"Government is an unnecessary evil. Human beings, when accustomed to taking responsibility for their own behavior, can cooperate on a basis of mutual trust and helpfulness."
Business VOIP Business VOIP offers advantages over regular telephone service that allow business more freedom and savings than ever before. Today's technology driven society predicts that if you do not have business VOIP, you will soon. However, before you jump on the ... Unlimited Long Distance Calling with VoIP To compete with the growing VoIP internet phone service market, traditional land line companies are now adding unlimited long distance calling plans to their offerings. In my area, this service is being advertised for around $40 per month. If your long ... What Do I Need For VoIP? You can try out VoIP for free! All you need is a headset attached to the sound card of your computer. Next, download one of the many VoIP software packages. Skype, Gizmo, Free World Dialup, and Net2Phone are some of the big names. With the software ...
A Brief Intro To VoIP
VoIP was originally developed to provide voice communication between computer users in different locations. Although it still has this application, it has been further developed into a telephone network in its own right. People using VoIP can call any telephone anywhere in the world and can receive calls on telephone sets connected to the Internet or Local Area Network (LAN). Background It all started back in 1995 when Israeli computer enthusiasts made the first computer to computer voice connection. In the same year this technology was developed into a software package called Internet Phone Software. All that was needed to talk to another computer user was a modem, sound card, speakers, and a microphone. The software digitized and compressed the audio signal before sending it over the Internet in data packets. These voice connections could only occur between computers which had the software installed. The sound quality was very poor -- nowhere near the quality of standard telephone connections. The technology continued to be developed and by 1998 gateways had been established to allow PC-to-phone connections. Later that same year phone-to-phone connections that used the Internet for voice transmission were set in place. These phone-to-phone connections still required a computer to initiate the call, but once the connection was established, the callers could use a regular phone set. VoIP Today There are currently many VoIP services available for residential and commercial use. Some of these still rely on PC-to-PC connections but may offer other services such as PC-to-phone and phone-to-phone. Internet phones are available that plug into the sound card or USB port of a computer. These phones may have number pads and ringers that allow you to use them the same as traditional telephones. The computer can be bypassed completely by connecting a phone directly to a broadband modem (either DSL or cable). How Does It Work? The first step in using VoIP is converting your voice into digital data. This is done by 'sampling' your voice -- dividing the analog sound signal into discrete steps that can be assigned a number value. Once your voice is digitized, the data can be compressed. This compressed digital data is split up into 'packets' of about 1500 bytes that can be transferred over the Internet. As well as the voice data, the packets contain information about their origin, their destination, and a timestamp that allows them to be reconstructed in the correct order. Once they arrive at their destination, they are reassembled and converted from digital back into analog so that the receiving party can hear your voice. In order for voice data to be transmitted without noticeable delays, a broadband Internet connection is necessary. Many households and businesses are already using broadband (either DSL or cable) so adding VoIP is relatively simple. About the Author Mark is a technology consultant in the great Orlando area. His blog can be read online at http://www.voipblogonline.com.
