Opinion on Skype

Opinion on Skype: Conor O'Brien

I would definitely use this product and I currently already do. I've been using Skype since 2009 when I started college. For me it worked out perfectly because for my Freshman year I went to the University of Oklahoma which is far away from where i live (Connecticut). I used Skype to keep in contact with my friends, family, and girlfriend. I found Skype to be an extremely useful software and I would definitely recommend it. It's perfect to keep in touch with distant relatives and friends. Since 2009, I have not encountered one problem with this product and have been nothing but satisfied.  I would highly recommend Skype to others. 

  

Home page and how to use

SKYPE:

Skype Home Page

How To Use Skype

Competition

Skype's Competition 

Skype's main competitor which also offers video chat and instant messaging is that of ooVoo. OoVoo was released in 2007 and offers many of the same services as Skype. One of the cool differences that I found in ooVoo that I couldn't find in Skype was that of special effects. The amount of special effects in ooVoo outnumbered that of Skype. One of the big disadvantages of ooVoo is it isn't widely available on different devices (cell phones, TV) like Skype is. Also, Skype is a lot more popular and has a greater number of users. Personally, I enjoyed the layout of Skype over that of ooVoo.
ooVoo

Productivity in Business/Education Setting

Productivity

Skype can be especially useful in a business setting. If a company needs to meet with another company that is far away, it can simply utilize the conference call ability Skype has to offer. With a conference call, the important people from each company can talk to each other face-to-face (in video form) about whatever they need to discuss. This makes traveling to certain places over the world unnecessary. Also, doing business with other countries becomes a whole lot easier because you don't need to travel all the way there. 

Skype can also be useful in an education setting. Teachers are literally able to open up their lectures, share ideas, and talk to experts all over the world. It creates a unique learning experience. If you would like to learn more about Skype and it's educational capability i suggest you check out this link Skype Education .

                                                           Students being lectured through Skype

Key Features of Product

Key Features 

• Video calling and screen sharing
• Calls between Skype and land line numbers
• Voice-mail
• Third party add-ons
• SMS text messaging
• Take part in conference calls
• Call anyone else on Skype for free
• Make video calls to other Skype users anywhere in the world
• Skype accessibility on mobile device
• Group video calling 

About Skype

Skype Creators

Skype Creators

Skype was invented by Niklaz Zennstrom from Sweden and Janus Friis from Denmark. The two met each other at Tele2 which is a Swedish Telecom company where both of them worked. In 1999, both resigned and started a development team. Before creating Skype they gained recognition by creating a popular file sharing software called Kazaa in 2001. This turned out to be a very successful program and became one of the world's most downloaded programs. They then decided to develop Skype to offer a way of making local and international telephone calls. Both of them plan to continue to develop Skype in the future.
Skype Inventors

                                                    Zennstrom on left, Friis on right.

Historical Development

Historical Development 

Skype was created in 2003 to make it simple for family, friends, co-workers, and people that matter to you to share experiences together wherever they may be in the world. Skype's text, voice, and video software made this possible. Skype gained popularity and continued to grow because it was one of the only software applications that allowed users to communicate with other people over the internet in the form of voice and video communication. Also, it gained widespread popularity in May 2011 when Microsoft acquired Skype Communications for $8.5 billion dollars. With Microsoft already being a successful company, Skype gained much popularity. Today, Skype has over 650 million registered users and 40 million users on during peak times. 

Skype: About