For the last week I have been playing with a cool software application called Asterisk.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with this awesome VoIP server, it’s Open Source and allows you to basically have your own Skype-style server. You can connect a VoIP client (such as a SIP hard-phone, or a SIP soft-phone like Gizmo5 or Ekiga), and then call other connected to your server. You can also connect it with a provider to allow you to call regular PSTN telephone numbers, and well as connect a traditional PSTN number to it either through a provider or by using an expansion card in your server.
Although it is early days for me and Asterisk, I hope to learn more soon and implement it to take advantage of the benefits this cool technology has to offer.