Skype

[TMan]

My wife is in India for the next couple of weeks, and she is going around to different cities. Vonage allows you to call India "free" as part of their world package. It works, but when I call her, it is still through the local Indian telephone service. The quality of the calls leaves something to be desired, and this is no reflection on Vonage.

My wife has a card on her computer, which is basically a transceiver and gives her internet access whereever she is (as long as she is in a main city, which has always been the case). She also has Skype installed on her computer, but it being a business computer, doesn't have a built-in web-camera.

My netbook has the web-cam, dual-processor, 250gig hard-drive, and Skype. I can call her Skype to Skype and she can see me at no cost. Also, the voice quality is far better than using the telephone. So although I can hear her, but I can't see her, she can both hear and see me. (Actually seeing her and not hearing her could be a blessing at times. ;D ) She can both see and hear me.

So, if you have realitives overseas, need I say more?

[5ontarget]

Another free and easy thing for long distance communications is Ventrillo. It is primarily used for internet gaming so teammates can talk to each other, but it works just fine for regular communication. (no video feed though, audio only) You can download the server information and set up a free 8 person server. If you want to have more than 8 people online, you have to pay for the program, or rent a server for a few dollars a month. The 8 person server doesn't take up much room and doesn't tax the system. The client is pretty small too. What I'm trying to say is that there is no need to have a separate system for the server.
I've used it to talk to friends and relative across the country and occassionally out of the country.

www.ventrilo.com/

[MLB]

I've used Skype for business, but have not utililized the video component. It is amazing that the service is there without charge.

[TMan]

Well the basic service of computer to computer is free. Once you are on the hook...

1) Like with Vonage, you can have a Skype-In number in whatever area code that you want. I have one in area code 315 (Syracuse, NY). My best friend from high-school days can call that number and it rings me on Skype. It costs me $60/year. The difference with Vonage is you can pick a local exchange i.e. I could have picked a number in Black River, NY (Fort Drum - 10th Mountain Division).

2) From Skype you can call other countries and go directly into the phone system. When overseas, I use Skype to call any number here in the US for $0.02/minute.

3) Skype has a call forwarding feature. Since calling China is also just $0.02/minute, I had my cell-phone forwarded to my Syracuse number, and Skype was forwarded to our apartment in Shanghai. So if anyone called my house, after 4 rings (fixed call forwarding), it switched to my cell phone, then to Syracuse then to my apartment via Skype. Therefore, any calls to my house would ring our apartment in Shanghai and it only cost me $0.02/minute.

4) Skype has an application on the iPhone. Unfortunately it will allow you to send text messages, but not to talk over the 3G network. So, Skype provides me with another number that I call as a local number, then I'm into Skype's system.