Howard, as promised, I spoke with a couple that is on another service 
called, "Net Echo."  In fact, they are on Net by Phone and Net Echo and 
while they say that both services have their advantages, they feel Net By 
Phone is a bit easier to use especially for an elderly person.

Also, while Net Echo charges the same monthly rate, if you want streaming 
capability the cost is a bit higher, $20.00 to be exact.  Streaming and MP3 
listening capability is coming to Net By Phone soon.  They also say that Net 
Echo's voice recognition system is not nearly as good as that of Net By 
Phone.

But if anyone is interested in Net Echo, the contact number for them is, 
"1-408-352-8460
Harvey