Stay in touch without worrying about costly bills (Skype)

Member Name: thehonesttruth

Product:	Skype
Date:	01/07/09 (78 review reads)
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Like many people in this high technology age , I have a wide variety of communication tools at my disposal if I want to get in touch with friends - emails, MSN, mobile phone, home phone etc . However, Skype is probably the method I use most to keep in touch with a lot of my friends, and in this review, I'll explain why .

Skype uses VOIP, which stands for Voice over Internet Protocol - which is just a lovely techy sounding name for being able to transmit voices over IP networks using the internet . In essence, Skype is a programme that allows you to make phone calls from your computer . It also has other functions, such as text messaging and video calls .

Getting hold of this nifty little bit of software is easy - simply visit www.skype.com, and right there on the website is a link so that you can download the programme and get stuck in right away . Once you've downloaded it and run the set up file, it will prompt you to select a skype user name and password .

You will of course need a basic microphone and speakers to use skype . You'll also need a webcam if you want to send out video calls. Any basic speakers and microphone will do for this - initially, I used a headset that cost me a pound from the local pound shop. However, if you like your gadgets shiny and hi tech, many shops such as Pc World sell headsets, microphones and cameras all designed specifically to work especially well with Skype . I now no longer use my cheap headset, as I have a shiny new webcam with a built in microphone .

The Skype interface is very simple to use - its a clean blue and white, not too cluttered with features and in fact resembles other messenger programmes . It displays a contact list, and has all the usual options for adding contacts and searching for contacts , as well as adjusting your online status should you need to .

The first thing you'll probably want to do is find some people to chat to - the search function makes doing this very easy . The first thing I did when setting up Skype was search for all my friends - you can do this using skype name (if you know it) or by using their real name or email address . I was surprised by how many of my friends used the program - I myself only downloaded it as I'd just started long distance dating and it seemed an ideal way to chat to my boyfriend for free . Once you find somebody you want to add to your contact list , click on add to contacts, type a personal message if you wish, and then your contact request will be sent for approval .

You can use Skype for ordinary text based chat, and it works just as well as MSN messenger - simply click on the name of the person you want to chat to, start typing, hit enter, and your message is on its way . You have emoticons (although a rather limited selection) and can send files and links easily through the chat window .

Making a voice call is just as simple, simply click the name of the person you wish to talk to, and hit the shiny green telephone icon. Whilst calls to other skype numbers are free, calling an ordinary phone number does have a charge of a few pence a minute (this applies for many countries outside the UK, so you can call long distance for the same low price) and operates rather like a pay as you go mobile - you buy credit in advance and use this credit to make calls , although credit does have a six month expiry date .

However, most of my friends have Skype installed on their computer, so the majority of my calls are free . Call quality is generally pretty good, although it will depend somewhat on what hardware you and the other person are using. I do occasionally find that Skype does occasionally randomly disconnect - more so when my boyfriend and I both have webcams activated, although I'm not sure if this is down to Skype, or just my ancient computer having too much to do at once .

There are many addition features on Skype - Skype In being the most noticable one . Basically, you rent a phone number for a few euros a month, and people can dial this number from an ordinary phone . The great advantage of this is that you can have any local area code - lets say my brother decides to go to France for a year and won't have is PC with him, ruling out free calls . I could rent a phone number with a French regional code, and he could then call me cheaply rather than paying for expensive international calls . While I appreciate this is a useful feature, I've never yet had reason to use it .

There is a limited amount of personalisation available - you can change your avatar, and change your user comment, but that's about it for free customisation . If you choose to pay, you can change your ringtone or have an animated weemee type thing, but I haven't bothered with any of that .

Skype has proved valuable to me in my current relationship - my boyfriend lives in Eastbourne, and I just call him on Skype as soon as I'm at my computer, and can chat away to him while I'm writing reviews on Dooyoo, playing games, or doing anything else on the computer. I've very rarely had problems with Skype - the odd call drop or camera freeze, but nothing huge . The software is updated every so often, with each version ironing out any glitches with the previous version .

And with it being a free programme, I really can't complain about that too much. I love being able to talk to my boyfriend all night without worrying about a big phone bill as a result, and I like using the camera chats so I can see what he's upto .

Skype is a great free feature that makes communicating with friends that maybe live some distance away easy - I have friends in Germany, France, Ireland, and various US states all of whom I talk to often, for free, by calling their computer through Skype . I doubt I'd ever have called these people whom I met through the internet without Skype, I'd have been too worried about bills mounting up .

Overall, Skype is a good, free, software programme that makes staying in touch cheaper and easier - and I definitely recommend it .

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