does anyone use SKYPE.................................................................?

[jmg1]

For phone calls.

Not exactly, my dad phoned me from Holland via Skype today. The quality wasn't perfect but it saved him about 2/3 of the cost of the call to me in the UK and he reckons it will cut his bill for phoning my sister in Mexico very significantly.

I think it's probably worth a try, although in the UK you can get very cheap rates on international calls anyway, plus if the person you are wanting to talk to has broadband themselves you can do a voice and even video conference using Y Messenger or similar.

Had it for a while, but got bored of random belgians phoning to perv.

thought calls were free + did'nt realise you could get calls from anyone.

More about \link{http://www.skype.com/download/skype/windows\Skype}

Calls to phone numbers aren't free, calls to other Skype users are (like voice conferencing using any other messaging app, although I think they claim the quality is better).

Definitely don't like the idea of pervy Belgians calling, eeeeuw.

PMSL perv Belgians, haven't had any skyping us fortunately! We use it to call gp in Canada, Norway and Holland, v.handy as all have webcam, and can see their grandchildren, and talk to them. Esp ds1 (27m) loves skyping. As other posters said: calls to other skyp users are free, and calls to normal phones are cheap.

BTW re perv Belgian: you can set your profile to more private, so that just people that you have added to your can see you. My MIL didn't know hosw to do it either initially: she got loads of perv mexicans trying to call her....

oh, and are you dutch tribpot?

No, honneybunny, English but my dad's lived in Holland for about 30 years now.

skype's awesome. All my family all over the world are on it.

I only got pervy calls from the far east...until i changed my preferences...

I use it all the time to stay in touch with DH's family in Aus.

However often get messages popping up on my screen saying things like "I am a man, you are a woman, I have camera".

Tend to block those types.......

we use skype or instant messanger for free calls between ireland and england. we all find that we call each other more often and chat for longer about nothing! its much better than using the phone as you can see the person you are talking to...and my sister was able to show me around her new flat!

and we also learned the hard way to use the privacy setting...do those guys have nothing better to do with their time