by Jon Arnold

VOIP is another one of those computer acronyms that stands for Voice Over Internet Protcol. It is a technology that is growing very quickly, and the primary reason for that is that it is helping both residential customers and business customers to save money.

You really do not need to know how VOIP works to use it, but there are some very fundamental things you need to understand. First of all, if you want to use a VOIP service for your home or business, the VOIP service typically assumes that you already have a stable and reliable highspeed Internet connection. The highspeed Internet connection is REQUIRED for VOIP service, but the VOIP service itself does not include the highspeed Internet.

For home use, that might be cable Internet or it might be residential DSL. But whichever of those it is, note the keywords I used above: stable and reliable. Many residential highspeed Internet connections are neither reliable nor are they stable. If that is the case with your highspeed Internet connection, then you have two choices: (1) get a different highspeed Internet service that DOES provide a stable and reliable connection, or (2) stop shopping for VOIP services, because it will not work well with an unstable and unreliable highspeed Internet connection.

In fact, studies have shown that in more than 95% of the cases where customers have called to complain about the quality of their VOIP services, the problem has been with the highspeed Internet connection, and NOT with the VOIP service.

The reason for this is that VOIP makes and receives phone calls using your highspeed Internet connection. Obviously, if that connection is neither reliable nor stable, your VOIP service and voice quality on that call is going to suffer.

What if your highspeed Internet connection is satellite? A satellite highspeed Internet connection is not recommended for good VOIP service. Most satellite services have a monthly bandwidth limitation, and if you do much calling at all, you will likely exceed that monthly limitation with VOIP quite quickly. But even if you do not do much calling, the lag time to go to the satellite and back, which is referred to as the latency time, is going to make VOIP very difficult, and you will not be happy with it.

Remember I talked about the “reliable” aspect of your highspeed Internet connection? For years and years, you have grown accustomed to hearing a dial tone when you picked up the phone to make a call, and that has been extremely reliable. But if your highspeed Internet connection goes down, so does your ability to make or receive phone calls.

If you do have a reliable and stable highspeed Internet connection, there is no reason not to consider installing VOIP immediately. You can even cancel your existing phone line with the phone company after you get VOIP installed, if you want to. That phone line with the phone company is probably costing you about $25 per month, and that is just for dial tone and maybe local calls, but certainly no extra features like caller ID and clearly no long distance calling.

By comparison, most VOIP service plans allow you to make unlimited amounts of local and long distance calls within the continental US, and some also include Canada and even Puerto Rico. They also typically include extra features at no additional cost, such as voice mail, caller ID, calling waiting, and more. And all that still costs around $25 per month, the same as you were paying for just dial tone with the phone company!

The economics of it are there, and you are probably going to have highspeed Internet anyway, so it’s time to check out the possibilities and start talking without worrying about the cost of calling your sister in Seattle and your mother in Denver!
About the Author
To get more information about Residential DSL and Cable Services as well as finding more information about VOIP Services please visit our web site at http://www.voipinsideinfo.com

By Tyler Powers

The iPod shuffle can do much more than just play music. Here are a few things you can use your shuffle for, that will enrich life and improve your knowledge.

You can use your iPod shuffle to learn a new language. Since the iPod shuffle is light enough to listen to anywhere, you should take advantage of those long waits in lines to brush up on your foreign language skills. Simply add audio books that teach the foreign language that you wish to learn and listen to them anytime and anywhere without interrupting others.

You can share your music with another when using a Belkin headphone splitter. The Belkin headphone splitter connects into the earphone jack of your shuffle and provides two connections where you can connect two earphones instead of one only. This would be a prefect solution for couples that wish to listen to music instead of boring conversations during family gatherings. Sitting side-by-side, a couple can smile and nod while listening to their favorite band without anyone being the wiser.

A Belkin headphone splitter would also be a perfect solution for families with two teens and a low budget. The teens can share an iPod and the music without the fighting that usually occurs between siblings who have problems sharing items that were purchased for the whole family to use.

You can listen to the songs on your iPod shuffle on your car radio by combining a Belkin Tunebase with Belkins Tunecast II. Tunebase plugs into your automobiles cigarette lighter and has an adjustable neck that holds the iPod shuffle with ease and Tunebase charges your shuffle battery automatically when connected. The adjustable neck will let you position your iPod shuffle at your convenience. Tunecast II is an FM transmitter that you can attach to your iPod shuffle. The transmitter lets you play the songs on your shuffle through your cars stereos. By using a combination with Tunebase and Tunecast II you can have your favorite selections playing as you drive each day, without jeopardizing your safety, or others safety, by listening to your shuffle with earphones on.

The iPod shuffle can also be used to store important data files. If you need to backup important data files, you can add them to the shuffle using iTunes software for safekeeping. Carry your important data files with you wherever you go by simply clipping your iPod shuffle into your briefcase, purse, pocket or shoe.

You can also use the iPod shuffle to help you with your studies if you are a student. Using your computer, record your notes into MP3 format and transfer your recordings to your iPod shuffle using iTunes. Now you can listen to your notes during breaks, on your way to and from class and at night before doing your homework. Studies show that the mind retains information better when heard than information that is merely read, so by listening to your studies instead of just reading them, you will not only improve your knowledge but you will learn faster as well. This not only helps to improve your grades, but it also provides additional free time for you to enjoy other things besides your studies.

by Philip Nicosia

So what’s the big deal about the much-talked about podcast feeds? The hype is that the feeds are the very backbone of the podcast revolution–without those feeds, nobody can upload and download these files. Those millions of music videos and video highlights? They’d be gone, buried in the computers of the people who created them, but inaccessible to everyone else on the web.

So how do podcast feeds work? They are a way of sharing files over the internet. Podcast feeds makes use of a small, machine readable file, that updates the users of any changes like new additions to the list.

If you go through the file, you’ll see addresses imbedded into the code. These “share” the locations of the files to the readers, so they know where to look. (The files are usually read-only or share-only media files). Originally podcasts concentrated on music files like mp3s, but recent developments have paved the way for sharing video files too. Who knows what other kinds of information the future “feeds” will bring?

Each individual feed is called an episode, and can be about a number of things: a the latest routine from a stand-up comedian, a song by an aspiring country singer, a lecture on the best California wines, or announcements about a game and a sneak b\preview of its graphic capabilities. In fact, the types of feeds have grown considerably as more and more groups have identified the capabilities and marketing opportunities within podcasts.

To subscribe to a feed, users need to get an aggregator. An aggregator is piece of software that lets you “subscribe” to an RSS feed. iIt then automatically pulls the files/shows you have subscribed to and utomatically inserts them into your favourite desktop music player whether it Windows Media Player or Apple iTunes. Once the audio file has been added to your music library, the next time you dock and sync your portable music player the files are automatically moved over ready for you to listen to on next time you leave the house.

While choosing aggregators, check what types of feeds they can manage. Some don’t just deal with audio files. You can find a few aggregators that will handle feeds from text based only blogs as well as audio and video blogs. Do a bit of research and you will be sure to find one that matches your needs.

In the future, podcast feeds may be used for a number of purposes besides simply sharing media files In fact, the newer innovations in podcast feeds–the vlog, or videoblog–have become more and more popular. Even media greats such as BBC have used it to share some of its news content. Some analysts predict that the feed system could also be used to share software updates, or any of a myriad of other file types. For now, however, podcasting is dominated by small audio and video files, but with the increasing popularity and interest in this new medium, it will be interesting to see what kind of innovations we will see in the next few years.
About the AuthorPodcastblaster is a site specializing in all aspect of podcasting and provides a free podcast feed creator together with podcasting software.