Tips and tricks

Update: this promotion has now ended – thanks for taking part

As a special treat, we’re giving away 10,000 minutes of Skype Access completely free – simply connect as normal for up to 30 minutes at a time, and you won’t pay a thing.

For those of you who are in the dark about Skype Access, here are the basics:

Skype Access is a super-cool feature only found (at the moment) in Skype 2.8 Beta for Mac. It lets you pay by the minute for WiFi using your Skype Credit – except, of course, that until the 10,000 minutes run out, you won’t actually pay at all.

To get started, make sure you’re running Skype 2.8 Beta for Mac, find a compatible hotspot, and surf away

1. From March 17th 2pm GMT up to March 23rd 00.00 GMT (the ‘Promotional Period’), Skype registered users shall be entitled to use Skype Access for free, in accordance with these terms and conditions (‘Promotion’). Usage of Skype Access is possible in sessions each lasting for 30 minutes or less. Skype reserves the right to end the promotion upon reaching 10000 free minutes given away. End of this promotion will be communicated on Skype for Mac blog.
2. To qualify for this Promotion you must have downloaded the Skype for Mac 2.8 Beta software and you must have a valid and active Skype user name and account (‘Participant’).
3. Skype reserves the right to suspend, shorten or extend, change or cancel the Promotion at any time. Skype also reserves the right to change and amend the terms of this Promotion at its own discretion at any time without notifying you of such changes.
4. To the maximum extent permissible under applicable law, Skype shall not be liable in contract or tort (including negligence) or breach of statutory duty or in any other way, for the loss or damage howsoever arising suffered by the user resulting directly or indirectly from this Promotion.
5. Skype reminds users of the nature and limitations of the Internet and is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunctions of any communications network, online system or computer hardware or software that may affect access to the Promotion.
6. Although Skype will use reasonable efforts to ensure that all information relating to this Promotion is accurate, Skype will not be responsible for any inaccuracies in the promotional material.
7. If Skype has suspicions or knowledge that any user has misused the Promotion, or been involved in any fraudulent or illegal activity relating to the Promotion, Skype reserves the right to exclude any user from the Promotion at any time and at its sole discretion.
8. Skype Access is provided by Boingo and is subject to Boingo’s Terms of Service.
9. Sponsor: Skype Communications S.a.r.l, 22/24 Boulevard Royal, Luxembourg, L2449 Luxembourg.

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.

Update: if you’re using a recent Mac with a built-in webcam – it’ll look a bit like the one above – it’s ideal for making Skype video calls. Make sure you’re using the most recent version of Skype for Mac, too

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.