10-04-2008, 02:15 AM
oooh.... NOW you post!
I decided to give it a try.... but perhaps I'll change my mind when I get my confirmation email.
Actually I've been reasonably pleased with Skype. For a few months I even used it on a
Pismo, and only with the built in microphone. It taxed a 400MHz G3, but it doesn't even register
on a C2D Macbook.
I can do just like they say.... on any broadband, without the device. And I do have a US Robotics
speaker phone and a "cell phone" look-alike, that is USB, that if you have to hold onto something
when you talk, you can use that. You can also use the BlueTooth or plain headset options too.
I pay $3/month, and I get a few other features as well - such as the ability to dial a local number
from a landline and pipe the call through Skype - old tech, but still handy when visiting elsewhere
or in a hotel when the computer isn't handy.
They offered 5 years for a flat $60 when I ordered this thing just now -- so it was $40 + $60, to
make it 5 years of voice mail, 411, 911, long distance, regular, extended warranty, etc., etc.
$100 total.
That comes out to $20/year over 5 years, vs. more like $40 with Skype. Occasionally I have
feedback issues with Skype, but that depends on my proximity to the screen. Otherwise, my only
complaint has been that callers aren't loud enough because of the limits of the rear facing MacBook
speakers. That problem solves itself instantly with any headset.
And the Mac has picked up EVERYTHING I've tossed at it - no drivers needed. It does help though, in
Skype, to use ITs prefs as well as the System Prefs for choosing Audio IN and OUT.
I decided to give it a try.... but perhaps I'll change my mind when I get my confirmation email.
Actually I've been reasonably pleased with Skype. For a few months I even used it on a
Pismo, and only with the built in microphone. It taxed a 400MHz G3, but it doesn't even register
on a C2D Macbook.
I can do just like they say.... on any broadband, without the device. And I do have a US Robotics
speaker phone and a "cell phone" look-alike, that is USB, that if you have to hold onto something
when you talk, you can use that. You can also use the BlueTooth or plain headset options too.
I pay $3/month, and I get a few other features as well - such as the ability to dial a local number
from a landline and pipe the call through Skype - old tech, but still handy when visiting elsewhere
or in a hotel when the computer isn't handy.
They offered 5 years for a flat $60 when I ordered this thing just now -- so it was $40 + $60, to
make it 5 years of voice mail, 411, 911, long distance, regular, extended warranty, etc., etc.
$100 total.
That comes out to $20/year over 5 years, vs. more like $40 with Skype. Occasionally I have
feedback issues with Skype, but that depends on my proximity to the screen. Otherwise, my only
complaint has been that callers aren't loud enough because of the limits of the rear facing MacBook
speakers. That problem solves itself instantly with any headset.
And the Mac has picked up EVERYTHING I've tossed at it - no drivers needed. It does help though, in
Skype, to use ITs prefs as well as the System Prefs for choosing Audio IN and OUT.