[Asterisk-Users] IBM to Run VoIP On Linux

[John Todd]

>  > Asterisk has got to be about the best kept secret in telephony.  I've seen
>>  numerous articles on slashdot about VoIP, even in relation to Linux and
>>  only *once* has the post even mentioned Asterisk.  Am I missing something,
>>  or is Asterisk clearly a good potential player in any kind of linux-based
>>  soft-switch idea?
>
>There are probably as many opinions on the topic as there are members of
>this list. Personal opinion based on many years of professional I/T

[snip]

>I'd suggest something like the following to improve its acceptance and
>thus hardware sales (listed in priority order) and exposure:
>  1. Stop all new development for 30 days, fix existing problems, apply
>     outstanding patches, and document (implementation/user, not developer)
>  2. get a stable release approach that "includes" a fully functional base
>     system where 95%+ of the features actually work (with no echo, with
>     nat working for newbie's, etc).
>  3. include in the stable release sufficient base-level config's that a
>     newbie has a reasonable chance at implementation "without" having to
>     post questions to the list or dig through 1000's of google items.
>     (think about this very carefully). Might even include a url at the
>     top of each config file "where" to look for sample config help, etc.
>  4. take a list of typical pbx features, develop the "integrated" asterisk
>     configs and scripts necessary to implement those features, and publish
>     those in some common web or distro directory.
>  5. improve the printed documentation shipped with the hardware. (Those
>     single-sheet instructions are missing several required steps, and
>     have zero examples.)
>  6. document the basic user-oriented functions (eg, where is the list of
>     *72-type functions). A user-guide would be nice.
>  7. publish, at a minimum, a TO-DO list that has some form of list
>     "prioritization" of feature/function/problem-resolutions and
>     estimated release timing.
>  8. Put together a marketing/sales plan for support and publish it on your
>     web site. What's included; how to contact; options that might address
>     an annual contract, per-call support, feature implementation, off-hour
>     support, flat-annual-fee based on number of phones, etc. I, for one,
>     would be interested in a commercial support plan based on a single
>     700-number or email address to reach help for certain items including
>     configuration assistance.
>
>There certainly are a number of list members, including myself, that would
>be willing to help with the effort, but someone has to take a lead role
>and establish some common direction that does not exist today.
>
>Rich
>

While I normally despise "me-too" posts, I think this one has enough 
weight that I must add my support for pretty much everything Rich has 
said above.

I will assist with #'s 1, 3, 4, and 7.  Task #1 is a bit larger than 
30 days will allow, if you want "real" documentation, so I'd suggest 
only "fix/patch/basic documentation."

This requires, however, significant time investment from Digium and 
their staff (i.e.: Mark and Martin mostly) and we cannot know their 
schedule or enforce any type of time committment from them, as they 
have a business to run.

JT