Freeloader Friday Download of the Week

VoIP Call-in for Free

Voice chat over the internet isn't much of a novelty. VoIP doesn't get cool until you connect it to telephone networks. So in this week's Freeloader, I've got a brief run-down of the top three providers of free "call in" numbers that will all ring to your Mac. Now, unless you are lucky enough to live in one of these select area codes, the numbers will be long distance. But, with VoIP and cell phones, that is really not much of an issue anymore.

Area775 from CallWave

Get a free Nevada area code number with voicemail. Area775 works with your Gizmo/SIPphone account. Calls go to an answering service which you can screen on your Mac with Gizmo Project. Press 2 to answer the call. Voicemail gets emailed to you as a WAV.

IPKall

IPKall offers free Washington State area codes. You can set your number up to ring to any SIP-compatible service you have, including Gizmo Project. Inbound calls ring to your SIP client. In unanswered, they go to voicemail. Messages are emailed to you as a WAV file.

Sip Number by FreeDigits

This service provides you with a free non-local number (with, like Area775, the option ot upgrade to a local number). The site and support info is a little vague compared to the previous two. The service works with a FreeDigits SIP account (free) but can be set to forward to another SIP account. Voicemail is available to download from your account as an mp3, and comes to your email as well.

Skypecast with Skype.

No, there are no free call-in numbers for Skype. But there is an interesting new feature called Skypecasts. And contrary to popular belief, the Mac version of Skype works perfectly with Skypecasting (provided you are on version 1.4). So, chat it up.

This week AOL announced free inbound numbers for AIM, but I doubt that will come to the Mac for a while. In the mean time, thanks to standards like SIP we can enjoy free numbers now.

Brian

  


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