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Dialpad.com lets you use your Windows based Java enabled web browser to call any ordinary telephone in the United States including Alaska and Hawaii and do it for free. (The company says they are working on international calling as well.) Making free long distance voice phone calls over the Internet isn't something new. A few years ago, software developers figured out how to use a personal computer to convert sound into a data stream and send it over the Internet. The trouble with this arrangement was the person you were calling had to also have a computer running the same software to receive the data and convert it back into sound. They also needed to know when you were signing on receive your call. Over the years, the process has refined itself with better sound quality and other technological improvements. But Dialpad.com seems to offer a lot more of the desired features in making free long distance calls.

To use Dialpad.com, your computer must be equipped with a sound card, speakers and a microphone. The first time you log onto Dialpad.com's web site, you must register. Registration consists of selecting a unique user ID and password. You also have to fill out a short questionnaire which asks things like your age, sex, marital status, level of education and income. Once completed, you can log in immediately and start making free long distance calls.

When you log in, you are presented with a window containing a speakerphone display. The right sports a conventional telephone numerical dialpad. As you click on the area code and numbers, you hear the standard multi-frequency tones as the phone number appears in the display window along the bottom. When you are ready to dial, just click on the big "dial" button and your call is initiated.

As a test, I dialed my own phone number and my phone began ringing moments after I clicked the dial button. It was impressive. I could hear myself speaking on the phone and on the computer's speakers with no perceptible delay. The quality was perfectly acceptable for a free voice call. Another nice feature is that Dialpad.com keeps an accurate log of calls made and their duration. It also maintains a complete address book of the names and phone numbers you plan to call on a more frequent basis.

So how does Dialpad.com make any money? It's advertiser driven. As you use Dialpad, the speakerphone window continues to display banner ads for all sorts of products and services. If you see something that interests you, just click on the ad and your browser takes you to the appropriate web site. If any of this bothers your sensibilities, just don't stare at the screen as you talk. It's a small price to pay for free long distance.

Currently, Dialpad.com only works with Windows even though Java is platform independent. This is because Dialpad relies on other Windows specific functions. However, the company is working to support other platforms such as Macintosh and Linux and states these versions will be available shortly. Being able to make free long distance calls from your computer to telephones anywhere in the U.S. is a bargain and is certainly worth your giving it a try.

www.dialpad.com