How to call me with VoIP
If you have a SIP phone working, you can call me at the following address:
Why VoIP?
I'm really interested in VoIP. I have set up an Asterisk server to handle all my telephony. You (like my wife), may be asking me why I would do such a thing? For the following reasons:
Voice is cool. Instant Messaging is cool too (especially Jabber), but when you're talking for any lengthy amount of time, it can get tedious.
- Regular phones, especially cell phones, cost a lot of money. Asterisk is completely free.
- Skype sucks. Yea it's easy to use and all but it's a completely closed system -- If you're on Skype you can't call me or any other SIP user.. and I can't call you.
- I'm in control. I can block people I don't want to talk to (telemarketers, stalkers etc), n-way party lines, voicemail that automatically sends the sound file to my email, etc.
- It can ring multiple locations at once. I can pick up no matter where I am (home, office, the library, or even a mobile phone).
It's built around open standards.
And most importantly: It's geeky as all hell
How to get VoIP software
There are a million different ways to do VoIP. The easiest way is called a SIP softphone. A softphone is software that you install on your computer and using a microphone and headphones allows you to make VoIP calls. Here's one easy way to get a SIP softphone setup:
Download and install Gizmo.
- Start up Gizmo and follow the on screen instructions for creating an account.
Gizmo is not open source, but it's dirt simple to get up and running, it's free as in beer, runs on multiple platforms, and is based on 100% open standards. It's a total Skype killer.
That being said, I don't use it. I use Ekiga, which is open source and a tiny bit more difficult to setup. If you're comfortable with trying new things, give Ekiga a spin, otherwise stick to Gizmo for a while.
Testing it out
Once you have your SIP client installed, you should test it out to make sure everything works.
In Gizmo enter echo@enigmacurry.com in the address bar and press enter.
This will connect you to my server and request an echo test. An echo test verifies that your SIP phone is working properly by sending audio that you send back to you. Once the call connects you should hear a voice that introduces the echo test, once the voice stops the echo test will begin and you should talk into the microphone. If everything is working properly, you should be able to hear your own voice coming back (with a half second or so delay). Hang up once you're satisfied that it's working.
Now that you're set up you can give me a call if you'd like, my SIP address is at the top of the page.