Skype
 

Free P2P Voice over IP phone calls... (but only to other skype users)

Anyone using this?

A friend put me onto it a few months ago, and i've just gotten around to installing it... And he aint online to try it with...

Bah.

http://www.skype.com/

I'm on it - username is SecretMethod70 (go figure ;))

Been trying to get more of my friends to use it, but it's hard when there's no Linux version and almost all of us use Linux :( Heck, if not for the fact I don't have the time to fiddlewith my computer and reinstall Linux at this point since my format, I'd be primarily in Linux too.

snap.

I'm waiting for mandrake 10 to come out before i purchase a powerpack.

Ho hum.

i downloaded it, but like many others, i don't know of anyone i know who has it too.... :-/

A beta version was launched nearly a year ago. Skype recently said that the free software has been downloaded about 10 million times.

To the user, Skype works a lot like instant messaging. On your screen, you see a box that lists which buddies — fellow Skype users — are also on the system. To make a connection, both you and the other person have to have the Skype software and be logged in at the same time. Then you click and make a call, talking either through a headset or using the PC's microphone and speakers. You can't call to a traditional phone.

That's what Skype is. More interesting is what it's not. Skype is not a company in any 20th-century sense of the word. It's an entity that could only happen in this era of the Internet and globalization.

Skype has barely any staff and has no real headquarters. It has no infrastructure whatsoever but is serving millions in 170 countries and could, with the same lack of infrastructure, scale that up to billions. It doesn't seem to have a PR department, either: I couldn't get hold of anyone who could put me in touch with Zennstrom and Friis.

linkage

As for a personal opinion, I think Skype is great. Being in a long distance relationship, the phone bills start to rack up pretty fast, so we both decided to download this and try it. It's pretty good, in my opinion, and if you can get people you know on your list, it sure can save a lot of money. I'd give it two thumbs up.

/my 2 cents...

That was enough for me.
I'm only in windows when gaming, and I don't want to be bothered calling my friends then :) so until there is a linux client, I'll be using the good ol' phone, e-mail, msn, icq, irc and whatnot.

It's too bad too because I assure you the sound quality in Skype is great :)

But as I type this, KDE is finishing up it's compile and I'll be back to using Windows only for occasional games, etc.

Perhaps the next version will have Linux support. *hopes*

How reliable is it?

My bf talks to a couple friends almost daily, using some prog installed on one of their own servers...

Any problems anyone's had?

it's very reliable if you got enough bandwith ;) Just make sure that programs such as Emule etc isn't running at the same time and the sound quality should be perfect.

Skype rocks! Right now it's free, but in June/July, there will probably be a "GA" (general availability) version for which you will have to pay.

I think I'll stick with it. The calls are crystal clear as long as you have a good microphone and are very near real-time. You can use this in combination with a video transmission and keep in touch with the spouse and kids while away on business.

I love it!

it was my understanding that the folks behind Kazaa were also responsible for Skype.


that alone was enough for me to not mess with it no matter their intentions or cost of the software