Thanks for the Obi updates. The $5 or $6 bucks invested in Simonics is looking better and better . As one Obi forum member said about the Polycom buyout: "Could be good. Could be bad. Time will tell." I have a hunch that the bad statement will be true for the Obi1xx and 2xx users, at least the ones who have not moved to Simonics.
Alerts: Obi has sent me emails in the past, which I did not pay much attention to, about them being able to notify a person when their obi is not online, a feature I assumed one had to pay for. Just now I looked on the Obi website and did not see that feature although it must be there somewhere. I would assume the Obi device makes a noise or light up red or maybe rings when it's offline.
As you know, google voice will anyway send emails for missed calls, voicemails. So I'll just wait until something goes wrong in terms of not hearing a ring but getting an email as my notification.
I'm currently back to being connected to google voice directly. I've got the Simonics option when that goes out. At that time I'll probably check in on the modified firmware folks to get a feel for how that is working out for the people using it. Right now, it seems to be working fine but no harm in letting other people test it more thoroughly first.
***Apart from not wanting to pay for the notification feature, my Obi is on a table next to my front door, so it's easy to see if the green lights are on, and as you say GV alerts one in any case. I don't know what Obi device you have, but this paid feature will not work on Obi1xx devices anyways. Also, I had not heard about lag problems with the Simonics set up, apart from the 1 second period when answering a call. It's nice to have Simonics as a backup plan in case this new business venture tries to extract some money from certain Obi users.
As time goes by, I use the phone connected to my Obi less and less, so I could probably do without it. I can't remember if I paid $20 or $30 for it six years ago, but, being cheap, I want to get every last penny from it, in addition to my $6 spent on Simonics, not to mention the $20 spent on my cordless phone, which just reminded me that the answering system on that cordless phone is one main reason I need the Obi.
Me too. I have all my GV info forwarded to several devices, but when entering the house I like to just glance at the answering machine for messages, which I have set up to pick up incoming GV calls in addition to my cell phone, etc. I've too many devices notifying me.
Oh, do you mean that the voicemail indicator on your phone notifies you that there is a message in the google voice system?
Mine has never done that. I have one phone with an indicator that worked with a landline / voip provider, and the dial tone always worked with those providers. But my obi has never done the same.
Yes--it flashes the with the number of GV messages and one plays the messages from the answering machine. It's connected to my GV Obi device. In other words, if I don't answer any of my devices that ring when my GV# is called, the integrated answering machine records the message, if any. Mine is set to pick up the voice message before one of the other devices does so, though the other devices let me know via email that I have a missed call or message. Sort of overkill on my part.
A few weeks ago, Google opened up Beta testing for the new GV app, and today I came across info that indicated that if one opts to become a tester and has an Obi device, the Obi device will not work properly with the GV Beta app installed, and this also applies to Obi devices using the Simonics GVGW. From what I have read, Google is working on solutions so that the app will be compatible with Obihai devices when it is ready for prime time.
In their ongoing efforts to add to the giant mountains of e-waste, the corpy giant that snarfed up Obihai - most likely in cooperation with the big G - have come up with a surefire way to force Obi1xx users to trash their perfectly good, reliable ATAs so as to continue using GV.
As posted (gleefully by mr. obnoxious 'steve') at the Obi forum;
June 18th is the deadline for the final shut-off of XMPP.
This looks to be aimed thusly:
Obi1xx boxes will cease to function completely;
Unless a solution is revealed, this may also kill off the GVGW which so many of us now use.
As of this minute, my own plan will be to port our numbers that depend upon GVGW to another provider (Circlenet ??) - with the only hesitation being the possible losses of SMS & multi-ringing options thereby.
Of course we could just roll over, play dead & use GV via cellular and/or wifi devices - but the best of it has always been the ability to have our 'house phones' using GV - an ability we'd like to keep...somehow.
Quoting a very thoughtful, well written post found here:
To all of the above I say:
Just so.
Additionally now I wonder if Polycom snarfed up Obihai & its tech because it was on the skids already - so maybe they got a great deal which also happened to 'save face' for the Obi goons ??
(Any golden umbrellas in evidence, I wonder...?)
The great Obi migration from XMMP has evidently begun. For those Obi users on the Simonics GVGW and gvgwbeta it appears the Bill Simon is converting users over to the new SIP protocol:
"Happening now. The XMPP gateways were crashing today for unknown reason and it seems like as good a time as any to move forward. Unfortunately, trouble with the first one. We'll see how this goes."
Wow, colour me baffled...
I see in the above that it looks like I responded twice to replies made by PA345NH - but those replies are somehow rendered invisible now ?!?