You’ve downloaded Skype, and so has your friend. Now you can get started on the really cool stuff – such as making completely free and great quality calls from your computer. That’s the great thing about Skype, you can use your internet connection and turn your computer into an internet phone and make free Skype-to-Skype calls.

You and your friend will need to have a headset (or use your computer’s built-in microphone and speakers) to talk to each other. You can really improve the sound quality of your calls with a headset, or take your calls to the next level with free video calls.

Using Skype to make free Skype-to-Skype calls is great but you can also make local, long distance and international calls to phones and cell phones at great rates too. But there’s a load more you can do as well.

For starters you can send cheap text messages directly from Skype; forward calls from Skype to your cell phone; or set up a personal online number so friends, family and co-workers can call you on Skype at local rates from their old-fashioned phone, no matter where you are in the world.

Developer: Skype Limited
License: Freeware
OS: Windows All
Size: 21,3 MB
Download Skype 3.8.0.144 link

webcamXP is a powerful webcams and ip cameras management and streaming software for private and professional use. It offers unique features and unequaled ease of use to let you broadcast and manage multiple video sources on the same computer. It is the perfect tool to secure your goods and to easily manage users’ accesses.

Supported devices:
* usb webcams (WDM driver required)
* tv, analog or multi-input capture cards (WDM driver required)
* ip cameras (JPEG/MJPEG/MPEG4)
* Windows Media streams (ASF)
* local video files (AVI/WMV/MP4/MOV/…)

Supported streaming modes:
* still jpeg images for low-tech devices
* flash client (compatible with most operating systems and handheld devices)
* javascript clients (MJPEG or JPEG PUSH)
* Windows Media streaming

Developer: Steve Niquille
License: Freeware
OS: Windows All
Size: 3.3 MB
Download webcamXP 5 5.2.5.798 link

ICQ 6 introduces a whole new world of communication, a world where it’s all about the user. It has a new look, it’s easy to use and let’s the user create his or her own communication experience. ICQ 6 is not just an upgrade but rather a total reinvention of the entire IM communication experience. It’s an innovative version with an entirely new software and a completely redesigned UI. ICQ 6 lets the user communicate in various ways - all in a single message window. All within a fresh, new design and a friendly interface which creates a seamless interactive experience supported by a new and original soundtrack composed by Infected Mushroom exclusively for ICQ.

New, improved and innovative features in ICQ 6 include:

• Quick IM - letting the user send messages to contacts without opening a message window.
• Easy message access - simple navigation between incoming messages.
• Tabbed conversations - easy switch between ongoing conversations.
• History - new design to search history of messages, files, calls etc.
• Search - easy-to-use search through the Contact List, on the ICQ site, and on the web.
• File sharing - quicker, safer and with auto accept of files from contacts plus option to close window while transferring files.
• ICQ 6 now support up to 1000 friends in your Contact List.
• Soundtrack - an all new soundtrack composed exclusively for ICQ by the progressive psy-trance duo Infected Mushroom.

Let the show begin! ICQ’s sleek new interface is just the beginning of the new features we’ve added for ICQ 6. We hope you enjoy the following features as much as we’ve enjoyed creating them!

Developer: Mirabilis
License: Freeware
OS: Windows All
Size: 13.9 MB
Download ICQ 6.0 Build 6059 link

Miranda IM is a multi-protocol instant messaging client for Windows. Very light on system resources and extremely fast, Miranda IM requires no installation and can be made to fit on a single floppy disk or USB drive. Featuring a powerful plugin-based framework and boasting over 350 plugins, Miranda IM is one of the most flexible and customisable messaging clients on the planet.

Protocol Support:
* AIM (AOL Instant Messenger)
* Gadu-Gadu
* IAX (Inter-Asterisk Exchange)
* ICQ
* IRC (Internet Relay Chat)
* Jabber
* MSN
* Netsend
* Tlen
* Yahoo
* And more…

Developer: Miranda
License: Freeware
OS: Windows All
Size: 2.4 MB
Download Miranda Miranda IM 0.7.6 Preview Release #1 link

Gizmo is a Free Phone For Your Computer. That makes calling as easy as instant messenging.

Call Gizmo Members for Free
* Any call to a Gizmo user is free. No matter when, no matter where, no matter how long. Free. There’s no monthly service charge. Nor is there a set up cost. Gizmo is free.

Save Big on Calling to Phones
* Save up to 98% on calling to mobile and landline phones anywhere in the world. Rates start at 1.9 cents a minute and your account can be used to save money when calling from your computer or mobile phone.

Instant Messaging(IM)
* Chat with AIM and MSN buddies directly from Gizmo. You can now add your AOL Instant Messenger and MSN Messenger buddies to Gizmo with a few easy steps.

Two-way Text Messaging (Beta)
* Send SMS messages directly from your Gizmo account. Your friends can reply directly to your messages and you’ll receive their reply right in Gizmo.

and much more…

Developer: SIPphone
License: Freeware
OS: Windows All
Size: 13.5 MB
Download Gizmo Project for Windows 4.0.2.361 link

mIRC is a full featured Internet Relay Chat client for Windows that can be used to communicate, share, play or work with others on IRC networks around the world, either in multi-user group conferences or in one-to-one private discussions.

It has a clean, practical interface that is highly configurable and supports features such as buddy lists, file transfers, multi-server connections, SSL encryption, proxy support, UTF-8 display, customizable sounds, spoken messages, tray notifications, message logging, and more.

mIRC also has a powerful scripting language that can be used both to automate mIRC and to create applications that perform a wide range of functions from network communications to playing games.

mIRC has been in development for over a decade and is constantly being improved and updated with new technologies. The latest news about mIRC can be found on the latest news page.

Developer: mIRC
License: Shareware
OS: Windows All
Size: 1.6 MB
Download mIRC 6.31 link