Dedrei Posted February 8, 2006 Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 Just wondering...With Skype and Yahoo Messenger around where you can dial a person for free and talk as longs as you like I just wondered about something. These programs are lovely to stay in touch with family especially when you are abroad.Does anybody know how much bandwidth this uses if you make and receive calls. Is it just a teeny bit or something to consider? I haven't had a chance to check this out myself.I know if you listen to radio stations on the internet it eats up your bandwidth like crazy, wondered if it was the same with this? Any experts out there? P.S I am registered on Skype (dedrei) and Yahoo Messenger (dedrei1) if you would like to chat or test it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted February 8, 2006 Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 I have a few old mates that I've known for years. I rang one, Steve, the other day, and he said that he'd been in touch with another of my mates, Chris, on holiday in India. Chris had taken his lap-top on hols with him and they used Skype over the internet. Joe, another mate, was also involved in the three-way conversation, spanning continents. Skype was the medium used.When I dropped in to see Steve next day, in Adelaide, he rang Joe to get on-line and I witnessed a two-way conversation + webcam hook-up using Skype.Steve has Broadband 2, so has fast connection, whilst Joe is on Braodband but only 512 M/sec connection. It worked sell . . . just like watching somebody on TV although there was about a half second delay in transmission.Picture was crystal clear.It can only get better over the years, so I anticipate it being a very popular way for folks to talk to family and mates in South Africa or Britain in time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dedrei Posted February 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2006 Sorry - only realised now that I have been blocking some people trying to contact me on skype. Please PM me or write in the message box that you are member from SAAustralia.org website. So I can distinguish between members here and some of the general population out there that wanna chat.Bob, have skyped you back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Larry Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 I use Skype for chatting to friends back in SA and family in NZ. It does help if both parties are on a broadband connection. I recently upgraded from a 512/128 connection to a 1500/256 connection and have noticed a bit of a difference. The sound quality is excellent, but the slight lag takes a bit of getting used to.I haven't tried out Skype's video conferencing yet. - I don't use Windoze on my home computer. - I use GNU/Linux and Skype haven't released Skype 2 for Linux yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZHigh Posted March 17, 2006 Report Share Posted March 17, 2006 I don't use Windoze on my home computer. -Haha Windoze, Hehe, that was funny.I showed this to a friend at work today who really has no affection for Mr. Gates and his heritage. He is into Fedora and Mandrake.Windoze - Hehehehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Larry Posted March 17, 2006 Report Share Posted March 17, 2006 (edited) I started off using Red Hat 6.0 in 1998 before changing to Mandrake 6.2 as the new Red Hat wouldn't support my computer's graphics card.Late last year, I installed the latest version of Mandrake (now Mandriva) and my computer didn't like it. - So I changed to Ubuntu. - Mark Shuttleworth's contribution to Bill Gates' demise. It is working fine! Mark Shuttleworth? - The first South African in space!Check out Ubuntu Edited March 17, 2006 by Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Massyn Posted May 10, 2006 Report Share Posted May 10, 2006 I love my Linux!! Bring it on...For VoIP, I also use Skype. Skype's proprietry protocol uses the amount of bandwidth you have available.. If there's plenty, you have a good sounding call. If you do it over dialup, it sounds real yukkie, but still works.One tip though : set a fixed port within your skype settings, otherwise you (on broadband) might be sharing your skype bandwidth with others on the net, who could be using your machine as a relay hop. Don't worry - it's not a privacy thing, just using your bandwidth, which could be a problem if you're on a capped plan.My only problem with Skype is getting my family in ZA to actually use it. When they do use it, the mic is either broken or not plugged in, they never answer the call, so I end up paying the Telstra call to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZHigh Posted May 10, 2006 Report Share Posted May 10, 2006 My only problem with Skype is getting my family in ZA to actually use it. I suffer from similar problems. I was once setup for webcams and the lot but to get the family to do the same seemed an impossible request. So we're either telephoning (normally at our cost), emailing and even faxing. I send CD's and DVD with movies and photos fairly often but have to wait ages for something even remotely similar if at all.Never used Ubuntu, is it fairly easy to install and apply? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Larry Posted May 11, 2006 Report Share Posted May 11, 2006 (edited) If you have ever used any distribution of Linux (or Unix), you will find Ubuntu amazingly easy to install and use. For the moment, steer clear of the pre-release versions of "Dapper Drake" and stick to version 5.10 "Breezy Badger". I have installed "Dapper Drake" and now my microphone won't work! So goodbye Skype for the next month or so!Why don't I reinstall Breezy? - Because I have very recently upgraded my computer's motherboard to the latest and greatest whizz-bang motherboard..... And Breezy doesn't have drivers for all the new on-board facilities. So I'll stick to Dapper Drake and wait for the final release. - Hopefully next month. In the meanwhile, I'll stick to hardware VOIP. - Take a look at VOISE. - All of OZ and NZ for Aus 10c untimed! Also Pennytel. Aus 7c/min to phone SA!!There are also very good (and helpful) support forums for Ubuntu at Ubuntu Forums.Cheers & good luckLarry Edited May 11, 2006 by Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZHigh Posted May 13, 2006 Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 Thanks Larry, I'll give it a go at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Larry Posted May 15, 2006 Report Share Posted May 15, 2006 (edited) Aaaahhh! Things are starting to get interesting.... Look here KDE to Become Better Supported on the Ubuntu PlatformAt the risk of starting a religious war, I far prefer kde to gnome. Ubuntu has been gnome-based, with kubuntu (an ubuntu spin-off) being kde-based.kde is IMHO far easier for Windoze users to adapt to then gnome. Edited May 15, 2006 by Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annette Posted May 16, 2006 Report Share Posted May 16, 2006 Hi allI have at long last convinced one of my family members in SA to download Skype and try it. We use it very successfully to communicate with friends in the UK, but last night's test call to SA left a lot to be desired. My brother, who was the one I called, has a fast dial-up connection, we have a very fast broadband connection. We struggled at first to get a connection, then after several attempts got through. The voice quality was excellent, but there was an annoyingly long delay. Then, the call cut out after about 5 minutes and we couldn't connect again totally satisfactorily. Webcam was bit of a failure, after about 10 attempts, we could see them but they couldn't see us! Voice conversation was impossible when we had webcam, because the sound just broke up totally. Bearing in mind the shocking cost of broadband in SA and therefore assuming that there is no chance that any of my family will ever be able to afford it .... does anyone have any suggestions as to how we can improve the quality, or is that just a pipe dream? We won't be using Skypeout to make calls to landlines, because we can get a much better per minute rate using call cards.Annette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Massyn Posted May 16, 2006 Report Share Posted May 16, 2006 The problem really is that there's no direct internet connection between ZA and AU. All internet traffic to ZA goes either via Malaysia, the US, or the UK. That adds a lot of latency (the round trip time it takes the internet packet to reach it's destination). Anything higher than 500ms is basically looking for trouble when using Skype or any VoIP application -- there's no way around it.You could try lowering the quality a little (I haven't seen that option yet - I'm sure it's there), that might improve the latency slightly.. Remember, you're also competing with the rest of the internet for bandwidth. Normally, voice traffic should be prioritized, but not all ISPs do that.You're also dealing with Telkom, who may feel that Skype and any other VoIP is infringing on their profit margin, so we're all pretty much stuck...Calling cards -- I might start using those a bit more... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Larry Posted May 16, 2006 Report Share Posted May 16, 2006 (edited) Before I installed a beta version of Ubuntu, which stuffed up my sound system, I used Skype quite a lot to chat to an old friend back in SA. She has an ADSL broadband connection through Yebo. The call quality is generally excellent and the delays, whilst noticeable, are not really irritating.For the moment, if I need to phone SA, I use Pennytel. At Au$0.07 per minute, it is a good second choice. How does that compare with phonecards? Phone cards, for that matter, are not really an option in regional Australia as you generally have to dial a capital city number to use as a jump-off point. If the jump-off number is 13.... or 18... then great! Edited May 16, 2006 by Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antondp Posted September 6, 2006 Report Share Posted September 6, 2006 Just wondering...With Skype and Yahoo Messenger around where you can dial a person for free and talk as longs as you like I just wondered about something. These programs are lovely to stay in touch with family especially when you are abroad.Does anybody know how much bandwidth this uses if you make and receive calls. Is it just a teeny bit or something to consider? I haven't had a chance to check this out myself.I know if you listen to radio stations on the internet it eats up your bandwidth like crazy, wondered if it was the same with this? Any experts out there? P.S I am registered on Skype (dedrei) and Yahoo Messenger (dedrei1) if you would like to chat or test it out. If you run Skype on a adsl line it was found you use round about 10.8mb for every hour you talk- not bad- I use adsl 384 with a 2gig capHope this helpsAnton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alwyn Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 For whats its worth to my fellow Linux friends, I see that the latest kopete that ships with Kubuntu Edgy supports video conferencing.Probably limits you to only speak to other Linux friends, but then apart from that we only have family right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShArK-NoW Posted December 20, 2006 Report Share Posted December 20, 2006 (edited) Hi AllAs per skype...Skype automatically selects the best codec depending on the connection between yourself and the person you are calling. On average, Skype uses between 3-16 kilobytes/sec depending on bandwidth available for other party, network conditions in between, callers CPU performance, etc.So, if we listen to what Skype says, you will use anything between 10MB and 56MB per hour in a skype call. Hope it helpsShark-Now Edited December 20, 2006 by ShArK-NoW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oubossies Posted December 20, 2006 Report Share Posted December 20, 2006 I speak to my Mother daily, probably about twice a day on Skype with video as well so she can see the kids. It works like a charm for us. Sometimes we have delays and sometimes we get dropped, but mostly it is great.I have the normal broadband and she has got adsl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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