I've just started using Skype, a free application for P2P-calling other people who use Skype. It's actually working really good. I've been trying on a few freeware products in the past, and found Picophone to be the best, but Skype is so far beyond that. I've even used Skype for a three-way conversation today, while uploading files at near-the-maximum-limit-of-my-phone-line-speed, without this affecting the conversation in the least.

But Skype doesn't allow people to call people who don't use Skype, for free. That's where StanaPhone comes in.

StanaPhone is a free telephone service and application, which allows the user to make calls amounting to 2USD a month, before they run out. The user signs up and gets an individual telephone number that actually works; this is an American phone number, mind you, which means people in the USA can call it at a fairly local rate. Calls to other StanaPhone users don't count, moneywise. The cost for calling abroad numbers (i.e. numbers outside the USA) is 0.02USD, which roughly means I can speak with my American friends for 100 minutes a month, totally free. And it works. What doesn't work, however, is calling Swedish numbers. When visiting the forum, it appears international (i.e. people trying to reach other countries than the USA) calls are impossible to make. I also notice that my StanaPhone beacons the home server once in a while, and checks my registration details. Apparently, this is a problem some times, as my StanaPhone software reports that my user details aren't valid, which does not compute. After logging out and in again, the validation always works.

Stability: I've been using these two programs for a mere day, but Skype feels stable and nice if your friends have it, and StanaPhone is great for calling those out-of-country bonds that are lovely to speak with yet bring on tragic phone bills as a result.