Friday, October 30, 2009

Registering Skype Account

If you don’t already have a Skype user name and account, you’ll have to set one up. This will give you access to all of Skype’s free services (remember, it’s completely up to you whether you want to subscribe to any of Skype’s fee-based services).
Start Skype by double-clicking on its icon on your desktop, or from the Windows menu (go to Start: All Programs: Skype: Skype). This presents you with the Sign In window shown in the next figure. Click on the link Don’t have a Skype Name?, which displays the window.
Fill in the details for the Create a new Skype Account window, and then click on the Sign In button. You are now signed in to the Skype network, and you should see the Skype softphone displayed on your screen.
You’ll use your Skype name and password to sign in to the Skype website to manage your account and sign up for Skype’s fee-based subscription services.

Running Skype

When you run the Skype install program, you will first be presented with an introductory window that enables you to choose your preferred language, as shown in the figure that follows. This will select the language used for both the remainder of the installation process and the default language for operation of the Skype softphone. Clicking the Next button in the Setup window takes you to a window that asks you to accept (or reject) the Skype license agreement, as shown in the next figure. Select “I accept the agreement” and click Next to proceed to the final step of the installation process. (Selecting “I do not accept the agreement” aborts the installation.)

Installing Skype in Internet Explorer

Clicking on the Run button will download the Skype install program to your PC. After it is downloaded, you’ll see the window shown in the next figure. Click the Run button in this popup to start the Skype install program. If you don’t want to install Skype, click Don’t Run to cancel the install process.
Clicking on the Save button will generate the popup window shown in the next figure. Using this window you can choose a folder in which to save the Skype install program. Be sure to remember where you put it, as you’ll need this piece of information for the next step. After the Skype install program has finished downloading, you must run it. The easiest way to do this is to navigate to the Skype install program using the Windows Explorer file browser, and then doubleclick on it. This will run the Skype install program, though you may be asked by Windows to confirm that you want to run this program.