<p>I was reading the thread about how often students and parents keep in touch,etc. and saw Skype mentioned frequently. We had talked about checking out Skype, but after going to the Skype website I am confused about what we would need to do. My daughter has a Macbook Pro and I think she said it has a built in camera (Does it also have a built in microphone or do we need something like that for her to hear us?) We have an older computer/monitor so we would need a webcam but what about a microphone to be able to hear/talk…I saw that the cameras said there was no microphone included but then I didn’t see any micrpohones listed to buy. Help! What exactly do we need on both sides to make this Skype thing work?!</p>
<p>Your daughter wouldn’t have to do anything. You will need to buy a webcam with built in microphone. If you have a computer with older operating system, the new webcam may not be compatible with it.</p>
<p>We love skype. When D1 was studying abroad we did a lot of skyping. The most memorable one was when she had “dinner” with us. We put the laptop on our dining room table and we chatted while we ate, just like old time. It got a bit tricky when dessert time came, we had her favorite fruit tarts. She was telling her sister not to eat her piece.</p>
<p>If you could splurge to get a mac, it would work seamlessly, especially if you have high speed internet connection.</p>
<p>We live by Skype. Our kids don’t like to use it although we use it to call their cell phones. My MIL lives abroad, and we call her (land line) 3-4 times a week via Skype. We use it at work for all outgoing calls. We even have an employee who works long distance from another state. We are on Skype chat all day every day and have a video call one day a week. Even did a skype conference call with about 15 people (all on phones). It worked beautifully for about 45 mn, but then I think we hit a bandwidth limit and were cut off. Will work out that problem and try again.</p>
<p>Skype to Skype costs nothing if you have an internet connection. You cannot use it with dial up internet. You can do Skype to Skype video calls, audio only, or chat. For a ridiculously low fee, you use Skype to call anywhere in N. America - cell or land lines. For a slightly larger monthly fee (less than $15/mo), you can call anywhere in the world–this is what we have. </p>
<p>We were recently in Europe and whenever I was able to log on at the right time, I could skype with my office, call the kids, and even call land lines where we were. I was even able to participate in a conference call during my trip abroad.</p>
<p>I do carry a headset in my computer bag for calls in public places.</p>
<p>There is also a skype function allowing you to see documents on the other caller’s screen. I haven’t tried that yet.</p>
<p>saf, we just did the exact skype thing with the exact scenario. Easy peasy. Macbook pro to older PC. I had bought a cheap Microsoft webcam (microphone was included) at Circuit City (yep. That long ago.) a couple of years ago and never hooked it up because we were intimidated. Shouldn’t have been. She needed nothing. We just downloaded skype on both machines and voila! We were talking and seeing each other. Can’t wait till the kid gets internet at her new shoebox apartment in New Haven Monday.</p>
<p>We Skyped with D at college in Massachusetts - nice. Then she did a summer program in Shanghai and we Skyped with her there - the quality was far better! Amazing.</p>
<p>Get a Logitech webcam Pro 9000, about $72, for the PC that currently doesn’t have a webcam. This webcam includes a quality microphone. All you need to do is download the Skype software (free) and create an account (also free). Your D would do the same. If your D doesn’t want to speak into an open mic and have all the sound come through the speakers she might want to use a headset for privacy. After you’re set up, you can establish a connection and see/hear each other through the Skype connection at no cost. You’ll likely want to arrange the time that you’d be calling each other otherwise one or the other might not be there or have their PC on to receive the call. I use Skype frequently to communicate with people in Europe.</p>
<p>Don’t be too surprised if she doesn’t use this connection as much as you’d like. If she’s in a dorm with roommates then it can be somewhat invasive to them and maybe weird to them to have a camera and mic pointing at them in the room. Although we anticipated making a connection like this (although using the free Microsoft Live Messenger rather than Skype at the time) it turns out we only used it a couple of times because it was just easier for her to call us while she was walking to a class since she was usually pretty busy otherwise. She also communicated with us via IM quite a bit which allowed her to multitask more than a video call would.</p>
<p>It can be daunting when you have not used Skype before, and don’t exactly feel tech savvy. Your daughter just needs to download Skype into her Mac. This is what I did, and you may wish to do the same:
- Buy a Logitech videocam for Skype. That videocam interfaces better with Skype than their other videocam. It has a built in microphone.
- For a clearer reception, you may even wish to purchase a headset by Logitech-and use this instead of of the built in microphone.
- Download the CD/s for the videocam/headset.
- Go to [Make</a> the most of Skype - free internet calls and great value calls](<a href=“http://www.Skype.com%5DMake”>http://www.Skype.com) and download their software-its free to download. And set up your account-also free.
- Give your Skype name to your daughter in a text or email or phone call. And get hers. Now add her to your Skype directory.
All set to go–enjoy!
More questions-feel free to pm
APOL-a mom</p>
<p>We’ve use skype a lot, but mostly just for online chat. Only occassionally with microphone (we once had a 3-way coverasation t with H in Japan, D at college, and S and me at home in the den).</p>
<p>The chat (type back and forth) was good with D because she would answer it when she had time. Answers were longer when lonely, shorter when busy. She’d the kid that does not like talking on the phone.</p>