Webbers Corner

Hi,

I am considering setting up skype so i can receive and call people on landlines.  i know there is skype in and out whihc seems to be the ones i want but what is skype pro and whats the benefit?

anyone got this already running and can give some advise or opinions?

dave.

Hmm. not sure but I tried Skype awhile back and wasn't much of  fan. As convenient as it was it was quite confusing. I kept mixing my contacts up

i use skype now and love it, just thinking of getting the skype in and out and wondered if anyone has used it.

I thought about doing that myself. I was even going to cancel my land line and use skype exclusively, but the phone company gave me a great offer for a year so I stuck with them.for now.

I'd love to hear from people who use it though.

I've been using SkypeOut for more than a year as it's half the price of BT in UK (except that Skype have just introduced a connection charge as well of about 3 UK pence which is parent company eBay getting greedy); but never use it for 08 prefix numbers as SkypeOut just charge an average rate for all 08 numbers. BT's charges for 08 numbers vary and some are cheaper than Skype's average. I don't check all the time, I just use BT for 08 numbers and SkypeOut for normal numbers which saves a bit.

Don't cancel your landline as SkypeOut won't call emergency numbers (unless you have a mobile of course).

I don't know anything about Skype Pro except that it's a different charging structure.
http://www.skype.com/intl/en/products/skypepro/

A year ago I was using Voipbuster, Voipcheap, VoipStunt and others from the same company that had no charge for calls to a landline. At the time there was a 1 euro deposit which expired after a few months and now they want a bigger deposit. I still have some SkypeOut credit left and it lasts for ever as long as you make calls every so often - the six month period just moves forward.

thanks for the review.  is the quality of the audio good? have you noticed any days when it is poor or down?

the one thing which is swinging me atm is i can get an 0121 which is a birmingham number and near to where i live so ideal and it means all my business calls will not go through my home number and i can publish this number online.

also what headset do you use? do you recommend it?

Skype's audio quality is very good, but it was good with VoipBuster as well. Maybe I'm just lucky. I try not to have too many windows open doing other things at the same time.

Headset? Yes they are recommended but I find them a nuisance, having to grab it, put it on in a hurry, take it off when moving around the room and so on.

I'm using a very old desk stick mic that I bought years ago for about £10 and I think the audio is better than many headsets (don't use a webcam mic, they're often useless). It isn't digital but analog, although sounds gets converted to digital later. Occasionally I ask someone if they get feedback and they say no. You do need to position it in front of the monitor close to you with the speakers as far back behind as possible and use quiet sound to avoid the speaker sound going back down the mic.

The problems with Skype are nearly always with webcams. The earlier version 2 was fine but some people have had trouble with version 3. I haven't used my webcam with version 3 yet but it was fine with v2.

At least I had brilliant video and sound calls with someone in NZ who also had a good set up but calls to my neighbour are hopeless. He keeps the speakers on as well as using a headset so that his wife can listen in so his speakers are loud and his headset mic is pointing straight at them - bad feed back for me. And his webcam is a cheap one and he keeps moving around which creates fuzziness and going off-screen.

Skype video requires a sensible person at the other end with good equipment.

If you use a headset, the usb types usually cut off the speakers automatically as they are designed for offices and call centres where you don't want lots of speakers blaring out. It means you need to enable the PC speaker (the internal bleeper) so that if your headset is on the desk and you are the other side of the room you can hear an incoming call. (Tools, options, sound devices, ring PC speaker).

If you are getting SkypeIn for business I would be inclined to give an alternative landline number; Skype audio has never let me down but it's still in development. Most people having trouble with audio seem to have had their account closed for some mix up over payments leaving their bank account and not being credited to their Skype account - nothing to do with the technical performance; so it might pay to have a back up; perhaps SkypeIn listed as the preferred number and another as a fallback.

Fraudsters were using emails to phish for passwords etc but now seem to be using Skype and other VOIP or message board contact lists.
I got a Skype chat message last week:-

Update Monitor says:
WINDOWS REQUIRES IMMEDIATE ATTENTION
====================================
01.03.2007
ATTENTION ! Security Center has detected spyware
on your computer !
Affected Software:
Microsoft Windows NT Workstation
Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0
Microsoft Windows 2000  
Microsoft Windows XP  
Microsoft Windows Win98  
Microsoft Windows Server 2003
Your system IS affected, purchase repair utility
from the address below !
Failure to do so may result in severe computer malfunction !

and giving a link to click--------which gives you the worm! So don't click a link like this.

A report on http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/02/28/...e_im_worm/ says
Warezov worm fiends target Skype
Warezov variants first cropped up in September 2006 and spread in the attachments of email messages posing as security fixes. Instead of arriving via an email attachment, the latest variant of the worm spreads using a bogus Skype chat message asking users to click on a link, which points to a hacker-controlled website hosting malicious codes.

I presume this method of using Skype usernames that are often seen on the web in people's profiles etc means that fraudsters can bypass email screening. Of course Update Monitor is not one of my Contacts and I knew that Skype doesn't have a virus/worm/trojan checker but other people might find the chat convincing.

I looked up the Whois which gave a name, address and telephone number in USA so either it is a false name etc or he can be easily traced.