The Techy Blog for the Tech Freaks

Archive for July, 2010

Teleconferencing refers to a type of telephone call made with a normal phone where more than two parties can participate using their own telephone lines. Usually one party initiates the teleconference call, but other parties can, if permitted, join in on the teleconference later. Based upon the ‘three-way’ calling technology, teleconferencing is now used by every large business in the world. A combination of its popularity and developments in technology mean that now free teleconference technology is available to pretty much anyone. The advantages are; flexibility, quicker action times and reduced travel costs. To access this service you will need to work with a company that specializes in teleconferencing services.

Currently, teleconference services offer business a flat-rate tariff for conference calls as part of their service agreement, but there are also services that provide free teleconference technology to smaller businesses. This is slightly different as the host of the caller might have paid a small flat rate for the service but the other participants can enter the conversation for free. To the users, the service is essentially the same.

There are two basic types of free teleconference technology, VOIP and PSTN. PSTN means Public Switched Telephone Network, this is no different from the regular phone lines that you are familiar with. VOIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol; this is slightly different as it uses the internet to broadcast your message.

One main advantage of free teleconference technology is that you can combine it with other technologies with great success. You can use your computer, television, radio or other devices to support your teleconference call.

Prepaid credit cards are basically credit cars issued to an individual after he/she has made a payment to the bank account under consideration. In this type of credit card working the individual has to first deposit some money in the account before the prepaid credit card can be used. This is similar to the working of the debit card system. Once the funds are over from the account the card is defunct and can be revived only after the account is recharged with a monetary deposit.

Technologically the use of the internet has made it possible for one to use credit cards to make online bill pay offs. These payments may be to the electricity company, television distributor or even the local newspaper or online shopping stores.

The best part about these prepaid credit cards is that they do not require you to maintain bills and there are also no interest charges as with other credit card systems. The features of these cards are that they enable individuals to track their purchases and expenses thereby allowing them to get to know what items they are spending money on. Prepaid cards are accepted worldwide and are a hit with teens and college going students as they can buy items without having their parents or guardians completing the transactions for them.

The technological drawback when it comes to prepaid credit cards when used to make online bill pay offs is that they do not have a PIN number which makes them insecure to be used on an open network. Online bill payment options have been started so that people can pay their dues without having to leave the comfort of their homes.  The idea is to make financial matters secure, and this can only be attained if credit matters can be made convenient and easy to operate.