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Suggestions for Computer Answering Systems?

Posted by Cliff on from the next-generation-answering-machines dept.

{e}N0S asks: "Just got done watching the movie Brainscan and it got me wanting my computer to handle my telephone again. Features like: menu systems, custom greetings based on caller id, remote access, voice recognition ("igor hold" "holding") and such would be ideal. Have you Slashdot readers implemented something like this, and do you have tips on good software?"

4 of 54 comments (clear)

  1. Vgetty by lubeboy · · Score: 5, Informative

    Vgetty From the web page: Vgetty turns your voice modem into an answering machine. It adds voice capabilities to mgetty. This means, that you can handle data, fax and voice calls on one telephone line. How good all this works depends strongly on the modem you have. There are many modems with bad voice implementations and quite a few more expensive ones with a good hardware and firmware.

  2. GNU Bayonne by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    GNU Bayonne, the telecommunications application server of the GNU project, offers free, scalable, media independent software environment for development and deployment of telephony solutions for use with current and next generation telephone networks.

  3. Asterisk by Halvard · · Score: 4, Informative

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

    Check out Asterisk. It's got all the features you ask about, supports POTS, ISDN, T-1, E-1, TDM, SIP, MGCP, etc., etc., ad naseum. You can easily setup a separate call queue based on the caller ID value, call-back, IVR, etc.I haven't been lurking in the list recently but you probably can do voice commands (roll your sleves up).
    1. Re:Asterisk by veneficus · · Score: 5, Informative

      I've been using Asterisk successfully for over 6 months at my house. It's like a media center for your telephone -- You can connect so many disparate telephony technologies together to make the mother of all frankensteined phone systems!

      Pound for pound, Asterisk is the best solution for computer telephony in the Linux arena. Bayonne is progressing, but it's not to the level yet that Asterisk has had for half a year now.

      Asterisk supports SIP, H323, MGCP, SCCP, ISDN, PSTN, PRI, just about anything you can throw at it that has an ominous sounding acronym.

      Besides that, the Asterisk people are helpful if you demonstrate that you're interested in learning, not just the quick fix.

      Come check out #asterisk on freenode(openprojects) or http://www.asterisk.org to see what Asterisk can do for you!

      --
      -- Hey, what the hell, it's only slashdot..