Staying in Touch with Family Using Skype
Now that computers are so affordable, there is no excuse to keep you from seeing that cute little grandchild a couple of times a week. There is nothing as wonderful as seeing and hearing that excited little person hollering Nana, Nana, Nana.
You can purchase a computer with a built in camera for hardly more than the cost of a round trip airline flight. There is a wonderful free tool called Skype that you can use for free to connect with your grandchild. This is especially wonderful if you have relatives or grandchildren in another country.
For a fee you can also use Skype to connect to a land line phone anywhere in the world. Fees vary depending on what type of service you choose and which countries you are calling.
The pc to pc service on Skype is absolutely free. You can stay connected on a video call for an unlimited amount of time. Of course you will need a computer with a video cam and a high speed internet service. Occasionally Skype will have little glitches, but normally it works fantastic.
It's easy to sign up for an account. Just go to Skype and sign up for a free account. Once you have signed up you will download their software and continue to set it up on your computer. Skype is one of the easier video conferencing software programs that I have used. In order to connect with someone else they will need to have the software also. Once everything is downloaded and installed it's easy to start video conferencing. To connect your computer to others you will need to know either the person's Skype username or the email address they used to sign up to Skype with. That really is all there is to it. Your grandchild is now just the push of a button away.
My husband and I spend many hours each month talking to my granddaughter and my mother who is homebound. Skype makes our family closer. It's fun to not only talk to them but also see them. Now if we could all just live in the same city.
Source:
http://www.skype.com/intl/en/download/skype/windows/?c=204
Personal experience
Published by Pat Bartels
Previously employed in the Human Resources field, Pat enjoys traveling and tweaking computers when she is not writing articles for Associated Content and Factoidz. She is fascinated with personal finance, th... View profile
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8 Comments
Post a CommentI'v eheard good things about Skype from my sister-in-law who uses it to talk to her daughter in South Korea.
I have skype on my computer, though I never use it.
I had Skype for quite a while, and used the chat feature, as my computer doesn't seem to have a microphone. Gotta buy one! Good ideas.
Excellent idea. :-)
Great idea.
You know, the first person who introduced me to Skype was Oprah. I was watching her show, and they "skyped" a conference with a guest. I didn't realize it was available for home use! How cool is that, cheers.
Sorry Nancy. Sounds like you need a vacation.
My family is all right here. Right in the same room. Right next to me. All the time. Right here next to me all the time.....