…or VoIP is the term for a new (re: just barely mainstream) way of communitcating over the Internet. VoIP lets you use a regular telephone to make calls anywhere. The difference is, the calls are sent over the Internet through your broadband connection. This has the advantage of making them very cost effective. Furthermore, the low cost of the VoIP service can often offset some of the high costs of high-speed Internet access.

I recieved my VoIP router from Vonage today and it looked so sexy sitting next to my pc that I had to take its picture.

It connects directly into my Linksys Router and adds four Ethernet ports of its own that can be used to share the Internet with even more devices. It’s not a bad package and I hear that they are making an all-in-one wireless-g version as well.

In related news, I made a difficult decision today. Here’s the back-story: I’ve been without Xbox Live ever since we got the new apartment. Honestly, it’s not that big of a deal to me. I still play lots of games and do other things that are equally fun and usually more productive. However, I have paid for the Xbox Live service and I really enjoy it when I have it. So, when I invested in my first Internet router I got the Linksys Wireless-G Router. I am completely satisfied with this purchase. I also purchased the Linksys Wireless-G Gaming Adapter. I am not so satisfied in this case.

The unit is designed to work with modern day gaming consoles (Xbox, PS2, GameCube) to allow them to connect to a wireless network in much the same way as a laptop or other computer.
Now, I will be the first to admit that I’m not a networking genius. I design web pages and I usually rely on other people to make sure they can move about from place to place. I learn what I can, but it’s not my primary drive. However, in this case, I feel I have gained a certain mastery of the concepts required, simply because I have been banging my head against them for almost three weeks now. After continual trying and retrying, digging through vague poorly spelled forum postings, and consulting with my smarter friends, I have been unsuccessful at getting my Xbox onto Live through my wireless router. The difficult decision I made today was to forgo the supreme techno-geek coolness of having a gaming console that is on my wireless network in favor of a “really long Ethernet cable.” Sure it’s $70 cheaper but it’s just nowhere near as cool. *sigh* Someday, maybe soon, I’ll get a laptop and throw that on the network. Then, in some small way, I’ll be vindicated.

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