Internet Telephony Software Comparison Discussion

dips_007

has any one tried Voip Buster it allows you to call landline free.

andy88_2

dips_007, welcome

I think this thread originated before the Phones Board was split (and before I joined so I'm not sure). Nowadays, internet phone usage is on the Home Phones board.

There is a thread about voipbuster here
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=57882

There are several other threads you'll be interested in, all links detailed in this post by Edinburghlass, who is the Board Guide and tries to keep us in order (or our posts at least)
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=47695

Edinburghlass_2

You're right Andy, of course , I thought I had shifted this one as this thread is linked from the article on the Main Site and hence dips has come through from there.

Going to shift it across now to Home Phones and will link it up with the sticky (that no-one posts on )

To answer the question, I have used Skype, think its great but have only used for calling pc to pc so far and not sure if its worthwhile downloading other programmes.

albula

eagleowl wrote:

Hi
I have been using Skype on Windows 98 now for quite sometime for international calls and it works well - we don't seem to have any problems. We do however have a broadband connection.

Hope this helps

Regarding Skype, you state you are on Windows 98. On the Skype site it
states for Windows 2000 and for Macs 0SX. I want to call my family in
Switzerland. They have a Mac but 0S9 and I have a PC with Windows 98 second edition. Do you think this will work?
PS Switzerland is on ADSL and I too soon......

nibs82_uk

albula wrote:

Regarding Skype, you state you are on Windows 98. On the Skype site it
states for Windows 2000 and for Macs 0SX. I want to call my family in
Switzerland. They have a Mac but 0S9 and I have a PC with Windows 98 second edition. Do you think this will work?
PS Switzerland is on ADSL and I too soon......

Skype works on Windows XP and XP is based on the Windows 98 program. I do not know the ins and outs of programing but the 98 and XP are very similar. XP was based on the 98 program due to its high stability in running. So... It would make sense that Skype is somewhat backward compatible with 98 if it runs OK on XP.

As with the Mac stuff I have no idea. Sorry.

nibs82_uk

Hi there! Everything below is quoted from a technology magazine. I saw it and took heed! I'll leave it to you to read it and make your own mind up on the best VOIP program:

"Talk about buyers remorse. A tech CEO spends 2.6 billion dollars on a new toy, only to have a better one come along a few months later. Thats what happened to Meg Whitman of eBay, whose deal to acquire VOIP giant Skype comes as a competitive service called Gizmo Project is taking off.

Like Skype, Gizmo is a VOIP application that lets users talk to each other for free through their PC's and make calls to landlines for a small fee (both charge about 3pence a minute.) But the software is winning accolades - and users - with a host of innovative features, such as support of the open Session Initiation Protocol. SIP allows the service to connect with other VOIP and chat networks. From June to December 2005, Gizmo has attracted more then 250,000 users.

Gizmo is the brainchild of Michael Robertson, the entrepreneur behind the pioneering MP3.com (sold to Vivendi Universal for $385 million), the intriguing Badfruit (which Syncs iTunes to non-iPod MP3 players).

Robertson created Gizmo to encourage open standards in IP telephony. His goal: overtake the flush, proprietary Skype. "My hope is that with the world behind SIP, we will be able to out-engineer, out market, and out develop them." Says Robertson.

Because Gizmo supports Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), you can use it to talk with members of similarly enabled services, like iChat and Yahoo! Messenger. Skype's network however is proprietry and only makes free calls to other skype users and won't receive them from any.

Gizmo Project have 8 server farms worldwide to help route phone calls for Gizmo. Skype is strictly peer-to-peer service which relies solely on the user PC's resources. So even if you are logged on and not chatting then your resources are helping to run Skype. This bogs down your PC, making it slower.

Gizmo offers a world map that shows caller locations around the world. You can also have 99 member conference calls (Skype only allows 4!), and the ability to record calls directly to hard drive, (Ideal for those business calls)."


So there you have it. My only problem is to now get all my friends to change from Skype to Gizmo. Shouldn't be a problem though after they read the above!

future_252

We are looking to start using Pc to PC calls for our business - we regularly call South Korea, Indonesia, South Africa, all over Europe, Brazil etc and obviously our phone bills can be quite horrendous. Our sales manager regularly travels abroad with his laptop so wonder what we would need to do for him to be able to use this system on the move. We have no idea where to start with getting this up and running. Can anyone talk me through the basics of what is required i.e. equipment etc and details of signing up with Gizmo (if that is the best way forward). We are on broadband and our computers run on XP pro.

Any advice to this complete newcomer would be very welcome.

dinkie_2

Hi Future 252

I've only tried Skype, and it was great. Just go to http://www.skype.com/ ... there's a great introduction to it, plus the software you need to download. Then all you need is a headset, and you're off! I ran it without any problems at all on WinME and Broadband. Hope you enjoy using it; sure it'll save you a lot of money.

Best regards, Cat