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ASUS Integrates VOIP and PSTN Into Motherboards
yahyamf writes "ASUS recently announced that their TeleSky telecom adapter will now be included in two of their motherboards. The TeleSky converts an ordinary house phone into a multi-functional Skype phone. With one jack connected to the house phone and the other to the ground telephone line, the TeleSky can switch the house phone connection between the PSTN and VoIP networks. While it sounds interesting, how would this compare to the dedicated VOIP adapters available from SIPURA and others?"
I'm not trying to do the standard Slashdot post. I'm actually serious. Does anyone know if it works in Linux? The system requirements on the page state Windows, but that's rarely a good indicator. I would definitely plan to have one of these motherboards in my next PC if the adapter works in Linux.
They integrate a line interface in the mainboard, which is mostly a glorified connector to the soundcard. The telephone acts as a microphone and a speaker. That's it. The VOIP is all software.
To answer poster's question on comparison: the main advantage (IMO) to having PSTN access is fallback.
;)
I can think of some cases where long distance might be different, and you might want to use VoIP for some numbers and PSTN for others, but we just implemented a new PBX at my office with a feature wherein if our VoIP calls encounter a certain amount of packet loss, if they drop below a certain audio quality (not enough bandwidth available), or if we just plain old feel like it, we can switch our voice access from our T1 to our four old fashioned copper n' wire lines.
It provides security. Bosses like security.
ACs are modded -6. I don't read you, I don't mod you, I don't see you. Don't like it? Don't be a coward.
Really, I use a lot of onboard services on my little network system these days. A 500GB HDD for network storage, printer attached for printing across the network, I run my internet service through it and it does FTP and HTTP externally for my personal remote access to my network. Why not have it do VOIP telephony too? Sounds convenient enough, and none of my other resources on the system would draw overhead hardware-wise.
Would I recommend this kind of setup for a poweruser that likes to cut down on all background processes on their overclocked Windows gaming rig? Nah. But it's keen for those of us that like to have a main system for our use, and a small server that sits off in the basement running the little things.
So of course, the question of whether or not there's Linux drivers for it is very valid.
The problem is that it would certainly require your computer to be on. I'd rather have a router with a VOIP capability: no need to switch on the computer and no need for (presumably) Windows-only drivers.
It's not in the hardware. This is just a telephone to mic/speaker adapter that is built into the motherboard. Skype uses a mic/speaker to do its thing, as usual.
Skype probably gave them money to develop it, and then use their name on it. Great advertising, really.
"If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
I'm sure there are many technical reasons why current motherboards aren't compatible with CPUs 7 or 8 generations old (I suspect a 33MHz 386 on a 1066MHz FSB might fry quite quickly) and trying to add compatibility would require so many obsolete and expensive components dedicated to the legacy processor that you'd barely be testing the real motherboard at all.
There are also good marketing reasons such as adding a built in "test if it works before I put it in a PC" diagnostic implies something of a lack of confidence in your product's reliability.
It's far more efficient to put in simple diagnostic components that output (as many do) an audible failure indication when the fully-built system is booted. I've had my share of duff motherboards and ranted and raved at the time wasted constructing and then dismantling a PC but I think a built-in test CPU is overkill.
And behold, a command prompt and he who sat upon it, his name was shutdown and -h 3:11 followed with him
Why on earth would someone prefer proprietary VoIP in a motherboard when one can have those cheap Sipuras/linksys 3000 with much more functionality, open standards backed from most VoIP leaders, no need for a computer nor to have a it 24/7/365 on, with little power requirements, fall back to PSTN when Internet fails, plus a tone options. It is really a no brainer.
In the long run Skype is doomed.
I was just talking to somebody the other day about the reliability of VOIP, cell phones, etc. in case of emergencies. I remember as a kid when Ma Bell was a monopoly here in the US. We rented our phones from them, couldn't hook up additional phones, answering machines, or any other "unauthorized" devices to our phone line. I also remember when deregulation began and suddenly we suddenly owned the phones that we had rented for so long, and got stickers from the phone company to stick on the bottom of the phones indicating that they were now ours and not theirs.
But I digress. One other thing I recall clearly is that even if there was a prolonged power failure, even one lasting multiple days, the telephones always worked. The power needed to run the entire telco system is provided from the phone company. Each central office has huge banks of lead-acid batteries and backup generators to provide electricity in the event of a power failure. You could pretty much guarantee that your phone would work for days while nothing else in your house did, a comforting thought if any emergencies arose.
Today, however, with the advent of voip, cell phones, etc. it seems like the promise of always-availble telephones is bound to disappear eventually. VOIP surely won't work if your cable modem or DSL router (or your ASUS motherboard) doesn't have any power. How will you recharge your cell phone during a power failure once you've drained its battery?
Don't get me wrong - I think all this new technology is great, but at what cost? Many people these days probably don't realize that hardwired land lines provide a reliability that all these modern gadgets can't in times of emergencies. I just wonder if the telcos will eventually give up on providing that reliability if they feel it's no longer providing a costly & desired service.
Have people forgotten what a modem is already?
> Also WTF is a phone line? VoIP goes over the net (re: ethernet) not a POTS
> (otherwise what's the f'ing point?).
>
> Why not integrate a PS3 into it while you're at it?
What is a phone line? While Reading The Fine Article, I came across this statement:
"With one jack connected to the house phone and the other linked to the ground telephone line, the TeleSky(TM) can switch the house phone connection between PSTN and VoIP networks."
Also, the Fine Article listed some of the features of the product such as "I/O 2 RJ 11 connectors for phone and PSTN cable."
It would seem, then, that the motherboard has a couple RJ-11 connectors for what is commonly referred to as a telephone line. Of course, if you have telephones with RJ-45 connectors then this becomes moot, but most telephones have RJ-11 connectors and so a means for attaching one's telephone(s) to the computer becomes necessary.
Life is short; think quickly.
The reasons I have a computer dedicated to Asterisk are a lot about flexibility and control. I have more say in what happens when someone calls my house, I set up my own voice menuing (or at least I've started configuring it), I can route calls as I'd like to and generally use the resources the way I like. The fact that my phone service ends up being far cheaper than Vonage and that I can route calls from my cell phone through it is just a really big bonus. Honestly, Vonage is cheap, but until you start shopping for your own DID you don't realize just how much the big phone companies have been gouging us.
more of the same on Twitter.
I didn't say it was a modem. I said it was a phone to mic/speaker adapter.
I simplified there, as this is also a Skype POTS adapter, allowing it to failover to a landline if you're not on the internet.
"If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
Mod parent up - if you are willing to put up with Skype, that is
your choice, but it does not make those of us who are not flamebait.
There is no reason not to use SIP - it has everything Skype has,
and so much more potential because it is open. Do not be fooled
by Skype propoganda and FUD.
It is a shame that this offering is Skype only - for me that is
enough reason to make it a non-starter. It sounds like a good
idea - I hope they will come out with a usable version, i.e.,
no Skype.