Internet coming of age

These aren't new services, but I am new to them. I'm getting impressed with the services available around broadband and the convenience it's driving to my life.

First, let's start with MLB TV - Major League Baseball TV delivered over the Internet. Last weekend wanted to catch the Sox/Cubs series (go Sox baybee), but do not get WGN on cable here. So, was following the stats on the internet, and followed a link to MLB TV to learn more about it. Turns out they have a two week free trial available, so we tried it out. So far, very impressive. You can catch any game live you want, restricted by local broadcast contracts. Streams it right to Windows Media Player, and can watch the game full screen. It's the live TV broadcast feed, and the audio/video quality is excellent. Regular services is $15/mo or $80 for the season; I expect to sign up (probably monthly) in a week or so.

This would be a cool NFL Sunday Ticket option. Better yet if you could watch multiple games at once... assuming broadband can handle that bandwidth.

Second, we have given Vonage a try. So far, so good, although the jury is out. Vonage provides a broadband router with two phone jacks, allowing you to plug regular phones into it to get Voice-over-IP capabilities. We signed up for the $14.99/month plan, which gives us 500 minutes a month.

Phone quality is very good, latency is good, and no technical problems setting the phone up with the VoIP router - it's a simple plug and play.

Some nice Vonage features:
1. We will be able to talk our phone number with us, even if we move out of Seattle.
2. We can register alias numbers and link them to our account; so, someone could make a local call to us. This option costs $5/month with a $10 setup fee, so we're hoping others sign up for Vonage.
3. Account information, call details, and voicemail available over the web.

The one annoyance is all the setup/change fees. I would think with the level of automation they should have changing options should be zero-cost to Vonage and free to the customer; however, they charge to make a change in anything. Want to sign up for a more expensive plan? They charge you a setup fee for that.

By the way, you can get a free month of Vonage if you get invited from a Vonage customer; just ask them for an invitation and you they'll send you one.