** LINKS and Thumbnails open in new browser window for convenience

Although someone told me about this FREE service over a year ago, I only checked it out on 25 January 2004 and signed up -- mentioned it in my YES news blog -- here are some basic facts about the service, including screen shots of some of the available functions and options.

Their web site provides you with all of the details for using the service, and it is available for the Mac, PC, and Linux platforms as well as for handheld devices -- the particulars of each seem basically the same, which may be summed up in a banner they have

they provide numerous screen shots and instructions for use, each according to the user platform selected -- here are some personal observations, tips and suggestions --

to make use of the online telephone connection you have to be working at a computer which has sound INPUT and OUTPUT capability, which is almost universal -- the mike and speakers may be built into your puter toy, and/or it may have the corresponding jacks for these uses -- you can thus use any old microphone from whatever as an input device, and an old set of headphones as output. There is a slight catch to this though -- the plugs on your mike may not be compatible with what the input jack accepts, so you will also need to find an adaptor -- not a major problem, though, because you can find them at any Radio Shack or other techy shop -- one other thing of note in this regard is to make sure that your computer audio sound preferences, both as audio/sound input and output, are set to whatever gizmos you might be using -- for PC users this may mean having or getting the appropriate engine/s for these things to function properly. I would strongly suggest that you obtain a USB headset for this purpose -- there are many models and price ranges available, depending on the sound quality you might prefer -- the details of the headset I have are found below.

So your first step is to sign up for this really kewl service -- -- hey, it is FREE, so why not!

After you sign up I would suggest that you make your user profile, adding as much or as little information as you feel comfortable with -- I naturally filled in each and every form blank, adding as much info as possible in the Description space, which seems to be limited, and you may have to try several formats to get it all to appear --

all of which is theoretically available when doing a Skype Search for other users -- if you do a search for cats or Tenerife, my user name should appear in the resulting list, but frequently does not -- user names and handles always appear if searched for as such -- I suspish that using commas or dashes to separate words may limit the search capability of things included in the description field, so I eliminated the ones I originally had there -- I have changed the profile several times -- although I did include my E-mail address in the space provided, I later found that they do not actually show up on your profile when somebody views it, so I used a workaround which does show up, putting it in the Phone office space! Since I am not that super handsome to look at, this is the pic I used here -- my friend told me he liked the, ehhhhh.........., exposure!

You will also note the addition of NOprofile = NOcontact -- I was getting a few calls from peeps with absolutely nothing in their profile, even conference calls, and what little they said did not make very much sense, matter of fact, some sounded like 12 year olds!

This is the generic PC version of the Skype user module which appears on your screen after you are a member --

note the service called SkypeOut -- this allows you to call any landline phone (and I think mobile cell phones also) just about anywhere in the world for a measly 2US cents/minute, and the peep does not have to be a Skype member! Today I received a snail mail offer from my phone service, Verizon, to use their fabulous rate of 8¢ to 41¢ per nominal minute to South America and Spain, and that does not include their flat rate monthly fee of $4!! DUH!

I shall not go into all the details of each and every function -- it is more fun to check them out and experiment with them yourself -- my Skype module is very similar when in My Skype mode -- the Conference option may include, at this time, up to four members --

note that I personalized my tool bar, and that at the time of the screen shot there were a million more users logged in on 28 January 2005! Once you do a Skype search for users, you will see that most of them are European, South American, African, Asian or whatever -- in some countries the telephone bills can be astronomical, even when calling your next door neighbor, which may be charged by the nominal minute or fraction thereof!

I have used the Share Skype option numerous times to tell friends and family about this service -- I usually set the lower left option, to Skype Me when I am online, allowing anyone to contact me via voice or Instant Message -- I was amazed that only minutes after I signed up and put my profile online, I had calls from three peeps in Poland, and have since received calls from Brazil, Germany, the USA, Nigeria and France! And the sound quality is way better than some calls I make to my brother in South Jersey, even when I used the mike built into my eMac!

I used the Send File with Donna in New Jersey and a peep in Brazil, and it works as expected -- the Send IM option is very similar to that found just about anywhere these days, and you can find a log of all the Instant Messages you participated in, including the complete IN/OUT text, by checking the Call List option and selecting the corresponding user name option.

There are many individualized Skype user options to be found in the main tool bar of your computer, most of which have to be used while you are online, as is normal. You will note the folder I have on my desktop titled *Skyscape Data, in which I keep any and all info related to my Skype use, including the complete IM text of certain conversations when I want to save them for whatever archival reason --

Note that this screen shot is using the Contacts option, in which you have your own list of personal contacts.

Now I shall jump to the headset I purchased through the Skype web site -- this info is basically a mirror of what I already have in my YES news blog --

26 JANUARY 2005 / Wednesday -- Let me begin with more about what they call VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol -- in particular, the Skype service I mentioned yesterday -- a couple more friends signed up for it since then -- in my LINKS section following this update you will find one about what VoIP means and how it is accomplished --

The headset I ordered is made by Plantronics -- they have analog, digital and even Blue Tooth models (for wireless connectivity) to choose from -- I did some checking and the same models are more expensive on both the Plantronics and the Apple web sites, and DO NOT include the 120 FREE calling minutes! They are also available on eBay, but I did not see any which included the free Skype minutes. The one I ordered through the Skype accessory page, which has not arrived yet, is this mid priced USB model, which apparently folds for easy transport when traveling, not that I do as much as I might like to!

If you do sign up for the free Skype telephony service, one of the first things you should do is make your profile thingy -- add as much or as little information as you feel comfortable with -- I add everything that I can, as usual! If you do not want to add a personal photo, put one in of your cat, dog or whatever as a indication of your interests, perhaps. Then do the Skype SEARCH to see if you can find family or friends using it, and place them on your contact list -- you might want to tell other peeps about Skype, and there is a handy link on their pages for that purpose -- look at the couple small neato animated video clips that you can send with your invite, including one in your invitation.

If you use a PC (NOT Mac) and have the usual firewalls to theoretically keep out bugs and things, Skype may not load or even work as it is supposed to -- read their FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) about this on their web site.

OK, about 20h I checked downstairs again and did find a note saying they left the package next door (stupid twits!) -- went over to the neighbor's house, got it and here is, graphically, what arrived --

See the back of the package for the technical specs -- contents : collapsible headset with DSP (Data Signal Processor) and separate volume control on a single cable with USB (Universal Serial Bus) plug, instructions, warranty card, 20x14.5cm drawstring carry baggy (folded in scan) and an installation CD only for PC users, which means that Mac users do not get the Audio Control Center -- we just plug and play (and do not have to worry about searching for the appropriate driver!) and can use the more complete iTunes audio controls to play with the many sound settings. The cord between the DSP and the volume control is about 172 cm long, with another 85+cm to the headset -- the volume control with thin metal clip may be attached to the long sleeve of your shirt or to some nearby cable or your mouse pad. Oh, yes, and no sound card required -- that is contained in the DSP, I assume. The 120 FREE Skype landline telephone minutes code was also included. This headset now takes its place with my ancient Sony MDR-WO7 earpieces that I got many years go for some CD player -- the old Sony I shall still use with my iPod, and the new toy with Skype and to listen to iTunes on my eMac.

I added a couple pics of me wearing the marvel, and as you can see, the sound quality while listening to my iTunes playlist made me smile, which some might say is rare! Problem is I do not have a tripod and had to rest the Nikon against something and take time delayed shots in a somewhat limited space, under really ratty lighting conditions, so my pics are not really as exciting as I might have wanted them to be.

The only thing I might point out here is that you can only get the FREE Skype minutes if you buy through the Skype web site -- but the special offer is only valid until the end of March 2005, and I believe that you must also use your minutes by then, but I may be wrong about this -- it does not really make much sense to buy a headset from them on 30 March and then lose the free minutes 2 days later?

31 January 2005 / Monday -- There is a new Skype update for Mac OSX users as of 27 January 2005 -- for those who already are using the older version, here are some tips I learned on the Skype Forums, LINK below, for updating to v0.15.0.4 Beta --

1. download new version

2. go to hard drive -> Library -> Preferences, find and trash com.skype.skype.plist -- flush to oblivion

3. sign off aol or your other Internet provider

4. if you have the old Skype alias in your dock, trash it, like P O O F it, by simply dragging it away from the dock

5. once downloaded and the app unzips upon clicking it, drag and drop the Skype icon thingy into your Applications folder (it will ask if you want to replace the old one, click what the hell, go ahead)

5. verify/repair permissions, which seems to always be advisable when adding a new app -- where to find this -- hard drive -> Applications -> Utilities -> Disk Utility

6. RESTART computer, waiting the full two minutes for it to restart by itself, which optimizes the coding

7. drag and drop the new Skype icon alias in dock for handy reference

8. sign on to aol or whatever, click the Skype thingy and you are as good as new

1 February 2005 / Tuesday -- I discovered the Skype Forums a couple days ago -- there are several main forum categories, one specifically for Max OSX users, so I checked out some of the topic subjects -- very interesting and informative -- you have to sign up to post on the forums, which I did, and I made a slightly different forum profile --

the avatar was a detail that took me some time to get the correct size image for that space, which is quite small. One animated penguin gif did work -- -- but I changed it to my first Sphynx cat, which I sometimes also use on eBay. I did enter my aol screen name as the AIM Address, but I later removed it because it resolves to an iChat link, and I have not yet even launched iChat because I can do the same text message thing with the AOL Instant Message option, which includes AIM for non-AOL members, whether PC or Mac users -- I tend to try to keep things simple and not duplicate something I already have that works well, and is usually a lot easier / simpler to use than some new applications.

This is a screen shot of my 15th post, showing my signature, which does not appear on the above profile --

There you have it, as briefly and simply as I could make this limited overview introduction to Skype -- I have not yet tried the SkypeOut option to call a landline phone, so I cannot offer any info about that at this time. NO, I am not receiving any kind of commission for advertising this kewl service, just in case it may have entered your possibly distrustful mind. I think it is kewl as hell, and suspish that you will too. Incidentally, I also added a mention of Skype on my eBay ME page, including my user name!

I hope this page my have been of help to you with any beginning questions you may have had. The links below will provide much more information than I did, and if you have further questions, feel free to contact me.

-- Me / VoIP Info -- Me / Skype Main Page -- Me / Skype For Business Use -- Me / Skype Cell Phones -- Me / Skype Forums --

God Bless !

Questions and comments may be emailed to the author of the above YES at

YES - 2005

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