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First published in New Zealand Macguide Magazine - Issue 30

Everyone's got their favourite chat program. Some love iChat but know it's hindered by the power it needs to do video chatting and that others need the same program or the AOL equivalent installed. Programs like Adium X (http://www.adiumx.com/) appeal to others because it targets a number of chat programs to work with. And then there's the barrier I've come across…the dominance of Microsoft Messenger on the PC.

Skype is a text, audio and video chat system that is available for PC and Linux also. If you visit the Skype website (www.skype.com) you'll see an option to download the new version with video capability.

Skype has begun to appeal to me more and more recently, not only because of the excellent audio quality, but also because of the ease of use, similarities between platform versions and the ability to use Skype to make and receive phone calls. We'll discuss phone calls later, but in the meantime, let's look at how you sign up to Skype.

It's all in the application
The easiest way to get started with Skype is to download and install the application. Once you launch it, you're asked to either login or create a Skype name. The great thing about the account creation is that it can all be done from within the program. There's no need to go off to a website and complete online forms.

You first need to choose your Skype name. Given that they have millions of users, you may find that you have to pick something quite unique, but the system searches for you and tells you if your name is available. Once you select a name, you enter the password you have decided upon, accept the user agreement and can also choose to have Skype start automatically whenever you log in.

After this, a new screen appears asking for more information. The screen is very simple to complete and you can decide what is and isn't made publicly available. Setting items such as the country and city you are in is a good idea if you're hoping friends using Skype will search and find you easily.

A really nice feature at this point is the Skype Call Test. It's an account set up that you can call, hear a recorded message and then record a test message back. It lets you know that Skype is working and that your microphone is working also. As with iChat, you may need to go into your System Preferences and the Preference within the program, to let Skype know if you are using a headset and/or camera as your input and output device.

Finding people
Of course the worlds a lonely place without anyone to chat to, so Skype has an easy to use search facility to try and find friends who have Skype accounts and add them into your contacts list. You can search via email addresses, by Skype name or real name, keeping in mind that in the case of the latter, you're likely to find a lot of people have the same name around the world (16 Mark Webster's!).

Once you add their name into your Contacts list, it's still required that when they see your name appear in their Skype program, that they accept you into their contact list and agree to communicate with you and decided if they want to let you know when they are online.

Text chatting is exceptionally easy. In the contacts list, choose the person you want to chat to and click on the chat icon next to their name. A screen appears where you can type your text, with a small pop-up menu at the bottom where you can add in neat animated icons or emoticons. If you type a web address, it becomes clickable to the other person and if you drag a file to this window, the person you are chatting to will be asked if they want to accept the file before it gets sent across the net. This is very handy if you're talking to someone who wants to start sending you huge files that you don't want!

Placing a call
Think of audio and video chatting as placing a call to your friend, but thanks to the fact that you are using the Internet as your ‘service provider' this person-to-person call is going to be free! You use the Contact List to select who you want to call, click the phone button and then a small window appears. At the same time, both you and the person you are trying to connect with hear the sound of a phone ringing. Once they accept the call, you can then start your audio or video chat. Placing a call to standard telephone is more or less the same, with the exception that you type in the full international number for the phone, regardless of whether the number is a local or international one and that there is a cost involved.

For making phone calls (called SkypeOut) you need to pay funds into your Skype account on their website. It's a good chance for you to check out their very reasonable calling rates whilst topping up your account. Then it's simply a matter of sitting at your Mac, getting your headset or camera microphone set up and typing the telephone number into Skype.

For this article I called Scotland to chat to a friend. It cost me around 3 cents per minute and the quality was very good, although there was a small drop in quality compared to traditional calls and it is affected by anything else you might be doing, such as downloading a big file off the internet. My friend reported the sound as perfect, probably thanks to my good broadband connection. As an aside, we also talked via the free Skype-to-Skype approach on another day and the sound quality was absolutely superb.

You are also able to purchase a Skype telephone number (currently 10 Euros per 3 months) and people can call this number (called SkypeIn) via standard telephones. Whilst this might sound appealing, these numbers are just like any other phone number, and with numbers only currently available for 14 countries (Australia being our closest) any call from a New Zealand phone to your SkypeIn number will be considered an international phone call.

Editor Mark Webster and I were impressed with the performance of Skype video for a beta and the process of making a call is just the same, only once the call has started, you click a camera icon to start your video feed. Whilst not having the finesse of an iChat conference or the ability to drag files onto the video window to share, performance was very reasonable. The full-screen mode worked well and tests with a friend on a PC overseas have also seen good performance, although network congestion can be noticeable at busy times.

Skype for the future
Skype means that you can take your ability to make and receive calls anywhere with you in the world and already some of the countries have Skype-compatible mobile phones. When New Zealand SkypeIn numbers becomes available, you could do away with a traditional telephone number and just have a Skype number.

Already there are cordless phones available in New Zealand that can plug into your landline and your computer to allow for the best of both worlds. Depending on whether someone calls you via traditional methods or via Skype, the phone makes a slightly different ringing sound.

As someone who makes few traditional toll calls, the unbundling of the local telephone loop, the introduction of naked DSL (where I pay a small fee to my ISP for a line into my house rather than line rental for a seldom used phone) combined with a Skype phone, is something I can't wait for. However as Skype are quick to stresses, they are not a telephony replacement service and cannot be used for emergency dialing. I'd keep my mobile phone handy for such an event, but otherwise, for the cost of my broadband, I'll be able to talk to my friends free in any part of the world.

Published by kind permission NZ Macguide - © Parkside Media

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a guest said: March 29, 2007   Votes: +0

	Hi there is there any date as to when skype will have agreements with new zealand for skype in numbers? can it happen right after april1st or does this take time to happen?? I can not wait to ditch vonage my current us voip and world exchange my NZ voip for one skype account with up to 10 IN numbers in any country to the same account YAY!!
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March 29, 2007
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