NIC HARALAMBOUS

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Skype Helps Transcend Age and Geographical Barriers

My Grandmother, yes my grandmother, uses Skype. Can you believe it? She is somewhere in her 60s and is incredible. Firstly she taught herself how to use a computer. Click mouse, drag cursor, open document, use Explorer, get email address, send email. Brilliant.She then decided to get a laptop. Perfect, that can be done, spend the money, get a laptop. But low and behold it did not become a doorstop, no, it was used to make contact (can you believe this?) with people across the world. Me, my uncles, aunts, cousins, mother and more, it is just incredible. I am still blown away that at her age she has taken the time and made the effort to learn not only what the internet is, but how to Skype people.This Skype usage came to a head the other day when my gran Skyped me and told me that she had set up a conference call with a cousin (or is it uncle) that I had never met who lived in Holland. Seriously? Are you kidding me? My grandmother is sitting in London organising a conference call with her grandson in South Africa and nephew (or is it cousin?) in Holland. Incredible.Jimmy was great and the line was perfectly clear between the three countries. I am still blown away every day at the uses of the internet. I know, I sound ridiculous but I think that we take it for granted. My grandmother has never physically seen her youngest grandson, Alex, who is two. But she has seen him via Skype video. That is phenomenal.