Skype's voice mail has major pluses

If you have a telephone, chances are you already have some kind of voice-messaging service.

Answering machines are still widely available. Some are even built right into the phone. But with the increasing flexibility of the telephone companies' voice-mail-messaging services, I think the clunky answering machine will go the way of the telephone dial.

The other technology that's in danger of obsolescence is the way our conversations travel from one phone to another. That's the traditional telephone-switching service that's been in place for so long now.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has most industry pundits saying that the Internet holds the future of telephony as we know it.

Granted, that's a ways off as VoIP really isn't ready for prime time yet.

Anyone who has listened to the quality of a VoIP call knows that while sometimes it can be crystal-clear, it's not always that way.

Reliability falls short

VoIP reliability isn't there quite yet, either.

I can't remember the number of times I dialed a number and either couldn't get through or the quality was so poor I had to hang up and redial.

Yes, I know that can still happen with the switched service but compared with how often VoIP failures occur, it's still the method of choice when you rely on dependable telephone service.

Still, VoIP can offer things you can't get with traditional phone service, such as a phone number that follows you wherever you go.

For the sake of this column, I'd like to focus on voice mail, more specifically the one you get with Skype (www.skype.com).

Skype is a VoIP service that was born on the personal-computer platform and continues to be one of the most popular choices of computer users.

Skype recently added a voice-mail ability to its service. It became apparent to the company that this was something its users desired since there were a number of third-party add-ons created just to give Skype users a voice-mail option.

And now that it's here, you can use Skype Voicemail and your computer for some really interesting applications, especially in the podcasting arena.

Podcasting is time-shifted, not live. One big advantage live broadcasters have over podcast productions is that they can offer open phone lines to their listeners, who can call and interact with the show's host and guests throughout the program.

And while Skype still can't overcome that limitation, its voice-mail ability offers an interesting option.

Leave a message

Using the free Skype software, listeners can call in for free, 24/7, and leave a message.

Podcast hosts can then play those messages back on their shows and deal with them. Now podcast listeners can hear themselves on the podcast, although it's a delayed interaction.

One other nice touch is that Skype now offers a SkypeIn service that lets people use their telephones to access Skype accounts.

For $60 a year, you get to choose your own phone number. When dialed, you can either accept the live call or, as in my case, have it diverted to the Skype voice-mail service.

Listeners to the podcast of my national computer radio talk show can now leave voice messages.

Until this was set up, podcast listeners could interact with the show only via e-mail. Skype gives these time-shifted listeners a really great way to call in and make comments, ask questions and interact with the program.