[...]... stories, and articles that make the hundreds of thousands of visitors get a richer experience from the Skype application What’s remarkable about this book? A few months ago Michael first shared his idea in a message to me: “I am going to write a book to help home users, super users, small businesses, and large corporations understand Skype. ” I studied the outline A few days later I sent a message back to. .. 1-9 3226 6-6 9-0 ), and Building DMZs for Enterprise Networks (ISBN: 1-9 3183 6-8 8-4 ).Through PacketPress, Michael has also published Securing Your Network Using Linux (ISBN: 1-4 1162 1-7 7-8 ) x Michael has recently joined the ranks of “Switchers” where he is not using two OS X Macs full-time in security work and day-today activities He keeps a running blog on his misadventures and discoveries about Apple, OS X, and. .. 401 Potential Users 401 Index 403 Foreword You are going to love Skype Me! From Single User to Small Enterprise and Beyond Here’s why: Michael Gough knows his stuff Michael has also completed a remarkably difficult project around a remarkably cool product, Skype Michael is a busy guy I have no idea where he found time to write a book... Plug-in 230 Skypeteer Call Calculator 230 Free Tools from s3ven 230 Key Points 231 Outlook Skype Plug-in 231 Skype Tools Plug-in 231 Skyp2Out Plug-in 231 Skype Backup Tool Plug-in 231 xxi xxii Contents Chapter 8 Hardware Add-ons... Technical Editor, Skype Journal www.SkypeJournal.com www.syngress.com Part I: Getting Started with Skype 1 Chapter 1 An Overview of Skype Subjects in this chapter: ■ What Is All the Hype about Skype? ■ What Are VoIP, Voice Chat, or Voice Calls? ■ Skype Architecture (Basic/Advanced) ■ Peer -to- Peer Technology (Basic/Advanced) ■ Peer -to- Peer Conferencing (Basic/Advanced) ■ Skype Options (Basic) ■ Skype Security... Many refer to Skype as an instant-messaging (IM) application.Think of Skype as more of a voice call application that also provides IM features IM allows you to type quick messages to your list of contacts and send them instantly What Skype adds to IM is the ability to talk, in real time, with your contacts in addition to typical IM functions More important, the quality of the audio, features, and options... million times and has approximately 54 million users and around 2 million paid subscribers as of August 2005 Skype has brought VoIP into homes and is used by just about every demographic group, from children to grandparents Everyone who uses IM loves Skype because it lets you not only type messages but actually talk to people as well as you can on a regular telephone call The computer industry loves Skype. .. back to the local company to offer VoIP service to the home user. These networks are not peer -to- peer (P2P) networks, as Skype is, since the calls stay connected through a central server (We look at this process later in this chapter.) Understanding the Basics… To Pay or Not to Pay for VoIP The only real reason to pay for VoIP from your local provider is if you want a certain amount of defined uptime... Skype- Enabled Telephones 393 Potential Users 394 Skype- Enabled Cordless Telephones 394 Potential Users 394 Skype WiFi Telephones 395 Home Users 395 Small Businesses 396 Medium-Sized to Large Businesses 396 Skype- Enabled... system and access to a service department If you can live with a problem every so often and want to save some money, go with Skype Face it—how many times does the local cable or telco come to your house to fix something anyway? Voice Chat Voice chat is commonly thought of as using applications like IM to “chat” audibly with your contacts In the past, the quality of these solutions was inferior to that . do to make your job easier. Register for Free Membership to 336 _Skype_ FM.qxd 11/11/05 6:11 PM Page i 336 _Skype_ FM.qxd 11/11/05 6:11 PM Page ii Skype Me! From Single User to Small Enterprise and. IMWQ295T6T PUBLISHED BY Syngress Publishing, Inc. 800 Hingham Street Rockland, MA 02370 Skype Me! From Single User to Small Enterprise and Beyond Copyright © 2006 by Syngress Publishing, Inc. All rights. concise, easy -to- access data you need to perform your job. ■ A From the Author” Forum that allows the authors of this book to post timely updates and links to related sites, or additional topic coverage