http://www.skype.com

Anyone used it? If so, your thoughts on it please.

-D

I'm this close to ordering Verizon's VOIP, VoiceWing. I don't have a router though, and I have to come up with a solution for my fax machine, since VOIP don't do faxes yet. I think I'm going to trade my roommate long distance so I can use his phone line for my fax.

What I like is that I can dual ring my home phone and mobile phone, which comes in handy when you are half self-employed.

when ive used it it hasnt been great, but i assume its because the mac version is still in early development. apparently calls to and from the windows version work well.

how's the quality? does it break up?

yeah, it can cut out a lot. but when it works, it works pretty well.

People say the quality is great, but I always hear humming and crackling sounds. Also, the voice of the person I'm talking to cuts out a lot, while my voice seems to come in loud and clear.

Anyone else tried this recently. I'm thinking of downloading it so I can talk to a friend of mine overseas.

A buddy of mine is raving about Skype. Says it's simple and the sound is very clear.

I've just been reading about it on the site and it does seem dead simple. I think I'm going to give it a shot. Most people are saying it's working very well.

Have you looked into Vonage? They offer fax options and phone calls go to your cell if your home-phone is not picked up.

We've used Vonage, Skype, Net2Phone, and a bunch of homegrown IP telephony applications based on Asterisk. Bottom line is, if you're looking for reliable, quality service, Vonage is not for you. If you're comfortable configuring a linux router and can setup a Quality Of Service filter on it, then you'll be fine, but otherwise, you're going to be pretty frustrated.

Skype has been pretty good to use among friends and family, and you get what you pay for, which is a lot better than Vonage which charges you hidden fees and will accept your number to be ported, but won't port out a number easily.

If I were you, I'd just get a cellphone with a large plan, even for business. The reliability and call quality you'll get, especially in a large city, make up for the slightly higher cost. Just some thoughts.

I gave up on VOIP and rearranged my phone/internet package with Verizon so that it ends up being cheaper anyway.

I tried Skype and would highly recommend it. As mentioned, it was extremely simple to use and was clearer than almost any long distance overseas call. Literally, it was downloaded and I was talking to my friend within 5 min. And it works on both my PC laptop and on my iMac when attempting to connect to another PC. So for you Mac users, any difficulties seem to have been corrected.

Dumpjack, check this out...

http://www.gizmoproject.com

gonna give it a try tomorrow.

A Skype Killer, eh? If it's better than Skype, i'm trying it tomorrow as well. Thanks for the tip, man. I'll let you know how it goes.

Have you found either of these useful Dumpjack?

Does Skype use a phone, or do you need a headset/ microphone hooked up to the computer?

one of my co-workers has been raving about this for the last two days. he talks to one of his friends in germany every week and has seemingly never had a problem with it.

I'm thinking of going with this broadband service:

http://www.broadvoice.com

cheap, and they have plans for free calls to all the countries my wife likes to call for hours at a time. I need to find out if it works with tivo!

I've been Skyping since July with my friend in the UK. I've got one of those headset/mikes for the computer (cost $20 CDN) and it's been the best thing ever for my long distance calls. I highly recommend it. Occasionally there's some slight echoes or millisecond delays, but for free, it's the absolute best.

Just started doing this today and I LOVE it.

- Downloaded the latest version: 2.5
- Plugged in new $20 headphones with microphone
- Created a profile (it was easy)
- Immediately dialed a call to someone's landline phone here in the U.S. and it worked perfectly.

Sound coming in ----> great
Sound going out ----> crystal clear


hooray!


Everybody note: FREE CALLS WITHIN THE U.S. AND CANADA THROUGH THE END OF THIS YEAR.

I hear that calls outside of the country are cheap too.




p.s. If anyone wants to try to reach me, my user name is samoana1

Holy resurrected thread Batman!


That said... Skype does rock. Senor Six and I used it when he was away in Phoenix for 10 days. Worked like charm... so much cheaper.

update:

When you activate SkypeMe, allowing others to message or ring you, half of Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Syria tries calling you looking for girls.

I told them they'll have better luck getting laid as soon as Israel liberates their country.