No one can question that the internet has dramatically changed our lives since its introduction.  And like any new game in town, there will be players and there will be spectators.  Whichever side of the fence one decides to take will depend on several factors.

The internet can provide a lot to supplement even brick and mortar businesses, and in itself, can also be a medium for even small upstarts to have a digital presence.  Website development and internet business development include several phases, including conceptualization, planning and blueprint stage, acquisition of domain names, and implementation and execution of the business model.  Once a website is operational, factors related to web hosting (eg, managed hosting vs. individual or private hosting), servers (eg, dedicated servers vs. shared hosting), colocation, and communications costs (eg, dial-up phones vs. VOIP or internet telephony) have to be addressed appropriately.

The important thing is that one’s business is seen and heard in the web.  With proper internet marketing strategies, one can indeed secure a virtual beachfront location in the world of internet business.  And that may be the case whether the business is spawn by the internet or the internet is utilized to complement the existing business endeavor.

The triad of computers, internet connection, and internet phones comprises the basic components of internet telephony or VOIP.

For fast computers, some of the factors to peak performance include inherent hard drive capabilities and memory size.  But as in the case of fast machines that we see on the road, sound drivers, ie, computer drivers, are key.  Especially since outdated drivers may be  associated with poor PC performance, hardware failure, and computer freezes.  Regular driver updates can lead to better PC performance.

Reliable internet connection, including via broadband connection, ensures rapid transmission of data (voice, text, image).   And to truly enhance the internet phone experience, supplementing with  webcams or use of internet video phone provides for voice plus visual communication.  And of course, the quality of the VOIP or internet phone service provider will also come into play.

No matter the season, whatever the reason, an augmented communication experience enables one to stay connected with family and friends and gets better with the essential components of VOIP or internet telephony functioning at their optimal performance.

To spice up the day of computer geeks, internet phone users and techies, we would like to share this poem by Mr. Lifedefiner entitled  The Computer Geek’s Mojo. Underlying its lighthearted and fun nature is the firm commitment to improve our lives using internet technology.  So here it goes…

Once there was a prodigy with a goal in sight
Who went out to explore the windows
Of opportunities galore that’s sure to excite
And of a wonderful vista that he knows.

Wanted to be the master of his own domain
So off to a safari he went and came back by plane
No matter where it was under the sun
He knew he had to find his amazon-

The apple of his eyes and the lady of his dreams
Not just in cyberspace but as real as life it seems
And when he did succeed, he did say
Can’t exactly recall but it was either “yahoo or yehey!”

To all the techies of the world, thanks a google
Or is it googol which is 1 followed by 100 zeroes?
For the internet websites that we love to ogle
And for the good stuff that makes us heroes.

The cell phones of today have evolved a long way from the original telephone that Alexander Graham Bell invented in the late 1800s.  Not only is there a wide gap as to time elapsed since, but importantly, in terms of functionality as well.

Now, we can do a lot of things with our phones other than just calling and talking.  Some of these include texting, transmitting emails, taking pictures, using as alarms, appointment books or directory, playing mobile games, twittering, listening to music (eg, one can shop at the iTunes Music Store), watching movies, and surfing the internet.  Plus there are also phone apps that have further enhanced the overall cell phone use experience.

An interesting relatively novel cell phone use has been that of the mobile phone as a conduit for coupons.  For example, mycoupster.com enables access to instant coupons delivered via the cell phone (cell phone coupons). A neat idea for instant savings via the cell phone!  Which makes us wonder regarding other similar applications for cell phones, such as reservation or booking tickets sent to the cell phone and then recognized by bar code technology at the entrance gate. And to make it more exciting, the combination of GPS technologies and internet access on the phone does indeed open a lot of other possibilities.

Your cell phone wish list will of course depend on your individual needs and preferences. But one thing is certain, creative minds will continue to find ways to expand on cell phone use as we know it today.

Nowadays, an online search can provide information on just about anything, say on finding the best internet phone on the market.   But with so much information out there, how can one really get to the real deal?

To illustrate the point, let us go through a search engine exercise based on the keywords “best internet phone” using the 3 major search engines: Google, Yahoo, and Bing.   The search was conducted earlier today (March 3, 2010) and here are the results.

For Google (google.com), there were 149,000,000 entries for best internet phone data, with the following as the top 5 entries (websites or URLS for purposes of this exercise, and not including sponsored entries):
1. cell-phones.toptenreviews.com/multimedia/
2. www.phonerated.com/c-top-rated-best-american-internet-phones.php
3. reviews.cnet.com/best-cell-phones/
4. www.pcworld.com/…/is_an_internet_phone_right_for_you.html
5. www.galttech.com/…/internet…/best-internet-phone-service.php

For Yahoo (yahoo.com), out of 469,000,000 entries, ranked in the top 5 were:
1. www.bestinternetphone.com
2. bestinternetphone.org
3. bestbuy.com/site/Mobile-Phones-Office/VoIP/
4. answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091120035617AA6Kzve
5. amitbhawani.com/blog/best-internet-browsing-mobile-phones

At Bing (bing.com), the top 5 entries out of 169,000,000 entries were:
1. www.pcworld.com/article/115053/​internet_​phones_clear_​winners.html
2. www.slate.com/id/2121742
3. bestinternetphone.com
4. www.galttech.com/research/​internet-ecommerce/​best-internet-phone-service.php
5. www.pcworld.com/article/118734/is_an_​internet_​phone_right_for_​you.html

This search engine exercise will show the following basic points:
1. There are millions of possible sources of information online as well as offline, eg, books, product manuals, or conversations with other users.
2. The online search experience will vary depending on the search engine used and the criteria and algorithms adopted by the search engines. Also, note that there are other search engines aside from the major ones and one can also directly type in the name of a known website on the URL line (type in traffic) or go a bookmarked site.
3. The information will change from time to time as technology continues to advance.
4. The best internet phone performance, aside from the features of the phone itself, can also be impacted by the quality of the service provided by the internet phone service providers.

Of course, there is no substitute for actual internet phone experience, but hopefully this article is helpful in letting you find the best internet phone that is right for your needs.  Obviously, the best decisions in product selection come from being well-informed with the best information.