ASUS Integrates VOIP and PSTN Into Motherboards 101
yahyamf writes "ASUS recently announced that their TeleSky telecom adapter will now be included in two of their motherboards. The TeleSky converts an ordinary house phone into a multi-functional Skype phone. With one jack connected to the house phone and the other to the ground telephone line, the TeleSky can switch the house phone connection between the PSTN and VoIP networks. While it sounds interesting, how would this compare to the dedicated VOIP adapters available from SIPURA and others?"
But does it run on Linux? (Score:4, Insightful)
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If I read it right, it's not much more than a Sipura device with "the voip side soldered to a motherboard". It looks like it emulates an (USB) audio device, which can be used from pretty much any program, including the Asterisk ALSA plugin.
Re:But does it run on Linux? (Score:4, Informative)
And is it open source? (Score:2)
And make sure you don't fall into the trap I did of accepting binary drivers for an Asus product. I bought an Asus Pundit-R for a MythTV box c. September 2005. It's a soup-to-nuts ATI solution, integrated graphics, chipset, ide controller, etc. ATI discontinued linux support for it as of June 2006 as "old hardware" and won't answer my mails about it. So, there's no driver that can run in modular Xorg and power the TV-out feature or do hardware 3D.
Looks like a Matrox
No, they don't. (Score:3, Informative)
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With skype? (Score:1)
Re:With skype? (Score:5, Insightful)
Skype probably gave them money to develop it, and then use their name on it. Great advertising, really.
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I simplified there, as this is also a Skype POTS adapter, allowing it to failover to a landline if you're not on the internet.
Fallback (Score:5, Interesting)
I can think of some cases where long distance might be different, and you might want to use VoIP for some numbers and PSTN for others, but we just implemented a new PBX at my office with a feature wherein if our VoIP calls encounter a certain amount of packet loss, if they drop below a certain audio quality (not enough bandwidth available), or if we just plain old feel like it, we can switch our voice access from our T1 to our four old fashioned copper n' wire lines.
It provides security. Bosses like security.
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BBH
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In my experience, it typically takes 5-8 tries to get a fax through to China via VOIP. If I hook the machine up to good old copper it goes through the first time.
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FAX on VOIP works fine (Score:2)
Telemarketers (Score:1)
Actually not such a bad idea (Score:3, Interesting)
Would I recommend this kind of setup for a poweruser that likes to cut down on all background processes on their overclocked Windows gaming rig? Nah. But it's keen for those of us that like to have a main system for our use, and a small server that sits off in the basement running the little things.
So of course, the question of whether or not there's Linux drivers for it is very valid.
sipura (Score:2)
Not a so good idea (Score:2, Informative)
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There are also good marketing reasons such as adding a built in "test if it works before I put it in a PC" diagnostic implies something of a lack of c
Dear Asus, (Score:2, Flamebait)
Also WTF is a phone line? VoIP goes over the net (re: ethernet) not a POTS (otherwise what's the f'ing point?).
Why not integrate a PS3 into it while you're at it?
Tom
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But why would I want a computer dedicated to it? Just another thing that can die. At least the standalone voip boxes rarely [mine never did] crash or hang. So the only problem to worry about is the damn modem going down (which fortunately for me only happened when I was in the middle of a business call
Tom
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I suppose if I actually *received* calls I'd care to have more control over how it worked. But sadly, my social life isn't that happening. And most people just call my cell anyways.
Tom
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> (otherwise what's the f'ing point?).
>
> Why not integrate a PS3 into it while you're at it?
What is a phone line? While Reading The Fine Article, I came across this statement:
"With one jack connected to the house phone and the other linked to the ground telephone line, the TeleSky(TM) can switch the house phone connection between PSTN and VoIP networks."
Also, the Fine Article listed some of the features of the product s
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The phone in your house probably uses a phone line, that's the part that plugs into the computer. The other jack on the computer plugs into the *real* wall jack, just like a modem used to. That way, you can still dial 911 with your phone over the PSTN since VoIP is nowhere near as reliable as old fashioned phone calls.
Meanwhile, you have Skype VoIP access through your
Why on earth? (Score:3, Insightful)
In the long run Skype is doomed.
Re:Why on earth? (Score:4, Interesting)
Why on earth would someone prefer proprietary OS in a computer when one can have those cheap linux/*BSD ones with much more functionality, open standards backed from most hardware leaders, no need for dedicated anti-virus programs, with little system requirements, better support and customization options, plus its free. It is really a no brainer.
In the long run Windows is doomed.
Interesting...don't you think? It isn't technology that matters the most, its marketing/partnerships/business savvy. People know about Vonage and Skype and to some extent aren't "afraid" of it...but asterisk??? For another example, MythTV is superior to TiVo, but guess who is winning that battle?
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On the other hand we are talking about a retail motherboard. Anyone well informed about this motherboard VoIP features is surely well aware of SIP
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Very true, but they are one of the biggest (don't have numbers to back me up). As such, hardware and 3rd party manufactures will migrate toward their larger install base (just like apps for windows vs linux). So, its one of those cases where they may not actually be a monopoly, but they are in a good position to become (to some extent) one.
Again very true, but its all about marketing. You hav
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In the long run windows is doomed. Linux is getting better and better while staying the same price. If the trend continues, Linux will be so much better than Windows and will come with so much software that eventually there simply won't be any reason to run Windows.
Of course, what happens in the next 490823012 years, in between now and then, will be depressing...
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Because, sadly, Skype is taking the world by storm, whereas SIP is caught in a net of sucky software implementations, service providers that don't interoperate, and an image problem (everybody knows Skype, those who know SIP generally only know that it's "like Skype, except that it doesn't work").
I'm actually v
Telephone reliability a thing of the past? (Score:5, Insightful)
But I digress. One other thing I recall clearly is that even if there was a prolonged power failure, even one lasting multiple days, the telephones always worked. The power needed to run the entire telco system is provided from the phone company. Each central office has huge banks of lead-acid batteries and backup generators to provide electricity in the event of a power failure. You could pretty much guarantee that your phone would work for days while nothing else in your house did, a comforting thought if any emergencies arose.
Today, however, with the advent of voip, cell phones, etc. it seems like the promise of always-availble telephones is bound to disappear eventually. VOIP surely won't work if your cable modem or DSL router (or your ASUS motherboard) doesn't have any power. How will you recharge your cell phone during a power failure once you've drained its battery?
Don't get me wrong - I think all this new technology is great, but at what cost? Many people these days probably don't realize that hardwired land lines provide a reliability that all these modern gadgets can't in times of emergencies. I just wonder if the telcos will eventually give up on providing that reliability if they feel it's no longer providing a costly & desired service.
Re:Telephone reliability a thing of the past? (Score:4, Funny)
- Bjarne Stroustrup
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Re:Telephone reliability a thing of the past? (Score:4, Insightful)
I, and all my immediate family members, and a few friends I know, all have one that doesn't require any additional power specifically for this reason.
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I, and all my immediate family members, and a few friends I know, all have one that doesn't require any additional power specifically for this reason.
All mains-powered phones here in the UK come with a big warning label that you should always have one line-powered phone in order to be able to make emergency calls.
Four, in our case and we put them to good use.. (Score:2)
Our phones have worked without a hitch through hits by two category 2 tornados and an ice storm. Thank goodness the phone lines are underground between us and the CO. Fortunately we do have a generator so that, although we were "off the grid" for about 15 hours, we w
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Dude, either God hates you or it's time to move.
2 tornados and an ice storm, hooray! (Score:2)
Have you thought about moving to Australia?
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But tornados
Oh, and we don't have poison ivy, nor poison oak. Not even stinging nettles.
And we have beer
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Every single house should have both a corded phone, for use in power outages, and a cordless phone for use during thunderstorms. You should also have a battery operated radio and a flashlight.
Of course, I'm always astonished at the people who go out and buy bottled water and other non-perishables when snow storms threaten. I mean, I understand stocking up on some food, but are there honestly people out there who don't have four or five gallon jugs of water stored somewhere?
Sometimes I think we need some s
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People do not ordinarily purchase large jugs and regularly fill them with water. Aside from the fact that it goes stale after a week or two (water *is* perishable), most houses have a perfectly functional cold water tank which
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Where I grew up we had our own well and a pump that would automatically fill a pressurized water tank whenever the pressure got too low. If we lost power when the pressure was low we'd end up with very little available water.
Yes, normal human beings grasp the idea that pressure tanks, you know, pressurize air to move water out, and thus actually require power to create a higher pressure. This is why cities pump water up high, so it doesn't require power to get it back.
The person we are talking to, howev
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Aside from the fact that it goes stale after a week or two (water *is* perishable)
I almost stopped reading at that point because I've never read anything so idiotic in my entire life that wasn't a political comment. No, water is not perishable, and no, it does not go stale. What would do, become less wet? Break down into hydrogen and oxygen?
No, water becomes flat, as in, loses the air bubbles suspended in it that we take for granted in how it tastes. There is a rather trivial way to get them back when i
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Okay, obviously a troll, but just in case anybody else was reading and thought to emulate the poster... you should not drink stale water, any more than you should eat meat which has been left out in the sun for a few hours. Water goes stale because of the growth of bacteria (and sometimes mould), which propagates throu
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Um...no. Just no.
Mold and bacteria don't grow without a source of food, and there should be none in a gallon of water. Therefore, while contamination in bottled, and even in tap, water are a serious health concern, you won't get much more of them if you let the water sit in an enclosed container.
There is absolutely added no danger to taking water that you normally would drink, bottling it, and drinking it a month or two later. Maybe six months or a year, sure, but not a few months.
If you have enough bact
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Good point. One reason I keep the landline is because I don't want all my telecom riding on my cable modem service. My cell is unreliable in my home, so if I relied exclusively on VoIP and the cable went dead, I'd be without a phone.
As Verizon rolls out FTTP, some are speculating that they will eventually let the copper system rot. Why maintain them both? Problem is that fiber doesn't provide power, and the ONTs at the
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Very good point, and a perfect example of how newer tech could easily force telco-powered phone lines into the realm of obsolesence. Fiber provides the telcos with a lot more speed & capacity than copper, so it's probably just a matter of time before it becomes the standard for all new installs.
The customer must supply power herself.
Perhaps it's time to invest in manufacturers of
Too late! (Score:2)
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Well, I don't know how long the cable company will provide power (and I don't know a good way to test it without going to jail, nor a good way to get a reliable answer from the cable company), but my cable modem and VOIP adapter are on a battery backup, so
You must not use Ameritech/SBC/AT&T (Score:2)
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Your old-style phone still works. Your VoIP phone* still works
Scenario 1: phone line cut, power line fine
Your old-style does NOT work. Your VoIP phone still works.
Scenario 3: phone fine, power fine, IP link cut
Your old-style phone still works. Your VoIP phone does not work.
I really don't see how your old-style phone is significantly more reliable. Especially if you use DSL, your VoIP service is just as reliable as your old phone.
*anybody with half a b
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A $25 UPS would power a router for perhaps an hour or two. UPS's don't simply provide power on demand, when the street power fails the UPS immediately switches to its batteries, powering an inverter that uses up the batteries even if there's no load to power, so the batteries in a $25 UPS will be drained within a few hours. True that'll help for short power failures, but not for prolonged ones like I initially described. I
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In my lifetime, I've never experienced a power outage that lasted more than a day. But I'll grant that it does happen. Extremely infrequently.
Suppose a situation where POTS works and VoIP does not happens once every 15 years. POTS costs a person $600/year while a VoIP system costs a person $180/year.
Lets see, 15*($600 - $180) = $6,300 for ONE DAY of phone use.
I highly, HIGHLY doubt anyone would consider one day of phone
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a few methods spring to mind
1)plugin usb charger into my car and charge it through that,
2)use the handcrank telephone charger I bought a while back which does work eventually
3)Emergency battery pack (usually a couple of AA batterys in a case)
4)plug it into my laptop.
grab the solar powered lamps from my garden and use the internal batterys to power my cell phone...
maybe convert a bycycle with a dynamo to run on win
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I doubt everybody affected by the 2006 blackouts in NYC had cars in which to do this.
use the handcrank telephone charger I bought a while back which does work eventually
Smart of you to be prepared! I doubt the vast majority of cell phone users are as prepared as you.
Emergency battery pack (usually a couple of AA batterys in a case)
Key word: "Emergency". The point I'm trying to make is the availability of a hardwired phone during a power failure in th
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In general, though, it'd be nice to see the cable/dsl compan
We've come full circle (Score:2, Insightful)
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No they aren't. They're converting between digital and analogy, but are not modulating any signal.
It's a sound card, not a modem.
Although I'm really astonished they didn't combine this with a winmodem, which essentially is exactly the same thing: A sound card that talks to phone lines.
Although it does it to the POTS side and not the internal house wiring side. But, as you'd probably only need one of those at a time, it could work. (Unless you were absurdly trying to do VoIP, over dialup, by using your ho
Why motherboard? (Score:1)
If I want to still use PSTN I just dial 9 + number... It works even without power, just SIP is disconnected and only PSTN works.
And most important: that router is also wireless and is dirt cheap. And it doesn't take any resources fr
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Disclaimer: I don't work for Skype and have no commercial relationship with them aside from being a more or less satisfied customer.
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your choice, but it does not make those of us who are not flamebait.
There is no reason not to use SIP - it has everything Skype has,
and so much more potential because it is open. Do not be fooled
by Skype propoganda and FUD.
It is a shame that this offering is Skype only - for me that is
enough reason to make it a non-starter. It sounds like a good
idea - I hope they will come out with a usable version, i.e.,
no Skype.
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Actually, there is a single and very compelling reason to use Skype over SIP. NAT traversal.
What makes you think that SIP users are not using NAT traversal? Nearly everyone uses NAT traversal.
I must say, Skype has had amazing success brainwashing people. Almost as much as Microsoft in the days of Windows 3.1.
Really, you should do yourself and your friends a favor and look into SIP. Why risk having Skype installed on your computer when superior technology is available for free?
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VoIP (Score:1)
My Centillium MTA-1 (Score:2)
How This Works (Score:1)
This kind of thing is very useful to people that make a lot of international calls but want the convenience of not bein