[Year 12 IPM] I'm leaping into the VoIP

[Donna Benjamin]

VoIP and Skype are exciting technologies... but one little thing keeps
niggling at the back of my mind... Power.

When the electricity grid goes down the Plain Old Telephone System
(POTS) keeps working as it has its own power source on the line.

When the grid goes down, so too usually do the mobile phone towers.

Hrmmm.

I don't know if it's the apocalyptic images of post katrina new-orleans
making me think this way, but without electricity how are we going to
access the internet?

- Donna
(Hmmm - perhaps there's a nice lesson for IPM in here on business
continuity)

On Sat, 2005-09-24 at 20:25 +1000, Keith Richardson wrote:
> Skype is certainly worth a serious look too. It combines the advantages
> of telephones plus file transfer and immediate texting. It is free
> between fellow skype users and has charges to access the normal
> telephone network. I have been using it for a month or so. The sound
> quality is excellent.
> It simply uses your excisting broadband internet connection.
> Keith
> 
> 
> 
> On Mon, 19 Sep 2005 14:42:28 +1000, "Mark Kelly"
> <kel at mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au> said:
> > Dear all
> > 
> > I'm taking the plunge and cashing in my Optus home landline for a VoIP 
> > phone account.  (Since I have cable internet, I don't need to keep my 
> > existing landline as ADSL users have to do.)
> > 
> > I'm going for the ATA with DID - the ATA [Analogue Telephone Adaptor] is 
> > a $120 black box that connects my existing phone to my router and the 
> > internet.
> > 
> > The DID [Direct Inward Dial] is a virtual phone number that lets me call 
> > real [PSTN] phones anywhere in the world and receive calls from real 
> > phones from anywhere.
> > 
> > Alas, I can't keep my existing PSTN phone number  :-(
> > 
> > All calls [even STD] within Oz are 10c (untimed) and international calls 
> > are about 33% or less of Telstra/Optus.  Monthly subscription is $10 
> > (half of what Optus asks).
> > 
> > If you want a risk-free trial, you can get free VoIP using software and 
> > headset/mikes but you can only talk to other people using the same 
> > software if they're currently on the internet - you can't call normal 
> > phones or get called by them.
> > 
> > I'll let you know how it goes.
> > 
> > -- 
> > Mark Kelly
> > Actively on Holiday from being
> > Manager - Information Systems
> > McKinnon Secondary College
> > 
> > IPM Lecture notes: http://vceit.com
> > Moderator: IPM Mailing List
> > 
> > _______________________________________________
> > http://www.edulists.com.au - FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe
> > IPM Mailing List kindly supported by
> > http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au - Victorian Curriculum and Assessment
> > Authority and
> > http://www.vitta.org.au  - VITTA Victorian Information Technology
> > Teachers Association Inc
> Keith Richardson
> IPM List Moderator
> Head of ICT, Leibler Yavneh College
> Elsternwick
> Ph: 03.9528.4911
> k.richardson at yavneh.vic.edu.au
> 
> _______________________________________________
> http://www.edulists.com.au - FAQ, resources, subscribe, unsubscribe
> IPM Mailing List kindly supported by
> http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au - Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and
> http://www.vitta.org.au  - VITTA Victorian Information Technology Teachers Association Inc
> 
-- 
donna benjamin - executive director
http://www.creativecontingencies.com/
ph +61 3 9326 9985 | mob +61 418 310 414
research - facilitation - web development