Skype - A 'Must-have' in a Global Nomad's Virtual Toolbox

By Russell Jones, moderator

The first in our series of recommended expat products and services is reserved for Skype, for its Swiss-Army knife-like versatility. This online "peer-to-peer Internet telephony network" [1] includes not only free PC-to-PC calling, integrated chat and video functionalities, but it is especially the interesting twists on these features that makes a global nomad's heart beat faster.

Talk to a friend on the other side of the world and check out his new interior decor via the videocam function. Or have a virtual family reunion. So, your family is spread over 5 continents? No problem! Your whole family can get into the online conversation at the same time with simultaneous phone, video and chat so you can exchange photos in real time or view an interesting website together(should you get the urge to multi-task). Ah, but Aunt Brenda in Scotland doesn't have a computer?! Still no problem! There is SkypeOut . "SkypeOut allows Skype users to call traditional telephone numbers, including mobile telephones, for a fee" [2]. So, while your parents, brother and sister are catching up on family news for free, you make a quick international call through SkypeOut* to Aunt Brenda and let her join the festive get-together, all for less than it would cost you to park your car in any larger city's downtown. The call: Only 2.3 cents a minute. The feeling of being home again: Priceless.

As if that weren't enough, Skype also lets you send SMSs, hold Skypecasts (live, moderated conversations), forward calls to a mobile phone and set up voicemail for any ones you've missed. SkypeIn is a paid add-on service that gives you a regular local phone number in any of 10+ countries. This way your friends and family abroad can phone you at local rates. Want to talk to the world about a particular topic? Then, start a constant public chat in your own personal chat room. Extended with plugins, Skype even lets you record the phone calls (chats already by default), share your desktop and play interactive games. The possibilities are nearly endless with Skype.

And what is looming on the horizon? High-definition video (now in beta)!

With all these global nomad-friendly features, the only disadvantage might be that, the next time you fly home to visit Mom, you might not have missed her quite as much.

References:
[1,2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skype
SkypeOut: Call ordinary phones anywhere in the world from your computer for the price of a local call with SkypeOut. www.skype.com

*Important: Skype is not a replacement for your ordinary telephone and can’t be used for emergency calling.