Getting Set Up With Skype

[Reprinted from my other blog.] Among the multitude of systems and tactics I've put in place so that I can work my regular job from Mexico this winter is my phone arrangement.

I just finished putting the finishing touches on it, testing and debugging it, and I'm more than pleased with how well it works.

I'm going to use Skype for most of my business calls. Skype is a telephone-over-Internet system. I have their free software installed on my computer and a $10 headset plugged into my USB port, and with just this setup I could make and receive calls all over the world, for free, with anyone else using Skype.

But that is not all - oh no, that is not all. I signed up for two Skype services which I have to pay a small amount for, but get a whole lot out of.

The first service is a "Skype Out" subscription which allows me to call any landline or cell phone in the U.S. or Canada and talk as long as I want. This costs me $2.95 a month.

The second service they call a "Skype Online Number", also known as "SkypeIn". The one I signed up for is a Raleigh, North Carolina number, local to my home base. Anybody can call that number to reach me from any kind of phone anywhere, and it costs them whatever it would normally cost them to call Raleigh, North Carolina. In other words, for my local family, friends and clients, it costs nothing. It costs me $30 a year - $2.50 a month. (This is a deal you get for already having a subscription.)

So my total cost for what amounts to unlimited calling is $4.45 a month.

My next move was to forward my landline to my Skype number. This was a function of the landline service, and was easy enough to do: dial *72, wait for the beeps, enter the forwarding number, and let the forwarding number pick up.

Then I spent a few minutes making calls to myself. Using my cell phone, I dialed my landline number. Yay, it rang on my computer! I answered the call using my laptop and headset, and talked to myself back and forth just a little to make sure it worked.

Then I set up the Skype voice mail, which is included in the subscription. Tested that out; it works great. The caller leaves a voice mail in the normal way, and I see a notification on my Skype screen, and just have to click a little button to listen to the message.

I then unplugged my landline from the wall socket and the phone jack, since nobody here will need to use it, and tested again; everything worked great.

I found a finishing touch by browsing around in the Skype software's options: I set it so that when a call comes in, the rings comes through my computer speakers as well as through the headphones. That way, if I'm across the room making a cup of te caliente con crema, or just don't have the headphones on, I'll hear the call.

It seems just about perfect. Except for one thing... I'm kicking myself a bit for not having ordered a wireless headset, since it's too late to have one shipped to me before I get on the plane on Monday. I don't like being tethered when I'm on the phone, and love the idea of being able to wander around la casita talking on the phone as I normally do at home. I didn't know there was such a thing as a wireless headset! Well, maybe I can find one in Playa del Carmen on the way down to Tulum.