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Chatting Via-Internet (phone that is)
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| Junior Member |
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| posted by life 1167 days ago |
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So, I am not sure how many of you guys have heard of Skype. For those of you who have not, they are doing interesting things with the Internet. They are out of Sweden and for small amounts of money; you can set up a phone number (with voice mail) in select countries that will then ring into your internet account. You can even talk to people who then call your phone number (while you are in Asia on the computer) with amazing clarity.
Now granted this will eat into the pockets of phone companies in the countries they offer phone numbers to. They are already banned in the middle east. Imagine no more international phone charges. Without having to pay for the local taxes, surcharges and all the other crap countries charge, is this hurting local economies? Should this sort of free enterprise be allowed?
Then at the end of the day, how safe is this sort of technology? Or has "back to the future" finally arrived?
I'm bored, I'm pi*sy, and, I have no shame.
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| Senior Member |
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| posted by God de Vader 1167 days ago |
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sure this should be allowed! BTW i thought they operated out of luxembourg! and they should grow up with regards, to credit cards, as i am unable to sign up for skype out with my HSBC visa card.
their customer service sucks even worse then PCCW but then again, if you get it to work you save $$$
many my colleagues use this full time at work for international calls
I'm not under the alkafluence of inkahol that some thinkle peep I am. It's just the drunker I sit here the longer I get."
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| Junior Member |
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| posted by life 1167 days ago |
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what do you mean you can't get your card to work? Pay with pay pal then. THe creator is the same guy who created Kazaa.
What is PCCW?
But then what of the local economies. IS this not hurting them?
I'm bored, I'm pi*sy, and, I have no shame.
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| Senior Member |
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| posted by God de Vader 1167 days ago |
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why do i need to add yet another internet banking feature>? why dont they just accept credit cards....with pay pal you need to keep money in the account again.....im not really happpy to have for every single thing another account or thingy!
I'm not under the alkafluence of inkahol that some thinkle peep I am. It's just the drunker I sit here the longer I get."
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| The Maintenance Man |
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| 3119 Posts |
| On the Sofa |
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| posted by ServerGuy 1167 days ago |
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They do accept credit cards, thats how I paid for my account.
If you have got any problems with this site send them to Support@HKExpats.com Thanks
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| Junior Member |
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| 1219 Posts |
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| posted by life 1167 days ago |
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The only thing they do not accept is american express..
I'm bored, I'm pi*sy, and, I have no shame.
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| Senior Member |
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| 8947 Posts |
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| posted by God de Vader 1167 days ago |
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life this is not true, a hong kong addressed hsbc visa card does not get accepted which they have acknowledged to me in an e-mail after i complaint about 7 times.
they know of this issue, and frankly ask me to open an account with paypal or moneybrookers, which i am not interested in!
I'm not under the alkafluence of inkahol that some thinkle peep I am. It's just the drunker I sit here the longer I get."
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| The Designer |
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| posted by HKBloke 1167 days ago |
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It's going to happen - just a matter of time. If the traditional phone companies were that smart (or perhaps a tad less greedy) they would be driving this technology rather than trying ever trick in the book to stop it.
It's based on a technology called VOIP which stands for Voice Over IP. The big thing that has started to happen over the past 12 months is in the corporate sector. They are not using Skype (which is really a retail product) but they are now starting to route all their existing internal traffic over internal networks - and don't forget if I can get an internal line to my office in (say) Jakarta then phoning a client there is then just a local phone call.
This is going to have a HUGE impact on the telcos. Any of them that don't have a sizeable mobile product are going to get really squeezed.
Now coming back to Skype - the thing I'm waiting for is video...which they say is comming - as it will be on a point to point basis it will be far better than the quality currently available on MSN, yahoo and the like.
I use Skype to call family and friends in the UK. It comes out to be about 100 times cheaper then IDD - unfortunately my wife has now realised she can now spend even longer talking to her mother....[:(]
I have heard of the problem with HK credit cards. Luckily I bought lods of credits when they still worked. Not sure if it's an HSBC issue who now have their own online verification process.
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| The Maintenance Man |
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| 3119 Posts |
| On the Sofa |
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| posted by ServerGuy 1167 days ago |
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VOIP is all well and good, but the biggest problem with this whole idea at the moment is that if everyone did switch over to it all hell would break loose as the internet would die. Currently the telco's and the like who actually provide the lines that are the backbone of the internet would need upgrade their network infrastructure to cope with the extra demand for traffic. So if this does grow to quickly, the only thing you will see is poor quality start to creep in and the speed of the internet as a whole slow down.
If you have got any problems with this site send them to Support@HKExpats.com Thanks
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| Junior Member |
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| 518 Posts |
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| posted by n/a 1167 days ago |
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sounds good !!!think my brother had a simialr thing going from BKK for a while...but !I found Paypal obstructionist,mindless (y,know ,that American response drivel which mainly says "We don't care,bugger off but- y'all have a nice day,now!!!",infuriating and felt like I was talking to Mars or a sheltered workshop wouldn't go near anything I needed them for...
Miss P
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| Junior Member |
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| 1219 Posts |
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| posted by life 1167 days ago |
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HKBloke: why do you use skypeout vs skypein? You can have a local number in the UK which will then ring on your computer in which case your charges will be even less.
Serverguy: In which case they are getting royalties for the use of their lines anyway, and they will always have a business due to poor internet line quality. But lets think about it. Wasn't that the same argument used back in the 90's when people first realized there was an internet?
MissP: I thought pay pal was European.
I'm bored, I'm pi*sy, and, I have no shame.
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| The Maintenance Man |
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| 3119 Posts |
| On the Sofa |
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| posted by ServerGuy 1167 days ago |
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A few points here.
PayPal is owned by eBay now.
As it stands, the carriers who's lines are used for the actual Skype traffic will not be getting a thing. It is standard internet traffic so there is no cross charging like this. Basically all Skype has to do is build a gateway in each country and pay for the internet line to the local provider to connect the gateway system. So the only people who are actually getting the money are at the very end of the loop, anyone in the middle will not get a thing.
If you have got any problems with this site send them to Support@HKExpats.com Thanks
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| Newbie |
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| 492 Posts |
| But not new |
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| posted by Gweilo 1167 days ago |
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As far as I can tell, because I use it a lot, the basic Skype service is free. The download was free. I only had to buy a cheap headset/microphone (about HK$40) and now am making calls to the "expensive" countries all the time as long as the person at the other end also has it. However I haven't yet tried the service where you buy credits and can phone people who don't have Skype downloaded--thus no credit card problem, yet. Quality BTW is pretty good (considering the cost) apart from a few dropped connections.
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| Regular Member |
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| posted by Gum Tree 1167 days ago |
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I haven't yet tried Skype. So do I need anything on the puter other than the software? And I am guessing from gweilo's post, that if you want to ring a non-skype person, you pay? Can you log into any phone or is it limited? And, I did hear that you get 'delay' in phone calls, is that right?
"Marooned on a rock with 80,000 and now 90,000 alcoholics and counting"
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| Junior Member |
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| 518 Posts |
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| posted by n/a 1167 days ago |
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well refer to postings on e bay here on this forum for how boundlessly reassuring it is to know that they now own Pay Pal...
pretty sure the correspondence I had with PP during out short sharp business and abortive relationship emanated from USA...but didn't keep emails so can't be really sure now...anyway they were ...words fail me...
Miss P
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| The Maintenance Man |
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| 3119 Posts |
| On the Sofa |
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| posted by ServerGuy 1167 days ago |
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To use Skype, you need some software on you machines, a microphone and speakers or you can opt for a proper telephone handset that plugs into your computer. Basic calls from a computer to a computer are free, its when you want to get onto a normal telephone number you need to start paying for the service.
If you have got any problems with this site send them to Support@HKExpats.com Thanks
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| Newbie |
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| 492 Posts |
| But not new |
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| Hong Kong |
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| posted by Gweilo 1167 days ago |
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The Skype website is sort of chatty and not really intimidating. It might be www.skype.com, or just Google it, and it will be on top. It explains nearly everything. They also gave me some free Euros (!) in the pay-per-use account to encourage me to register for it. Plus, the website informs the cost of using that non-free service. It's not expensive. Many outgoing calls from HK are so cheap anyway that it hardly matters. But I use Skype when calling from one "expensive" country to another, and honestly it has saved a lot. Agree with ServerGuy, though, if it catches on in a very big way, a lot of communication buisness models may have to change.
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| Junior Member |
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| 1219 Posts |
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| Thailand |
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| posted by life 1164 days ago |
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GT, you can dial into any phone number (in the world). There is a phone call rate chart. Basically to Western Europe is 1.7 cents (the euro kind) a minute. Then of course to cell phones I believe is a little more expensive depending on the country (with the US being the exception).
I'm bored, I'm pi*sy, and, I have no shame.
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| Junior Member |
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| 1092 Posts |
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| posted by chubby 1164 days ago |
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we been using skype for years already....PC to PC...but now started to use it from PC to Phone....its nice...cheaper than those telephone companies, and also free if PC to PC...what else do you ask...lol
"honesty the best medicine..."HECK!!!
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| Junior Member |
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| 1219 Posts |
| in |
| Thailand |
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| posted by life 1164 days ago |
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wow.. I didn't realise how long it had been out there. I just thought it came out in 2004!
I'm bored, I'm pi*sy, and, I have no shame.
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| Regular Member |
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| 6594 Posts |
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| United Kingdom |
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| posted by Gum Tree 1164 days ago |
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Only trouble I can see is that you are tied to the computer. I like to chat whilst sitting on the balcony. Any wireless head pieces???
"Marooned on a rock with 80,000 and now 90,000 alcoholics and counting"
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