THE MEANING OF "TO SKYPE", and other puter frases

Forums: Computers, Skype, Internet, Software, Slang
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I could probably look it up in an on-line urban dictionary but Id like the full etymology and usage options of this unknown phrase that seems to have just appeared while I was indisposewd during the summer.
ANYBODY?

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Type: Question • Score: 10 • Views: 6,083 • Replies: 30

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@farmerman,

It means, to use your Skype phone. To place a call.

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@roger,

Skype is also a chat platform.

Thus it is a verbed noun.

Quote:

Word of the Day

- Skype is an IP telephony service provider that offers free calling between subscribers and low-cost calling to people who don't use the service. In addition to standard telephone calls, Skype enables file transfers, texting, video chat and videoconferencing. The service is available for desktop computers, notebook and tablet computers and other mobile devices, including mobile phones. A number of companies, including Skype, produce dedicated Skype phones.

Included in the free service is a softphone application that can be downloaded to any computing device running Windows, Macintosh, Linux, or Windows Mobile operating systems. A function called SkypeOut enables calls to regular telephones; these calls are charged to a prepaid account or to a flat-fee annual subscription.

Skype's benefits, beyond the free and low-cost calls, are said to include easy set-up and good audio quality. On a desktop computer, you can use the system's speakers and a microphone or plug in a headset, a specialized VoIP phone or a regular phone (via an analog telephone adapter). You add contacts similarly to the way you do for instant messaging and then, to make a call, just click the icon next to the contact.

http://searchunifiedcommunications.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid186_gci1050583,00.html

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@farmerman,

Roger and dlowan have covered the important stuff, but another aspect is that a lot of the usage is international -- it's a much, much cheaper way to communicate than standard long-distance international calls. (For example, some friends of ours are hosting a German exchange student who is constantly Skyping with her boyfriend back home...)

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@sozobe,

I have never tackled the phone aspects of skype.

Can you TTY on it?

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@dlowan,

I haven't yet used Skype.

Teletypewriters are pretty much obsolete these days, between IM'ing and texting and emailing and IP relay. I have one upstairs that I haven't touched since we moved here.

(Can I just ease in that I absolutely adore texting? A lot of my mom friends don't check email that often but if I text 'em, instant response. I love it.)

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@sozobe,

Indeed.

Goddessend for the deaf.

Not so much for the blind.

You never texted ME...........sobs brokenly....

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@dlowan,

Well if you give me your number I so will! (How does that work? I think I can text to anyone anywhere and not have to pay more per month... but I'm not sure about that.)

Yeah, I am delighted to be living in such a text-centric time. Not sure how long it will last but sure love it now (she says, as she types to a friend she's known for almost a decade but has never spoken to, just exchanged some untold millions of words with... gawd, how much do you think it all adds up to? at least few novels... now I'm getting depressed...)

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@sozobe,

I currently have no texting program downloaded.

One has a NUMBER on skype (I deleted it yonks ago) now?

I could download the text stuff.

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@sozobe,

Well, people used to write real LETTERS on PAPER...and they wrote a lot.

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@dlowan,

Oh, I thought you meant send a text your cell phone.

If we're just gonna type at each other, we can do that here.

Or PM.

Or email.

Or IM.

(Text-centric golden age!)

1 Reply

@dlowan,

Not nearly as much as people type stuff now.

Especially all the incidental, throwaway stuff -- making appts. with the doctor, arranging who's going to pick up the kid after soccer practice, whatever.

I do kinda miss letter-writing though, never do it anymore...

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@sozobe,

My mobile is not connected to the net.
I ain't paying for more net stuff.

1 Reply

@dlowan,

I guess I dont see a benefit beyond cost. Is that it?

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@farmerman,

Hey fm

Skype on the computer is great really - I talk to folk thru the laptop (pc to pc) - it's free to download, depending on the computer/laptop - nothing else required (tho sometimes it's useful to have a headset) - put in a skype address and push the button... telephone on my lap and doesn't cost a thing.

Can talk to anywhere in the world FOC.

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@farmerman,

I think so.

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@dlowan,

dlowan wrote:

I have never tackled the phone aspects of skype.

Can you TTY on it?

It's really simple. You prepay either $ 10 or $ 20 with your credit card to skype
and then you can dial any ground line from your computer. Most international
calls cost around 1 or 2 cent/minute, depending where you call to. The connection is really good, sometimes better than regular ground line.

I love skype and newer MACs have a built in camera, so one can see and talk.

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It also works in reverse: you can have a phone number assigned to your Skype account so that anyone can call it as if they were calling a regular phone number. You can specify the area code of your Skype number. It was a godsend when I was living abroad a few years ago. I assigned a California area code to my Skype number so that my friends and family could call me in Zurich as if they were making a local call.

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@Shapeless,

Yup, I use it now for my US calls and my business uses it for all our incoming numbers.

Add Google Voice to it and it becomes even cooler. They give you a free number that you can set to ring any number you want. So my skype numbers are disposable, if I don't like their service or find a better VOIP provider I can switch without distributing a new number.

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@Shapeless,

Shapeless wrote:

It also works in reverse: you can have a phone number assigned to your Skype account so that anyone can call it as if they were calling a regular phone number. You can specify the area code of your Skype number. It was a godsend when I was living abroad a few years ago. I assigned a California area code to my Skype number so that my friends and family could call me in Zurich as if they were making a local call.

That I did not know. I'll have to try that now....

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THE MEANING OF "TO SKYPE", and other puter frases

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