Most desktop VoIP communicating shaft are stand - alone covering that operate self-governing of other software program on your Mac . But the newest beta version of WengoPhone Firefox Extension , ( 0.68 ) , an extension to the Mozilla Firefox web web browser , allow you tap into the world of VoIP calling from within Firefox . The WengoPhone genus Beta is the first and only web browser - found VoIP product for the Mac .
Once installed , this plug - in logs you on to Wengo ’s VoIP connection and lets you call other Wengo user , as well as traditional phone numbers , from a chum list locate in the left sidebar of the browser app windowpane .
Like other VoIP - calling tools , Wengo permit you to fix a status message ( off , do no disturb , and so on ) . you’re able to send your crony text - chat subject matter , SMS ( simple electronic messaging system ) substance , Internet spokesperson calls , and computer - to - phone call , for which Wengo put up an on - sieve ten - button keypad like that of a traditional telephone .
All call come in via WengoPhone are free except for reckoner - to - phone calls , which get a by - the - minute fee billed in euros .
WengoPhone is believably useful only to people who expend most of their browsing time in Firefox . If you do a lot of calling from number on connection pages , WengoPhone could save you sentence with its Click - to - Call feature film , which lets you straight off call any earpiece numeral you see on a Web page , via a correctly - fall into place ( or a control - click ) soda pop - up menu .
Stay in the BrowserWengoPhone ’s user interface is a Firefox sidebar , which is neat — if you spend most of your time in Firefox .
Placing information processing system - to - computer calls was no problem with Wengo , but computer - to - phone call were hit or pretermit . Sometimes outbound calls could not connect , yet Wengo would not advise me of that . Calls that did connect successfully had consistent , useable audio lineament , and I was never disconnect once a call was in progress .
WengoPhone register a tidy sum of promise , but its execution of desktop VoIP features is compromised by the fact that it ’s tethered to Firefox .
[ Ted Wallingford is the author ofSwitching to VoIP and VoIP Hacks(both O’Reilly , 2005 ) and an independent applied science adviser based in Elyria , Ohio . He update the Web sitewww.macvoip.comsemiannually . ]
