Technology Info

Best digital photography magazine to subscribe to

With the explosion of digital cameras and the explosion of their popularity, there are many people which are writing and publishing about digital photography. Sometimes it's hard to know what the best digital photography magazines are. If you are looking for the best digital photography magazine to subscribe to, you are probably going to get down to two magazine options: PC Photo Magazine and Digital Photographer Magazine. Here is some detailed descriptions of these magazines, so you can better understand how they are your best options for a digital photography publication!

]]> PC Photo Magazine: This is one of the top digital photography magazines that a person can subscribe to. PC Photo Magazine is located in both the newsstands and also online. This magazine deals with all of the latest news regarding digital cameras and digital photography. It also keeps close tabs on all of the latest digital photography products, and there are often previews of upcoming products which are discussed and rated. There is also a section which is devoted to different camera tips and techniques, which the professional or amateur photographer could find useful! There is also a place on their website which allows photographers to submit their own photographs. There is also a web gallery available so you can see previous work which has been submitted. One of the great things the online version of PC Photo Magazine is that you can participate in a forum discussion, where passionate digital photographers are discussing and debating the pertinent issues regarding digital photography. If you are interested in subscribing to this magazine, you can purchase a magazine off of the newsstands and fill out a subscription form that is located inside. Or, you can sign up for a subscription online - which includes the bonus of one free issue! It is $11.97 to receive 9 issues all together. This is a great deal for one of the best digital photography magazines that you can subscribe to!

Digital Photographer Magazine: Next to PC Photo Magazine, Digital Photographer Magazine is probably the best digital photography magazine that you can subscribe to. This magazine comes out every other month, and a yearly subscription is only $9.95! This is a great deal for all of the information and ideas that are included in this magazine! The issues of this magazine contain especially lengthy and detailed consumer reviews, so that you can know about what the great new digital photography products are! In addition, there is a review of hardware section in this magazine, so you can learn more about the different kinds of digital photography printers that are available. There are also columns which focus on new Digicams, and also galleries which show the photographs of the readers. Different feature articles and columns also give how-to information, so that you can improve your digital photography skills! Another great thing about this digital photography magazine is that they accept editorial submissions - if you have something to share that you think the rest of the digital photography world would like to know, you can submit an editorial to this magazine! Details about submitting an editorial are found online or in the actual magazine. The only downside to this magazine is that they don't have a strong online presence or website - there isn't the option to read additional articles or have a forum discussion with other photographers here, like there is with PC Photo Magazine. However, all in all, if you are interested in finding an informative and top-notch digital photography magazine that can arrive in your mail box, this is another one of the best options that you can subscribe to!

What is PSTN and what is its relationship to VoIP?

PSTN or public switched telephone network is the traditional way of communicating over the telephone line. VoIP is the new technology used to communicate over the Internet, similarly to the PSTN or traditional telephone service.

PSTN is a circuit switched communication technology where VoIP is a packet switched technology. PSTN calls use their own dedicated lane on the communication highway, and the VoIP calls share a lane of sorts with other traffic.

]]> For a clear understanding of the differences in the traditional PSTN analog phone service and the VoIP or digital phone service it is a good idea to understand where each of these services have come from and what they have evolved to.

The basics of the PSTN are that when a person picks up their phone to make a phone call, they dial in a number. This number then through a series of circuit switches connects to the receiving end of the call.

In the 1870s, two inventors designed devices that would transmit voice through electronics. The telephone was a direct result of the attempt to improve the telegraph machine.

From that beginning, the telephone or PSTN system has grown from the basic circuit switching and direct lines with limited use, to worldwide communication, clarity and additional features. These features are long distance, international calls, call forwarding, caller ID, three way calling and much more.

In 1955, there was an idea to use computers to computers to communicate. This idea has grown and in the 1990s, a full growth in the process of using the Internet to communicate occurred.

The simple process of what started out as a person using one computer to talk to another person on another computer grew dramatically through out the world. The first steps had its limitations that of both parties needing a computer, Internet connection and the same software. In addition, both parties had to have the software running at the same time.

This use of the Internet to communicate also had many cons. The call quality was less, the calls were lost, and there were limitations to what a caller could do.

Now, however with the current technology, these calls can be made through a regular phone, using a broadband Internet connection and you do not need a computer what so ever. These calls are clear, convenient and reliable. Some say more reliable than the traditional PSTN phone systems.

In comparison with the two-telephone communication, systems the most noticeable difference it the cost. Traditional PSTN phone companies typically charge for long distance, international calls, and additional services, like call waiting, call forwarding, three way calling, caller ID, voice mail and more.

With the VoIP or voice over Internet protocol services, these services are often free or cost significantly less. This is due to using an existing line you already have open for the Internet.

Roughly, the cost for VoIP over the traditional telephone is around 40% of the original cost. Here are some comparisons to keep in mind.

Traditional telephone pricing range around $55.00 per month plus an additional charge of around $18.00 for additional services. This is a total of about $73.00 per month. The cost of the VoIP service is roughly $25.00 per month and that includes the additional service.

Traditional phone systems charge for long distance, and international calls. With VoIP communication systems, there is often no charge for long distance and a minimal charge for international calls.

Both of these communication services are great. They have their benefits and qualities. However, many find the cost effectiveness of the VoIP communication service is much better for those that make many long distance phone calls. The overall savings appears to be a great benefit. This is more appealing, especially now that the VoIP services are more reliable and more available in the growing areas around the world.

What is latency, how serious is it and how do I get rid of it?

Latency is the amount of time it takes for a packet of data to go from the starting location to the final location. Together the amount of latency and bandwidth dictate the quality, speed and capacity of a network.

Once latency or a delay is present, it cannot be optimized. This means that the cause of the latency will have to be removed before the network can work at the optimal performance.

]]> The delay or latency we are talking about is measured in nanoseconds. These nanoseconds are measured so to know the difference in the time of the request and the completion.

Therefore, you would need to use an internal device rather than an external device to remove the problematic latency caused by the serial port. To maximize your throughput, you will want to use the highest amount of bandwidth you can get.

Latency is often referred to as wasted time. With many of the objectives we do that require bandwidth, speed, clarity etc in a network latency is a proven hassle. Therefore, it is important to remove as much latency as possible.

The delay in the packets sent in VoIP is going to affect the overall sound and call quality. This is important because the way you sound and the call stability is a factor in communication that needs to be the highest quality.

Have you ever had a slow computer that when you play a game or watch a video it is choppy, therefore it is hard to pay attention, get the point of the program or down right so frustrating you give up? Well with the higher levels of latency in a network, it can be like this. Severe latency can also sound much like a skipping CD or record.

Maybe on a very light end of it, because there are services and technologies now that remove the latency in the packets travel time, but originally, when the technology was new this was a problem.

The users usually really begin noticing latency as a service level issue when the completed roundtrip latency is greater than 250 milliseconds (ms). The ITU or International Telecommunications Union usually recommends that the delay or latency never exceed 150 ms one way (from speaker to listener).

In considering that an analog call is the benchmark by which VoIP is graded, 75 Ms of latency is acceptable. Most VoIP researchers are those who consider VoIP to be a toll by-pass or a alternative application that allows for a certain amount of reduced quality to achieve a higher amount of costs savings or more quality features set. Given the trade off, an acceptable conversation for business grade communication can be achieved in the 60 to 80 Ms range.
In order to effectively control latency, administrators or the technician who hook up your network or internet should focus on reducing delay at the network endpoint and therefore prioritizing traffic over the network. Optimization of packet size are good first steps to improving service quality at the endpoint. Endpoint delays are usually reduced by adhering to a standard packet size, using the G.711 codec, and avoiding asynchronous trans-coding.
Prioritizing VoIP traffic over the network at the working Layers 2 and 3 also help to yield latency improvements. Policy based network management, that much like the appropriate use of bandwidth, bandwidth reservation that like allotted badwidth per users, the correct Type of Service, Class of Service, and Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) are all widely used techniques for prioritizing VoIP.
In summation it is important to clear up as much latency as possible. The best ways to fix this is to consider the traffic going through the network. It is also important to have enough bandwidth to cover the uses you want for your internet and telephone services.

What is jitter, how serious is it and how can I get rid of it?

Jitter is the term used to explain the measure of the variable over time of the latency that appears across a network. In order to have good quality voice and video you must get rid of as much of the jitter as possible.

Jitter is caused by transit delay, which is caused by cueing, contention, and serialization effects. These issues take place on the pathway of the network that transfers the data from the beginning point to the destination point.

]]> Jitter is more likely to come about when there is a slow or heavily congested link. This congestion is the cause of bottlenecking in the highway for the data packet's movement.

With VoIP when the timing variations happen the impact of the delay will come across in the sound quality. Therefore, the goal is to have as little jitter in the set up or your service and network as possible.

If you think about the jitter as a road block in the process of the data from getting from the staring location to the final location you can see the importance of removing as many of these jitter blocks as possible.

Jitter much like that of latency is a problem that originally caused some hesitation in the use of VoIP. However, with the technologies available today, the quality of sound through the process of minimizing jitter is great.

In order to remove or minimize jitter, allocation of the right amount of bandwidth and network usage is important. You can optimize the use of jitter buffering and packet size by implementing the use of the G711 codec in addition to avoiding asynchronous transcoding.

With the technology of the of "QoS" control mechanisms such as class based queuing, bandwidth reservation and of higher speed links such as 100 Mbit Ethernet, E3/T3 and SDH will reduce the incidence of jitter related problems to come at some point in the future, however jitter will remain a problem for some time.

Therefore prioritizing the VoIP traffic over the designated network layers 2 and 3 will make it so that there is a significant improvement in both jitter and latency.

Access paths that are congested will cause problems with jitter in your VoIP communications. There are IP service providers that will route routine traffic over a multiple internal route in their network; this is in order to provide a higher level of resilience. However, this can introduce a jitter result.

There have been many different approaches used to measure jitter. How ever at this time there does not appear to be a good representation of the jitter process.

There are jitter buffers that are designed to remover the residual effects of jitter in a network. The way this works is that the buffer will buff each arriving packet, this is for a very short time before creating the sound we hear.

A fixed jitter buffer maintains a constant size whereas an adaptive jitter buffer has the capability of adjusting its size dynamically in order to optimize the delay/discard tradeoff

Whether a fixed or an adaptive buffer is used, they are both capable of automatically adjusting the changes in delay.

Through most of the VoIP providers with today's technology the IP Telephony, devices use end-points or gateways that will take out the jitter caused by IP networks.

This de-jitter function is configurable to fit your networking needs. Someone listening to the voice quality of calls now made with VoIP would never know that at one point jitter was a real problem. With the right amount of bandwidth and a good buffer, jitter is almost a thing of the past.

What is IP telephony?

IP telephony is used interchangeably with VoIP. It is the process of transferring voice, or video into packets of data and transferring those packets over the Internet.

IP phones are specialized phones that look entirely like a normal phone. However instead of using the regular RJ-11 phone connector, it uses a RJ-45 Ethernet connector. These phones connect right into your router. WiFi phones allow subscribers to be able to make VoIP calls from and WiFi zone.

]]> The use of IP telephony is that like VoIP. The process uses the Internet to transfer voice into data and data to other phones, all across the worldwide networks,

This technology allows data to be processed using an IP network. By taking the voice data and flowing it over the general-purpose packet switched network, which instead of the traditional telephone circuit switched voice transmittal systems.

Traditional telephony works with circuit switching. This is the basic process.

You pick up your phone
Listen for a dial tone
Dial the number
A connection is made from your phone to the phone you are calling
This is using several connection switches along the way
The connection opens the circuit
You talk
When you hang up the circuit is closed

Now with current technology for traditional telephone service, your voice is more digitized and is sent over a fiber optic line.

A data network does not use any type of circuit switching. This process would then make your Internet slowing and that would defeat the purpose of the benefit of IP telephony or VoIP.

Instead, the information is sent in packets over a dedicated line. These data packets will flow over what is called a packet switching. Packet switching is the process of sending the data through a chaotic network of many possible paths, from one computer system to another.

IP Telephony works with these steps.

Your computer sends the data transferred from voice or video to another computer.
Inside each of these packet types is a certain amount of information. This is a form of condensed information that needed to be sent. This process is very fast.
The sending computer, your computer sends the information to a nearby router.
That router then sends the packets of information to another router. Each of these steps has security and encryptions involved in order to provide privacy to each phone call.
When the receive computer gets the information through the packets, it decompresses the information and makes is sound just like it was sounding originally.

This process of packet switching is the most cost effective, way of using the least amount of congested lines to get the information from the sender to the receiver.

There are many benefits to the use of IP telephony. The providers are often able to offer a less expensive price to the services they have, phone lines, caller ID, voice mail, call forwarding, 3-way calling etc.

There is also a significant savings on international calls. This is because there is not connection charge or additional taxes.

The only areas of disadvantage to using the IP telephony or VoIP are that there are times when you would need to reset the router. This simple process takes only a few seconds. This rarely happens, maybe once or twice in a six-month period.

All and all, IP telephony currently is as reliable and carries the high quality of the traditional phone lines at a much less cost.

What is DID and how does it work?

DID or direct inward dialing is the set up that works with a companies PBX Private Branch Exchange system. This system allows a phone in a group of phones to have its own extension and allows for direct calls to that line.

DID works like this, each phone in the PBX system may be assigned a seven-digit telephone number, and this will include a four or five digit extension number.

]]> Instead of a phone call coming into one of many different phones, that much like a call center who has several phones set up with agents to take the calls. Then a call comes in to one of those phones that will then be answered randomly. The DID is a phone that is set up specifically to receive phone calls through a specific number.

This system was developed in order to be able to assign certain employees a direct line number, without requiring multiple phone lines. This is the way telephony traffic is more efficiently managed and delegated.

In order to have an active DID, it is required that you have certain equipment in place. This equipment is an ISDN or digital line. A range of numbers you can use, these are obtained through the telephone company. Finally you need DID capable equipment at your premises which consists of BRI, E1, or T1 cards or Gateways.

You can also use this type of system for a fax server. This would be instead of using the place at the end of the 234 000 line, fax modem cards, and computers with fax server software, then use the last three digits of a number to recognize the faxes recipient.

This allows multiple users to have their own fax numbers, even in the case of only one single fax machine.

The DID makes use of DID trunks. With which forward only the last three to five digits, of the phone number to the PBX, or to the router gateway.

For example:

Gas Enhance Inc. has phone numbers listed in the number ranges of 456-1000 to 456-1900. The caller into the business calls the number 456-1354. The local central office will then send the call to 354, to the PBX or the packet voice system.

The packet voice system or the PBX would then ring the extension line of 354. Using this process will make it possible to get the call through to the correct recipient.

In short, many companies ask their phone service company to allot them an area code, a three-digit prefix and a group of numbers that is specifically contacted with the said company. They will then set up this form of network using their PBX phone system to that outside callers can contact anyone in the company by dialing the unique designated phone number.

There is no limit on how many or few numbers a company is designated in the DID process. This means that a small company in addition to a large company can utilize this technology and convenience.

This also means that anyone inside of the company can dial another person in the company without having to dial the entire phone number, they only dial the extension number at the end of the seven digits. This is the four-digit number at the end.

The benefit of this DID or Direct Inward Dialing is that any person can call the extension, or phone number in order to connect to the recipient without having to go through switchboards and operators.

Therefore, this process looks more professional, is more convenient and makes better use of the telephony processes used.

What is a branded VoIP reseller?

Branded VoIP resellers are the companies that sale the service, equipment and support for specific VoIP products. These people have made the time and financial investment to resell the products and services for VoIP using their name, products, and pricing.

Internet telephony is a huge field that is growing all the time. This lucrative opportunity has caught the eye of many investors. That is why now you see so many more names out there instead of just Vonage and AT&T.

]]> There is a significant investment required by these entrepreneurs. There are larger companies that let the little guys come in with not as much of an investment other than their own time and energy to build their own company. They do this by using the larger companies equipment and reselling it as their own. This is after they brand it and label it to fit their company.

As a reseller, these people will pay a discounted rate for equipment, and pay the standard calling rates, either resell or wholesale and some per minute fee. They then charge the amount to their customers that they see fit. This is usually regulated by the competition. Mostly due the fact that right now there are not any regulations from the FCC.

There are many sites on the Internet that a person can go to contact these larger sellers and look into opening their own business. There are risk factors involved, however in business there is always a risk involved.

The benefits of being a VoIP reseller is:

Minimum capital
Real time billing
High quality
Right service at the right price
Constant upgrades
Multiple business models
Flexible rating
Pre-paid and Post-paid services
Account management
Web based support services

The products and services that are usually offered through the VoIP resellers are:

Voice Interoperability
Call Shop Solutions
Hosted VoIP Solutions
IP PBX Support
Unified Messaging

The branded VoIP resellers are the alternative to the traditional PSTN services. The VoIP resellers can range in size from small companies to large companies. This branch of communication services is growing at a rapid pace due to the lower cost of a more secure and convenient technology for communications.

There are companies that are offering resell programs that vary with some offering full websites and others just offering access to their back office. In essence, the resellers buy wholesale VoIP airtime and resell it under their own brand name with own markups. In many cases, this is an easy way to enter the booming VoIP market. The responsibility of issues and repairs are through the reseller.

The packages include:

A Generic dialer
Web site
CDR page
Domain registration
Hosting space
E-commerce module integration
Unlimited agent accounts
Unlimited accounts (end user pins)
Customizable plans and tariffs

These packages are aggressively designed to help the new companies get off the ground. They are set up to meet the needs of the resellers. This way the resellers can make money and get the product out to the public.

The most basic of all packages are targeted to the retail stores. Those stores that will be selling the VoIP equipment and service, but not providing the support to the customers on an ongoing basis.

When looking into being a branded VoIP reseller, or going with the purchase of a reseller instead of a more established company, it is always a good idea to do your homework. Check out the equipment they will be offering. What support options are available? Whom are they affiliated with? What guarantee is offered? What are the installation and running period and issues?

There are many benefits to the branded reseller; there is money to be made and money to be saved. However, as with any new business there will be flaws at first.

What companies are the major suppliers of VoIP?

The top major suppliers of VoIP are in a constant struggle to get your business. What are the major VoIP suppliers and what do they have to offer?

Here is a list of the companies that are currently the major suppliers of VoIP services. You can also see what they have to offer you for the best VoIP service to meet your communication needs.

]]> Vonage
Price is from- $14.95-$24.95
Plans and features- First month free, free calls to Europe, 50% overall savings on calling packages
Offers- Free month, great quality

ViaTalk
Price is from- $9.95 to $22.95
Plans and features- $199 for two years, No equipment fees, Unlimited calls in US and Canada
Offers- Lowest annual rate, free equipment, money back guarantee, great for business needs

ITP
Price is from- $9.99 to $19.99
Plans and features- free month, free equipment, free toll free number
Offers- Unlimited international plans, free adapter, free first month free

Joi Phone
Price is from- $6.95
Plans and features- $6.95/monthly fee with any area code, LD international 911 and 411 calls, voice mail, caller ID, call waiting

Sun Rocket
Price is from- $9.95-$16.58
Plans and features- Unlimited calling in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico, all taxes and fees included, 30 day money back guarantee, free uniden phone
Offers- All inclusive plans

Blue Sky
Price is from- $19.95-$23.95
Plans and features- First month free, Savings of up to 70% off traditional phones, great international rates.
Offers- Great international rates

Packet 8
Prices from- $19.95-$39.95
Plans and features-Free activation, videophones, virtual office
Offers- free activation, high quality

Many of these companies offer similar products, service and options to meet your communication needs. Those services are customer-designed packages. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week support. Some of the best and most updated equipment and at many times this equipment is at no cost with the sign up of the service.

With the exponential growth that is expected to happen with the VoIP service providers, it is important to do your homework when choosing the right service for you. There are many options available. You can search the web, call the companies and ask the right questions.

Here are a few questions you can ask when you are calling and looking into your different VoIP options.

Is there a contact for the sign up of the VoIP service with their company?
What are the set up and start up costs that are involved if you sign up with their company?
Are there any additional day-to-day costs that are not included in the plans available through their company?
What faxing options are available with the equipment and service option packages they have to offer you?
Will you need to worry about add-ons, additional equipment, or any other needs other than what the company will provide and what you already have?
How will their system work with wireless, remote, or the broadband connection you have?
Is there any kind of guarantee for their service, their equipment and the set up and the quality of calls you will be getting?
If there is a need for an upgrade, are there any complications, penalties or problems that you should now be aware of?
What process do they have to handle 911 emergency calls?
What kind of stability does the company offer as far as their lifetime of the company?

Keeping this in mind, you are now equipped to research the major suppliers of the VoIP services and find out what will work best for your communication needs. There are many options available; finding the one for you does not need to be a hassle.

What are the problems with VoIP and how serious are they?

VoIP has evolved as with any other technical break through. Originally there were some problems with VoIP, however with the technology today these problems are minimal if any and definitely not serious.

The transfer of voice traffic over packet networks, and especially voice over IP, is rapidly gaining acceptance. This growth is predicted to continue in rapid leaps over then next three years.

]]> However there was a bit of hesitation in the market when the growing pains were affecting the overall call qualities and service performance.

In the beginning the VoIP, process had many hiccups. That like the voice mail would not work correctly, the call quality was choppy, and the call reliability was less than perfect as calls could be lost.

Another problem was with the fact that in order to use VoIP you had to have your computer on and the person you were talking to have the same software running as you did.

In addition, there were issues with power outages. When a 911 call was put through, the emergency services had difficulties in locating the recipient in the case of an emergency.

Now however with the improved technology of the hybrids in VoIP and the standard computer-to-computer VoIP systems these problems are outdated.

The service providers of VoIP resolve most if not all of these problems. Here is the list of some of the problems that have occurred and the solutions that have taken affect to create a more stable and consistent phone service.

Call and Service quality

With fair concern, the quality of calls as the voice was transferred, compressed, decompressed and then delivered may have been less than perfect. Now however, the technology that tells us that the network latency effects how much time a voice packet spends in the network, jitter controls the regularity in which voice packets arrive.

Most of the time, a voice source will generate voice packets at a constant rate. The matching voice decompression algorithm determines what to expect with the incoming voice packets that arrive at a constant rate.

However, this packet-by-packet delay may cause a conflict in the network and may be different for each packet. The result is then that the packets that are sent in equal spacing from the left gateway arrive with irregular spacing at the right gateway.

Therefore, with this idea in mind we know that the receiving decompression algorithm requires fixed spacing between the packets, the typical solution is to implement a jitter buffer within the gateway.

This jitter buffer deliberately delays incoming packets, pacing them in order to present them to the decompression algorithm at fixed spacing. The jitter buffer will also fix any errors that are out-of-order, by looking at the sequence number in the RTP frames.

Power Outages

At the beginning, the VoIP services were directly a result of you needing to have your computer on, the software running, and the person you are communicating with needed to have the same.

Now, there is only a need for a broadband connection and either a VoIP phone, or the adapter and a regular phone.

When the power goes out, there is still the factor that the router will lose the power to it. So the solution is simple, either you or your VoIP provider will need to hook up a back up battery source. This usually lasts for 24 hours and will make it so you will not have to do any type of resetting when the power is reinstated.

Emergency calls

With the emergency 911 call issues, most of the VoIP providers now have resolved this issue with providing 911 services specifically. The only real reason this issue was there, is that there were a few mobile Internet connections that were being used for VoIP, therefore the location was harder to track.

With the standard connection through DSL and cable, this was not an issue. The best way to know what your provider has done where this concern is involved, the best thing is to ask them

With better programming, the right equipment and have already gone through most of the growing pains as I have said the current VoIP services have little to no problems and is definitely an option that can save money on your regular monthly bill and all your long distance and international calling.

Is it possible to get free VoIP?

Getting free VoIP is simple and fast as long as you have a computer, a broadband Internet connection, a microphone and a headset.

There are a few services that at no cost you can use to make free computer-to-computer calls. However, if you want the hybrid VoIP service that makes calls with a phone to a phone, you will need to purchase the equipment and the service.

]]> The reason you can call from pc-to-pc but not from phone-to-phone or phone to pc without a charge is that someone needs to pay the infrastructure to connect the Internet to the telephone system. There is also a charge for the time used on the telephone system.

For the basic pc-to-pc calls, you can simply go to one of the web sites for the VoIP services and download the most current software.

You can choose from many VoIP software options out there. There are a few of the choices you can look into.

Skype
Yahoo Voice
Google Talk
Betamax Gmbh
Webcalldirect
Sipdiscount
Voipcheep.co.uk
Wengo
Live Messenger
Parlino
Jajah
Gizmo

There are minimal requirements that most computers have already equipped.

A computer, minimum requirements; 300 MHz processor, 128MB RAM and a soundcard
An Internet connection, preferably a broadband connection
A headphone or speakers
A microphone
Another possibility is to buy a headset where a microphone is integrated into the headset.
A VoIP software program

You need some type of broadband Internet connection. The best type of connection is high-speed connections, which are like DSL or Cable. You can use a dial up connection or a wireless connection, however the quality of calls may not be as high quality.

Most of the VoIP software you can get will work fine with the operating system you have. The operating systems that are commonly used would be Windows, Linux etc. Some of the VoIP software programs out there require Direct X, however this is easily downloadable.

Other than the items that you probably already have, you should be able to hook up to the VoIP program of your choice free.

The main thing to remember when you are thinking about the quality of call you are wanting to be able to make through VoIP online calling is the quality of software you will be using, the quality of computer you are using and the quality and speed on broadband internet you are using.

If you want to go from the basic VoIP service for a small fee, you can add voicemail. There are also ways that for a small price you can take the VoIP Internet pc-to-pc calling and progressing to a phone-to-phone or pc-to-phone calling service.

Many of the free VoIP services that you download also offer conference calling, chatting, file sharing, picture transfers, games and many other great benefits at no cost.

With all this in mind keep in mind, that you do get what you pay for. The software that you can use to talk from computer to computer is free in many cases, however if you want to talk over the internet to a phone on a phone to phone, you do need to pay a usually small and set fee.

However, with the technologies growing so much over the last few years, there is always a great chance that the communication options will grow with this technology. So use what you can free, pay what you have to for what you cannot get free and wait until you can get what you want at the right price in the future.

How reliable is VoIP service?

As you are deciding about transferring your communication services from the traditional phone to a VoIP service phone, you might wonder how reliable this service is?

Communication is one of the most important functions in society today. Everything we do is centered on our communication process. From home phones, cell phones, email, chat programs, text messaging and every other way we communicate.

]]> Therefore, the reliability of those communication systems is a very high priority to most consumers. This reliability in communication is the backbone of our everyday living.

With traditional phone services, we had the convenience of the majority of the bugs and changes already worked through. With VoIP communications being a young and new technology it still has gone through many of the stumbles that the traditional phone service went through many years ago.

However, those inconsistencies, and unreliable issues are a thing of the past. For the most part the VoIP communication services are reliable, have high quality and provide a valuable service to us at a more than fair price.

The first issues that came about with VoIP service was that it was limited. This limit consisted of both people on the call had to use an Internet connection, a computer, a headset, and microphone and finally the same software. These programs were like Skype, yahoo, and Ventrillo.

As time went by, the VoIP hybrid services like Vonage, AT&T and many others like them came about. With these services there was the choice to use a VoIP phone to use the internet to call or you could use a standard telephone and then use an ATA adapter to go between the standard phone and the internet.

A common set of issues when the VoIP hybrid services came about was the fact that depending on the broadband connection used, the calls could be choppy, have jitters, packet issues and latency issues.

These latency issues would cause the calls to have gaps in the communication. The jitter issues would have the calls sounding like there were skips on a record, and packet issues would leave parts of the conversations out or echoes would occur.

There were also problems with the emergency number 911 calls and that they were not being routed correctly. Which appeared to be mostly due to the wireless connections?

Calls were being dropped, lost or just did not have the quality of sound that the traditional phone services do.

Therefore, even though there was savings that occurred with going with a VoIP communication service, the first few years of this service had people asking if the savings was worth the hassle.

With each of these issues, the VoIP service providers found technical solutions to help provide a more secure and reliable calling service for us today.

Many of the solutions that have been implemented in order to improve the reliability of the VoIP services are:

Adding buffers for the jitter problems.
Created better adapters for the transferring of voice to data and data to voice
Designed software to correct the connection problems for the emergency 911 calls with the E911 service
There has now been created echo cancellers to correct the echo issues
VoIP Gateways to handle the delays

However, the issues are nothing compared with the growth and reliability of the current and future services that will be available by using VoIP. All the types of communication tools over the years have had their issues. It used to be that you had to talk louder on a long distance call. Alternatively, the cell phone and cordless phones we used had to be as big as it was heavy. Technology always is progressing and the VoIP communication services are evolving faster than most.

The reliability with VoIP is consistent and great for home, office, long distance, faxing and international calling. These services are available with not only a stronger than ever consistency, but also at a better price. What a deal!

How does voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) work?

VoIP is a great new way to communicate, but how does voice over Internet protocol work?

There has been a great deal of work, time and effort, which has gone into the overall steps of VoIP creation. This process is anything but simple. However here is a general run down in order to give an idea of how this technological break through came about and how it works.

]]> Using a computer, the sounds from our voice are recorded as sorts by a computer. These sounds are then turned into data. Now of course this is at a very high speed, which is about 8000 times faster than normal. In addition, a compressing process makes that data down to be a smaller amount of information. This is all without removing any of the quality of the sound.

In order to compress these sounds the algorithm, which I am referring to is a CODEC. Many CODEC are best used for compressing voices. This process significantly reduces the bandwidth used in comparison to a normal uncompressed voice stream.

Once the sound has been recorded and compressed, this compressed data is collected into larger amounts of information. This information is then transferred over the IP network.

In this packet, there will be 10 or more milliseconds of audio however with a good set up 20-30 milliseconds are more common.

This process is similar in a sense to sending a very long text message. The text process allows so many digits to be entered. However, the message you are trying to get across is much longer than one text, therefore, you have to type several messages to get the point across, so you have to send several text messages.

Therefore, you can think of data packets as a series of text messages that are compressed together and comes across in one long message.

Much like text messages, a few packets of sound may get lost in the process. The way the CODEC will compensate this, is to fill in the blank areas with sounds that are acceptable for our hearing.

There can also be times that the sounds are delayed in the conversation. This is due to the packets being delayed in the transformation from sound to data. This has been a bit of a problem, however with the growing technologies, this will soon be a hiccup in the past.
The video process is similar to the sound process. It is taking the pictures, turning it into data, then compressing it and sending it in the packets.

There is much more to the process of VoIP, however, this is a basic explanation. It is not just simply the sending of audio and video packets over the Internet. There must also be a protocol agreement between the two computers. This is how they find each other and transfer the information back and forth.

There are a large number of devices that can be used to implement VoIP. Therefore, before the audio or video can be sent over the Internet, between the two computers, a certain protocol must be established to find the remote device.

There was a fear of privacy invasion with the use of VoIP. In order to address the security concerns of the public the RTP was designed with encryption, authentication, and integrity, to prevent the invasion of privacy from happening.

If you are not sure about VoIP and how it will work for your communication needs, keep in mind, you may already be using VoIP on your long distance calling. The process is painless, and can be a very cost effective move. This being that most of the time, you will not pay for the extra services like caller ID, call waiting, Voice messaging and long distance.

How does Internet telephony work?

Internet telephony for all common purposes works the same as a traditional phone line, where making a phone call is concerned. However the set up and connection process is just a little different.

Just like that as the traditional telephone, Internet telephony allows real-time two-way communication to occur over the Internet.

]]> The idea behind Internet telephony is that by logging onto a computer and putting in a IP address you can call anywhere. The same idea occurs using the IP hybrid. This form of Internet telephony or VoIP makes it possible to call any where in the world by simply taking the voice or video input and transferring that into data packets and then sending those packets to another computer.

Internet telephony works by taking the voice sounds digitizing it and transmitting it over the internet. This is different from the traditional phone service that used a series of switches over a telephone network to send the audio signal.

The Internet telephony process can send approximately 3000 bps or bits per second with an average 28.8 bps model modem. However the faster the connection, the better voice quality will be. It is recommended to use a DSL or Cable connection for the highest quality possible.

The sound or video is compressed so that more can be sent in less space on the Internet, then when this information gets to the receiving end, the information is decompressed. This process uses a TCP/IP protocol.

There are three ways of Internet telephony.

Phone to phone- this is the process that involves a telephone to another telephone routed over the Internet.
PC to phone- these are calls that go from a computer to a phone.
PC to PC- these calls are from computer to computer.

Here is how each of these types of Internet telephony work.

Phone to phone

Place a call from a regular phone
The sound is compressed into data
The compressed packets are sent over the Internet
Packets arrive to the other computer
The call is then decompressed back to sound.

PC to Phone

The PC gets the voice and compresses the information
The compressed packets are sent over the Internet
The other computer receives the packets
The packets are received and decompressed to voice

PC to PC

Both users use specific software to communicate to each other
Download needed software
Connect to the software
Use the data voice to communicate through the software

Each of these systems has their benefits. However, with Internet telephony growing so rapidly there will be many more benefits as time goes on.

An Internet telephony service provider is just that. They are a company that provides the Internet telephony service.

The same as you have to register to use the Internet; you need to register through a participating Internet telephony service provider.

These companies make the process of Internet gateways a practical and convenient way to use this new technology at a good price.

They offer the options of the traditional phone services, like call waiting, call forwarding, voice mail, caller ID etc, but at a fraction of the cost of traditional telephone services.

With this new technology growing, it is a great time to get in and ride the Internet communication train. This is a great way to communicate worldwide at great prices. Communication has never seen a better time. Friends and family have the ability to communicate at a fraction of the normal international and long distance rates. Not only the savings as a benefit, but the simplicity is better than ever.

How can I know if VoIP is right for my business?

With the new technologies of VoIP, there have been questions of reliability and consistency in service. However, the new growth, the savings and services, may make VoIP the right choice for communication and faxing needs in your business.

From the VoIP that was the newest technology, however exciting and unstable, this service has grown to be one of the most reliable, clear and cost effective choices in business.

]]> The main thing to look at when you are thinking about switching from the traditional phone service to the VoIP service is to ask questions. You can ask many questions to the providers of the VoIP services in your area.

Here are some examples of questions that may help you in your decision in switching to a VoIP service.

What will you need to set up the VoIP system?
What type of network assessment will need to be done?
Is your network sufficient to have a smooth flow of voice traffic for your communication needs?
Will the quality of calls through the VoIP service be comparable to traditional telephone services?
Do you have the right cat 5 or cat 6 cabling necessary for good quality?
Do you have hubs or switches?
Will the firewall you use prohibit successful use of a VoIP system?
Will the ports in your firewall permit the two most common protocols needed for VoIP, SIP and MGCP?
What will be the best flow plan for the routing of calls in your business?
Can your company still us DID and extensions with VoIP?
How long would the installation take and will there be down time in your business?
What is the cost difference?
Will the savings in long distance and international calls, in addition to the savings on faxes be enough to warrant the change in service?
Will there be back up batteries in place in the instance of a power outage?
Will there be a contractual time and contract in place for the service switching?

A good provider will be able to walk you though these questions successfully and clear any concerns you may have. Most of the time they will set up and have all this running without you even know what they are working on.

You will also want to consider many areas when you think about the benefits of the change to VoIP that will happen for your company.

Because of the IP of the VoIP service, there are many services available to your businesses that are not available with traditional phone lines. The benefits are the use of telecommuting, auto attendant, four-digit dialing between offices, remote office support, dial-by-name directories and more.

For those employees and owners that do a great deal of traveling, they can make phone calls and check voicemail wherever there is a broadband connection available.

There are also cost savings to be gained by integrating voice and data, eliminating the need for two separate networks in an office. There are also faxing abilities and a continued growth in the fax efficiency of this technology.

Redundant network connections available with VoIP enable business continuity, allowing operations to continue in the event of natural disasters, power outages, or other disruptions.

There is also same rate for calling and Internet usage charges, which helps lower monthly expenditures and makes them more predictable. Therefore, this set rate will be part in creating an easier equation for the company to budget.

With all the options, benefits and factors in mind. You now have the ability to make a smart business decision that will work for your company. Large or small a business will have benefits with trying out this technology.

Do the people on the other end of the call have to have the Internet in order for me to be able to use VoIP?

With the three different ways available to call through the VoIP service, in most cases the person you are calling does not need to have the Internet.

Traditionally, the use of VoIP or voice over Internet protocol communication required that both the person calling and the person receiving the call have a computer, a broadband Internet connection, and the same software running.

]]> With the hybrid of VoIP, there are several options of communication packages. These packages do not require the other person to have an Internet connection. However, it is required that you, the person who is using the VoIP communication to have a broadband Internet connection.

Here are the different types of VoIP communication technologies.

Computer to computer- this is where both parties are on the computer, on the Internet and using the same software to communicate with a headset and soft phone, or microphone.

Phone to computer- or vice versa, this does require the person on the computer to have the Internet, software, and a computer with microphone and headset.

Phone to phone- this is where a regular analog phone is connected through an adapter to the broadband Internet or a phone that is specifically designed to use a VoIP connection through the Internet to make phone calls.

A broadband or VoIP phone is like a regular phone except it uses high-speed internet to make calls at a fraction of the cost or for free.

This hybrid VoIP of phone-to-phone connection and computer to phone connection does not need the receiving person to have the Internet. However, the first steps in the progress of Internet phone calling did require that both of the communicators have the Internet.

The services that still need the Internet is those like; Skype, Yahoo voice, MSN voice Ventrillo etc.

This is how the process of VoIP works and how it can take the digital call and turn it into a call that can be heard on a regular phone.

Using an ATA, adaptor or analog telephone adaptor the connection is made from a standard phone to your computer, or your broadband Internet connection. The ATA is an analog to digital converter.

This converter takes the voice signal and turns that into a digital data signal that is then compressed and sent along the Internet highway. Then when this data gets to the location it has headed for, it is uncompressed and then turned back into a voice signal. All of this is done with no sound variation and is as clear and reliable as the traditional telephone system.

The providers like: AT&T, Vonage, Sun Rocket, Via Talk, VoIP Your Life, Cordia and others usually will provide this adaptor at no cost when you get their service. Simply this adapter is plugged in where the cable from your phone would go. There may be other software or hardware, that your provider may use, but they all do just about the same thing.

In comparing the different options and prices that are involved with these options, the main thing is that with the new reliability and quality of VoIP services, they are a fantastic choice to making phone calls.

This includes regular calling, long distance calling and international calling. Even if the people you call, do not have VoIP or the Internet that will not stop you from saving money when you call them.