Reach for the Skype
The internet is changing everything, it seems, including telephony. One of the most exciting innovations of recent years is something called Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), a technology that allows you to make phone calls via the internet.
Arguably the best known program for making VoIP calls is Skype. You can download it for nothing and make phone calls for nothing. How cool is that? If you don’t want to talk, you can chat online instead using the instant messaging feature.
By setting your online status to “Skype Me”, you can invite random people to contact you. Yesterday, I lost my Skype virginity in exactly this fashion, to someone called Joy, from Xi’an in China (it was very joyful). Today I received random requests from Skype users in Saudi Arabia, Poland and China, again.Â
Why am I saying all this? Well, currently there are 33 Skype users in Reading. You, too, can join the Skype revolution and change the way you communicate. Of course, be careful when you use this - not everyone has good intentions. But, in general, it’s a fun and different way to make friends - at zero cost. Â
Look at the sidebar and you will see a Skype button that shows my Skype status (online, offline etc.). Launch Skype and you can talk to me by hitting the button. Fun or what? (Or we can just go to the pub and have a pint.)
Matt Brady on March 5th 2006 in Technology
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Jon Watts responded on 17 Mar 2006 at 12:41 pm #
Hi Matt,
Check out http://www.festooninc.com/ for video with Skype, not a user myself but thought your other Skype users/readers may be interested.
Cheers
Jon
catfood responded on 05 May 2006 at 1:52 am #
wot no updates?
http://www.gadgetopia.com/post/1219
life2themax responded on 07 May 2006 at 2:05 am #
A little bit unrelated, but you might want to check out http://www.yafll.com .
Sylvain responded on 08 May 2006 at 5:36 pm #
You might also be interested in Gizmo or OpenWengo as good alternatives to Skype.
jimbob responded on 20 May 2006 at 3:21 pm #
Hi Matt,
Skype is quite popular but it’s a closed shop using proprietary standards. If you want to call someone with another internet phone company they charge you for it.
However there are a number of UK firms now offering VoIP using proper Internet standards like SIP (see http://www.voip-info.org/wiki-SIP), and they have peering arrangements to allow you to call people on other networks for free. Also the equipment they sell you is usually open so you can set it up to work with different providers if you want to.
Check out http://www.gossiptel.co.uk or http://www.voipfone.co.uk. It has to be said their rates are pretty impressive! (If you’re wondering I’m a Voipfone customer but I don’t get commission or anything
You can get a phone number from them with pretty much whatever UK area code you fancy. Also you can use proper hardware Internet phones or connect your existing phone to a terminal adapter, both of which connect to your broadband router so you don’t have to have a PC switched on to make or receive calls. Some firms even let you port your BT number to them.
There are a number of software phones that can be used with the services, including one available for Pocket PCs.
I’m sure Skype is great but I don’t like borg-like companies that try to squeeze everyone else out…
Cheers,
Jimbob
Irene responded on 22 May 2006 at 4:42 am #
Come on, Matt! It’s time to update your blog.
Regards from Mrs. Petticoat
See ya!