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Skype is very cool. I
call all over the planet for about 2 cents a minute to most land
lines (rates),
and a bit higher to cell phones. I can call other Skype users
anywhere on the planet for free (voice and/or video) and through a flat rate price package, call US and Canada (landlines and cell)
from the US for about $30 a year. The quality
of a Skype call often surpasses land line calls and is far superior to any
kind of cell phone call.
I
have several incoming telephone numbers from Skype and thus have incoming
lines just like regular telephone service. This includes voice mail, etc.
When you get an incoming
call it shows up in the lower right hand corner of your screen with caller
ID, etc. I particularly like that my computer now has the
function of running my telephone service including redials, history
of incoming and outgoing calls, timed calls, etc.
On a recent trip to Bali, I forwarded my cell phone to my local Skype number (forwarding
a local number to another local number - no cost), went to Bali and retrieved
all of my
calls (cell and Skype incoming lines) on my laptop at no cost. And I was able to return calls from
Bali to US
land lines at 2 cents a minute from my laptop by using a digital headset.
If I travel to some countries for an extended
period of time, I can purchase a local number
and be contacted directly. I can always be
contacted through my Skype number (jimh1133) and US callers can call me
through my incoming Skype regular telephone numbers at no charge .
Skype is very simple. To
use Skype you must:
-
have a free Skype account (so
far so good)
-
have broadband Internet
connection (I am not sure about dial-up..)
-
a
USB headset (identified by a USB plug.)
-
a
reasonably new computer
 And a willingness to learn how
to do something that will serve you no end and open horizons to the
other side of the planet as well as introduce you to technology that is
just the tip of the iceberg of people communicating with each other down
the street as well as
over the world. One of the things you will discover as you
call around testing your new capacity is that people on the other side of
the planet are a lot more like you (and me) than you might think..
Install
the free software and make sure
you have the latest version of Skype. Follow the instructions.
You will discover that most of
your activity revolves around setting up the microphone and headset found
at:
Open Tools > Options > Audio Settings
but that is pretty automated with the latest versions of Skype.
By the way, my local incoming Skype (LA) lines
forwards to my cell phone if I don't pick up or my computer
is off. Forwarding is at 2 cents a minute and all of my voicemail
ends up on my cell phone! Of course, there are a number of ways to
set this up.. : )
And, while this page remains under
construction, I will enclose an article I wrote in the September 2007
Vision newsletter about Skype
Enjoy..
Namasté
J.Hamilton
 Squeaky
Geek..
(Lifted
from the September 2007 issue of Vision) I always think I don't
have time to write this little column but before long an idea pops into my
head.. Hmm.. Maybe that is how solutions show up. And, what popped
into my head this time was to quickly explain how I use
VoIP
as my primary telephone service. VoIP is "Voice over Internet Protocol" and
quite interesting.
Most of the new digital
telephone companies (Vonage, Verizon, Packet8 and the other dozens of
digital upstarts) provide lower cost services and arrive via VoIP which
simply means your telephone service is now routed over the Internet instead
of telephone lines. Interestingly, this wasn't initiated by the phone
companies but probably some young kid on a college campus somewhere.
For example I do not have traditional telephone service other than my cell
phone. (Wait! Traditional telephone service now means a cell phone? Do you
see how fast we are moving?) Instead, I use
Skype for my incoming and outgoing calls - local and long distance. I
can call anywhere in the world; almost anywhere in the world
for about two cents a minute and to other Skype users for free!
Do you see how technology is
evolving/emerging as humanity continues to evolve? It will turn out that
technology is our best friend! Who thought we were going to have a
Soylent Green
(1973
futuristic movie) future just because of someone's dysfunctional perspective about the future?
I do not think it is a possibility - at all.
Nope.. The cost of
communicating with the rest of the planet is moving toward free or very
close to free. Now-a-days, you can have clients/relationships anywhere in
the world. Between the Internet, email and now picking up a digital phone,
anybody can be in touch with anybody and share solutions with anybody
else. This is where we are going as a species. Communications is moving
toward unlimited. And as humanity moves toward solutions,
we will see humanity quickly redefine itself with communications being right
at the top of the list. The higher vibration
of a solution orientation is going to simply overrun the old because
fear and doubt doesn't have as much staying power as you might think.
I don't pay much more than
$80 a year for my incoming phone number, voice mail, local service,
unlimited long distance to the US and Canada and extremely inexpensive
rates
to the rest of the world. The latest innovation is a
USB (to RJ11) Adaptor that allows me to use a traditional telephone
handset (and speakerphone!) with Skype. Skype has been known as a free
"headset and microphone plugged into the computer" method of communicating
but that is changing fast.. (This is managed at:
Open Tools > Options > Audio Settings.
And, did I mention the
quality of the call? I think it is better than landline calls and so much
better than cell phone calls. With a headset and microphone, it seems you
are in the same room with the person you are talking to, no matter whether
they are in Moscow, Guadalajara or just down the street. Even the cheap
(not too cheap!) handsets are
almost as good as a headset.
By the way, if you choose to
work with Skype, you will have to fiddle with it a bit to get it working at
its best possibility because you are practically on your own - but overall,
it is quite simple. If you are
new, start with a digital microphone and headset (digital is designated by the USB plug) and
as you
become familiar with Skype, then add the USB Phone Adapter to move to a
traditional handset. (I have an inexpensive Panasonic Hands-free
speaker desk
phone [JX-TS105B] because I have no need for the fancy redial or number
storage or the other do-dads associated with the digital display. $29
at Fry's Electronics.)
I recommend Skype. The company
seems to have its act together, their software seems to be bug free and tech
support is available though you should be able to solve your problems with
the knowledge base, etc. Once you open an account, look for the
packages. Skype Pro, Skype Out, Online Numbers, etc.
(I have heard it is hard to get out of a Vonage agreement
and I have had very poor experience with
SightSpeed)
Did I mention free video
calling is part of this package between Skype users? I recommend Skype.
They seem to be competent. If you
could see just how fast the world is unfolding beyond the blaring headlines
and racket of those who say it is so (or isn't so), your visionary focus would become
second nature in no time.
And, be sure to use the chat feature.
It's how you set up your calls around the globe..
Cool, huh?
Namasté
J.Hamilton
added notes..
VoIP has been in the news a lot in
recent months, with Microsoft
buying
Teleo, Google
rolling out
Google Talk, Yahoo!
acquiring
Dialpad, and even
AOL
introducing a new service designed to let users make phone calls over
the Net. Now eBay is joining the party by snapping up Skype. - Sept 2005
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