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.