[plug] VOIP and ADSL

[Mike Holland]

Bret,
a "VOIP modem" just refers to an ADSL modem with integrated voip adapter 
, aka ATA. The ATA allows you to plug in a regular analog phone.
    If you use you computer instead, you dont need any special hardware.

Ekiga: there is ekiga the program, and ekiga the service, two different 
things.  You don't need the service.

> So, could someone please clarify what difference VOIP makes,

"voip" just means any voice over internet. e.g. skype, SIP, google-talk.

> whether it is needed for video phone calls, compared with "standard" 
> ADSL and ADSL2?

I'd suggest you just use Skype, and save a lot of frustration.