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
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
