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Home Phone System That Syncs To Computer?
An anonymous reader writes 'In comparison to the advanced technology in today's smart phones, the standard home phone is painfully backwards. My current setup is a Panasonic system that has 4 cordless phones over one base station. Setting the time on one phone changes the time on all the phones; however, this is not the case for the phone book. Each entry must be manually copied (pushed) to each handset. Is this as far as home phone technology has come? What I would like is a phone system that I could sync to my computer so I could update the phone book over all the units (if not sync with Address Book or Outlook), keep a log of caller IDs, or even forward me new voicemail notifications. Does anyone know if such a system exists?'
What's a "landline"? :-)
Not really for personal use, unless you live in an area where owning a cellphone is prohibitively expensive and a landline isn't. I think the number of geeks that would fit this niche would be very small. Other than this case, I really think the landline is slowly going the way of the dodo as far as home users are concerned.
However, being able to push something like this out to business and corporate clients may well be a viable opportunity.
That's a great question, and an even better request to broadcast to manufacturers. I have a 4 unit/1 base V-Tech cordless system at home that I love (rugged [survived a drop in a toilet and kept on working], battery life, etc), except for wishing that it did stuff that it doesn't. The feature tech isn't the difficult part, it's getting the manufacturer's attention so they know it's wanted.
My Human Gets Me Blues.
Time for overkill solution number 1:
1) Buy a SIP to POTS adapter
2) Install asterisk on your Linux server (You do have a Linux server right?)
3) Create a web app, preferably Ruby on Rails, that connects to Asterisk over the management port and dials a phone number and rings it back to your home phone line
4) Profit until the system breaks and the wife wrings your neck because she can't call to make her beauty salon appointment!
Enjoy!
... they work *all* the time.
Personally, I would never replace my POTS phone with anything "high tech".
Yes, it's called Asterisk, but it requires more than a box you buy at a retail store. You can share a phone book and click-to-dial (Asteridex) based on entries in MySQL. It supports about every feature you can think of for the phone, from wake-up calls to auto-forwarding. Get a VOIP trunk running SIP and you'll also pay far less for phone service. You still need a tiny server running Linux, some IP phones, or an analog card, but you'll have total control and all the features you want. Personally, I like FreePBX (http://freepbx.org), and there are even easier-to-setup versions such as the distro at http://nerdvittles.com/.
The biggest reason this doesn't happen is cost. Those crappy phones you mention (I have similar setup) costs the manufacturer pennies to make. There's no fancy operating system, no connectivity with disparate systems, no pricey architecture, nothing fancy. In order to do what smart phones do, the cost would go up. Your smart phone isn't cheap, but the price is subsidized by the phone provider through deals with the manufacturer and built into the cost of the plan as a whole. Good luck, but I wouldn't expect it to happen any time soon because most people won't pay hundreds for a home phone system when they can get one that works with 4 handsets for $50.
http://www.cygnion.net/ It did exist, and there are still some available out there if you look hard enough. It had some issues, the main one being lack of sales hampering the development of the technology any further, but it worked pretty well all being said.
I have a Panasonic phone system with 3 cordless handsets and one base station. It keeps all of the phone book entries centrally, so if you change it from one handset all get the change. Same with the caller ID log. No connection to my computer, but this sounds like most of what you're asking for. Maybe you just need a newer phone?
I might be indecisive, but I'm not really sure. What do you think?
I have a Uniden CLX475 ... it does pretty much everything you ask ...
http://www.uniden.com/products/productdetail.cfm?product=CLX475-3
Good old fashioned POTS stuff has its advantages(phones, even wireless ones, are incredibly cheap, you can carry the signal over cable of virtually arbitrary crappiness); but sophistication isn't really one of them. Even DECT gear, while ostensibly some kind of standard, is little more powerful or interoperable than the old-school proprietary RF linked wireless phones.
If you want power, you really want VOIP phones(even if you end up using a copper POTS line to dial out, though you can often save money by using a SIP provider). Voicemail sent to your email, speech to text, configurable menues, contacts lists that connect to LDAP/AD backends, the whole deal. Unfortunately, VOIP hardware tends to be substantially more expensive than the old POTS stuff(unless you count software VOIP clients running on hardware you already have) and need proper modern data connections(either wired or wireless ethernet, usually).
Anyone who is worried about this kind of thing should already have an asterisk server which could do this for all phones, not just the cordless ones. And yes, its a huge business opportunity.
I really think the landline is slowly going the way of the dodo as far as home users are concerned.
My landline phone, never needs external power or batteries. It never has problems when the "tower" is overloaded with people trying to make calls. By LAW, it can always call 911 from any phone jack in any house. I never have to deal with "are you there? you're breaking up" nor deal with "ATT|Verizon|Sprint|T-Mobile has crappy coverage at my house..." related issues. I have a $5 corded phone from Walmart for emergency use and a cordless phone (requires external power) for normal use. Maybe as a society we're becoming too dependent on continuous sources of electricity.
And yes I've been without power to my house for days on end (ice storms in the Northeast). Light's didn't work but my home phone worked fine.
SIEMENS GIGASET S680 BLUETOOTH DECT PHONE http://www.cordless-phones.uk.com/cordless-phones/digital-cordless-phones/siemens-gigaset-s680-phone easy to program, easy to use. I have worked with Siemens dect systems when I worked with Siemens HiPath 4000. Most new dect phones got sync to PC that I have used.
My horse, never needs gasoline or battery power. It never has problems when the "highway" is overloaded with people trying to go to work. By NATURE, it can always get me home from any bar in any area. I never have to deal with "you need an alignment" nor deal with "FORD|CHEVY|DODGE has crappy dealerships near my house..." related issues. I have a $5 leather whip from Walmart for emergency use and leather saddle from Walmart (requires external buckle) for normal use. Maybe as a society we're becoming too dependent on continuous sources of transportation.
Google much?
http://www.voicecallcentral.com/
"Keep at least 3-6 full bottles of hard alcohol on hand, a 2 week resignation notice,..." - Poetmatt
Most people dont want to pay hundreds for a cordless phone. THAT is why.
My Engenius cordless has a 2 mile range (real 2 mile range not fake marketing crap) and it cost me $325.00 for a single handset+basestation and antenna. I have never met another person that owned an engenius phone because of the cost.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
I see lots of people deciding they don't need a landline any more. Well, for a single person or in the case where everyone in the house has a cell phone, that can work. It works better when your wireless carrier has a WiFi component to their plan - although since they lose money by the fistful on these I would expect either the carrier or the plan to disappear.
But what happens when you have a three-year-old child? Going to get them a cell phone? I don't think so. And while you can teach a three year old to dial 911 calling from a cell phone may not be anywhere near as easy or helpful. In a house the GPS chip isn't going to work so well, so your phone isn't going to know where it is. Meaning that the fire department doesn't know where to go.
Landline phone service is also just plain more reliable. If you live in an area where there are weather-related power outages, which is just about anywhere, you can't assume that the cell tower infrastructure has much battery backup - some have none at all. Contrast this with the landline Central Office which when the batteries start getting low fires up the generator to keep dial tone available. I have had no electricity from the power company for more than 24 hours after an ice storm, before there were cell phones. After a few hours a cell phone would be a paperweight under these circumstances.
Why do you need a land line? Children. Emergencies. Power outages. Maybe you don't care now, but you very well might in the future.
And one thing to consider. If enough people drop land lines, they will disappear entirely. Try, just try to find a pay phone outside of an airport or train station today. Nobody needs them, unless your cell phone dies and you need to call someone like maybe a tow truck. Good luck, because pay phones have been declared obsolete. So now there is no alternative. Land lines might be declared obsolete as well - in which case good luck teaching your young children how to dial out on your Blackberry.
Having set up Asterisk a couple of different places AND attempting to integrate most of the things discussed, I can tell you there are a whole chain of problems.
a phone system that I could sync to my computer so I could update the phone book over all the units
Meaning a single address book shared/synced at all phones? You would need phones with *some* kind of open client interface. Of which, there are exactly zero.
(if not sync with Address Book or Outlook),
Please, dear Lord. No. This is another binary jail. But it looks like you want your home computer's Outlook client to be somehow involved. Which, is another programming mountain to climb separate from the first feature.
keep a log of caller IDs
This, Asterisk can do. A more flexible solution requiring some coding is Freeswitch. As others have mentioned, you have to plug the POTS line into your PC. Is there a GUI that can render the results to meet your satisfaction? Maybe.
or even forward me new voicemail notifications.
Asterisk and Freeswitch can do this too. But, there are numerous details that drive people away. Do the hard/soft phones you end up using have ways to implement call forwarding? How about controlling call forwarding at the server only? Is there a GUI available to meet your standards of usable? I haven't worked with Asterisk in a long time though maybe there are prettier ways of doing things now.
Dog forbid you want to integrate your mobile phone into the fray.
BTW, there's a whole forest of patents on voicemail notification alone. Even *if* something was made, it probably violates patents. http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=98808
http://www.maxineudall.com/2010/02/should-economists-be-sued-for-malpractice.html
But your horse needs food, shoes, shots and exercise. Not to mention a stable to sleep in and a field to run around in. I'll bet once the gp paid his five bucks at Walmart and plugged the phone in to its jack, he never had to do another thing to maintain it.
I don't care why you're posting AC
Open Peak
It is as though they took an iPhone and applied it to a workplace telephone system.
Invest in a $5 phone book. Write once, works with everything.
If you have something that you dont want anyone to know, maybe you shouldnt be doing it in the first place -Eric Schmidt
Vonage keeps track of all numbers you dialed or called you, along with voicemail you can dial into, access via email, or access via their web interface.
I don't know about updating phone books for cordless phones, but since I switched to Vonage I have better control over my voicemail and list of phone numbers via the web interface and it emails every voice mail entry to my address along with a speech to text of the message.
Vonage uses a CAT5 Ethernet connector and then any POTS phone. As long as you have the Internet with an Ethernet port (Like a Wireless hub with Ethernet ports in it) you can use the Vonage box. Plus it has free Long Distance to the USA and 60+ foreign nations. My wife and brother-in-law use it to call family in Thailand for free. About $33 a month after taxes.
The other thing is Google Voice but that is still in beta testing.
The thing is cordless POTS phones never caught up with cell phones yet, but that is a good business to get into and develop smart POTS phones that sync up phone lists, etc.
Remember, Slashdot does not have a -1 disagree moderation, and no, troll, flamebait, and overrated are not substitutes.
Why on earth are you still using a landline? A mobile phone will probably be cheaper
Mobile phones are a lot of things, but being cheaper isn't one of them. We talk to Canada for over 1000 minutes per month. I can easily afford to pay for my Qwest landline with unlimited calling to Canada for just those long-distance charges. Any time you get into many minutes for multiple people, cell phone plans start to suck.
He has no horse sense.
Oh, yeah, it's not easy to pad these out to 120 characters.
Does anyone use landlines at home any more? I know two people who do. They are both very old, and are struggling with the move from rotary dialing to tone dialing. I don't think they would be the least bit interested in this.
The reason people have moved away from land line phones isn't necessarily because they feel cellular or VoIP technology is that much better- it is because of the phone company monopolies on wired service and their ridiculous pricing and rules structures that don't seem to have changed much since the 50s (other than the price going up every year while their level of customer service drops).
Why on earth would I want to pay $30/month for a basic phone line, with no Caller ID, Call Waiting, or Voicemail, and I have to pay for long distance on top of it?! For that same money- I can get a nice Cellular or VoIP plan with, at a minimum, Caller ID, Call Waiting, Call Forwarding, 3-Way Calling, AND Voicemail, plus unlimited or dirt-cheap long distance.
Based on the stability of my DSL connection, I really doubt a land line would be much more reliable in adverse weather or other conditions either, at least for where I live. I have a friend who lives down the street who's land line goes dead several times a year, and it takes an average of 18 hours to get it fixed each time. For power failures- my phones, network, and VoIP equipment are on a nice big UPS that will keep them running for close to two hours- plenty of time to deal with an emergency, or at the very least- call the power company.
You've met one now - I've got the antenna on a small pole on the back of my house extending it about 10 feet above the roof line. I have a spare battery I charge with it in the base as well and always carry the phone and spare battery with me -- it works from my house all the way to my office - as well as all over my neighbourhood. I have it connected to an analog digium card in my asterisk pbx. It's nice having access to my home phone and free voice over IP calls from anywhere within 3-4 km of home, and the phone isn't much bigger than the old "candybar" style cell phones of the late 90s/early 2000 vintage.
it can always get me home from any bar in any area.
Yeah, but if you get cited for too many RUI/RWI's they can impound your horse or at least issue you a pink saddle to publicly shame you.
I am using a Siemens Gigaset system along with a Siemens M34 USB dongle, which allows you to manage directory form your PC and Skype etc, but you have to do it via outlook, which is painful as well. Personally, I found google contacts to be the most useful across platforms that can be a feature for home telephone that can be further explored. There are later Gigaset phones that allow you to simply copy your sim contacts from your mobile phone to your home phone or batch send it via bluetooth, but I found Siemens phones are not very popular in the US, which it strange because I found Gigaset phones are far more superior in call clarity, os friendliness and have better industrial design and build quality, and runs on standard AAA batteries instead of those battery packs.
yes, it has happened, but it is not illegal in all states.
Get a web developer
I'm at home with an exchange server under my desk.
you can get one home for as little as 1299 right now at dell-
it comes with 5 user or device licenses- each of which includes an outlook seat
enough for my family/pcs
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
Yeah, he should have made a car analogy.
While all of the points made therein are true, the inference, that one can always depend on a corded phone and a pots line, is false. Last fall, here in Houston in the days (weeks, in some cases) following Hurricane Ike, man POTS customers learned this first-hand. The reasons for the failure of POTS lines were several: Wind and/or wind-blown debris took down overheard lines Rain (flooding) damaged underground lines and infrastructure Utility power failed, first taking out battery powered distribution equipment and then when the CO's generators ran out of fuel, everything connected to that CO went dark.
Perhaps more importantly, most calls for help did nothing more than tie up already overloaded emergency services call-takes and dispatchers who, for several of the early hours of the storm could only inform the callers that emergency services were not responding until conditions were safe enough.
Now, granted, this is an extreme case, but I should point out that my cell phone worked throughout the event. The carrier's network suffered from congestion for a while, until they got the word out that texting would be a more reliable away to contact those one needed to contact. The analog phone line has it's place, but it is, in most cases, not the panacea the parent would have us believe.
I've had 2 outages on my land line in the last 10 years, but I have never had an outage on my cellphone.
Never had a dropped call? Never got the "redial, network busy" tone? Never got a "Call failed" displayed on the face of the phone? Those are outages.
John
Tit is because of the phone company monopolies on wired service and their ridiculous pricing and rules structures that don't seem to have changed much since the 50s
This shows that capitalism works when not tampered by a monopoly.
The same companies that we buy the land line service from are also doing the cell phones service. The difference is the amount of competition.
an horse analogy is LIKE a car analogy
I only get dropped calls when I'm on a train and it goes out of coverage area. A landline wouldn't be an option there anyway. I've never had a network busy tone or call failed display ever.