[asterisk-biz] Ribbit.com ?

[Dean Collins]

I just posted some stuff on jeff pulvers blog that might interest a few
people reading this thread.

http://pulverblog.pulver.com/archives/007732.html 

 

 

Regards,

Dean Collins
Cognation Pty Ltd
dean at cognation.net <mailto:dean at cognation.net>  
+1-212-203-4357
+61-2-9016-5642 (Sydney in-dial).

 

 

 

 

________________________________

From: Dean Collins 
Sent: Tuesday, 18 December 2007 12:52 PM
To: 'Commercial and Business-Oriented Asterisk Discussion'
Subject: RE: [asterisk-biz] Ribbit.com ?

 

> The point is, the JIAX code could and has been easily modified to
create

> a free Java web based IAX softphone if someone just did it.  To me,
that

> indicates lack of demand (in the opensource area anyways).

 

 

Yep one of the interesting 'dilemmas' in opensource is the
'skills/interests' of the developer versus the 'desires' of the ordinary
user.

 

Bounties to some degree has helped this but not always eg. When I put
together a group of end users who were looking for video conferencing
functionality (I think we got it up to about $7,000 before we gave up-no
longer available as my main bounty provider purchased commercial
hardware to solve their requirement).

 

But in other areas it has helped.

 

It's not a story that often gets repeated (lol - history is written by
the winner as the old saying goes), but some people on this list will
remember that the original developers of FreePBX released the product as
opensource code....but their instructions for installation was terrible
if not misleading. 

 

I offered a bounty of $50 to some guy in Ireland (I'm sorry I've
forgotten your name - please get in contact if you read this) to write
me out a full installation guide to take a bare/blank hard drive and
install debian, asterisk and then freepbx.

 

We then posted these instructions onto the asterisk-user mailing list
and then Andrew then took this information and hard coded it into an ISO
cd - which because Asterisk at home which became Trixbox.

 

The point being I as an end user 'desired' something but had no way of
making it happen.

 

Just because users don't go off an learn java and improve on Jiax
doesn't mean there isn't demand for it.

 

In addition while I'm on my soapbox......... I work very heavily on the
6 month rule.

*  Whats hot today will be standard in 6 months

 

So my point being - whilst asterisk is a 'nice' application unless it's
continually pushing the boundaries....like click to talk from a web
page.....it will be overtaken by development from the Ciscos/MS of the
world.

 

Whilst you may 'sell asterisk' as a plain vanilla device because it's
cheaper - there will come a time when that differential gets a lot
smaller. There is a lot of value tied to the big name brand that you
aren't taking into account.

 

Like I've said before a lot of Asterisk future value is tied to
utilising external information easily as you would on a web page (check
out some of the work Thomas Howe Company and Iotum are doing for
examples). Without this it's just a cheap pbx.

 

 

 

 

 

Regards,

 

Dean Collins

Cognation Pty Ltd

dean at cognation.net 

+1-212-203-4357

+61-2-9016-5642 (Sydney in-dial).

 

 

> -----Original Message-----

> From: asterisk-biz-bounces at lists.digium.com [mailto:asterisk-biz-

> bounces at lists.digium.com] On Behalf Of Steve Totaro

> Sent: Tuesday, 18 December 2007 11:49 AM

> To: Commercial and Business-Oriented Asterisk Discussion

> Subject: Re: [asterisk-biz] Ribbit.com ?

> 

> Dean,

> 

> I wish it were mine to give back.

> 

> I worked with/for a group.  It is not my IP since it was not my code
and

> even the stuff I did myself (not very useful anyways) was on
contracted

> time.  The contract was very specific about who owned the IP to any
code

> developed.  Technically, by contract I should not have any code in my

> possession at this point.

> 

> The point is, the JIAX code could and has been easily modified to
create

> a free Java web based IAX softphone if someone just did it.  To me,
that

> indicates lack of demand (in the opensource area anyways).

> 

> Thanks,

> Steve Totaro

> 

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