Singapore Expats

LynDas wrote: ↑

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 7:25 pm

abbby wrote: ↑

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 10:30 am

And I don't think anyone uses Skype now that Whatsapp is what most are using?

Yes but i think still skype is using for professional and office purpose. what do you say?

Yes if you are still living in 2013.

Lisafuller wrote: ↑

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 11:24 pm

abbby wrote: ↑

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 10:30 am

And I don't think anyone uses Skype now that Whatsapp is what most are using?

Haven't used Skype in years. Now it's WhatsApp and FaceTime for personal calls, and teams and google meets for work.

For over 10 years I’ve used Google Voice as my U.S. phone number. Mainly when I need to make free calls to a U.S. phone number (land line or cell) or to receive 2FA text messages. It also comes with a great voice mail service in case someone calls while I’m asleep here. Best of all, I’ve never paid a single cent for it.

Initial setup is a little tricky and requires a VPN connection to select your phone number and a person in the US with an actual phone to enter a code to activate it. That phone will initially default to call forwarding, but you can immediately switch that off. Once you’ve set it up successfully, VPN is no longer required and you can use it from any internet connection in the world.

I have found that making free calls to US numbers sometimes requires you to add the number to your phone contacts first. If not, it might prompt you to pay. I’ve never done it, but you can also make calls to numbers outside the US for very tiny per minute charge. For example, calls to Singapore are like 1-2¢ per minute.

Wow. Never heard of this, Mal! Will check it out!

Lisafuller wrote: ↑

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 11:24 pm

abbby wrote: ↑

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 10:30 am

And I don't think anyone uses Skype now that Whatsapp is what most are using?

Haven't used Skype in years. Now it's WhatsApp and FaceTime for personal calls, and teams and google meets for work.

But in our office work, we use skype for video calls and chatting with clients

Lisafuller wrote: ↑

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 1:22 pm

Wow. Never heard of this, Mal! Will check it out!

Yeah, I would rank it the #1 thing every US expat should have. I can’t begin to count the number of times it has come in handy. Some US-centric websites won’t even let you sign up without a U.S. phone number. And, so many sites require 2FA these days. I also find it useful when I visit the U.S., say you want to get on the wait list at restaurant that’s full — they often require a U.S. phone number so they can text you when your table is ready. The other nice thing, in theory you can keep the number for life, no matter where you move — no need to update your number.

Want to know the #2 thing?

smoulder wrote: ↑

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 11:34 pm

LynDas wrote: ↑

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 7:25 pm

abbby wrote: ↑

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 10:30 am

And I don't think anyone uses Skype now that Whatsapp is what most are using?

Yes but i think still skype is using for professional and office purpose. what do you say?

Yes if you are still living in 2013.

no but we use skype for our clients

LynDas wrote: ↑

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 4:13 pm

Lisafuller wrote: ↑

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 11:24 pm

abbby wrote: ↑

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 10:30 am

And I don't think anyone uses Skype now that Whatsapp is what most are using?

Haven't used Skype in years. Now it's WhatsApp and FaceTime for personal calls, and teams and google meets for work.

But in our office work, we use skype for video calls and chatting with clients

When Microsoft purchased Skype, it was the beginning of the end of Skype. MS first tried to adapt Skype as its business communication tool... but it was brain damaged in so many ways that people fled from it, leaving only personal Skype accounts as the largest body of users.

Then, with the advent of Office 365 (now Microsoft 365), Teams became the "go to" chat and video service. If you have either a personal or business MS subscription, you get Teams and OneDrive... so Teams has become very popular.

And there are also a ton of alternatives. You can use Zoom as a chat service. Same with Google chat... and Google chat is integrated with Google workspaces as well. So, Skype is the stepchild that nobody wants.

Here is an old (about a year ago) article/video on Skype.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/02/the-ris ... skype.html

Companies had been working on these enterprise collaboration tools for years (in addition to MSFT, the phone equipment providers were also trying to add features/capabilities), but they never really took off until the pandemic.

Wow Skype was sold for $8.5b? Must be laughing to the bank ...