[Asterisk-Users] Features you'd like to see in a GUI?

[asterisk at txpe.net]

Considering I'm in the market to outfit 5 offices with an integrated phone 
system, I'm interested in hearing a response from Bicom on these topics.  I 
like the "look" of PBXware.  I may be interested in getting more technical 
details.  I like the Bicom business model better than the Fonality business 
model.

One major issue for me as the end user is that I already have 5 Polycom 
phones.  Does PBWware support Polycom phones yet?


At 12:34 PM 8/4/2005, you wrote:
>Senad,
>
>I don't want to take this conversation much further and send a laundry
>list of issues we faced with Switchware to this forum, and the myriads
>of bugs we have wrestled with in the past 18 months, as that list is too
>long and this forum is not for that purpose.
>
> >In addition, our clients we deal on regular basis do
> > not "disappear". Each and every client is looked after by us.
> > They do not, "install" the software try it and then come back
> > after several weeks/months and start the install process all
> > over again... That is not a workable model for anyone.
>
>The answer to your above comments is already known to you and it is
>already mentioned in Para-1. As you already knew, the two install
>efforts by me, one in September-October 2004 and  One in
>November-December 2004 have failed to install a working software. On
>several occasions when I have reverted back to you on giving me a
>working version, your answer ( as well as Stephen Wingfield's ) was that
>Bicom don't have one ready.
>
>Infact, as I remember this correctly, Switchware was taken out of your
>product list due to these issues. Moreover is it ethical or legitimate
>to sell a software that has to be installed only by your technical team
>and works only on a specific hardware for a given network card and for a
>given IP. You don't even have a tarball to download and install till
>today, let alone a CD image?. This is not the way products are sold,
>where everything is closed, even the features of Asterisk that are
>available otherwise.
>
> > Our "installed" clients certainly do not try to look
> > into our source code and then say "it is not working".
>
>I don't understand what you mean by looking into your source code, but
>if you mean that "once Switchware is installed, live with what Bicom
>allows you to do with Asterisk, and dont ask questions like 'Why Cannot
>I use  4 Digit extensions' or 'Why cant I use ASTCC with Switchware' or
>'Why cannot I create more than X number of channels'" or millions of
>other such questions, my answer is that this is totally out of line with
>the purpose of Asterisk as an Open Source software and if Digium knew
>what is going on, probably you are going to have legal issues as far as
>the GPL of the code is concerned, in the same way Sysmaster did with
>their SM7000 products.
>
>Your Channel Locking and per channel pricing poilicy I am sure will put
>Oracle and Larry Ellsion to shame.
>
>I feel that Bicom should have spent more time making Switchware or
>PBXware work cleanly, rather than spending most of the time in
>copyprotecting and closed sourcing Asterisk so that if the customer has
>to move the installation to another server, they have to call you for a
>new license code and pay you for the installation, rather than doing it
>himself.
>
>This is against the open source philosophy we are all trying to benefit
>from.
>
>Seshu Kanuri