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Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Free Long Distance With Skype

WFMW
These days the song, "Its a Small World After All" is really true. The world so quickly has become so connected. Talking, visiting, seeing, and receiving things from all around our planet is as easy as a click of a button. There is technology for emailing, instant messaging, texting, sending photos, and pretty much anything else that you can think of.

The best part is that this kind of technology has made it possible for people to keep in contact with loved ones easier. We know this well because with my parents living over in India and Curtis's parents living in Chile....we don't get to see our family as much as we would like, but luckily for us, we have Skype.

Skype is a free program that allows you and other Skype users to talk to each other.....for FREE! That's right... I said it... free. F-R-E-E and I mean completely free. (as you can tell I am excited about it being free) and when I say talk.. I don't mean typing, I mean talk. Skype is basically a telephone for you computer. You simply download it, have it recognize your microphone/web camera, and there you go.... one free phone/video. You now can call anywhere in the world and talk as long as you want for free. Skype has been the life saver for our family. It has helped us be able to see our parents and for our parents to not miss the changes in their grandkids.

The program isn't just for calling other skype users, you can call any number you want, which does cost money; but it is definitely cheaper to use Skype then your long distance provider. Skype is also a instant messenger too. So, if someone can't talk on the computer/phone right then, you can talk with them through instant messaging. Your program even comes with a answering machine too. If you are not available, someone can leave you a message and show you who called and what time.

Skype even offers some other amazing things. They realize that not everyone is at their computer all the time. Sooooo.... Skype has come up with a phone that is completely compatible with Skype. It is specially designed to have a screen that is exactly like the program. You can look at your phone's screen and see everyone who is online and with a push of a button call them for free from your land phone, with the help of internet. This is a nice option because then you are not tied down to your computer when you want to chat. The phone gives you some nice free agency.

So, if you have family over seas, a husband in Iraq, a sister in the next state over, or a husband that goes on business trips.... then download Skype and pass it around to your friends and family. You can see and chat with your loved ones for free and help stay connected. If you would like some more information here is a link their info website.

22 comments:

  1. We live in PA and my sister lives in Chicago. On one of her last visits, she bought us a webcam and downloaded Skype for me. We've only used it once, but you're right...it's great!

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  2. It does sound great. I will definitely have to check it out.

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  3. We use this to talk to my BIL in Iraq. It's amazing and so easy to use! I totally would recommend it!

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  4. This is our primary connection back to the US. We love it - be careful though when buying accessories, not everything is universally compatible with all hardware.

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  5. We use ours all the time with my parents in CA :(

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  6. fortunately, i don't have any loved ones far away, but what a great idea!! thanks for posting...i know everyone will appreciate the tip. i will also pass along to others i know with friends/family far away.

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  7. My sister studied abroad in England for 6 months, it was so nice for my dad. I never did download the program, but my dad raved about it!!! I went to my parents house to talk to my sister. IT was awesome, made me miss her that much more!

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  8. Ok, we just got this! My parents gave me a webcam for our anniversary (which is today!) and we are so pumped to use it!

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  9. I had this on my computer for a bit, but my computer needs some updating before Skype will work really well. My friend's all love this!

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  10. i love skype!! we use it to chat with my little brother who lives in nyc :)

    soo fun!!

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  11. That's awesome! We aren't that up to date on tecnology yet- we still don't have a webcam! But, maybe one day... it's definitely worth it if you have someone in your family/friends overseas.

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  12. My hubby went on a business trip to Japan and we were able to talk like it was a phone. There isn't a delay and the quality is GREAT. The only thing is the other person has to have the headset connection to talk, too, but as long as you have that, it's seriously amazing.

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  13. I'm going to have to look into this. We have friends all over the world with being a military family. :D

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  14. Skype is awesome. I feel like I'm cheating the system when I use it! hahaha

    With all the technology out there these days, there really is no excuse to not stay in contact with loved ones.

    ~melody~

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  15. Thanks for sharing this and it is something that I will have to check out.

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  16. I had heard of Skype, but had no idea what it was. Thanks for this comprehensive description, so glad it works!

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  17. I learned about skype at one of my professional development days through work!!! I have yet to try it. Why, I don't know! I have family that lives in Arizona, New Mexico, Michigan, and North Carolina... not to mention all my college freinds who are all over the US!!! Maybe I will give it a go! Great info! Thanks

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  18. Wow! What a great service. And I just love that I can call my son anytime for free and he's only three hours away. In a different country? That's awesome.

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  19. My sister uses Skype with her husband who is overseas .. he is a marine. She says it works great!

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  20. my hubby and I just ran into issues using the video component of iChat so we installed skype, it's amazing! we loved it and my girls could talk to daddy everyday on his extended business trip. He even read them books!

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  21. My brother has been raving about this for months.
    Maybe I should listen to him.

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