You have probably heard of VoIP but do you know what it is ? VoIP basically stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol, or simply voice over IP. So what is it then?

Withe the advent of broadband internet it has become possible to use this new VoIP technology to make regular phone calls through that internet connection. You must have a broadband connection though. Dial-up just won’t do it. It is too slow.

The benefits of making the switch to Voice Over Internet Protocol phone systems are mainly significant savings in call costs, and superior call quality. For example, you can expect free continental US calling (including to Canada in some instances). It isn’t like with cellphone companies where you have to wait until the evening or weekends to make free calls. If you have ever used Skype to make calls you will better understand what it means to experience amazing calling quality. It is much clearer than a phone as we know it.

As with your regular telephone service you get the usual standard features such as:

Caller ID
Call Waiting
Call Forwarding

With a VoIP connection you can expect very favorable monthly rates starting as low as $6.99. A lot of businesses are catching up with this technology due to its associated costs.

Most VoIP providers require three main things to get connected, and these are:

Telephone
Broadband connection
Home Router

The good thing about using this service is that the person you are calling need not be a VoIP subscriber too. You can call anybody that has a telephone, be it a landline or a cellphone.

Do you make frequent international calls ? Voice Over Internet Protocol technology would be perfect for you then. Maybe you have family and friends abroad and you want to speak with them occasionally, as opposed to sending text messages ? VoIP providers have you covered. Some providers offer free calls to countries such as Australia, France, New Zealand, Canada, and the UK, just to name a few.

You need to check with the provider for more details. Rates to other countries, such as India for example, can start as low as 2 cents a minute. Imagine making a call to India for so cheap! That is way cheaper than using those calling cards if you ask me. At least you don’t have to worry about connection fees.

Some VoIP providers do not even require you to be a resident of the United States in order to use their services. As long as you fulfill the requirements mentioned above, you are eligible to start using voice over internet protocol phone systems.

Silverlight Technology developed by Microsoft incorporates the same functionality as Adobe flash. It helps integrate graphics, multimedia, animation, and interactivity in one run time environment. The latest version of the technology was introduced in July 2009. The technology gels well with Microsoft windows as well as Mac operating system.

Why use Silverlight?

High definition video files can be viewed with Silverlight and Microsoft will responsible for transferring these files to the Internet. The transfer of large media files is expensive but Microsoft will still take the trouble to stream Silverlight media files. However, the service will be optional. Streaming done by Microsoft will save content distribution network fees for small developers. According to Microsoft, 700 kbps throughput will be reliable and the free distribution of network content will last for a year.

In addition, the applications based on Silverlight Technology are delivered to browser in XAML. The advantage of using XAML is that it is easier for the search engines to find scan XAML than compiled Flash applications. The Flash based applications have an added web code which facilitates the search but adding that means extra work for developers. Even if the web code is added to the application, the result will not be as good. This is because Silverlight helps search engines index the actual application instead of just searching for the keywords.

Lastly, Microsoft is marketing Silverlight Technology along with its live services. It is introducing Application Program Interfaces (APIs) for search engine, Virtual Earth, instant messenger and other services. Microsoft networks and resources will be used to create these services which will be supported by advanced online applications. Silverlight will spearhead the development of Rich Internet Applications because of these reasons.