# Anybody ditch their landline/VoIP for Skype on their Mac?



## Betty Woo (Feb 5, 2005)

I was browsing over at Skype and, having used the service a couple of times with fellow Skypers (and getting totally fed up with restarting this hellish router; the only reason I have it being needing a VOiP adapter), I'm wondering if it may be what I need.

I don't talk much, actually. I'd say, maybe, an hour a week local (if that) and maybe two hours long distance within BC and to the States at the most a week?

I'm trying to get a grip on how much such usage would actually come out to in SkypeIn, SkypeOut, blah-blah-blah. Of course, I would like call display and voicemail (preferably voicemail that also goes to an email address as an .mp3?) but, you know, call display and any type of voicemail would be fine... .

If I can get things under $40 a month, that would be great. I might even consider a pay-as-you-go cellphone if I can get the $40-ish price.

Anybody out there totally ditch their landlines and most of their cellphones and gone Skype?


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## gmug (Feb 13, 2007)

*Have ditched the Landline for Skype*



Betty Woo said:


> I was browsing over at Skype and...snip
> 
> Anybody out there totally ditch their landlines & most of their cellphones & gone Skype?


I have ditched the Landline for Skype FYI


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## John Clay (Jun 25, 2006)

I wouldn't suggest ditching your landline (Unless you have a cell) for Skype any time soon - Skype doesn't offer 911 services.


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## Betty Woo (Feb 5, 2005)

gmug said:


> I have ditched the Landline for Skype FYI


I was just reading... and confused.

If I get a SkypeIn phone number so people can call in to me, I can't get a Canadian number yet?

So I'd have to get a US number and my friend three blocks away would have to call the long distance number to call me if he's only on a landline?


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## Betty Woo (Feb 5, 2005)

John Clay said:


> I wouldn't suggest ditching your landline (Unless you have a cell) for Skype any time soon - Skype doesn't offer 911 services.


Yeah. That's why I figured a pay-as-you-go cellphone with #1 speed dial being the 911 equivalent for my area would be a great excuse to get one of them things


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## harzack86 (Jan 30, 2005)

I'm using Skype out for calls in Europe mainly. I kept the landline for local calls and NA (I had an offer for 12 months, I may also use Skype for NA then after).
I like the landline for 911, keeping my local phone number, etc...
I'm still waiting for a decent IP phone to be sold in Canada (like this one...) and I may use Skype even more.

The sound quality and lag are sometime annoying when using Skype too.


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## Betty Woo (Feb 5, 2005)

harzack86 said:


> I'm using Skype out for calls in Europe mainly. I kept the landline for local calls and NA (I had an offer for 12 months, I may also use Skype for NA then after).
> I like the landline for 911, keeping my local phone number, etc...
> I'm still waiting for a decent IP phone to be sold in Canada (like this one...) and I may use Skype even more.
> 
> The sound quality and lag are sometime annoying when using Skype too.


The main reason why I'm still with the landline is because VoIP just wasn't doing it for me because of sound issues and some flakeyness... then I got a new router and it was better... but now the new router periodically needs a reset and that causes havoc so I would just love to ditch the whole thing, get my $80 back, put that towards Skype (just had another conference call between Kobe, Japan and two American cities and the sound quality was great) and get a pay-as-you-go cellphone.

I've actually trained everyone NOT to call me on my landline. I don't even have the phone plugged in unless I want to make an outgoing long distance call (which is still cheaper than my VOiP deal)... .

I'm just trying to figure out now how much or if it's even possible to get a local area code so people within my area code calling me on Skype from their landlines don't get hit with long distance charges... .

I'm thinking this is really the only stumbling block unless I hear of a lot of other Canadian Skype users who have had problems.


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## 9780 (Sep 14, 2006)

Betty Woo said:


> I was just reading... and confused.
> 
> If I get a SkypeIn phone number so people can call in to me, I can't get a Canadian number yet?
> 
> So I'd have to get a US number and my friend three blocks away would have to call the long distance number to call me if he's only on a landline?


Try the Gizmo Project, it's very similar to Skype but uses the open protocol SIP, which means it's more compatible. Though Gizmo now offers canadian phone numbers, it used to not be available so I got it through another service (for a mere 6 USD/month) and forwarded that easily to Gizmo. Voila!

Let's also mention the free gizmo voicemail, that sends the message via email as a .wav file, the Free Calls program (that won't expire unless the company changes their policy lol) - and (good or bad?) the fact it was started by Michael Robertson, same guy who started mp3.com and Lindows aka Linspire. And very good Mac support, too!

Patrix.


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## Betty Woo (Feb 5, 2005)

You mean... you bought a DID World Wide Canadian call-forwarding phone number that you can map to your Skype or Gizmo Project name/number?

Huh. I've been looking at DIDWW - seems like it's getting mixed reviews from Canadians using it... . But it's a great interim idea, if it works dependably


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## mr.steevo (Jul 22, 2005)

Hi,

I have VOIP and it is pretty bad at times. I have the most issues between 3-6pm. If you own the router you could go for this VOIP option for $10 a month. If you are going to have crappy, it may as well be cheap.

s.


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## lewdvig (Nov 20, 2003)

I ditched it for my cell phone about 3 years ago.

Consumer grade VoIP is fun for kicks and giggles, but I would not rely on it too much. 

e911 being the most obvious reason.

Without dedicating at least a portion of your bandwidth to it, you will always get mixed results. I like IP trunking to a Central Office like Cybersurf and Terrago (beta) are doing.


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## Guest (Jun 18, 2007)

I ditched my land-line for VoIP .. I get my service from a wholesaler in Ottawa and I have had little to no problems at all in the last 6 months. I have a Toronto number, full AIX2 support (asterisk) so I trunk my server with theirs directly and great tech support... oh ya, and it's $2.50/mnth + usage 

As for Skype-In and Skype-Out it's pretty hit and miss. Much worse quality than proper VoIP ... and it can change very very quickly (Skype uses p2p style networking, so one person in the mix drops out you go boom).

http://www.unlimitel.ca

Also if you use a qos enabled network you shouldn't run into any problems using VoIP (as long as you have a decent amount of upstream bandwidth). Most consumer routers support qos these days, as do lots of the software VoIP phones (I use JackenAIX and X-Lite and have no dropouts at all, ever).


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## steadfast (Jul 23, 2004)

When we use Skype ( the free one ) to talk to our daughter in Egypt we get about 28 minutes of audio from our end and then she can't hear us although we receive her load and clear. I always wondered if our iSight overheads or wether it is Skype's problem?


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## Vexel (Jan 30, 2005)

mguertin said:


> I ditched my land-line for VoIP .. I get my service from a wholesaler in Ottawa and I have had little to no problems at all in the last 6 months. I have a Toronto number, full AIX2 support (asterisk) so I trunk my server with theirs directly and great tech support... oh ya, and it's $2.50/mnth + usage
> 
> As for Skype-In and Skype-Out it's pretty hit and miss. Much worse quality than proper VoIP ... and it can change very very quickly (Skype uses p2p style networking, so one person in the mix drops out you go boom).
> 
> ...


Thanks Mark, I've been looking into VoIP services to replace my landline here in Ottawa.. I'll definitely have a look at Unlimitel.


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## mr.steevo (Jul 22, 2005)

Hi,

VOIP makes you dance?

s.


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## Guest (Jun 19, 2007)

it's a very fancy dance .. makes me think of john cleese for some reason


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## KardnalForgotHisPassword (Oct 14, 2004)

I've been using SkyOut for the last 6-8 months or so. Primarily for long distance, but also during the day when my cell doesn't have free calling. For the $20/year I spent on it, I have no complaints. The audio quality is hit or miss though. My girlfriend doesn't mind/notice, but my father hates it when I call him fro Skype (And can tell instantly.)

Anyway, for me, it's not quite there yet to replace a landline completely, but it's a great way to make cheap long distance calls if you don't care too much about the audio fidelity...


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## Guest (Jun 19, 2007)

steadfast said:


> When we use Skype ( the free one ) to talk to our daughter in Egypt we get about 28 minutes of audio from our end and then she can't hear us although we receive her load and clear. I always wondered if our iSight overheads or wether it is Skype's problem?


That's an odd one, hard to say which is to blame :/ You might be able to see if it's a memory usage thing by looking at Utilities->Activity Monitor and see if your memory is maxing out on skype when it happens.


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## Betty Woo (Feb 5, 2005)

mguertin said:


> That's an odd one, hard to say which is to blame :/ You might be able to see if it's a memory usage thing by looking at Utilities->Activity Monitor and see if your memory is maxing out on skype when it happens.


In my case, the thing to blame was the router. It was a D-Link 604. Tough ol' bird but the Linksys WRT56G, with built-in ability to allow VoIP workloads to take priority over regular downloads, seemed to improve the sound quality a lot.

Unfortunately, after spending five hours from Thursday to yesterday and another two hours today talking to Linkysys tech people, it seems the router's not giving out it's MAC address (and won't) so it's going back tomorrow to the VOiP people that I bought it from about three weeks ago.

Since it always seems to be the router that's the fly in the ointment, the logical conclusion is to get a system that bypasses it completely. Which is to say, dump VoIP since it requires a router and adapter and go for Skype (even *with* having to pay a 3rd party $5 a month for a Vancouver forwarding phone number).

We'll see how my VOiP company handles this.

It's just strange that I'm seeing my iMac as a TV-recording, phone-talking, usual computing system. Poor baby... .


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## 9780 (Sep 14, 2006)

Betty Woo said:


> You mean... you bought a DID World Wide Canadian call-forwarding phone number that you can map to your Skype or Gizmo Project name/number?
> 
> Huh. I've been looking at DIDWW - seems like it's getting mixed reviews from Canadians using it... . But it's a great interim idea, if it works dependably


No I never heard of DIDWW... I bought a callcentric number. Callcentric themselves are a VOIP provider, but they also allow free call forwarding to any other SIP (read: open standards VOIP protocol used by just about everyone except Skype) URL. Gizmo supports SIP redirection (read: they can receive SIP forwarded calls), and Gizmo has a free account, free voicemail, cheap call rates, some free calls, paypal support, etc

Of course, now Gizmo themselves offer Canadian DIDs, so I wouldn't need such a setup anymore.

Another advantage of SIP-based services: if you're tired of using your computer to talk, you can always use an _unlocked_ SIP router or adapter and configure it to connect to whichever SIP server you use and then use a real phone connected to the router/adapter and chat away like that! Never done it though, plenty have.

Patrix.


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## mr.steevo (Jul 22, 2005)

mguertin said:


> it's a very fancy dance .. makes me think of john cleese for some reason


Fish Called Wanda, perhaps?

Personally, I think VOIP is not there yet. It could be the router, the bandwidth, the gerbal running on the wheel. Who knows. I have had a few freinds ask me about moving to VOIP and I have suggested they try something else. I'm considering dropping VOIP altogether and getting a couple of mobile phones, but then the long distance thing becomes a pain.

Why do companies like Telus treat customers so poorly that we even have to consider sub standard options like VOIP?

s.


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## Betty Woo (Feb 5, 2005)

:lmao:


mr.steevo said:


> Fish Called Wanda, perhaps?
> 
> Personally, I think VOIP is not there yet. It could be the router, the bandwidth, the gerbal running on the wheel. Who knows. I have had a few freinds ask me about moving to VOIP and I have suggested they try something else. I'm considering dropping VOIP altogether and getting a couple of mobile phones, but then the long distance thing becomes a pain.
> 
> ...


I dunno. Some reasons I hate Telus as a landline company? Because for more than $30 a month:

1. My service was really staticy anyway and they just kept telling me if that was the case, my landlord would have to rewire the building (yyyeeeaaah. Like that's gonna happen for my one problem),

2. I have to pay $2 just for the privilege of Telus *not* announcing to the world my phone number,

3. Someone there gave my phone number out to someone (or it was made available) because I had someone call me out of the blue who most definitely did not have my number since I've never given it out to people since I got it 'cause I only use it for emergencies and long distance outcalling.

But with the VOiP service, I'm now stuck spending +$30 on the landline *and* about $22 a month for VOiP (plus the need for a router).

There just aren't any really reliable cheaper alternatives that I can see (except the Skype thing... and how reliable is that?).

So much for the _computer convergence _theory:lmao:


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## dmg (Feb 4, 2003)

*Primus Unlimited*

I use the Primus Unlimited bundle for $30/month.

I use Rogers Hi-Speed Internet Extreme so bandwidth isn't an issue. Well, when Rogers is working normally. 

I have a cell phone for backup and there's a Bell landline upstairs so I'm well covered 911-wise.

Here's the link: Primus Canada - For Your Home

This gives me all the usual features including voicemail and call display along with unlimited long distance in Canada and the United States.

I rarely call overseas but this last month I had reason to call Curacao in the Caribbean a few times. A six minute call cost me $1.62 CAD or about $0.27/minute. I didn't think that was bad.

It's been a while since I looked at other services as this one serves me well and is reliable. But I seem to recall that the Primus bundle in the US also includes Western Europe for the same price. Apparently it's a CRTC thing. I guess Bell and Rogers objected. I remember wondering if it was worth using a friend in the US to bill the service through and then just have him send me the modem in mail. It's VoIP, it should work anywhere. But I decided it wasn't worth the effort.

The VoIP router, a D-Link, sits behind my firewall/router, a Linksys WRT 300N V1.

It's very rare that I have an issue with the audio quality although I have given VoIP services priority within the router.

I've taken the VoIP modem with me on business trips and have used it successfully from a number of hotels.

However you'll need patience because most hotel internet services require that you log-in through a web page to agree to their terms of service and the modem can't talk directly to that log-in page.

When this happens, I call their tech support and they walk me through setting-up the modem. But it's a lot of effort if you're only going to be there a night or two so I only usually bother if I'm going to be there a while.

I'd love to find a wi-fi (802.11) handset that would talk directly to the VoIP modem through my own 802.11 network on my side of my firewall. Thus providing localized wireless access to my VoIP service without requiring a wireless phone base station and handset as I use now.

This would mean I'd have to be able to configure the handset directly and the last time I looked, none of the ones on the market would let me do that.

Hope this helps,
~dmg


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## 9780 (Sep 14, 2006)

dmg said:


> I'd love to find a wi-fi (802.11) handset that would talk directly to the VoIP modem through my own 802.11 network on my side of my firewall. Thus providing localized wireless access to my VoIP service without requiring a wireless phone base station and handset as I use now.
> 
> This would mean I'd have to be able to configure the handset directly and the last time I looked, none of the ones on the market would let me do that.


Such handsets do exist, and have for a while:

VOIP Phones - voip-info.org

Patrix


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## dmg (Feb 4, 2003)

*checking-out the list...*

I'll check-out the list of phones but I was under the impression that wi-fi handsets were tied to specific VoIP services such as Skype or Vonage and that you couldn't simply configure them to work with different services, especially if the VoIP provider wants to sell you their handset.

Essentially you'd have to copy the firmware settings from your VoIP modem directly to handset or have the handset talk directly to the VoIP modem. I don't see how the latter is possible but it wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong. 

Or put another way, would you have to enter the MAC address of the existing VoIP modem in to the handset, essentially fooling the service provider in to talking to the handset when it thinks it's talking to the modem?

The more I think about it, the more I realize I don't really know how the VoIP protocols work. 

~dmg


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## Guest (Jun 20, 2007)

I think the biggest problem here is that VoIP getting the bad wrap due to all the poor residential services these companies offer, running your own server, with decent bandwidth and a good provider is a whole different experience. I get better results from my VoIP setup than I did with my bell phone, for a fraction of the price. Not Vonage, or rogers home phone, etc.


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## teknikz (Nov 20, 2006)

Check out www.cia.com

I ditched bell for them and I've never been happier. For 10 $ a month with all features you can try it out alongside your current service...try it you wont regret it. I hope they serve your area


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## 9780 (Sep 14, 2006)

dmg said:


> I'll check-out the list of phones but I was under the impression that wi-fi handsets were tied to specific VoIP services such as Skype or Vonage and that you couldn't simply configure them to work with different services, especially if the VoIP provider wants to sell you their handset.
> 
> Essentially you'd have to copy the firmware settings from your VoIP modem directly to handset or have the handset talk directly to the VoIP modem. I don't see how the latter is possible but it wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong.
> 
> ...


The voip handset is nothing more than another computer on your network running VOIP software, that looks like a phone. Basically your VOIP router only does routing, no VOIP stuff. You don't even need a VOIP router at this point, just a normal wireless router would do the trick. There's a web server running on the handset so you can configure it with a web browser like you would a VOIP router.

And buy the WIFI handsets UNLCOCKED, not from VOIP providers - they lock it so that you don't buy their hardware and use it with somebody else. Unlocked handsets can work with any provider, you just need to configure them properly. Most voip providers usually give you the proper settings (or at least generic ones) to configure software voip clients, and sometimes even hardware ones (such as your own voip router that you owned before joining them, or a SIP handset, etc...)

Patrix.

PS: I've never used a WIFI handset, or VOIP handset or router of any kind, so this isn't based on experience just what I read on many VOIP forums and using various VOIP software....


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## DBF (May 4, 2005)

*Landline/Skype*

I got rid of my landline earlier this year and got the dry loop for Sympatico so my Bell bill is half of what it was and no telemarketer calls anymore!

I already had the Skype on my Mac (I pay about $15 per year for the North American long distance) which is OK but I do get some complaints about an echo from folks I call. It came in handy when I had to call Starchoice for tech service, those calls can be pretty long and use up a lot of cell phone time.

I use a pre-paid no-contract Virgin cell phone for receiving calls.

Works for me.

Dan


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## dmg (Feb 4, 2003)

*settings...*



patrix said:


> you just need to configure them properly


That's the tricky part. 

Primus required that their users perform a firmware/setting upgrade about six months ago. At that time they provided the admin password and some settings.

I'm pretty sure that once the modem was rebooted with the new firmware, it had a new admin password. In other words, Primus doesn't want anyone using anything but their own modems.

That said, I've never actually asked, so they might be forthcomming.

~dmg


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## 9780 (Sep 14, 2006)

dmg said:


> That's the tricky part.
> 
> Primus required that their users perform a firmware/setting upgrade about six months ago. At that time they provided the admin password and some settings.
> 
> ...


If Primus doesn't offer you their SIP settings so you can configure your own devices/software clients, then yeah you'd be out of luck (note again, this has nothing to do with the firmware or configuration of your VOIP router).

If however they do provide it, then try it out! Download some free VOIP clients so you can test the settings and find what you need to configure, and you'll have a better clue on how to configure WIFI SIP phones or anything else. 

For example, with Gizmo, it's pretty straightforward and they have the settings in their knowledgebase:

SIP Proxy: proxy01.gizmoproject.com
Username: gizmo username
Password: gizmo password
etc etc etc.

I'd need to input this into my own unlocked voip router, or SIP phone, or WIFI sip phone, or third-party VOIP software such as EyeBeam, and voila I can connect to Gizmo and make phonecalls. The only role of your existing VOIP router in such a setup would be to route the internet data packets around, it wouldn't use the VOIP functions of your router. Basically it'd be a glorified wireless router at that point.

Patrix.


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## Betty Woo (Feb 5, 2005)

*thought I'd just update this dead thread.*

I phoned Telus and dumped their landline deal (after being told twice that they'd have to charge me $10 a month to 'maintain an open line' and twice telling them they'd better check 'cause if they do that, they fundamentally change the terms of our present DSL contract and I'll go looking for another DSL option). They were nice, I was nice, they were a bit confused, I was ruthless.

Got a $100-worth airtime pay-as-you-go card from 7-11 (Speak Out). Got a free Nokia 1600 as part of the deal. The $100 card's good for 365 days from activation and the minute rate is $0.20 per (plus, I think, $0.95 a month for 911). Voicemail and caller ID is free. Text messaging (that I've never done in my life) is $0.15 incoming or outgoing. That is going to last me a hell of a lot longer than the 3.5-month's worth of a landline for $100.

Between the VOiP voice quality improvement and the most excellent Skype I've been so far blessed with, I figure I'll save a bundle of $$ a year.

I'm free, I'm free, I'm free (of landlines, anyway).

I wonder how long it'll be before I can save up for one of these really neato Japanese imports: Japanoid.com


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## GratuitousApplesauce (Jan 29, 2004)

It looks like there are some advantages to VOIP/Skype scenarios, although I've never tried them myself, so I don't know. I looked into getting a VOIP phone last year but it didn't add up here in this rural area.

In the rush to move to these internet based phone services I'm a little worried about the landline infrastructure becoming abandoned and not kept in good shape. For a rural person like myself, it is quite useful when the power goes out, which it does regularly, for instance. I have a non-cordless backup phone that runs off of the small electrical charge in the landline and works even when the power goes out.

The new services aren't going to work with no power. In cases of emergency I think this is an important point. I think in many emergencies even the cell networks get bogged down pretty quickly. There was an earthquake in Washington State a few years ago that was felt mildly up here. Even though the power didn't go out here some of the cell networks crashed for part of the day. Although the landline phone network can get swamped too, I think they can handle more than that and may be vital in case of emergencies.

If the big companies that maintain these infrastructures are going to be abandoning them for internet based phones, I hope someone will be there to keep the landline infrastructures up and running.


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