Wireless Headset?

you want to bone up on "usb bluetooth adapters" $20-$50 and their ranges. then look at something like the "Logitech Mobile Pro Headset" $80 and you might want to never again post to multiple newsgroups at the same time

Ridiculous price. You can buy a proper wifi VoIP phone for that sort of money, Zyxel 2000W, Senao etc. Cisco makes them too, but make sure you are sitting down before asking the price ! Regards, Martin

I have a Plantronics DSP-400, USB, folding headset.

$70 The audio quality using Skype is astounding, distracting. The other party sounds like they are in a radio studio. Using Cisco softphone, the audio is not as good, but still very good quality. It has a mute button and a volume control on a belt-clip on the line cord. The volume control adjusts the Windows volume control, not just headset volume. I find that the folding headset collapses when I set it down, so I have to fuss with it a bit before I put it on.

The quality of the headphones is good enough that I no longer use standard headphones to listen to music.

The Plantronics DSP-300 is the same thing, without the folding headset.

$60

I also have Plantronics M-110 over-the-ear over-the-head Headset which plugs into the speaker and microphone jacks, instead of USB. This is a lot cheaper, but inconvenient for me, and I don't like the audio quality.

$20

free skype-skype peer-peer internet phone, low cost dialout to normal phones, no calls from normal phones.

Can you use an ordinary cordless phone?

Barry

It's more a matter of codecs than headsets. However, USB headsets do tend to sound better. Skype uses iLBC codec:

phones can use a variety of codecs, but G.729A is the most common. The consensus is that iLBC sounds considerably better than G.729A. iLBC costs less because there are no royalties.

Also includes keyboard to keyboard instant messaging (which I use when someone forgets to turn on their audio).

Oh, yes... the Skype audio is far superior to the Cisco Softphone audio. But the USB with the DSP electronic lump in the cord is superior to the simple headset that uses my onboard ESS Maestro with either service.

Can you set the ports it operates over? I call the Turks & Caicos a lot, and C&W is blocking Vonage phones from operating there...

Skype defaults to port 27727 for incoming connections which can be changed. It also defaults to ports 80 and 443 as alternative ports, which can also be changed. These will usually take care of any port blocking. I don't think Cabals and WireLoss is sniffing packet content or doing traffic analysis, so it should work.

There is an options page which includes the ability to select a port for incoming connections. The default is randomly selected at installation time. Mine is 2491. There is also a checkbox to use 80 and 443 as alternatives. Outbound wants to use some port above 1024, but can use 80 and 443. It can also be configured to use a proxy.

There is also a service that I don't use, called SkypeIn. For 10Euros for three months you can have a number where people can call into your Skype phone, located in various countries. The Turks & Caicos aren't on the list, but it might be handy if you have high speed access while you are in the islands, and chose a SkypeIn number local to the people you wanted to have call you. (Or get them to use Skype for free.)