Skype...

[Wahoo]

How many of you use Skype, at home or while cruising?

Wahoo

[VV0]2M]

yay skype!

I have been using it off and on for a couple of years. After college all of my close friends scattered out across the globe...about half internationally and those calls are ridiculous expensive. Used it pretty often for the 8 months my sister was abroad in Europe, we like to talk more than email.

so yea skype is great. also, I think it is free now? i used to pay I think 6$ a month? or something, but I could call landlines as well...I think it still costs to call a landline outside of the US but I may be wrong.

my parents actually bought a wifi phone when my sister was away and that was pretty nice.

It requires a pretty solid internet connection so i don't know how well it would work using an offshore satellite connection.

[AnchorageGuy]

Skype is great but many wifi spots are limiting access now because Skype users are using up all their bandwidth.

[Wahoo]

I had meant to add that I too have been using it, it was free the first year. This year I think I paid @ 30 bucks, plus a little more for an actual phone number. For the 30 bucks it allows free calls through out the US and Canada, the rates are cheap out of the US.

[Delezynski]

We have been using Skype for some time now. It's simply GREAT for cruisers!
Skype to Skype calls are free. You can add money to your Skype account and then make Skype to outside numbers for about US$0.02 a min.


But the very good thing is you can purchase a “Skype in” account. That gives you a phone number in any area code you want, Voice mail that you can access any time you have an internet connection. We have a web-cam so we have video phone.


After you cruise for a while that “home” phone number is a VERY nice thing to have. Try doing business by phone or internet without a phone number!


Greg

[ssullivan]

I just signed up for Skype since I have no cell phone signal where I am (but my Sprint EVDO works like a speed demon!).

It is so simple and cheap. I might make it my primary phone. Adios, T-Mobile and your weak signals!

[Nauticatarcher]

Skypes great but needs good internet connection

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by Nauticatarcher

Skypes great but needs good internet connection

Sprint EVDO has had full, honest to goodness broadband speeds from the FL Keys to Northern VA with hardly a hiccup. I think one little part of GA was not covered at broadband speed, but I was still online.

Other than that, well... you all can see my postings... lol

The Sprint EVDO coverage is unreal. Voice coverage with Tmobile? Not so much. This probably explains the possible purchase of Sprint by Deutsche Telekom.

[sluissa]

I've been using skype to talk to a friend of mine in Taiwan. The sound quality is better than cell phones or probably even regular phones. I had a hard time understanding her over my cell phone, but with skype it was like being in the same room. Between two skype users it's free, but skype to regular phone requires small fee per minute. there is a 9.99 a month deal, I think that lets you talk as much as you want to anywhere.

[Maren]

Originally Posted by Wahoo

How many of you use Skype, at home or while cruising?

Odd that you ask that, I just just finished Skyping. It really is a bandwidth hog and I can see why marinas would want to limit cruisers. One person can severely affect the connectivity for an entire marina if they are using the Wi-Fi connection. But, when the connection is good it's fairly close to a phone. When it's bad... well, then it's an exercise in frustration. This seems due to the bandwidth, the duplex communication and the compression and encryption algorithms

A friend of mine uses Skype but has a workaround for the frustrating times. He switches to, I think, yahoo or MSN and uses the voicemail feature. This makes the packets smaller and greatly boosts the quality as the system records just the stuff you tell it to, compresses and sends it. On the other side, the message is played only when it's all there. The downside is conversations are more like talking over the VHF but better than nothing.

[ssullivan]

Interesting about Yahoo. I had looked into that today as well.

I can just see it now, talking to the significant other like with a VHF:

"I love you, OVER!"

"I love you too, OVER!"

Originally Posted by Maren

Odd that you ask that, I just just finished Skyping. It really is a bandwidth hog and I can see why marinas would want to limit cruisers. One person can severely affect the connectivity for an entire marina if they are using the Wi-Fi connection. But, when the connection is good it's fairly close to a phone. When it's bad... well, then it's an exercise in frustration. This seems due to the bandwidth, the duplex communication and the compression and encryption algorithms

A friend of mine uses Skype but has a workaround for the frustrating times. He switches to, I think, yahoo or MSN and uses the voicemail feature. This makes the packets smaller and greatly boosts the quality as the system records just the stuff you tell it to, compresses and sends it. On the other side, the message is played only when it's all there. The downside is conversations are more like talking over the VHF but better than nothing.

[Alan H]

I use it at work, and could use it at home, but not on the boat.

[Tspringer]

Skype is goner...as is Vonage. Check this out:

magicJack


Magic Jack. Its a tiny little gizmo that plugs into a USB port. Then you plug any regular telephone into the gizmo, and use the phone like normal. Its $19 per year for free calls, outbound and inbound anywhere inside the US and Canada. They give you a local phone number with 911 service, voicemail, call forwarding... all the toys and such. For international calls there are charges but its very cheap compared to anything else I have seen. Calls from the Bahamas back to the states are $0.08 per minute.

I bought one and have been using it. It works and sounds just like any regular land line. It has a bandwidth footprint supposedly much smaller than Skype or Vonage.

The magic jack costs $40. Then phone service is $20 per year though I signed up on the special offer for 5 years at $56.



Terry

[ssullivan]

I don't know... so I'd have to have a big telephone on my boat as well as the computer?

I may stick with Skype since I don't need any more additional hardware. Launch the Skype application and start talking. No fuss, no mess.

Originally Posted by Tspringer

Skype is goner...as is Vonage. Check this out:

magicJack


Magic Jack. Its a tiny little gizmo that plugs into a USB port. Then you plug any regular telephone into the gizmo, and use the phone like normal. Its $19 per year for free calls, outbound and inbound anywhere inside the US and Canada. They give you a local phone number with 911 service, voicemail, call forwarding... all the toys and such. For international calls there are charges but its very cheap compared to anything else I have seen. Calls from the Bahamas back to the states are $0.08 per minute.

I bought one and have been using it. It works and sounds just like any regular land line. It has a bandwidth footprint supposedly much smaller than Skype or Vonage.

The magic jack costs $40. Then phone service is $20 per year though I signed up on the special offer for 5 years at $56.



Terry

[Tspringer]

Originally Posted by ssullivan

I don't know... so I'd have to have a big telephone on my boat as well as the computer?

I may stick with Skype since I don't need any more additional hardware. Launch the Skype application and start talking. No fuss, no mess.

The magic jack does not require that you use a regular phone, it just gives you that option. For use on the boat I plan to use the magic jack computer dialer in conjunction with my bluetooth headset.


Terry