[ale] Cable modem recommendation

[Ron Frazier (ALE)]

On 4/19/2012 8:17 AM, Michael Campbell wrote:
>
>
> On Thu, Apr 19, 2012 at 1:18 PM, JD <jdp at algoloma.com 
> <mailto:jdp at algoloma.com>> wrote:
>
>     I have a friend using a Oomla http://www.ooma.com/products . Saw a
>     sale last
>     week for $140 on that - lifetime calling, but I think they must
>     charge monthly
>     for E911 by law.  This same friend tried the MagicJack on a PC for
>     no other use
>     and said it worked well enough, but he always felt slimy.
>
>
>
> A colleague of mine uses Ooma and raves about it.
>
> I use Skype dial-out (I can dial regular #'s with it), and it works 
> well enough for me.   I'm on business in Belgium right now, and I use 
> it to call my home phone in Atlanta on the anemic hotel wifi, and it 
> works very well with voice.  It also works moderately well with video 
> on a Skype-Skype call to home also.
>
> I don't have a Jihad against Microsoft, so I'll continue to use Skype 
> until a better valued option comes up, or it starts to suck.  So far 
> neither have happened.
>
> I haven't tried Google Voice from my computer to regular # yet, but I 
> might try that in the next couple days.
>

Hi Michael and all,

I use both Microsoft and Linux products routinely, and don't have an axe 
to grind for or against either.  However, I thought I'd mention this 
regarding Skype.  Microsoft filed for a patent back in 2009 and it was 
recently published regarding allowing the covert "wiretapping" (my 
words) of VOIP calls.  Now that they've bought Skype, I think you have 
to assume that your Skype call could be monitored and recorded.  Now, 
it's supposed to be only legally authorized wiretapping, and I 
understand that law enforcement sometimes has a need for that.  However, 
it used to be only the highly regulated telco that had access to wiretap 
your calls.  Now, it's a less regulated (I would say) mega corporation 
that's routing the call, and one that's not intrinsically in the phone 
business.  I think that, if I needed VOIP for anything remotely 
sensitive, and if I had an alternative that I could encrypt, I'd avoid 
using Skype.  I don't know precisely what that alternative is though.  
Just my 2 cents.

Here's one of many articles that come up if you type   microsoft skype 
patent   into Google.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/06/29/microsoft_skype/

Sincerely,

Ron


-- 

(To whom it may concern.  My email address has changed.  Replying to former
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Ron Frazier

770-205-9422 (O)   Leave a message.
linuxdude AT techstarship.com

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