Some time ago I was writing on VoIPonCD and how it did not meet my expectations. Last night I did a new install, this time on an old dust-collecting Pentium III. (Last attempt was in a vmware virtual machine). This time install went smoothly. I had a running debian system in no time, including asterisk and the web interface that comes with VoIPonCD. Meanwhile an english website (www.voiponcd.com) has been launched and an active community is developing in the forums. Rolf (the author) has even honored me with leaving some comments (see the article)!
Soon I will put some more time in exploring the interface and let you know what I think of it!
Technorati : Asterisk, VoIPonCD
April 30th, 2006
D-link has announced the DPH-540, a Wi-fi enabled mobile phone. Beware though! It looks like a normal cellular, but it is not! You will only be able to connect to wireless networks (open access points or public hot spots) and not to the public telephone network (GSM or other). The phone uses SIP so you can use it with any of your favorite voip provider but not with skype!
Still a cool gadget to have but a little expensive if you ask me since it will sell for about 300 dollars.
Technorati : gadgets, phone, voip, wifi
April 26th, 2006
Now that Skype has gained massive market share, it is sometimes hard to convince people that there are many good (free) alternatives to this popular voice- and instant messaging-client. One of the alternatives is the free FWD.Communicator that comes with the excellent FreeWorldDialup service.
Here is a short list of features that skype-users are missing. Maybe this will make them ditch skype?
1. Instant Messaging
Not only to other SIP based clients, but also to your buddies from AOL, MSN, ICQ and Yahoo.
2. Free voicemail
FWD comes with free voicemail sent to an email account of your choice.
3. Free calls to toll free numbers
You can make free calls to toll free numbers in the USA, Netherlands, UK, Norway and Germany
4. Dial from normal land lines (PSTN) to FWD
By dialing into special access numbers in a.o. the UK and Netherlands, you can reach any FWD user.
5. Call several other networks around the world
You are using FWD but your friend is using a different VoIP network? Good chance you will still be able to reach him because the networks are interconnected.
6. Permanent forwarding
Enter the SIP address (URI) of some other VoIP service and all your calls to FWD will be directed to that SIP address as well.
7. Notification
Missed a call? You can be notified of this event by email.
8. Online overview of your account
Access your account from the web and see a list of all your dialed, received and missed calls.
9. Social networking
See the buddy lists of your contacts (as long as they’ve shared them).
10. Open standards, networks and protocols
Never be tied up to a single company. Benefit from an open network enabling you to connect to others in infinite ways.
Technorati : freeworlddialup, internet telephony, skype, voip
Del.icio.us : freeworlddialup, voice clients, voip
April 19th, 2006
Gizmo Project, one of my favorite alternatives to Skype, now offers Call In numbers in three new countries: France, Spain and the UK. By using a Call In number (also known as DID number) everyone will be able to reach you by dialing a local area number, even if that´s not where you are located.
Buying a Call In number is not very cheap (it´s rather expensive if you ask me!). It will cost you $35,- a year. It might be a good idea to consider alternatives that offer DID for a much lower (or free) price. Sipgate offers free DID for the UK and Germany, Voipbuster for many others.
Technorati : Call In, DID, Gizmo Project, Voip
April 13th, 2006
The Uncommon Business Blog is writing about Mark Spencer, founder of Digium and creator of Asterisk PBX and how this only 29 years old programmer takes on an $7 billion market.
It’s nice to see that one man can make a difference!
Technorati : Asterisk, Business, Voip
April 11th, 2006