Skype

15 years ago

I've known about Skype for a while because a lot of my international friends use it to make (free) international phone and video calls, but I always assumed it was difficult and/or expensive to set up. But the other week, my laptop's mouse broke, so I went to Circuit City's going out of business sale for a replacement and ended up getting a great deal on a cordless mouse bundled with a web cam.

It turned out being ridiculously easy to set up the web cam, and completely free to set up a Skype account. It then occurred to me that if my sisters had these, I could talk to my nieces and nephews (esp. the young nephews who are too small for phone talking), so I asked them if they'd be willing to get web cams too. They weren't enthusiastic because they had the same assumptions I had, so I found two stupid cheap (Remember the futuristic promises of our childhoods? Well, I might have preferred the flying cars, but the video phones have definitely arrived for the masses.

Last night I got a video call from my two young nephews just after their bath time. To be honest, the 2.5 year old was a little freaked out... especially when I told him I could see him through the computer and described his pajamas to him! The nearly one year old was engaged and babbled in response to me when I sang his name.

I just got a video call from a friend in Bulgaria and finally got to see his new baby. (Can you imagine how expensive a 20 minute phone call from Bulgaria would have been 15 years ago without video?) It was nice because his wife (whose English is not as good as his) was able to sit by his side and be a part of the conversation (and we'd be lost on the phone with one another!) My friend asked how our front patio project turned out, so I unplugged the printer from my laptop and took the computer outside to show him. Our wifi network has a good strong signal, so I can envision making video calls from the comfort of my hammock next summer...

At Christmas I found out that I'll be getting another niece/nephew in August, and I can't wait to watch my sister's belly grow in real time. I can also foresee cooking with my niece and reading stories to my nephews.

I just thought I'd bring this up because there are probably a lot of you who have nieces, nephews and grandbabies scattered all over the place and would probably enjoy the kind of communication this sort of (free) technology allows. If I had to do it over again, I'd probably get a headset (I still might) so I'm not always on "speaker phone" (though I can just go upstairs with the laptop if Steve has the TV on...) This could be useful for multi-generational cooking tutorials, story time, at-home music recitals, and more... to heck with long distance costs and cell phone minute overages...

Do any of you use this? Have you found it useful for something other than what I've mentioned?

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Comments (6)

calliope
15 years ago
DD and SIL use it to chat with family in England. We thought the old real-time keyboard links were cool, god knows they were better than Email, but this is just like you said. Like Dick Tracy come true.
batyabeth
15 years ago
With me and one son here and mom, sisters and two sons there, we love it!!! Actually, I don't have a camera, as it's one of the things that I always mean to get around to buying but never do, but the setup is grand, and DG uses it all the time with her son who is now in Hawaii. She's the computer tech person in the family. I remember being here for a year when there was only snail mail, and all letters were two weeks out of date, and some got lost, although the ones I have saved are dear and precious. But cyberspace has allowed me to stay in touch with my sons and family in a way I never imagined, and without it I would be fairly bereft. As one who reads endless amounts of science fiction, I am only too aware that today's sf is tomorrow's science, and for me, the communication universe is a miracle. Phone rates are way down, too, so calling and chatting is nowhere near the money it once was, and I talk to the States 2-3 times a month. Easy, cheap and wonderful! Batya
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calliope
15 years ago
I surely can relate to that one, having lived out of the country as a child and teen. Two weeks minimum for an answer, usually longer, even if you sent a post by airmail.

Phone calls were so expensive, that a seven minute call my mother made to my father in Asia came to fifty dollars. I remember her nearly fainting when she got the phone bill. That was back in the 50s and that money would pay the rent, probably. She had asked the operator to cut her off at seven minutes, instead of one minute.........because in her mind she knew one minute was seven dollars.

When my DD and SIL were living in England, and still for those dear ones who live there, I often send larger parcels month early by surface mail because of the postage.

Information superhighway is a good name for it, and there is little reason for a person to remain uninformed anymore if they have enough gumption to go looking for facts and are preferential enough to sort the wheat from the chaff.
wandaredhead
15 years ago
My friend in Boston and I have used it for months.
We LOVE it!!

We chat, show each other our newest grands, work together on art/scrapbook projects, and even our monkeys communicate via Skype!

My camera is made into my laptop screen (which isn't real convenient) and I have a portable.
She has a portable.
We have found (for us) the portable web cam is more practical in doing things other than just talking back and forth.

A Word of Caution: As with any internet communication, DO NOT ANSWER ANY SKYPE call if you are not aware of who is calling. You may see more than you bargained for. LOL!!
A word from the 'wiser.'
User
15 years ago
I have had Skype for quite a while as it is available in the bundled software that Google offers. Just click on more at the top of the Google page and a whole new world will be opened up to you. My sister in New Zealand and her daughter also recently set it up and and her new laptop came with the camera and the microphone built in. We talked for an hour and a half last night and she showed us her knick knacks and it was great to see her face. She is coming over in June to go to the high school reunion with my other sister in Iowa and to spend some time with us and my brother. Last time she was here was about 8 or 9 years ago. I haven't been over there yet but someday. Now we have to get my other sister and brother to get set up. I need to get a camera but that means I need to clean up my office.
wandaredhead
15 years ago
don,

LOL!!
My friend in Boston has seen 'selected images' of my Sun/Craft/Crap-room.
When we started Skype'ing she asked to see the whole thing.
I said, 'Maybe next year.'
Well, it's been over a year and she ain't seen it yet!

Skype

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calliope

batyabeth

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