I know I know, I am on near about everything in the ether but I never managed to get around to using Skype.  I don’t know what it was but I just never found a use for it.  I had Google Talk for voice and video, I have Google Voice for calling outside of wherever I would need to call, and about 5 different IM clients that I can chat on.  So why would I need Skype?  Well, to be honest I am still occasionally asking myself that question.  So here are some pros and cons

Pro: It does Audio and Video chat
Con: So does near about everything else, Google Chat mainly.

Pro: It does Screen Sharing
Con: So does MSN messenger through Remote Desktop which also allows for screen helping

Pro: It does Conference calls with multiple people
Con: I have been using Ventrillo and Team Speak, Of course those require a dedicated server.

Pro: Sound and Video Quality are amazing
Con: So are Google Chat’s

Pro: International Calling to a Landline number!
Con: 1: I don’t know anyone overseas and 2: Google Voice does that

Pro: Mobile App that allows voice to PC connections
Con: Ok No con here, that’s just fraking cool

Pro: All of that is in one package.  You don’t need to run Google Voice, Talk, MSN, and Ventrillo, to do what Skype is doing all on it’s lonesome.
Con: Personally, I believe that these other programs sometimes do their tasks better than Skype.

This morning the Skype mobile app got release to the Verizon based phones and I was really looking forward to it!  Until, that is, I ran it and discovered that to even run it had to turn off my WiFi.  Seriously?  I have not even seen a app on the droid that requires you to either be on or off WiFi.  When I am at home I leave WiFi on so I can make use of it.  Now if I want to use Skype on the phone, at all, I have to have WiFi off.  That just seems lame.  Haven’t had the chance to test out the quality of the calls yet so Stand by for that one.

The Desktop app, however, is pretty damn stellar.  I know that version 4.X has been out for like a year now but again, it’s new to me.  I did quite a bit of testing as was impressed with the audio quality (especially if someone has a really good Mic).  The video quality was about as expected.  I kind of expected the audio quality to drop when I added people to the call but was happy that it didn’t.  Even running Skype in the background and STO (Star Trek Online) in the foreground was great.  Add in the screen sharing, which helped my father install some somftware with my guidance.  I even ran the screen share with my friend while I was running STO and he claimed it showed it running smooth, which amazes me.

So yeah, I will be adding Skype to the arsenal of contact methods for me, if you would like, my Skype username is Wizzer2801.  Feel free to pop on by for a chat.