Why don't more folks here use Skype?

[Wise Old Owl]

In the many years of being here on WB I cannot remember anyone using Skype! WHY NOT?


WiseOldOwl3

[JaxHiker]

Nobody I want to talk to.

[Wise Old Owl]

ouch...........

[Mags]

My girlfriend uses it to talk to her family in Germany.

I don't speak German; her parents don't speak English. So far, we get along well!

[SassyWindsor]

Nobody I want to talk to.

...or see!

[Wise Old Owl]

sad sad sad....


come on mags get with the program open an account.

[unclemjm]

I use it regularly to talk with my daughter in California. For me, it's a great tool to keep in touch with people you know and want to speak with but I'm not so keen on meeting folks for the first time on it.

[Luddite]

What is Skype? Video phone calls?

[kayak karl]

Sly, you can talk to Sly

[fiddlehead]

I removed it from my computer, it took forever to turn off and Skype turned out to be one of the biggest culprits.
Now, i use VOiP discount for phone calls for free all over the world (computer to cell phone)
It's much cheaper than skype and doesn't try to take control of my computer

I have used google video chat for computer video chats with family back home in America.
I don't know who else besides my family and close friends would want to see my mug anyway.

[10-K]

It's a hassle. I just pick up my regular phone and dial.

[perrito]

My kids sometimes use Oovoo to talk to their friends.

[moytoy]

I use it on my laptop when I'm away from home (which is a lot). Depending on connection speed of air card sometimes it's a little erratic.

[bigmac_in]

What does Skype have to do with hiking?

[Fiddleback]

I don't like talking on the phone. I initiate few phone calls and often resent the interruption of incoming calls, especially those in the evening. I have accumulated more cell phone minutes than I'll ever use because my house isn't in cell range and the cell phone is always 'off' when I am...it's for my use, not others'. Fortunately, the cell phone service which is for my convenience or emergencies only costs about $8/month/phone. I take the cell on the trail for emergencies but I don't remember ever getting a signal when I tested it. Beyond local phone service, my land line package provides my DSL and 200 minutes/month of long distance. Typically, more than 95% of those minutes are unused too. On the job phone conversations were a necessary evil but I haven't been on the job for a couple decades.

Still, I do a fair amount of volunteer work which requires the phone much of the time. During those times and most of the other phone calls, I'm on the computer, often doing work/looking at info relative to the call. Would a video call such as Skype take that computer resource away? In other words, would I lose the capability to multitask...talking on the phone while working on the 'puter?

Regardless of the answer, Skype-like functions probably aren't for folks like me.

FB

[max patch]

My 13 year old uses it.

I want to get on and off the phone asap. Don't need to see who I'm talking to. No interest.

[BrianLe]

"What does Skype have to do with hiking?"

Trail town with no cell service but does have decent wi-fi, run the Skype Mobile application to talk via cell phone.

My wife used Skype to call various places in Europe to arrange our hiking logistics in Austria and England this past fall.

[Newb]

I tried skype. I kept getting spam chat requests from foreign hookers.

[JaxHiker]

I tried skype. I kept getting spam chat requests from foreign hookers.

What's wrong with that?

[Mags]

It is great as it does not cost Adrianna or her family to see each other. It will be five years since she has seen her family and close friends.

When she got on Skype the first day, she chatted 4-5 hrs. Never heard so much German and Polish in my life.

So, it worked well for her.

(We are going to Germany this year. Wunderbar! )