Customer Reviews

Skype™: The Definitive Guide

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Unless you are a real computer beginner, you do not need a book like this one to start using Skype.

Just download the software and depending on your operating system - it is especially simple with Windows XP and Mac OSX - Skype practically installs itself, and then asks for your log-in infomation or if you don't have an account, it asks you to create one. Then you just have to plug in a headset or if your computer is already equipped with a mic and speakers, you can start calling around the World for less than what it would cost to mail a letter.

This book devotes a lot of pages to explaining how to install Skype software and setting up preferences on Windows, Linux and Macs. If you are new to computers and the Internet, this might be helpful. But it starts getting interesting for Skype users with Chapter 5. It explains how to get the most out of Skype. How to use Skype to make video calls and how to set up conference calls.

For the advanced Skyper, Chapter 7 explains error codes and how it evolved from the once popular peer-to-peer program, Kazaa. I have always admired how Skype can be used behind firewalls and with network address translation (NAT). I have used Skype on several corporate networks without any problems. This is unlike some VoIP providers whose equipment and programs cannot work with NAT and only work when certain firewall ports are open.

The book also provides information on Skype security and explains how it encrypts network traffic. Until I read this book, I never fully understood how Skype worked. I am sure that most of the information can be found by searching the web, but this thin book organizes it and makes it possible to know almost everything about Skype in an evening.

Even the most intuitive applications can benefit from a user manual. And here's the one for Skype - the free computer program that lets you place telephone calls over the internet (as well as do a whole lot more). If you're nervous about getting started with Skype, this book lays out the fundamentals in clear, understandable language. And if you're a seasoned user, you'll find tips and hacks that bring your Skyping to a new high. I particularly enjoyed Chapter 6, "How People Use Skype." As a social-networking tool, Skype affords opportunities I had never imagined. The authors clearly know what's going on and have the ability to explain technical things to folks who aren't technically minded. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if this was the book the "Idiots" and "Dummies" check out before they write their own guidebooks.

This book is really not necessary. You can learn more from loading the software on your computer than you can from the book. I bought this prior to moving to germany, wanting to be able to Skype with my family, and thought this book might give me some insite I hadn't found by playing with it myself.

Well it didn't give me anything! Honestly Skype is so easy you really don't need a book this very basic.