How Skype Works
Skype is a software application that allows you to make free phone calls to more than 75 million people worldwide, and shockingly cheap calls to practically everywhere else on Earth! As a result of that, Skype has become the fastest growing service in the history of the Internet. Recently, the company was acquired by eBay, another step forward towards achieving the final goal of making Skype the world’s largest communication company.
Skype is easy to install and use. It allows its users to make crystal clear calls, regardless of their location, send instant messages, switch seamlessly between text and voice communication, make video calls, conference calls, transfer files, call landlines and cell phones for a fraction of the cost of a traditional call. Skype is truly making a revolution in the way we communicate.
But how does it actually work? This article focuses on describing the Skype network and the technology behind it.
Skype is a type of peer-to-peer Voice-Over-IP client, based on the Kazaa file sharing program. The developers of Skype claim that it provides better voice quality than similar applications like MSN and Yahoo Messenger. It also encrypts calls end-to-end.
There are two types of machines in the Skype network – ordinary host (Skype Client) and Super Node (SN). An ordinary host is the computer of a regular user who has the application installed and connects to the network in order to communicate with other users. The Super Nodes are the end-point of ordinary hosts in the network. In other words, ordinary hosts connect to the Super Nodes. Any computer with a public IP and proper hardware configuration can be a SN. An ordinary host must connect to a super node and must register itself with the Skype login server for a successful login. The Skype login server is the only central unit in the whole network. It stores the usernames and respective passwords of all Skype users. Nslookups have shown that this server is located in Denmark. All Super Nodes connect to the login server in attempt to verify the username password of the client. It stores your Skype Name, your e-mail address, and an encrypted representation of your password.
Filed Under Skype
Skype, It’s a Simple Solution and Money in the Bank!
About a year ago I was really struggling to keep up with the rising cost of my energy bills and gasoline for my car. In addition to that I maintain an office from which I operate a small business and lets just say it has it’s own set of problems and expenses.
It seemed as though there was no relief from the ever rising cost of living. I was getting desperate for places to cut out expenses. The one expense that I could not do without but dreaded paying the most was my monthly telephone bills. I had already eliminated my cell phones since I really did not need them in my business. The nature of my business does require that I have high speed Internet access and at-least 2 telephone lines.
The problem is that combined with my home Internet service and 2 telephone lines. I was paying over $400 a month for my telephone services. And believe me I really hated to make that payment each month. Determined that I was not going to pay another huge phone bill I started thinking about using a VOIP service. If you don’t know what VOIP (Voice Over IP) is don’t worry it’s not important.
It was during my research that I came across a very unique service called Skype that was destined to save me nearly $5000 almost instantly. At first I was very skeptical about trying Skype because I really needed a reliable service for my business. I was also concerned about the sound quality of the calls. So I decided to test it while keeping my regular phone services in place. Much to my surprise the sound quality was very good and not one person new I was using a new service. A few people even commented on how clear the calls were.
30 days later I was amazed and totally convinced that I could use Skype with no major concerns. The Skype calls were crystal clear complete with voice-mail, call forwarding and conference calls. I even got free long distance calls to anywhere in the USA and Canada
Needless to say I immediately made changes to my regular telephone services both at my office and at home. Here is what I ended up doing:
- I totally eliminated my regular telephone lines in my office and at home. That saved me about $240 plus long distance charges and left me with just a DSL
line at home and at my office. I was able to get the DSL for about $44 per month. So I now pay under $100 per month for both locations.
- The little service that I found cost me about $60 every 5 months and I have a total of 4 separate phone numbers and some really useful tools for my business.
Over a year later I am still very happy with both the service and my incredible savings. Skype may not be for everyone but it sure works out for me and has saved me a lot of money. So if you are looking to reduce the cost of of your phone bill it is definitely worth a look.
Skype was actually founded in 2003. So it is fairly well established now. Skype is simply a small piece of software that makes communicating with people around the world easy and fun. You can call people’s computers, landlines and cell phones. So it is easy to say hello or share a laugh with anyone, anywhere in the world. And if both of you use Skype, it’s free.
Filed Under Skype
3 Skype Phones - Enjoy Free Calls Across the World
Before introduction of the 3 Skype Phones in the market, people used computers to make free calls to their near and dear ones who are living out of the country. If any one wanted to make a call out of the country, he was required to carry the computer along with them. To avoid this inconvenience, now the 3 Skype Phones are launched in the market. These phones facilitate the users to make calls to other countries at any time and anywhere. These are the world’s first fully integrated mobile phones that comes with sleek dimensions and offer all the advanced features that modern mobile users expect in the latest mobile phones.
These phones let their users to make free calls to other Skype subscribers wherever they are all over the world. If they want to call other network users, they have to pay some amount of money for making the calls. Apart from the basic Skype features, these handsets are also enabled with all the features that allow the users to make regular calls, send SMS, playing games, listening to songs and taking pictures.
Superb performance, stylish looks and flexibility in using the options, everything come easy with the 3 Skype mobile phones as they come with seamless mobile solutions and outstanding performance. These lovely handsets come with dimensions of 44 x 13.6 x 100 mm and has a lightweight of 86 grams that allow their users to handle them with complete ease. The crystal clear and glassy screen allures the users with its colourful display that comes with 256K colours and offers a high resolution of 176 x 200 pixels. While making the video calls, the reliable battery of these gadgets delivers an approximate talktime of 118 minutes on one charge. For normal calls, the standard battery of these phones offers an approximate standby and talktime of 202 and 199 minutes, respectively.
When it comes to camera features, the 3 Skype mobile phones are equipped with a camera of 2.0 mega pixels that enables the users to capture their unforgettable memories of their lives.
To offer high-speed and great Internet browsing, these phones come with super fast browser that lets the users to access all the Internet web pages, sites and services at an amazing speed. The integrated MP3 player of these 3 Skype phones supports file formats like AMR-NB, AAC, AAC+, E-AAC+, MIDI, MP3, WMA and WAV that allow the users to stay connected with their favourite music besides facilitating the download of these file formats from 3 Music store. These compact mobile phones are available in white with blue trim, white with pink trim and black colours in the market.
To transfer data from other mobile phones, these phones are compatible with Bluetooth connectivity. To download the favourite music and to save the useful information, these phones are embedded with 10 MB of internal memory and have a microSD card slot. They come with a CD that contains PC Synchronisation software that is only compatible with Windows. It comes with Window drivers that allow the users to use their phone as a USB modem and they can connect it to a laptop or desktop computer. The users can make free call from their local area. But, when they are on roaming, the users of these phones have to pay data roaming charges for making calls. Call duration is considered by in Megabytes.
Filed Under Skype