It's a whole new world.

Don't you dare close your eyes. (That was for you, J.) Seriously, though, it really is amazing time we're living in.

Last night, J had a FREE online conference call with his parents IN CHINA and three of his siblings, who are in Utah and Idaho, via Skype. It was real-time conversation, and they were able to talk for an hour without paying a dime! An hour-long, multi-participant international call for free thanks to the wonder of the Internet. Incredible.

After the conference call, J was able to talk to his folks one-on-one in a *video* call. They could see each other, just like they were in the other room.

The service makes their money by charging when you use your computer to call a landline, but the computer-to-computer calls using Skype are free. It's awesome! If you have a webcam, you can do one-on-one video calls, but even if you don't have a webcam, you can still do voice-only calls. Conference calls don't include video, though - or at least we didn't find a way to do it last night.

So, if you have loved ones in long-distance places, check it out. I've heard some complaints about dropped calls and such, which I suppose depends on the reliability of your Internet connection. But considering the cost (or should I say lack of one), that's hardly worth complaining about.

And no, I don't have any stock or ownership interest in Skype. I just thought it was too cool not to tell people about!