Skype versus Yahoo

With the influx of complaints regarding Skype’s fall from grace, Danny Wirken measures up the top competitor and internet giant Yahoo!’s news internet telephony service. Cheaper, faster, better quality, better customer service and a brand you can trust. These are the things Yahoo! want you take away from any of their promotional material for the new Yahoo! voice VoIP service. The weird and wonderful continues to...

VOIP Basics

VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. It is the ability to transmit voice over the Internet and to either a receiving computer or telephone. VoIP works by what is referred to as the Packet Switching Network. Standard landline telephones use the Circuit Switching Network. The entire landline telephone system is known as the Public Switched Telephone Network. The main difference between Packet Switching and...

Using the Internet to Call

Using the internet to call is really easy. Anybody can do it. Even if you are new to computers and the internet, you can be chatting very shortly. It is as easy and simple to use as your regular telephone. Just think of it as a different handset. The first thing you need to do is check your internet connection. Making calls over the internet works best if you have a high speed or broadband connection. The speed is...

Using IP Phones to Make Internet Calls

When we think of VoIP, most of us automatically think of a headset with a built in microphone. It is, after all, the most commonly used tools of internet callers. They are easy to acquire and are inexpensive. All you need to do to complete your equipment is download the necessary VoIP software. There is another alternative that is gaining popularity. This is the IP phones. Those of our community who love technology...

Saving Money on Internet Calls

People use VOIP for very practical reasons. You can easily call anywhere in the world at rates that are lower than if you used your regular telephone or even your mobile phone. Who doesn’t want to save money, right? Let me give you an example. If you lived in Europe, for example, and would like to place a call to your cousin who lives in Florida, you would have to pay a hefty per minute rate. The rates are usually...

Make Free Skype Calls With Regular Phone

A gadget called the Skype USB to RJ11 Adaptor lets you make and receive free Internet VoIP calls using your regular home phone — and your cell phone. The device plugs into your PC’s USB port, and has a place to plug in your home phone. Once you set it up, you can use your home phone to make free calls to anywhere in the world. (Note that this is not a review — all claims are made by the company and have not...

Skype: Is It Good For Business?

Skype and Skype watchers have been saying for some time now that a surprising proportion of the low-or-no-cost VoIP service’s customers are using it for business. This is probably truer in Europe and the Far East where phone companies often charge for local calls, and long distance typically costs more than it does in North America. But the idea of using Skype for business is evidently starting to catch on here as...

Skype bug lets ‘buddies’ swipe Files

Skype has warned of a flaw in its popular VoIP client software that creates a means for hackers to swipe files from their “buddies”. The flaw can be exploited via a malicious constructed Skype URL which initiates the transfer of a single named file to another Skype user. The security bug stems from an error within the parsing of the parameters passed by the URL handler. This flaw creates a means for hackers to...

VoIP Providers: Choosing the Cream of the Crop (Part 2)

Of course with the big players you’ll generally pay about 5 or 10 dollars more, just for the assurance of having a well-known brand name like AT&T or Vonage ( the current largest VoIP providers in the market). But then more and more companies are spreading its wings, so again, it’s all up to you. However, keep in mind that if a service has less than 100,000 subscribers you might want to think twice before...

VoIP Providers: Choosing the Cream of the Crop (Part 3)

Of course with the big players you’ll generally pay about 5 or 10 dollars more, just for the assurance of having a well-known brand name like AT&T or Vonage ( the current largest VoIP providers in the market). But then more and more companies are spreading its wings, so again, it’s all up to you. However, keep in mind that if a service has less than 100,000 subscribers you might want to think twice before...