# Skype - still a good way to communicate? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 10, 2012, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skype-still-a-good-way-to-communicate/615369 "2012-03-10T05:04:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![King\_Bobo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@King\_Bobo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Bobo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skype-still-a-good-way-to-communicate/615369/1 "2012-03-10T05:04:15Z")
An online friend has recently told me that skype is just about kaput. I have been using this medium for years and although I have not used it for a couple of weeks now, is it still good for online/overseas chats? I would be desolate if it died! What say you all? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skype-still-a-good-way-to-communicate/615369/2 "2012-03-10T05:12:14Z")
I live in the Far East, my girlfriend lives in Italy. We Skype two or three times a week. It makes such an incredible difference to maintaining our relationship, being able to see each other’s face. Not only that, but we can have a relatively problem-free video call with me only on a 3G connection. What makes your friend say that it’s kaput? ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skype-still-a-good-way-to-communicate/615369/3 "2012-03-10T05:23:43Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > What makes your friend say that it’s kaput? Seconding this. The kids Skype with their grandmother in Seattle on a regular basis. I was unaware that it was pending “kaput” status. ---
**Author:** ![wheresmymind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@wheresmymind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheresmymind)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skype-still-a-good-way-to-communicate/615369/4 "2012-03-10T05:50:40Z")
I haven’t used Skype in several months, but many of my friends use it regularly. That number has increased exponentially in the past 5 or 6 years, it seems to be the communication method preferred by long-distance couples everywhere, at least in my age group (20’s-30’s). I know quite a few people who use it almost every day. Even with competing services like Facetime on the iPhone, Skype seems to have a pretty comfortable position in that market when it comes to popularity, price, quality and ease of use. There may be some obscure program out there that someone argues is marginally better, but Skype is still definitely a good way to communicate in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![King\_Bobo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@King\_Bobo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Bobo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skype-still-a-good-way-to-communicate/615369/5 "2012-03-10T06:21:50Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > What makes your friend say that it’s kaput? He said it (skype) is going towards pay-for-talk as google phone and such. I have no other info. But I do wonder how skype can still work if it is free. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skype-still-a-good-way-to-communicate/615369/6 "2012-03-10T06:34:43Z")
> [@King\_Bobo](#): > > He said it (skype) is going towards pay-for-talk as google phone and such. > > I have no other info. But I do wonder how skype can still work if it is free. Just a guess here, but much of the internet world operates on the free/pro business model: give your clients one level of service for free, and offer a greater level of service for pay. The free service lets them see how good you are at providing service, but has its limitations. The “pro” service offers much more, but since they have already seen how good you are at providing the technology, they are much more likely to trust you with their cash for the higher level of service. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skype-still-a-good-way-to-communicate/615369/7 "2012-03-10T06:50:21Z")
> [@King\_Bobo](#): > > He said it (skype) is going towards pay-for-talk as google phone and such. > > I have no other info. But I do wonder how skype can still work if it is free. They charge for various extra services like letting you call cels and landlines. As a practical matter, I suspect if they stated charging for the basic program, people would just switch to an open-source version. ---
**Author:** ![King\_Bobo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@King\_Bobo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Bobo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skype-still-a-good-way-to-communicate/615369/8 "2012-03-10T07:20:28Z")
I guess this is what I do not understand. What is an open source version? Is some sort of internet chat going to be “free” for a while longer? Given that ads are getting in everywhere. I like skype-type services. If this goes away, what is there left ? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skype-still-a-good-way-to-communicate/615369/9 "2012-03-10T07:35:38Z")
Gmail has a free and very good video chat plugin. I prefer it to Skype but everyone else seems to use Skype so, whatever. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skype-still-a-good-way-to-communicate/615369/10 "2012-03-10T08:02:59Z")
I subscribe to the pro version because it lets me call unlimited to most landlines worldwide, also unlimited to cell phones in some counties and reduced costs in others. ---
**Author:** ![navinjay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbce88/32.png) [@navinjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/navinjay)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skype-still-a-good-way-to-communicate/615369/11 "2012-04-19T20:01:23Z")
I use Skype in tandem with my Google Voice. I have a Skype phone in my house and my Google Voice is set to forward all calls to both my Skype In number and my cellphone number. No one has my Skype In number or my cellphone number. All the have is my Google Voice number. So, when they call it, whether I am in the house and get the call on my Skype phone or if I am out of the house I answer it with my cellphone. They both ring at the same time. I pay $60.00/year for the Skype In number which is cheap compared to Vonage and POTS. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skype-still-a-good-way-to-communicate/615369/12 "2012-04-19T20:27:26Z")
I used it yesterday to have a two hour conversation from the UK to Germany. If skype wasn’t working that was one hell of a hallucination I had. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skype-still-a-good-way-to-communicate/615369/13 "2012-04-19T21:04:45Z")
I use it almost exclusively to communicate with my business partners in the UK. We have mixed results. Sometimes it is great, sometimes not so much.