Chatting with Skype & Meebo

Who thought communicating with other people could be so much... well, nontraditional and full of different options? Now, if I don't feel like writing a letter and sending it via snail mail, or calling someone on the phone, or even chatting online using the old-fashioned AIM program, I can do other things that give me more options and flexibility. With Meebo, for instance, I could log right into AIM in my browser without having to download anything. I thought that was pretty convenient. If I'm traveling and using someone else's computer, I can still chat. And, if I wanted, I could chat with ALL my buddies who use other chat services simultaneously, such as those from Yahoo IM, etc. I actually liked Meebo, and it's at least one thing, out of the 10, that I may continue to use in the future.

Skype was cool too, as I could add contacts and call them as I would chat someone up online. I called Dana and he pointed out a number of features, including being able to IM and play games while talking on the headset. The iChat program on my Mac, however, has much of the same functionality, but without the feature that enables one to call real telephones in meatspace. So, if I found that I wanted to make lots of long distance, international, or conference calls, I might find Skype quite useful. I'll keep it in mind.