I am amazed. After seeing dozens upon dozens of advertisements for PhoneFree, I decided to give it a go. The ads declared free long-distance calls through your computer with one easy download. It seemed too good to be true.
Of course, I was skeptical at first. So, I downloaded it and decided to give it a try. The download was SIMPLE. All I had to do was answer a -couple of questions on a survey-type thing, give a little personal info, and I was ready to make my calls.
Whoah, I forgot something. You need a microphone for your computer before you can make calls. Oh, you also need a sound card. Other than that, you’re ready to go. I went to Office Depot and bought a headset/microphone combination to use. It’s great and easy to use.
The installation is swift and painless. You need to restart your computer before you use it, like many other programs you install on your computer. Then, you’re really ready to go.
When I heard my resident advisor’s through my headphones, I was ecstatic. He said it sounded as though I was in a tunnel. I realized that I needed to upgrade it, so I did and things were terrific. My mother was psyched when she heard my voice and I told her I was calling NY from AK for FREE!
There’s a tiny problem, though. Apparently, there’s a delay with my voice for a couple of seconds. You need to wait a beat before speaking, otherwise your voice will overlap with the person on the other line. No biggie, though. A small price to pay for a free service.
This was a GREAT way of communicating for college students and people without a lot of money. I highly recommend it to absolutely everyone. I thought to myself, ’’Maybe this will lead to the abolition of long-distance phone bills!’’
However, it WAS too good to be true. http://www.Phonefree.com no longer exists, probably driven into bankruptcy or just simply bought out by the big phone companies. Hey-- It was fun (and free) while it lasted. I’m just glad that I got good use out of it while I lived in Alaska.