Chapter 15. Ten Reasons Your Mom (and Other Family) Will Love Skype

Our friend Jessica contacted us over Skype while we were writing this book. She lives in London, where Skype is wildly popular, and she joined in on the fun. When we asked her how she used Skype, she replied the same way virtually everyone responds: " I use it to talk to my mom."

Skype Is Free

The number one reason Mom would love Skype is that it is free. A free call through Skype means that you can stay on longer. It also means that Mom can leave the conversation to answer the door, baste the roast, or answer a business colleague's call without worrying about cost. With phones, time is money; words have a price on their head. Skype makes having long-distance conversations more like chatting in the same room.

Skype Is Easy

One of the authors of this book has a mom who is 84 years old. She hardly ever touches the computer except to look over her husband's shoulder (he's 92). But when Skype was installed and the startup was automated by having Remember My Password selected, Mom didn't hesitate to grab the mouse by its tail and click. The blue desktop icon with the big S in the middle is all Mom has to know to connect.

Relive Mom's Home Cooking from a Thousand Miles Away

Do special occasions always make you hungry for some mouth-watering childhood dish? (Perhaps you can still taste that strawberry shortcake your mom baked for your birthdays.) Sadly, you may have totally forgotten, mistakenly trashed, or never recorded Mom's ...

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