<p>to Skype that is… How many clicked through because of the title? Anyway I’m late tot the game but Skype is great! Gave myself a major headache setting it up but so worth it. Every few days I can lay eyes on my youngest in Ireland, chat as long as the laptop battery will last and not pay anything! </p>
<p>First conversation was staticicky and not very satisfying. But second time around so much better… So has everyone else discovered this?</p>
<p>I have skyped with DD in Chile and other countries. I talk with her in Turkey about once a week, and, unless the internet is running slow, use the video camera. It’s amazing that there is no discernible time delay!!! I LOVE skype, and am happy to use it for free, and also to use the paid Skype to call her cell phone once in a blue moon… It is one great technology!</p>
<p>Hi Sister Sunnie!</p>
<p>I am so glad to see you here! Skype is wonderful, I get to Skype with our son in Iraq regularly and unless there is a sandstorm it is great! I’m glad things seem to be going well. I trust your daughter is well and happy.</p>
<p>-momof1</p>
<p>I got my mom on skype last semester. I was trying to talk on the phone with her and curl my hair at the same time and it wasn’t working, so I walked her through setting up skype. She discovered that her computer has a hidden microphone somewhere-- very amusing. </p>
<p>We are not the sort of people that would ever use skype regularly to chat with family, but it’s a really useful little tool. I mainly use it for staff meetings for my website so that I can talk hands free and without paying extra for international calls.</p>
<p>We just set it up yesterday too. Though apparently the cell phone my son will be buying in Jordan will receive overseas calls at no cost to him, so we may end up doing that most of the time. It will all depend on where it turns out he has access to the internet.</p>
<p>Geez - You got me. I clicked on because I thought it was a “juicy” thread. Oops.</p>
<p>Last year we were packing to visit D at college as winter turned to spring, and she wanted to swap some clothes. I carried my laptop into her room, Skyped her, and pulled items out of her closet and held them up in front of the laptop while she said, “Yes,” or “no.” The awkward thing was that her webcam wasn’t working, so I was talking to a blank screen and waving clothes in front of the laptop, and she was using the Chat feature to respond in writing. I felt like I was talking to a myself, or maybe to a robot. It was funny.</p>
<p>D was dating a boy who went on study abroad in China - their time zones were 12 hours different, but they Skyped frequently. Usually she was heading to bed while he was heading to lunch! </p>
<p>We also Skyped with S as he travelled around Europe last year. Usually used the chat, but sometimes the live Skype. He even Skyped us while sitting in Heathrow airport! That was cool.</p>
<p>We love skype, but so far we usually only use the online chat/text function. Once in a while the microphone. Never set up the camera, but perhaps we will get one for son before he returns to college.</p>
<p>Look for a good deal for a webcam. Check the Techbargains website daily for the best deals. Skype is wonderful- you have to watch out for who enters the camera range however- keep them decent! You can tell more about a person hearing their voice and add much more with a visual (those tired eyes…).</p>
<p>We love Skype too. Son is at Oxford this year and my other sons
put him on Skype on my laptop at the dinner table on Mother’s Day so he could join in the celebration!!
So funny, he was even “sitting” at his usual place at the table.</p>
<p>Another skype user here
Not having the easiest time working with it with daughter in Spain , but I think that is because the wifi is very spotty there.
We use it to talk to family all over the country and my husband’s fam in Sweden.</p>
<p>I dont have reliable internet at home, so havent bothered spending the money. But McDonalds has awesome free wi fi so usually go there at lunchtime to chat with her. The time works out well. Yesterday we ate together (I had lunch and she had dinner). I concentrate on her and wasnt thinking about what she was seeing. She asked me “Mom who do you keep looking up and smiling at?” Funny- I was greeting folks who walked in that I knew and one lady that was staring at me talking to my laptop… Lafalum84 She also was showing me clothes she bought at a jumble sale in Ireland…</p>
<p>There’s over 700 views and only 10 responses so I expect many ppl click on because they thought it was a juicy thread eddieodessa! :)</p>
<p>lol! Well, at least I was honest about it.</p>
<p>Odessagirl will be studying abroad in Cheltenham, England (Lord willing). So we’ll have to look into this Skype thing. I know she does it with friends. She’ll just need to teach me how.</p>
<p>Most laptops nowdays have a built-in camera- it’s possible that some of you have cameras but just aren’t aware of it. They just look like tiny little square or circle dark holes above the top center of the laptop screen.</p>
<p>Over 1,000 views to this thread. wow.</p>
<p>We had never heard of Skype until one of the parent sessions at freshman Orientation, where an experienced mom told us about it. We love it, we not only get to see D, but also her surroundings (she carried her laptop around the room to show us how she set it up). We have also “met” roommates and friends this way. And she gets to see the cats (although hearing her voice confuses the heck out of them). Last fall, she wanted me to send some of her sweaters, so I grabbed them all and held them up one by one for a Yea or Nay. Next year she’s going to be living in a house with 7 friends, and the whole group will be having Skype dates with each set of parents so everyone can meet everyone else. Can’t do any of that on a phone.</p>
<p>Skype itself is free, both the application and usage. We got a webcam which perches on top of the monitor, for $40. The video quality is “meh” usually. But you can’t beat the price, and there’s no substitute for being able to see your child’s face.</p>
<p>Check for webcam deals- paid $15, try Office Max or Depo sales this summer. Sometimes on the desk can work as well.</p>