Skype

Edgy DC
Apr 21 2009 07:08 PM

Who uses? Plusses? Minuses?

Can you do it without the damn camera and just make your comp a free phone?

metirish
Apr 21 2009 07:28 PM

I have it , no need for the web cam. It's great especially for calling to Ireland , which I do a lot. I also have a friend from home that lives in Sydney and he was the one that told me t get it.

Plus - it's free ,although you can pay for plans

negative - not many people have it . I heard last week on Irish radio that the EU passed legislation letting skype and such companies make aps for cell phones which of course the phone companies want to stop.

Skype has an ap for the iphone, not sure how that works as I don't have one.

Fman99
Apr 22 2009 09:09 AM

I have it at home, use it with the webcam for "Jetsons" style video calls with my brother, parents, and my cousin. It's nice because the lil' rascals can all see each other and such.

The cons -- sometimes the video and/or audio breaks up during a call. This could be a side effect of my own inexpensive gear or my service provider, and not so much Skype itself. Your mileage may vary.

It's free to try, so you've got nothing to lose as long as you don't make calls to non-Skype users (which cost $).

Edgy DC
Apr 22 2009 09:17 AM

So I have to buy a microphone and maybe a camera.

A Boy Named Seo
Apr 22 2009 09:21 AM

Mic and a camera, yes. I used it to keep up w/ the Opera Singer on Skype when she was in Australia. It seems about the same as a Yahoo (or similar) web conferencing software. Didn't use it once after she got back and I uninstalled it.

metirish
Apr 22 2009 09:42 AM

You then uninstalled her too.

A Boy Named Seo
Apr 22 2009 10:59 AM

No, you did-ent!

Edgy DC
Apr 22 2009 11:08 AM

I don't even know what that means, but nobody insults Opera Girl around these parts.

soupcan
Apr 22 2009 11:18 AM

Use it.

My bro and sis-in-law have 2 toddlers and their kids love to call my kids on it.

Bought a camera for my dad and brought it out to San Diego last week and hooked it up for him.

The camera was relatively inexpensive (under $50) and was easy to hook up to his lap-top. I believe the camera also came with a mic.

[url=http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-LifeCam-NX-3000-for-Notebooks/dp/B000TGAVSQ:25q7t6y3]This one[/url:25q7t6y3]

No complaints.