After some trial and error with “automatic” freeware screen capture software and some freezing of my computer and other hassle due to large amounts of Mbytes saved, I downloaded the nice CamStudio software. “CamStudio records screen activity from your Windows Desktop into standard AVI movie files.”

First I changed some options: I asked CamStudio to record one frame every ten minutes, and to play it back at a speed of 1 frame per second.

Next I placed my Skype Windows in such a position that the Users Online number showed right above the clock on my computer.

Then I configured CamStudio to record only the small rectangle in the lower right part of my screen showing both the clock and the Users Online.

And there we go … I recorded hours and hours of screen activity. Every day or so, I stopped the recording and started a new recording. And I played back the saved video file, see picture below:

Each time I saw a change in the Users Online, I paused the video and recorded the data in an Excel Sheet. Next, I made my graphs.

Rather time consuming, but I enjoy graphs: they tell us much more than words or bare numbers.

Perhaps somebody can take over my “Skype Grapher” job?