In addition to the benefits of OBi over a traditional ATA (mentioned in the preceding FAQ), there are enormous advantages that the OBi enjoys over a PC. The OBi is a stand alone task-dedicated Internet appliance which consumes very little power. It can, and should be left running day and night. Its silent operation will never be noticed by anyone. PC's tend to slow down when they are used for simultaneously browsing the web and running applications like music and video media players and office productivity tools. Now, run a VoIP application when all of these other's are running and using computing plus memory resources and you are asking for trouble. Lost calls, failed calls, no dial tone, the inability to receive a call and poor audio quality can result. It can be very frustrating for anyone who wants to use the phone and expects a phone to work reliably. The OBi will not have these issues. It is purpose built for one thing -- to give you great phone calls a very low cost or no cost at all.