Tips and tricks

Here's a thorough story on choosing a handset to go with Skype. The driver in question is not Skype Certified, but it seems to work for the author.

Did you know you can move self-image around in a video call? I did. (Simply click on the self-image in a video call and drag it wherever you want to). But I never realized you can make a meeting over Skype video look like you are present if the room is of a certain size - at least to yourself

Stephen just wrote on the Skype Gear blog that Futiro Luna, one of the nicest looking Skype handsets out there, is now certified for Mac use.

The Luna is a corded USB handset, meaning that you just install the driver for the phone, click to allow it to use Skype, and then plug the handset straight into the USB. More on the user experience here. Futiro Luna is available in the Skype accessories shop.

Macworld just wrote that there is a video call recorder out from Ecamm. It can record incoming and outgoing calls as QuickTime files that can then be played back or edited using other software. AAC encoding is supported. It costs $14.95 to download.

I downloaded the free 7-day trial version. It closed and relaunched my Skype after which a separate record button and a recording preferences tab appeared in Skype. The experience was quite Skype-like and the recording neatly appeared on my Desktop after the call. So it seems like a nice piece of software, but I nevertheless have to add that it is a third party product that is not Skype Certified, so we cannot guarantee it always works like clockwork.

We get asked quite a lot what webcams and drivers work on Mac. Apple iSight, Philips SPC900NC and Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000 are pretty safe bets. Loads of other cameras work as well as long as you've downloaded a driver from http://webcam-osx.sourceforge.net. See the list of cameras that work (and those that don't) with Macs.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind for using video. First, you need a 800 MHz or higher processor to run video - all G5 and Intel and most recent G4 models will do. Second, make sure that only one video application is open at a time. A camera can send video to only one application at the same time. So for example if you open Skype and iChat simultaneously, the first one gets the cam and the second will show No camera connected message.

If you can't get Skype to recognize your camera, check out our knowledgebase or look at the forums.

With the launch of Skype version 2.5 for Mac more and more people will hopefully discover the usefulness of sending SMS via Skype. This morning I discovered really simple (but very well hidden) way to send SMS messages to contacts in my Mac's Address Book.

Simply click on their mobile number tab in their contact card (see the screenshot below) and the last choice in the drop down list is "Send SMS with Skype". No fiddling with copy-paste or adding new contacts. Click and send.