PC-Telephone

When you have to wait in line for a phone call, it's best to think about alternatives. PC-Telephone is one of them. It's a software you can use to give someone a call on his phone and, why not, his computer.

The installation package is not large. 1.37 Mb is easy going even on a slower Internet connection. The wizard looks a bit old but it gets the job done in a few seconds without prompting you for too much.

The interface is quite straightforward. It's divided into three sections: a navigation pane with folders for connections, outbox, phonebook, voicemail and others. The larger, middle part is where your call information will be displayed. It's a list where you can see details such as name, phone number, the date and time of the call, duration and others.

On the right side of the window is the actual phone feature. You can use your mouse to click on the numbers, placed just like a real phone's keyboard, or you can type in a number in the dialog box just above the "keyboard".

The toolbar features a few useful options, like a call scheduler, forwarding or transfer. Setting these can't get any simpler. Clicking on their designated buttons will bring up a small window with a few check boxes and typing fields.

Making a PC to PC call is free. This is done by typing its IP above the phone keyboard. If you order a calling card from pc-telephone.com, you can make PC to telephone or fax calls or even phone to PC call which turns your computer into a ISDN telephone and fax machine. You can buy 10, 25 or 50 thousand calling units which are not expensive. One unit costs 0.001 euros, so do the math.