A lot of people in your business network used to inform me that they were on Skype. Now I sometimes mingle with the jet set, and often when I come across a really heavy word I instinctively think: Jeez must be some new exotic social drug. Get high on Skype. Figures, doesn't it? But no, Skype is just free Internet telephony. Skype is for calling other people on their computers or phones. Skype lets you make free calls to any other Skype user from your PC. It is what is called a P2P VoIP (You don't expect me to hand everything to you on a plate, do you?) application, and it has more than 29 million registered users worldwide, with an average of two million using the service at any given time. Skype is the alternative to archaic landlines' per-minute long-distance charges or the restrictive contracts and steep overage charges of mobile phones. There are of course several similar services that can be operated from your computer these days.

But the idea of using a PC to make telephone calls is overwhelming for some. It still is to my mum. But most beautifully Skype is simple to use, it's free, and each time you use it, you give your current cellular provider or landline service provider the finger. Now this is important to me considering that it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain a clear call for more than five minutes from my mobile phone and without losing my caller. Skype calls are clear with no dropouts and believe me, if you've never used Skype before, getting up and running is fast and easy.

If you have any old Pentium IV computer running Windows 2000 or XP, with 128 MB RAM, a mere 15 MB free hard disk space, and Internet connection you are ready to Skype. Just make sure that you have speakers and a microphone connected, or better still get a USB Phone. A dial-up internet connection with a minimum of 33.6 kbps modem, will suffice but a DSL or broadband connection is recommended especially if in the future you want to send all your nude pictures, or business plans (depending on your kink) down the line as you talk. Most importantly, Broadband will permit you to keep permanently connected to receive Skype calls without tying up your landline. In the same way, in order to take advantage of all of the advanced features of Skype and to experience the best sound quality possible, it is highly recommend to get as good a computer as you can afford. Heck, they don't cost much again nowadays.

Like any other task that you may wish to perform on a computer, you will need to install software that will allow you to run Skype. Skype software is free to and easy to get started with. Download, register, install, plug in your headset, speakers or USB phone and start calling your friends. That's it. The calls have excellent sound quality and are highly secure with end-to-end encryption. You don't even need to configure your firewall or router or any other networking gear.

The first time you start Skype, you will be asked to choose a Skype Name and password. The Skype Name and password fields are required in order to use Skype. After you have selected a Skype Name and password, you will be asked to fill in a personal profile. Entering information in the personal profile is optional and if you chose to make the profile available to other Skype users, then they will be able to search for you using this information. If you have used an Instant Message application before, many of the features of Skype may be familiar to you. You can quickly get started calling your friends once you have installed Skype software. But note that your friends must also install and register before they can start using Skype.

Now you are ready to go. Start Skype. Log in with your Skype Name and password (this happens automatically by default if you have already chosen a Skype Name and password and you are connected to the Internet). When you start Skype for the first time, your Contact List will be empty. To find friends so that they can be added to your Contact's, select the Search... option from the Tools menu or press the Search toolbar button. A new search window will open where you can search for friends by name, or any other information they have listed in their Personal Profile. To add a friend to your Contact List, simply right-click the name from the search results and selects "add to Contacts". Great idea to expand on your network, right?

Receiving a call on Skype is really no different from receiving one from your landline. If someone is calling you, (you must be connected of course) you will hear the sound of a telephone ringing and the Skype icon in your system tray will flash. Go to the Skype application (if not already visible) and select whether you would like to answer or reject the call in the incoming call tab. As soon as you decide to answer a call, a two-way voice conversation will begin and the duration of the call will be visible. Either party can end the call at any time by clicking the hang-up button (in the call tab or in the quick toolbar, if visible).

Skype can also be used for conference calls. Say you have a brainwave in the dead of the night and you want to immediately discuss it with up to five other maniacs, each of them a continent apart from the other, or just down the street just select participants from your Contact List and away you go.

More than 29 million users have registered to use Skype, and more and more people are added each day. Skype is indeed somewhat limited by the problem that both parties have to have the Skype application running on their PC in order to talk. What if you want to call someone who doesn't have Skype, or someone who does but is away from their PC? SkypeOut is the answer. SkypeOut lets you make calls to old-fashioned phone numbers all around the world. Landlines, mobile phones... it works with almost all of them. SkypeOut is not free but it is pretty cheap, costing as little as two and a half cents per minute to most parts of the world. There's even a new feature called SkypeIn that lets other people call you at your computer, from their landline or mobile phone.

For me, the coolest part of Skype is the Global User Directory. You are searching for long-lost relatives or just somebody to have a quick chat with, people who have the same birthday or people who just happen to live in the same street as you. Skype's Global User Directory is a giant phonebook of all the people who use Skype and that is where the profile that you created when you start Skype goes. Search the Skype Directory; when you find somebody you know or even someone you would like to know, you add him or her to your list of contacts. You can also write a little note to let them know who you are and why you want to add them to your list. Handy, if you are looking for a childhood sweetheart, or a stripper in Southampton for a stag party.

Skype works; it is effective; it is addictive; it will save you a lot of money; it may even make you a lot of money. There is loads of cool stuff that you can do on Skype but hey, I don't work for Skype ? and they are not paying me for writing this, and really I realise that I am beginning to sound like an Amway salesman . I am not into Amway , I am simply so thrilled about this . Give it a shot .