Voip

[paul_oshea]

i wasnt aware that this worked on dial up, im in work at the moment but the laptop is on dialup as i'm not allowed put it on the network etc.

anyhow has anyone used this? my mate just called me on it, really really impressed with it, didnt have a microphone so just used the external microphone, but i was able to hear him perffectly, he said mine was muffled, obviouslly the microphone must be very sensitive. def think its the way to go, as you can now get phones that will go directly into the usb and work as a normal phone. no cost, its perfect. just have to get the parents setup on it now

anyhow voip its the way forward man

people were looking strangely at me as i was talking into my laptop rather loudly

[John83]

...no cost, its perfect... anyhow voip its the way forward man

"An article from the online edition of IEEE Spectrum says phone companies in France, Germany, Egypt and Saudi Arabia have announced they will block VoIP calls on their networks. Using new software from Narus Inc., the carriers can detect data packets belonging to VoIP applications and block the calls. Gotta love Ma Bell." From the article: "Narus's software does far more than just frustrate Skype users. It can also diagnose, and react to, denial-of-service attacks and dangerous viruses and worms as they wiggle through a network. It makes possible digital wiretaps, a capability that carriers are required by law to have. However, these positive applications for Narus's software may not be enough to make Internet users warm to its use. 'Protecting its network is a legitimate thing for a carrier to do ... But it's another thing for a Comcast to charge more if I use my own TiVo instead of the personal video recorder they provide, or for Time Warner, which owns CNN, to charge a premium if I want to watch Fox News on my computer.'"

people were looking strangely at me as i was talking into my laptop rather loudly

If it ever takes off, that'll change. People used to look strangely at people using mobiles in public. Now they just look angry at the inconsiderate twit shouting at his phone.

[pete]

VOIP will be very big in coming years. Will kill share prices in traditional phone companies & will be great for cable companies.

[John83]

VOIP will be very big in coming years. Will kill share prices in traditional phone companies & will be great for cable companies.

OR, VOIP will not take off in coming years. Traditional phone companies will kill it off. See my post above.

[ThatGuy]

It would be illegal (and completely unworkable) to stop VOIP.

[John83]

It would be illegal (and completely unworkable) to stop VOIP.

Really? Introduce errors and delay into VoIP packets. Your average punter will think Skype sucks, so he'll pay over the odds to use the real telco. No problems. All perfectly legal, BTW.

The real question is whether or not VOIP services can adapt to this sort of threat.

[Green Tribe]

Is this similar to Skype? I have Skype, is handy if you know a lot of other people in other countries, cheap way to keep in touch.

[pete]

Is this similar to Skype? I have Skype, is handy if you know a lot of other people in other countries, cheap way to keep in touch.

VOIP is the technology, Skype is one operator.

[John83]

Verso Technologies Inc., of Atlanta, Georgia, hopes to soon win a contract to block Chinese Internet users from using eBay Inc.'s Skype VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) software, the company said Monday.

A Chinese telecommunications operator has begun a paid trial of Verso's NetSpective M-Class filter, a product that is designed to block VoIP calls made using Skype, as well as other peer-to-peer applications, Verso said in a statement. If the paid trial now underway in one Chinese city goes well, the operator will purchase the NetSpective M-Class application filter before the end of the year, it said. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Full article here.

[REVIP]

Think there might be political as well as business motivation behind the Chinese move. There is still huge state control and censorship (Chris Patten is hoping his book - which is being published in China by an 'approved' publisher - will escape major alteration).

Skype Out is potentially very subversive. It makes communication to and from dissidents much less costly.

Plain Skype itself would in essence seem not much different from talking over AOL or MSN.

[John83]

Think there might be political as well as business motivation behind the Chinese move.

Probably. It doesn't matter though. The technlogy is there now, and governments and/or businesses will use it.

Skype Out is potentially very subversive. It makes communication to and from dissidents much less costly.

So the US should ban those free local calls in case terrorists use them? I think I'd rather not see my phone bill go up because it makes it dearer for terrorists, dissidents or vampiric law firms.

Plain Skype itself would in essence seem not much different from talking over AOL or MSN.

Skype is no different from any other VOIP service, all of which are just as blockable. The comparison with IM clients is grand for political purposes, but it makes not a whit of difference to telephone companies who'll lose business to VOIP.

[REVIP]

So the US should ban those free local calls in case terrorists use them? I think I'd rather not see my phone bill go up because it makes it dearer for terrorists, dissidents or vampiric law firms.

Meant to suggest that it was potentially subversive for a Chinese government, that still cannot cope with criticism or opposition of any sort, to have critics able to talk with the outside world at very little cost over a system that cannot be easily monitored.

[klein4]

I dunno nuthin about this but just wanted to know
1) is skoipe free?
2) is the google talk not the same thing but free?
3) does it come with/enable loads of viruses?

cheers...

[paul_oshea]

1) yes
2) same as google talk. someone told me google talk allows you to talk to landlines for free in ireland and uk, dont know if this is true.
3)hasnt every program the potential of causing harm?

[klein4]

yeah I think the google one is free but the person you are talkin to has to be on gmail as well so dunno bout land lines.
I just heard from someone not to go near the skype as it is riddled with viruses. wanted to use it to ring abroad. if you ring a land line abroad with it is it cheaper than your usual??

[pete]

I just heard from someone not to go near the skype as it is riddled with viruses. wanted to use it to ring abroad. if you ring a land line abroad with it is it cheaper than your usual??

I have not heard anything about viruses & we are starting to use as remote business tool.

Calls from skype to skype are free i.e. need broadband. You can also purchase a skype phone which rings like normal phone. It can also redirect to landline or mobile.

Skype can also call landlines & mobiles (I don't believe IM tools allow that) but you need to buy credit for that. The only advantage is that can call an Australian mobile/landline phone from anywhere in the world for the same price. Most western countries are € 0.017 per minute.

I think eBay paid $4billion for skype so i assume this blocking issue is scarmongering...

[John83]

I just heard from someone not to go near the skype as it is riddled with viruses. wanted to use it to ring abroad. if you ring a land line abroad with it is it cheaper than your usual??

The virus thing is a recent one. There's a copy of the latest version of the software floating about with a virus in it. It shouldn't be a problem provided you're careful where you download from.

Yes, you can talk to other users with both of you paying just the normal internet rates - usually the cost of a local call at either end.

[pete]

As we have people working on in various locations we've got a load of these skype phones Works similar to regualr phone.

Instead of calling soemone in the UK or US over conventional phones all calls are now free.

Its only € 0.017 per min to call landlines in most Western countries. Guy here been calling regular China landline at less than 2c per min. He saying cheapest callcard at 7c.

[monkey magic]

use skype myself as ive friends abroad, and i have to say its a god send, i use both skype free and skype out and im thinking of buying a skype enabled phone... as regards the voip blocking software, presumeably they cannot block voip to voip calls? id imagine its illegal and impossible to do, unless your internet provider is a telco...
if that software was to be used here, i know i for one would be encouraging everyone i know to simply ditch the landline, and just use skype or another voip provider. fcuk them.

as regards viruses, ive had none. i presume however that if you use the send file facility which skype allows you to do, you may be leaving urself open... but thats nothing to do with skype

[paul_oshea]

lads it could be worth trying out voipcheap.co.uk. they are free to landlines in aus, america, ireland,uk, holland, portugal and a few others.

the service is quality. dont know if those skype phones work though with their software.