Skype Review

My brother is working overseas and wanted a good way to keep in touch with friends and family for free. He turned us on to Skype (skype.com), which seems to fit that bill nicely. It has both free and for-pay services so you can choose what you want to use and whether you want to pay for it. If your Internet connection is good, definitely give it a try... at least the free parts.

 The free services include chat (like AOL IM) and live voice (like Google Talk). Both can be used used one-on-one or as a group. If the person you're calling is not online, their voicemail will pick up. Everyone has to be a Skype user, but it's free and installation is hassle-free. I also find that it's best to let Skype load up automatically at startup... I get more spontaneous calls that way. The platform is fairly intuitive and straightforward, and also has a robust search function that allows you to search for friends who might already be on Skype.

If you have a late model laptop, then it should have an integrated microphone already. If not, or if you have a desktop, you can pick up a good microphone for under $10 (http://reviews.cnet.com/microphones/cyber-acoustics-acm-1b/4505-6469_7-31816981.html?tag=prod.txt.1).

 I went a step further and picked up an internet camera for $68 so we could video conference (http://reviews.cnet.com/webcams/logitech-quickcam-orbit/4505-6502_7-30612387.html). Highly recommended. Of course quality is relative and depends on lighting and Internet connectivity, but if you consider how much you are out of pocket, it's a lot of fun and function for almost nothing.

So far, I've only used the free services. I'll have to report back on the for-fee parts. Supposedly, for around $40/year Skype will give you a number with any area code you want. Anyone using a standard cell or landline can call it and if you're online (no matter where), you'll get connected. The caller only pays what they normally would for calling that area code. If you're not online, they can leave you a voicemail. The user can also "call out" to most int'l numbers from his computer for pennies. We'll see...