Charge Complete: More information about Skype features

Skype is actually the only form of VOIP I've ever used at home, but I don't use it that often, and I apparently wasn't as up-to-date as I needed to be about some of its capabilities. The day after the column ran, I heard from a PR spokesman for Skype, Aziza Johnson, with some information that I need to pass along by way of followup.

I had written that a standard Skype account doesn't assign you a normal telephone number, and so the only way to receive calls would be through a "buddy list" interface. But Johnson informed me that Skype does now you to purchase an "online number" which can be used by friends, family or business contacts to call you.

I had also written that Skype required headphones or a Skype-compatible phone which plugs into the computer. That's true enough, if we're talking about a normal PC. But now there's a version of Skype software that downloads onto your mobile phone (including iPhone) or iPod touch and allows you to make Skype calls over your mobile phone's Internet connection or a local WiFi connection if your phone is WiFi-capable. Many normal cell phone accounts offer free domestic long distance, so I doubt many cell phone users would see much cost benefit from placing those calls through Skype. But (depending on your data plan and the available data connections where you happen to be), you might be able to use Skype in this fashion to save money on international long distance calls. And you'd also have access to Skype's buddy list feature for making or receiving calls with other Skype users.

The company also offers "Skype to Go" numbers to make low-cost international calls.

Skype is a good service, and I didn't mean to sell it short. I'm happy to add this additional information.

* For a future column, I'd be interested in knowing how you share your photos online with friends and family. Do you use Flickr, Snapfish, Picasa, a social networking site like Facebook, or something else? Do you take special precautions or use different security settings when the photos include your children? E-mail me at jcarney@t-g.com.

* The Celebration will be investigating a system which could reduce the length of the show by using personal digital assistants (PDAs) to enter judges' scores. Billy Smith, Executive Director of Information Technology with the American Quarter Horse Association in Amarillo, Texas, will attend the Spring Fun Show later this month. Smith will use computer technology to generate a composite score as a result of inputs from the three judges in center ring. This will operate in parallel to the current system, in which judges' scores are entered into one central computer.

If the new process turns out to be of benefit, it may be used at this year's Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration.

"As a judge, I have been involved in this innovative method to provide class ties as quickly as possible," said Celebration CEO Doyle Meadows in a news release. "AQHA has been a leader in this area and Mr. Smith has written many of the programs being used in their industry today."

--John I. Carney is city editor of the Times-Gazette and covers county government. He is also the author of the self-published novel "Soapstone." His personal web site is lakeneuron.com.