Is VoIP Good For The Home?

Written by Aaron Siegel


Continued from page 1

Secondly you will need what is called a gateway. The gateway is connected between your computer and Ethernet modem. The VoIP gateway is where your phone line will be plugged into. Gateways enable freedom from possible computer problems that can shut down calling capabilities or deteriorate voice quality. Computer crashes, slow memory, and many other computer problems that plague us in everyday life, you do not want to plague your ability to make phone calls.

Gateways are specifically designed for VoIP phones but adapters are available for current phones should you not want to buy a brand new phone. VoIP providers usually haverepparttar adapters available for sale so you don’t have to shop around for one yourself. Before you write off buying a new phone however, video phones arerepparttar 107945 newest product line and it won’t be long before this trend explodes. You may want to get your video phone so you aren’t left out of exciting face to face conversations with friends and relatives when they get theirs. Packet8 VoIP has a good video phone sold separately with their services.

The services included with VoIP usually include allrepparttar 107946 convenient bells and whistles your current phone service provides including your own local VoIP telephone number, call waiting, voice messaging, 3 way calling, and more.

There are some important things to remember with VoIP before you go diving in to this feature rich voice technology. You should check with your VoIP provider for local 911 emergency coverage. Some VoIP providers charge extra on a monthly basis for both 911 and 411 access so make sure you know how much it is going to cost you before committing to a calling contract.

One last important thing to remember is that your gateway is reliant on electricity to function. This means power outages will put your phone line out of service, but then isn’t your phone already only functional with electricity these days?

This article was written by Aaron Siegel of www.TopSavings.Net which provides consultive services for communications at the residential level all the way up to government.

Services available at the website include VoIP (Including Packet8), Internet Access (Including SpeakEasy), Long Distance, Local Phone Services, Cellular services, and more.


Text messaging: Don't Get Mad, Get Creative

Written by Erin Jansen


Continued from page 1

"I see it as another opportunity to teach and learn," said a junior high teacher. Because texting is infiltrating students' schoolwork to such a large degree, this kind of teaching is needed.

The fact is kids are saying they are so accustomed to IM abbreviations (instant messaging), that they read right pass them when editing their schoolwork. This indicates their ability to separate formal and informal English is declining.

If educators choose to react with alarm or dismay, or try to stifle it, or call this type of writing rude (it is not rude), they are dismissing an important opportunity to work withrepparttar student. This type of response isrepparttar 107944 wrong response, especially fromrepparttar 107945 teens' point of view.

I advocate turningrepparttar 107946 issue of texting into a positive. For example, establish a dialogue aboutrepparttar 107947 evolution of language and use examples such as Shakespeare's delight in creating new words. This helps them seerepparttar 107948 broader picture and creates an environment of respect.

Teenagers have long pushedrepparttar 107949 boundaries of spoken language, now they are pushingrepparttar 107950 boundaries of written language. It remains to be seen if text shorthand is just a fad. To me it is a cousin ofrepparttar 107951 acronym, which has been widely used inrepparttar 107952 government, business and technology sectors for decades.

Let's also not forget that youths likerepparttar 107953 feeling of knowing something that not everyone knows and sharing that with their friends. Rememberrepparttar 107954 Internet and online communication is very real for them, they don't see it as a technological revolution…they're actively using it everyday.

I challenge parents and educators to learn and know as much as they do about computers and high-tech gadgets. I'd sayrepparttar 107955 learning curve for feeling comfortable usingrepparttar 107956 Internet and understandingrepparttar 107957 online lingo is pretty steep for many adults.

Whereas for teenagers, also knows as screenagers, they've grown up or they're growing up with this technology that involves looking at a computer screen instead of just a television screen. In a sense they are helping create a new lingo and style of writing and that's empowering for them. So you see texting is an important part of their culture.

The Internet represents a new frontier, a place where you can set asiderepparttar 107958 rules, especiallyrepparttar 107959 rules of grammar and punctuation, and instead create your own descriptive phrases and styles of expression to give feeling in what is essentially a two-dimensional written world. And therein liesrepparttar 107960 popularity ofrepparttar 107961 emoticon :-)

Another way to look at texting is to think of it as an accent; a written accent. Teenagers have gotten comfortable with this kind of typing and now in school, they're not paying attention. It's just like with a spoken accent: You live somewhere long enough, you pick uprepparttar 107962 accent, and you don't even pay attention to it.

So don't get mad, get creative and work together! It's that kind of response we'd rather teach our children anyway now isn't it? Erin Jansen is an expert in online communication. She isrepparttar 107963 author and publisher of "NetLingo The Internet Dictionary" (ISBN: 0970639678) and "NetLingo.com" a Top 1000 Web site as ranked by Google. Erin frequently speaks and writes about online culture and technology trends. Register for her "Newsletter of New Internet Terms" at NetLingo.com



Erin Jansen is co-creator of NetLingo.com, the popular, award winning, Internet Dictionary on the Web; now published in print form. She holds a Masters in Industrial Psychology from the London School of Economics and a Bachelors in Psychology from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.

Her complete Biography can be found on the site at www.netlingo.com




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