VoIP! Skype! It sounds perfect: Free calls to other VoIP or Skype Ltd. subscribers, almost-free telephony to regular phone numbers, international calls for pennies and painless operation over the Internet.

I signed up for Skype about three years ago and dropped $50 into my account so I’d be able to call regular numbers, as opposed to other Skype subscribers to whom I could place calls for free. Then I discovered the catch. For one thing, I needed to wear a headset — a combination of earphones and a microphone that plugged into two separate soundboard jacks at the back of my PC system unit. This tethered me to the PC when placing or receiving a call. And the wires tangled in everything on my desk. I tried using a wireless headset, but there were so many electronics in my offi ce that the wireless unit howled like a coyote every time I turned it on. Worst of all, I realized that unlike my cellular phone, I couldn’t make or receive calls outside my home.

I made three calls (all of which suff ered from both echo and delay), and promptly abandoned Skype, leaving about $47 in my account.