Adapter

Sipura makes the most popular models. I went with

Updates (7/7/07):

• Apparently, Sipura site is no longer operational (and it doesn't redirect you, either). The closest I could find on Linksys is a very limited page for Voice & Telephone products. And if you google for a User Guide everything still points to Sipura site. So, I put it out until Cisco tells me to take it down or I will exceed my bandwidth quota
• I bought a new toy - SPA-3102. I didn't buy it before (or, rather, its predecessor - SPA-3000) because it had a PSTN line, and I didn't want to pay for a feature that I didn't need. Big mistake! The second line can be used for VOIP as well as PSTN, so I would use the second line just like I use it in my 2002. And it supports 4 outbound providers in addition to two in/out providers. Darn!
• June 14, 2008: Sipura now redirects here. I couldn't find the way to get there from Linksys home page... don't know, may be it's intentional

Updates (3/17/08):

Apparently, Voxilla has some competition. Voiplink and VoIPSupply sell unlocked adapters. Voiplink even seems to be a little cheaper than Voxilla.

June 14, 2008: And Voxilla Store is now closed. Voxilla was deteriorating for last year; so it doesn't surprise me. But it's still sad!

Router

I bought Linksys WRT54GL router. Funny, it's name includes "Compatible with Linux". Obviously, Cisco caught a lot of flack when they stopped being compatible in v5. So, new model is really "classic" model.

The device is awesome, but in the hindsight, I would probably buy WRTSL54GS model. However, I didn't know about it; it is almost twice as expensive as WRT54GL; and it gets only two and a half stars, compared with 5 stars for WRT54GL. On the upside - it has an USB port on the router, and all the negative comments are about inability to share the drive over the internet. I am not sure if the reviewers have OpenWRT or native firmware, and, in any case, it's not that important to me.

ASUS WL-500G.

Software

• OpenWRT page
  Update December 9, 2006: I upgraded OpenWRT to RC6. I upgraded firmware through the router web page, and everything went very smoothly. I have already forgotten what other things are installed - rdate/timezone, qos (of course!) - everything else seems to be optional.
  Update February 25, 2007: I upgraded OpenWRT to 0.9. As usually, I forgot to take backup; so all (that is, all four) of my MAC-IP mappings were lost. Wouldn't be a big problem, but my QoS designates ATA's IP as super-duper priority. Alright, it's all fixed now!
• OpenWRT for end users. Excellent Admin panel, called webif^2. Current build is milestone 2.7; but there is vary active development to keep up with core openwrt. Kamikaze support is expected by April, 2007.
• Iptables Tutorial. Somewhat out-of-date, but certainly a good start
• nbd's QoS package. The latest version (as of March 28, 2006) is 0.6.1
  Update March 4, 2007:The link above leads nowhere; and the site points to what looks like unsuccessful fork of OpenWRT. Whatever. qos-scripts is now included in core packages. Latest version is 0.9.4, if anybody cares. More important to note, this package can be administered directly from webif^2. So, Rudy is out, nbd is in (sorry!)
• Rudy's QoS package. The latest version (as of April 1, 2006) is 0.96-1. But for some reason it doesn't work that well. With qos enabled, the other party can't hear anything.
  Update: I forgot to set upload bandwidth properly. It must be age thing...
  Apr. 17, 2006 - I installed 0.97 over the weekend. Apparently, there is a little bake-off between the two offers as to how to identify VoIP packets from the softphone and give them priority. I have a feeling that my comments on the board got them into the mood. Good!
  June 10, 2006 - Just upgraded to 1.04. Apparently, 1.02 and 1.03 had a bug; VoIP wasn't getting proper priority. 1.04 fixed it.
• Macsat has numerous OpenWRT tutorials. Some are applicable to the models with USB port (that I don't have), though
• Stretch goal - set up Asterisk on the router. Well, somebody did it and shared the experience

Update March 4, 2007: I took a plunge and upgraded to Kamikaze. I wasn't planning to - but my router got full when I tried to install SSL - so I decided it's a good sign.

Update June, 2007:Kamikaze has their first official release - version 7.06. The number looks peculiar - but who am I to argue!

Service

Primary consumer benefit from VoIP is lower price for phone service. If you watch Vonage commercials - that's pretty much it. I think that lack of "killer app" in VoIP is the main obstacle for widespread adoptance. The savings are relatively minor, while the hassles and (real or perceived) drawbacks are quite significant.

But back to the price issue. If you want VoIP, obviously, you need broadband. Your broadband choices are usually cable or DSL. In order to have DSL, you need to have PSTN (phone) service - in which case your cost savings evaporate very quickly. So, you end up at the mercy of your cable provider.

Hopefully, that's going to change. Technically speaking, there is no reason to bundle phone service and DSL. You should be able to order Naked DSL. It looks like somebody was able to get Naked DSL from DSL Extreme. Obviously, I wanted to find out as well. There is no mention on their web site, and the support guy on the on-line chat said that they didn't provide it (although he clearly knew what I was talking about). I IM'ed him the link, and he was as puzzled as I was. So, he suggested to call the sales department during business hours. According to their sales lady, at this time (Sept. 2006) they offer naked DSL only in Verizon area; and since I am in AT&T (aka SBC aka Pacific Bell) - I am out of luck. Bummer!