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Cringely Shows How to Get Free Cell Calls

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the all-depends-where-you-hop-on dept.

SafariShane writes "In this week's pulpit, Bob describes how to properly use new software from a company called IPDrum. Basically, you use the free mobile-to-mobile feature of any major carrier to call a dedicated cell phone attached to your computer. That call is then connected to Skype, allowing you to make free cell calls just about anywhere. Just how long till someone does this on a large scale, by overselling the dedicated lines, and starts selling true unlimited cell plans?"

8 of 222 comments (clear)

  1. And then? by daVinci1980 · · Score: 4, Informative

    There are already companies that offer this. For example, metroPCS which offers unlimited calls. No minute counting.
    For $40 a month, you get unlimited local and long distance calls.

    --
    I currently have no clever signature witicism to add here.
    1. Re:And then? by Elwood+P+Dowd · · Score: 4, Informative

      No, not free including international. But good enough for most people concerned about phone minutes that live in MetroPCS's extremely limited coverage area.

      MetroPCS is not designed with globetrotters in mind.

      --

      There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
  2. Voice compression hell by Strom+Carlson · · Score: 5, Informative

    By running from Skype to a mobile phone, you use two fairly crappy codecs: iLBC at 13 kilobits per second on top of GSM at 12 kilobits per second. On their own, each one is marginally tolerable, but I would rather gouge my eardrums out with a dagger than listen to the two codecs combined.

    1. Re:Voice compression hell by Strom+Carlson · · Score: 3, Informative

      I've got a GSM phone, and it still sounds horrid. Less horrid that CDMA, mind you, but still horrid.

  3. Re:This was done before... by Meniconi,Nando · · Score: 4, Informative

    Yes, is http://xcelis.com/

  4. Re:This was done before... by MDMurphy · · Score: 4, Informative

    Here's the link
    http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/12/03/194925 3&tid=215

  5. Re:Link to Microsoft.com? by NetNifty · · Score: 5, Informative

    You're using Firefox I guess? If firefox doesn't recognise a url entered as a url it does an "I'm Feeling Lucky" google search on the "url" entered. The link is broken and is starts with "http" and the first result on searching for http (and thus the I'm Feeling Lucky link) on Google is Microsoft.com.

    --
    Linux Wireless Hardware in the UK
  6. Re:Hmm by Guspaz · · Score: 3, Informative

    Before anybody complains that skype-to-skype calls are free, keep in mind that that isn't truely unlimited; that's the exact same restriction that the mobile phone companies put on their same-network unlimited plans, in that the person you are calling must be on skype as well.

    There are two types of unlimited. Unlimited minutes to any local number, and unlimited minutes to ANY long distance or international number. Skype-to-skype isn't to anybody, only people with skype.

    Don't get me wrong, this whole plan is genious, and it allows people to get skype's SkypeOut rates for their cellphones, and if the computer is hooked up to the POTS itself then free local.