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This
week, SIPphone
is releasing Gizmo
Project 2.0* (note the asterisk), our popular
free VoIP software for high-quality, easy-to-use PC
calls. Usually, the star-shaped character means there's
an exception such as "supply limited", "annual
contract required", or some other tiny-print
qualifier that makes the offer seem not as good as
it initially appears. This time, however, the asterisk
symbol stands for something positive - Asterisk support.
If you've
never heard of Asterisk, you're not alone because
it's one of the best-kept open source secrets. Asterisk
is PBX software that turns an ordinary PC into a
powerful inter-company phone system ("Press
1 for sales, press 2 for customer support, etc").
To get a professional phone, companies normally
have to buy or lease expensive digitals service
and phones. The systems take weeks to install and
as the company grows, you have to buy more extensions,
expansion modules, and upgrades - all of which make
it very expensive.
With
Asterisk, a simple Linux PC can be transformed into
a customizable phone system for a school, business
or even an advanced home system. I spoke with the
original author Mark Spencer and he estimates there
are more than 250,000 installations of Asterisk.
Asterisk can be complex to set up, so companies
have sprung up that provide point-and-click setups
such as Switchvox
(which was founded by former MP3.com personnel).
Gizmo
Project 2.0 now has support for Asterisk, making
it possible to easily
configure it to remotely receive and dial calls
from from an Asterisk system on any net-connected
PC. It's nothing new to use software to accept Asterisk
calls. What IS new is to be able to do it reliably.
Oftentimes, Asterisk calls get blocked by routers,
NATs and firewalls using other SIP software, so
the phone rings but one or both parties can't hear
each other.
Using the
experience garnered by successfully connecting millions
of calls through any type of network configuration,
Gizmo Project
smartly works with Asterisk to ensure calls connect
with high reliability. For each call, Gizmo 2.0 quickly
and automatically checks to see if an incoming or
outgoing call is blocked by a router, NAT, or firewall
and invisibly connects the call through a more reliable
path. This ensures that Asterisk users can successfully
receive and dial calls from anywhere on the net -
even if they are outside their company headquarters.
It also makes Gizmo Project the ideal software companion
for Asterisk users - superior in reliability to even
some software programs that charge $50 per copy.
Gizmo Project
2.0* is available immediately
for Macintosh and Microsoft Windows computers and
you can read the official release here.
The Linux version is not yet available, but there's
a good reason. The SIPphone Linux experts have been
creating a version of Gizmo Project for Nokia's brilliant
770 Internet tablet. This Linux-based Wi-Fi device
will shortly
ship with Gizmo Project, making it possible for
the first time to send and receive call SIP calls
and calls to/from any traditional phone. The initial
version of the 770 did not ship with any voice software.
Many people assumed there was no microphone, but in
fact there is a tiny hole in the front. SIPphone has
been working closely with Nokia to bring standards-based
SIP calling to this device.
- Michael
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