Hmmmm, my message got a little misplaced, I wanted to reply to http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1274931&cid=28391937
But I agree that Asterisk isn't gratis, but not because Digium hardware isn't free (you don't need to buy anything from them) or the time it takes to maintain it (there are virtual PBXs online) but because telephony isn't free.
I guess GV is a lot easier to setup/use and apparently gratis, but Google is a business and had to get something of value from the people using it (maybe money for features or just personal information).
With a decent IPBX you can do anything GV can do (transcribing voicemail may be the exception), e.g. Asterisk. The real difference is the interface and required knowlegde to setup this kind of behavior.
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Could please specify which of the freedoms you list don't apply to android?
Hmmmm, my message got a little misplaced, I wanted to reply to http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1274931&cid=28391937 But I agree that Asterisk isn't gratis, but not because Digium hardware isn't free (you don't need to buy anything from them) or the time it takes to maintain it (there are virtual PBXs online) but because telephony isn't free. I guess GV is a lot easier to setup/use and apparently gratis, but Google is a business and had to get something of value from the people using it (maybe money for features or just personal information).
With a decent IPBX you can do anything GV can do (transcribing voicemail may be the exception), e.g. Asterisk. The real difference is the interface and required knowlegde to setup this kind of behavior.