[asterisk-users] Looking for a good lightweight Linux softPhone

[Gordon Henderson]

On Fri, 14 Nov 2008, Jeff LaCoursiere wrote:

>
>
> On Fri, 14 Nov 2008, Gordon Henderson wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 14 Nov 2008, Tilghman Lesher wrote:
>>
>>> On Friday 14 November 2008 09:19:22 Gordon Henderson wrote:
>>>> On Fri, 14 Nov 2008, Tzafrir Cohen wrote:
>>>>> On Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 02:02:14PM +0000, Gordon Henderson wrote:
>>>>>> I used to use IDEFISK, but since it was taken over/renamed into Zoiper
>>>>>> it's been really hard work - now I'm told that they won't support my
>>>>>> chosen distribution - Debian Etch - the current stable version of Debian
>>>>>> I prefer.
>>>>>
>>>>> Ekiga is a bit nicer for an end-user. Twinkle is probably what you'd
>>>>> want for testing and such.
>>>>
>>>> What I really want is a command-like dialer. Call me a boring old fart,
>>>> but I'm utterly fed-up with the current bloatware out there.
>>>>
>>>> So with the IAX library and some time I might just come up with something.
>>>
>>> Technically, you can use Asterisk as a softphone, by using chan_alsa or
>>> another console channel driver.  The interface is nothing if not command-line
>>> oriented.
>>
>> Maybe the word "bloatware" got lost in the trans-atlantic translation...
>>
>> If I had a command-line program where I could type:
>>
>>    call 07712191046
>>
>> then I'd be happy. Being able to use the arrow keys to adjust volume would
>> be a bonus, but I already have a command-line mixer program.
>>
>> Gordon (the luddite)
>>
>
> Hmm, reading the thread I assumed you were already running asterisk, since
> you did actually post on the asterisk user mailing list.  As was pointed
> out you can use the asterisk command line interface to do just what you
> are suggesting (assuming you have a compatible sound card), and you could
> even wrap it in a simple shell script so you have what you say you want:
>
> call <number>
>
> Regardless, if you are planning to write an IAX lib based command line
> tool you will need an asterisk server to connect to to place your calls.
> I am not understanding where you think the bloatware is coming into play.
>
> So are you sitting at the console of the machine running asterisk or is
> this something that you would use from a standalone *nix workstation that
> would use the net to route your call?

I am sitting in-front of either my desktop or my laptop. (or my wifes acer 
aspire 1) I run an ITSP company, so I have many hosted asterisk servers 
and pbxs.

This all started because Zoiper really annoyed me - they keep sending me 
beta versions of their software (which is nice, thanks you), and they keep 
on compiling it for ubuntu or some other distribution of linux I don't use 
and dynamically link it with libraries I don't have. I emailled them 
months ago about these issues - that it won't work with the current Debian 
Stable/Etch disty, and after several weeks they tell me they're not going 
to support it. It's really pissed me off because idefisk was small, clean 
and light-weight and ran under all my systems. Now they tell me zoiper is 
going to have video and who knows what else in it. I feel it's bloated out 
of all proportion, just like Ekiga.

So yes, I could compile up asterisk for my workstation, my laptop and who 
knows what else, but I don't want to! I used idefisk for a long time, then 
they turned it into zoiper, so I struggled with that, but it was never the 
same. There were sound compatability issues, and now Linux distribution 
issues - they apear to compile it under some bleeding-edge Ubuntu distro 
and the binary won't run under Debian stable.

I just want to get back to basics and have a small application that I can 
drive using the keyboard that does nothing more than make and take calls 
using IAX.

Gordon