By
T. J. Lee
mailto:tj_lee@TheNakedPC.com
More Free Long
Distance
It seems that I am not alone in
wanting to cut the old phone bill down to less than three figures. The
response to last issue's article on how to get free phone service was
substantial.
Many TNPCers are already using
DialPad to great effect. Another popular service is MyFreeLD, which
works the same way. You sign up for the service, filling out a
reasonably short questionnaire (remember when asked to give up
personal information that creativity counts). Then you dial your long
distance calls through their Web page but your call is routed to an
actual telephone on the receiving end.
Again, you must have a sound card
installed on your computer and connect a microphone and speakers (or
better yet a headset with a mike which you can get at Radio Shack or
any big computer store for less than $20).
The good news is that calls placed
through MyFreeLD are free. What's more the MyFreeLD service, unlike
DialPad, has the ability to place calls to non-continental US
locations like Costa Rica and Puerto Rico as well as France and the
United Kingdom. If you regularly call someone long distance and rack
up the charges, this is huge winner.
There are drawbacks as well. DialPad
works with a small Java applet and does not require you to have any
special software loaded on your computer. MyFreeLD requires you to
have Microsoft NetMeeting 3.0 or higher installed on the computer
you'll be making calls from. MyFreeLD is indeed very Microsoft-centric
since it only works with Internet Explorer, leaving Navigator users
out in the cold. And while we've never run into this, a number of
TNPCers using MyFreeLD have reported problems getting through to their
Web page at all and have been plagued with poor sound quality.
I've not noticed any appreciable
difference in sound quality between either long distance service. It's a bit hollow
sounding and there is a slight lag of a few seconds at the beginning
of a call. And talking over the other person in a conversation is a
problem, you have to wait for the pauses but after a few minutes this
is very easy to adjust to.
While I wouldn't recommend a free
over-the-Internet phone service for placing client calls, it simply
cannot be beat for personal or in-company conversations. Free is just
too irresistible.
For
more information or to register with a free long distance provider, click
here!
Resources:
Free
Internet Access
Free
Voicemail
Free
Long Distance
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