Ideas for integrating a SIP account, N900, Magic Jack, Linux, etc...

[linux guy]

I'm looking for some ideas on overhauling/revamping our telephone
system.

We are two busy working professionals.  We spend half our weekends away
from home.   My wife still has an iPhone.  I'm getting an N900.   We
have a landline with (terrible) voice mail service.

I want to tie it all together, somehow.  

I'd like to get a VOIP account somewhere and connect to it with a SIP
server of some sort so that I can do things with that connection. 

I'd like all our voicemails to be stored on that SIP server, so we don't
have to erase them, etc.  Actually, I'd like to get them as emails that
we can listen to and organize.   

I'd like to be able to call into my SIP server with the N900 and maybe
the iPhone and then make (cheap) calls anywhere.

Can one share a Magic Jack connection as a SIP service ?

How can I use Linux to do some of this stuff without resort to a full
blown asterisk installation ?

Thanks !

[Bill Davidsen]

Linuxguy123 wrote:
>  I'm looking for some ideas on overhauling/revamping our
> telephone
>  system.
>  
>  We are two busy working professionals.  We spend half our weekends away
>  from home.   My wife still has an iPhone.  I'm getting an N900.   We
>  have a landline with (terrible) voice mail service.
>  
>  I want to tie it all together, somehow.  
>   
Google voice. Hang it all together, get SMS by email, voice mail is
"read" by AI 
and emailed to you, different greetings by user, send calls to various phones 
(also by user), SMS is free, needless to say I am an early and happy user.

>  I'd like to get a VOIP account somewhere and connect to it with a
> SIP
>  server of some sort so that I can do things with that connection. 
>   
I just saw info on that, it can be done, don't remember how. Oh, here's 
information: http://tinyurl.com/3ytrnfq

>  I'd like all our voicemails to be stored on that SIP server, so
> we don't
>  have to erase them, etc.  Actually, I'd like to get them as emails that
>  we can listen to and organize.   
>  
>  I'd like to be able to call into my SIP server with the N900 and maybe
>  the iPhone and then make (cheap) calls anywhere.
>  
>  Can one share a Magic Jack connection as a SIP service ?
>  
>  How can I use Linux to do some of this stuff without resort to a full
>  blown asterisk installation ?
>  
>  Thanks !
>   

-- 
Bill Davidsen <davidsen(a)tmr.com&gt;
   "We have more to fear from the bungling of the incompetent than from
the machinations of the wicked."  - from Slashdot

[Richard Sewill]

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On 06/23/2010 05:33 PM, Linuxguy123 wrote:
>  People are using PAP2 devices to connect to Magic Jack accounts,
> thus
>  removing the need to use the Magic Jack USB dongle.
>  
>  Where does Google Voice fit into this ?
>  
>   
>   
I was actually wondering if Google Voice might be useful for you.

If my understanding is correct, you can do the following:
1) You can have a google voice number act as the number everyone dials.
   This would be the number you give people to call you.

2) You can tell google which phones to ring when someone calls the
   google voice number.

3) I believe, but am not certain, google supports some sort of
   voice mail.

In my mind, Google Voice is like having a main number for a business.
People call the main number.  Individual phones are called by Google.
You can program which phones ring when this main number is called.
If caller-id is working, you can control what happens based on caller.

The individual phones still have their own phone numbers.
The individual phones still can place or receive calls.

I could be wrong, but believe you can have a "home" phone,
a "cell" phone, and a SIP phone through sipphone.com associated
with a Google Voice number.
I'm not sure if you can have more than one of each or not.

I believe, one can also, somehow, dial out from the Google Voice number.

I was looking into Google Voice.  It may or may not work for you.
As always, please do your own research to see if it works for you!

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[linux guy]

People are using PAP2 devices to connect to Magic Jack accounts, thus
removing the need to use the Magic Jack USB dongle.

Where does Google Voice fit into this ?

[JD]

>  I'm looking for some ideas on overhauling/revamping our telephone
>  system.
>
>  We are two busy working professionals.  We spend half our weekends away
>  from home.   My wife still has an iPhone.  I'm getting an N900.   We
>  have a landline with (terrible) voice mail service.
>
>  I want to tie it all together, somehow.
>
>  I'd like to get a VOIP account somewhere and connect to it with a SIP
>  server of some sort so that I can do things with that connection.
>
>  I'd like all our voicemails to be stored on that SIP server, so we don't
>  have to erase them, etc.  Actually, I'd like to get them as emails that
>  we can listen to and organize.
>
>  I'd like to be able to call into my SIP server with the N900 and maybe
>  the iPhone and then make (cheap) calls anywhere.
>
>  Can one share a Magic Jack connection as a SIP service ?
>
>  How can I use Linux to do some of this stuff without resort to a full
>  blown asterisk installation ?
>
>  Thanks !
>
>      
If you want your SIP server to be your vmail host for
all your phone numbers, then you will have to program
your cell phones and your land line to forward all calls
to the SIP server, which will have the VOIP phone number.
This means that you will not hear any incoming calls
on your cell phones, and land line.
There might be a way for you to buy a service from the
cell carriers and land line carrier to only forward
the voice mails to your SIP server - you will have to
find out for yourself.
If that is available and you buy it, then you will have
to program your SIP server to email you and attach an mp3
file of each vmail message.

[Rick Stevens]

On 06/23/2010 09:37 AM, Linuxguy123 wrote:
>  I'm looking for some ideas on overhauling/revamping our
> telephone
>  system.
>
>  We are two busy working professionals.  We spend half our weekends away
>  from home.   My wife still has an iPhone.  I'm getting an N900.   We
>  have a landline with (terrible) voice mail service.
>
>  I want to tie it all together, somehow.
>
>  I'd like to get a VOIP account somewhere and connect to it with a SIP
>  server of some sort so that I can do things with that connection.
>
>  I'd like all our voicemails to be stored on that SIP server, so we don't
>  have to erase them, etc.  Actually, I'd like to get them as emails that
>  we can listen to and organize.
>
>  I'd like to be able to call into my SIP server with the N900 and maybe
>  the iPhone and then make (cheap) calls anywhere.
>
>  Can one share a Magic Jack connection as a SIP service ?
>
>  How can I use Linux to do some of this stuff without resort to a full
>  blown asterisk installation ? 
I don't have much experience with "consumer-aimed" VOIP systems, but 
here's my two cents worth:

First, Asterisk isn't that hard to set up.  The GUI tools are pretty
easy to use.  We use Asterisk here (well, Trixbox, but it's the same
thing).  Our system uses a Digium card to tie us into the PSTN via POTS
lines--we don't use a T1 or other network connection for regular calls,
although we do tie into the VOIP system at our east coast division via
VOIP over a VPN.

Should you use Asterisk and you don't wish to use your home POTS lines,
there are a number of PSTN gateways that are pretty cheap you can use
such as IPComms (http://www.ipcomms.net).  A google search for "PSTN
gateways" will reveal more.

AFAICT, The Magic Jack widget plugs into a USB port and supports a
single phone (has a single FXS jack to plug your phone into), but the
operational software isn't available on Linux.  I suspect it's
proprietary (a'la Skype), so I don't think that's a feasible option.

The Vonage system may be better.  The box is essentially a four-port 
wireless router/switch (including two FXS phone ports along with the
four 100Base-T net ports) and the Vonage software built-in.  It's 
managed via a web browser so it looks like it's pretty OS agnostic.

Then again, there is a project on OpenWRT where you install Asterisk
on a Linksys WRT54GL wireless router/switch (gee, sounds like Vonage,
doesn't it?).  The downside is that there are no FXS ports to plug an
analog phone into with this solution.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Rick Stevens, Systems Engineer, C2 Hosting          ricks(a)nerd.com -
- AIM/Skype: therps2        ICQ: 22643734            Yahoo: origrps2 -
-                                                                    -
-     I.R.S.: We've got what it takes to take what you've got!       -
----------------------------------------------------------------------

[linux guy]

On Wed, 2010-06-23 at 10:29 -0700, Rick Stevens wrote:

>  
>  I don't have much experience with "consumer-aimed" VOIP systems, but 
>  here's my two cents worth: 
<snip>

Very informative post.  Thanks for sharing.  I'll comment once I digest
everything that was in there.

Running asterisk on a WRT is uber cool !

FWIW, people are doing some interesting things with unlocked Linksys
PAP2 devices as well.

I think I'm about ready to get rid of my landline for good.

How does SIPWitch fit into all this ?