Making PC to Phone VoIP Calls over Dial-Up Internet Connections

Theres a lot of hype these days surrounding Internet-based voice communications (VoIP) replacing traditional telephone service. Most of this revolves around companies such as Vonage who coin themselves as the Broadband Phone Company? So what about those of us who dont have a broadband connection? Just because you dont have high speed Internet, doesnt mean that you cant save a fortune by using VoIP for your long-distance calls. Whilst a broadband connection will usually result in more consistent VoIP call quality, comparable results can be achieved using a dial-up connection provided some simple guidelines are followed.

Shop Around

Not all VoIP service providers support dial-up users. Companies such as Vonage bill themselves as alternatives to traditional telephone service and shy away from the dial-up community (who are tied to those traditional?networks to access the Internet). Furthermore, some service providers only support dial-up above a certain speed (e.g., 56Kbp). Two companies whose VoIP softphone applications work well over low speed connections include Callserve and Go2Call.

Free-up?your System Resources

In order to ensure the highest call quality, close programs that are running in the background? For Windows users, these applications can be seen in the taskbar at the bottom right of your screen. Right-click?the icons and close those programs that arent critical to system security (e.g., dont close anti-virus software, firewall applications and the like).

If youre using Windows XP with user switching enabled, log off all users except the one that will be used to make the call. This will prevent the other user identities from running software and/or using your bandwidth while youre making calls.

Free Up?your Internet Connection

Given the limited data capacity of dial-up connections, its important that you devote as much of your bandwidth as possible to the VoIP softphone application. To achieve maximum call quality, dont do anything that uses your bandwidth whilst making calls. This includes instant messaging, checking email, using a webcam, browsing the internet, downloading, etc. In Windows, you can look at the two little computers in the bottom right of your taskbar to see whether your connection is being used prior to calling (the little computers illuminate when data is being uploaded and/or downloaded).

Scan your System for Viruses, Spyware, Adware and Malware

Some of these malicious programs can hijack your browser, tie up your internet connection and slow down your system (not to mention seriously invade your privacy!). I recommend AdAware for free scanning and removal of Spyware/Adware. Once youve checked and cleansed your system of these nasty programs, your virus definition files should be updated to minimize the chances of re-infection.

Use a Headset with an Integrated Boom Microphone

Last but not least, using a headset with a boom microphone should eliminate those annoying voice echoes often associated with PC to Phone calls. Echoes are caused by your microphone detecting the voice coming from your computer speakers and re-transmitting that voice signal back to the person youre talking to. By using a headset, the voice signals are limited in volume (due to the headset being directly adjacent to your ears) and thus the chances of your microphone re-transmitting?those voice signals is greatly reduced.

So there you have it. A Lack of high speed Internet neednt mean a lack of PC to Phone VoIP capability.

Nathan Smith

Nathan is the owner of netphonedirectory.com which deals specifically with PC to Phone and PC to PC VoIP. The site includes a comprehensive directory of PC to Phone service providers as well as information on VoIP and what you need to make inexpensive long-distance telephone calls using your computer

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Making PC to Phone VoIP Calls over Dial-Up Internet Connections

Theres a lot of hype these days surrounding Internet-based voice communications (VoIP) replacing traditional telephone service. Most of this revolves around companies such as Vonage who coin themselves as the Broadband Phone Company? So what about those of us who dont have a broadband connection? Just because you dont have high speed Internet, doesnt mean that you cant save a fortune by using VoIP for your long-distance calls. Whilst a broadband connection will usually result in more consistent VoIP call quality, comparable results can be achieved using a dial-up connection provided some simple guidelines are followed.

Shop Around

Not all VoIP service providers support dial-up users. Companies such as Vonage bill themselves as alternatives to traditional telephone service and shy away from the dial-up community (who are tied to those traditional?networks to access the Internet). Furthermore, some service providers only support dial-up above a certain speed (e.g., 56Kbp). Two companies whose VoIP softphone applications work well over low speed connections include Callserve and Go2Call.

Free-up?your System Resources

In order to ensure the highest call quality, close programs that are running in the background? For Windows users, these applications can be seen in the taskbar at the bottom right of your screen. Right-click?the icons and close those programs that arent critical to system security (e.g., dont close anti-virus software, firewall applications and the like).

If youre using Windows XP with user switching enabled, log off all users except the one that will be used to make the call. This will prevent the other user identities from running software and/or using your bandwidth while youre making calls.

Free Up?your Internet Connection

Given the limited data capacity of dial-up connections, its important that you devote as much of your bandwidth as possible to the VoIP softphone application. To achieve maximum call quality, dont do anything that uses your bandwidth whilst making calls. This includes instant messaging, checking email, using a webcam, browsing the internet, downloading, etc. In Windows, you can look at the two little computers in the bottom right of your taskbar to see whether your connection is being used prior to calling (the little computers illuminate when data is being uploaded and/or downloaded).

Scan your System for Viruses, Spyware, Adware and Malware

Some of these malicious programs can hijack your browser, tie up your internet connection and slow down your system (not to mention seriously invade your privacy!). I recommend AdAware for free scanning and removal of Spyware/Adware. Once youve checked and cleansed your system of these nasty programs, your virus definition files should be updated to minimize the chances of re-infection.

Use a Headset with an Integrated Boom Microphone

Last but not least, using a headset with a boom microphone should eliminate those annoying voice echoes often associated with PC to Phone calls. Echoes are caused by your microphone detecting the voice coming from your computer speakers and re-transmitting that voice signal back to the person youre talking to. By using a headset, the voice signals are limited in volume (due to the headset being directly adjacent to your ears) and thus the chances of your microphone re-transmitting?those voice signals is greatly reduced.

So there you have it. A Lack of high speed Internet neednt mean a lack of PC to Phone VoIP capability.

Nathan Smith

Nathan is the owner of netphonedirectory.com which deals specifically with PC to Phone and PC to PC VoIP. The site includes a comprehensive directory of PC to Phone service providers as well as information on VoIP and what you need to make inexpensive long-distance telephone calls using your computer

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Guanajuato, Mexico - Want Fluff Or Do You Want Reality?

Most, if not all, of the "move to Mxico" and "how to expatriate to Mxico " books specifically target the traditional gringo colonies. They are memoir-type guides on "how I moved to _____." They deal with one or more of the regions that have well-organized gringo communities that act as safety buffers for the uninitiated and unsuspecting newbie. These guides address areas of Mxico in which the locals depend on the foreign community for their livelihood. What I mean is that in some of these regions, if the gringos were to leave suddenly, the local economy would flush down the toilet in no time. San Miguel de Allende, in my view, is one of those cities.

The authors of these books may or may not have lived in Mxico. What they did was gather information on research trips. They've had to depend on the stories of those living in those areas. Others may have lived in Mxico but only in the areas with the uber-developed gringo enclaves. What these books typically do is soft-soap everything. You will read that everything is sugar and spice and everything nice. You will think moving to one of the regions these books cover will be like moving to Disneyland. You will not be told anything that smacks of negativism. "Going to move to Mxico? That's a move into heaven itself"is the impression you will get.

Positive sugary prose and heavenly rhetoric is what sells. I can hardly blame the authors since I've had this encounter with book publishers before: they want what sells. They don't or can't sell reality. They cannot sell something hinting you might have a hard time settling in a town in Mxico that is not Gringo Friendly. If you can't paint a picture of a virtual nirvana, a life of Disneyland proportions, they don't want to mess with your manuscript.

Those gringo wannebees read the books that paint a rosy picture and think the material applies to all of Mxico. Gringos move on the strength of a book that deals with life in a Mexican town where the locals have been used to a large gringo presence for decades. They move to towns where the livelihood of many locals depends on the gringo presence. Later, they move to (or just travel to) a town in Mxico that is monolingualSpanish onlyand wonder what happened. Not only do the people speak Spanish, but they also may not particularly care about you one bit.

This is a problem.

What you can do to prepare yourself to move to any region of Mxico outside the resort areas is to read everything you can on expatriating to Mxico. I mean, read the books that paint the Disneyland portrait as well as those that might have more of a reality-oriented base.

Be suspicious of books and articles that do not tell you the whole story. See red flags all over a piece of prose that tells you all the advantages, all the swell and wonderful pluses, but none of the negatives. Simply do not believe authors who tell you all about the beautiful dreams but none of the nightmares.

And, there will be nightmares that you will have wished someone had told you about before you moved to Mxico and discovered them on your own.

Doug Bower is a freelance writer and book author. His most recent writing credits include The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Houston Chronicle, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Associated Content, Transitions Abroad, International Living, Escape Artist, and The Front Porch Syndicate.

He is founder of Mexican Living Print & eBooks.

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