Got a call this morning from a friend who's avoided having a landline like the plague. She's been using her cell as her main line for at least a year now, maybe longer. I know many, many people who choose this option, if for no other reason, than to avoid the ridiculous extra fees, taxes, etc. that come standard on a landline. Plus, so many landline phone companies still think they have no competition and can charge ridiculously high prices to their customers.

Well, Linda was saying she hasn't had internet for some time now, and has been dialing up at a friends house for months just to check her email and do research (she's a politico).

Her question to me was, "Can I have VoIP and use that as my phoneline to dial-up to the internet."

I think this is a problem many non-techies have with VoIP. Linda, my mom, my local friends, all of them are clueless as to what VoIP is and how it works (even generally).

Until this changes, more and more people, like Linda, are going to stay far away from VoIP, making the phone companies job of completely SNOWING the consumer so much easier.

There must be some solution to VoIP education. Maybe some of the VoIP companies could band together and publish a non-profit, completely educational site that simply provided the basics (with lots of pictures).

Until then, poor Linda will be trying to dial up on a non-existant line. Grrr.