VOIP clients

Here is a walkthrough of popular VOIP telephony services


1. Skype
Skype runs on a variety of platforms:

Windows, Linux, Mac OS X,
Windows Mobile, and also phones like the

Nokia N800/N810. The
software is free for download

(www.skype.com/intl/en/).
Skype calls can also be made from special

phones, so you are
not tied to your computer for making cheap

long distance calls.
The latest versions of Skype are 3.6.0.244

for Windows, 2.6.0.184 for
Mac OS X, 1.4.0.118 for Linux, and

2.2.0.36 for Windows Mobile.
Once you have downloaded and installed the

software, you will
be prompted to log in, or create a new

account. You just need to fill
up a small form by choosing your account

name, password, e-mail
ID, and country. Simple, fast, and hassle

free; of course, you also
need to enter the network settings under

Tools > Options
before you can connect. After you connect,

you will be prompted
to make a test call to test your headset

and microphone. If you hear
the automated voice and make a test call,

your equipment is working
fine. Otherwise you might need to install

newer hardware, or
install the latest patches for your older

hardware.
Once these preliminaries are
done, click on the Contacts tab
and use the Add button to add
contacts. Enter the Skype name of
your contact and click on Search.
You can also search by e-mail ID or
name, or add a phone number for
making calls to ordinary phones.
You can also send SMSes to other
phones. This phone number can
be anything—local, national,

international; landline or mobile. The
calls are not free, though they are very

cheap, especially international
calls. For example, calls to the US cost

around Rs 1.15 per
minute. Credits can be purchased in

packages of 10 (Rs 570) using
either PayPal or your credit card. This

feature is called SkypeOut.
Another feature is SkypeIn, where you can

make a call to a
computer from your phone. SkypeIn is

available for numbers in
countries including Australia, the UK, the

US, and France. The
SkypeIn system works this way: suppose a

user from the UK wants
to talk to a Skype subscriber in the US.

That subscriber will take a
UK telephone number as a SkypeIn number,

and the UK caller will
need to pay local rates for calls made to

the US from ordinary
phones. SkypeIn is not available for

Indian numbers.
Videoconferencing works very well in

Skype. It is currently available
for Windows, Mac, and Linux. For this, you

need a Skype-supported
webcam. In the latest version (on

Windows), Skype supports
high-quality video with features like

full-screen viewing and screen-in-screen.

Video calls are currently
one-to-one, though you
can have audio conferences
with up to 24 people simultaneously.
Videoconferencing is
free in Skype. Like with
other chat clients, you can
text-chat with your contacts
in Skype, too. Other features
like call forwarding and voicemail are

also supported.
Skype has a service called Skype Prime

Beta, where you can
earn money when people call you for help.

This feature is very useful
for professionals who would like to earn

by offering their services.
Enter the details in the form provided and

you could soon
have clients calling up from every corner

of the world! Another
business-oriented service is SkypeFind,

which lets you search for
local businesses by name and postal code.
Skype has a series of video broadcasts

called Skypecasts under
its Live service. These are the voice

equivalent of chatrooms where
people gather to speak on any common

topic. A complete list is
available at

https://skypecasts.skype.com/skypecasts/ho

me.











2. Gizmo

Gizmo is another peer-to-peer VoIP
service. It uses open protocols
like SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) and
Jabber, unlike Skype,
which uses proprietary systems. It works

across the Windows, Mac,
Linux, and Symbian operating systems. It

is free, and can be downloaded
from www.gizmoproject.com. The latest

version is 3.1.2
After installing Gizmo, you are prompted

to test your headphones
and microphone. Go to Edit > Options and

configure the network
settings, add contacts, and configure

sounds. For making
calls, use the Contact tab in the main

window and click on the
green button. You will hear a ringing

sound, which will indicate
that your call is being transmitted.
Gizmo bills itself as a “phone for your

computer.” Gizmo, like
Skype, can be used for making calls to

other computers and
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Configuring sound options in Skype
phones irrespective of location. But
Gizmo is comparatively cheaper than
Skype. The Call Out feature is where
you call other phones from your
machine, while the complementary
Call In feature allows other users to
call your computer from their Gizmo
phones. (Call In numbers are not
available for Indian numbers.) Area
775 number is another feature in
Gizmo, where you can get a free
Nevada phone number which can be
used on a computer. Any calls made
to this number can be answered from
your computer, with features like
caller ID, dual ringing, and customised
greetings when you are not available.

Group chats are
available, as well as free conference

between computers, landlines
and mobile phones by using

“FreeConferenceCalls” and also IM.
Each Gizmo account has its unique SIP

number, which lets
users from other VoIP networks call Gizmo

for free. Apart from
the call features, file transfers can also

be enabled. For mobile
phones that can connect to the Internet,

Gizmo can be used for
making VoIP calls.
Gizmo5 (www.gizmo5.com/pc) is a free phone

software for making
cheap international calls. Calls to the

US, for example, cost
only 75 paise per minute. It comes in two

versions, and a full list
of handset models is available at the Web

site. Credit can be
bought in different denominations, and

file transfers can also be
made, though you need the Full version,

not the Lite version.
With Gizmo5 Full version you can also IM

your AIM, Gizmo, MSN,
and Yahoo! contacts.
Gizmo has a slew of features not available

in Skype. As a chat
client, it can interact with other

networks that use SIP, some of
which are Windows Live Messenger, AIM,

Yahoo! Messenger, and
Google Talk. It allows call recording and

free voicemail. Bloggers
who use LiveJournal can make voice posts

using Gizmo. The calls
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The keypad, for making calls
made from Gizmo-to-Gizmo are encrypted

using
SRTP (Secure Realtime Transport Protocol),

a
robust security protocol.
Gizmo users can make free calls to

landline
and mobile numbers from around the world

for
free by inviting friends. Each invite will

earn you
20 minutes free talk-time. The full list

of countries
to which calls can be made is available at
http://www.gizmoproject.com/learnmore-

allcallsfree.html.
Indian numbers are not included in this

list, however.
If you use Asterix PBX or another such

voice service, you can
log in from Gizmo by creating a secondary

login. This will simultaneously
let you access office calls even if you

are not physically
present in the office: you only need to be

online. Gizmo, however,
has no video functionality.
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