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#196886 - 04/23/05 09:20 PM
Impressive (PC-PC) FREE "unlimited talk time" Internet Telephone: Check it Out !
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Senior Member
Registered: 12/01/99
Posts: 10427
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, CA, US...
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Hi fellow Synthzone members & friends. I recently discovered Skype: http://skype.com/ an internet telephone software which allows you to voice chat (UNLIMITED & totally FREE) online (PC to PC) to anyone anywhere around the world that has a PC as well. A couple of years back, I had used "Dialpad" for free internet telephone voice chatting, but the poor signal quality (voice delay, echo, static & drop outs), and limited talk time before calls got automatically dropped, soon became annoying. With "Skype", a fast DSL/Cable speed PC internet connection, and a 'headset w/mic', those annoyances are now a thing of the past. With Skype, you can talk (unlimited talk time & FREE) to anyone anywhere in the world who also has a PC with a DSL/Cable speed connection, and a headset w/mic. The voice sound quality & clarity rivals a regular telephone connection and with no echo or delay to boot. In fact, I recently had an enjoyable free internet telephone conversation with an arranger keyboard buddy who lives in Belgium and it sounded like he was right next door to me here in California. There was no noticeable audible delay or any echo. By adding a Webcam, you can take the internet telephone experience a step further and not only hear the person on the other end play their arranger KB, but WATCH them (on LIVE video webcam) playing their KB as well. What a great way to demonstrate & share playing tips & techniques, etc with fellow SZ arranger keyboard enthusiasts anywhere around the world. Interested in internet telephone chatting? Email me. Scott 
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#196888 - 04/23/05 11:47 PM
Re: Impressive (PC-PC) FREE "unlimited talk time" Internet Telephone: Check it Out !
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Junior Member
Registered: 12/04/04
Posts: 26
Loc: Australia
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Originally posted by Scottyee: Hi fellow Synthzone members & friends. I recently discovered Skype: http://skype.com/
an internet telephone software which allows you to voice chat (UNLIMITED & totally FREE) online (PC to PC) to anyone anywhere around the world that has a PC as well. A couple of years back, I had used "Dialpad" for free internet telephone voice chatting, but the poor signal quality (voice delay, echo, static & drop outs), and limited talk time before calls got automatically dropped, soon became annoying.
With "Skype", a fast DSL/Cable speed PC internet connection, and a 'headset w/mic', those annoyances are now a thing of the past. With Skype, you can talk (unlimited talk time & FREE) to anyone anywhere in the world who also has a PC with a DSL/Cable speed connection, and a headset w/mic. The voice sound quality & clarity rivals a regular telephone connection and with no echo or delay to boot. In fact, I recently had an enjoyable free internet telephone conversation with an arranger keyboard buddy who lives in Belgium and it sounded like he was right next door to me here in California. There was no noticeable audible delay or any echo. By adding a Webcam, you can take the internet telephone experience a step further and not only hear the person on the other end play their arranger KB, but WATCH them (on LIVE video webcam) playing their KB as well. What a great way to demonstrate & share playing tips & techniques, etc with fellow SZ arranger keyboard enthusiasts anywhere around the world. Interested in internet telephone chatting? Email me.
Scott 
Hi Scott, Yes, Skype is a great telephony program and leaves the others for dead, but I don't think they have the video facility just yet. Cleon
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#196892 - 04/24/05 07:43 AM
Re: Impressive (PC-PC) FREE "unlimited talk time" Internet Telephone: Check it Out !
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Senior Member
Registered: 12/08/02
Posts: 15578
Loc: Forest Hill, MD USA
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Scott,
Am I interpreting the site correctly where it says you can call regular telephones throughout the world for 2 U.S. cents per minute? If this is the case, which I hope it is, this would be a fantastic deal. I'm just wondering how they would go about billing you for the call.
Let me know,
Gary
_________________________
PSR-S950, TC Helicon Harmony-M, Digitech VR, Samson Q7, Sennheiser E855, Custom Console, and lots of other silly stuff!
K+E=W (Knowledge Plus Experience = Wisdom.)
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#196895 - 04/24/05 09:03 AM
Re: Impressive (PC-PC) FREE "unlimited talk time" Internet Telephone: Check it Out !
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Senior Member
Registered: 12/01/99
Posts: 10427
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, CA, US...
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Originally posted by WDMcM: What is the advantage in using Skype over MSN Messenger? Dave, Good question.  For instant text messaging, MSN remains my #1 software choice, but Unfortunately (at least with my computer), MSN Messenger's voicephone feature won't work unless I disable/lower my PC Firewall settings, which is a risky proposition at best. Skype, on the otherhand, allows you to keep your PC's Firewall turned on (mine is: Norton Personal Firewall) & set at full security. Originally posted by travlin'easy: Am I interpreting the site correctly where it says you can call regular telephones throughout the world for 2 U.S. cents per minute?I'm just wondering how they would go about billing you for the call. Gary, "SkypeOut" allows you to call any regular telephone (in the world) from your PC. I've never used or tried SkypeOUT before, but to use it, you must first pre-purchase CREDITS with your credit card (Mastercard, Visa, etc) which is then applied to whatever calls you make. Here are some more SkypeOut FAQ answers: http://www.skype.com/help/faq/skypeout.html I'm personally recommending (and sticking with) the 100% FREE PC to PC service offered by Skype: http://www.skype.com/products/ for chatting with Synthzone buddies (on computer) around the globe. Skype FREE PC to PC internet voice telephone promises to bring SZ members even closer together. Dreamer (Andrea Rotolo): Looking forward to our FREE Skype voice telephone chat (California-Rome) tomorrow (Monday),  I'm looking forward to hearing from other fellow SZ members (around the globe) interested in chatting FOR FREE with me on Skype. Please email me if interested. Scott 
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#196899 - 04/25/05 04:26 PM
Re: Impressive (PC-PC) FREE "unlimited talk time" Internet Telephone: Check it Out !
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Senior Member
Registered: 12/01/99
Posts: 10427
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, CA, US...
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Had a terrific voice & music making (jam session) with Andrea Rotolo (Dreamer) today via live internet telephone: from San Francisco Bay Area, CA to Rome, Italy. The audio quality was simply AMAZING. We both have DSL/Cable computer connections, so there was absoulutely no audio latency, dropouts, or echo. We could even talk concurrently (at the same time) without the other person's voice dropping out. The audio quality is actually far better than my regular telephone sounds, talking to someone living down the street. Andrea had visited me (and played music together with me) here in Berkeley a couple of years back so the Skype 'PC to PC' internet voice connection felt like the next best thing to jamming LIVE together. With headphones & mics, we spent a wonderful hour jamming (with our keyboards) and me singing too (with my voice finally back in decent form), on tunes (from Jobim to classic jazz standards). It was fun to call up tunes to each other on the fly, and play together: Tyros to Tyros, muting the auto accomp parts except for drums & bass, and playing in all other parts live. Thanks to Skpe internet for making this 'across the globe' LIVE interactive music making possible. Because of the impressive sound quality and no more of the audio latency & dropouts of the past, it's now finally a reality to be able to make musc LIVE with ANYONE anywhere across the globe, and it's TOTALLY FREE to boot. I'm in heaven. I again encourage others to check Skype out. This revolutionizing music making possibilities. Anyone else want to play? Scott 
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#196900 - 04/26/05 08:26 AM
Re: Impressive (PC-PC) FREE "unlimited talk time" Internet Telephone: Check it Out !
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Member
Registered: 06/30/00
Posts: 803
Loc: Braganca, Portugal
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Originally posted by Scottyee:
Dave, Good question. For instant text messaging, MSN remains my #1 software choice, but Unfortunately (at least with my computer), MSN Messenger's voicephone feature won't work unless I disable/lower my PC Firewall settings, which is a risky proposition at best. Skype, on the otherhand, allows you to keep your PC's Firewall turned on (mine is: Norton Personal Firewall) & set at full security.
This happens because Skype does not use the same networks as MSN/other communication software. It uses p2p (peer-to-peer) networks [the ones used in Kazaa, for example] and they seem to allow amazing quality standards (particularly good because of rare or in many cases inexistant interruptions). I have been using it to keep in contact with friends in the USA and Canada (fixed phone, not PC-to-PC) at much lower rates than the ones practiced by the companies operating in my country (unfortunately the fixed phones market is in practice a monopoly, in POrtugal, preventing the prices of communications to be lower). New forms of collaboration over broadband internet are one of hottest and most promising fields in this moment. Stay tuned in the progresses we will see in a near future! Those interested in voice over internet might like to read this article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4254399.stm -- José.
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#196902 - 04/26/05 01:48 PM
Re: Impressive (PC-PC) FREE "unlimited talk time" Internet Telephone: Check it Out !
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Senior Member
Registered: 12/01/99
Posts: 10427
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, CA, US...
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It was a lot of fun chatting with Wazza (Netherlands), Shakeel Ahmed (Pakistan), and RichUK (Portsmouth GB, UK) on Skype today. What amazed me was even though Ahmed was on a slow dialup line (32k), the quality of our conversation was still half way decent, and with no (or very little) audio delay. With DSL/Cable, speaking to the others, the audio quality was fanstastic & with no voice delay or echo whatsoever. Ok, here's (I think) the best way to configure Skype with your keyboard & mic for keyboard jamming & singing LIVE via Skype. If your keyboard includes a mic input (as most arrangers which include a built in vocalizer do), simply plug your mic into your keyboard, and send your keyboard L/R output into your PCs LINE IN jacks on your PC's sound card. You'll probably need a Y cable to convert the two 1/4" (L/R) audio outputs of your keyboard to the 1/8" stereo mini jack input (LINE IN) on your computer's soundcard. Once this is hooked up, all you need to do is don a pair of headphones & plug into the audio out (headphone jack) of your soundcard. You will then be able to voice chat thru the vocal mic plugged into your keyboard, and play your keyboard, with both parties concurrently playing (and singing) & heard concurrently. It's would even be possible (I think) to record the LIVE jam performances via audio recording software (Sonar, Total Recorder, etc) though I'm not exactly sure exactly how to set this up. Any recommendations? Ok folks, my Skype username is: scottyee Look forward to meeting, chatting, and possibly even jamming together LIVE on Skype with fellow Synthzone members soon. Email me to set up a Skype chat session. Scott 
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#196913 - 05/09/05 04:19 AM
Re: Impressive (PC-PC) FREE "unlimited talk time" Internet Telephone: Check it Out !
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Senior Member
Registered: 09/21/02
Posts: 5524
Loc: Port Charlotte,FL,USA
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The only restriction my ISP has is 1 gig on downloading from newsgroups in 30 days. I am sure this is to prevent too much illegal file swapping.
Bernie
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pa4X 76 ,SX900, Audya 76,Yamaha S970 , vArranger, Hammond SK1, Ketron SD40, Centerpoint Space Station, Bose compact
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#196924 - 05/10/05 01:00 AM
Re: Impressive (PC-PC) FREE "unlimited talk time" Internet Telephone: Check it Out !
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Senior Member
Registered: 12/01/99
Posts: 10427
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, CA, US...
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Originally posted by pasadoble: BEWARE OF SKYPE.............I briefly clicked on the link supplied by Scott, had a look at the website and the left without using or installing the software ...I now find that Skype has somehow hacked into my Ebay Paypal account and has withdrawn $10 without any authorisation from me Hi Pasadoble: I'm terribly sorry  to hear about your recent Ebay Paypal account problem, but what PROOF (evidence) do you have that is was Skype that hacked your PayPal account, other than saying you just happened to visit their website 'briefly'. I don't believe it's possible for anyone to obtain the required information (without you volunteeraily providing it) to get into your PayPal Account. I suspect the missing $10 from your PayPal account may have been a sheer coincience following your visit to the Skype website. I too have a Paypal account and never experienced anything like this, and I visit Skype's website on many occasions, as well as downloaded & installed their software. Before this escalates into an anti-Skype campaign, I think it's IMPORTANT to get all the FACTS. Pasadoble: Other than the sheer concidence of visiting the Skype website 'briefly', please provide more specific & compelling evidence to legitimately accuse Skype for hacking your Paypal Account. If so, I might support your claim. Thanks. Scott
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#196926 - 05/10/05 01:17 AM
Re: Impressive (PC-PC) FREE "unlimited talk time" Internet Telephone: Check it Out !
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Senior Member
Registered: 12/01/99
Posts: 10427
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, CA, US...
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Roel & Eddie: It was great chatting with you both on Skype yesterday. What a treat to finally match one's VOICE (and with webcam (via MSN messenger) LIVE VIDEO as well, to both longtime & recently made friends I've made here, from: Roel, Eddie, Chico Brasil, Dreamer (Andrea Rotolo), Rich Child, Dirk Baert (Notlos), Bernie9, Bob Hendershot, Wazza (Marcel) Johhny Barr, Shakeel Amhed, Tony Rome, plus others. Skype & MSN Messenger (video) are really bringing Synthzone members closer together. The Synthzone membership has truly become a close and supportive "Worldwide Community" of arranger keyboard enthusiast friends. Hope more here will take the opportunity to connect this way as well. It's a lot of fun. Scott  [This message has been edited by Scottyee (edited 05-10-2005).]
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#196928 - 05/10/05 09:58 AM
Re: Impressive (PC-PC) FREE "unlimited talk time" Internet Telephone: Check it Out !
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Member
Registered: 11/30/01
Posts: 218
Loc: Portsmouth, England.UK
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Here it is Scott...taken without any involvment from myself, how can anyone gain access to a protected personal account and withdraw money unauthorised? ------------------------------------------- Dear N*** H*****, This email confirms that you have paid Skype (paypal@skype.com) 10.00 EUR using PayPal. This credit card transaction will appear on your statement as "PAYPAL *SKYPE". -------------------------------------------- Originally posted by Scottyee: Hi Pasadoble: I'm terribly sorry to hear about your recent Ebay Paypal account problem, but what PROOF (evidence) do you have that is was Skype that hacked your PayPal account, other than saying you just happened to visit their website 'briefly'.
I don't believe it's possible for anyone to obtain the required information (without you volunteeraily providing it) to get into your PayPal Account.
I suspect the missing $10 from your PayPal account may have been a sheer coincience following your visit to the Skype website. I too have a Paypal account and never experienced anything like this, and I visit Skype's website on many occasions, as well as downloaded & installed their software.
Before this escalates into an anti-Skype campaign, I think it's IMPORTANT to get all the FACTS. Pasadoble: Other than the sheer concidence of visiting the Skype website 'briefly', please provide more specific & compelling evidence to legitimately accuse Skype for hacking your Paypal Account. If so, I might support your claim. Thanks. Scott
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