As many will know who have attended my courses around the world, I love gadgets, new technologies. If it is new, I have to have it, I have to know how it will work.
When VoIP (Voice over the Internet Protocol) was introduced, I knew I had to find out how it worked. Being able to use the internet to speak to the rest of the world at very cheap rates, or if you could link the two parties (or more) together, called peer to peer, to speak free of charge.
It was not long that specialised proprietary software came along that automated the system, made it easy for the public and business communities to use the technologies.
Standards were established, so that everybody would be playing on the same football pitch in the same game. Some of these were SIP, FWD, laxtel and IPtel. These standards are like the languages we speak, if a person only speaks English (say SIP), can they, will they be able to speak to a person who only speaks Turkish (say IPtel)?
The best known standard is the SIP standard, standing for Session Initiation Protocol, a language like English or Turkish, and many companies implemented this standard in their telephone equipment and software to drive the equipment.
This equipment and software was difficult to install, implement and use. I remember the first one I tried to install was a failure, well, I got it to work after much effort, but no-one else was using it in my community around the world. As with most of new gadgets, the telephones ended up gathering dust.
Then came the proprietary software Skype, (not SIP or other standard or protocol), only Skype will talk to Skype. It is free, easy to install, in fact all you do is hit one button, and away you go.
Wonderful marketing by Skype. Give it away, get market penetration, masses of customers, offer add-ons, like cheap international calls, free communication with people who have the Skype software and are online at the same time.
They had the market to themselves, and took advantage of it. Great product.
I recently purchased another gadget the Nokia 770 tablet computer, and found that Skype would not work on it due to the operating system employed on the Nokia 770. They offered another system called Gizmo.
Gizmo is a product offered by the creators of the SIP protocol SIPhone. It is free to download, offers very cheap international calls, and free calls to fellow Gizmo users, much the same as Skype.
There is a difference in the way the software works and the language or protocols, but that does not bother the end users, it is transparent to them, but the difference gives certain advantages of Gizmo over Skype.
The biggest to me is the ability to make free landline (PSTN, Public Switched Telephone Network) to fellow Gizmo users no matter where they are in the world.
I got my special friend in Turkey, Asu, to join Gizmo and in her profile enter her home and mobile telephone numbers, and I likewise did the same. I asked Asu to switch off her computer or close the Gizmo software, and I called her, the call was directed to her landline and we talked.
It cost me nothing to make the call, from the UK to Turkey.
Try it, you might like it.
on Gizmo.
download Gizmo.
When VoIP (Voice over the Internet Protocol) was introduced, I knew I had to find out how it worked. Being able to use the internet to speak to the rest of the world at very cheap rates, or if you could link the two parties (or more) together, called peer to peer, to speak free of charge.
It was not long that specialised proprietary software came along that automated the system, made it easy for the public and business communities to use the technologies.
Standards were established, so that everybody would be playing on the same football pitch in the same game. Some of these were SIP, FWD, laxtel and IPtel. These standards are like the languages we speak, if a person only speaks English (say SIP), can they, will they be able to speak to a person who only speaks Turkish (say IPtel)?
The best known standard is the SIP standard, standing for Session Initiation Protocol, a language like English or Turkish, and many companies implemented this standard in their telephone equipment and software to drive the equipment.
This equipment and software was difficult to install, implement and use. I remember the first one I tried to install was a failure, well, I got it to work after much effort, but no-one else was using it in my community around the world. As with most of new gadgets, the telephones ended up gathering dust.
Then came the proprietary software Skype, (not SIP or other standard or protocol), only Skype will talk to Skype. It is free, easy to install, in fact all you do is hit one button, and away you go.
Wonderful marketing by Skype. Give it away, get market penetration, masses of customers, offer add-ons, like cheap international calls, free communication with people who have the Skype software and are online at the same time.
They had the market to themselves, and took advantage of it. Great product.
I recently purchased another gadget the Nokia 770 tablet computer, and found that Skype would not work on it due to the operating system employed on the Nokia 770. They offered another system called Gizmo.
Gizmo is a product offered by the creators of the SIP protocol SIPhone. It is free to download, offers very cheap international calls, and free calls to fellow Gizmo users, much the same as Skype.
There is a difference in the way the software works and the language or protocols, but that does not bother the end users, it is transparent to them, but the difference gives certain advantages of Gizmo over Skype.
The biggest to me is the ability to make free landline (PSTN, Public Switched Telephone Network) to fellow Gizmo users no matter where they are in the world.
I got my special friend in Turkey, Asu, to join Gizmo and in her profile enter her home and mobile telephone numbers, and I likewise did the same. I asked Asu to switch off her computer or close the Gizmo software, and I called her, the call was directed to her landline and we talked.
It cost me nothing to make the call, from the UK to Turkey.
Try it, you might like it.
on Gizmo. download Gizmo.