Dave Howe

Manchester, England

Network Admin

First, Peter+skype
I quite like the ideas behind skype, but wish he wasn't going for a proprietary (and possibly patent pending - no way to know yet) system that no competent cryptographer has ever looked at, rather than the new internet standard for voice over IP called "SIP" (built into Windows Messenger XP) - plus of course he has a *lot* of competition, including some services that allow endpoint dialout in selected countries, and better yet in two cases, endpoint dial IN in the same countries; this is not to exclude the long established IM services that offer voice chat - although quality is poor and encryption non-existent, their huge established user base means they have an instant advantage over a startup.

Fred Blogs:
What IM client lets you dial a landline? I don't even know any that will let you dial an american phone number, never mind one here in the UK.