Nickname: swoosh

Review: Microsoft should stick to making software. They just don't have the mindset to excel in an areas like this. For example, Hotmail can't even integrate with Outlook. The new version of Hotmail is really poorly designed. Their current phone and webcam features are cumbersome to use.

Date reviewed: Feb 9, 2006 5:44 PM

Nickname: Eisengaard

Review: I think that company in 1995 was called Net2Phone? I remember using it in 1999. Voice quality was terrible!

Date reviewed: Feb 4, 2006 8:08 PM

Nickname: Back2TheFuture

Review: Where is the discussion regarding the Voice over IP security? Does anyone really want to conduct private conversations over a medium that is a playground for hackers and-increasingly-organized crime? Not me. Further, VoIP providers will certainly be tracking your calls and then trying to sellor exploit this information. Personally, I would rather pay a few bucks extra each month for the security and peace of mind that the traditional telecom network provides.

Date reviewed: Feb 4, 2006 10:42 AM

Nickname: IMRAN.TV

Review: For decades I have been amazed at people calling Bill Gates a "visionary" when in every single field, his company and he have sat by and watched people innovate, and then at the last minute realized the world was passing them by, using the huge Microsoft cash stash to buy their way out of trouble. How the many great companies and businesses have been destroyed by Microsoft's and Gates would make a great case study.

Date reviewed: Feb 3, 2006 8:34 PM

Nickname: ButofCourse

Review: A call arrives at your desk. You pick up your VoIP phone and hear "Brought to you by Schmigler's Ice Cream" and then proceed to have a conversation with your buddy regarding the poker game tonight. You know, for an extra $5 per month you wouldn't have to listen to those pesky advertisements, but who wants to put $5 into your VoIP provider's pocket? And besides, ice cream sounds pretty good right now. The current VoIP race is for subscribers and the technology standards have been set. A PC-to-PC VoIP standard may be a good idea, however it must leverage the existing underlying standards or my PC will never become the replacement for my phone. However, video is a different subject.

Date reviewed: Feb 2, 2006 8:28 PM

Nickname: rgf

Review: Excellent.

Date reviewed: Feb 1, 2006 10:40 PM

Nickname: peggy

Review: Thanks. I bought Microsoft 5 months ago. Why? After watching Google, I believed Bill Gates was a little intimidated. Time to buy. Bill's gonna come out with the unbelievable.

Date reviewed: Feb 1, 2006 10:32 PM

Nickname: VAI

Review: Sounds good. Let them all battle it out. In 1995, before DSL or cable Internet ever existed, there was a company, I can't remember the name -- but anyway, they sold software for both Windows and MAC platforms for around $50.00. This software allowed any 2 people to talk on an actual telephone anywhere in the world for free, provided that they both had the same software. Here we are, a decade later, and the big companies are finally going to make it happened, even if they have to stomp on each other to do it. Microsoft should have bought that company out in 1995 and put it in the OS. Then we would all have free non-mobile telecommunications. If it were only an ideal world.

Date reviewed: Feb 1, 2006 11:15 AM