My wife, Jacqui, went to Canada recently on family business. Keeping in touch with the kids with regular communication back home was absolutely paramount. The B&B that Jacqui was booked to stay at had no phone available but did provide an internet connection, so taking a laptop was an obvious choice for staying in touch. Read more
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is the ability to use the internet or your local network as a telephone. If you’re using Skype, you’re using VoIP! If you mostly want to make calls to or from normal phones, then it’s time to consider a standards based VoIP provider.
Dipping your toe in VoIP waters is easy. Read more
This is where it starts to get really interesting! For the first time in Australia, broadband ISPs are providing a “naked DSL” service, broadband over your phone line without the Telstra monthly line rental fee. Essentially this is a phone line with no dial tone. The service makes use of the data component of the copper going into your house only, without needing the voice line as well. Signing up for VoIP on this DSL service gives you your phone back, but without the monthly line rental. Read more
Gizmo is an online service that makes free VoIP phone calls possible from any web browser, by simply typing a phone number. You can also directly enter the URL with a telephone number (For example : http://gizmocall.com/61361050240). Read more
In the really-new-free-videochat category are two offerings.
Voxlite is a web 2.0 application that allows users to send free video messages to one another with just a browser and webcam. 
TokBox relies on flash technology and is a free, fast and easy way to talk over live video through a web browser or to send a video chat invitation via email. It’s easy to put TokBox on your social network profile, blog, or personal webpage and although the quality of video and audio isn’t up to par with iChat or Skype, its ease of use may just mean it’s the next big thing on the internet. 