Skype

[tubenit]

Just used skype for the first time today to video call. Interesting technology. Family is in Seattle, St.Louis, Washington DC, Boston, Dallas, Orlando and Atlanta. None of them are local. Going to be a great way of keeping up with kids and grandkids (all 8).

With respect, Tubenit

[TubeGeek]

Yeah it is neat technology isn't it!

I use skype, iChat and other messenger apps quite often. By far iChat and skype are the nicest apps. One thing I find handy is screen sharing, I've used to help fix computer (windows) issues for family and friends.

[EL34]

Never used Skype, but Voip calling seems to be happening big time.
Ginny had Vonage, but their service was so bad she dropped it.

A buddy of mine had a magic jack and liked it alot and so I just got one
http://www.magicjack.com/5/index.asp

Free long distance
$19.95 a year
Pretty cool service and the sound quality is awesome
I guess they have their own network?
You get your own phone number
Voice mail, etc all are free.

Tiny little USB device you plug into any USB port
You can plug a phone into the device or use the software to make calls without a phone.
I tested it on my notebook with a headset plugged into the mic and headphone jacks and it worked great.
If a guy travelled and wanted to call home free, this would work great

I leaved the Magic jack plugged into a PC that is on 24/7
I plug my 5.8ghz wireless phone system into the Magic jack and then I am able to make and receive calls anywhere on my property

Ginny is only 9 miles away from my house, but it's a long distance call.

[TubeGeek]

I have been using the magic jack for coming up on two years now.  I love it.  

I bought it when I lived in Utah and now I live in Canada.  I like the call forwarding feature. If someone from the states calls me, it gets forwarded to my Canadian cell phone and they don't have long distance charges(I still have a Utah number).  

Where I live now, almost every call I seem to make is long distance and plans are pricey in Canada.  Not with the magic jack though!  If someone leaves a voicemail, it emails an mp3 audio file to me, really cool.

Also handy when travelling.

[EL34]

Sorry about the Hi-Jack Jeff. 

It's weird, I saw the Magic jack on TV and I dismissed it as another silly infomercial product.

Then after a buddy said it was cool, I read up on the product and about their network
Then I read some of the reviews.

So far it has been excellent.

Now I am working on a way to patch my two land lines into a PC speakerphone modem system
The PC can do the answering machine voicemail functions and notify you by email when a call was left.

Magic jack already does that.
I tested it the other day by calling My Magic jack phone number.
A couple minutes later an email arrived with the .wav file message attached to the email.
Pretty cool stuff!!!

I looked into two line wireless phone with 2 line answering machine and I also need with 3 handsets.
You are talking a few hundred dollars for such an item

[Geezer]

My son got us a web cam for Christmas & we use Skype for video calls (he & his wife live in Canada).

I've used "Skype to go" on my cell & business phone for several years now. I'm the U.S. service center for a laser company based in the U.K.. I can call & talk to the engineers in London for $0.017 per minute. Can't beat that!

G

[tubenit]

Sorry about the Hi-Jack Jeff

Not a problem! Interesting hearing about all the technology. Pretty amazing stuff. My son works for Texas Instruments in research and design. He states the stuff they are working on (and finishing) is at times technology we won't see for years to come.

Jeff

[madison]

I use is a lot.

It's pretty darn good even when I call my pals back home, half way around the world in NYC, Seattle,etc.
I can do video and all but I think it is usually the other end that gets clobbered and bottle necked.(this entire area went fiber optic, they made us upgrade....... fer free   )
Usually just keep the cameras off and the audio is fine.

A few years ago I used to use Yahoo, AOL, etc. messengers before skype and it was like using walkie talkies in the '70s

[TubeGeek]

I was skeptical with Magic Jack at first, it being an infomercial.  It was cheesy but it seemed legit so I took a chance.  I'm glad I took the chance and now I am debating whether to buy Montel Williams new health blender!

In my experience the service you get is less than ideal.  I had a heck of a time getting them to not follow a script and get right to the issue.  I had already troubleshot the issue and figured where the conversation was going to lead to anyways.  They sent me a replacement and all has been good since.  Maybe they have improved over the past year.

[EL34]

Have not had any issues yet except just a tiny bit of echo once in a while.

I mostly use a wireless phone system for talking, and that has the best sound quality

I tested Magic jack on my notebook using a headset, and that worked ok

I also tested it with a small microphone and the computer speakers, but as you can imagine, that resulted in feedback and huge echos.

Have to see how it all works out in the long run, I have not had Magic jack very long.

[Fresh_Start]

My daughter is in London for a semester and Skype is FREE!  I'd just as soon skip the outgoing video of me, but it's great to see her knowing it won't be until May before I see her in real life.

I don't even want to know what my landline or cell phone charges would be to call to England...

Chip

[madison]

My daughter is in London for a semester and Skype is FREE!  I'd just as soon skip the outgoing video of me, but it's great to see her knowing it won't be until May before I see her in real life.

I don't even want to know what my landline or cell phone charges would be to call to England...

Chip

That's what got me too, is that it is free if both parties are using it.
Plus, it has messenger service (answering machine?) that will notify your email if someone calls.
I think one of my friends doesn't even have a land line anymore.
He just has a skype # and an iphone.