[river rat]

Hmmmmm....

Skype offers FREE and unlimited voice and video over internet between Skype users.

The necessary software is FREE to download and has functioned on my ThinkPad flawlessly for the past 8 or 9 months..

For a small annual free, less than $15 last year — you can call ANY phone number in the U.S. for FREE.

You can’t beat the price - FREE, and you can’t beat the reliability - FLAWLESS.

I would suggest a USB headset to get the best audio performance incoming and outgoing...
A USB-2 webcam is a good choice for video transmission..

Long distance family “conferences” are great when you can both hear and see “real time”....FREE.

[ShadowAce]

For a small annual free[sic], less than $15 last year — you can call ANY phone number in the U.S. for FREE.

OK, sorry, but this is a peeve of mine--if you pay a fee--any fee--it is NOT free. The calls may be included in the fee, but they are NOT free.