[Discuss] voice modems

[Scott Petersen]

> Scott Petersen wrote:
>>
>> I use a type of voice modem to capture voice mail. I would suggest
>> ignoring vgetty in favour of asterisk and a clone of the X100p. The
>> x100p
>> is an inexpensive intel voice modem that is fully supported in Asterisk.
>> Prices will vary but I have seen them on ebay for as low as USD 10.
>>
>> I have purchased products from NetVoice here in Vancouver in the past
>> with
>> great service though I don't know if they carry this any more.
>>
>> http://www.netvoice.ca/
>>
>> A place that seems to make a good version is x100p.com. I have had no
>> dealings with this company so only provide the link for your
>> information.
>>
>> http://x100p.com/products/FXO.php
>>
>> Asterisk is available at:
>>
>> http://www.asterisk.org/
>>
>> If you have a full machine to dedicate to your answering machine and
>> want
>> a very easy install, I would suggest trixbox (which used to be called
>> asterisk at home)
>
> Thanks Scott,
>
> I will need to read through all the stuff you suggest.
> Does asterisk support multiple/selectable voice mail boxes?
> I guess I can just read the manual. But I want to have a voice
> mailbox for each person in the house.

Asterisk as an answering machine is a great use of asterisk and is how I
first used it. It can have multiple mailboxes, one per person, per phone
and so on. You can even have a full voice response system if you want.
(e.g. For Becky, press 1, for sales press 2, to hear a message about our
family press 3, to go to our directory, press 4.)

Asterisk is actually a fully fledged open source PBX. In other words a
full phone system that can handle thousands of lines, VOIP, music on hold,
queues, call centres, etc. etc.  If you can imagine something that a phone
or phone system could or should do, asterisk can probably do it.

There is tons of information about asterisk available and it may seem
somewhat daunting at first. However, once you start learning what it can
do you may be corrupted for life.

Cheers
Scott Petersen