...is what might help IP devices dedicated to a single feature (say, phone handsets) position themselves successfully versus full-blown PCs. The thought occured to me while I was reading this thread. Setting up and maintaining even a basic firewall with port forwarding is a hassle, as some applications require huge or dynamic IP ranges that lessen the usefulness of the firewall (there's a reason why a castle doesn't have dozens of entrances). On the other hand, nobody is going to steal or erase your personal files if you put your IP handset directly on the Internet.