VERY little I've heard about Skype only seems to mention using a headset plugged into the computer. I don't want to be anchored to my PC when I'm on the phone.
Also, how does this work in other rooms that the PC is not located in? Currently I can answer the phone in the bedroom and scream to my wife to pick it up in the kitchen. How would this work with Skype?
Sorry for dumb newbie questions.

wayang · Post by **wayang** » Thu May 18, 2006 9:50 pm

"You want your rep to be in favor of net neutrality..."

You said it! Plus, I want my rep not to be a money grubbing ******* who's in bed with every lobbyist in Washington AND I want him to be opposed to murder and mayhem and robbing people of their natural resources all over the world...

But first and foremost, I want my rep not to be Tom Tancredo...I don't think I can do that with a phone call, either...

alanz · Post by **alanz** » Thu May 25, 2006 6:54 pm

Amazing! Net neutrality actually won!

alanz · Post by **alanz** » Fri Jun 09, 2006 8:45 am

Oops! It lost today in the House! Kiss your non-approved-site high speed web browsing and non-ISP provided services good bye if the Senate goes along with it!

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6081882.html