Skype

Full review
I have a few relatives that live a good distance away. One is about 1500 miles and one is 3000. Their children, my nieces, are growing up without me getting to see a lot of them. We have been searching for a way to communicate face to face to make up for a little of that lack of in person communication and we stumbled upon yahoo messenger first. It was decent, had some glitches here and there and would stutter during web-cam to web-cam conversations. Ever diligent to find the most fluid form of communication over the net, I stumbled upon Skype Online Service from a friend of mine who had studied abroad during college. I downloaded it a few months ago and have been using it ever since. With little to no problems with it I can certainly recommend it to other users.

What Is Skype?
Skype is an online service that people can use to communicate over the internet. It is a few things bundled into one. Its an instant messaging service, and a web-cam to web-cam broadcast service that can be used anywhere you have an internet connection. It also is a phone service you can use to call people over the internet. That last aspect however is not free and you do have to pay for. 

How Do You Get It & How Much Does It Cost?
Getting Skype is just as easy as a simple download. Just head over to www.skype.com and follow the instructions to download it. It is compatible with both Mac and PC computers. Thankfully it is a free download which certainly gains it some points with consumers. Computer to phone calls cost a few cents per minute which is a great deal for travelers who are either constantly moving around or who have high rates for long distance phone calls. The call credits can be purchased in a number of different currencies and can be paid for in various ways such as credit card or via paypal.

Once Skype is downloaded you create a login name and password. This takes just a few minutes with a valid email address then you are good to go. You can search for other users by their login name or email address and add them to your friends list. You can choose to contact them through calling them through the skype program, calling a landline or cell phone (which costs credits that you can purchase through Skype) or instant message and type to them. Notice that in order to call them you do need to have working speakers and a microphone built into your computer. Most laptops now have the microphone built in but some desktops lack this necessity so you would have to go buy one. If you choose to use the video conference option you can do this for free but obviously need a working web-cam. I have a Mac and my built in iSight works beautifully with the program. You simply double click on a persons name and this opens the voice connect prompt. Once it is connected (which takes very little time) you can speak to each other through the program. You can click on the camera button in order to broadcast your web-cam to the other viewer and they can do the same if they have a web-cam available. The other member you are connected with does not need a web-cam in order to view yours. And the program really runs as simple as that. It has simple mute and hold buttons as a phone does and you can easily end or start new calls. Conference calling is available as well.

The Good & The Bad
What I like about the program is the ease of use. It is very user friendly and one can pick up on how to get things done with the application very easily. Once one sees how simple the controls are, it is very simple to run through the applications options and you'll be calling in no time. The other obvious aspect of the program that I like is that it is free. This is great for people who live across country, in other states, who you wish you could see more often. It is a much more intimate way to see friends and family members and the freedom of paying for it makes it even better. 

The video quality of the conference is surprisingly good. It occasionally freezes up but unlocks itself and continues broadcasting

The down sides to Skype are minimal. While video conferencing with another person, if they have a desktop computer the microphone is very weak if the computer even has one, and it is in the tower which makes it very difficult for the person to talk back. Also the microphones on all of the computers are not equal so some have better sound abilities than others. Some computers do have a port for a portable microphone if you wish to go out and purchase one. A high speed broadband connection is just about exclusively preferred. I would not recommend trying to connect with anything less.

Overall
I would definitely recommend Skype for everyday use. It is simple, user friendly, cheap (for those who want to use it to call land lines), free (for computer to computer calls), and has decent quality. The few down sides are expected, nothing is perfect and I am not that much of a perfectionist but this application does get the job done, and of course the price is right.

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