Err, sounds like mission creep for some poor device as well as, umm, toy acquisition syndrome
(and trust me, I'm not being self-righteous since I can't throw that rock in this ol' glass house of mine
).
But this "home phone number" justification is malarky unless you are planning on dropping your cell service in addition to your landline. Any company
(and I haven't heard that its a significant problem amongst the friends that are now cell-only
) that doesn't like cell numbers isn't going to like your Skype number either. Skype
(or even widget-dependent services like magicJack
) are certainly much cheaper than cell service and landline service. But if you are going portable on them, they are very vulnerable to the vagaries of wifi service and most proponents don't include the cost of high-bandwidth internet
(granted perhaps for them, it's free or trivial, but that's not my world
). VoIP has been "around" since the 1970's and commonly used in academic circles in the late 1980's and early 1990's
(NSFNET for me
) but I don't know that I'd subscribe to the theory that Ma Bell somehow squashed its development. The deployment issues were tied into infrastructure and hardware requirements.
But, since this appears to a mission critical application for your future netbook, in the vein of an earlier message, so how many months of landline service is going to make up for the difference between the cost of this chinese netbook
($130 or so
) and a last-generation x86 netbook
($150-$200 used
) or new x86 netbook
($250-$350 new at the local bigbox stores
)?
In a previous thread, you mentioned security. It sounded like some of the CE netbooks had decent security on the SSD ... at the moment it looks like if you forget the password, the only user-recourse is to wipe the unit
(very unlike most other conventional consumer systems
) or return it to the manufacturer for a reset. In that sense, the typical thief isn't going to bother, but who knows? It seems to me that the security is analgous to a very good front door lock which currently few know how to circumvent. But the data itself isn't encrypted as a matter of course... and now we've wandered into unconventional user land....
Quote
Jacobi - 2010-07-31 1:17 AM
Well here is why I need to get a WinCE6 netbook,
it's too difficult to install Skype on the Psion and I don't think it would work on it.
Skype is primarily a software phone.
Once you have installed Skype software on your PC/laptop,
you only need plain-vanilla internet for phone connectivity,
(with your laptop connected to your home router, or to a wifi hotspot, etc.
),
For hardware, you need a computer
(PC, later HPC, etc.
),
with headphone and mic jacks, and a headset, that's all.
You can also install it to and run it from a USB flashdrive, SD card, etc.,
so you can see it's extremely portable!
If you buy a phone # and 1 year' SkypeOut service, total about $60,
with that you can use your # as your home phone, but without the tie up:
instead, you can receive phone calls to your # from anywhere you are in the world,
and make phone calls as well from anywhere in the world, on anyone's PC etc...
In the US and Canada phone calls are free 24/7.
The only limitation is that you have to be online, to receive calls.
(Though you can pay extra for a feature that will push calls to your cell phone
).
I'm looking forward to have a CE6 netbook that I won't mind to leave on and keep online,
so I won't wear out my laptop just for a phone.
Besides voice phone calls, Skype also has lots of other addons: SMS, chat, video conferencing, etc.,
though the connectivity there is more like the P2P type I believe, so personally I don't use them.
Btw so far as announced by Skype, voice phone call are sent encrypted.
As I mentioned in my Skype on Netbooks thread,
"Using Skype to make voice calls to landlines on WinCE6 netbooks"
http://www.hpcfactor.com/forums/forums/forum-view.asp?fid=49
for me Skype has totally replaced my old landline.
