How This Book Is Organized


You can read this book from cover to cover if you like, but each hack stands on its own, so feel free to browse and jump to the different sections that interest you most. If there's a prerequisite you need to know about, a cross-reference will guide you to the right hack.

The book is divided into several chapters, organized by subject:


Chapter 1, Start Using Skype

This chapter is for readers who are new to Skype. It explains what Skype is and how it works, and introduces Skype's main features. It also builds a "Skype vocabulary" of concepts and terminology that will help when more advanced hacks are encountered; and, in this respect, it helps the reader to grasp some of the links among hacks in the book that would otherwise remain hidden.


Chapter 2, Save Money with Skype

Skype has the potential to save a lot of money for most current users of landline phone services. This chapter focuses on the economics of Skype and the ways of figuring potential savings. It suggests ways of maximizing your savings by mixing Skype services with your existing phone service, or other alternative Internet phone services. This chapter suggests ways to avoid potentially costly traps and pitfalls that may trip up the unwary.


Chapter 3, Configure Skype

Skype configuration really falls into two distinct categories. The first is configuration to get Skype to simply work, and this chapter helps a little in that respect. The second is configuration to get Skype to work the way you wantthat is, improving performance, and customizing Skype to meet your individual needs. The focus of this chapter is most distinctly on the second category.


Chapter 4, Tweak and Tune Skype

In many ways, this chapter expands on the theme begun in the previous chapterthat is, configuring, tweaking, and tuning Skype to work the way you want it to work.


Chapter 5, Skype at Work

Skype in its current form is not targeted at business users. But more and more business-ready features are making their way into Skype with each new release. Even now, as this chapter shows, Skype has a lot to offer the workplace for those willing to give it a try.


Chapter 6, Mobile Skype

Skype is only now beginning to show its potential impact on mobile telephony. But that impact will no doubt be as ground shaking as it has been on fixed landline telephony. This chapter shows how, by hacking around with Skype, you can improve and enhance your communication while on the move.


Chapter 7, Skype Fun and Play

From having fun with creating your own ringtones, to practicing a foreign language with native speakers, this chapter shows the fun and playful side of Skype.


Chapter 8, Skype Chat and Voicemail

Sometimes it's easy to forget that there's more to Skype than just voice calls. This chapter redresses that balance by showing you how to hack around with Skype's other major features; namely, instant messaging or "chat," and voicemail.


Chapter 9, Security and Privacy

Security and privacy should be a concern for anyone who is part of the Skype online community. Some hacks in this chapter will help you to have only the visibility you desire within the Skype community, and other hacks will help secure you against some of the more common risks encountered by Skype users.


Chapter 10, Quirks, Gotchas, and Workarounds

Skype has its limitations, and you'll learn how to deal with them in this chapter. Moreover, where possible, you also will receive suggestions for workarounds for the most obvious quirks and gotchas.


Chapter 11, Skype Add-Ons and Tools

Skype has a burgeoning market for add-on products and tools that use the Skype API to extend Skype's functionality or that use Skype's services. This chapter gives a glimpse of what's currently available, and a sense of what is yet to come.


Chapter 12, Automate Skype

In this chapter, you receive an introduction to the Skype API and you learn how to extend Skype's functionality and automate repetitive tasks using scripting methods: VBScript on Windows, Python on Linux, and AppleScript on Mac OS X. In addition, these API scripts are mixed with shell scripts and scripts that drive Skype's GUI directly to achieve what no one method alone can achieve. This mixing and matching of complementary scripting methods provides greater flexibility in terms of automating Skype. Throughout the chapter, the emphasis is not only to provide you with a collection of useful scripts that you can use as is, but also to equip you with the necessary knowledge and tools to start writing your own scripts and, in that way, to automate Skype for yourself.




Skype Hacks
Skype Hacks: Tips & Tools for Cheap, Fun, Innovative Phone Service
ISBN: 0596101899
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 168

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