[Asterisk-Users] Intel Modem vs Digium Cards

[Joe Greco]

> Cheap shot.
> 
> Digium does Asterisk FOR FREE.

No.  As with most of us who support free software projects, we support 
them because it suits our business goals.  We don't do it for free.  The
investment in time, effort, and resources is paid back, frequently in a
way which can't directly be translated by accountants, but it is still
an investment, and it is expected to pay off.  There are massive benefits
to having other users in the community contributing towards and extending
the development.  Some of us don't even actively *advertise* our company's
association with the project in question, something which has been mildly
nagging at me about the Digium situation.

> They support themselves, which I hope 
> you agree is a necessary thing, by selling hardware, one instance of 
> which is the low-end X100P.
> 
> Essentially the X100P is a slightly modified generic voicemodem THAT 
> COMES WITH CUSTOMER SUPPORT.  That is, along with its hardware 
> functionality comes the ability to call up and get help if you encounter 
> problems.

That seems quite reasonable.

> This list is intensely active, and the developers and others who provide 
> advice here are necessarily limited in the amount of attention they can 
> devote to (the often repetitive) questions coming from first-timers.

That seems quite reasonable as well.  There are, of course, many other
participants on the lists, and numerous resources which can be used to
help solve problems.

> Stir into that mix a first-timer who is undercutting the profit model 
> that enables Digium to offer us this wonderful software, 

And don't forget to trivialize the contributions of everyone else while
you're doing it,

> and then 
> sprinkle your obnoxious insult to the community on top, 

I didn't find it obnoxious or insulting.  In fact, I'd have to agree.  One
of the benefits to the whole free software movement is supposed to be the
freedom to make choices (or, if you prefer, the freedom not to be locked
in to a vendor).  If you're going to jump all over a guy who *wants* to
join the community, for not buying your Approved Vendor's Hardware, maybe
because he can't afford it or justify the cost, then it is you who are
damaging and limiting the growth of the community.

I would imagine that Digium made a conscious choice to use an existing
generic voicemodem chipset and to make its drivers compatible with generic
versions.  As a manufacturer, they certainly had the option to obfuscate
things at the hardware level - and they didn't.  If they truly wanted to
discourage people from doing this, why distribute a driver package that
recognizes and installs generic devices?

I believe Digium recognizes that they are adding significant value to an
otherwise-worth-$2.50-in-quantity, and are betting that most people will
see value in buying in at a premium.  However, it appears to me that they
have also chosen to invite people in who, for whatever reason, have not
chosen to purchase their hardware.  Looking at it from their point of view,
that makes *sense*, because if someone invests five bucks at Fry's on a
crummy softmodem, puts it in their box, discovers the joys of Asterisk,
and then sells other people on the wonders of Asterisk, Digium still
stands to profit.  The community grows, and being the main supplier of
Asterisk-compatible interface cards should remain a profitable business
because most commercial installations will want some level of support.

So for heaven's sake, don't dump on some guy for buying a generic
softmodem so he can play around.  Encourage it.  Say "generic softmodem 
is better than alienating this guy".

> and you're going 
> to find that people (correctly) tell you to go away and solve your own 
> problems.

Wow, that's a really sucky attitude.  I would expect *Digium* to tell him
to go away and solve his own problems.  However, if the user community does
that, then this is one of the suckiest user communities I've run across in 
the free software world, and I've been doing free software for many years.

>  From my perspective your primary problem isn't hardware; its your attitude.

And from mine, it's users with attitudes like yours.

As for me?  I'm shopping for cheap modem cards.  Why?

1) I'm on FreeBSD, so Digium probably won't support that.

2) I realistically expect to go all VoIP, except perhaps for fax, so I don't
   want to spend a ton on cards that I won't need.

3) I expect to do something like a Sipura 3000 if we retain a single POTS
   line, or maybe some sort of Cisco with ISDN BRI VIC cards if we keep the
   BRI's.

4) I don't really think my PPro200 PBX box will survive very well with
   having to handle the codec work anyways.

But I'm open to spending ten bucks to explore this method. 

If I was buying a Digium card and it didn't pan out, I'd probably want to
see if I could return it, and then there's all the annoyance of an RMA, and
time frames after which you can't return it, etc.  This way, I'm out a
whopping $10.90, and I can deal with that.

Oh.  That's over at ChiefValue.com.  Encore 56K V.92 Internal PCI Fax Modem,
Model ENF656-ESW-INPR - Retail.  $5.90 plus $5.00 shipping.

Share the knowledge.  It's not bad for Digium.  The guy who wants to get
into this telephony stuff for a cheap price, or just wants to see if it
will work, he's going to be attracted by the ten dollar deal.  Let him do
that and then preach the glories of Asterisk.

Remember this:  Digium can't grow (much) unless the community grows.  So
help it grow.

Regards,

... JG
-- 
Joe Greco - sol.net Network Services - Milwaukee, WI - http://www.sol.net
"We call it the 'one bite at the apple' rule. Give me one chance [and] then I
won't contact you again." - Direct Marketing Ass'n position on e-mail spam(CNN)
With 24 million small businesses in the US alone, that's way too many apples.