I originally purchased my inexpensive "netbook" computer as a vehicle to answer emails and access the internet more conveniently at home (sofa, bed, porch).  It was to supplement my very portable cell phone, but I thought the purchase extravagant and excessive, so I further justified it because of the webcam included in the computer....what better way to communicate with the grandparents than to provide them with live video of their talking grandchildren, right???

I never expected to really use Skype for anything more than that....(and that did not work out as well as expected as grandma arrived back home with her newly installed Skype on her laptop, but couldn't work it).

Enter new client relocating from Paris, France....here in town for a quick business trip and house hunt...maybe they would find a house, maybe they wouldn't.  But they did find a home!  And now they were rushing back to Paris and we were left to do all our communications via email or phone, email being free and phone being quite expensive.   We barely knew each other and while I may do many of these transactions and it is easy for me, they were dealing with not only something they do not do frequently, but in a whole different country with completely different methods from which they were familiar.

Hmmmmmmmmm, that Skype thing....could it really be that simple?  Could it really work?  What if I couldn't work it?  What if they couldn't work it.  Turns out it really is that simple and helpful!  It has been great to have those visual clues gained from a face to face conversation so I could better judge if I am helping or irritating my client...remember, we don't know each other that well.  I do wish the resolution was better so I could have actually seen the documents when he was holding them up to the camera on his end....as it was, the pages looked like white paper filled with black dashes wherever words were supposed to be.  We have spoken several times now via Skype and a couple of those times passed the 1 hour mark.  I am so grateful to not have that cell phone bill!  

And now I'm curious if it is possible to experience a higher resolution Skype call so the video is not so pixelated.    If you know, please tell me!

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