AOL Enters VoIP

I decided last night to upgrade my AIM to the new Triton beta. I had done it once before, but it was far too bulky in the resources area and I uninstalled it almost immediately. AOL seems to have gotten their code working better and it takes little more room than the classic AIM version. We'll see how it acts over the next few days. While I was there, I noticed mention of their new service, AIM Phoneline. Since the word free was so prevalent in the hype, I decided to look further. Signing up, you get a real, local phone number which allows for incoming calls, answerable via the new AIM Triton client and voicemail. Yes, it really is free. Nice feature is that it even has caller ID and you listen to the voicemail via either AIM or AIM Mail (yes, another 2GB free email account). Of course, there is a premium component ($9.95/month) which gives you unlimited outgoing calls to the US and Canada and 30 other countries. I find it interesting that China is included, but Japan is not in the oversees freebies. I really have no need for this part of the plan, but I am sure it would be good for the road-warrior or for those who spend a lot of time in Starbucks and other wireless-enabled caffeine emporiums. It is not a true landline phone replacement, though, since it does not have E911 service. I think I might even use it for web site feedback and questions for those who would rather speak than type... or blog comments, since I still have not found a truly effective way to eliminate the spammers. Funny, they'll probably just call the number... sad statement on society today.