HardwareDaily
HardwareDaily surveys the whole world of computer and IT hardware, including video, DVD, mobiole cellphones etc. There is also an associated mailing list at hwdly@freelists.org. Just send an email to hwdly-request@freelists.org and put "subscribe" (without the quotes) in the Subject line of the email to join.Thursday, October 23, 2003
Choosing the Right VoIP service:
"VoIP (Voice over IP) services have been burdened by poor sound quality, dropped calls, and difficult interfaces. Now, two new entrants are poised – head-to-head – to dominate this burgeoning market. Interestingly enough, both come from developers with a successful track record in other arenas – including easy-to-use Linux, MP3s, and peer-to-peer networking.
The first, the new Skype service, has been created by the developers of the popular file-sharing system Kazaa. It uses Kazaa's peer-to-peer technology, along with your PC's sound card, to create an easy-to-use, IM-style VoIP application that's fast and sounds good. Because it's based on a proprietary protocol, however, it won't interoperate with other services.
The second service, the new SIPphone, comes from Michael Robertson, who founded MP3.com and then gave us Lindows, the easy-to-use Linux OS variant, PC and software distribution system. Unlike Skype, the SIPphone is a stand-alone appliance – plug it into your broadband router and you're off. Because it's based on the emerging SIP protocol – which stands for Session Initiation Protocol - the SIPphone can interoperate with other SIP devices.
Neither system can call out to standard POTS (plain old telephone service) lines. They do illustrate, however, just how far VOIP has come – it's actually good enough to offer a viable alternative to existing phones. "
"VoIP (Voice over IP) services have been burdened by poor sound quality, dropped calls, and difficult interfaces. Now, two new entrants are poised – head-to-head – to dominate this burgeoning market. Interestingly enough, both come from developers with a successful track record in other arenas – including easy-to-use Linux, MP3s, and peer-to-peer networking.
The first, the new Skype service, has been created by the developers of the popular file-sharing system Kazaa. It uses Kazaa's peer-to-peer technology, along with your PC's sound card, to create an easy-to-use, IM-style VoIP application that's fast and sounds good. Because it's based on a proprietary protocol, however, it won't interoperate with other services.
The second service, the new SIPphone, comes from Michael Robertson, who founded MP3.com and then gave us Lindows, the easy-to-use Linux OS variant, PC and software distribution system. Unlike Skype, the SIPphone is a stand-alone appliance – plug it into your broadband router and you're off. Because it's based on the emerging SIP protocol – which stands for Session Initiation Protocol - the SIPphone can interoperate with other SIP devices.
Neither system can call out to standard POTS (plain old telephone service) lines. They do illustrate, however, just how far VOIP has come – it's actually good enough to offer a viable alternative to existing phones. "
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