don’t know if this is the right place but I wondered if anyone else has problems with skype for mac - it just drops calls all the time. I never had this problem with my old G4 powerbook, but with the intel macbook it is a real pain. Any thoughts? Ideas gratefully recieved.
after several hours today I can say that the only drops were due to an idiot on the other end.
At least that was what I received from the person I was talking to.
Al seriousness aside, I have not had any problems lately. Keep in mind I am a new user with a fresh install.
No Skype problems for me. I was dropped once but not again during several long calls.
Alexandria
I live in a 640k world, so - yes, I have several problems with Skype. But I’m not sure it is all Skype’s fault.
Paolo
I’ve used Skype for several years. It works best on fast broadband and a machine with a fast processor. Only had one dropped call that I remember; was calling a rural area with scant phone service.
If you live in the US, a far better deal is MagicJack. Plug the jack into a USB port, clip in a phone cord and attach it to a phone, wired or wireless. After setup, you have dial tone, a phone number, voice mail, and 411/911 service. The charge is 19.95 for the jack and a year of long-distance service to USA and Canada is 20 bucks. That’s 20 bucks for a year. You may buy international minutes for low AT&T rates. I call Brazil for about 5 cents a minute.
The voice clarity is outstanding and there’s no lag, common with VOIP calls. Basically, you use your broadband to connect to an actual phone service. The PC version is better than the Mac, but it’s a vast improvement over Skype, which I’ve pretty much stopped using. magicjack.com
Sounds like a good deal. It’s an intriguing idea. Though it only works if you have a home phone, from what it says. I have no home phone, only cell. I use Skype only for video conferencing and love it. I used it to talk to my husband in Portland, Oregon, when I traveled in Europe and I’m using it now during my time in another state. I can call him and talk to him and even see him for no cost at all. Especially handy when I’m traveling, since phone calling costs are high.
I used skype to keep in touch with my girlfriend whilst I was in England last fortnight.
We had it set up on a MacBook and a MacBook Pro, and had no difficulties or drop-outs.
My home phone is a VoIP phone provided by my ISP.
Matt
Yeah, in all the time I was in Europe (three weeks) and used Skype, I never had one drop off. I had one the other night and that was the first time and hasn’t happened again since.
I’ve been using Skype for several years. For those on Macs like my wife, video works very well, and I have rarely had dropped calls. On the other hand a PC using friend who was doing an MSc in Canada, where the network in her dorm was flaky, we often had to abandon video.
On the other hand, I was talking to my brother — PC user … one of those people who will insist in telling you what hardware you should be using … needless to say, whatever it is that he has 
— in the UK last night and the line dropped 4 or 5 times, in spite of his assurances that their new BT broadband service — unlike what they had — is very stable … but then, give my brother a new computer and something will go wrong with it within a matter of a few weeks! 
Then again I am in China …
Mark
Alexandria, You don’t need to have a home landline. I bought an AT&T receiver from Amazon for $10; plug the MagicJack into it, and voila, you have dial tone. You do need to have broadband and a router. Mine works over the Airport Extreme. It uses the broadband to connect to a telephone server that the MagicJack company either owns or rents.
Another nice feature: you can take the MagicJack on a trip. Plug it in wherever you have broadband and a phone, and it still works, with all the features. I sound like a salesman, so one caveat: the Mac version is a little fluky. It gets confused if you put your machine to sleep. (Memory management issue, probably) To resolve that, I dismount the MJ software (it loads like volumes) and pull the USB plug. Then on waking the machine, I replug the USB. Maybe they’ll upgrade the Mac version one day.
Ah, thanks for the verification. I understand now. Sounds very promising! I’ll check into it!
thanks folks - weirder and weirder. I use an old PC laptop for skype now and have no problems at all. Must be the machine… Problem is I use Skype a lot - for business. I’m hoping when I get my new Macbook pro I won’t have anymore problems.