Turn me on to/put me off Skype!

[deptfordmarmoset]

I use it a fair bit and no probs, and the three questions you ask are all fine.

One additional thing you can do is to set it up to send texts as if from your usual UK mobile. ideal when abroad. You do a one-off validation to check you own the UK mobile. The you buy £5 (minimum) credit. You can then send texts from within skype that appear to have come from your uk mobile, and cost 5p (i think) rather than the 15-25p you would pay with roaming. also a darned sight quicker typing the texts out. Credit lasts a long time and to avoid the credit being lost you can just make one call every 6 mths to their free test line

I use this quite often, purely to save having to type SMS on a phone. The current charge is €0.08.

That reminds me: Skype work in Euros so there is a small surcharge, levied by the bank, I believe. Skype are a little naughty in not clearly warning UK customers about the hidden cost of currency conversion even though it's not expensive.

 

[jefmcg]

Quality is much better than phones. I listen to podcasts, and often one of the speakers is on Skype. You can't tell the difference.

A cheap alternative to a headset is using the built in microphone/webcam microphone and standard/ipod headphones. But test it first with echo123. It's a pretty good way of assessing the call quality, without driving your friends crazy.

 

[swede54]

Microsoft liked it so much they bought the company, although some people may say that's not such a good thing.

 

[ColinJ]

My long video chat with my brother-in-law in Ireland persuaded him to take up cycling to lose weight and get fit again! He got me to recommend him a cheap bike and accessories and once he gets them he is going to go out and explore the Irish countryside.

I might buy a copy of Dragon Naturally Speaking to transcribe my witterings for me and that comes with a headset. It might not be fantastic quality, but it should do the trick!