Allright, now this is too cool...

[krizz]

It may not be related to guitars too much but it still is cool and I'll count it to multimedia more than I do to off-topic...

I used VoiP today; for the ones that don't know what it is: Voice Over IP which actually means telephony via internet. It is based on technologies like napster and such; peer-to-peer networks (no central computer is used; just clients). The quality is really stunning, you only need speakers, a microphone and and a broadband internet connection.

Get yourself the program 'skype':

http://www.skype.com

Install it; add some contacts and you can call FOR FREE over the internet. And to all parts of the world; well, only to those who have skype running. you can even create a conference with a few people together!
On the installation you're creating a profile with some basic data about yourself and other people can add you to their contact list to call you! very easy.

Plug your guitar into line-in and you can even create a guitar-conference (or a head-cutting-duel) or whatever you want to call it!

The quality is so good; it's like the partner on the 'phone' is sitting next to you! (well that's what it sound like over here).

[hamand]

Yeah, Skype is very cool. I wish more people start to use it.

Traditional phone calls to my friend in Japan are non-existent now!

[Two hands31]

Other than the conference feature, isn't voice communication already available through MSN, ICQ, etc.?

[SuperJemBoy]

Wow that sounds awesome. I don't have broadband yet but I'll be getting this when I do!

And in answer to the thing about MSN, yes you can voice chat over that but its not the greatest quality.

Joe

[bammbamm]

'Brought to you by the innovators of K a z a a
Odds are, it'll be wrought with adware or some spybot goodies for all.
VOIP is being used commercially as well, many companies are selling fractional or full T-1 lines with typically 12 phone lines plus broadband internet access at a flat rate. Vonage is a consumer version of a VOIP system that uses your existing broadband connection, ties in a digatal phone adapter, that acts as a router for your phone, PC, & fax, pretty slick. Rate plans are not too bad either.

Anyway, there are other services that are doing this as well.
http://www.dialpad.com is another I've used.
You can also use MS's net meeting software to facilitate a call between other users who are running net meeting.

Lots of ways to go with this technology.

[darren wilson]

The big advantage with Vonage is that it interfaces with the standard phone system, so you get a real telephone number. Both users don't have to be tied to a computer and have special software installed, etc.

This unleashes all kinds of cool features. For example, your phone number does not have to be tied to where you are geographically. Say you live in New York, but your family is all in Seattle. You could get a Seattle area code so your family can call you locally, but the actual call is routed across the country to your box. I believe Vonage offers additional phone numbers for just a few dollars a month, so you could have a number on each coast... this is great for small businesses, who can appear to have several local offices across the country.

The other cool thing is that if you go away or move, you just pack up your adapter box and take it with you. Plug it in to a broadband connection wherever you are, and your calls come right to you.

[bammbamm]

Originally Posted by darren wilson

The other cool thing is that if you go away or move, you just pack up your adapter box and take it with you. Plug it in to a broadband connection
wherever you are, and your calls come right to you.

Great point, and one other I'd like to mention.
If you frequently travel, you can bring your equipment with you and plug in to the hotel's broadband port and bypass their phone systems.
Ethically it may not be 100% on the up and up, but you can recieve calls that are local to your home right in your room.
Slick eh?

Bamm

[Anton]

Wow very cool , thanks for posting! I'll check all of those progs out. I just installed skype and had a 15 minute conversation with a danish girl