When a body of independent auditors and experts recommended that the State of California consider open-source software and Voice over Internet Protocol telephony (VoIP) as two measures to cut costs in 2004, that was the signal that open source and VoIP should unite. After all, what’s better than free software? Open source projects in other fields like medicine have revolutionized the tools used in ultrasound, x-rays, surgery, radiology and even data. Why can’t the same happen with communications? (Hint: it can.) Open source is better, because you have access to the code. What’s better than open source? Open source that’s focused on VoIP. That’s what you get here — 74 open source apps tucked into categories that you can use “as is” or change to fit your specific VoIP needs.
The following apps and resources are categorized by SIP, H.323, IAX, and RTP protocols and include clients, libraries, gatekeepers, and any other open source resource available for those specific protocols plus PBX and IVR platforms. You’ll also find tools like faxware, voicemail apps, and middleware that applies to one or more of the previously mentioned protocols. Read the rest of this entry »
So you’ve seen the ads for VoIP. With the growing popularity of VoIP it’s hard to miss them and even harder to ignore the kind of savings they promise. But like any new technology, VoIP doesn’t come without a few kinks. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t switch to VoIP. But before you take the plunge you should make sure your experience will be a refreshing one. Here are a few tips and precautions to make sure your transition to VoIP doesn’t leave you wishing you hadn’t been so hasty to dump your traditional service. Read the rest of this entry »
The following table shows your options for free VoIP service and lists the top ten free offers and trial periods from quality VoIP providers. Of course, no VoIP service is 100% “free”, however if you use an online coupon you can get a free trial period and a very good rate. In our opinion, the best free VoIP offers/coupons for residential service are:
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So you’ve bought into VoIP, but your voice still sounds like it’s at the end of a long string and a tin can. And your phone? Well, you might be able to dress it up, but can you take it out? Plus, the VoIP critics are driving you nuts because you constantly need to defend your VoIP choice against your friends’ and family’s objections.
How do you remedy these situations? For starters, you can use these 27 tips, tricks and tutorials listed below. The success that you experience from implementing these tools might vary among companies or models. But, they’re guaranteed to help you overcome any doubt that you might harbor about your VoIP choice. Read the rest of this entry »
If you are not already familiar with VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) or vVoIP (video and voice over IP), it’s a means to voice and video calls from a computer. Most VoIP services also let you call to regular phones. VoIP is a great way to save money on long-distance calls, as PC-to-PC calling is free, as is some PC-to-phone calling. IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) refers to a variety of TV-watching services on the Internet, and loosely includes streaming video.
Here’s a short-list of some things that might be nice to give as holiday gifts this year, for the VoIP-er in your life. I am going purely on specifications and my knowledge, not necessarily because I’ve tried something (although I have tried some). These are in no particular order, and are not endorsements of any product or service. The suggestions are for both mobile and stationary VoIP calling. Read the rest of this entry »
The consumer market for VoIP grew by over 250 percent in 2005. This refers to people who actually subscribed to a VoIP service, which amounts to over 3 million people. That number is expected to nearly triple in 2006, and be nearly ten times in 2009. [C|Net News] Call audio quality is going to be an issue sooner or later, if it has not become one already.
Besides hardware-based VoIP, many more people are using soft clients such as Skype, including some PDA users, without any subscription plan. Some may even be using the voice capabilities of IM (Instant Messaging) clients such as Google Talk or MSN Messenger. For Skype alone, there are an estimated 100 million users worldwide.
Up till now, people may be putting up with poor call quality, simple because for soft client users, VoIP calls are very cheap or even free. My own experience suggests poor audio quality is fairly common. If you’re a VoIP soft client user, here are a few things to consider, to improve your audio quality: Read the rest of this entry »
With all the recent free VoIP services available, like Babble.net, Skype, Sightspeed, and Jajah, there are obviously a growing number of VoIP users, and thus an increased interest call recording. In fact, it’s a common question on various VoIP forum websites.
Enterprise audio file storage issues aside, there are some relatively simple methods to record VoIP calls. The method to use does depend on whether your VoIP is hardware- or software-based, as well as which service you’re using. Some software clients have recording built in; others require a plugin or even a separate standalone program. For example, IPcelerate has a product called IPstudio for recording VoIP calls, but it must be integrated into their IPsession platform. [via FierceVoIP]
Tom Keating of TMC has written frequently about recording VoIP calls, including using HotRecorder, and also provides links to forum discussions and other articles. HotRecorder has a free trial for software that supposedly works with all VoIP soft clients (according to Tom’s article), and they push the podcasting, online journalism, and business angles on their website. Read the rest of this entry »
For those who have never heard about the potential of VoIP, be prepared to radically change the way you think about your current long-distance calling plan. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is very simply, a method for taking ordinary analog audio signals and turning them into digital signals that can be sent over the Internet.
So what? Well, for those of you who are already paying a monthly fee for an Internet connection, this means that you can use that same connection to place free long distance phone calls. This process works by using already available VoIP software to make phone calls over the Internet, essentially circumventing phone companies and their service charges.
Interestingly, VoIP is not an entirely new thing. In fact, a number of providing companies have been around for some time. But it has only been with the more recent explosion of high-speed internet access usage, that VoIP has gotten any attention. Now the major telephone carriers are setting up their own VoIP calling plans throughout the US, another testament to the potential of the technology. Read the rest of this entry »
