Definitely NOT Obiwan

Watching carefully as whatever remains of Obihai makes its journey to (what appears as...) 'the dark side'.

A bunch of email notifications arrived lately telling that entire threads had been deleted.
All of them had to do with fixes for non-working Obi boxes - especially the 1xx series (of course).

Firmware update info ??
Gone.
GVGW 'fixes' for Obi boxes ??
Gone.

Worse than that however IMO are the more subtle changes they made to the forum itself.

Seems like they must have realized belatedly that users were getting the emails about their deleting entire threads - so the ability to check your 'watched threads' is now missing.

It appears that the menu structure of that forum was modified just enough not to be very eye-catching.

As happy GV & Obi box users, we wish to maintain our 'free' phone services via our landline type phones - but also wish to keep the SMS to email & transcript functions - so as of now, unless a better option magically appears in the next few weeks, it looks like we'll just keep our GV numbers, get separate VOIP DIDs, and attach those to the GV accounts.

Question:
Are there any good/inexpensive/reliable VOIP providers that also have the SMS & transcriptions included ??

Thanks for any helpful replies !!

"Hope springs eternal", which is maybe not good, but Mr. Simonics posted the following today. So maybe there is hope for the Obi 1xx devices after all. Hard to read the screenshot. but Bill Simon in the DSL forum said that he is releasing a beta program for GVGW users on the forum today or tomorrow, which may ease some of the Obi pain.

Indeed. With any good fortune GVGW will remain viable for some time to come.

Related article:
http://nerdvittles.com/?p=25787

I especially enjoy where NerdUno wrote: "Quoting one of the OBi shills".
This, of course is referring to that horrid troll 'steve' AKA 'bluescat' - which, when I see it, always makes me think of what 'scat' is and that HIS -would- likely be BLUE (like some forms of mold) !!!
(Even the avatar on the 'bluescat' posts is repugnant...all true to form, I guess.)

Hi, @E_T,
I have no idea what an Obihai is (thus no dog in this "fight"), but this retired musician is guessing that the moniker you are referring to might, if the space was in the right place, be "Blues Cat", which sounds infinitely more appealing to this cat. Ya dig, man? :slight_smile:

I can dig it. Scatman C. can, too.

The short versions of both things, then:

My old Obi box has provided free phone services via google voice & internet connected to a regular landline style phone for me for what - maybe close to 10 years by now ??
It was a saving grace for me when severe illness made me too broke to pay for any phone services for a long while - that little $40 box + free GV + the phone I already had, together gave me the ability of reaching the outside world when I had none, otherwise.

The 'steve' creature - or 'bluescat' is a very nasty forum troll who has harassed users at the Obihai forum and even at DSLReports for years (as 'bluescat') - once in a great while he has managed to actualy provide helpful info - but he usually salts any of that sort heavily with extremely denigratory comments aimed at tearing down anyone who cannot buy the latest gadgets or who may dare to disagree with him in any manner.
That was the basis of my 'scat' reference; it has been well earned.

Yes - Isamorph - I completely agree=>
Scatman Crothers was DEFINITELY a VERY COOL DUDE !!!

He made a wonderful appearance in his later years in an 'Amazing Stories' episode that is well worth the 1/2 hour watch, should it be around someplace...it was entitled: "Kick the Can".
(Apparently it is somehow related with a Hitchcock show that I know nothing about...)

Just placing a copy of this here, from the Obi forum so it is not lost for good when the evil troll who seems to be in charge there lately deletes it:

Title=> Obi 100/110 officially abandoned and no longer work. FIXED!
« Reply #9 on: May 30, 2018, 12:33:43 pm »

Source:

Maybe "thatsteveguy" was a new car salesperson at one time.

Nah - used - more shady:

But Ahnold knows how to fix 'em up right:

I wonder how many folks have had fantasies of doing that (or worse) to mr. troll ??

"thatsteveguy" will get his comeuppance.:evil: