Goudie, I've found Skype very useful indeed. I can't say I have too many problems with it. What's been really handy is the video part. Running a Mac here, trying to get to video conference with the Microsoft world has been a pointless, wasted exercise. On Skype, however, no trouble at all.
I've been running Skype in its various forms for years and in general it's a nice thing. As long as you're happy that you could be eavesdropped on... it's completely insecure.