You can also run a baby monitor (or a nanny cam) through Skype: Attach a webcam to one computer, then Skype in to it from another machine-you’ll see everything come in live.Įven with all these bells and whistles, the best thing about Skype is still the price. One add-on claims to analyze the other person’s voice to detect whether she really loves you. Because your phone is a piece of software, you can tweak it in many ways-for instance, use Skype recording software to save all your calls or use a digital voice modulator to make prank calls. Other stuff you can do with Skype: Making calls through the Internet rather than the phone network brings all kinds of advantages. (You get a discount if you subscribe to one of Skype’s calling plans.) SkypeIn numbers cost $60 a year or $18 for three months.

(Do note, though, that Skype doesn’t do emergency calls if you need 911, use a real phone.) And once you’re using it, it feels no different from an ordinary phone. You do need to buy some equipment to use Skype, but none of it is exotic or expensive. It’s also completely legal and here to stay-eBay bought the company in 2005, and you don’t have to worry about the Feds shutting it down. Unlike Vonage or other Internet phone services, it requires no contract or installation you can set it up yourself and use it as often as you like, and you can use it to supplement (rather than replace) your normal phone if you prefer. Skype, which routes your calls through the Internet, is easy to set up and pretty hassle-free to use. But because Skype is so unbelievably cheap, I’ve run across lots of people who still consider it some kind of Internet dark art-a service with mysterious inner workings, one that requires some kind of special equipment or technical know-how to get it up and running. Skype isn’t new-it launched in 2003 *, and millions of people around the world use it.

Wifi requirements for skype call