2 questions

[Koukla]

Hi everyone,

Am hoping you good people can share your experience / advice on 2 questions I have:

(1) I have been unsuccessful in finding a cheap phone card for calls to South Africa - it seems every other country is listed expect for my home country! What do other expat South Africans use?

(2) After a trip to Ho Chi Minh city, I am keen to find out about hiring or leasing a vespa. If you've done this, what was your experience in terms of expenses, license requirements, road safety, parking etc. I've never ridden one before but it looks like such good fun!

thanks, I look forward to hearing from you

Koukla

[sierra2469alpha]

Hi Koukla - if you have a PC at home, try Skype for your phone calls. In terms of cheap PP sims, no such things that I have found, but others may have. Try a search (up on the top right here) and you might find some other intel.

Enjoy!

P & C

[Zeenit]

Hi Koukla, What do you pay now?
The reason I am asking is I am from Cape Town and due to move to Sg in Aug. And I do call home alot.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Start here:

http://www.singaporeexpats.com/forum/ftopic50199.html

[Zeenit]

Thanks SMS, now all I need is to get my Skype working on my laptop. Skype and Vista is not that happy.

[Koukla]

Well i got slapped with a $60 bill for a 5 minute call home!

Silly of me - I should've guessed Serviced Apartments charge hotel phone rates. i'm going to get skype.

Thanks sundaymorningstaple and sierra-alpha (these sound like race horse names!)

Zeenit, i'm from CT too, we should meet up when you get here.
koukla

[sierra2469alpha]

Talking about big bills - I called home to SIN from Oman on my StarHub mobile..

$SGD6.00 per minute.

Ouch!!

[Zeenit]

Well i got slapped with a $60 bill for a 5 minute call home!

Silly of me - I should've guessed Serviced Apartments charge hotel phone rates. i'm going to get skype.

Thanks sundaymorningstaple and sierra-alpha (these sound like race horse names!)

Zeenit, i'm from CT too, we should meet up when you get here.
koukla

Koukla
I tried to pm you but I am not sure why things just sits in my outbox so I have no idea if its sent.

We going into a service apart when we arrive......OUCH

[sundaymorningstaple]

Zeenit,

The PM will stay in your outbox until Koukla reads the message. Only then will it appear in your "sent" messages. This way you will know if it was received/read or not.

moderator.

[ScoobyDoes]

Thanks SMS, now all I need is to get my Skype working on my laptop. Skype and Vista is not that happy.

If you have broadband and a router you can get a Skype phone that does not need a computer...... everything is held in a base unit.

I have Skype on Vista with no problem but i know a lot of people have Vista issues but by getting a stand-alone Linksys Skype Phone that plugs t your router will solve this issue. You can also use the phone as a normal phone and is cordless.

[Saint]

Thanks SMS, now all I need is to get my Skype working on my laptop. Skype and Vista is not that happy.

If you have broadband and a router you can get a Skype phone that does not need a computer...... everything is held in a base unit.

I have Skype on Vista with no problem but i know a lot of people have Vista issues but by getting a stand-alone Linksys Skype Phone that plugs t your router will solve this issue. You can also use the phone as a normal phone and is cordless.

I set up Skype on my parents and my Vista laptop/PCs and it worked fine first time. I must say it is the dog's dangly bits, has put my parents at ease that they will be able to talk to us whenever and free of charge when we arrive in Singapore for good!

Scooby, I very interested in this stand alone phone you mention, have got a couple of questions which hopefully you can answer

1) Does the stand alone phone still enable you to use Skype for free or do you have to sign up to one of their monthly packages?

2) You say it can be used as a normal phone, so if I was to have a Singtel landline it can be connected at the same time as the router?

I know these questions should probably be in the Geek section and before young SMS says, yeah I could have search the forum but

[ScoobyDoes]

Scooby, I very interested in this stand alone phone you mention, have got a couple of questions which hopefully you can answer

1) Does the stand alone phone still enable you to use Skype for free or do you have to sign up to one of their monthly packages?

2) You say it can be used as a normal phone, so if I was to have a Singtel landline it can be connected at the same time as the router?

1) It's Skype in a box basically. Linksys have two versions so be careful. One connects to your PC via USB using the Skype software installed there and the other connects directly to your router via Ethernet cable. This latter version has Skype software inbuilt so works the same way as it would via your pc.

You can use Skype as normal, and SkypeOut though you will need to put money in your account via Skype on the PC. The screen will flick through the skype contacts you have online etc. and you just dial as normal.

2) The phone basically comes in two parts....... the cordless handset itself plus a charger cradle & seperately a base station. On one version this base station connects to your PC via USB and on the Stand Alone version it connects to your router. As well as an Ethernet socket, the base unit i believe also has a standard telephone jack, mine certainly does.

[sierra2469alpha]

Scoobs - I think I saw a "cordless" version of one down at Funan. It's basically a wi-fi Skype ohne. Forgot the brand, though.

[durain]

if your VoIP provider support SIP, then get a ATA. popular ATA is the linksys PAP2. more info at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linksys_PAP2

[Saint]

Scooby, I very interested in this stand alone phone you mention, have got a couple of questions which hopefully you can answer

1) Does the stand alone phone still enable you to use Skype for free or do you have to sign up to one of their monthly packages?

2) You say it can be used as a normal phone, so if I was to have a Singtel landline it can be connected at the same time as the router?

1) It's Skype in a box basically. Linksys have two versions so be careful. One connects to your PC via USB using the Skype software installed there and the other connects directly to your router via Ethernet cable. This latter version has Skype software inbuilt so works the same way as it would via your pc.

You can use Skype as normal, and SkypeOut though you will need to put money in your account via Skype on the PC. The screen will flick through the skype contacts you have online etc. and you just dial as normal.

2) The phone basically comes in two parts....... the cordless handset itself plus a charger cradle & seperately a base station. On one version this base station connects to your PC via USB and on the Stand Alone version it connects to your router. As well as an Ethernet socket, the base unit i believe also has a standard telephone jack, mine certainly does.

Thanks Scooby, think I might have to get myself one of those!