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Free Long Distance on the Net!Everyone loves something free. How about free long distance? Hard to believe? It is true. These sites allow you to make telephone calls from any PC to any standard telephone at no charge. How does it work? These
services use the internet lines to connect your calls in the same way you use
the internet to visit sites all over the world.
In addition, advertisers are willing to pay money for the ads you will
see while you are using the service. This
helps offset the operating and maintenance costs of the equipment. You’re probably saying sure, this sounds good, but how well do they work? I use them frequently, and yes, they do work fairly well, with a few minor quirks. In some cases, there are a few seconds of dead time at the beginning of the call while the connection is being made. If the person you are calling isn’t familiar with this, they may hang up on you. In addition, there is a slight delay in transmission of voices, so at times you and your friend may inadvertently speak at the same time. The person on the telephone end of the conversation may hear an echo. This is their own voice, caused in part by the microphone picking up their voice coming out of your speakers and re-sending it. Many people purchase a headset with an attached microphone which will help minimize the echo effect. How do I get started? You will need a computer with either speakers & microphone or a headset unit, an internet connection, and a sound card. Check each website for any special requirements they may have. Dialpad.com is the most popular of these sites. Dialpad works via a java applet, which does not require any special software to be loaded onto your computer. You can access your account and address book from any computer. Plain and simple, this one works. Pagoo is another site with a feature which none of the other sites offers yet, your own internet phone number. You can select from many different cities and states for people to call you. Once you have been assigned your phone number and extension, anyone anywhere can pick up a telephone, dial your number, and you can answer it using your computer! Phonefree.com offers free PC-to-phone calling as well within the United States, or to the US from overseas. Other users of the software can also call you on your computer using the PC-to-PC feature. Have you ever wanted to make a video phone call like on the Jetsons? You can at phonefree.com, although you can only call other phonefree users. They also offer PC-based voicemail, and allow users to trade files and digital photos online. You can attach text messages or files to your voicemail messages too. How about conference calls? No problem, add multiple users to your voice chats following the simple instructions on the website. They also have an area called bubblechat where you can talk with other phonefree users. They offer their own “white pages” listings so you can find friends and relatives who are using the service too. At callrewards.com users can make calls free from PC-to-phone in the US and Canada by using the web-based version (no installation required). Download the PC-based client software (which requires 10 megs of space) and you add PC-to-PC functionality and calls to England, Scotland, and Wales! You can also earn points in their rewards program which can be redeemed for free international calls anywhere or for merchandise. Microsoft has added the PC-to-phone feature to their already popular MSN instant messenger service. It allows phone calls to be placed PC to PC also. Voice calls can be made anywhere in the US or Canada. It also allows you to share files of any type, choose your own fonts and sounds, and even includes emoticons! Instant messenger also allows you to send messages to pagers and cellphones. It does require a small download, but seems to be worth the extra setup time. There are probably more sites than I have listed here, and new ones going online every day, but this should get you started. Although I’m not quite ready to give up the convenience of my telephone just yet, these online utilities have sure helped lower my monthly bill. |
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