VoIP. What Is It? by Lee Smith

One of the biggest industries in the world today is the telephone industry. Between sales of physical telephone units, sales of local calling plans, sales of long distance calling plans and sales of cell or mobile phone plans there are billions of dollars exchanging hands on a regular basis within the telephone industry. Because of this people are always being solicited by companies claiming to be offering the next greatest thing in telephone technology.

In many ways it is rather ironic that telephone companies solicit customers long distance in order to offer them economical long distance plans and many customers have now become so jaded, that they simply do not respond to that type of sales method anymore.

If however, the product being offered is new and innovative and at the same time the product is able to do a lot for the people that are buying it, then the product will survive.

In today's world, things tend to survive more on their own merits rather than on the hard selling done by people looking for their own commissions. One such technology that has taken the telephone communication world by storm is the patented VOIP technology.

VOIP

VOIP is an acronym that stands for voice over internet protocol. It is a piece of technology that allows customers to actually chat with other people through the use of their internet connection rather than a conventional telephone line. The quality does not suffer at all in a good VOIP connection and even the long distance connection is able to maintain the same high quality that a customer has come to expect from their current long distance provider.

The only real difference between VOIP connections and their conventional telephone counterparts is that the VOIP connection maintenance costs tend to be quite a bit cheaper. The reason for this is that the internet is being utilized in order to help the consumer facilitate their telephone needs. To a large degree, the consumer is already paying for most of the technology used in VOIP services with the internet monthly payment they are already making. The bottom line for this is that the internet service provider providing the VOIP service does not have to charge as much for it and those savings usually end up being passed on to the customer.

VOIP Setup

You don't really need much in order to set up a very good VOIP uplink. First and foremost you need to have a broadband internet connection. In other words, you need to have fast internet along the lines of a cable or a DSL connection. Once you have this then all you need is a phone to utilize with the VOIP service and you are good to go. Once you sign up with the VOIP service from one of the many companies around that offer it, you will receive very detailed instructions on how to arrange the cables around your computer and modem in such a way as to facilitate the VOIP service. Once you've done that you can pick up the phone and start chatting right away; it is quick, easy to setup, very cheap and the height of convenience in the world today.

Computer Software by Carolyn Clayton

Computer software is the combination of programmes and applications which interface with the physical components of the computer, the hardware, to enable the user to perform specific functions and tasks. There are two basic types of software, known as system software, which is responsible for the basic functions of the computer, and application software, such as Word Processing programmes, which enable the user to perform actual specific tasks, e.g. typing.

An operating system is the software behind all of the system and application management; it is responsible for organising and controlling how each of the systems interface with each other (basically the smooth running of every programme), for example, allocating the appropriate amount of memory in accordance with which programmes are running and require more power and input. Examples of operating systems are Linux, and of course Microsoft Windows, which holds a monopoly on the computer market for such systems. Without an Operating system, computers are merely empty shells with little or no use. They will typically run their won application software, for example Microsoft Windows has packages such as Microsoft Office, which deals with word processing, publishing, presentation slides, databases, etc. Modern computers can run several applications simultaneously without crashing and becoming slow, depending on the power and capabilities of the operating system.

Software is constantly being up dated and new versions being released, so much so that current systems can become out of date within months - it is a very fast moving and fast evolving area of industry. Microsoft have just released their latest operating system to follow on from the roaring success of Windows XP; Vista. Packages available include Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate and Business. The main improvements and selling points of this service package include state of the art user interfaces (Aero - Authentic, Energetic, Reflective and Open), easier transfer of media between devices and computers, better security (virus protection, etc) and new multimedia programmes. For example, Windows Media Player 11 is included in the package and has undergone a major revamp; including user interfacing, new search capabilities, and the facility too hook up with external devices such as the Xbox 360.

However, many consumers are fully aware of Microsoft's dominance in the computer industry and in particular the software market, and are reluctant to shell out for the new programme where many of the new features are seen as luxuries rather than necessities, and on top of that Vista cannot be installed on any machine - brand new machines must be purchased with the system already built in. So potential customers will have to buy a whole new PC setup just to be able to use Microsoft Vista - not a popular choice amongst consumers in an industry where there will doubtless be further improvements and new, better software waiting just around the corner. An advantage gained then, for rival Linux, whose majority of software CD's and packages can be accessed for free, so whilst it is a lot more complex and less user friendly than the likes of Microsoft and their Windows packages, yet it remains one of the most reliable and up to date operating systems out there.