On 17 maj 2007, at 15.09, Mawaki Chango wrote:

> let's go for skype (and of course anyone who wants
> to abstain is free to do so.) Personnally, I can't be a
> fundamentalist of any board


not being fussy i use skype all the time, but do be careful if you  
are using skype with a global ip address as opposed to using it  
behind a nat/firewall with a local ip address.  skype uses a peer to  
peer overlay network that will actually turn your node (and use your  
local network) into a super node to route other people's skype  
traffic.  a very kaazaa thing to do and friendly p2p sharing if you  
know it is happening and don't mind.  but something that can cause  
your local computer and even network to grind to a crawl in some cases.

in terms of SIP phones (e.g. X10 phones?), where does one get gateway  
services to the POTS network if they don't pay for a service like  
Vonage?

cheers
a.