Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Is SKYPING on your “to-do” list ????


Ok, I know I’m one of the last to get caught up on all the new technology that our world has to offer … but this one really floored me.

Here you see my sister and her husband (in Gainesville, Florida) chatting (yes…chatting, as in talking out loud) with their daughter and son-in-law in Alaska ! I’m in the background taking the picture but they could see and hear me too.

My reason for being in Florida was to visit with my sister. She has been bed and wheelchair bound for the past 6 months…thanks to Parkinson’s disease. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was thrilled to see her able to get up on her feet, with the help of a PT girl and her devoted husband. She also retains her sense of humor and is back to emailing and helping me with the answers to crossword puzzles !

But I digress. I was writing about SKYPE. For the very few of you who don’t know… it is a software application that makes it possible to make voice calls over the internet … including video conferences.

As a matter of fact I saw the movie “It’s Complicated” recently and that was the first time that I saw SKYPE in action. There was a hilarious scene where Alec Baldwin’s bare body (not a pretty sight) gets SKYPED to his ex-wife’s boyfriend’s computer. Even explaining that to you is complicated so you can imagine how it applies to the movie.

I still have dial-up service to my computer so I guess it will be a long time before I will get SKYPE for myself. That just may be a good thing !

9 Comments:

Blogger Linda said...

We have Skype. It works great if used properly. No quick movement. If you talk with yiur hands, sit on them while you are on Skype. Only one person at a time talking. Several people trying to talk at the same time is a disaster.

9:14 AM  
Blogger Syd said...

It is great. I am using it with a sponsee in Italy.

1:02 PM  
Blogger kenju said...

My daughter keeps after me to get skype, but I don't really need it. The only people we call long distance don't have it anyway...LOL

1:10 PM  
Blogger KGMom said...

Ginnie--I had known about Skype, but we only just got the software.
Our son (the computer expert) helped us out--and now our weekly phone calls with our daughter, who is in London, UK, can be through Skype. It is so nice to see her.

A friend of mine (living here in central PA) uses Skype to keep up with her growing grandson who is in San Fransisco.

4:49 PM  
Blogger Cazzie!!! said...

I do have a few friends who use that SKYPE but I have not gotten a hold of it as yet. I would say it is a great thing and cost effective to use... am I right?
Take care, Carolyn :)

4:46 AM  
Blogger kenju said...

There is something for you on my blog today!

5:00 AM  
Blogger Arkansas Patti said...

Hi, kenju sent me and this is a good subject.
Glad you like Skype. I have a sister after me to get it but I have such slow DSL that I am sure it wouldn't work. Besides, it would require me to get spiffied up just to chat since they could "see" me. Yikes.

5:10 AM  
Blogger Anvilcloud said...

We have recently Skyped with family who were travelling in Korea and China. It worked well although Syping across this small town can be problematic at times.

5:32 AM  
Blogger Tossing Pebbles in the Stream said...

Sounds interesting and probably will be the phone connection of the future. Land line telephones may be on their way out. A phone booth is becoming a rare site. We have one in our hamlet in front of the store. I guess it is cell phones that are doing them in.

I am not sure I want to chat with people who can see me. Does one have to dress for a phone converstion. I sometimes have to scratch, dare I. And heaven forbid if I pull a moon like Alex Baldwin.
Could be a way of discouraging callers.

2:15 PM  

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