Top things people use the Internet for:

Phone

All About the Internet, Part 9 - Internet Telephone

 

 I will show you how to talk long distance for free over the Internet (Although my computer cost me half of a fortune).

With a fast enough computer such as a Pentium 90 Mhz or faster, a microphone, a ‘full duplex sound card’, the right software and a fast enough modem (28.8 Kbps or better), you can speak with people all over the world. Some of the available software even allows you to see the other person. Most ‘multimedia’ computers come with everything you need except the software.

There are many Internet phone software packages available. Several companies such as Intel, Microsoft, VocalTec, Voxware and a few others are developing Internet Phone software. This technology is still in its infancy, but it’s very fun to play with. Most of these packages are still not compatible with each other. Out of these Internet Phone by VocalTec is the most popular. Let me describe it to you.

The current version of Internet Phone by VocalTec is 4.0. You can download a trial version that works for 30 days from http://www.vocaltec.com/ . After installing it, the first thing you want to do is run the self-test to see if all the pieces are working right. You talk into the mic for a few seconds and then it plays your speech sound back to you a few seconds later. Using two slide controls, you can adjust the levels at both ends. The other control adjusts the level at which speech is detected at your end.

Now you are ready to test it with someone else. Join the "! Test your iPhone here !" room. Then either place a call to someone else or wait until someone calls you. To place a call, double click on their nickname and wait. You will hear a ringing sound and then their voice when they pick up on the other end. To pick up on your end, hit the answer button. The sound quality is not near toll quality, but if the alternative is prohibitively expensive, it is loads of fun. To find your relative or friend, use a program like ICQ at http://www.mirabilis.com/

You can call someone on a regular phone with an Internet gateway at about 10 cents per minute. Since the Internet phone packages have not settled on a standard, you have to find a gateway that is compatible with your brand of Internet Phone. Here are two examples of companies that offer gateways: http://www.net2phone.com/ and http://www.gxc.com/ . 

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