Who here Skypes?

Let'sgoflying!

Let'sgoflying!

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Feb 23, 2005
Messages
20,355
Location
west Texas
Display Name
Display name:
Dave Taylor
cool technology, but I am ready to rip it out - no longer have any privacy in the house and the hours of ambient chat noise has gone through the roof (one fam member can put in 26 hours of talking in any one day)
 
i do but i dont use it for calls that often. mostly just to record podcasts.
 
I have/use Skype. It is absolutely the best when I'm traveling internationally.

I don't use it at home unless I'm calling an international number
 
Oy vey, Dr. J finally got to skype, and now she cannot stop?
 
I use it, but mainly to talk to the voices in my head (podcasters) or to talk to my friends overseas.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
(one fam member can put in 26 hours of talking in any one day)
Click to expand...
that is pretty impressive! Did they use the Skype quantum singularity add on to cause a temporal rift to gain the extra two hours?

I used to use Skype but I uninstalled it. Not because it did not work but it was jsut easier to use my cellphone.
 
OK.. I'll bite -- someone enlighten me to the pros and cons of Skype.
 
CJones said:
OK.. I'll bite -- someone enlighten me to the pros and cons of Skype.
Click to expand...
Skype is a voice over IP client that is available for free for your computer. Once you install it you can voice call other Skype users. If that is all you want you are done with it. It would be a computer to computer/Skype to Skype voice application nopt onlike some of the other VoIP clients.

But Skype also allows you, for a price, obtain a phone number and call other people who may not be Skype people but just have a regular phone line.
 
smigaldi said:
Skype is a voice over IP client that is available for free for your computer. Once you install it you can voice call other Skype users. If that is all you want you are done with it. It would be a computer to computer/Skype to Skype voice application nopt onlike some of the other VoIP clients.

But Skype also allows you, for a price, obtain a phone number and call other people who may not be Skype people but just have a regular phone line.
Click to expand...

Skype is also owned by EBay...
 
CJones said:
OK.. I'll bite -- someone enlighten me to the pros and cons of Skype.
Click to expand...

There are no pros. Its all con!
-the chatty members of the family can now talk endlessly FREE; that excuse of $/min is GONE!
-you can't pretend to not be there with both a live mic and now a video that can be moved around!

I am going to declare some parts of my house Skype-free zones!
or spend more time in the cave!

Yeah, Spike my boy - I need to talk to you...
 
smigaldi said:
Skype is a voice over IP client that is available for free for your computer. Once you install it you can voice call other Skype users. If that is all you want you are done with it. It would be a computer to computer/Skype to Skype voice application nopt onlike some of the other VoIP clients.

But Skype also allows you, for a price, obtain a phone number and call other people who may not be Skype people but just have a regular phone line.
Click to expand...

Let'sgoflying! said:
There are no pros. Its all con!
-the chatty members of the family can now talk endlessly FREE; that excuse of $/min is GONE!
-you can't pretend to not be there with both a live mic and now a video that can be moved around!

I am going to declare some parts of my house Skype-free zones!
or spend more time in the cave!

Yeah, Spike my boy - I need to talk to you...
Click to expand...

Sooo.. Is it possible to do web conferencing with it where a few people are all connected to each other viewing each other's videos/audios?

For instance....... Let's say that I had a brother in law and his family that live in Alaska. They like to chat via webcam (through MSN right now). The rest of his family is all here in Iowa, but separated by over an hour drive from each other. Would it be possible for all of us to fire up our webcams and chat together like one big happy(ish) family? Or at least, would he (in Alaska) be able to view OUR cameras, and each of us just view his?

I like the idea of 'free' chatting. My wife is gonna chat with family regardless of $/min charges. B)
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
There are no pros. Its all con!
-the chatty members of the family can now talk endlessly FREE; that excuse of $/min is GONE!
-you can't pretend to not be there with both a live mic and now a video that can be moved around!

I am going to declare some parts of my house Skype-free zones!
or spend more time in the cave!

Yeah, Spike my boy - I need to talk to you...
Click to expand...

So Dave I'm trying to read between the lines here. Exactly how many teen/pre teen girls are living in your house?
 
AdamZ said:
So Dave I'm trying to read between the lines here. Exactly how many teen/pre teen girls are living in your house?
Click to expand...

I think you'll find that Dave has no "teen/pre teen girls" in his home, but *does* have a spouse whose youthful exuberance makes up for it... :p
 
CJones said:
Sooo.. Is it possible to do web conferencing with it where a few people are all connected to each other viewing each other's videos/audios?

For instance....... Let's say that I had a brother in law and his family that live in Alaska. They like to chat via webcam (through MSN right now). The rest of his family is all here in Iowa, but separated by over an hour drive from each other. Would it be possible for all of us to fire up our webcams and chat together like one big happy(ish) family? Or at least, would he (in Alaska) be able to view OUR cameras, and each of us just view his?

I like the idea of 'free' chatting. My wife is gonna chat with family regardless of $/min charges. B)
Click to expand...

Multi audio conference, yes... multi-video conference, no. I have not seen it myself, but Will Hawkins told me yesterday that iChat on the Mac will do this, and in a slick fashion. Everyone needs to be on a Mac though.

Skype works on PC or Mac, and the multi audio works great so long as everyone has a decent internet connection. Listen to PilotCast, Uncontrolled Airspace, or the Pilot's Flight Podlog and you can hear the sound quality - they all use Skype to conference and record the podcasts.
 
Skype has saved me on ton on international calls. Plus my son and I use its chat function to send info across the hall. I don't know about a video conference, but every Skype user can have a webcam. All in all it's got a lot of great features.
 
I use it for talking to my online gaming buddies. My in-laws use it to talk to my brother in law in Germany. All in all it's pretty cool. But..... for these stated purposes, you kinda both gotta be on the computer at a agreed upon time to receive the call.
 
I only use Skype for International Calls (primarily to Australia and Italy). The rates are competitive.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
cool technology, but I am ready to rip it out - no longer have any privacy in the house and the hours of ambient chat noise has gone through the roof (one fam member can put in 26 hours of talking in any one day)
Click to expand...

Dave,

File -> Exit. It's that simple. :yes:

I specifically leave Skype closed and offline most of the time. If ya wanna talk to me, I've got a phone. I think part of the problem is that Skype is kind of half-chat, half-phone. I don't mind a casual text chat because I can keep working on other stuff as needed. When you're talking to someone on audio/video, you kind of have to pay attention.

tonycondon said:
i do but i dont use it for calls that often. mostly just to record podcasts.
Click to expand...

What Tony said. Or, set up a specific time to have a call, and launch Skype only for that.

t0r0nad0 said:
Multi audio conference, yes... multi-video conference, no. I have not seen it myself, but Will Hawkins told me yesterday that iChat on the Mac will do this, and in a slick fashion. Everyone needs to be on a Mac though.
Click to expand...

Not everyone - Just those you want to talk to. ;) :rofl: And it is pretty slick. It'll even put a background behind you as if you're in front of a blue screen.

Skype works on PC or Mac, and the multi audio works great so long as everyone has a decent internet connection. Listen to PilotCast, Uncontrolled Airspace, or the Pilot's Flight Podlog and you can hear the sound quality - they all use Skype to conference and record the podcasts.
Click to expand...

Yep. In the beginning of the Pilotcast, we were pushing the bleeding edges of technology to make it work - Several technologies that were literally only weeks or months old. Now, it's old hat. ;)
 
Skype is basically an IM Video chat application. It cannot be considered as a completely web / video conferencing tool. One can try using various other conferencing services such as WebEx, gomeetnow, gotomeeting etc. in order to conduct online conferencing. Alternatively, one can even consider having on premise online conferencing appliance installed such as RHUB appliances.
 
chrispeterson said:
Skype is basically an IM Video chat application. It cannot be considered as a completely web / video conferencing tool. One can try using various other conferencing services such as WebEx, gomeetnow, gotomeeting etc. in order to conduct online conferencing. Alternatively, one can even consider having on premise online conferencing appliance installed such as RHUB appliances.
Click to expand...

Chris, Welcome to PoA. Interesting choice for a first thread in which to post. (a thread from 2008)

I've found it to be very useful to use the "new posts" link when visiting vBulletin forms like PoA. In fact, my book mark is that address. It allows me to not worry about which forum or sub-forum I am reading and just produces a list of new posts since my last visit.

Every so often I'll click "Quick Links > Mark Forums Read" to clear out the list produced by my click of the "New Posts" button.

The "View First Unread" link once inside a discussion is useful, too. Another forum, Beechtalk seems automatically deliver to me that first unread within a thread.

Again, welcome.
 
I use Skype for international communications, and it allows me to keep up with my friends from overseas. I even use to to keep up with some members of this here board.

I don't have an account nor do I use it to call telephones. All my communication is screen to screen. It is thoroughly amazing. It is the video telephones we all saw in the science fiction movies made real. Science fiction from my youth come to life. Breathtaking.
 
I'm not a huge Skype user. I do have an account, but I don't advertise it. I mainly use it when others prefer it and specifically request to talk to me that way.

I have nothing against Skype, mind you. It's well-behaved enough and it does the job. I just spend more than enough time staring at computer screens as it is.

-Rich
 
Here! I'm a big Skype user. Been using it for years. Great tool.

But, Skype isn't the only game in town. For International calling, a lot of people I communicate with are using Viber, which is a Skype like service except that instead of creating some username, you create an account based on your phone number. So if both users have Viber installed in their phones, you can make a free cell number to cell number call as long as there is a data connection available at both ends.

It's free, you can do texting, calling and video calling as well.
 
steingar said:
I use Skype for international communications, and it allows me to keep up with my friends from overseas. I even use to to keep up with some members of this here board.

I don't have an account nor do I use it to call telephones. All my communication is screen to screen. It is thoroughly amazing. It is the video telephones we all saw in the science fiction movies made real. Science fiction from my youth come to life. Breathtaking.
Click to expand...

We've got a conference in St Petersburg later this month (not Florida, the other one). After looking at the price tag ($3500 airfare, trip to SFO to walk the visa thru - hotel & food is paid for by the conference) we decided Skype for the one day we need to be there for the business meeting.

I also use Skype on occasion to chat with friends in Oz and Europe, haven't done much lately tho.
 
I use Skype primarily to communicate with family and friends who live overseas. E.g. Had conference calls with my sister in Holland and brother-in-law, who was on assignment elsewhere. As long as the electrons flow, Skype is OK, but as soon as the electrons slow down, Skype quality becomes dismal. First video checks out and then voice. In general though it works.
 
I use Skype for video calling. Originally, I used Google Plus, but its become unreliable lately, unfortunately, and it was a PITA to talk my FIL through the process of connecting.

With Skype - its always on, and my wife can call him when she wants.

Note - Google Plus Hangouts allowed my sister and parents to meet Tyler before he even left the hospital as a newborn, despite being on the other side of the country. You can't beat that with a stick.
 
Grandaughter: Papa, do you like Skype.
Me: I don't know I've never eaten any.
 
I have an occasion where I want to be able to use it but I can't figure it out for the life of me.
 
Herman vanOoijen said:
I use Skype primarily to communicate with family and friends who live overseas. E.g. Had conference calls with my sister in Holland and brother-in-law, who was on assignment elsewhere. As long as the electrons flow, Skype is OK, but as soon as the electrons slow down, Skype quality becomes dismal. First video checks out and then voice. In general though it works.
Click to expand...

Which is exactly what it's supposed to do in cases where your ISP drops the ball. (Or packets, as the case may be.) And what all well-designed video conferencing systems do. Voice is critical priority, video is secondary. Because no one can communicate with a silent talking head, unless they're reading lips, or using sign language.

I worked for Polycom. We did everything on video. It's completely overrated. Why? Because we were all working while talking. So you saw the side of our heads or the top of our foreheads as we looked at our computer monitors.

The real breakthrough for meetings was the integrated room-based stuff with the cameras cleverly hidden below the screens with mirrors so it looked like you were sitting across the conference table talking to someone halfway around the globe. Those who needed sit-down non-working meetings, benefitted from those.

For the seven or eight years or so that I was back there again, the things were so expensive and took up so much space, Denver never got one internally, and we got them at cost.

The majority of us were doing the "Brady Bunch" multi camera view of a bunch of sides of people's heads and a side view of six people around a conference table. It really did nothing a good quality audio conference couldn't do unless you needed to see someone's facial reaction to catch them looking like they were lying. And most folks look for the wrong cues on that anyway.

Video is one of those "nice to have" things that if it falls apart and only the audio stream gets through, the meeting can continue without skipping a beat.

The recent trend to screen share over compressed video looks awful. Just send me a copy of the darn document and ill put it on monitor 2... thanks. Your compressed crappy view of your desktop with PowerPoint running in the middle not in full screen mode, looks like horse pucky.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top