[Mac-telephony-list] Apple USB modem dongle

[brody bernardi via List]

I am amazed at the lack of consensus on what to me seems should be  
elementary.
Isn't the sweet spot for Asterisk/OpenPBX the replacement of  
proprietary (Comdial, Norstar, Avaya) business phone systems?
EVERY business has computers, why not use one to run the phone system.
If a business could pull the copper pairs out of its phone system and  
plug them into a computer, it becomes a no brainer for the CEO.  The  
software is cheaper(free), the hardware is cheaper(price of PC), it  
eliminates the need for a "phone system x" administrator because it  
pulls the phone system into the realm of the computer network/IT staff.
The next step from Verizon/ATT/whoever (PSTN) to a VoIP vendor would  
be infinitely easier.  Pull out the copper pairs and plug in the VoIP  
device.

Perhaps I have no right to a voice here as my company neither uses  
Asterisk/OpenPBX nor has contributed money to this project.  Perhaps  
I need to do more research on this project to comment.  Maybe this  
mailing list isn't the correct source to form an opinion.

All I want (and I believe I represent a LOT of Mac users) is a way to  
eliminate my dependance on proprietary phone systems.  Let me  
configure my phone system in an easy and user friendly way (GUI).

I am no phone system expert by any stretch of the imagination, but am  
I missing something here?

Brody


On Dec 20, 2006, at 12:31 PM, Edward Eigerman via List wrote:

> I think the confusion is that most of the early voice compatibility
> was in the form of the "geoport adapter" which Apple didn't officially
> consider a modem. It was a DSP system. It's sort of nit-picking, but
> in a lot of ways it wasn't a modem, because most of the work was done
> in software. I don't think Apple ever shipped anything else, though
> Global Village voice modems were very common at one point.
>
> Ed
>
> On Dec 20, 2006, at 12:24 PM, Benjamin Kowarsch via List wrote:
>
>> On Dec 21, 2006, at 2:10 AM, Martin Joseph via List wrote:
>>
>>> On Dec 20, 2006, at 8:00 AM, Benjamin Kowarsch via List wrote:
>>>
>>>> You have to have a voice capable modem. The first voice capable
>>>> modem
>>>> Apple used was the Motorola SM56 which started to appear in late
>>>> 2004
>>>> or early 2005.
>>>
>>> The above is clearly wrong.  Apple had voice capable modems going at
>>> least back to the performa 5200 series which included the very nice
>>> "Megaphone" which allowed for calling and answering voice calls via
>>> the modem...
>>>
>>> Sorry for nit picking.
>>
>> You will have to take this up with Apple then. Because the above
>> statement is from Cupertino and it is official. :P
>>
>> I think though that you are referring to what was called Geoport
>> adapters, which technically could be considered voice modems but
>> Apple didn't consider them to be modems. Anything inside a Mac that
>> Apple does consider to be a modem did not have voice capability
>> before the Motorola SM56. Geoport adapters do not work with MacOS X
>> at all.
>>
>>> I have a USB modem dongle and a couple of working Asterisk installs
>>> if that helps any for testing the Unicall driver for that item...
>>
>> As I had mentioned, we are waiting for some stuff Apple is doing.
>>
>> BTW, this is a middleware, not a driver. Apple supplies the driver.
>> Unicall doesn't know how to talk to Apple's driver. The middleware
>> will make the link between the two.
>>
>> rgds
>> benjk
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
> -- 
> Edward Eigerman
> Principal
> Eigerman Consulting, Inc.
> 118A Fulton St. #104
> New York, NY 10038
> 212-710-2972
> http://www.eigermanconsulting.com
>
>
>
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