Once you have signed in, you will be on Skype’s main screen.
For reasons that aren’t clear, the app seems to work better if you sign in with a free Microsoft account.
Skype for Mac requires Mac OS X 10.10 or newer.
The Skype for Windows app works on Windows 8.1 and 10. You will need to download the Skype app for either Windows or Mac. A single video call can include up to 50 people. Skype is a well-known name in video calling because it has been available since 2003.
To end the call, click “end meeting” at the lower right of the screen. You will then get a message saying your friend has entered the “waiting room.” Click “admit” and your video call will begin. When your friend follows the emailed directions, he or she will be asked whether to join the meeting with or without video - the right choice is video. Type your friend’s email address into the “to” field and click send.
When you sign in to the email program you have selected, Zoom creates a new outgoing message containing directions on how to join the video call - what website to go to, and, once there, what meeting ID and password to type in. At the bottom of the screen, click the icon labelled “invite.” On the next screen, choose “email.” You will be asked whether to send the invitation via Gmail, Yahoo Mail or “default email” (if you use a PC-based mail program such as Outlook, it is the “default email.”) The next screen contains four buttons labelled “new meeting,” “join,” “schedule,” and “share screen.” Choose “new meeting,” and you will see yourself on the screen. As part of the sign-in, you will be asked to “create account.” Clicking yes, triggers a message saying “Open Zoom? wants to open this application.” Click “Open Zoom.” When the app starts, click “sign in.” You can set up a new account, or you can sign in as a user of Zoom, Google or Facebook.
The app seems to work better, so I will focus on that. On a PC or Mac, you can make a call either through the website (/join) or by downloading an app. To avoid this problem, never push the “record” button on the screen, and ask your friends to do the same. One of Zoom’s optional features, which allows you to record a video call so you can view it later, became controversial when hackers stole private video calls that consumers had recorded and stored online. Zoom has had some problems that could have been avoided. It works best with Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox browsers. The free version allows you to call one friend for an unlimited amount of time, or to call three or more friends at once for up to 40 minutes. Zoom is easy to use, and has become quite popular in the past few weeks. To end the call, click the red button on the screen. (If there’s still no picture, he or she should click on a camera icon with a line through it.) On the first call, he or she may be asked to let Facebook and the browser access the computer’s microphone and camera.
Note that the person you call must have Facebook open and click “answer” when your call arrives. (On your first call, you will have to go through two additional screens that test your camera and microphone.) You will now be connected in a video call.
Click the name in Contacts that will cause the person’s name to appear at the top of the screen.Īt the top right of the screen, click the icon that looks like a movie camera. That person’s name will show up under “Contacts” below the search box. In the search box below “chats,” type the name of the Facebook member you want to video-call. Run your cursor over the icons at upper right until you find the one that flashes the name “messages” (it looks like a “talk balloon” in a cartoon.) Click it and you will see a list of messages you have received from other Facebook members.Īt the bottom of the list, click “see all in Messenger.” You will be taken to a new screen that says “chats” at upper left. I recommend the first method, but be sure you use either the Google Chrome or Opera browser.