Customer Reviews

Internet Phone Services Simplified (VoIP)

5 star:		(1)
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3 star:		(1)
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This is an OK book. It provides the information a truly naive user would need to set up a commercial VOIP account.

This short book is very repetive and chatty. Beyond the historical perspectives, it conatins little useful information that can't be found by looking at a few web sites.

Some of the content is pretty, but usless, graphics. I hope you like the picture of the lady on the book's cover, because you get to see it five more times inside the book. Each time it occupies a full page.

Even though the book devotes a lot of content to analyzing to cost of various options, it doesn't even mention the fact that you can try VOIP free with a software phone and something like ekiga (the application formerly known as gnomemeeting). Softphone and SIP are found only in the glossary.

It is an easy read that will give you rock-bottom basics of setting up your home network and computer for commercial VOIP service.

Internet Phone Services Simplified
Neil Anderson and Jim Doherty * ISBN: 1-58720-162-3 * SRP: US $19.99

Reviewer Name: Sean Conway, Network Analyst III
Reviewer Certification: CCNA, CCDA
Rating 5 of 5


I would say that the contents of this book match the book's title completely. I found the book to be well organized, illustrated and supported by great practical examples. It's written in plain English where ever possible and when the technical jargon is used it was always accompanied by a clear explanation. Although having a basic understanding of a home network setup is helpful, it's by no means necessary to benefit from this book. Anyone looking to gain a basic understanding of how internet voice services work and how to select the appropriate service for their particular situation will find this book to be of great help.

There are plenty of examples to reinforce the text. The sections written by "The Geek Squad" were nice to see because they discussed the knowledge gained from the everyday implementation and support of internet voice services. The sections also included some humor which made reading the book enjoyable as well as informative.

Internet Phone Services Simplified is directed mostly at the home user. I've noticed more and more advertisements for phone services over a high speed broadband internet connection. It seems everyone from my phone and cable companies, to my Internet Provider and other various vendors have some form of voice offerings. And they all want my business. This book will help the reader understand the differences between voice services over cable, DSL and even Instant Messaging services with voice capabilities.

The book compares everything from cost, reliability, voice quality and most importantly, 911 and E911 services. It doesn't try to sell you on one type of service over another. It just explains well the differences between the services and leaves it to the reader to decide which would be best for them.

I was surprised to see services like Skype and Instant Messaging covered. These services are free and even with having a lower voice quality than the paid services, would usually work well enough for those making limited long distance calls.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone considering using Internet Voice Services. The cost of the book could very well save you some money by choosing the service that best suits your needs and at the least would save you some frustration trying to get your system set up and working. This alone is often worth the cost of many books.