Deerfield.com 3CX Blog

3CX launches free SIP phone for the Android

nospam@example.com (Mike Deerfield) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 19:21:22 -0400

Not long ago I wrote a blog post asking the question; when is someone going to step up and offer a SIP client (that actually works) with the Android-based smart phones? Well, today 3CX answered the call with their new free 3CX SIP Phone for the Android platform. Not only does the 3CX phone work with the popular 3CX Phone System for Windows, but also any standards-based IP PBX, or service as well. Today, I downloaded it via the Android marketplace, and had it running in under 5 minutes. I was easily able to successfully make and receive calls, both in the office – and at home. The only issues that I am having, is that the earpiece volume is not quite as loud as it is with a native call on my Moto Droid. Also, I did not see CID information for the incoming call, however this might be configuration related. I will take a look at this more in the next day or so. I am certain that 3CX will be able to provide a cure in a future release, if it is in fact bug-related issues.

Disappointed by how Verizon and Skype implemented Skype on the Droid platform, I am now able to go ahead and delete Skype entirely from my Droid. Verizon forces you to use the Verizon network for all Skype calls – and does not allow them over wifi (so you burn call plan minutes when using Skype). It appears that the 3CX client uses either wifi or the 3G network for SIP calls.

Per 3CX:

Recognizing the increasing importance of the smartphone as a client to a modern VoIP PBX, 3CX has developed a version if its popular softphone for the Android Platform. Available immediately as a beta,3CXPhone for Android supports Android 1.5, 1.6, 2.1 and 2.2 on smartphones from Google, HTC (HTC Desire & HTC Elite), Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and many others .

3CXPhone for Android Sip Phone is available via the Android market place. To install it, open up the market place and search for 3CXPhone. 3CXPhone for Android is FREE of charge and works with 3CX Phone System, Asterisk as well as numerous VoIP services.

More information on 3CXPhone for Android can be found here:

http://www.3cx.com/blog/3cxphone/android/

3CXPhone for Android is supported only via the Android 3CXPhone user to user support forum

:end

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3CX Gateway for Skype: Right Now a Pretty Good Deal!

nospam@example.com (Mike Deerfield) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 12:16:23 -0400

I recently installed a 3CX Phone System for Windows v9 beta in the lab for testing purposes. Once I got a couple of extensions working, I wanted a way to dial out to the outside world and I remembered that I had my Skype account lying around with Skype Out (and Skype In) configured. Many of you may not know that 3CX offers the 3CX Gateway for Skype for free which allows you to make and receive calls to your Skype contacts – and ordinary telephones if you have the Skype Out/In service.

Following the instruction located here, I had it configured and working on an XP box in about 15 minutes – which included downloading both the Skype client and 3CX Gateway for Skype. One note – if you are only configuring one Skype account and you plan to use it for both inbound and outbound calls. Be sure to deselect the checkbox “Act as master inbound Skype port” in the 3CX for Skype Gateway configuration when creating the Skype channel (this is checked by default).

I have been using it for a couple of days now with no problems, and surprisingly the call quality is good, with no echo. I even have DTMF working (I’ve seen this reported in the forums as a problem). I was able to do this by editing the configuration in the phone itself and changing the DTMF method from “in audio” to “SIP Info”. For the most part the DTMF is working fine!

So why is it a “pretty good deal” right now? Well .. some of you may be aware that Skype has “SIP for Skype” in beta right now and it is going to be their long term solution for supporting IP PBX’s with Skype. While promised to be a much cleaner solution – it is also going to be quite a bit more expensive to use with an IP PBX. The cost of SIP for Skype will be on par with other major SIP trunking providers, which is still a good value. However – 3CX Gateway for Skype just uses (one or more) Skype personal accounts, and for the small office looking to add a minimal number of Skype channels to their 3CX IP PBX, it is much more economical. As an example – with my Skype personal account I purchased $10 in call credit and $18 for a 3 month DID number. No service contract, setup fees, or monthly recurring costs (unless you want them).

3CX Gateway for Skype is available free of charge and works with both the free edition of 3CX Phone System as well as the commercial edition.

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3CX Phone System Version 9 beta 1 is here!

nospam@example.com (Mike Deerfield) — Fri, 28 May 2010 10:13:48 -0400

A new version of 3CX Phone System is available in beta and what a version! 3CX Phone System v9 packs a punch with video support on 3CXphone, SLA functionality and the ability to provision 3CX Assistant and 3CXphone network-wide. 3CX Phone System users can now monitor remote PBX’s with 3CX Assistant and transfer calls between them. The call forwarding interface has been overhauled, and we introduced the concept of statuses to make it more intuitive for users to configure their away or out of office settings.

You can download 3CX Phone System v9 build 12850 here. The 3CX Assistant (with the video capable 3CXphone) is available here. Check out the administrator manual in PDF format here. We’ve moved theExtension User Manual to the web, making it much easier for users to refer to help. View it here. You an also download a beta of the 3CXphone only here.

New Features – All versions

Video support using 3CXphone, X-lite and Yealink videophones
G722 codec compatibility
New inbuilt high performance web server (Abyss) which can scale to any installation size. IIS can still be used if required.
Ability to provision 3CXPhone and 3CX Assistant network wide
Additional node to quickly view status of all remote extensions
Additional status information on VoIP provider trunks and bridges
Ability to specify a mobile number for a user
Improved call forwarding rules design
Improved performance of the media server
System wide black list
Ability to specify up to 5 music on hold files
Ability to send a 302 diversion header to forward a call to another number.
Ability to import only new users from Active Directory since last import

Small Business, Pro and Enterprise editions

New SLA like parking functionality to allow for easy parking and un-parking of calls via BLF lights
Ability to monitor remote PBX’s from 3CX Assistant
Ability to transfer calls from one 3CX PBX to another PBX using the Multi-PBX capability of 3CX Assistant
Point and click creation of conference calls from 3CX Assistant
Ability to directly leave voice mails for other users from 3CX Assistant
Ability to require a PIN to create a conference call
Ability to rewrite caller IDs per port
Ability to call a users mobile number directly
Ability to hide certain extensions from the 3CX Assistant view
Click 2 dial now calls phone in intercom mode, making call setup much faster
Full CRM integration with Microsoft Dynamics (info to follow next week)
Myphone portal has been improved
Ability to customize the colors of 3CX Assistant
Ability to define a status (Away, Out of Office, Available) with corresponding call forwarding rules
Ability to specify more then one fax extension allowing to add fax machines using an ATA or use 3rd party outbound t38 fax software.

We look forward to hearing your feedback!

Known issues

Phone system server

Incorrect dialog info shown on phones in queue calls
You can not forward numbers to external numbers when logged into a queue
Call reporter – Queue statistics are not reported correctly.
Exception in management console when you multiple edit more than 200 extensions.
Calls to Grandstream tones via the tunnel do not have Ringing tone
If you disconnect a Queue call very quickly (during call setup) it might cause a stuck call

Assistant

When switching between local and remote connections, the button takes a while to display the switch
Outlook 2010 integration does not work on 64 bit
Call context menu in Outlook 2010 32 bit will not show up
Incorrect provisioning link placed in the assistant may cause the assistant to show an exception
Queue and ring group unanswered calls are shown as missed in Assistant
Outbound calling in multiple profiles for external calls

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3CX USA Partner Meetings in San Francisco and New York in June

nospam@example.com (Mike Deerfield) — Tue, 18 May 2010 14:58:27 -0400

The 3CX training team are back in the USA in June 2010! We would like to invite all 3CX partners to the 3CX Partner Meetings to be held on both the East and West Coast in the US. Both an introductory and an advanced training day are available.

3CX Partner Meeting – West Coast, San Francisco, CA, USA

Day 1 Thursday 17^th June 2010 Introduction to 3CX Book here

Day 2 Friday 18^th June 2010 Advanced Training Workshop Book here

3CX Partner Meeting – East Coast, Iselin, NJ, USA

Day 1 Monday 21^st June 2010 Introduction to 3CX Book here

Day 2 Tuesday 22^nd June 2010 Advanced Training Workshop Book here

.
These events always prove to be popular and are a great way of increasing your knowledge of 3CX. Also the technical work-group provides all the information that you will need to successfully pass your certification, details of which can be found here.

Spaces are limited and reservation is on a first come first served basis, so please do reserve your place(s) by submitting the relevant booking form.

Meeting Agenda – Day 1 – Introduction to 3CX:

9:00 Welcome
9:15 Nick Galea, CEO and Founder of 3CX presenting Version 9 and the 3CX Roadmap
10:15 Installing the 3CX Phone System by Kevin Attard Compagno, 3CX Community Manager
- Supported platforms
- Recommendations for installations
- Setting up extensions
- Setting up a call
- Setting up a gateway
- Gateways and DDI
- Phone display configuration
- Remote extensions
12:30 Lunch (provided by 3CX)
1:15 VoIP Providers by Kevin Attard Compagno, 3CX Community Manager
- Concepts
- Configurations
- Inbound and outbound – Basic Concepts
2:30 Break
2:45 In-depth view of basic mechanisms
- Troubleshooting – Common issues and hints
- Other features and capabilities
4:00 Differences between FREE and Commercial editions
- How to request support
- Documentation and Blog resources
4:30 Q&A and wrap-up

Meeting Agenda – Day 2 - 3CX Advanced Training Workshop:

9:00 Start of Day 2
Advanced IP phone Provisioning
- Time, Time Zone, DST Settings
- Customizing an already existing template
- Cloning a template for particular needs
- DHCP Server Settings & Option 66
- If you need TFTP
Forwarding Rules
- Forwarding to Outside Numbers (including “rebound”)
- Retaining Original CallerID
3CX Phone4 – softphone
- LAN Config
- WAN Config with and without tunnel
- Issues with multiple Sound Cards (USB handset)
External Extensions
- Direct
- Tunnel
Phones not present in devices.xml and the relation to PBX delivers Audio, ReInvites and Replaces
3CX API’s and functionality
Outbound rules
- Full Blown Dial Plan
Router Configuration
- Port Forwarding
- Disabling of SIP ALG / Helper
- Static Public IP Address
- STUN-less operation
Non-GUI Providers
- Difference between Registration and Trunk
- Outbound Parameters Full Spiel
- How to add extra templates manually
Source ID for DID
E164 for Outlook Dialing
License Activation Issues
- Change in Network Topology triggers reverting to free version
- Routing and Remote Access – not compatible with 3CX
Wireshark
Logging Information
4:30 Q&A and wrap-up

Cancellation Policy:

This event is free to all 3CX Partners. You can cancel your booking up to five days before the event at no charge by contacting the relevant event organizer. Please have your booking reference handy.

Contact West Coast 3CX Partner Meeting Organizer.
Contact East Coast 3CX Partner Meeting Organizer.

For late cancellations and non attendance, 3CX reserves the right to invoice the Partner the sum of 50 Euros. We look forward to receiving your application and welcoming you to one of our events in June.

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3CX Integration with Exchange Server 2007 / 2010 Unified Messaging

nospam@example.com (Mike Deerfield) — Fri, 14 May 2010 14:45:08 -0400

This topic has been covered before – however it is worth mentioning again. This is one of the greatest “gems” of 3CX Phone System for Windows, especially for customers with installed MS Exchange systems. 3CX provides a more in depth look at the functionality of the two products working together here.

Microsoft Reponses Point to be Discontinued

nospam@example.com (Mike Deerfield) — Fri, 14 May 2010 14:27:06 -0400

Per Microsoft press release:

“May 14th, 2010 RESPONSE POINT TO BE DISCONTINUED AS OF AUGUST 31, 2010

After transitioning Microsoft Response Point to engineering maintenance status a year ago, Microsoft has made the decision to discontinue the sale, support and development of the Response Point phone system for small businesses, effective August 31, 2010. Current customers will be able to continue to use their Response Point product(s) as per their equipment manufacturer purchase agreement.

Despite favorable initial response from customers and channel partners since launch, we have not seen the necessary demand materialize to sustain Response Point as a viable standalone business. To continue to support the needs of the small business community, we expect to consolidate our efforts and offerings in this space around Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS).

In support of our partners and current customers Microsoft will continue to maintain the current web pages at www.microsoft.com/responsepoint until November 1, 2011.

For additional information please go to http://blogs.technet.com/rp/ or send an Email to rpoint@microsoft.com”

Blog Editors Note: 3CX Phone System for Windows is an excellent fit for SOHO and SMB customers. Please feel free to take a look at it today!

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Relocating a 3CX Phone System Installation

nospam@example.com (Mike Deerfield) — Tue, 04 May 2010 07:25:49 -0400

Recently I had an opportunity to observe a company relocate its’ 3CX Phone System for Windows from one physical location to another. This was actually a great experience because in a firsthand and “real world” manner, it really drove home to me another benefit of IP PBX’s. 3CX and IP PBX’s are known for mobility and enabling mobile workforces, however this is a different kind of mobility – or more accurately described as portability. I will explain….

Having been involved in phone system moves in yesteryear, I was blown away by how much of a non-event this actually was. In the past, we’d have to spend weeks coordinating a phone system move with the local telephone company, and the move date had to coincide with arranging the schedule of the telco technicians and an 8am-5pm work schedule.

In this particular case, we didn’t even speak to the local telco and they weren’t involved on relocation day. The company moved to a new premise that was pre-wired with a Cat 5 cable plant (phone lines were demarked previously), so literally the phone system was moved, and the 3CX server and phones were plugged into the network. The VoIP gateway was connected to the lines, and viola! it fired up and everything worked the first time.

In today’s Nomadic workplace – this is extremely beneficial. As a the owner of an office building offering commercial lease space, I’ve experienced tenants that were only interested in setting up a temporary operation. Driving their desire to do this is a business model to sales blitz the local geographic area for a a few months. Afterward they’ll break down and head on to the next city, dismantling their office infrastructure and setting it up again in the next location. The ability to unplug, move and re-establish their phone system in a matter of hours (possibly minutes) is of a great benefit. They can keep everything the same: extension, IVR’s, queues, integration to their CRM system, and even voice mail messages. If they are utilizing a VoIP Provider, they can do all of this at any time of the day without involving a telco at all!

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3CX Continues to be Recognized as a Leader in 2009

nospam@example.com (Mike Deerfield) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 11:59:11 -0400

2009 was another banner year for 3CX Phone System for Windows, and it continues into 2010. With the v8 release of 3CX in 2009, its’ universe of partners and customers have enjoyed the best 3CX release to date. Unified Communications Magazine has acknowledged these accolades by awarding 3CX as a 2009 Unified Communications Product of the Year for the 2nd consecutive year in a row.

“It is an honor to grant 3CX with a 2009 Product of the Year Award for their 3CX Phone System. 3CX has proven their dedication to quality and excellence while supporting the needs in the marketplace,” stated Rich Tehrani, CEO, TMC. “We look forward to seeing continued advancement in technology solutions from 3CX in the future.”

Read the full press release here:

On a personal note – I would like to state that 3CX Phone System has been a pleasure to work with. Originally starting with v3, we have experienced rapid and beneficial improvements in the phone system solution. Being able to run it in on Windows, and on any decent standard Window's hardware and OS, made the prospect of retiring our old Nortel Northstar Meridian TDM system a reality. To be honest, this did not come without some pain (migrating through several 3CX major version releases in a short period of time), but it was well worth it. What we have now is a modern, highly functional phone system that is easy to administer and inexpensive to operate. We lowered our telco costs and empowered our users at Deerfield.com to make changes to their extension behavior – all without the expense of a service contract for on-site service.

Congratulations 3CX on the 2009 Award!

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Testing and Configuring a VoIP Provider for 3CX Phone System

nospam@example.com (Mike Deerfield) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:44:23 -0400

One of the fastest ways to save money when using 3CX Phone System for Windows is to utilize a VoIP Provider (Internet Telephony Service Provider or ITSP) for your outbound telephone calls instead of (or in conjunction with) ordinary phone lines. How this works is that you purchase service from a provider like Broadvox (for example) and you authenticate your 3CX IP PBX to their systems via TCP/IP over the Internet. Then in their data center – they connect the call to the publicly switched telephone network (PSTN). All that is required on your end is that you have ample Internet connectivity available to, and connected to your 3CX server.

You have to be careful however – because if there’s one area that IP PBX’s have received a bad rap, it’s because of poor voice quality due to either a substandard VoIP Provider, or inadequate Internet bandwidth availability on-premise (the latter is more common). This will rear it’s ugly head in the form of jitter, echo, and broken voice conversations. bad. stay away.

If you’re considering taking advantage of lower cost calls by utilizing the VoIP Provider with 3CX, I highly recommend that you take a look at the article written here http://www.3cx.com/blog/voip-howto/testing-voip-provider/ .

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3CX Android SIP Client.. Anyone Want to Step Up?

nospam@example.com (Mike Deerfield) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 16:57:29 -0400

It’s clear to me now after living with my Moto Droid for a few months that this is going to be a ubiquitous smart phone. What really sets this device/operating system apart is its tight integration with Google search and mapping assets. Nothing made this more clear to me than using on our spring break trip as a phone, email client, sms client, navigation (with live traffic overlay) device, search device (for restaurants, gas, rest areas etc.) weather device, and general web surfing on the long trip from Michigan to Florida via car.

When we arrived at the hotel in Orlando to learn that they actually still charge for Internet connectivity ($10 per day), I was a bit displeased (I always do some work on vacation, my wife loves me for that lol ..). Not that I can’t afford it (I’m not bragging), but I all but refuse to pay for Internet access at a hotel anymore. However, in Florida they have a very captive audience during spring break and they can get away with it (for now). So – once again I turn to my Droid as a USB tether and use it for access to the Internet the 10 days or so we were there.

So – let me tell you what is missing for this platform – a working SIP client that I can use with the Driod with 3CX Phone System for Windows. For a couple of months now I’ve installed and hoped to be using Sipdroid, patiently waiting for it to work properly, and allowing it to download its updates on almost a weekly basis. But – I’m not holding much hope for it right now as the thread in the 3CX forums (3CX has expressed willingness to help get this working) have gone dead. I am experiencing the same problems as other users are reporting – Sipdroid receives calls fine – but cannot originate a call via 3CX.

Knowing that the vast majority of all enterprise and hosted phone systems sold today are IP PBX’s, combined with the allure of the Android operating system – I am actually quite surprised that there is not a good SIP client available now for this platform.

Who will be the first? Any takers?

More Hak5 – Setting Up 3CX with a VoIP Provider

nospam@example.com (Mike Deerfield) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:57:54 -0400

I’m not sure how I missed this – but “better late than never” is the cliché I’ll use to describe this post. Even though this segment ran on Revision3 Internet Television’s popular Hak5 program a year ago, I wanted to share it because it exposes a nice VoIP provider called Teliax, and in particular their “pay as you go” SIP Trunking service (10 channels). If you are looking to experiment with VoIP on the cheap. teaming up with 3CX and Teliax couldn’t make it any more risk free. You see – I am a big fan of the “something for nothing” value proposition – and in terms of VoIP IP PBX’s, testing with the free version of 3CX and a low-cost VoIP provider lowers the cost barrier to the nth level. As a disclaimer – this is where I’d normally tell you proceed at your own risk and there’s no substitute for a qualified 3CX professional, or paid version of software – but not this time.. there’ll be plenty of opportunity for that later. If you are at least a little technically savvy and would like to experiment with setting up a Window’s based phone system that can connect to the outside world – then give it a try. Here’s a link to some support resources should you have any questions.

Just to set this up – Hak5 did a feature on 3CX last year, and I mentioned this in a former blog post. Well, apparently there was a lot of viewer interest in the topic (in their own words) , so Hak5’s Matt Lestock did a sequel to his initial 3CX episode – this time showing viewers how they can easily connect their 3CX Phone System for Windows to the outside world using a low-cost VoIP provider. In fact – he does the setup during the show - He was able to configure 3CX with Teliax and make a phone call in under 5 minutes. I was able to get 3CX segment for you here – however if you wish you can watch the entre episode here, the 3CX segment is at about the 16:30 mark and lasts about 7 minutes total.

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VoIP In the Fast Lane

nospam@example.com (Mike Deerfield) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 13:52:07 -0400

3CX Phone System for Windows sped into the fast lane last week when Lotus Racing announced that 3CX has been appointed as a technical supplier to the team. Recently Lotus Racing has installed 3CX Phone System in its technical centre and mobile race track operations. The popular VoIP PBX system will be used for each F1 race around the globe – providing the vital communications link between Norfolk HQ and the track team.

3CX Phone System Enterprise Edition 8 was implemented last month at the Technical Centre in Hingham, Norfolk with 1 Patton ISDN E1 gateway, VoIP Unlimited trunks and 130 Cisco SPA phones. Nick Galea, CEO of 3CX felt privileged to be selected by Lotus Racing. “It’s a team with a long heritage of success and technical innovation in a sport which depends so much on technology and reliability. We’ve built reliability into the core of 3CX and to receive acknowledgment from Lotus Racing is a great accolade for the 3CX Team.”

In addition to the press release, a case study on Lotus Racing’s implementation of 3CX has been prepared and is available here. Whether you are a sleepy mom and pop operation, or a fast paced Formula 1 racing team, 3CX has you covered!

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Friday Muse: Windows 7 - I’m Buying In…

nospam@example.com (Mike Deerfield) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:46:33 -0400

I have to tell you that after the release of Windows Vista and all of the ensuing problems – I was more than a little skeptical when Windows 7 was released. All of the rumors of incompatible hardware and software, lofty system requirements, no direct migration from Windows XP were my main concerns, just to name a few. Basically, I suspected that once again Microsoft may have laid and egg wrt it’s desktop operating system, so I moved forward very cautiously. The Deerfield offices would just have to live on XP for awhile longer.

I am a very mobile person, and as such have a number of laptops in my life. My “MO” so far in my professional life has been to leave a breadcrumb trail of laptop computers in various places that I frequent. This for me has been a little more convenient than dragging around the ultimate “power portable” everywhere I go. What this means however, is that I have laptops that are still in service that I purchased in 2002 and are based upon the Pentium 4 and Celeron processors with 512MB to 1GB of RAM. So – relative to Windows 7, if the hardware compatibility wasn't an issue the processor power and RAM was.

So – I was at a point with a couple of the machines thinking that they were ready for the recycling center. Running XP is almost not-serviceable on these machines any more – even with the OS’s pared down to the bare minimum. The reason is because XP has been service patched so many times over its life time by MS, that just the bare vanilla OS with an anti-virus installed practically consumes all of the system resources, and basically results in a slow pig of a machine.

Having nothing to lose and also as a result of some positive experiences with other machines of a little better capability, I decided to try loading Windows 7 on these 2 particular machines just for grins. To my surprise, even the Celeron with 512MB performs fairly well! One thing that I am geeked about is that Windows 7 (and Vista before it) has a feature called “ReadyBoost” that allows you to use an inexpensive USB drive as a virtual cache, that helps speed up machines with limited RAM installed (btw – the 512MB machine and the 1GB machine were at their memory maximum, so their RAM could not be expanded). I purchased 2 Kingston 8GB USB drives for about $24 a piece from the local Kmart, and plugged them into both of these machines.

Just so you know – I installed Windows 7 Enterprise N on these machines form our MSDN subscription. Once the initial install was completed it was onto the hardware drivers issues. Guess what? with little effort both machines work in full screen resolution, and all drives, network, wireless, ports, and panel controls work. This was almost unbelievable considering neither manufacturer has Windows Vista, or Windows 7 drivers available for these machines. However some of the devices did not come to life until after the first time I ran Windows Update on them. So – basically on stock drivers provided by MS – these old boat anchors are working fairly well! What I did lose on both machines was the ability to put them in “sleep” mode. They will shutdown properly, and can also be hibernated - I am sure this has something to do with the implementation of ACPI in these machines. To be quite honest – sleep never worked properly with XP on them either. But – I thought that it was a small price to pay for another breath of life into these machines that were about to be set out to pasture.

One more thing – I was not able to “upgrade” windows, but had to perform a “custom installation” which is basically a clean install with the exception that your existing data and folders are intact with the exception of your old Windows folder structure that get renamed to Windows.old.

So – if you have some old machines in your life that are at least P4/Celeron or above and you feel adventurous, give it a go! you might actually be pleased with the result. MS has made me a believer in Windows again. Here’s the hoot. I’m actually writing this from a car dealership waiting lobby on my MacBook Pro via a Remote Desktop connection to a machine at the office so I can access Windows Live Writer (the best offline blogging tool PC, or Mac). You got all of that right?

Windows 7 - It was my idea

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3CX vs Asterisk for SMB’s?

nospam@example.com (Mike Deerfield) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:56:04 -0400

I guess that it’s no secret that we consider Asterisk (and its derivatives) the primary competition to 3CX Phone System for Windows. However, while Asterisk’s “surface” price point is “0”, the truth is much farther north of “free”. Over the last few years we’ve been trying to educate customers on why Asterisk might not be a good fit for their SMB phone system software choice. A tough thing to do sometimes because the allure of something “free” is compelling to a lot of folks. However, today I find the ultimate validation (ie slam dunk) of this point by none-other than Digium (creators of Asterisk) themselves. They recommend that any non-guru (linux, btw) considering deploying Asterisk as a phone system would be much better served by purchasing their paid version Switchvox instead. If you do not read the entire Digium blog post – at least take the time to read the following quote below, and then review the 3CX pricing here. BTW – for the record, the FREE version of 3CX can be successfully deployed by anyone with moderate technical skills, and thousands are doing so. Of course – as with any enterprise product there are benefits to the paid versions.

Here’s a link to the Digium blog post and an excerpt:

-- begin quote

“So who should really pick Switchvox instead of Asterisk? People who aren’t telecom gurus who need a powerful, easy to install, easy to maintain, reasonably priced phone system for up to 400 users.

Don’t get me wrong: it’s entirely possible to create a powerful PBX system using raw Asterisk. The major drawbacks to running Asterisk as a PBX are the deployment time and maintainability. Building an IP PBX out of raw Asterisk requires some fairly advanced technical skills, including a good working knowledge of IP networking, Linux/Unix system administration, traditional telephony and script programming. Even those who are fully versed in all four of these disciplines will need to overcome something of a learning curve to create a working system. Once the system is up and running you will need someone on staff (or at least on call) who knows how the system works and how to handle any moves, adds or changes.

Digium’s flagship Switchvox SMB system (with all the bells and whistles you can imagine) starts at only $3600. Our basic SOHO package is only $1600. If you’re still tempted to use Asterisk, that’s cool but first do this: Divide $1600 by what you think an hour of your time is worth. Let’s use $50/hour as an example. $1600 / $50 = 32 hours. If you can learn enough Asterisk to build your own solution in 32 hours or less, go for it. If not, take a good look at Switchvox.”

-- end quote

So. there you go… if you don’t believe us when we tell you that 3CX Phone System for Windows is the easiest to install and maintain, with pricing that creates the best value today in an IP PBX, then maybe you’ll listen to Digium

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3CX: Playing Nice with Others

nospam@example.com (Mike Deerfield) — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 10:14:36 -0400

3CX Phone System for Windows is an excellent choice for those looking to integrate their enterprise phone system with back-end CRM systems such as Salesforce.com, SugarCRM, and VisNetic MailFlow, or office applications such as MS Outlook. 3CX has provided several methods and ways to integrate 3CX Phone Systems with other applications via the 3CX Application Programming Interface (API), and Voice Application Designer (VAD). Today we will share some articles that will help your IT staff quickly come up to speed on how to use the 3CX API’s to create a robust unified communication infrastructure.

CRM integration via the CRM Command Line API -

The CRM API is designed to allow customers and developers to easily integrate with CRM applications. Essentially using this API you can do the following:

Launch calls from your application
Get notifications about the duration of a call
Get notifications about inbound calls and pop up customer records based on Caller ID

Read the entire article here.

The 3CX Control API -

The Call Control API is an API available in version 7 and upwards that allows calls to be controlled. This is an advanced API that requires .NET, C# and telecommunications experience. It should only be used for larger projects. To integrate with CRM systems, use the CRM Plugin API. Read the entire article here.

Integrating CRM systems with the 3CX CRM API -

The CRM Plug In API is designed to allow customers & developers to easily integrate with CRM applications. Using this API you can do the following:

Launch calls from your application
Get notifications about the duration of a call
Get notifications about inbound calls and pop up customer records based on Caller ID

Read the entire article here.

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