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Skype is the world’s most popular free IP telephony and instant messaging service. It allows users to send text, video and voice calls over the Internet. Users can also call landlines and mobiles at competitive rates using Skype credit, premium accounts, and subscriptions. Skype uses P2P technology to connect users across multiple platforms, including desktops, mobile devices, and tablets. Call quality (depending on your internet signal) and additional features like call history, conference calling, and secure file transfer are excellent. There have been some criticisms of the programs’ bandwidth usage and security vulnerabilities.

New Features and Functions for Mac

The user interface has been improved to improve compatibility with OS X Mavericks, and minor audio bugs have been fixed on the Mac platform. The new Skype contacts list can be integrated with the Mac Address Book, making it much easier to find contacts. Renaming contacts means you no longer have to search by name on Skype. Videoconferencing is free for up to 10 participants and is now much easier with a simple call window where you add/remove participants and are not distracted by other contacts and conversations that are folded into the corner of the interface. Microsoft’s influence can be seen in the integration of Microsoft Live accounts and the ability to sync these contacts to Skype. Facebook integrations are starting to make their way into the latest versions of Skype as well.

Skype calls

Once you have downloaded and installed Skype, you will need to create a user profile and a unique Skype name. You can then search for other users in the Skype directory or call them directly using their Skype name. Voice chat comes with conference calling, secure file transfer, and highly secure end-to-end encryption. Video chat is available on higher bandwidth connections and makes chatting with distant relatives/friends much more interactive. Video conferencing and screen sharing features make Skype popular in the corporate market. The Skype text chat client includes group chat, chat history, message editing, and emoticons. Skype also allows you to call landlines and mobile phones with a premium paid service.

Easy to use

The user interface of Skype is very intuitive and easy to use. All classic messaging service features like profiles, online status, contacts and recent history are displayed in the left navigation bar. You’ll also find the Skype directory, group options, search box, and premium call buttons here. The right side (main window) opens the content you have selected. For individual contacts, you’ll see a text message window, chat history, and call options.

Call quality

With a fast internet connection, Skype call quality is excellent for both voice and video calls. The hybrid peer-to-peer client/server system means the audio quality is better than most VoIP services. However, if you have a slower internet connection, voice calls may be interrupted or delayed. Video calls will be choppy and pixelated. Text chat is only affected by very bad connections. The call quality button will give you detailed information about the expected call quality for each of your contacts (because the quality depends on the Internet connection of both parties).

Summary

If you’re looking for a reliable and easy-to-use VoIP client, you’ll be hard pressed to beat Skype. Microsoft’s purchase of Skype in 2011 further stabilized the platform and accelerated development as Microsoft used Skype to replace its legacy Windows Live Messenger messaging service. Click on the green download button to give it a try.

Microsoft no longer allows you to host your own installers. So we redirect to their download page.