On Wednesday 26 January 2005 10:02, Eric A. Hicks wrote:
> I was wondering if someone could give me an overview of voip in a plain
> english, non-sales pitch type of way....
>
> I'm sick of paying Verizon $30 a month, I would love to try something
> like Asterisk, but don't know if Asterisk is right for my simple
> needs/implementation. Let me say that I was one of the original Dialpad
> users, and I used the heck out of it... I loved it! It allowed me to
> call my fiance who was at school several times a day without paying long
> distance. I would like to have that capablility again, and I hear the
> sound quality is much better these days!
>
> Is Asterisk good for a simple home installation? I just want outbound
> calling. I don't want to buy a bunch of hardware. I have a couple of
> PCs I can dedicate. Sorry if I'm showing my ignorance, but did I read
> somewhere that I can use analog phone equipment??
>
> Any enlightenment would be appreciated. Thanks.
OK, I've been working with Asterisk for over a year and Asterisk can be used
just fine for a single line. It has a lot of really cool features.
You would need to spend a few dollars to get a method of connecting to the
phone line and your phone(s). It could vary up to about $350 for a card that
supports up to four add-on cards that can each be either for a phone line or
a phone.
If you use VoIP phones you save money on cards but spend them on phones
instead. A decent cheap VoIP phone is about $70.
The real challenge comes with configuring it. This will depend entirely how
well you wrap your mind around something completely different. You can build
a box from blank drive to working system in an hour.
But if you just don't "get it", then you might never get past the demo, if
you're smart enough to follow the instructions.
Once you do get it it is a lot of fun. You can f.ex. have specific messages
that is played when specific people call. Or by area code or something.
A full fledged voicemail system is included.
Tons of features that if you know how, can be integrated with your computer.
For home though, it's the ability to have all of your daughters calls ring
directly through to her extension (if you have one, in which case I just
closed you on doing it : )
You also have a call record for every call made. You can block her from making
international calls f.ex. Put a passcode for long distance calls, etc.
It will be a lot of work until you get the hang of it. Then it will be a
blast.
--Steve Szmidt
"They that would give up essential liberty for temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This list is provided as an unmoderated internet service by Networked Knowledge Systems (NKS). Views and opinions expressed in messages posted are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of NKS or any of its employees.
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