Skype For Dummies

Loren Abdulezer, Susan Abdulezer, Howard Dammond

• Publisher: For Dummies
• Year: 2011
• ISBN:
  9781118050798
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technik & Maschinenbau
• Subtopic: Elektrotechnik & Telekommunikation

Here's the fun and easy way to understand all the hype about Skype and make this cool alternative communication system work for you

People love Skype because it's fairly simple to use, it's free, it doesn't have advertisements or pop-up screens, and its communications are encrypted and secure. If you want the ability to make free voice calls or want to maximize Skype and get the most out of this free global telephony system, you've come to the right place. All you need to get going with Skype is a computer with Internet access, a headset or microphone -- and this book!

Although the technology is simple, it has some complexities when you go beyond making simple calls. Skype For Dummies covers call forwarding, voice mail, and conference calling and explains the use of two very popular and important Skype features:

• SkypeIn: Receive telephone calls that you can answer through Skype on your computer
• SkypeOut: Make calls out to regular old telephones from your computer

This no-nonsense guide is written in plain English, leaving the jargon at the door. You'll learn to

• Install and configure Skype on different platforms and various mobile connections
• Create a contacts list
• Set up voicemail and call forwarding
• Use Skype for worldwide conference calls and Skypecasting
• Enhance Skype with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi wireless, and video
• Change your Skype menus to a different language
• Adjust different hardware configurations and add-ons
• Troubleshoot problems with hardware configurations and other common issues

Skype For Dummies provides guidance on using this technology in a business setting, including some implementations that can help reduce support desk costs and automate surveys and interviews. A popular use of Skype is for video calling, and the book shows how you can easily install and configure this can't-miss feature. A dedicated web site keeps the book up to date as Skype adds new features.

Additionally, you'll discover ten ways to use Skype to promote your business and ten ways to use Skype at school. With an appendix on multilanguage support and another on tips and tricks, you won't want to Skype anyone until you have your copy of Skype For Dummies in hand.

Part I

Getting Started with Skype

In this part . . .

This is the place to begin if you’re not exactly sure what Skype is, where to find it, or how to get started using it. In this part, you get a brief introduction to the world of Skype, find out how to download it, sign up for a Skype Name, locate fellow skypers, and get talking! You also get the lowdown on navigating through the Skype menu with all its options and tools.

Chapter 1

What’s All the Hoopla about Skype?

In This Chapter

Introducing Skype

Using Skype for more than a phone call

Enhancing Skype

Do you know what happens when you speak to someone over a phone line? Your conversation is converted into an electronic signal and sent over a copper wire or some wireless network to someone else’s phone. The phone companies have set up vast networks to seamlessly connect you to just about anyone on the planet and these days, the networks are all digital even if your phone is not. In addition to managing the call, phone companies track where you are dialing to and how long the call persists so that they can send you a bill at the end of the month.

Wait a second — if the zeros and ones pushed through the phone lines are the same as the zeros and ones found on computers like yours, networks, and the World Wide Web, why can’t you push those zeros and ones through the Internet? Well, you can. That’s what Skype is all about.

In this chapter, you find out what makes Skype different from regular telephones, along with surprising ways to use Skype and a quick overview of ways to make Skype fun and productive.

Seeing What Skype Can Do For You

Skype can dramatically alter how you exchange information, how you meet new people, and how you interact with friends, family, and colleagues. Although you can make calls on Skype, there is oh so much more to it. For starters, here are some things you get or can do with Skype:

Call to or receive a call from a regular telephone, a cell phone, or a computer on the Internet.

Send or receive files over the Internet to and from fellow skypers.

Search your Outlook contacts and call them within Skype.

Search the Skype database of all Skype users on the planet.

Hold a conference call with a group of people. Besides participating in audio conferencing, you can “simul-chat” with your conference participants — exchanging text, live Web links, and files.

Make live video calls.

Initiate a group chat.

Hold a Skypecast for as many as 100 people at a time.

Transmit secure and encrypted voice conversations, text, file transfers, and video.

Skype (the basic stuff) is free

To use Skype, you need only three things:

A computer with access to the Internet: Your Internet connection should be faster than dial-up. Just as Web access with dial-up does not work very well, the same is true of Skype with a dial-up connection. You’re best off using a high-speed broadband connection DSL or cable

A free software program called Skype: You can get this program from www.skype.com (see Chapter 2).

A microphone and headset: Plenty of audio device options are available (see Chapter 11), ranging from inexpensive ($20 or so) to a little more pricey.

That’s it. To be able to make your first call, you just download the Skype software from the Internet, create a Skype Name for yourself, test your audio connection through Skype, and you’re good to go. You can talk to fellow Skype users around the world without any time limits and without having to pay anyone.

If you want more than just the basic service, however, you will have to pay. Skype is free when you talk to another Skype user on a PC. But what if you want to call, say, your grandmother, who doesn’t have a computer? For a small fee (as low as two cents a minute or even free), you can “SkypeOut” from your computer to a conventional phone. The cost depends on whether she’s in the same country as you are and how long you speak. Similarly, someone who doesn’t have Skype can call you using the “SkypeIn” feature. (See Chapter 8 for more about using SkypeIn and SkypeOut.)

You can use equipment and services you already have

Why would you want to use the Internet to manage phone conversations? First, you already have it (and pay for it). Internet use is widespread; it seems that nearly everyone has it. The technology keeps improving every day. If you already have access to the Internet, you can handle much of your long-distance calling over the Internet for very low cost or for free, and often with better sound quality than you get from cell phones and regular phones. Also, you may be able to do things with an Internet-based phone system that you can’t do with a conventional phone system. You can run a Skypecast with a hundred people. You can send and receive files ...