The District Chronicles

Issue date: 10/11/09 Section: Technology

Media Credit: skype.com Skype allows people to connect over the internet to other phone lines at very affordable rates.

It was the spring of 2008. Ashley Mixon, 21, had achieved her greatest accomplishment in her life: getting a degree from Clark Atlanta University.  Family and friends watched with pride as Mixon walked across the stage in her snow-white cap and gown.

Rose-Mary Mixon and her daughter are both from Lanham in Prince George's County, Md. They share a very close and loving relationship. Throughout the four years that Mixon attended school in Atlanta, she would call her mother everyday to gossip or let her know the frustrations she was having in school. She also came home every holiday - and any other chance she could.

That spring morning, Mixon's thoughts were also on something else - getting a job, making lots of money and driving a new cherry red Mercedes Benz convertible. But, her mother had other thoughts. The doting mother's thoughts drifted to the day her little girl would pack up and leave the nest, moving far away from home.

Her worst fears came true two weeks after Mixon returned to Lanham with diploma in hand. Before graduation, she had interviewed for a job at Coca-Cola corporate headquarters in Atlanta. The company offered her a junior-level position in its advertising department - 650 miles, 10 hours away from home.

However, her sadness was short lived when the family learned about Skype - a new product that would allow the two to hear one another's voice and see one another live. In August 2008, the Mixons joined the family of 340 millions subscribers to Skype. For a monthly unlimited subscriptions plan in U.S. and Canada of $2.95 per month, the Mixons can talk and see each other without leaving Lanham or Atlanta.  Skype's unlimited international calls are $12.95 a month.

"I love Skype. When my daughter decided to move to Atlanta, I thought, 'oh no my baby is going to leave me'," Rose-Mary Mixon said. "But through the use of Skype, I am able to not only hear her voice, but also able to see her live and in person."

Skype is software that allows users to make telephone calls by way of the Internet at costs much lower than using landlines or mobile phones. Skype subscribers can make Skype-to-Skype voice calls, land lines and mobile phones. Users of landlines and mobile phones can also place calls to Skype users. Additional features include video conferencing, voicemail, instant messaging, texting, faxing and file transfers. To place video calls, subscribers need a Web cam.  

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools