Response from: Markus Göbel's Tech News Comments

The author of the VoIP weblog pretty much sticks to Skype?

Shame on you! I hope that's an april fools' joke.

Skype is for babies who don't know. VoIP with all his pitfalls is for men. ;)

Response from: Mike

Yeah its little difficult to configure VOIP devices.As every VOIP device has its own way of configuring so, its difficult to remember all the settings.

Response from: tom

i had expected for a couple years that in addition to skype we would see hardware compatible with the VoIM services(gtalk, yahoo, msn, aim) and that this hardware would be plug and play. you would just login with your password. this has not happened. perhaps when google finally updates gtalk we will see some momentum for jingle audio standard as a plug and play alternative to SIP.

Response from: Dave Bullock

Hello,

Please update the photo credit to say:

Dave Bullock / eecue

and link to http://eecue.com


Thanks!

-Dave

Response from: nicole

I'm not trying to advertise, but our company makes sure that when we are deploying our VoIP phones they are already all configured for the buyers. It's very effective and definitely makes life easier for the users.

Response from: Dameon Welch-Abernathy

@Markus: Skype versus SIP is kind of like the argument for Windows versus Linux. I use all of the above--when they are appropriate. The fact is, Skype works and most of my contacts use it. I'm all for open-standards, but what's the point if nobody uses them? (post coming)

@Mike: You're telling me. ;)

@Tom: Which one of these non-Skype IM services has the critical mass of VoIP usage that Skype does?

@Dave: Thanks for the note, photo credit has been updated.

@nicole: Resellers can certainly use this as a value-add.

Response from: David Beckemeyer

I'd like to "plug" PhoneGnome here (no pun intended) which tried to address this issue three years ago, with the first real plug and play device. It provides a default automatic self-configuration that works (without any "configuration" by the user or any account signup) and offers a web interface that "regular people" can use to setup advanced features including third-party SIP termination etc. beyond the default.

Response from: tom

there are lots of plug-n-play SIP options. but for the most part they are not contenders at least for the group of users i know. they are all way way too expensive. most are marketed as direct phone in replacement services. these are not really competitors against skype the way the configure your own device services are. but i agree that if you are not quite tech minded you are not likely to have an easy time getting set up.

back to the VoIM subject. none of them have any where near the critical mass of skype. but i am surprised by that. i would have though that they would be more popular. the are very easy to setup and work through most firewalls as well as skype. i am still keeping my eye out for the next release of gtalk. if they offer PSTN termination than i would expect to see hardware phones released. this could turn jingle(XMPP/Jabber VOIP) into a direct competitor to SIP and hopefully one with more consistency and ease of use/setup. there really should be nothing more than a username/domain and password necessary.

Response from: Dameon Welch-Abernathy

Ah yes, the PhoneGnome. And you didn't even replace the landline, either. You just augmented it.

@tom The VoIM services for the most part aren't cross-platform and don't have nearly as good a sound quality as Skype does. Recent feedback on beta Yahoo client for Mac OS suggests the VoIP is just terrible.

Response from: linugen

while it is true most phones have terrible web configuration interfaces. some voip providers or ip pbx manufacturers have taken the pain out of automatically configuring the phones.

earlier, you blogged about the integration of our Sipcat IP PBX with Grandstream phones. we have realised this for nearly all manufacturers in the industry. the only thing an admin needs to do, is enter the mac address in Sipcat's web management interface and of he goes.

people looking for stess free voip configuration, can have a look at http://www.sipcat.com/

Response from: Paul

For those of you frustrated with the configuration and installation of IP phones I suggest going with a hosted solution. CallTower, the only hosted business VoIP, that has a Cisco Enterprise CallManager at the core configures the Cisco IP phones and installs them for businesses. Visit us at http://www.calltower.com,
or feel free to contact me at pgilbert@calltower.com.
Regards,
Paul

Response from: Dameon Welch-Abernathy

@Paul not all hosted PBX solutions are created equal in this regard. If you're talking Cisco phones, you're also paying a lot more, too. ;)