ive been using it since the first part of august and am totally in love with it. i had been looking at it for a few months but refrained from getting it cause it just sounded too good to be true. i thought for sure it doesnt work as promised or at the very least there will be a ton of unadvertised fees. i was wrong on both counts.
you have to have the computer powered on and connected to the net via cable or dsl or calls go straight to voicemail. i have some problems with it going straight to voicemail cause my computer is seriously slow and because of that i cant accept the call before that crucial fourth ring. when a voicemail is received, it shoots the wav file to your email and at the moment there is no way to disable that. the little usb thingy costs about $30.
and now for the good stuffs... for starters you get to save like 30$ a month on phone bills. you can check your voicemail from work so long as you have your pin code. its not really system heavy and aside from the interface, there is no advertising. the caller id is great as is the free directory assistance. kids cant call china accidently... big plus for parents of toddlers. super easy to set it up.. just plug it in and wait a couple minutes. did i mention that it is only 20$ a year? lol no need for special equipment.
that about sums it up. ive been using it only for about 6 weeks but my doctor's wife has had it for a year i think they said. another friend's father uses it. everybody has the same complaints and praises as i have already mentioned. for me (and them) the annoyances are tolerable given the money saved.