Rob writes:

<<Just recently tried to talk to a client in the UK using Yahoo messenger =
voice. Time lag was almost unbearable. Is there any software that works =
fairly well in this type of situation or should we just go back to =
traditional telephone.

Also how important is the hardware in relation to the internet =
connection. I use broadband but my computer is fairly outdated.>>

 From what I've read and been told, you need a fast computer with lots of
RAM for satisfactory voice-talk.

Close everything down, as Mary says, except the bare essentials, don't even
wiggle your mouse, you'll need every bit of computer power you can get.
Turn off your desktop background, as that consumes some memory.

Probably best to reboot into minimum configuration (or maybe Safe Mode?) to
conserve resources if you intend to voice-talk. Simply shutting down
running programs doesn't always restore full memory (depending which OS you
use).

I don't  know whether a firewall would interfere with voice transmission at
all---I imagine you'd need to disable that, too, and your anti-virus.

Which raises some interesting questions---how vulnerable or secure is your
computer whilst engaged in this?

Don Penlington

Free computer tutorials at: http://www.geocities.com/donaldpen/
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