Deals: Sale on Skype calling (From Groupon)

Groupon has a deal going on today for those who like to use Skype to as their home phone service. The Skype sale has 2 options -

For $30, you get one year of unlimited domestic calls, a $10 credit that buys about 400 international minutes, and a Skype-certified phone adapter by Freetalk (a $64.99 value).

For $30, you get three months of unlimited global calls and a Skype-certified phone adapter by Freetalk (a $59.99 value).

The Skype adapter, that you attach to your broadband router, uses your home phone to make calls. There are a few requirements for the Skype adapter, which you can view online (http://www NULL.skype NULL.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/home-phone/phone-adapter#sysreq). Users need a computer to set up the adapter, but not to make calls.

The Groupon deal expires at 11:59p on 10/8/2011, so this is a very limited time offer. The offer and additional information can be found on (LINK) Groupon (http://www NULL.groupon NULL.com/deals/skype-philadelphia?c=button&division=philadelphia&utm_source=newsletter&s=body&utm_medium=email&p=5&utm_campaign=skype-philadelphia&sid=10991356&utm_content=all-deals_philadelphia&date=20111007&user=fb6b85aadd837c8af610af8758b032fcab074d9b56faf9d196e70e0fea3791c6).

Software: Removing Skype Add-On EasyBits Go

Numerous users have reported that when they were installing the latest version of Skype, that a 3rd party program called EasyBits Go installed itself, even if you said No during the install process. EasyBits Go software is what is called “trial ware” for games they will try and get you to buy.

Its not unusual for 3rd party software to try and install during the install of major software packages (toolbars come to mind), however, legit software will not install if you say no. That is what has so many people upset, as seen in the Skype forum (LINK) http://forum.skype.com/index.php?showtopic=821535 (http://forum NULL.skype NULL.com/index NULL.php?showtopic=821535) and (LINK) http://forum.skype.com/index.php?showtopic=821491&st=20&gopid=3413723&#entry3413723 (http://forum NULL.skype NULL.com/index NULL.php?showtopic=821491&st=20&gopid=3413723&#entry3413723) . Even worse than a program that you said No to installing, is that the uninstaller for this program doesn’t work so you cant easily remove it.

If you have been one of the unfortunate Skype users who have had this Junk ware installed, Jeff Duntemann has put together a complete step by step on how to remove this Junk on his blog.

You can the complete step by step by visiting Jeff’s blog (LINK) http://jeff-duntemann.livejournal.com/281642.html (http://jeff-duntemann NULL.livejournal NULL.com/281642 NULL.html)

I have used his steps to clear 1 pc already, and as long as you follow the steps exactly as posted, you should be able to clear this junk off your pc.

Software: Skype Outage – CIO explains what happened / Offers Credit Voucher

On December 22nd, Skype had a MAJOR outage affecting a large part of its user base.

The failure lasted approximately 24 hours from December 22, 0800 PST/1600 GMT to December 23, 0800 PST/1600 GMT.

The CIO of Skype has posted an explanation as to what happened that caused the outage on the Skype Blog (LINK: http://blogs.skype.com/en/2010/12/cio_update.html (http://blogs NULL.skype NULL.com/en/2010/12/cio_update NULL.html) )

In addition to the explanation, Skype is sending out an email to its user base (appears to only be paid users, as of now), offering a credit voucher worth

a call of more than 30 minutes to a landline…….

So if you are a Skype user make sure to check the email associated with your account. If you are user of the Skype free services and you get this email let us know.

Software: Skype offering Free Calls to the USA, Mexico and many more countries for a month (FYI There is a catch)

Skype (pronounced /ˈskaɪp/ (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English)) is a software application (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Application_software) that allows users to make voice calls over the Internet (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Voice_over_Internet_Protocol). Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Landlines) and mobile phones (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Mobile_phone) can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system. Skype has also become popular for its additional features which include instant messaging (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Instant_messaging), file transfer (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/File_transfer), and video conferencing (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Video_conferencing). (From Wiki – LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skype (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Skype))

Many of you may know Skype simply as a chat / video chat tool that you use to communicate with others from one computer to another. However, chat does also do calls from computer to phone lines and starting today Skype has a special offer for “Free Calls to the USA, Mexico, and many more countries for a month” all in honor of the World Cup (Soccer or Football depending on where you live). The following is from the Skype “BIG BLOG” (LINK:) http://blogs.skype.com/en/2010/06/free_calls_for_a_month.html (http://blogs NULL.skype NULL.com/en/2010/06/free_calls_for_a_month NULL.html)

This is a great deal for users who need to make International Calls, however there are a few things you need to be made aware of. (There always seems to be a catch)

You will need to create a Skype account and after that “Subscribe to the plan you are looking at (It seems each one of the countries has its own individual plan, so its not like I can sign up to call Mexico and also call the UK with the same plan.
When you “Subscribe” to the plan, Skype will ask you for either a Credit Card Number or PayPal Account Number and they will authorize $1 per “Subscription. They ultimately do not charge the $1 fee , they just put a $1 hold on your account for a couple of days which verifies the account as active.
- > Why do you ask they do that, because they want to make sure that the card / PayPal account is valid because you are signing up for the Skype plan for that country. IF you do NOT cancel the “Subscription” yourself before the 30 days are up, you will be automatically charged the fill price of the “Subscription” the following month. As seen in the following 2 quotes from the Skype site.

After the first month, you’ll be charged our normal subscription rate. A fair usage policy (http://www NULL.skype NULL.com/go/terms NULL.fairusage?cm_mmc=socialm|skypeblogs-_-global|intl|pl-_-skype-_-football2010|subscriptions) applies where we offer unlimited calls. Subscriptions exclude service, special, premium and non-geographic numbers. Terms and conditions apply to individuals countries – see the promotion website (http://footballpromo NULL.skype NULL.com/?cm_mmc=socialm|skypeblogs-_-global|intl|pl-_-skype-_-football2010|subscriptions) for more details.

You can cancel your subscription at any time before the end of your free trial and your payment method will not be charged; otherwise, you will be charged on a monthly basis. Learn more (http://go NULL.skype NULL.com/help)

There seems to be a different spot to cancel for Subscriptions using PayPal and those using Credit Cards
- > For PayPal (LINK: https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA628/How-can-I-cancel-a-PayPal-Billing-Agreement?frompage=search&q=cancel (https://support NULL.skype NULL.com/en/faq/FA628/How-can-I-cancel-a-PayPal-Billing-Agreement?frompage=search&q=cancel) )

How can I cancel a PayPal Billing Agreement?

In order to cancel your PayPal Billing Agreement, you need to sign into your PayPal account (http://www NULL.PayPal NULL.com). Once logged in, go to Profile > Pay List and choose the agreement you wish to cancel and click the Cancel button on top of the page.

For Credit Cards (LINK: https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA1881/How-do-I-cancel-my-subscription?frompage=search&q=cancel (https://support NULL.skype NULL.com/en/faq/FA1881/How-do-I-cancel-my-subscription?frompage=search&q=cancel))

How do I cancel my subscription?

You can cancel at anytime by signing in to your account (https://secure NULL.skype NULL.com/account/call-phones/settings) and on the Subscription settings page, click Cancel.

Please note – if you cancel your subscription, it will run to the end of your contract. For example, if you have a 3 month subscription, your subscription will run until the end of the 3 month period.

With all of that being said, as long as you remember to cancel before the 30 days are up (unless you want to continue with the service), this is a nice way to test it, so that you can see for yourself if this service is for you.

Software: Skype error – Skype plug-in causes browser crash

One of the things I have been seeing a lot of recently involve errors that say Skype add-on for Internet Explorer has stopped working properly.

(*Windows 7 version of message used)

For those who are not familiar with Skype, it is (From the Skype Wiki LINK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skype (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Skype))

“Skype (pronounced /ˈskaip/) is a software application that allows users to make voice calls over the Internet. Calls to other users of the service and, in some countries, to free-of-charge numbers, are free, while calls to other landlines and mobile phones can be made for a fee. Additional features include instant messaging, file transfer and video conferencing.”

During the install process (if you use the default settings to install), Skype installs what is referred to as the Skype web feature. What this feature provides is a short cut from your browser to Skype, with all phone numbers shown during your browsing appearing like this , which allows you to click on the link and then your browser will automatically start Skype and make the phone call for you thru Skype.

In a posting on the Skype support site (LINK:http://share.skype.com/sites/devzone/2007/06/the_skype_addin_for_internet_e.html (http://share NULL.skype NULL.com/sites/devzone/2007/06/the_skype_addin_for_internet_e NULL.html)) they claim that the issue is resolved in newer versions of Skype

In fact, most likely we already have a fixed version for you to start using now! If you have a Skype version is lower than 4.1.0.141, there is an updated version available with many improvements. You can download the latest version here: www.skype.com (http://www NULL.skype NULL.com). You can check your Skype version number under the Help menu in the About dialog.

However, most of the pc’s that I have dealt with this are running Windows Vista or Windows 7 and are using the latest version of Skype. The only solution that I have found works is in Windows go to control panel –> Programs and Features and uninstall the Skype web features.

Keep in mind that by uninstalling the web features you loose the Skype highlighted phone numbers in your browser.

Software: Skype extension for Firefox causing slow Firefox with some websites (Post from www.techandlife.com)

The following post comes from TechandLife.com (LINK: http://www.techandlife.com/2009/08/skype-extension-for-firefox-causing-slow-firefox-with-some-websites/ (http://www NULL.techandlife NULL.com/2009/08/skype-extension-for-firefox-causing-slow-firefox-with-some-websites/)). TGM would like to say Thank you to TechandLife for allowing us to share this with TGM readers.

I posted recently on trying the Google Chrome browser (http://www NULL.techandlife NULL.com/2009/08/google-chrome-a-worthy-alternative-browser/) after Google Reader and Google Mail suddenly slowed to a crawl in Firefox. It turned out that the latest Skype extension for Firefox was causing the problem. I had upgraded Skype to version 4.1.0.141 and elected to install the Skype extension for Firefox during the Skype upgrade. Others have also reported this problem recently (http://support NULL.mozilla NULL.com/tiki-view_forum_thread NULL.php?locale=it&forumId=1&comments_parentId=409074).

So if you’re experiencing problems with Firefox suddenly being a lot slower than usual, particularly when viewing Google Reader, Google Mail and Facebook and you’ve recently upgraded Skype and installed the Skype extension for Firefox, uninstall it and things should improve. Doubtless Skype will fix this buggy extension in a later release. Thanks to Scotian who posted in the comments of the Chrome post and resolved this problem.

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