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1.  

   Still

   

   dorpus, Oct 19th, 2004 @ 1:33am

   
   

   Land lines do offer better sound quality than cell phones or VoIP, and that is necessary for important phone calls. And land lines still offer better rates on international calls; cell phones charge ridiculous rates, e.g. $1.25 per minute. Having a net-based conversation internationally, the audio quality is hopeless.
   
   

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2.  

   Re: Still

   

   pancho, Oct 19th, 2004 @ 7:33pm

   
   

   you obviously have not used Skype. Try it. I make dozens of international calls daily and quality is certainly adequate for business.

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3.  

   Re: Still

   

   Jeremy, Oct 19th, 2004 @ 11:46pm

   
   

   I make regular VOIP calls from Japan back home to the UK, a traceroute reveals that the connection goes via the US (the long way round the world) and it is still comparable to landline connections.

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4.  

   Re: Still

   

   John, Oct 20th, 2004 @ 1:32am

   
   

   Er... international calls are much cheaper via VoIP, and the quality is just as good -- sometimes better than traditional landlines.
   
   The only downside right now is reliability, but the argument that VoIP can't do international calls is totally clueless. What VoIP system were you using?

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5.  

   Re: Still

   

   dorpus, Oct 20th, 2004 @ 9:11am

   
   

   Fact is, Japanese versions of software behave quite differently from the US version -- the menus are often all different. I've tried guiding computer-illiterate people over the phone, to get them to do the right commands, but if everything is written in a foreign language and the menus are put together differently, it's hopeless. If you force U.S. software to be installed on a foreign-language windows machine, it may destroy the machine permanently -- I speak from experience. Re-installing the OS still won't fix it. If you want to talk over the computer, you still have to coordinate getting the other person to turn on their machine, so it requires a phone call anyway. I've had msn messenger-based conversations, and netmeeting-based video conversations, but the quality was awful, and I'm not about to ask the other person to invest in software that may destroy their machine, and they may not know how to install it anyway.
   
   
   
   
   
   

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6.  

   Re: Still

   

   John, Oct 20th, 2004 @ 12:40pm

   
   

   Okay, you clearly have no idea what you're talking about. While there are softphones for VoIP, most business users are using regular phones on a VoIP network. That's what we're talking about. Are you living in 1996 or something?
   
   We're not talking about MSN voice or netmeeting voice. We're talking about dedicated VoIP systems like Vonage or even (on the software side) skype.

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7.  

   Re: Still

   

   dorpus, Oct 20th, 2004 @ 8:31pm

   
   

   >Okay, you clearly have no idea what you're talking about. While there are softphones for VoIP, most business users are using regular phones on a VoIP network. That's what we're talking about.< br>
   And I'm talking about using VoIP at home. Japanese phone lines use different carrier signals, so American telephones don't work. What VoIP is there that is guaranteed to run on a machine running Japanese Windows Millenium (not XP, not English) over a Japanese DSL?
   
   >We're not talking about MSN voice or netmeeting voice. We're talking about dedicated VoIP systems like Vonage or even (on the software side) skype.
   
   Exactly, do these things work on the configuration above? Is there a guarantee that it will not destroy the machine, as other software installs have? What is the cost effectiveness of having to call home first via POTS and waiting five minutes for them to boot up their machine? Both of us would have to buy upgraded microphones as well, which do not echo from the speakers. That was a severe problem when using MSN voice, and I the physics for VoIP are the same. If both of us have to pay for skype/Vonage and a new microphone, which may echo anyway, then it is not worth it.
   

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8.  

   Re: Still

   

   mark, Apr 14th, 2005 @ 12:42pm

   
   

   I am moving to Japan in July. I need a cheap way for me to call back to America and for me to call America. I want to use Lingo, www.lingo.com and bring the VoIP adaptor with me. I can get a US phone number that everyone can make local calls to or use their cell phone with free long distance. Has anyone tried this?

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