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Skype is a free application you can use to place free voice and video calls to other Skype users over the Internet. After downloading and installing Skype for MacBook, configure the audio and video settings and get started placing calls. Add other Skype users to your Skype contacts list and call them from your MacBook, whether they’re using Mac OS X, Windows, a mobile phone or any other device that supports Skype.
Download Skype for MacBook from the Skype website at Skype.com. Install it by opening your browser’s download window and double-clicking the “Skype” file. Click “Continue” and then drag and drop the Skype icon in the window that appears to your Applications folder.
I hope someone can help me with this problem.I have a 4 years old G4 ibook (OS 10.3.7), and have been using it for internet, skype and foto-storage mainly.Situtation:Yesterday I tried to use the internet (Firefox browser) and skype, but the skype didn't work at all.
![Skype For Apple Mac Air Skype For Apple Mac Air](/uploads/1/2/4/2/124226714/414737154.jpg)
Launch Skype for Mac by double-clicking the “Skype” icon in the Applications folder. Pin Skype to your dock by holding “Ctrl” and clicking the “Skype” icon on your dock. Point to “Options” and select “Keep in Dock.”
Create a Skype account by clicking the “Create New Account” button in the Welcome to Skype window that appears. Provide your name and email address and a Skype username and password. Agree to the terms of use by clicking the check box and click the “Create” button. If you already have an account, you can enter your Skype username and password on the welcome screen to log in.
Provide personal information such as your city, country, gender and a profile picture on the Personalize screen that appears if you’re creating a new account. Skype uses this information to help people find you; you can enter as much or as little as you want. Click “Done” once you’re finished.
![Skype For Apple Mac Air Skype For Apple Mac Air](/uploads/1/2/4/2/124226714/791794139.png)
Click the “Apple” logo on the menu bar at the top of your screen. Click “System Preferences” and select “Sound.”
Click the “Input” tab and select your input device by clicking it. Speak into your microphone to test your settings. You can also adjust the Input Volume slider to increase your microphone’s volume.
Click the “Output” tab and select your output device by clicking it. Verify the “Balance” slider is set to the middle setting, the device is unmuted and the volume level is audible. Close the Sound control panel after you’re finished.
Click the “Skype” menu that appears on the menu bar with the Skype window. Select “Preferences” and click the “Audio/Video” tab at the top of the preferences window that appears.
Select the microphone, speakers and camera using the boxes on the Audio/Video pane. Speak into the microphone and watch the microphone indicator to test it. Skype for Mac also displays the video from the selected camera in this window.
Click the “Contacts” menu and select “Add a Contact.” Use the search box that appears to find someone you know by her Skype name, real name or other personal information and add her to your Skype contacts list.
Place a call by clicking the green “Call” button to the right of someone’s name on your contact list.
References (6)
About the Author
Chris Hoffman is a technology writer and all-around tech geek who writes for PC World, MakeUseOf, and How-To Geek. He's been using Windows since Windows 3.1 was released in 1992.
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Hoffman, Chris. 'Setting Up Skype on a MacBook.' Small Business - Chron.com, http://smallbusiness.chron.com/setting-up-skype-macbook-29643.html. 01 August 2018.
Hoffman, Chris. (2018, August 01). Setting Up Skype on a MacBook. Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/setting-up-skype-macbook-29643.html
Hoffman, Chris. 'Setting Up Skype on a MacBook' last modified August 01, 2018. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/setting-up-skype-macbook-29643.html
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Published 7:00 AM EST Jan 5, 2014
Q. My MacBook Air's FaceTime and Skype apps insist there's no webcam installed. I assure you it's right there above the screen. How do I fix this?
A. This time around, the techno-victim was me. I had to give up on a Skype call with my brother when that app couldn't detect my MacBook Air's iSight camera. Then I had to give up on blaming Microsoft when I saw that Apple's own FaceTime also denied the laptop webcam's existence.
When a computer can't see its own parts, it's usually the result of a low-level software malfunction. And on a Mac, the troubleshooting that ensues — the OS X equivalent of a Vulcan nerve pinch — doesn't exactly feature the point-and-click simplicity Apple extols.
Apple's recommended remedy is to reset a component called the System Management Controller that regulates a variety of internal processes. On most Mac laptops, you do this through a complicated little dance with the keyboard: Plug in the laptop; shut down the laptop; hold down the left-side Shift, Control and Option keys, along with the power button; let go of all four keys; press the power button again.
(With desktop Macs, however, you only need to unplug the power cord for about 15 seconds before reconnecting and restarting. On older Mac laptops with removable batteries, you unplug the laptop take out the battery, hold in the power button for five seconds, pop in the battery, plug in the laptop, then reboot.)
The importance of this part becomes clear in the long list of symptoms beyond webcam denial that Apple suggests may be fixed with an 'SMC' reset. A partial list:
• The computer's fans run at high speed, although the computer is not experiencing heavy usage and is properly ventilated.
• The keyboard backlight appears to behave incorrectly.
• Battery indicator lights, if present, appear to behave incorrectly.
• The display backlight doesn't respond correctly to ambient light changes.
• A portable Mac doesn't appear to respond properly when you close or open the lid.
• The computer sleeps or shuts down unexpectedly.
I had been seeing my MacBook lapse back into sleep moments after I'd opened its lid. So I went through the SMC-reset drill; the resulting start-up took perhaps a few seconds longer than usual, and things seem to be fine now.
Another common remedy for mysterious Mac issues goes back to the pre-OS X days: resetting the 'NVRAM or 'parameter RAM,' a special store of memory that keeps some system settings. This is a simpler procedure: As you reboot the Mac, hold down the Command, Option, P and R keys.
Yet another start-up key trick — holding down the Shift key — boots a Mac into a 'Safe Mode' that has OS X check the start-up disk for problems, then disables non-Apple start-up items.
Tip: Windows 8 provides a different route to 'Safe Mode'
Windows has long had its own 'Safe Mode' to boot a PC into its most basic configuration for troubleshooting purposes. The traditional way to invoke it has been to hold down the F8 key as you boot the PC — making sure you do so before the Windows logo appears.
This diagnostic feature remains in Windows 8, but Microsoft now lets you request a safe-mode boot or other alternatives to the traditional start-up routine in a slightly more obvious way.
(A humblebrag of a tech-support note explains that 'Windows 8 PCs start up quickly so there's not enough time to press F8.')
To access this menu, start the computer but don't sign in. At the log-in screen, you should instead hold down the Shift key as you click or tap the power icon in the bottom-right corner, then select 'Restart.' Choose 'Troubleshoot' on the next screen, then 'Advanced Options,' then 'Startup Settings.'
Click or tap the 'Restart' button on that last screen, and you'll be switched to a simple menu listing Safe Mode and other diagnostic and repair options.
Rob Pegoraro is a tech writer based out of Washington, D.C. To submit a tech question, e-mail Rob at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/robpegoraro.
Published 7:00 AM EST Jan 5, 2014