[clue-tech] internet phone

[Angelo Bertolli]

Louis Miller wrote:
> Hey folks,
>
>     Does anyone use Ekiga or Skype? If so, would it be their regular phone, or would they need a cellphone or a home phone to back it up.? If they need a backup, then it seems like a toy, rather than a tool. I guess Ekiga is open source, while Skype is proprietary, so that makes Skype seem like the uglier option. I was thinking of heading to Micro-Center to get a headset to play around with it. Maybe, if someone else uses Ekiga and knows the ins and outs of how to configure it (the configuration screens seem pretty complicated), and they are willing to let me practice calling them, that might weigh into my decision on wether to purchase a headset.
>   

I use Skype on Linux.  I only use it to get a decent rate on 
International calls.  I've never been comfortable with using it as my 
regular phone, but that's because my Internet access is less than 
reliable.  I don't know much about Ekiga, but Skype's algorithm is 
good:  the sound quality is really nice most of the time.  Things like 
Skype are pay-as-you-go so you can just try it out if you want.  I got 
the Philips 080 VOIP phone for Skype, and I like it a lot.  It's priced 
reasonably too:

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-VOIP-Skype-Travel-Phone/dp/B000GKD150


Angelo