Basic Facts

Skype is an application program that you can download from the Internet to make phone calls from your computer using Voice over Internet Telephony (VoIP) technology.

Skype software is free. After installing it, you can use your computer to call another computer with Skype. Even if you talk the whole day, your call is free.

However, Skyping to a landline or mobile telephone, or the other way around, is not free.

If all your phone calls are Skype-to-Skype, then you only have to pay for your monthly Internet connection (dial-up or broadband).

What You Need

You can use Skype if your computer operating system is Windows 2000 or XP, have a processor speed of at least 400 MHz, 128 MB of RAM installed, and 15 MB of free space on your hard drive. Your computer should have a sound card, speakers, and a microphone that you need to make and receive calls. Lastly, you should have a modem capable of transferring data at a minimum rate of 33.6 Kbps and a connection to the Internet, either dial-up or broadband like cable, DSL, or WiFi.

According to Skype, you get better results if your computer system processor speed is at least 1 GHz and have 256 MB RAM, 30 MB of free space on your hard drive, a full duplex sound card (most sound cards made after 1998 are this type), and a headset with a microphone.

Skype also works with computers and personal digital assistants (PDAs) with any of the following operating systems: Mac OS X, Linux or Pocket PC.

The quality of the equipment you use affects the sound quality of the conversation over Skype. Although laptops have built-in microphones and speakers, use a headset and an external microphone to ensure high quality sound.

To get the free Skype software, log on to the www.skype.com website and click on the Download tab or link. The website is user friendly and instructions are easy to follow. The size of the program is around 8.0 MB and the time it takes to download depends on the speed of your Internet connection.

Skype’s Benefits

On top of the free software and free Skype-to-Skype phone calls, Skype has the following benefits:

· Excellent sound quality. Unlike other VoIP software, Skype’s advanced technology results in fast and better sound quality. Old VoIP software packages made for slow, noisy, and inconvenient telephone conversations over the Internet.

· Convenience. Software is easy to install and understand. After downloading the free software, you click an installation tab and the software is installed quickly. There is no need to configure your server, laptop, computer, or dial-up connections.

· Call Anywhere. You can call from any computer with Skype. Just log on to your account and you can make Skype calls. You do not have to bring your computer with you anywhere you go.

· User-friendly. Skype’s user interface is easy to use. Once you click the Skype icon to make a phone call, a window that is easy to understand appears on your screen, giving you instructions that are easy to follow.

· Security of Calls. Skype uses end-to-end encryption for your call before it hits the Internet. Decrypting is done when it reaches the other computer. Calls cannot be intercepted and decrypted by other computers, even if they have Skype. Only the computer where you sent the call can decrypt it. The security of Skype-to-mobile and landline telephones and vice versa depends on the security of the network used for the call.

· Conference Calls. You can talk with up to four other persons, whether they have Skype accounts or not. You can add callers from your contact list or ask others to join in on the conversation.

· Multi-tasking. You can send instant messages, chat, transfer or share files while talking over the Internet. You can carry on a conversation with as many people as you can handle.

· High Call Completion Rates. Skype can go around firewalls and gateways that render over 50% of home computers poor at communicating with traditional VoIP software.

· Caller Identification. You can know who is calling you and choose to answer the call or not.

· Privacy. You can specify who can call you (Authorized Users) and who cannot (Blocked Users). You can hide your personal information from other Skype users.

· Multiple languages. Skype comes in many languages, allowing even non-English speakers to use it.

· Cheaper rates for calls. Calls to and from non-Skype account holders are not free, but have lower rates than calls using telephone companies.

How Much?

Skype-to-Skype calls are free.

A phone call using Skype software is free to and from anywhere in the world if you are calling from your computer to another person with Skype installed and whose computer is connected to the Internet at the same time.

Skype-to-Phone calls are not free.

You can use Skype to call from your computer to anyone without a Skype account anywhere in the world. The rate per minute depends only on the destination of the call, and not on where you are making the call. Calls to Canada, China, and Chile cost 2 Eurocents (1 Eurocent equals 1.20 U.S. cents) per minute. The most expensive call is to Diego Garcia, the U.S. Naval Base in the Indian Ocean (1.278 Euros per minute).

For comparison, a Skype call from anywhere in the world to a telephone in China costs 2.4 U.S. cents a minute (or US$1.44 an hour), 12.6 cents per minute cheaper than an AT&T long distance call from the U.S. to China that costs 15 U.S. cents a minute.

Using your computer with Skype to call a mobile phone anywhere in the world costs a bit more – 23.6 U.S. cents instead of 2.4 U.S. cents per minute for calls to a mobile phone in Chile – although a call to a mobile phone in China costs the same as a call to a landline phone: 2.4 U.S. cents per minute.

Before you can make Skype-to-Phone calls, you need a SkypeOut account. Setting up the account can be done through the Skype website. You buy SkypeOut credits and pay using a Visa, Eurocard, MasterCard, Diners, or Moneybookers credit card. Your SkypeOut credits are valid for six months.

With SkypeOut, it does not matter where you are calling from, only where you are calling to. Calling your friend’s phone next door in New York costs the same as calling from Aruba or Brazil to the same friend in New York.

You can also forward your Skype calls to a traditional phone or mobile. It will not cost others any extra to call, and you simply pay the standard SkypeOut rate to call the number that you forward to.

The cost of a SkypeOut service comes out to less then US $8.00 a month in 34 countries.

Phone-to-Skype calls: Fixed Yearly Fee, caller pays long distance rate.

You can receive a call from anyone without a Skype account who calls you from a landline or mobile phone while you are on the Internet.

First, you need to buy a SkypeIn number for 12 Euros (US$15) a quarter or 30 Euros (US$36) a year. Anyone who wants to call you dials your SkypeIn number and then gets the call connected to your computer.

You just pay this fixed annual fee to receive non-Skype calls. The caller, however, pays the normal rates for a direct dial international or domestic call, depending on the caller’s area code and the telephone service used.

If you buy a SkypeIn number, you also get a free voicemail service, so that if you cannot receive the call for any reason, the missed call goes to a voice mailbox. You can access your voicemail the next time you activate Skype.

You can buy a SkypeIn number through the Skype website.

Getting Started

After you download the Skype software, read the End User License Agreement before installing it. Skype installs in your computer after you agree to their terms and conditions.

Once you install the software, you should set-up your Skype account. You need the following:

· Skype Name. You can use your real name, the better choice if you want others to identify you. You can also use an alias. The Skype Name should be at least six characters in length and not used by any other person.

· Skype Password. Choose a password that is easy for you to remember.

· Personal Profile. After you select a Skype Name and password, you will be asked to fill in a personal profile form. Entering information in the personal profile is optional. If you choose to make the profile available to other Skype users, they will be able to search for you using this information. You should know how much you want the world to know about you.

Your personal profile information is not stored by Skype, but is shared out to other Skype users in the network. See their privacy policy for more information. If you decide not to fill in your personal profile or if you want to change something, you can always access your User Profile from the File menu in the Skype software.

Now, your account has been set up and you can start using Skype to make a phone call.

Making a Call

Get the Skype software running. You may choose the option of loading Skype when you boot your computer. Skype will always be on when you work on your computer, and anyone can call you. Another option is to create a shortcut to the program so that you can run Skype only when you want to make and receive calls.

Log in with your Skype Name and password. When the Skype window appears, showing your status, calls made and received, and contact list, you are ready to make a call.

Initially, your contact list will be empty. Search the network by typing the name of your friends. Skype will give you the names of account holders with the matching names and include the shared personal information. You can add to your contact list just by clicking the names.

When you want to add a contact to your contact list, that person is notified, and he or she can decide whether to allow their name to be added to your list. You will be notified when someone wants to include you in his or her contact list.

Skype will inform you through the window that appears on your computer screen whether the contact is online or not. If she is online, you can double click, or right click and select “call” and her computer makes a ringing sound. If she clicks “answer”, a two-way conversation begins.

Either party can end the call by clicking the “hang-up” icon shown on the toolbar.

Unless you have a SkypeOut account, you can only call other people with Skype accounts.

Receiving a Call

When your computer is on, Skype is running, and you are connected to the Internet, you can receive phone calls on your computer. You will hear a telephone ring tone, a window will pop up on your screen with the caller ID, and you can choose to answer the call, put her on hold, transfer the call to voicemail, or reject the call.

If someone calls you when you are not connected to the Internet, your computer is off, or Skype is not running, the voicemail option is activated and the caller ID is stored in the network. The next time you run Skype, all voice mail and missed calls information will be sent to you. You can decide which numbers to call back.

Unless you have a SkypeIn number, you can only receive calls from people with Skype accounts.

A Few More Benefits and Some Hitches

Skype has a Global User Directory, a giant phonebook containing the names of everyone who use Skype from all over the world.

You need a computer running Skype and an Internet connection to make free Skype-to-Skype calls. If there is a power outage, or something goes wrong with your Internet connection, you cannot Skype.

Mobile Skype-to-Skype calls are not yet possible now, but will soon be, hopefully. Although there is a gadget being sold like the wireless Internet telephone (costing US$165), you cannot go beyond 300 meters from your computer to make a call.

If you are not used to making phone calls using a microphone or a headset, you can buy a specially designed phone (costing US$60-65 each) that connects to your computer’s Universal Serial Bus (USB) port and that works like any normal phone.

Skype recently released a software application, also for free, that will make free videoconferencing possible.

With the growing number of Skype users, expect more cheap, practical, and convenient innovations to hit the market.

Skype software has been downloaded over 170 million times. As the network of Skype users grows, its value increases. This is one reason why the online auction company eBay recently bought Skype for US$2.6 billion.

Skype, the Global Internet Telephony Company™

Skype was developed by Niklas Zennström of Sweden and Denmark’s Janus Friis, founders of KaZaA – the company that developed the popular Internet software of the same name that allows hundreds of millions of computer users worldwide to download and share music and video files over the Internet.

The Skype Group headquarters is in Luxembourg with offices in London and Tallinn, Estonia.

Skype uses advanced Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Technology to make phone calls convenient and cheap over the Internet.