[asterisk-users] Newbie alert: VoIP hardware

[Steve Totaro]

On Wed, May 7, 2008 at 9:40 AM, Tilghman Lesher
<tilghman at mail.jeffandtilghman.com> wrote:
> On Wednesday 07 May 2008 08:00:17 Steve Totaro wrote:
>  > If your budget is tight and you want a decent card (not an X100P) with
>  > room to upgrade, then check out
>  > http://www.openvox.com.cn/products.php?genre_id=25 or
>  > http://store.getvoicecards.com/index.php?cPath=66 they are the
>  > reference design that Digium used on previous cards and are very well
>  > made.  You can even use their FXO/FXS modules in a real Digium card
>  > and visa versa.
>
>  I believe you're misinformed.  This is not a reference design; it is a clone
>  card, plain and simple.  The only reference design (see
>  http://www.tjnet.com/solutions/pci_phone.htm) was for a single port card with
>  no daughterboard slots.
>
>
>  > Word has it that the guy responsible for these cards was a former
>  > Digium employee back when Digium was only a few people (Mark Spencer's
>  > right hand man) and he also developed the Tormenta III card for
>  > Govarion.  I have seen documents and some other things that back up
>  > this information......
>
>  That is a sore subject, as well.  As best as I can tell, Martin left the
>  company with an agreement letting him pursue a business selling the X100P
>  (because Digium planned to stop selling that board, and there wouldn't be a
>  conflict), and because of a miswording of the agreement, it let him clone
>  Digium boards that he had worked on (even though they're not exclusively his
>  designs).
>
>  Note that purchasing Digium boards helps pay for full time Asterisk
>  development, and purchasing clone boards does not pay for even a part-time
>  Asterisk developer.
>
>  --
>  Tilghman
>

Those agreements are not enforceable beyond a certain amount of time.
I think five years has been struck down by many courts due to the
nature of IT.  I think one or two years is generally upheld in states
that favor such agreements.  Overly broad non-competes are thrown out
of court left and right, even if one part of the agreement is
questionable, other courts will line item sections of agreements that
are not generally enforceable, while keeping the rest of the agreement
intact.

Miswording in a legal document is bad.  I guess Digium learned a
lesson on that one.  As I said before, some judges will throw out
entire agreements based on a single mistake.

Besides, I have a feeling that he was not treated well by Digium or
Govarion (this is just my opinion and have nothing to back it up)
except some very interesting stories.

The bottom line is, the government does not really want to inhibit
your ability to earn a living but they weigh that with the harm it may
cause to the company the individual has made an agreement with.

I am surprised there was some sort of agreement about the X100P since
it was not a direct Digium product but a (possibly slightly) modified
modem  with Opensource drivers.

Anyways, getting back to you point about support Digium, others are
suggesting purchasing the X100P (modems) with special opensource
drivers.  I am all for supporting Digium but more interested in
support Asterisk by giving it a good reputation and exposing it to
large companies including CSC, The US State Dept, and Federal Data
Corp (among others I cannot speak of)

Bottom line, the guy has a tight budget.  I have a feeling an X100P
will leave a bad taste in his mouth.  I am just pointing him in a
direction that will help him.  My allegiances are not to Digium
(although I support them myself) but to the community and especially
the newbies.

This is the "Asterisk Users" list, not the "Support Digium" list.  I
thought vendor neutrality was totally acceptable here.

Thanks,
Steve Totaro