Billy Tha Kidd – Gatget Technology

Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, uses your broadband internet connection to place phone calls. By converting your voice (or analog) signal into a digital signal, this makes for a more efficient way to talk on the phone and can save you money.

There are three ways you can use VoIP. You can either connect using your regular phone and an adapter, a special internet phone, or download software and use your computer. Here are the methods, in greater detail:

Using your home phone. If you would like to switch from your regular phone line to VoIP, many people opt to continue using their home phone. To do this, you must use an analog telephone adapter, or ATA. This device converts the analog signal (your voice) to a digital signal. Once the signal is converted, it goes through the internet connection. When shopping for a service provider, ask them if they include this adapter with their packages. Most do.

Connect using an IP phone. When using a special IP phone, you don’t need a separate ATA. Everything you need to use your broadband internet connection as your telephone service is included with the hardware. Instead of using a regular phone jack and connector, it uses an Ethernet connection to plug into your router.

Connect using your computer. If your computer has speakers, microphone, a sound card, and a high speed internet connection you can use your computer for VoIP. Companies offer free or low cost software downloads which allows you to use your computer to make phone calls. Using this method is either free, costing only the price of your internet connection, or nearly free. Earthlink’s Vling software is both free to download and free to use. The only hitch is that you can only talk with other Vling users.

Mike Bell is the webmaster of http://www.VoIP-Journal.com, a site devoted to providing users with VoIP news and information.

As a bit of a movie buff I recently discovered that the best way to rent movies and games these days is online using one of the Online DVD and Game Rental Services.

If you’re into renting movies or games these services simply can’t be beat for their time saving convenience and value.

The two biggest and probably most well known services are Netflix and Blockbuster.

Though they both work essentially the same way Netflix seems to be the largest of the online DVD rental services. Currently boasting over 3 million members.

For a very reasonable monthly fee I believe either one of these services will more than meet your DVD and Game Renting needs.

Some of the great benefits offered include:

- No late fees. Just do the math on this one alone and I think you’ll see the value of using either one of these online services.

- Over 40,000 Movie Titles to choose from. Everything from the newest of the new releases to all of the classics.

- Free shipping both ways. To you and also on the return.

- Speaking of shipping, how about very fast delivery directly to your door. I get my movies within 1 or 2 business days.

- No long term contracts required. You’ll like this one because you’re free to cancel your membership anytime you choose.

- You get to keep each DVD or Game as long as you like. This is good because you have the freedom to watch your movies at your own pace. No more feeling like you have to watch it because it’s due back on a certain date.

- For a very reasonable monthly fee you can rent up to 3 DVDs at a time as often as you like.

Both of these top tier service providers have done a great job of keeping the process simple. You simply sign up providing very basic information and make a list of the movies you want to see. Your movies will then begin to arrive postage paid in your mailbox in one or two business days. Like I said, crazy simple!

Once your movies arrive you have the opportunity to watch them at your leisure.

I don’t know about you but too often I would end up paying more in late fees than I did for the actual movie. And when renting from my local store there just never seemed to be a good time to take them back.

These two major issues are completely gone when renting online.

Neither Netflix or Blockbuster charges a late fee of any kind. For me that alone makes renting online superior to the old way.

It gets even better though. When you’re ready to send your DVDs and/or Games back you simply drop them into the pre-paid envelope you received with your delivery and mail them back.

As you may have gathered I’m sold on Online DVD Rental.

As long as the rental service providers keep things simple, as they certainly have so far, if you rent movies or games at all I don’t see where there is anything not to like about this new way of renting them online.

Clyde Lee Dennis, a.k.a. “SmoothLee” has been bumping around on the web since 1999 and is a self described “Web Head, and Life long AVID music fan”. Smooth Jazz Music in particular. In addition to writing CD Reviews for I Love Smooth Jazz.com he is also the Program Director, and can be heard during his daily radio show which airs on one of the internets most listened to smooth jazz radio stations, Smooth Jazz 24/7

Why Should You Care About VoIP?

You might have seen the Vonage and other service providers offer ultra-cheap or cheaper voice calling service via your broadband internet connection. Voice over IP service providers use the internet to carry voice signals from their networks to your home phone. Because VoIP telecommunication is not regulated the way traditional phone line telecommunication is, VoIP providers can offer drastically lower calling rates.

Skeptics talk about the quality of VoIP not being the same as regular land lines. They contend that you may to put up with the occasional hiccup in your voice service, caused by the one thing legacy telephone technology has built-in that VoIP does not: guaranteed quality. This might have been true a couple of years ago, but as mentioned before, things are changing and the movement is afoot to adapt quality-of-service techniques to VoIP services so that you calls are just as good as land line calls. As a former Marine and communcations officer, I can wholeheartedly vouch for this technology. If we can make it work out in the middle of a field, it can certainly work in the home.

If someone offered me a way to make a lot of money with this technology I would want to know about it. Why? Because the telecommunication industry is a billion dollar a year industry and the shift that is occurring is in its infancy. If one were to position his or herself in the path of change, one could potentially get very rich introducing this shift to people and saving them hundreds of dollars every year.

You owe it to yourself to check out the benefits this technology has to offer and implement the changes in either your home, business, or both. It’s certainly worth a look if you are paying too much for your phone services.

Reginald Sinevet is a former Marine and communications officer. He is currenly a manager with Lightyear Alliance. To sign up for VoIP service or to contact Reginald, visit http://voipsolution.lightyearalliance.com