I am travelling to Central America in July. I will have high speed internet access where I am. I will also be taking a netbook for email and such.
Would Skype be helpful in making calls home to the US? I am not really clear on how this would work. Can anyone enlighten me? What do you speak into? You need a phone of some sort I would think.
THANKS!
If you have a headset (or microphone on your computer) you can call other skype users over the net for free. It is possible to use Skype to call regular phones as well but I believe that costs money (I’ve only used it to call my brother who lives abroad).
Yes, and the rates for calling telephones through Skype are not dependent on where you’re calling from. You get the same rate whether you’re calling from North America, Africa, Europe, etc.
I highly suggest Magic Jack. My first inclination was that it was another crappy “As Shown On TV” gimmick, but it actually does the job. It’s a USB dongle that you can then plug a regular phone into (or use with your computer’s microphone and speaker). You can then call any regular phone, and they can call you (you get a phone number).
$40 to buy, with a free year or service. After that, it’s $20/year (not month, year). Includes free local and long distance, voice mail, and caller ID.
What would really help you is that if you take it with you out of the country, calls back to the US are still free (as your number is still considered a local phone number). Once you register the dongle, you can use it on any computer.
Several years ago I worked in Costa Rica for six months.
One day, I had a “missed call” from Mom: code for “call home.” So I did. She relied the news and then wanted to hang up, “it must be so expensive!”
Me: Don’t worry, Mom: I’m not calling from the cell or even from the apartment’s landline, it’s from the computer and 0.07€/min.
Mom: … howmuch? 7 (beep) cents per minute? That’s less than if you were using your cell here in Spain!
Me: Ayup
Mom: So you can call anybody from your computer? Or is it only a few numbers?
Me: Anybody. It’s more expensive if I call a cell than a landline, and free if I call someone else who’s in a computer and has the same program.
Mom: gets the vapors
She, who had always refused to so much as touch any electronic equipment, signed up for the next available “internet and computers: an intro” course offered by the town council 
In general, using a headset works better, as it’s better at picking up only your voice; with the laptop’s microphones or with a mike on the table, you’ll be more likely to get echo. There’s models in a variety of sizes and in general they’re quite comfortable. I suggest not going for an “audiophile” model because they’re big and heavy, so not the best option when you’ll be travelling (plus you better be sitting down before looking at the prices).
An advantage over the dongle is that it doesn’t need any special equipment. There’s many “locutorios” in Latin American and European countries, which are set up with computers and use Skype to call: you can just use your account.
I’ll second the MagicJack as a better solution than Skype. Set it up at home, then you can take it anywhere in the world and use it with any phone or headset on any computer to call any US telephone for free. It also has free voice mail so friends and family can leave you a message by making a local call.
Don’t let the horrible infomercials throw you; this thing actually works. It has become my primary phone.
I read Skype opens certain ports in your computer to the world and your computer may be used for traffic unrelated to you. There is no way I am doing that. No way.
If you are calling just a limited number of people who have computers I would recommend just using Messenger or similar program. It is free and you can use video.