Skype or Whatsapp

Skype or Whatsapp

What is it skype?

Skype (Skype) allows you to do many things, for example, talk to your family and friends in another country for free. Additionally, you can use Skype to make calls to regular landlines and mobiles at prices significantly lower than those used for regular phone calls. Also, if you have a webcam, you can not only hear the interlocutor, but also see him, and this is also free. It is also interesting: How to use Skype online without installing it on your computer.

How Skype works

All the described functions work thanks to VoIP technology - IP telephony (pronounced as IP), which allows you to transmit a person's voice and other sounds through the communication protocols used on the Internet. Therefore, by using VoIP, Skype allows you to make phone calls, video calls, conferences and other interactions over the Internet, without going through the use of regular phone lines.

Functions and services

Skype allows you to use many different features for online communication. Many of them are provided free of charge, others are Payment. Prices depend on the type of service, but as far as Skype is concerned, they are very competitive.

Call services are provided Delivery to Italy takes one or two business days to other Skype users, voice conferencing regardless of users' location, video communication, as well as in-program text messaging.

Services such as calls to mobile and landlines in various countries, a virtual number, calling a person to call you in the Skype program, forwarding Skype calls to your usual phone, sending SMS, group video conferencing are provided in a base payment.

How to pay for Skype services

The use of free services does not require payment. However, if you plan to use the advanced services provided by the Skype service, you will need to make a payment. You have the opportunity to pay for services through PayPal, credit card and, more recently, through payment terminals that you will find in any store. You can find more detailed information about paying for Skype on the official website Skype.com.

Skype installation

Everything you need to start using Skype is probably already on your computer, but if, for example, you plan to do distance learning via Skype, you may need a high-quality, comfortable headset and a webcam. .

Therefore, to use the program you need:

• stable and high-speed internet connection
• headphones or microphone for voice communication (found in most laptops)
• Webcam for video calls (built into most new laptops)

For desktops, laptops, and netbooks, there are versions of Skype for three common platforms: Windows, Skype for Mac, and Linux. This tutorial will focus on Skype for Windows , but there are no significant differences with the same program for other platforms. Separate articles will be devoted to Skype for mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) and Skype for Windows 8.

Downloading and installation, as well as registering for the service, only takes a few minutes. All you need to do is create an account, download Skype, and install the program on your computer.

How to download and install Skype

1. Go to the Skype.com site, if you were not automatically transferred to the Russian version of the site, select your language from the menu at the top of the page.
2. Click "Download Skype" and select Windows (classic), even if you have Windows 8 installed. Skype for Windows 8 offered for download is a slightly different application with limited functions for communication, we will talk about it a little later. You can read about Skype for Windows 8 here.
3. The "Install Skype for Windows" page appears, on this page you must select "Download Skype".
4. On the New User Registration page you can register a new account or, if you have a Microsoft or Facebook account, select the Sign in to Skype tab and enter the details for this account.
5. When registering, enter your real data and mobile phone number (you may need it later if you forget or lose your password). In the Skype Login field, enter the desired name in the service, consisting of Latin letters and numbers. With this name, you will enter the program in the future, and your friends, family and colleagues will be able to find you using this name. If the name you have chosen is taken, and this happens very often, you will be asked to choose one of those proposed or to propose other options on your own.
6. After entering the verification code and agreeing to the terms of service, Skype will begin downloading.
7. Once the download is complete, run the downloaded file SkypeSetup.exe, the program installation window will open. The process itself is not complicated at all, just read carefully everything that is reported in the dialog box to install Skype.
8. When the installation is complete, a window will open to sign in to Skype. Enter your username and password created during registration and click the "Login" button. After entering the program and possibly greetings and offers to create an avatar, you will find yourself in the main Skype window.

Skype interface

The program has a completely simple interface and it will not be difficult to find all the necessary functions:

1. Main menu: access to various settings, actions, help system
2. Contact List
3. Account balance and calls to regular phone numbers
4. Your Skype name and online status
5. Contact text message or notification window if no contact is selected
6. Personal data settings
7. Window for entering text status

Settings

Depending on how and with whom you plan to communicate on Skype, you may need to change various privacy settings for your account. Since Skype is a kind of social network, by default anyone can call, write and view your personal details, but you may not want to.

1. From Skype's main menu bar, select Tools, then Options.
2. Go to the "Security Settings" tab and make all the necessary changes to the default settings.
3. Look at other parameters that can be configured in the program, maybe you need some of them for more convenient communication in Skype.

Change personal information in Skype

To change your personal data, in the main program window, above the message window, select the "Personal data" tab. Here you can specify any information that you want to make available to people on your contact list, as well as to all other Skype users. To do this, you can separately configure two profiles: "Public data" and "Only for contacts". The selection of the appropriate profile is made in the list below the avatar, and its editing is done with the help of the corresponding "Edit" button.

How to add contacts

To add people to your Skype contact list:

1. In the main program window, click the "Add contact" button, a window for adding new contacts will appear.
2. Find someone you know by email, phone number, real name, or Skype name.
3. Depending on the search conditions, you will be asked to add a contact or view the full list of people found.
4. When you have found the person you were looking for and click the "Add contact" button, the "Submit a request to exchange contact information" window will appear. You can change the default sent text so that the found user understands who you are and allows them to be added.
5. Once the user approves the exchange of contact information, they will be able to see their presence in the contact list in the main Skype window.
6. Furthermore, to add contacts, you can use the "Import" item in the "Contacts" tab of the main menu of the program. Supports importing contacts to Skype from Mail.ru, Yandex, Facebook, and other services.

How to make a Skype call

Before making your first call, make sure you have connected your microphone and headphones or speakers and that the volume is not zero.

To make a test call and make sure that all settings are correct, and that the sound devices are working and the other party is hearing you:

1. Go to skype
2. In the contact list, select Echo / Sound Test Service and click "Call"
3. Follow the operator's instructions
4. If you were not heard or did not hear the operator, use the official instructions to configure the audio devices: https://support.skype.com/en/user-guides section "Eliminating communication quality problems"

In the same way that the call was made to check the quality of the communication, you can also call a real correspondent: select him in the contact list and click the "Call" or "Video call" button. The time of the conversation is not limited, when finished, just click on the "hang up" icon.

Set states

To set the status of Skype, click on the icon to the right of your name in the main program window and select the required status. For example, if you set the status "Not available", you will not receive notifications about new calls and messages. You can also change the status by right-clicking the Skype icon in the Windows icon bar (tray) and selecting the corresponding item from the context menu. Also, using the input field, you can set the status of the text.

Create a contact group and make a call to multiple users

On Skype, you have the opportunity to talk to 25 people at the same time, including yourself.

1. In the main Skype window, click Group.
2. Drag the contacts you are interested in to the group window or add contacts from the list by clicking the "More" button below the group window.
3. Click the Call Group button. A dial window will appear, which will remain active until someone in the group answers the phone first.
4. To save the group and use the group call to the same contacts next time, use the corresponding button at the top of the group window.
5. You can add people to a conversation during a conversation. To do this, use the "+" button, select the contacts that should participate in the conversation and add them to the conversation.

Answering a call

When someone calls you, a Skype notification window will appear with the contact's name and picture and the option to reply to them, answer by video, or hang up.

Calls from Skype to a regular phone

To make calls to landlines or mobiles using Skype, you must top up your Skype account. You can choose the necessary services and find out about the payment methods for them on the official website of the service.

To call a phone from Skype:

1. Click Calls to Phones
2. Dial the number of the called subscriber and press the "Call" button
3. Similar to group calls in Skype, you can have a conversation with a group of contacts who are having a conversation both on Skype and on a regular phone.

Other features of Skype will be discussed in the next article.

What if it was also interesting?