Graves On SOHO Technology

Gigaset SIP/DECT Handsets For 2010: Part 2 – A58H

June 4, 2010
Michael Graves
VoIP

In the first post in this series I described the common aspects of the the various Gigaset SIP/DECT systems being offered in North America. This post will go on to examine the entry-level handset, model A58H.

This handset was already described in depth back in my review of July 2009. That review, which has proven to be very popular, was done on a system using the most current firmware at the time. There have been several firmware releases since then, some adding significant new functionality. I’m not going to burn the cycles to go through that entire process again, but I will offer a brief summary of its features.

CounterPath Launches Linux Softphone

June 2, 2010
Michael Graves
VoIP

There can be no question that Counterpath is the leader in SIP soft phones. From the free offering in X-Lite to my favorite Eyebeam, and finally Bria they’ve long had a diverse offering and occupied a leadership position in the market.

In a move to strengthen the diversity of their range today Counterpath announced the launch of Bria 3.0 for Linux. This gives them a native release on Windows, Mac & Linux, which is a considerable achievement.

Deal Alert: San Disk Cruzer Micro 4GB $8.95 @ BUY.COM

I can hear you now. “What! Why would Graves be recommending a plain vanilla USB memory stick? Not especially cheap nor especially large? He must be mad!” That may well be true, but it remains comfortably beside the point.

As you may know we do like our Polycom SoundPoint desktop phones around here. In fact, the IP650 has perched upon my desktop longer than another other single device. One of it’s great conveniences is the software option called the Polycom Productivity Suite, which I purchased for all my IP650s.

This software includes the ability to record calls locally on the phone with just one or two button presses. This has been tremendously useful for podcasting, technical and normal business applications.

Making Use of Wideband Voice Right Now!: SIP Sorcery

May 27, 2010
Michael Graves
VoIP

This addition to this series is not like those that have come previously. All of the prior companies profiled are VoIP service providers that provide a degree of connectivity to the legacy public switched telephone network (PSTN), often as paid aspect of their service.

SIP Sorcery is very different. SIP Sorcery started out known as “My SIP Switch.” It’s an open source project created by Aaron Clauson, who describes it as a “SIP service aggregator.”

PBXact: Using The Magic Button To Call VUC

May 26, 2010
Michael Graves
VoIP

I just stumbled across this today. It's a video clip of Michael White from E4 Technologies using the "Magic Button" feature on a PBXact system to voice dial the VoIP Users Conference from an Aastra 6757i CT. That's pretty cute!

Technology & The Art Of The Podcast

May 25, 2010
Michael Graves
Audio, VoIP

Last week longstanding VoIP blogger and fellow Canuck Alec Saunders penned a nice post on the Calliflower Blog offering a collection of guidance for podcasters called “10 Podcaster Tips!” It’s a good read…not long…you should go read it now…then come back here. I’ll wait.

Over the past few years I’ve listened to a number of Alec’s Squawkbox podcasts, even attended a handful live & in-person. I respect and admire the man.

Taken in the context of the Calliflower conference service Alec’s post provides some sound, well-considered advice. Even so, I find there to be merit recasting it in a broader context and revisiting some of his points.

By “broader context” I mean specifically considering how someone could record a better sounding podcast by bypassing the legacy public switched telephone network (PSTN).