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VoIP for the Masses!
SkywalkerOS8 writes: "Vonage has begun offering Voice-over-IP(VoIP) service to residential broadband users. I've had the service since Friday and the quality is indistinguishable from a regular phone line. It's only $20/month for 500 minutes or $40/month for unlimited service. They include Cisco equipment, Call Waiting, Call Forwarding, Caller ID and Voicemail (which you can check online) in the service price. You can read more about it in this
article in Time. It works fine through my Linux NAT firewall/router and my monthly phone budget has now dropped from $60+ to $20."
just so you can choose your own area code...I think I'd like to be from Alaska (907)
I haven't had much of a chance to look at this technology, but can you do PPP over VOIP?
I ask because my company has no VPN access in place, and forces us to use a dialup connection. ONly reason I still have a land line at all.
Crap! At last I thought I'd have a way to call 911 for free...
I guess 911 would have trouble tracing a call to 66.96.178.192...
From the Time article:
For arcane technical reasons, you can't call 911.
Yeah. That's just GREAT. In your last moments, as you're lying on the floor, convulsing in the midst of cardiac arrest, do yourself a favor and think: "At least I didn't pay too much for real phone service."
I wonder if you could dial by IP :-)
Hey you! Yeah, you! Stop port scanning my machine knob!!!
I'll have something intelligent to add one of these days...
when you try to call someone will it kill your ping on your game of Tribes. Or if you're downloading a bunch of stuff, will your girlfriend get mad because your phone won't ring when she tries to call?
Sounds like a feature to me! A DND function that autmatically kicks in when you're busy.
This is an example of an extreme case of geek. He would rather download a file or play online games rather than talk to his girlfriend!!!
I stole this Sig
No, he'd rather download or play games than listen to his girlfriend. The difference is subtle but significant. :)
This next song is very sad. Please clap along. -- Robin Zander
Now I can call all those long-distance BBS's to download my warez without racking up my phone bill!
I've been waiting for this since 1992!!
Reality has a conservative bias: it conserves mass, energy, momentum...
So let me understand this. I can pay $40-50 a month now to get a "broadband connection" that's slow as molasses (read "as a modem") because my roomates on the phone. Wow progress.
1995. Two phone lines. Slow Net, Clear phone call.
2000: One line. Fast broadband. Clear Phone Call
2002: One line. Slow Broadband. questionable clarity phone call.
Fantabulous!
So close and yet so far from the world's perfect ID number
"Personally, I'd kill to have this, assuming it also covers international calling. My gf and I are spending nearly $80/month on calls back and forth from..."
1-900 numbers aren't included in this package, so you are out of luck.
Luxurious? What, does it give you a blow job while ordering a pizza?
Now they're disguising ads as articles!
Pizzahut: Thank you for calling the Downtown Seattle Pizza Hut, can I have your phone number? Customer: 408-555-1234 Pizzahut: We're sorry sir, but we don't deliver out of state Customer: But I'm only two blocks away from your store?!