Internet Phone Connections [Paperback]

Cheryl Kirk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 1997

A look at the developing Internet phone technologies from the consumers point of view. The text begins with a basic introduction of Internet telephony, describing exactly what it is - and how to use it. WebPhone and Internet Phone are described and compared, along with other telephony packages. The author addresses and answers such questions as: what's the cheapest and best product? Does it really work? What software and hardware do you need with each product? How much money can you save? The text covers video-conferencing, audio technology and Netscape 3.0's current telephony features. An accompanying CD-ROM contains fully functional versions of top telephony products and demo versions of many more.

Product Details

• Paperback: 276 pages
• Publisher: Mcgraw-Hill Osborne Media (January 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0078822696
• ISBN-13: 978-0078822698
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,884,447 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A user's experiences putting Internet telephony to work., February 7, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Internet Phone Connections (Paperback)

Voice-over-net (VON) is not just an Internet fad; in its short
history the technology has developed at a remarkable rate, particularly
in association with real-time video. Lack of standards makes many
software products mutually incompatible, but one can expect that
problem to resolve itself in the near future. In the meantime,
commercial users are putting VON to work for conferencing (voice
and video/voice), one-to-one voice communication, and secure telephony.

Cheryl Kirk is a computer journalist for the Anchorage Daily News,
but her family lives in that other part of the USA, the lower
48; a hefty phone bill convinced Cheryl that Internet telephony
was worth exploring for economic reasons. Her book is an account
of the experiences of the Kirk family: their first steps and later
experimentation with different applications. It has been expanded
to include information useful to those who want to use, or learn
more about, the technology.

Anyone who suffers under the tyranny of long-distance telephone
charges should find this an interesting read. It is not a technical
description of telephony, or a last-word reference on the subject
of Internet telephony. It is an account of how ordinary users
can take advantage of VON and of the software available at the
time of writing, hardware required, and the author's experiences
with different packages.

VON is a fast-developing field and any book published is bound
to out of date before the ink is dry. There will have been more
recent versions of the software before it hits the shelves, and
some of the technical information may not be quite correct. This
book is a personal overview of VON and a personal assessment of
the various packages.

If you accept that situation, then you should not be disappointed
in The Internet Phone Connection. As far as I am aware
it is the second book published on the subject of VON - and will
certainly not be the last. For those who want to get their hands
on the technology, either for real use or to satisfy curiosity,
it is worth reading.

An introductory section explains how the author became so interested
in VON, some of the developmental background, and a guess about
its future. Then follows a chapter that discusses the necessary
hardware, operating systems, and peripherals; the author then
moves on to the subject of how to make the connection, and the
importance of data compression.

The book then describes software products, providing details of
vendors (including Internet sites), system requirement, features,
a personal opinion of each product, and ratings under the headings
of:

Voice quality, Ease of use, Overall product features, Did it work the first time? Server-based? File transfer? Voicemail? Cost, Linkable via Web page? Nifty features.

A chapter on Putting the Phone Programs to Work is a practical
description of downloading the latest version of selected software,
installation (with a brief discursion on how the programs work),
and lots of practical tips (based on the experience of the author
and her family).

There are plenty of peripherals - gadgets and gizmos -
available for VON, including those ubiquitous ball-shaped cameras.
A chapter provides brief descriptions, details of vendors, and
some cautionary notes.

The author then moves on to fine tuning phone connections. It
is a kind of FAQ that fields the obvious - and some not so obvious
- questions and problems. A final chapter looks at more telephony
and audio products that are not strictly VON applications, but
are interesting.

The companion CD is a PC-Mac hybrid with full instructions for
installation. Some of the PC software is for Win95 and WinNT,
but Win3.x users are not entirely left out. The selection includes
a number of packages, some of which are demo versions. Software
supplied on such companion CDs often has a built in use-by date
that imposes a limited shelf life. It particularly affects books
which rely for their market on speedy publication, something not
conducive to assembling a collection of software on the the best
terms.

In short, if some of the software doesn't want to load, don't
be surprised. I have not tried them all, but of a limited sample
one package simply went nowhere and others were restricted.

Annoying, but a fact of life and something pretty well beyond
the author's control. At least the book contains Internet addresses
where all the important packages can be found.

Given that caveat, the book is a well-written introduction to
Internet telephony for new users, and a useful product resource.

Reviewed by Major Keary

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book, January 4, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Internet Phone Connections (Paperback)

By far the best book on the subject. Well written and easy to follow.
Author extremely helpful in assisting me with problems I had with one product highlighted in the book.
I highly recommend it. She knows her stuff, and doesn't pitch products, which is nice to see. So many other authors of computer books do.
I am happy to say because of buying the book I too am saving a bundle of money talking to my brother-in-law in Nebraska.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book. Cleared up a lot of new user type questions., November 24, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Internet Phone Connections (Paperback)

I just finished reading the book, and must say it's a great read besides being very informative about using the internet to talk to people with these webphones.
I thought it would be too technical or even out of date, but it really has some good tips on how to tweak your Internet phone connection. Therea are two other books out there I looked at a dummies book, I think and another one,
but this one had so much more in it, and was very well written I went with it.

I particularly enjoyed the little CD-ROM help program, and was suprised to find all that software on the CD. Seems lately books come with one or two programs on them, but I think I counted at least 20 different ones.
Glad they included those coupons too. I tried bought the headset she recommended and really enjoy it.

I would highliy recommend this book especially if you have tried these netphone programs before without much success like I did.

-Walter