By Matthew Braga
Perhaps you are like me. If this is the case, not only are you exceptionally good looking, but you have a cell phone bill longer than Jay Leno’s chin.
For years we’ve been shafted when it comes to long-distance calls. You know something’s out of whack when I can call Hamilton for the same price as another province.
Enter Skype, the popular audio/video chatting application. While Skype is a fascinating tool of torture for the technologically illiterate, it’s also an almighty calling machine. If you want to kill long-distance fees, and shove its cold lifeless body into the faces of cell phone carriers, this is how.
The magic of Skype is that you can call other Skype users for free. But hiding in plain sight is the ability to make unlimited calls to any phone across Canada and the United States for $3 a month. Skip your Starbucks latte one day and your bill is covered.
If you’re not excited yet, you should be. It means journalists like me can harass corporate CEOs in San Francisco without racking up the connection fees. With a bit of extra software, such as Pamela, which has a 30-day free trial, I can record the conversations and transcribe the sordid details later.
Now go forth and call distances longer than you have ever called before. I’m sure crazy Aunt Maud back home would love to hear from you. You have no excuse now. Matthew Braga will appear every other week with tech tips for students.
Have tech questions? Email him at mbraga@horriblefanfare.com
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