| Acu IT Solutions |
| Make FREE PHONE CALLS from your Computer Tutorial | |
| Shocked by the expense of your last phone bill? Then cut it down to size by making calls and sending text messages over the Internet. Acu IT Solutions shows you how. | |
| Computers have revolutionised the way we communicate
with one another. Take e-mail, for instance. You can send a message
from Glasgow to New York, and receive a reply in moments, all for
less than the cost of a letter. If you can't stand to wait the few seconds an e-mail takes to traverse the planet, you've probably discovered instant messaging. This lets you type messages to your mates and 'chat' almost instantaneously. With instant messaging, the only thing that will slow your conversation down is your typing speed. Messaging software is free and, consequently, very popular. The most widely used programs are Microsoft's Instant Messenger (http://messenger.msn.com), ICQ (www.icq.com), AOL Instant Messenger (www.aol.co.uk/download) and Yahoo! Messenger (http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com). Some people find typing a bit impersonal -they'd rather stick to good, old-fashioned phone calls. And guess what? Using the Internet, you can make phone calls to anywhere in the world for next to nothing. 'Voice over IP', as it's called, is telephone - but not as you know it. Using some software called Skype you can make voice calls to friends at other PCs round the world. Simply plug a microphone headset into your PC and get chatting. |
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| HOW VOICE OVER IP WORKS | |
| Your internet connection is capable of sending
huge amounts of information alt around the world -especially if you
have a high-speed broadband connection. Internet phone systems such
as Skype and Net2Phone turn the sound of a voice call into digital
data, which you can send over the Internet. The advantage of this
method over a normal phone call is that it doesn't matter whether
you're speaking to someone in Glasgow or Sydney - the cost of your
Internet connection stays the same. With a dial-up Internet account
you can call abroad for the cost of a local call. With 'always on'
broadband or an unmetered dial-up connection, calls are in effect
free. Of course, squeezing the amount of data required to reproduce phone conversations over the Internet requires some clever technology. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) breaks your speech down into small chunks of information called 'packets'. These packets are tagged with a delivery address - the person you're talking to - and sent via the Internet. When the computer at the other end receives the packets of data, software turns them back into the sound of your voice. VoIP is a great way of making phone calls between computers -but what if your friend doesn't have a PC? Fortunately, many VoIP services allow you to call a normal phone from your PC. You will usually have to pay to have your data call converted into a voice call that can be received on a normal telephone, but you may still find that international With a microphone, some calls are cheaper than those made from your home headphones and phone. Some VoIP services such as Net2Phone's VoiceLine (www.net2phone.com) will even give you a make calls for special low-price phone number that other people next to nothing. can use to speak to you through your PC. |
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| COMMON VoIP PROBLEMS CURED | |
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| MAKING A FREE PHONE CALL Using Skype | |
| One of the easiest ways to call for free is the
program Skype - available from www.skype.com. To get started, run Skype's setup routine. You'll be asked to select a language, accept a licence agreement and choose where you want to install the software. Once it's installed, you'll be given the choice of running Skype every time you start your computer - this is a good idea if you want people to be able to call you. Finally, tell the setup to launch Skype once it has finished. Now that you have an Internet phone, you need a phone number so that people can call you. Skype uses a name instead of a number, and when the program runs for the first time you'll be asked to choose the name you want to use. You'll also have to choose a password. Click the 'Next' button and Skype will set up your account. If someone else is already using the name you've chosen, you'll need to try another one. Try inserting punctuation into your name: use ]ohn Smith or |ohn.Smith instead of John Smith. The next box will ask you to provide some information for your account. This information will be visible to anyone who looks in the Skype phone book, so be careful what you include. It's best to enter just your name, country and city -enough so that anyone who knows you will be finish and start using your phone. Before you make any calls, make sure your microphone and speakers are plugged in. If you know the username of another Skype user, calling them is simple - type this name into the box at the bottom of the window and click the green phone icon. If they're online, you'll hear their phone ringing until they pick it up. If you don't know the username of the person you want to call, you can look them up in the Skype phone directory. To do this, click on the magnifying glass icon at the top-right of the window. Type the name of the person you are looking for into the box and click Search. After a few seconds, a list of names will appear. If you find the person you're looking for, right-click their name - you can choose to either call them, or add them to your contacts list. The contacts list is like a personal phone book that lets you see if your friends are online. To call someone, just double-click their name. Skype also has some extra features which your telephone lacks, including the ability to chat with up to four friends simultaneously. For details on how to do this and other incredible telephonic feats, visit www.skype.com, click Help and then select the user guide. |
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| Don't want to talk ? why not - SEND TEXT MESSAGES FOR FREE | |
| If you don't want to talk, why not send a text?
You can send free text messages to mobile phones from www.cbfsms.com.
Simply enter the phone number you want to send a text to in the international
format - replace the first 0 with 44. Type your message and click
Send SMS. On the next page select only the box saying that you agree
not to use any pop-up blocking software, then click Send. On the last
page copy the PIN number as requested. If you really want to impress your friends, why not use some text message shorthand? Visit www.moblle.com/sms.html to consult a dictionary of abbreviations. |
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Should you just use VOIP instead of a home telephone? There is no doubt that you have heard about VoIP by now. It’s made headlines and is plastered everywhere both in online and TV advertisements. Just in case you haven’t caught on to the hype yet, VoIP is the abbreviated term for Voice over Internet Protocol. Voice over Internet Protocol is basically the ability to communicate on a phone over your Internet connection. With VoIP, the promise is the ability to make local and global long distance calls at a significantly lower rate than over a plain old telephone line through your local carrier. The VoIP trend has caught on and large enterprises all over the globe are adopting this new technology to reduce their cost of business communications which may include fax, conference calling, along with streaming video applications. VoIP has been around for some time, but it has only been until recently that it has finally matured to the stage worthy of replacing everyday phone use. At the household level, it is certain by now that you are compelled to embrace this technology somewhat, but are not sure how to go about it or even if this technology has any real benefit for your family. You are probably wondering, “How much? How difficult? Is it necessary?” This article hopefully will clear up a few unanswered questions you may have regarding this technology and maybe even excite you enough to go on out and get VoIP hooked up in your own home. First off, you must have an Internet connection. No, not your 56k dial up connection, but an actual high speed Internet connection. This can be cable, satellite, or DSL Internet, but you will need high speed Internet for VoIP to function properly and become your new calling station. Dialup just doesn’t have the capacity or speed to transfer voice digitally without significant quality loss. A company named SpeakEasy has recently come out with a new DSL product that requires no current phone line for high speed Internet if DSL is your current favorite of broadband services and if you are planning on replacing your current phone service with VoIP. Secondly you will need what is called a gateway. The gateway is connected between your computer and Ethernet modem. The VoIP gateway is where your phone line will be plugged into. Gateways enable freedom from possible computer problems that can shut down calling capabilities or deteriorate voice quality. Computer crashes, slow memory, and many other computer problems that plague us in everyday life, you do not want to plague your ability to make phone calls. Gateways are specifically designed for VoIP phones but adapters are available for current phones should you not want to buy a brand new phone. VoIP providers usually have the adapters available for sale so you don’t have to shop around for one yourself. Before you write off buying a new phone however, video phones are the newest product line and it won’t be long before this trend explodes. You may want to get your video phone so you aren’t left out of exciting face to face conversations with friends and relatives when they get theirs. Packet8 VoIP has a good video phone sold separately with their services. The services included with VoIP usually include all the convenient bells and whistles your current phone service provides including your own local VoIP telephone number, call waiting, voice messaging, 3 way calling, and more. There are some important things to remember with VoIP before you go diving in to this feature rich voice technology. You should check with your VoIP provider for local 911 emergency coverage. Some VoIP providers charge extra on a monthly basis for both 999 (911) and 411 access so make sure you know how much it is going to cost you before committing to a calling contract. One last important thing to remember is that your gateway is reliant on electricity to function. This means power outages will put your phone line out of service, but then isn’t your phone already only functional with electricity these days? |
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| we hope the ideas above helped you and if you have any comments on the above tutorial or wish to add further tips please feel free to contact us as we welcome your help and feedback. |
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