To make sure you get off to the best possible start, we’ve put together these useful tips on three of the most important things to know about Skype:

1. How to add a contact
2. How to send an instant message
3. How to start a call

Also, don’t forget to check out the Skype support site for more information and helpful guides.

Lastly, before we get started, you might find the navigation of Skype on your BlackBerry 10 device a little different. Learn more about getting around Skype on your BlackBerry using gestures.

Adding contacts

If you’re an experienced Skype user then your contact list probably already contains your nearest and dearest friends and family. However, if you’re new to Skype the first thing you’ll want to do is add those contacts. Luckily, adding contacts with Skype for your BlackBerry is easy.

To add a contact:

1. Sign in to Skype.
2. Tap Contacts.
3. Swipe from the top of the screen to display the options bar.
4. Tap the menu button  on the options bar.
5. Tap Add contacts.
6. Enter your friend’s name, Skype Name or email address.
7. Select the contact you want to add from the search results and tap Add.
8. Write something to introduce yourself if you want, and tap Add contacts.

Your new contact will show in your contact list but, depending on their privacy settings, they will have to accept your contact request before you can call and message them.

Sending an instant message

Once you’ve added a few contacts to Skype, you’re going to want to get in touch with them. Instant messages are just one way of speaking to your friends. They’re free and don’t have a character limit.

To send an instant message:

1. Sign into Skype.
2. Tap Contacts.
3. Select the contact you want and tap Send IM.
4. Tap the text field, type your message and tap enter on your keyboard.

Learn more about instant messaging.

Making a call

You can make free calls from Skype to Skype or make calls to landlines and mobiles using a little Skype credit or a subscription.

To make a call from Skype on your BlackBerry:

1. Sign in to Skype.
2. Tap Contacts.
3. Find and select the contact you’d like to call.
4. Tap Voice call or Video call depending on how you’d like to contact your friend

If you tap Voice call and your friend has a phone number saved to their profile, you can choose whether to call them on that number or on Skype.

In order to call landlines and mobiles you’ll need a little Skype credit or a subscription. To celebrate the launch of Skype on BlackBerry 10 and for a limited time only, BlackBerry are giving away a number of Skype Unlimited World subscriptions. With this offer you can call over 60 countries for free for three months. If you’re a BlackBerry user in the United Kingdom, United States or Canada, sign up before it’s too late!

Lastly, if you still have questions on how to use Skype on your BlackBerry, why not ask them in the Skype Community? You’ll find loads of experienced Skype users ready and willing to answer any questions you might have.

Hughes climbed the world’s highest mountain to raise money for Comic Relief, a British charity that battles poverty around the world. He reached the summit of Everest on Sunday, May 19^th, put on a red clown nose (it is Comic Relief after all) and made a Skype Video Call to BBC News. That’s a “World’s First” for Hughes.

 Daniel Hughes talks with BBC News from the top of Mt. Everest on Skype, via his mobile phone. 

“Skype became a part of my everyday life on Mt. Everest,” Hughes said. “I used it to stay in contact with my friends, family and even to make high quality calls to the BBC.”

Hughes may have been the first person to make a Skype call from the top of Everest but another climber came close.

Courtesy of Mark Wood

Mark Wood, also from the UK, spent the last couple of months trekking through the Himalayas and connecting to students around the world via Skype in the classroom. He uses Skype to discuss environmental change with school kids. As Wood explains, “I try to bring connection to the outside world, and bring explorations visually to schools from many different countries.”

While Wood and his team also hoped to make a Skype call from the top of Everest, two team members fell ill –  just a heartbreaking 500 meters from the summit. Wood made the tough decision to turn back. We commend him for putting safety first and look forward to sharing his next adventures via Skype.

Now that Skype from Mount Everest has been checked off the “Never Been Done Before” list, what do you think will be next? Skype from space? Let us know in the comments.

We rolled up our sleeves and reconsidered the heart of the Skype for Linux client. We’re very excited about the results and think that you will be too.

Click here to get started with Skype for Linux 4.2.

Not only did we conquer the navigation issues and bugs from previous releases, but we increased the stability when logging in from a Microsoft Account. There are also greater efficiencies, such as not having to re-type your password when entering via “My Account” if you are already logged-in with the client. Voice messaging is optimized for ease of use and is now just one click away from the options window.

Installation is straightforward. If you have any questions, check out our FAQ on how to install Skype for Linux on different Linux distributions.

We are proud of the new Skype for Linux and hope you enjoy it as much as we do. We look forward to your thoughts and feedback.

If you are a Debian or Ubuntu 64bit user and experience audio/instability issues, please install the following package: libasound2-plugins:i386

Skype opted for VIP treatment, inviting soldiers to walk the red carpet at the premiere of Marvel’s Iron Man 3, in Los Angeles, California.

Troops stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma were able to join in on the fun as well, thanks to a custom-built Skype Suite. The suite featured an over-sized monitor that projected a Skype video call into the heart of the action, and soldiers were able to see and speak with members of their family. The Marvel’s Iron Man 3 celebs also stopped by to express gratitude and spend some time with the troops.

We know military families rely on Skype voice and video calls to connect with their loved ones, so we were thrilled to be able to provide that opportunity, and a magical night these everyday heroes can smile back on for years to come.

Watch the excitement yourself as the troops chat on Skype with A-listers, including Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle and Jon Favreau:

Guess what: if you use SkyDrive, for example, you’re in the cloud already. What’s less common is for small businesses to use some of the more sophisticated opportunities cloud computing offers, particularly for deploying and managing Web platforms.

We recently chatted with Eric Diamond, founder of Tribeca Cloud, to get his take on the cloud and its role in small business.

1. Can you explain “the cloud?”

One analogy I like is that the cloud is like renting a luxury apartment (at a great rate), rather than building your own customized, expensive home from scratch.

When you’re using the cloud, you’re “renting” top-quality computing services – programs and data storage – via the Internet, rather than buying and maintaining them yourself.  You give up some control, but in exchange you can get tremendous flexibility, scalability and value.

Nowadays, when it comes to the cloud in business settings, people generally refer to three main subsets:

Software as a Service (SaaS) enables you to use a software application without having to install or host it yourself. Web-based email is an everyday example: you can send and receive emails using Microsoft Outlook without installing any software on your own computer.

Platform as a Service (PaaS) is an outgrowth of SaaS. PaaS provides all the tools and services you need to build and run applications on the Web. The hardware, software and servers are set up and maintained for you. You only pay for what you use, so you can direct more resources towards developing your application.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provides and maintains the underlying infrastructure – including virtual servers, storage and networking hardware – for building and running your applications. You’re responsible for installing and setting up the operating systems, software, databases, etc. Website hosting is a basic use case. With IaaS you essentially rent these resources on a pay-as-you-go basis. IaaS can replace dedicated hardware servers under your own roof.

2. Why does the cloud matter for small businesses?

Most small businesses already take advantage of the cloud and don’t necessarily realize it. They may use SkyDrive for file sharing or subscribe to Microsoft 365 to use Web-based versions of Office tools like Outlook or Excel.

Small businesses benefit from cloud services in two significant ways:

For one, the cloud alleviates the need for in-house IT staff, advanced technical know-how or deep pockets to create and deploy sophisticated Web-based applications or services. It’s a way to “outsource” those functions so a business saves considerable time and money.

Second, the cloud is scalable. Maybe you’re launching an ecommerce site, and you don’t know how big it will become. Using cloud services enables you to easily scale your project up or down as you go, in real time.  You can test the waters of your business idea without a huge upfront investment.

3. What types of small businesses do you think can benefit most from the cloud?

Any growing business can benefit, but the cloud can be really instrumental to a Web startup that doesn’t have its own software developers. Such business owners may have a great idea but don’t really know how to deploy it. They can tap into cloud services and get their idea out there at a relatively low cost. They may not know what the next day will bring – their business could explode or stay smaller – and a pay-as-you-go model just means more cost effectiveness and scalability.

4. What specific cloud products might a small business want to investigate?

It completely depends on your needs as a business. Many small businesses’ first exposure to the cloud are through SaaS services, like when they migrate away from internally-hosted email to cloud-based email. PaaS and IaaS services haven’t traditionally been oriented towards small businesses, but that’s changing. Think about what you services you need, and then you can explore if the cloud can help you.

5. Will the cloud become more prominent?

We’re at a point that is similar to the beginning of dotcom era. Everything is moving to the cloud. Within the next three years, the majority of business/productivity tools will be cloud-based and affordable for small businesses. That means smaller businesses can compete more easily with their larger counterparts – it will level the playing field.

Eric Diamond is founder of Tribeca Cloud, a service created to help businesses get their websites, intranets and business platforms off the ground and in the cloud quickly and easily.

Brooks as we know and love him today was born in 1926 as Melvin Kaminsky.  He began his career as a comedian in the famed “Borscht Belt,” and is best known for his satires and parodies such as The Producers, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein and Spaceballs. Brooks’ shotgun humor was recently highlighted in the PBS biography American Masters Mel Brooks: Make a Noise, which was screened last night at the 92nd Street Y in New York City.

Brooks used Skype video calling to connect from his home in Los Angeles, California with Joy Behar, Susan Stroman, and Robert Trachtenberg at the 92Y for a conversation about his life, career and the documentary. As they discussed different moments from the film, he revealed his biggest secret to success: “I do things for myself, and mostly the audience just joins me.”

Brooks shared a number of stories with us, including one about the time he waited an hour and a half to present Cary Grant with the album for the 2,000 Year Old Man. This segued perfectly into the gem about his close friend Carl Reiner who took a dozen of the albums to England as a gift for the Queen (or the biggest “shiksa in the world” as Brooks calls her).

Having previously hosted comedians such as Larry David, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Colbert and Woody Allen, the 92Y has a particular soft spot for comedy. When asked “why Mel Brooks?” Deputy Executive Director Henry Timms said, “There is probably no one who is more admired by the 92Y audiences than him.  Being able to bring Mel Brooks here via Skype makes this event extra special. This kind of technology really allows 92Y to expand its reach and enhance its programming in wonderful ways.”

Brooks credited his success to Sid Caesar with whom he first began his professional career, stating “I don’t even know if I’m talented, but I’ve told so many people I am, and they believe me.” When questioned about what he was currently working on, Brooks deadpanned, “I’m working on a new suit that I got at Men’s Warehouse. I don’t want to get it tailored, because then you’re throwing out all the savings.”

American Masters Mel Brooks: Make a Noise premieres nationwide Monday, May 20 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) and is available on DVD May 21 from Shout Factory. Tune in to catch the biography Brooks describes as “very, very moving… the stories and the strife, and my life.”

New features and improvements in Skype 6.4 for Mac include:

• Infinite chat scrolling
• Improved find from a chat conversation
• Improved file transfer
• Improved send and receive contacts
• Support for Simplified Chinese

Infinite chat scrolling

We have introduced a new way of loading history. Each time you scroll upward, more and more messages will be loaded from history. Scrolling is motion sensitive, the faster you scroll the more messages load. To jump back in history. Ctrl + click anywhere (or right click) in the chat and select “Jump back “ and select the period you want to jump back to. We have also separated dates from the timestamps and created date sections instead to make it more visible in the chat. Skype will index all chat history when you first login and consume less resources after indexing completion.

Improved find within the chat

We have redesigned the find functionality to be part of the chat view, instead of opening in a separate window. You can easily navigate between results and see the total number of matches in the chat. Current match is highlighted in yellow. You can also search strings by using “Starts with” or “Contains” option. Recent searches are stored so that you can reuse them in the future.

Custom Chat Styles removal

We have removed custom chat styles to ensure consistency across our clients. If you prefer a more compact layout for your chat, you can go to preferences > messaging > “use compact chat style”

Improved send and receive contacts

We have redesigned the way contacts are sent and received by users. When multiple contacts are sent, the recipient will see an expandable list in the conversation and can either add them all at once or add them one by one. If the received contact is already in the contacts list, or is blocked, the recipient will see the relevant status.

Improved file transfer

We have improved file transfer allowing users to reaccept the file when receiving. File transfer will remain active till the sender cancels it.

Support for Simplified Chinese

We have added language support for Simplified Chinese.

Supported Operating System

OS X 10.6 or later is required. Leopard (OS X 10.5) users can continue to use Skype 6.3 for Mac.

Please update to the latest version of Skype for Mac and leave us feedback by visiting our Support Network.

Resolved issues:

Known issues:

We’d also like to thank these volunteers for their work on the localization of Skype for Mac into the following languages:

Bulgarian: Nikolina Filipova & Nikolay Filipov

Brazilian Portuguese: Fabio Roselet

Chinese (Traditional): Penny Yang, Teresa Yeh (Linktel)

Dutch: Alexander Henket

Estonian: Triin Tähema

French: Jean-Pierre Kuypers

German: Claudius Henrichs

Norwegian: Kenneth Stevenson

Polish: Bohdan Zielinski

Spanish: Carola Clavo

Since then, Ryan and VerbalizeIt co-founder Kunal Sarda recorded an episode of ABC’s hit reality series Shark Tank. For those not familiar, Shark Tank is primetime TV show (currently the most popular show on Friday nights) where entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a panel of real investors like multi-billionaire Mark Cuban.

The guys at VerbalizeIt spent months honing their pitch and then presented to “The Sharks.” After carefully considering VerbalizeIt’s pitch, the investors decided to… actually, we don’t know what they’ve decided yet. You’ll have to tune in to Shark Tank on Friday, May 17^th (9:00pm EST) to find out.

In the meantime, we do know that Ryan and Kunal spent an hour pitching “The Sharks” and their segment will be edited down to some eight minutes in the actual broadcast. During the full hour, VerbalizeIt and the Sharks repeatedly discussed Skype and how VerbalizeIt works within Skype voice and video calls.

Ryan says, “The Sharks got excited when we brought up Skype. They saw it as a great platform for VerbalizeIt – both in terms of the technology itself and in terms of the reach and popularity of Skype.”

Whether they find investors on Shark Tank or not, VerbalizeIt has grown like crazy over the last months and will continue to evolve. They’ve gone from four to six translation languages and from a community of 2,000 interpreters to over 5,000 bi-lingual (and tri-lingual) experts on call. They now have interpreters specialized in specific industries such as medical, legal and financial translation.

Gloria Lee, a VerbalizeIt Korean Interpreter explains, “VerbalizeIt is made up of real people. We’re a live community that shares interests, cares about one another and is working together towards helping people communicate better.”

Even though VerbalizeIt is still in its start-up stages, they are already finding a way to give back by providing language interpretation for the Skype in the Classroom initiative. Ryan concludes, “None of our success would be possible without Skype. The ease of use, quality of the calls and nearly universal familiarity with Skype has helped VerbalizeIt become what it is today.”

Mazo’s initial reaction to Mr. Goodby was one of shock as he started speaking to us in French! They were thrilled and amazed, and had so many questions… nevertheless, the questions would have to wait as everyone was eager to start the read-aloud. The students were quick to notice that Mr. Goodby’s text was quite tattered, and well used, but understood why when he explained that he used to read it to his three children (now in their 20s and 30s). They were also overjoyed when they learned that the text took place in Paris, France. Some students made connections, while others admired the beautiful illustrations depicting the incredibly rich French history.

During the actual read-aloud, Mme Leslie’s students were able to follow along thanks to Skype’s generous donation of two copies of the text! These will be added to the Mazo library collection in the hopes of sharing the story with many other friends and families!

The students were absolutely enthralled with Mr. Goodby’s choice of text. It was wonderful to see such a strong male role model sharing his love of reading. Throughout the many pauses, students were asked of their opinions, were invited to predict upcoming content, and listened as Mr. Goodby made several connections to the text (speaking of previous trips to France, and his love of reading).

The read-aloud complete, Mme Leslie’s crew was invited to ask questions. Mr. Goodby graciously responded to each and every one. The students learned that he enjoys tennis, loves the Boston Bruins, and has a cat and a dog. They were also fascinated by the fact that through his job, Mr. Goodby has met and/or worked with some pretty incredible people like Wayne Gretzky and Britney Spears (who is apparently quite petite in real life).

They left the library abuzz, and were looking forward to sharing their experience with friends and family over the weekend.

Mazo is very thankful for such an opportunity, and Mr. Goodby has offered to reconnect with us again – it is tough to say who enjoyed themselves more!

Republished with permission from http://bibliothequemazo.wordpress.com/2013/05/05/un-skype-super-special-sensational-special-guest-skype/.

A content discovery and recommendation platform focused on identifying and promoting positive and diverse portrayals of women in popular television, FEM Inc. spans both the tech and entertainment industries. CEO Rachel Payne works out of Los Angeles where she can build ties with the entertainment industry, but the company’s vice president of technology is in northern California, closer to high concentrations of tech talent. The vice president of research and development works from another location in southern California. To stay connected, the three founders hold scheduled Skype meetings every morning and afternoon.

Skype calls bring them to the same table in a way that phone conversations never do, Payne says, while fostering strong connections by enabling everyone to see each other and pick up on physical cues – something her team finds helpful when discussing new ideas.

“It is really hard not to be present when you’re sharing a screen,” says Payne. “When you can see each other, you can really gauge how engaged they are.”

Perhaps most important, Payne says that Skype lets her very small and very busy team work while they meet. Their twice-daily Skype calls last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour and a half, during which time they may share files and mark up documents, make decisions and start to execute on them in real time, then set the agenda for the next meeting before they sign off.

Payne says Skype brings focus and efficiency. She offers these tips for more effective collaboration over Skype:

1. Schedule meetings in advance and set an agenda. This helps communicate that a formal meeting is being conducted and discourages using the screen as a diversion from actual work.
2. Become familiar with the tools and use them all. It’s easy to think of a Skype connection as a conference call with visual effects, but because Skype allows for real-time document sharing, it really is a completely different way of connecting, Payne says. Businesses will have more success keeping employees engaged during these calls if they use the different tools Skype offers, such as file sharing and instant messaging.
3. Let different people take the lead at different times. “For some companies, the person who is remote is always on the receiving end,” explains Payne, who has found that Skype levels that paying field by bringing everyone to the same virtual table. It shouldn’t matter how far away they are physically, they should not only be seen, but encouraged to speak up.
4. Allow the voice-only option on occasion. While regular Skype users like Payne say that concerns about attending to your physical appearance before connecting via video become less pronounced over time, she also believes that businesses should respect the fact that there are days when some remote workers would rather not be seen. Although FEM Inc. uses video effectively, they don’t require everyone to turn on video for every meeting. “Think of it as a virtual bad hair day,” Payne says.

Do you have any tips to make Skype collaboration even more effective? Tell us in the comments, or tweet to us at @Skype4biz.