Skype

Anything your phone can do, Skype can do better.

Skype is wonderful. If you don’t know what it is, look here. In addition to free computer-to-computer calls (with video and IM), you can call from computer to landline for next to nothing. You can make conference calls for up to five people. You can check a chronology of past calls and chats. You can set up group chats for up to 100 people.

But wait, there’s more…

The Skype Plug-In for Firefox highlights phone numbers in emails and web pages. Click a highlighted number and Skype calls it for you. You can download code for a button that shows your status and gives one-click access to you.

FOLLOW-UP: 12/22. The static on an international conference call this morning was so irritating that we switched to Skype. There’s a new position for Skype to take: Better than your land lines.

For $25, I bought a lifetime license to Skype add-on Pamela that lets me record calls as wav or mp3. It’s also an answering machine, offline recorder, and voicemail manager.

Skype 3.0 beta is now available, as is Pamela 3.0.