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Author Topic: vista and vonage  (Read 4296 times)

Offline Kathyp

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vista and vonage
« on: August 28, 2007, 02:50:18 pm »
not a problem, but i also just got vista on my main computer and my husband is running it on  his lap top.  so far, so good.  it's amazing how idiot proof they have made these things since the old days  :-)

anyway....we decided to try vonage because of the international calls we make.  just got it hooked up and it seems to work fine.  has anyone else used it?  anything i should know before i yank my old line??

now i have routers, wireless, and assorted other crap spread all over for 3 computers.
my two concerns are that i am going to blow up the electrical system in this old place, or the black helicopters are going to fly over and mistake me for a major intel site.  we must glow!!   8-)
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline buzzbee

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Re: vista and vonage
« Reply #1 on: August 28, 2007, 07:55:35 pm »
I've never used vonage but am considering it because of the Piece of crapo phone service I have.(A small independent thAt CARES LITTLE ABOUT HELPING IT'S CUSTOMERS)Let usknow how it works out Kathy! I am eager to try it.
Is your broadband cable or DSL?

Offline Kathyp

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Re: vista and vonage
« Reply #2 on: August 28, 2007, 08:09:03 pm »
it's DSL.  first call i made was to england.  clear as a bell.  took me about 10 minutes to hook up.  will have to re-run some phone line because the phone needs to hook into the router.  start up cost was about 40 dollars.  router was no cost.  two months service free.  cost was activation fee and shipping for router.

if i run into any snags, i'll let you know. 

it also has some nice features included.  call forwarding, ring to multiple lines including cell lines, voice mail and email notification of voice mail, etc.

buzzbee, if you decide to go with it, and you don't know anyone else, let me put you down as a referral.  i think i get something for that  :-)
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline buzzbee

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Re: vista and vonage
« Reply #3 on: August 28, 2007, 09:27:14 pm »
Will do Kathy!

Offline Understudy

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Re: vista and vonage
« Reply #4 on: August 29, 2007, 09:17:31 am »
My main concern with Vonage is not with their service.
They lost the case brought them against by Verizon.
Their future is in question. As to what will exactly happen no one is sure but it will be interesting to follow.


Sincerely,
Brendhan
The status is not quo. The world is a mess and I just need to rule it. Dr. Horrible

Offline Romahawk

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Re: vista and vonage
« Reply #5 on: August 29, 2007, 11:11:30 am »
And if you have your service through a cable network you should also have a cell phone for emergencies. When the cable or electrical power is out (which is not often in my area) you will have no phone service
Never let your education interfere with your learning" --Samuel Clemens

Offline Kathyp

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Re: vista and vonage
« Reply #6 on: August 29, 2007, 11:29:32 am »
not to worried about them going under.  i'm only buying service, not stock.  :-)  i can alway go back to the land line.

i do have a cell phone.  the service automatically forwards calls to it if the power goes out, or the phone is not answered.    that's an nice optional feature and kind of nice.  i used to keep a wall phone handy for when the power went down.
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline Understudy

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Re: vista and vonage
« Reply #7 on: August 31, 2007, 04:39:30 pm »
After having been through three hurricanes. One of the last services restored was cell phone service. One of the fasted was Bell South. So I have a nice land line phone. Not a cordless one either because with no power a cordless phone doesn't work. Also you may not have anything to charge your cell phone with.

Sincerely,
Brendhan
The status is not quo. The world is a mess and I just need to rule it. Dr. Horrible

Offline Kathyp

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Re: vista and vonage
« Reply #8 on: August 31, 2007, 07:43:46 pm »
yup, that could be a problem.  i was in LA late into oct. and even then the cell service was iffy.  when i  got there, it was almost nonexistent.  if i got really lucky, i would find a signal just long enough to get off a text message that i was still alive  :-)

my biggest risk here is an earthquake, or getting buried by that mountain (or a combination of both).
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline UtahBees

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Re: vista and vonage
« Reply #9 on: October 02, 2007, 02:01:10 am »
I think you'll be happy with Vonage, as long as they don't go under.

I used to use Skype as my business line, but unfortunately they don't provide caller ID service, and a lot of people I work with and customers that I called were screening their calls because the caller ID was coming up with '1234567' as the caller ID from my phone, and they dare not answer something so weird. It was also a bummer being tied to my PC with a headset, but I could have paid for a router that I could hook my normal line into, or bought a wi-fi phone, but never did. The caller ID thing was the main problem. Glad Vonage and other VoIP providers don't have that same problem.

Regards,

UtahBees

Offline Kathyp

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Re: vista and vonage
« Reply #10 on: October 02, 2007, 11:03:24 am »
so far i really like it.  i have all the features that i  had on the other service, and i don't pay extra.  it also has some cool stuff like forwarding voice mail to email in a .wav file.  customer service is good. call quality is good. 

only hitch i have found is that the call breaks up a bit if i am doing a download or something that takes a lot of bandwidth.  i am on the low end of DSL speed because of where i live. 
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.