 |  | talk long-distance on the Internet |  | | By Jack Lyon | | (5/5/03) |
No matter what fancy prefix or special plan you use, every long-distance service sneaks in some extra fees. In the past few years, people have started skipping the phone company all together and using the Internet. Countless Web phone applications promise free long-distance, but be warned, most come with the same kind of hidden fees. Gphone makes communication over the Internet a painless and penniless experience. Assuming you have the bandwidth and hardware, you can gab all you want to anyone else for free--the kind of free that doesnt actually cost anything. Several chat apps, such as Yahoo Messenger, also offer voice communications, but they usually require data to go through centralized servers, which can mean dwindling bandwidth during peak usage times. Gphone focuses on voice communication, offering direct IP to IP connections, so you can usually count on a strong, direct connection, no matter who youre chatting with.
Equip yourself
To connect and talk to a friend, you both must have a copy of the software (which is free) and be sitting in front of your PCs with a live Internet connection. While the software supports dial-up speeds, youll get far better voice quality with DSL or cable. Youll also need a solid sound card or integrated chip to hear what your friend has to say, and a microphone so you can talk. If youd like to work on your PC while chatting, youll probably want to get a headset, so you can keep your hands free.
Find your IP
To create a direct connection, youll need to know both your own and your friends IP address. If youre using dial-up, sites such as showmyip.com are a quick and simple way to look it up. However, if youre using DSL or youre on a network, it may be showing your hub or routers IP address. If youre using Windows 95 or Windows 98, select Run under the Start menu and type winipcfg. Use the pull-down menu and select your Ethernet card to view your address. For Windows 2000 and XP, open a Command prompt and type ipconfig. If you have a dynamic IP address--which means your address changes whenever you restart your machine--youll have to repeat this process. If youre behind a firewall or a sophisticated network, you may have to tweak some port settings to get the software to work. The software uses specific UDP ports to send and receive the voice signals. Click here to get basic instructions on how to configure your router.
Get well-connected
To connect to your friend, click the blue phone icon and enter their IP address. If you plan on calling them often, you can save time by entering their name and address into the softwares barebones address book. Click Connect, and your friend will be notified that youre making a call by way of a flashing icon and an old-school telephone ringing sound on their end. If they accept the call, a connection is made. Simply talk into your microphone and your voice is played on your friends PC. Keep in mind, however, if you have a slower connection or are talking to someone far away, there may be significant lag time. If voice chat isn't working well, the software also supports good old text-based chatting. Just click the word balloon icon found at the bottom of the softwares window and start typing. You can also transfer files from your machine to your friends by clicking the folder icon.
Fine-tune it all
If the software doesn't seem to be working well, there are a couple things you can do to fine-tune the experience. If your friend is having a hard time hearing you, your microphone may be too quiet. Click the wrench icon, then the Sound tab, and finally the button labeled Microphone Reception. From here you can control the volume of your voice signal. You can also tweak your ring tone and connection settings from the Options menu. It may seem a little awkward at first, but youll get used to gabbing via your PC--especially once you see how much money youre saving.
Jack Lyon, former director of CNET Hardware, splits his time contributing to CNET and building online games as cofounder of AstroManic Studios.
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