Skype is a program that allows for text, voice, and video communication. During the chat, one can send files, demonstrate their actions sharing desktop and use all kinds of emoticons and emoji. All these options are totally free. What the users pay for are landline calls.
How to Download Skype
To download Skype just click on the Download button at the end of this review.
The Program Review
All the contacts we have on our list are displayed in the left panel. We can look for new contacts using the search box at the top of the Skype window. The contact names are accompanied by pictures. The text chat panel is where all the action takes place. Unless of course, we use Skype for voice/video calls. The program is highly configurable and we can access the options from the Tools menu. There one can find the following sections: General, Privacy, Notifications, Calls, IM @ SMS and Advanced.
General Settings
We can configure our communicator’s behavior. For example, we can set the software to call our contacts upon double-clicking on their name on the contact list. We can determine whether Skype will automatically start with Windows and whether it will log in automatically, remembering our password. We choose program language, the capability to show profile picture and previews of the upcoming messages in the sidebar.
There are also Audio settings where we configure our microphone and speakers and set their volume. We can also configure the sounds for different program events like ringtone, dial tone, busy signal or call on hold. Then there are Video settings where we configure our video camera. Last but not least, we have an awesome feature of Skype Translator. It basically means that we can communicate with another person even if we don’t know each other’s language. The automatic translation can be used for instant messages and also for voice calls.
Skype Privacy Settings
Skype Privacy settings let us decided if anyone can contact us (calls or instant messages) or whether these can be only people from our contact list. Similar settings pertain to receiving video or shared screens. We can also export our chat history or delete it. We can also configure cookie usage. Another useful feature is Blocked people. There we can block communication from spambots or individuals we don’t want to deal with.
Skype Notifications and Other Settings
It is possible for Skype to display notifications about certain events like people going offline and online or someone sending us files. There are ven notifications for someone birthday. If any of these is a nuisance for us, we can easily disable it. Another interesting place to have a look is Advanced Settings where one can find the list of Skype shortcuts. If we spend a lot of time using the program, knowing that Ctrl+Q starts a conversation can come in handy.
