[asterisk-users] Why does everyone seem to dislike *now?

[shadowym]

You cannot set up your dialplan with the CLI or am I missing something?

Creating relatively simple dialplans manually can be quite time consuming.
A GUI takes care of all that grunt work.

-----Original Message-----
From: SIP [mailto:sip at arcdiv.com] 
Sent: Monday, September 17, 2007 2:12 PM
To: Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion
Subject: Re: [asterisk-users] Why does everyone seem to dislike *now?

Not at all relevant to your query, but I still use the mysql CLI for any 
mysql task... and while most OSs have nice, functional tools to add 
users (command-line tools), there are SOME (*cough* Irix *cough*) where 
there are no CLI tools and VI is your only option (especially if you're 
remotely logged in via a term window and have no X).

GUIs have their place. But it's often a trade-off between abstracting 
the details to make things user-friendly and hiding the power that is 
available via the CLI from someone who knows it. If you're comfortable 
with the CLI, why learn another tool? If you're NOT comfortable with the 
CLI, by all means use a GUI, but don't expect people who never use it to 
be of much help when you ask questions.

That being said, I like AsteriskNow's GUI. They've obviously spent a lot 
of work on it (prettier than the stuff that comes with Trixbox). 
However, for me, I learned using vi and the cli, so I can never quite 
find what I'm looking for in AsteriskNow.

N.


Jim Canfield wrote:
> Greetings,
>
> Last week I began researching Asterisk for the first time. I did what 
> most noobs would do; downloaded an image that seemed simple and 
> straightforward and had some credibility (*now).  I also downloaded 
> the TFOT version 1 as a guide.
>
> As questions arose, I tossed a few out in #asterisckNOW channel..and 
> found it to be a ghost town.  Only later did i start to ask a few 
> quesions in #asterisk...my biggest mistake was mentioning *now and I 
> was quickly marked as the GUI idiot.  Not entirely untrue at this 
> point but not helpful for someone who is getting started.
>
> Here are my first impressions:
>
>     * The Devs have spent a LOT of time on *now and seem to be doing a
>       fantastic job.
>     * *now is not just a GUI...it's a complete base/reference system -
>       I like that the MOST.
>     * *now is a great starting point for someone new (Me).
>     * *now needs documentation!  I know it's in beta, but having links
>       to a down site, is not cool. (Sign me up for help if needed).
>     * *now could be more geared for use as a universal tool.  The
>       default contexts and files were quickly replaced with more
>       standard configs.
>     * *now could be very helpful in tracking issues with links to
>       "Report a problem" or search the WIKI from the app.
>
> I understand the tendency to love the CLI, but I honestly think there 
> a place for a GUI in Asterisk. How many of us still use the mysql CLI? 
> I can't expect my helpdesk guy to know emacs or vi just to add a user.
>
> Curiously,
>
> jc
>
>
>