On Thu, Nov 02, 2006 at 02:08:35 -0500, Gene Heskett <gene.heskett@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > And that will be their achilles heel. All the tv adds notwithstanding, > until I can call anybody, and there is a directory service that works > across all these providers, its all going to be an also ran at the end of > the month. There are already distributed directories being built by people. For a lot of uses you don't need a directory anyway, the person you want to talk to will have given you your contact information. There are already open systems that people can run on an internet connection that will allow anyone in a similar situation to peer with them. Asterisk is probably the most well known system in this area. That doesn't get you a POTS connection. For that you need a connection from your local phoone company or access to a gateway over the internet. Eventually everyone will be connected peer to peer, but not any time soon.
