iptel.org has a pretty comprehensive list of the softphones that are currently available. A number of IM clients (Yahoo, AIM, MSN) also support voice chat, but some of them had trouble going through NAT the last time I checked. The IM clients also require about two or three clicks before you can start talking to each other, so they might not be the easiest solution for intercom usage.
I doubt that Windows will be given away in three years, just because so many enterprises are tied to it. On average, I think most enterprises change their hardware every two to three years and their software architecture every ten years or so, which pretty much explains why Novell is still in business.
However, Office has clearly been more valuable to Microsoft than Windows from a pure revenue standpoint. I remember hearing that about 54% of Microsoft's revenue in 2000 came from Office.
Regardless of their feature set, Cisco is currently the market leader in enterprise VoIP systems. A number of analysts have estimated that about 2 million VoIP handsets have been sold in the last two years. About 1 million of them have been from Cisco.
I don't work for Cisco, but I don't think anybody can deny that they're the 800 lb. gorilla of the VoIP industry.
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iptel.org has a pretty comprehensive list of the softphones that are currently available. A number of IM clients (Yahoo, AIM, MSN) also support voice chat, but some of them had trouble going through NAT the last time I checked. The IM clients also require about two or three clicks before you can start talking to each other, so they might not be the easiest solution for intercom usage.
I doubt that Windows will be given away in three years, just because so many enterprises are tied to it. On average, I think most enterprises change their hardware every two to three years and their software architecture every ten years or so, which pretty much explains why Novell is still in business.
However, Office has clearly been more valuable to Microsoft than Windows from a pure revenue standpoint. I remember hearing that about 54% of Microsoft's revenue in 2000 came from Office.
Regardless of their feature set, Cisco is currently the market leader in enterprise VoIP systems. A number of analysts have estimated that about 2 million VoIP handsets have been sold in the last two years. About 1 million of them have been from Cisco. I don't work for Cisco, but I don't think anybody can deny that they're the 800 lb. gorilla of the VoIP industry.