I have seen the light. October 4, 2008
Posted by Garrison in Case Study, HowTo, Reviews, Telephony.add a comment
Having discovered the advantages of á la carte VoIP pricing, I pondered how to extrapolate my experience for general discussion while avoiding the pitfalls of interpolation and abridgement.
The Reference Book of Rates, Price Indices, and Household Expenditures for Telephone Service published by the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau provides a rough estimate of wireline telephone expenses averaging $45 per month in 2007, based on market research by TNS Telecoms. This isn’t too far from my own experience with residential VoIP plans which have tended to average about $35 monthly, including additional fees and charges, which can be significant: on BroadVoice’s “Unlimited World” plan, for example, “Taxes & Surcharges” account for about 35% of the monthly total. Based on these data, I use an estimated $35-$45 for generic comparison of monthly residential phone bills, or an average average of $40. As I designed our current, á la carte plan, I surmised that after discounting business use, the residential remainder was unlikely to ever exceed $30 in a single month. As the plan took shape, however, I realized that intelligent planning could lower that even further; somewhere in the neighborhood of a $20 monthly average would certainly exemplify what custom VoIP plans can offer, and half the average isn’t a bad talking point. 
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Three Things to Avoid in a VoIP Provider September 19, 2008
Posted by Garrison in Case Study, Linux, Reviews, Telephony.2 comments
Like many others, when I set up my first Linux PBX I knew little about VoIP providers and with few sources of reliable, current information, I made a decision based on name recognition, perceived value, and minimal research. Like many others, I looked for companies who advertised a BYOD plan under the false assumption that said companies would have a clue regarding said devices, despite the cautionary warnings which politely explained that BYO, as used here, means “unsupported”. Like many others, I signed up with BroadVoice believing I had a pretty good deal; in fact, among similar plans offered by cable companies and Vonage, BroadVoice compares rather well.
By the time I started to suspect BroadVoice of stockpiling probiscus laden mammals and bleach, I had already paid setup fees and number transfer fees, and chagrined the thought of early termination fees, more number transfer fees, and a potential three to seven week transfer period. Rather than add to the copious corpus of BroadVoice complaints, I thought I’d focus on what to avoid when choosing a VoIP provider. (more…)
Music on the Go (part 2) July 9, 2007
Posted by Garrison in Essays, Reviews.3 comments
The first Ogg-friendly music player I purchased was a Neuros II; 
this was late in 2004 and hardware support was fairly new as the Vorbis codec didn’t reach 1.0 until 2002. Then, as now, the best place for information on Ogg-friendly devices was XiphWiki. I recall being quite impresssed with Neuros’ willingness to open up the device specifications and embrace the Open Source community, unfortunately the device suffered from a number of design flaws that no amount of firmware hacking could ever resolve. Ultimately the combination of charging problems, a design plagued by awkwardness and bulk, and the manufacturer’s shift to focus on newer devices doomed the Neuros II to my technology junk drawer. (more…)
Music on the Go (part one) June 25, 2007
Posted by Garrison in Essays, Reviews.add a comment
I have music on my mind. I’m listening to Voodoo Child (ten point bonus if you know how this relates to Doctor Who) and thinking about my next portable music player. Like most geeks, the first question I ask about any digital music device is, “does it play OGG?”
Generally superior to MP3, Ogg Vorbis is a must for any lossy digital music collection, but it’s not the only feature I look for in a music player. I use four basic criteria to judge music players: (more…)
The Ultimate Backpack July 7, 2006
Posted by Garrison in Essays, Reviews.add a comment
A funny thing happened in Chicago, I was there for YAPC:NA and avoided having to check luggage at the airport by cramming everything I would need into a garden variety nylon backpack. On the last day of the conference, I noticed that my backpack had torn at the seam near it’s laptop compartment. Noting the irony of circumstance (Perl is known as “the duct tape of the Internet”), I went off in search of some duct tape to keep my newly ventilated bag together. Naturally the duct tape worked, my makeshift repair even survived an airport search, but I still needed a new bag. (NB: Individually wrapped Lactaid pills can set off metal detectors). (more…)
