Hi all,
Throught I would share a recent experiance I have had that may help some of you.
I have recently worked out if you put credit on your skype account . it enables you to call cell phones or landlines in any country.
This is great if you are on a mobile internet data plan and much cheaper than using
your cell phone to call friends and family.
It also takes one side of a possibly unreliable connection out of the equation.
I have been using this system to call landlines in Australia and New Zealand for about a month with no problems, other than it being a little unsteady for the first minute or so after which it seems to settle down to a regular conversation.
Calls to NZ cost about $2 for half an hour to a landline and about $8 for half an hour to a cell phone ,plus about 45mb/per half hour around $2 max.
(Note I leave the video call option turned off to keep data usage down to a minimum and call quality up)
If any of you have used skype in the past and had a bad experiance I sugest you try it again it has improved heaps,it is great to be able to have a decent conversation with family and friends while on the move.
Calls from skype(pc based) to landlines works really well.
Mike

i use skype some times to help out on a podcast , its great, if the usb modems plan was the same as home id ditch the land line all together... question, can some one from a land line call you on the skpe?? what happens if pc is off while out n about?

I use skype for video calls pc to pc. So you are saying that I can pay extra to ring a landline here or overseas. I have wireless unlimited which means my usage only slows down, so is it worth paying extra to ring a landline or can I already ring a landline and just use some of my usage. If thats the case I didn't know that.

You need to buy credit ,start skype click on skype in the file menu and then scroll down to (buy credit), you will need a credit card ,or paypal or similar. Once you have bought credit it will show the balance on screen and count down as you use it. You need to click on Call phones to ring a land line. Not sure if there is a way for land line to ring skype user. You will have to work out for your self if it is cost efective, it certianly is for me.

we are using skype for the first time, on this holiday and its working very well. it wont work though on our home computer, and our friends say the same thing.....???? works fine on a laptop but wont work on home computer. we use clickncall.com there..... which for some people may be an option. especially for long distance calls

When using skype it pays to download the latest version as this will include many fixes. However I have also had troubles with my home PC runing skype. I have had no troubles with our HP laptop thou. I have investigated and yes you can get an online number that can be rung from a landline in Australia and New Zealand ,but it costs see link. http://www.skype.com/intl/en/features/allfeatures/online-number/ Also for all you Linux buffs there is a skype version that supports linux. http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/on-your-computer/linux/