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Ma Bell just changed the rules. Bell Canada "First Rate Plan" customers who didn't read the fine print on the back of their October bills may be in for a surprise. It says, "effective immediately: make up to 800 minutes... of long distance calls... for a maximum of $20 per month". The same plan on your previous bill said "Flat rate eve. / weekends in Canada to a $20 max" In other words, their "unlimited" plan now has an 800-minute limit, after which you pay 10¢ a minute.
"Who would use more than 800 minutes of long distance time in a month?" you might ask - well, you might if you don't have teenagers, chatty friends, or, worst case scenario, teenagers with chatty friends. One of the first shocks to people coming here from "the City" is their first long-distance phone bill. If you live in the 416 / 905 area codes, you can call millions of people for free. Here, almost every time you pick up the 'phone it's to make a long-distance call.
So, when the topic of free long-distance calls came up at last week's Kawartha Internet Users Group meeting, I noticed everyone paying close attention. Last spring Bob Chaplin gave us a demonstration of one web site offering free long distance. There are now many more, and more countries are included (www.hottelephone.com covers 30 countries). The only hardware you need is a modem, a sound card and a microphone. If you are already on the internet you probably have the first two, and you can use any microphone that fits into the outlet on your sound card.
The web site I tried is www.WowRing.com. (Note: as of January, 2001, WowRing charges a monthly fee) The setup for all of them is very similar. Go to their web site, register (get a login name and password), then download a small program that installs on your computer. That part takes about five minutes. When you want to make a call, go to the web site and enter your login and password. A smaller window with a dial pad will then appear. This takes about a minute on my machine. You then dial the number (using the mouse or keyboard) and click on "talk" . You will hear the person's phone dialling, and their answer, over your speakers, and can talk to them with the microphone.
Don't expect the same sound quality as a normal phone call. Your voice is being "translated" to data, and transmitted over the internet. (Incidentally, that's the origin of the word "modem": modulate - demodulate), and the effect is similar to a slightly scratched record (for those who remember such things). I also found there was a slight delay, and "break-up": none of the words were lost, but there were slight pauses, because the data (voice) is being transitted in "bursts". Now, I was using the slowest allowable modem (28.8) on a rural phone line. I expect the quality would be much better on a faster connection.
And, don't expect the same service. When I tried this on a Sunday morning, I couldn't get through at all ("network busy"). Still, it does work, the price is right, and the technology has probably improved in the time it took to write this.
To find out the latest news in computers, or just how to make use of the one you have, come along to the next Kawartha Internet Users Group meeting, the second Thursday of each month at the Lions' Club, Main St., Bobcaygeon. I promise you'll learn something new.