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Using your webcam with SKYPE
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SKYPE - Today's webcam communication tool!
In a world where technology is growing so fast that a pc you purchased this year is already going to be obsolete the following year, keeping up with the latest is proving to be a real challenge! One has to ask ones self, at some point, what specifics do I really want to be up-to-date on, and what ones do I want to just let go by.
Today, we are going to be addressing one of those items in technology, and what this author considers to be the best service to use in utilizing that device. The device is the webcam, and the service is called "Skype".
Webcam use has climbed in popularity over the past few years, and more and more computer systems are now coming with built-in webcam devices. The big question, though, is what does one use a webcam for? Which webcam to I need? What service is the best to use for this device? Can I use more than one? And who can I talk to?
I used to ask myself this! What would I use a webcam for, and who would I talk to with it? Finally, being the one who always has to have the latest new device, I purchased a webcam. The notebook computer I had at the time, an IBM ThinkPad T41, did not have a built-in webcam, so I had to get an external one. This webcam plugs into one of the USB ports, clips on the top of the display, and has a built-in mic, to be used in the event that the notebook does not come with one. The ThinkPad notebooks all come with built-in mics and speakers, so I disabled the built-in one for my webcam.
Now that I've got one, what do I do with it? Who do I call? I began my search for ways to actually get some use out of this device. In searching, I found a number of instant messenger services that allow for webcam conversations, many of which were easy to use. I even saw one in use on a Saturday morning tv show for kids! Bill Nye, the science guy? He uses his to talk to "Soledad", an associate that he refers to many times throughout the show. The interactivity that you see on a television program with one of these always seems so easy. I have found that, on TV at least, this "easy of use" is often exaggerated. Do they work in a similar fashion in real life? I had to know!
I discovered a program one day while updating my contact info on Plaxo. Plaxo is a service that is used to keep your addresses and contact information updated, auto-magically across the Internet, with your Outlook. When you are adding a contact, just enter the email address "first". If this user has Plaxo, the rest of the contact info will auto-populate (fill itself out, all by itself) for you! If they ever change their phone numbers, or address, headshot photo, etc. the Plaxo will automatically update your Outlook (or whatever service you are using it with) automatically!
Anyway, I was updating my contact info on this service one day and I noticed a field I hadn't seen before! As I was updating my "phone numbers" there was a field to fill in called "Skype". I had no idea what a "skype" was, so I had to research this one! In doing so, I found a service that has been in-use all over the world for some time, that offers solid, reliable, and accepted worldwide service as a VoIP telephone service! Oh, and most importantly, it is "free"!
VoIP stands for "voice-over-IP". IP, simply defined, means "internet protocol". It is the numeric address assigned for your particular network interface to use during a network connection on a TCP/IP-based network, like the Internet. These consist of 4 sets of 3 digit numbers, like 172.30.1.204 for instance. To go into further detail would require another article on TCP/IP and the use of these protocols. Suffice it to say that TCP/IP has become the most popular protocol for network communications. "Voice over IP" is where a telephone or communications device of some type utilizes the TCP/IP network to make a connection between two or more devices, so that the operators on each end can communicate.
SKYPE was formed to provide a means where someone with a personal computer, be it an Apple, a PC, a UNIX or Linux system, or whatever, can place pc-to-pc calls. WIth Skype you can "chat" using the familiar text-based "instant messenger" chat format we are all used to. You can also place a "voice" call using this VoIP (pronounced "v-o-i-p") product, allowing 2 or more people to talk, like you would on the telephone, from anywhere in the world to another user somewhere else in the world! "AND", with the webcam, you can even "see" the other person you are talking to, and they can see you as well!
The Skype Group, that created SKYPE, was 
founded by Swedish-born entrepreneur Niklas Zennström and the Dane Janus Friis. Their headquarters are located in Luxembourg, with offices in London, Tallinn, Tartu, Stockholm, Prague, and San Jose, California.
Some time in April of 2003, the domains SKYPE.COM and SKYPE.NET were registered. In August of 2003 the first "beta" version was released. By September of 2005, SKYPE, originally called "Skyper", had become a full-fledged service, with text-based chat capabilities, pc-to-pc calling, and webcam calling. Additionally, SKYPE offers "SKYPE-IN" and "SKYPE-OUT" features, which allow you to use your SKYPE service to call a regular telephone, and receive calls from a regular telephone, anywhere around the world!
In September of 2005, the SKYPE service was purchased by eBay, who, according to Wikipedia, intended to spin Skype off as a separate company in 2010. Just prior to that happening, a group of investors bought Skype, in September 2009, for $1.9 billion dollars! I'd say that Skype is a rapidly growing company with excellence service and quality, and a promising future!
Skype offers the user the capability of communicating around the world in "text format", what we call "instant messaging". It also offers the capability of one user calling another user, or group of users in a conference, simply by using a computer and headsets (or a mic and speakers). Additionally, you can pay a yearly fee (my cost was $60) and have unlimited calling to regular telephone numbers as well! With this add-on feature, I now have a telephone number for my notebook computer! You call that number, my notebook computer begins to ring like a telephone (or whatever other ring sound I choose to use), and after answering I am talking to a regular telephone user, right there on my pc! Cool, huh!
Skype also offers the computer user the capability of using a webcam, while placing a pc-to-pc voice call. This allows you to see and hear the person (or persons) you are talking to, realtime! The nice thing is that you are not limited geographically, but can call anywhere in the world! Skype even offers telephone devices that use their service so that you can benefit from the Skype service whether you are using a computer or not, in calling other telephone users around the world! These telephone devices range from cordless phones to corded phones, to devices which adapt all of your existing telephones, all to use the Skype service!
Now after sharing this article you will probably have someone tell you, "Well my Google Talk will do that." or "My Yahoo Instant Messenger will do that." but the fact is, they won't. Oh, they'll do the pc-to-pc voice calls, and many will now do the webcam also. But only just now are these others beginning to offer an assigned telephone number to receive and make calls. Yet to be duplicated, however, is the worldwide use and acceptance. In addition, SKYPE is committed to excellence in voice and call quality! Many times you will have a screen pop up after a call asking you about the quality. You, personally, may not have noticed a problem, but the SKYPE system did and is gathering information to make sure that they stay on top of the constantly changing variables involved in placing and maintaining these calls.
In my book, SKYPE is the number one choice for this today! You can now purchase, for instance, a cordless phone with "wireless" capabilities so that anywhere you have "wireless" access to the Internet, you can use this phone to place and receive SKYPE calls! This includes from a nearby Starbucks, the airport, a hotel lobby, etc.
My brother-in-law recently came up to visit from Houston. A girlfriend of his was spending lots of money every month in calling her mother back in England, to stay up on things! I introduced them to SKYPE. Now she and her mother can talk, and even "see" one another - daily, at a cost of almost nothing! Back to my story ... my brother-in-law brought his notebook pc with them. He had the webcam I recently gave him on his notebook. He and his girlfriend, who came with him, were giving her Mom a "tour" of our home, walking through the house while holding up the notebook and webcame as they strolled throughout the house, introducing each room as they entered! I was totally blown away! WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT! I never considered using it for something like that!
Now, I'm thinking smart! My mother-in-law recently moved in with us. She is 87 years old, and has no earthly idea how to use a computer! BUT, I figured out a way so her family can call her and she can visit with them ... over the SKYPE. How? SKYPE has all sorts of wonderful settings inside! We're going to set up a PC with SKYPE and set it up to automatically boot into SKYPE. Then we are going to configure the SKYPE to "automatically answer" incoming calls with the webcam! After setting it up to only receive calls from folks in the personal calling list, we've got her "network of friends and family" set up! When they call, it will automatically answer and "poof", instantly "Grandma is online"!
So, this new medium is a wonderful addition to your repertoire of "gadget toys" to have! Most .JPG)
importantly, it's FREE! You only have to pay a fee if you want to add a phone number to your SKYPE calling capabilities! If you are a fan of "Going Virtual", then you need to get a number assigned! Then, you can work from anywhere. Your built-in WWAN (cellular) connection provides your Internet connection, or if you're in a Starbucks or a Barnes and Noble, you can use their wireless services. The bottom line is, your "office phone" goes with you! I use this from my Jeep! Many times I'm parked out in the woods somewhere, writing, enjoying the weather and peace of the forest ... and I'm "connected" because I have my cellular WWAN link to the Internet, and I have my SKYPE so I can place/receive calls by telephone, do webcam calls, or just send a text note to my wife's pc - all using SKYPE ... from "anywhere"!
For more information about SKYPE, please go check them out at: SKYPE.COM
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