Phone calls from laptop

[Marko Vojinovic]

On Monday, July 19, 2010 23:57:52 Bill Davidsen wrote:
> RAMAKISHOREBABU KOPPULA wrote:
> > My laptop has a internal modem and RJ-11 connector. I want to connect
> > the phone line to the laptop and by using head phones I want to make
> > calls. How to do this? Is there any software available to do this?
> 
> Log onto Google Voice and use the help feature. I searched using something
> like "VOIP via SIP on Linux" or similar. A few pages in was a set of
> replies to a question with all details on getting sipphone account and
> client, etc.

I think people are repeatedly misinterpreting OP's question here. As I 
understood the OP, he wants to use a computer to emulate an ordinary analog 
phone device. Nothing VoIP, SIP or otherwise Internet-related.

Imagine he doesn't even have any Internet connection. A computer which is 
completely off-line, connected to a phone landline via modem, and acting as a 
regular, ordinary phone --- it rings when someone tries to call, it dials 
outgoing calls, and converts audio input/output into electric signals like a 
normal phone would. Maybe even act as an answering machine (recording voice 
messages), a fax machine, and such.

While I can only imagine *why* the OP would ever want this kind of thing, I 
believe this could be possible in principle, provided that the modem can send 
arbitrary analog signal over the wire. If his hardware is ok, it's just a 
question of whether there is any software that implements this behavior.

I have no answer, but would also be quite curious to know myself. :-)

HTH, :-)
Marko