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From
TNPC issue #3.09...
More Free Long Distance
by T.J. Lee
April 27, 2000
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 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.
As a reminder; we have spoken in past issues about uReach where
anyone who signs up gets 30 free minutes a month to use with any
of their phone services. They've added a service where you can
call your own uReach-provided 800 number, then dial out making a
long distance call for free (the time charged against your 30
minute monthly allotment). This gives you free, albeit limited,
long distance when you're away from your computer. All you need
is a phone.
http://www.myfreeld.com
http://www.dialpad.com
http://www.ureach.com
You can reach T.J. Lee at:
mailto:tj_lee@TheNakedPC.com
Copyright © 2000, PRIME Consulting Group, Inc. and Dan Butler.
All Rights Reserved.
The Naked PC is a trademark of PRIME Consulting Group, Inc.
ISSN: 1522-4422
You may reprint an article from TNPC as long as you show the
entire article and include the authors byline, excerpt and
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More Free Long Distance
by T.J. Lee
(This article originally appeared in The Naked PC
newsletter #3.09, subscribe at http://www.TheNakedPC.com)
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