OT: internet phones

[Mike Schwartz (PC Support & Services, Appleton, WI)]

>>Let me know how that works out for you when a core router goes up and
>> down
>>for the better part of 3 days, and you can't figure out why your phone
>>service doesn't work because, "[My] network connection is up..."....

     I'll third this thread because I haven't had very good luck with IP
phones in this area.  I switched from Road Runner Cable Service to
SBC DSL service about a year ago, mostly because RR was $60.00 a
month and DSL was $20.00 a month, but DSL has been even more
intermittant than cable, in terms of glitches and outages.

     My neighbors all told me their DSL was working great, but all they do
is web browse and check their email, so they don't notice the little
glitches in the connection. For example, if I try to start a telnet
session or make a VPN connection or make an internet phone call, I
drop my connection anywhere from 2 to 15 times a day!

     This is very frustrating when I'm trying to do filePro programming
using ssh.  The only way I can get any work done is with tools that
will allow me a "persistant connection", like PC-Anywhere.

     Anyway, I'd hate to trust my phone calls to my DSL connection.

     I am curious as to the quality of the calls that Vonage and other
users are getting.  My testing with IP telephony using my laptop when
I travel to various locations leads me to think that residential IP
telephony isn't ready for prime time yet.  Or, maybe it's just the
low grade of wireless internet service I get when I'm staying in
cheap motels that's making the difference <grin>.

Mike Schwartz