Whats the deal with VoIP?

Does anyone have VoIP? I have been seeing it a lot in newspapers and magazines. Is it really the future?

Never heard of it but I did a quick search and will read about it later.

VOIP

A friend of mine had Voice over IP and called me from the Bahamas using it once. There was a very slight delay... about the same delay as a cell phone (cell phones suck ass and are technologically still in the stone ages). But voice quality was very good, and there was no artifacting of the sound quality like there is with cell phones nor any dropouts. The downside is that you are tethered to your internet connection.

Does he live in the bahamas or did he take it with them?

I have been doing some reading and it sounds really cool (thanx for that link Mass X). Looks like they give you some gizmo that connects to any broadband (or DSL perhaps) and then you can make calls over the internet. So in theory it said you can travel with the gizmo and your phone number goes with you, so its always a local call. Weird.

Some services actually send voicemails to your e-maill address attached as *.wav files. Thats awesome.

You guys find anything else?

He lived in the Bahamas at the time, and I was in Denver, Colorado (still am).

I wish I lived in the bahamas. Seriously.

I am looking in on a company called SunRocket. They look sweet. VoIP is some weird but cool looking stuff. Oh well.

VOIP- Voice Over Internet Protocol.

VOIP is the future. Most big businesses already use it, and many smaller companies and residential customers are enjoying the benefits of VOIP through providers such as Vonage, which is one I keep seeing.

But keep in mind there are many others. The big benefit is having phone service through the internet. You just plug your phone into the ethernet port instead of the phone jack (to keep it really simple). When your office or desk moves, your phone can move too w/o paying to have a new line run. If you have family overseas you can get unlimited calls for as low as 15 cents a minute no hassles (or free like my brother is!!).

It' s cheaper, and the quality is excellent. If you live in MI and have family in Texas, you can get a local Texas number in Michigan, and your family can call you like you live next door, no extra charge.

Expect to see VOIP everywhere within 5-8 years.

That' s VOIP.

Thanx for the summary. Do you have VoIP at all or just your bro? I ended up diving in with SunRocket and its been great. Its almost funny how cheap it is (like $17/month) and it works like a charm. No problems at all. I am shocked people are still with landlines even now in a way.

You are right though, 5-8 years....VoIP. Its definitely cool.