Comments on: Dumping Vonage for Skype...and Comcast Digital Voice

I hate Vonage. And so I'm leaving it. For Skype.

[ecsk2]

Why do you need it double?

Since Skype and Comcast Digital voice does the exact same thing over the very same wires why would you need both?

In fact I'm in the same boat except I don't need the Comcast voice at all. All you need is:

SkypeIN to get a local (or how many "local" numbers you need in how many local areas you might want :)) number:
http://www.skype.com/products/skypein/

And a SkypeOUT UNLIMITED:
http://www.skype.com/products/skypeout/

Yes those prices might seem a tad high but remember you are paying them (if you chose to get the best deal) ONCE A YEAR, and that's it! Beats the whatever you pay a month now!

Also just a tad of advice avoid the WiFi Skype phones they are just not worth it (been there done that!) but I STRONGLY recomend this Skype phone that uses DECT for the wireless part, and not only that it can be used as a dual phone as it also has a "normal" phone jack, you can set it up to use both or just Skype if you so chose to.
Also it allows you to chose your local area code so that you can dial locally without having to dial it each time.
Shortly to anyone "unexpecting" it works and looks like a normal phone, on and yes it does NOT require your PC to be on, nor does it require a computer only an ethernet hookup.
http://share.skype.com/sites/skypegear/2006/10/skypegear_roadtest_philips_voi.html

[Pheebay]

Can Ebay Hacker Vladuz Hack Skype?

"According to evidence seen by the Guardian, he is able to see the listings of and listen to telephone conference calls within eBay."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/25/ebay.hacking

[ecsk2]

Any VOIP or online service/server could be hacked

The same is indicated about the Vonage service:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10472007

http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?
type=technologyNews&storyID=2007-10-25T003831Z_01_N24160249_RTRIDS
T_0_TECH-VONAGE-HACKERS-COL.XML&archived=False

SO this is nothing special to eBay or Skype, it's as I've always said if ONE HUMAN
made it why wouldn't ANOTHER HUMAN be able to "un-do" it?

[Matt Asay]

I have SkypeIn/Out

...and love the service. But there are times when it's not 100% reliable. Comcast Digital Voice actually runs on a separate network, so I'm hopeful that it will be one step above Skype in that area. But if it's not, I'm going POTS + Skype for long distance. Given that my employer is in the UK, that long distance is a routine requirement for me.

[ecsk2]

VOIP service only as reliable as your ISP service.

The VOIP services are just as stable or reliable as your ISP is, as that is the
weakest link, hence the Comcast VOIP service won't be any different than your
SkypeIN/SkypeOUT, I can confirm that this Philips Skype phone is the most
stable solution I've ever had for VOIP, and have tried all kinds of setups. I've
never had any issues with SkypeIN / SkypeOUT for the past years that hasn't
been ISP related. Also you can (just as on most other VOIP services) set your
Skype account to fwd to another number (for instance a mobile number) when/if
your ISP has an outage or you're not at the VOIP "landline" location.