Specifications

8
while you are on the road. Also, by
taking your ATA adapter with you when
you travel, connections can be made
through broadband data ports in many
hotels and motels.
Of these providers, Vonage has been
in the game longer than the others and
has a strong reputation as to its quality.
They have two basic plans: (1) $24.99
for unlimited calling in the U.S. and
Canada, (2) $14.99 for 500 long-
distance minutes. They also offer virtual
phone numbers with any area code you
prefer. Dialing other numbers in your
area code requires just seven digits. You
can add a fax line for $10 per month, or
toll-free numbers for $5 per month. With
Vonage and these other providers, you
can call any PSTN number or numbers
on the FWD network. For more details
on the specific services provided by
these companies I would suggest you
check their Web sites.
So what are the drawbacks to VoIP
services? First, if your Internet provider
has a service outage, then your phone
service is also down. Second, if there is
a power outage you lose your phone
service unless your system has a battery
backup to keep it running. Another
disadvantage is that most of these
services can’t connect to 911. In some
cases, you can call 911 after you have
provided the service with location
information for their files. They need
this information so the system will know
where to direct the call. However, the
911 operator can’t see your name or
address, and you have to provide that
information when you make the call.
In spite of these disadvantages, VoIP
usage is rapidly increasing. If you are
interested in testing VoIP, I suggest you
start with one of the free services. Try
it, you may like it.
Copyright 2005. This article is from
the February 2005 issue of the
Sarasota PC Monitor, the official
monthly publication of the Sarasota
Personal Computer Users Group, Inc.,
P.O. Box 15889, Sarasota, FL 34277-
1889. Permission to reprint is granted
only to other non-profit computer user
groups, provided proper credit is given
to the author and our publication. For
further information about our group,
e-mail: <[e-mail]>, Web:
<http://www.spcug.org/>.
Brian K. Lewis, Ph.D., can be
reached at <[e-mail]>.
Dual-Core Processors
Are Coming!
By Timothy Everingham
Both Intel and Advanced Micro Devices
(AMD) are screaming “Dual-Core
Processors are Coming.” They say they
are the future of microprocessors for
computers. With both companies
introducing these processors it is
important to understand the significance
of this development.
So what is a dual-core processor?
Basically it is two microprocessors on
the same integrated circuit or chip.
Having more than one processor in a
computer has been around for a long
time. It is normal for servers to have
them. Multiprocessor workstations
(high end desktops) are used mostly for
scientific, engineering, and digital
content creation for TV and movies.
Dual-core is not Intel’s hyperthreading
that is on its Pentium 4s, which lets the
operating system think it has two
processors rather than one. In a dual-
core processor there are two actual
processors, each one having its own L1
& L2 caches.