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Not only is the whole TiVO thing not a reason to not get VoIP service, it's also not even really accurate.

In many cases, people will pull a VoIP line into their house, from Vonage, for example. You get an ATA: Analog Telephone Adapter. So you use your normal telephones, and they go out over the Vonage line. So as far as your telephones (and thus the TiVO) are concerned, it's a POTS line.

I've kind of been thinking about how nifty it would be to get VoIP, but things like the inability to dial 911, and the fact that my ISP sometimes tanks for days at a time (hasn't happened in a long time... knock on wood) scare me. But then I decided that it'd make a lot of sense to keep my POTS line, and just *add* a VoIP line. Something like Asterisk can be used to build a nice PBX, and route calls over the appropriate line, depending on which is cheaper / which is available.

So really, the only point of the article is that having your only phone line come in over your cable connection is a bad idea. And that, if you ran VoIP phones internally, you'd need a $20 accessory to use your TiVO.

Note that skype, while a cooky closed-source, non-standard product, does have good support for using it behind NAT, which is harder with SIP.

A VOIP protocol that plays nice with NAT would be a beautiful thing. Asterisk's native AIX protocol will go through NAT but I'm not aware of anything else using it, and there's a patch for H323, but nothing for SIP :-(.

Check out Asterisk. It will do all of the above, and more.

I've been thinking of setting up Asterisk and implementing a whitelist of numbers from people I know. If the calling number is not on my whitelist, they'll get a message asking them to type in a personal code (which I'll give to friends and family). If the code is not entered, it'll drop the call straight to voicemail.

But since the DNC has been working extremely well for me, I don't really have enough of a reason to cause people I do want calling me the inconvenience.

As for my house, we have an automated Windows - PC based telephone answering system to filter unwanted calls from a company in australia - http://www.nch.com.au/. I could be wrong by there currently aren't any practical open source alternatives (for linux) - last I checked SourceForge's Toejam project is on hold since the developer is having personal/financial problems (he posted it on his site) and with Asterix http://www.asterisk.org/, the hardware needed is quite expensive.

/nickserv register mypassword

/nickserv identify mypassword

/join #asterisk

Hopefully these spambots will go away eventually.

Yes, but Asterisk is not a client, it's an Open Source PBX.

For a complete VoIP Linux solution, check out Asterisk.

If they make skype interoperability plugin/module for Asterisk then I might reconsider the usability of this product.

A suggestion:

Maybe the bus drivers all have cell phones, already. They could program a speed dial button for a voicemail answering system. When they arrive at a stop, or a landmark, they could press a speed dial button and say, Bus 6 arriving at stop 17, [town name], [time].

If bus drivers don't have cell phones that work in the area, they would have to call from pay phones along the route. This would be convenient if they were stopped for a few minutes. It is possible to buy inexpensive devices which play back a series of tones, so that the drivers would not have to enter the digits by hand.

Bus riders would call the voicemail number, and hear the recorded messages. The speed dial buttons would not only call the voicemail number, but also pick a voicemail box, and erase the previous message. So, bus riders would choose the voicemail box corresponding to their area.

The disadvantage of this is that some people might have to pay a toll charge to call the voicemail system. The advantage is that the service might be close to self-financing.

Some answering service systems have almost unlimited mailboxes, so other messages of interest to the community could be programmed, also. For example, a sign at the town hall could say, "If you want to know the location and date of the next [town name] town meeting, choose voicemail box 230." Or, a sign could say "Anyone wanting to know how Mrs. O'Leary of [town name] is doing in the hospital, call voicemail box 1472, and enter access code 241."

People say good things about the free Asterisk telephone system software. Here's a quote from the web site: "Asterisk provides Voicemail services with Directory..." You would need only an old computer, since Linux and voice don't require much CPU speed.

One computer could handle a very wide area, and many bus routes, I think, because each message is very short.

Messages could be more detailed than just time and place. The bus driver could say, "Stopping for unscheduled maintenance at [town name]. Running late about one hour."

With considerable programming, people could leave their number to be called when a bus arrives at a particular town just previous to theirs.

I've been working with WiFi + VoIP for the past year (I'm working on Asterisk, the opensource VoIP PBX) with decent results. I've found that WLANs installed by professional wireless engineers and connected to wireline routers and switches that support QoS/ToS can support Vo-WiFi without a hitch. Tradeshows, including VON (I attended the US spring VON in Santa Clara) are usually rigged to provide email access and web surfing, not quality controlled voice services.

The other issue is the protocol in use. SIP, the dominant VoIP protocol, is extremely difficult to make work behind a NAT (which the trade-show LAN almost certainly employed) or a firewall. SIP makes use of three different ports to establish a communication session, including a dynamic RTP port that requires open UDP access on a large block of ports, a STUN server, and/or a SIP proxy that understands NAT. The Skype guys and we in the Asterisk community have found SIP so awkward to roll out in uncontrolled environments (i.e. the real world) that we employ alternate protocols designed to work with NATs/Firewalls. Skype's protocol is proprietary and secret (and we wouldn't want to violate the DCMA, now, would we?). Asterisk offers IAX (Inter-Asterisk Exchange) which is opensource an can securely cut through all but the most draconian of NATs/firewalls.

Asterisk is a complete PBX in software. It runs on Linux and provides all of the features you would expect from a PBX and more. Asterisk does voice over IP in three protocols, and can interoperate with almost all standards-based telephony equipment using relatively inexpensive hardware.

Asterisk provides Voicemail services with Directory, Call Conferencing, Interactive Voice Response, Call Queuing. It has support for three-way calling, caller ID services, ADSI, SIP and H.323 (as both client and gateway). [...]

Asterisk needs no additional hardware for Voice over IP. [...]

Asterisk not only supports traditional phone equipment, it enhances them with additional capabilities.

Using the Inter-Asterisk eXchange (IAX) Voice over IP protocol, Asterisk merges voice and data traffic seamlessly across disparate networks. While using Packet Voice, it is possible to send data such as URL information and images in-line with voice traffic, allowing advanced integration of information.

My main phone line comes over a 6.1 mile 802.11b link. I use Asterisk PBX with the IAX protocol to bridge the calls.

And my Grandstream SIP phone works great attached to a Linksys WET-11 client bridge.

And my Ipaq runs IAXComm just fine over it's wireless card to use as a netphone.

Does the battery life suck... yes... does it work and show promise... YES!

Just because people have problems with these cheap (as in quality)(usually SIP or H.323 based) piece of crud phones doesn't mean the technology and possibilities are not still there. SIP is VERY prone to problems from NAT (which many wireless networks use of course).

Anyways... for my 2 cents though I say... just give it time.

It seems like the best way to do it (and cheapest) would be to call from your computer over the internet to a computer in the city you wanted to call to, which would then hook up to the regular phone line via a modem. I was looking for something like this, but haven't found anything on freshmeat, etc. (Any links out there?)

Look at Asterisk for the server side of things and at least one IP phone (the Grandstream BudgeTone series are around 70-80). Put a X100P FX0 to give the Asterisk server access to an outside line.

If you're a geek willing to put some time into learning VOIP and Asterisk, the options are endless.

How about this? Her work would give her a "desk" with an analog phone. You put an old Linux PC at the "desk" with a Digium FX0 card. You then have another PC at her home with with a VOIP phone jack or a headset with SIP software (like this Windows or this Linux) or run Asterisk on her home Linux box and run IAX between the two.

Reliability would depend on the reliability of the IP connection between home/work. Because of Internet delay (and possibly delay from your VPN encryption), there may be a noticable delay on the connections, so it may feel more like a cell phone conversation than a land line.

If you don't have time to tinker and really care about reliability, just get a $30 nationwide unlimited plan from your local phone company or long distance provider (BellSouth/MCI/AT&T), expense it to work, and be done with it.

While we are own this subject of VOIP services. I would like to find one the plugs seemlessly into asterisk [www.asterisk.org].

I do not like the idea going from digital signal through VOIP convert to analog for asterisk then it converts back to digital.

I would like to stay digital all the way. Asterisk can handle ADSI, SIP and H.323. Vonage I think uses a property version of SIP, which is sucky. Anyone have anyluck integrating the two?

I've setup a Linux box and Asterisk along with a couple Grandstream IP phones. The quality was as good as a landline phone, and we'll probably be rolling out a test next year sometime, putting phones in all the classrooms (we're a public school). One card in the server to get us an outside line and we're set....

As soon as wireless VOIP phones come down in price, I'll be running my own wireless service for myself. I plan on setting up an Asterix server at home plugged into my landline. I can then use my VOIP phone anywhere in the world to call!

Being able to cheaply setup VOIP using your existing landline at home will decimate cell service as soon as more WIFI hotspots get out. IDT is already looking at this as a replacement for cell services.

Zapata telephony project Open source T1 Card design

Works with the Asterisk OpenSource PBX (Integrated VoiceMail, VoIP Conferencing...etc.)

Check out Asterisk. You can do many things with it, including caller ID based whitelists, menus, etc.

FOSS, too.

1. It's http://www.wimaxforum.org not WiFiMax
2. Use the FOSS Asterisk PBX for the "Voice-over-IP pliot project thing"

It's definitely possible, that's what the AG/HS profiles and SCO were designed to do.

IF and WHEN manufacturers start implementing both the Audio Gateway and the Handset bluetooth profiles (providing multi-profile connections at the same time) we will be able to use our mobile (WiFi too seemingly) phones as FXS and FXO devices at the same time. Thus, an incoming call to your mobile would be passed to asterisk (or other soft-PBX), possibly checked against a blacklist etc., and then you can answer a call to your mobile phone from your desktop VoIP device, or, if you don't answer, have the caller leave a message in your local voicemailbox. Hey, you don't even need any extra telephone hardwarefor this!

If this doesn't sound intriguing, consider the possibilities in a corporate environment, utilizing bluetooth APs (one or more per floor) and routing calls from and to mobile phones. Mr. Boss' secretary would then be able to answer calls to Boss' mobile even when he's left the handset in his briefcase, while at the same time anyone using their cellulars to call landlines could get their calls routed through the landline interfaces instead of getting charged at mobile rates.

Just think of the geeky possibilities.

And images all the babes you could impress!

Seems complicated at first, but is quite Kickass once you figgure it out. (You may need to buy some hardware in order to get it working.)

Pick up the handset of the POTS phone, wired through to a Linux system running Asterisk with, say a Dialogic D/120JCT-L 12-port analog + voice interface, and play "voice mail" to the caller. Nothing is more intuitive or indestructable than an old-style telephone.

ASTERISK!

What Is Asterisk?

Asterisk is a complete PBX in software. It runs on Linux and provides all of the features you would expect from a PBX and more. Asterisk does voice over IP in three protocols, and can interoperate with almost all standards-based telephony equipment using relatively inexpensive hardware.

Asterisk provides Voicemail services with Directory, Call Conferencing, Interactive Voice Response, Call Queuing. It has support for three-way calling, caller ID services, ADSI, SIP and H.323 (as both client and gateway). Check the Features section for a more complete list.

Asterisk needs no additional hardware for Voice over IP.

FEATURES!!!

ASTERISK!

What Is Asterisk?

Asterisk is a complete PBX in software. It runs on Linux and provides all of the features you would expect from a PBX and more. Asterisk does voice over IP in three protocols, and can interoperate with almost all standards-based telephony equipment using relatively inexpensive hardware.

Asterisk provides Voicemail services with Directory, Call Conferencing, Interactive Voice Response, Call Queuing. It has support for three-way calling, caller ID services, ADSI, SIP and H.323 (as both client and gateway). Check the Features section for a more complete list.

Asterisk needs no additional hardware for Voice over IP.

FEATURES!!!

Might be more complex, but you can set up your own VoIP PBX with Asterisk. It's free software that runs on Linux and supports industry standard SIP protocol so you can connect all kinds of devices like hardware IP phones, analog telephone adapters, and IP softphones on PCs and PDAs.

The Digium cards seem a mght expensive, but there are definately cheaper then channel banks. But don't worry the Asterisk software can handle H.323, SIP and IAX (asterisk's own VoIP protocol). So you can use hard phone, soft phones and hard soft phones?!? (e.g. Cisco VoIP phone)

I've installed two of the PSTN (FXO) cards, and phone (TDM) card in a spare server with Asterisk. The cards sound and work great. No hint that the call is travelling via my computer. I'm going to be spending this week-end configuring asterisk as my Dual Line/3 Extension Home PBX.

You can use Asterisk for your PBX.

Look at the IAX protocol that Asterisk PBX uses. Several devices are coming out now that talk this protocol.

Main selling points are:
#1 It works VERY well
#2 Only 1 port is ever used so NAT fowarding fixes all NAT issues
#3 Is a full PBX level intercommunication protocol so you can have any device using it do very advanced things that SIP and H323 only wish they could do well. (example... line in use indication for secretaries phones)

Virbiage is preparing to sell there FT201 based on IAX protocol and Digium (makers of Asterisk) are beginning mass production on their "IAXy" which is an ATA brick for analog phones.

Alright, so v1.0 supports openh323, v2.0 is going to add SIP, does that mean we have to wait for v3.0 for IAX/IAX2 support?

... and try asterisk. This program truely is amazing. Check out VoIP Info for a big wiki all about voip and asterisk. Next!

You ever heard of the Asterisk PBX? Check it out Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS

You ever heard of the Asterisk PBX? Check it out Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS

You ever heard of the Asterisk PBX? Check it out Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS

You ever heard of the Asterisk PBX? Check it out Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS

You ever heard of the Asterisk PBX? Check it out Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS

You ever heard of the Asterisk PBX? Check it out Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS

You ever heard of the Asterisk PBX? Check it out Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS

You ever heard of the Asterisk PBX? Check it out Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS

You ever heard of the Asterisk PBX? Check it out Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS Asterisk ROCKS

Everyone can then setup their very own Asterisk box.

Building in an environment with little legacy infrastructure can provide excellent oppportunities for deploying new technologies. Are you considering suggesting Linux for voice services (e.g. for example, my own project, Asterisk) as well as data?

I nominate Asterisk and MythTV

BTW, this same article is also available over on news.com.com. Anyway, lemme quote:

"The agencies have asked the Federal Communications Commission to order companies offering voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service to rewire their networks to guarantee police the ability to eavesdrop on subscribers' conversations."

Think about that one for a minute. How is a VoIP provider going to ensure that? There is only one way, turn off and disable all use of encryption in their VoIP network, unless the provider has access to the keys used.

Now think of IM networks, email servers, or just about any other Internet service. What are they going to do, outlaw all "non-sanctioned" client software using encryption? Are we gearing up for another Clipper Chip fiasco here?

FCC chairman Michael Powell has just come down on the side of VoIP providers saying, in part:

"Rapidly expanding voice communications over the Internet should be protected from excessive government regulation and from being pigeonholed as simple phone service". He goes on to say "harm from misregulation of VoIP could take "decades to fix."

"You [can] create a very hostile regulatory environment for voice-over-IP providers in the United States," Powell said.

He added "there is nothing to stop" the companies from moving to other countries and setting up computer systems to serve U.S. customers.

Exactly. Welcome to the Internet age.

Others have already covered the MythTV aspects of replacing this thing. Asterisk would be the obvious replacement for the VOIP/PBX end of this system.

Yes, but it's still not a PBX (perhaps would be with Asterisk. It would take some pretty intense programming to put a gui on that that'll allow you to drag and drop to transfer calls though.

Not that Pluto is the answer to everything, but it looks like they aim to have *everything* integrated to a pretty high degree. I wouldn't necessarily use drag and drop call control, but I can see a lot of people being wowed by it.

-Pete

There's a good article by John Todd at o'Reilly here.

Here's a Guide to Asterisk.

There's also a Wiki

There's a good article by John Todd at o'Reilly here.

Here's a Guide to Asterisk.

There's also a Wiki

Features like: menu systems, custom greetings based on caller id, remote access, voice recognition ("igor hold" "holding") and such would be ideal.