I decided to give Skype a try, again, after I started working with a few people that use it for chat, teleconference and video conferencing.
Contrary to what some people are saying, it seems like a complementary offering to Google Voice. I spend a lot of time in front of my computer and there’s a certain benefit to being able to call and be called from it. But I’m not about to give out my skype phone number for people to call — I don’t always have a computer on.
On the other hand, if I add my Skype phone number to Google Voice and gave out the Google Voice phone number, than rather I wanted to answer a call from my computer, my cell phone, or my home phone becomes irrelevant.
From NY Times: Google Voice May Threaten Other Phone Services:
Google Voice allows users to route all their calls through a single number that can ring their home, work and mobile phones simultaneously. It also gives users a single and easy-to-manage voice mail system for multiple phone lines. And it lets users make calls, routed via the Internet, free in the United States and for a small fee internationally.
Pete Ware 