TIPPINST -- I doubt that no more than five people with Irishblogs know there's a broadband conference on in Tipperary Institute today. Like many people, I will miss the event. However, I know from hallway conversation that there's a boatload of Open Source technology worth reading. It's bigger than Linux and smarter than standard VoIP. It's about Asterisk and it could be the ticket to a whole new world of telephone usage for homes and small businesses. In a nutshell, Asterisk is to PBX what VoIP is to long distance call from homes. If I had it in my workspace, I could receive my voicemail as email.
In all of the Irish offices where I've worked, the phone system connected people to commerce. Even after the offices got internet connectivity, sales teams worked the phones to nurture clients, close deals and get follow-up business. PBX systems cost more to install today than an internetworked office. Not only that, they're often laced together with proprietary fittings that strap you a vendor.
As John Dunne from Tipperary Institute could demonstrate at the Tipperary Broadband Conference, if you know your operating systems, you can configure a Linux system to manage your company's voice systems. It will take a few days to get it connected and tested but you will have more features than you could afford to buy from a vendor.
Ingrid Marson -- "Open-source VoIP 'will be bigger than Linux'"
O'Reilly -- OSCON tutorials and books on VoIP.
Jared Smith -- Asterisk: The Future of Telephony ISBN 0596009623
