Description
If you've heard about Skype--and who hasn't with all the recent media attention devoted to internet phone service--chances are you've been mighty tempted to try it out. Skype Hacks tells you what all the Skype hype is about, explains the basics, and shows you more than 100 clever tips and tricks for tweaking and tuning Skype so you too can enjoy free phone calls and services.
Full Description
If you've heard about Skype--and who hasn't with all the recent media attention devoted to internet telephone services--chances are you've been mighty tempted to try it out.
Skype Hacks tells you what all the Skype hype is about, explains the basics, and shows you more than 100 clever tips and tricks for tweaking and tuning Skype to make it do just what you want and more.
Millions of people (48 million and counting, in fact) have opted for Skype, which uses peer-to-peer (P2P) technology to turn any PC, Mac, or Pocket PC into a telephone. Skype offers free calls between computers and extremely cheap calls to "old-fashioned" phone numbers (landlines and mobile phones). The sound quality is excellent, and end-to-end encryption means the connection is private and secure.
But if you really know what you're doing, Skype can accomplish a whole lot more than that. Software developer and author Andrew Sheppard recently converted his entire house to Skype and uses it for all his personal and business calls, even when he's traveling. In Skype Hacks, he shows you how to do things with the technology that even the engineers at Skype probably never intended.
Skype Hacks shows you how to:
- Get started with Skype
- Figure out how much money you're saving and maximize your savings
- Cut the ties to your old phone company
- Optimize your Skype configuration
- Integrate Skype with desktop tools like Microsoft Office and your web browser
- Set up a Skype-based call center
The book offers ideas for creating and organizing a contacts list, using Skype to transfer files, taking advantage of chat and voicemail capabilities, turning a PDA into a mobile phone, and automating Skype for even greater efficiency. So whether you'd simply like to give Skype a trial run, you want new Skype ring tones and fun on-hold music, or you're considering wiring your home with Skype to get rid of "regular" phone service altogether, Skype Hacks is your ideal guide.
Colophon
Colophon
Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects.
The tool on the cover of Skype Hacks is an antique telephone; specifically, a tube shaft candlestick desk telephone. It has a dial, a handheld earpiece, and a solid perch with the transmitter unit attached. This style of phone was in development as early as 1894.
Colleen Gorman was the production editor and proofreader, and Audrey Doyle was the copyeditor for Skype Hacks . Reba Libby and Claire Cloutier provided quality control. Johnna VanHoose Dinse wrote the index.
Marcia Friedman designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is a photograph from Photospin Power Photos, Nostalgia Volume 9. Karen Montgomery produced the cover layout with Adobe InDesign CS using Adobe's Helvetica Neue and ITC Garamond fonts.
David Futato designed the interior layout. This book was converted by Keith Fahlgren to FrameMaker 5.5.6 with a format conversion tool created by Erik Ray, Jason McIntosh, Neil Walls, and Mike Sierra that uses Perl and XML technologies. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Helvetica Neue Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano, Jessamyn Read, and Lesley Borash using Macromedia FreeHand MX and Adobe Photoshop CS. This colophon was written by Colleen Gorman.
