I found this post on the blog over at Voip.com about SoliCall. It’s software that works with popular VOIP applications to block out distracting background noise when you’re on a call. Just think, you don’t have to lock yourself in the bathroom when you’re on the phone with a client (I’ve done this…). When kids know you’re on the phone, they affectionately launch into what Voip.com calls making “As Much Noise As Possible” (AMNAP). I think it’s part of their genetic programming.

I’ve downloaded Solicall but haven’t done the VOIPGirl test drive yet. If anyone else has, please let me know what you think.

Truphone is a UK software developer that has just released free VOIP software for Nokia E series cell phones. Mobile calls are free forever to other Truphone users and, until the end of the year, free to landline phones as well. For Truphone to work, you must have Internet access to a Wi-Fi network, which means your home, coffee shops, and public access points, among other places.

The company also resides on an all organic farm in Kent, UK, which I think is kind of cool. Their web site is well documented from a user point of view, so if you’re thinking of giving it a try, click the Help tab and have a look the Frequently Asked Questions and How-to-Guides.

Also read Tom Keatings review of Truphone software.

If you are thinking about trying Asterisk open source PBX in your home or small business, I suggest you read Tom Keating on Trixbox 2.0, “the easiest way to get Asterisk up and running in just minutes”. 

Now chances are at this point you probably already know more than a little about what Asterisk is and why you need it. But, if you’re like me and need to start at the beginning, start with the Trixbox wiki (formerly Asterisk@Home) on voip-info.org.

Peter Csathy’s post on how SightSpeed runs things in the office is a great testament to how things CAN work if a company has the will. I started working exclusuively from home in 2003, but even before that point I remember having to negotiate hard to work even a few days out of the office–and that was as a contract tech writer. I mean if a contractor has trouble convincing management, an employee doesn’t have a hope. Since then, I’ve learned that it takes a certain kind of discipline to work effectively from home, and not everyone can do it well. However, with commute times for people edging up into the 4 hour range, companies have to start taking work-at-home scenarios more seriously. The impact of commuters on the environment is staggering as well. We need “to commute less and collaborate more — and more effectively — online”, as Peter puts it.

With tools like SightSpeed that are inexpensive and easy to deploy, there’s really no excuse for not entertaining a work-at-home policy. However, based on my experience, it hasn’t been the tools so much as the mindset. The biggest obstacle I see is a lack of skills or expertise in managing remote workers. It’s not the same as managing employees in the office. But there’s no training and no support, so managers operate the way they always have. It’s up to the remote worker to adapt and fit into the system. And guess what, there’s no support or training for employees to be fantasitc home-based workers either. In my view, you need both.

Just got my PhoneGnome newsletter and learned about a new feature they’ve been offering for awhile but haven’t announced until now. Reach Beyond is  a paid premium service that allows you to choose 10 frequently called non-PhoneGnome numbers that you can make unlimited calls to for around $5/month. Perfect for calling aging Aunties far away that don’t or can’t have a PhoneGnome box.

We just had our first winter storm blow through. The result was twenty-seven hours of no power. After the first two hours my son proclaimed the most boring day of his life (no computer, no Nintendo). In the midst of trying almost every home VOIP solution under the sun, I’ve still hung onto my landline. Good thing too. Even my cell phone battery died. Of course, my PhoneGnome didn’t mind. Without power or Internet connection, landline calls worked just fine thanks.

I’ve been wondering about the GrandCentral “One number for life” mantra, and TalkPlus‘ second number for your mobile phone. While I understand these products target different markets, I find it hard to keep them distinct in my mind. It dawned on me that this could be a problem that consumers have as well.

There’s a lot of chatter about Voice 2.0 applications–the user in control not the network–but that is the VOIP blogosphere talking. Me, I think okay, I get another number, it’s free for now, and it’s solving what problem exactly? 

GrandCentral:

Provides a phone number not tied to a device or location. When people call this number, the phones you have “attached” to it ring, like your cell phone, home phone, and office phone. Up to six phones can be linked to your GrandCentral number. The service is all about giving you control over how people reach you (inbound calling) as opposed to how you place calls. Callers can leave voice messages that can be checked by phone, email or online. You’re notified of a voice mail via email or text message to a cell phone. And you can flag unwanted callers as spam. It’s also free.

You need it if people have a hard time tracking you down. You find yourself playing telephone tag. You WANT to be found but heck, you’re always bouncing between work, home, and on the road.

TalkPlus:

Provides a second number for your cell phone so you can separate personal life and work life. The number can be used as a second line for business, dating, classified ads, online auctions, social groups, or a second residence. Like GrandCentral, unwanted callers can be blocked while priority numbers ring through. When making outbound calls, you can specify which caller ID to use so that the person you are calling doesn’t know how or where you’re calling from.

You need it if your mobile phone is your primary means of communication but the  separation of work and play is important to you. You want people to know that you’re calling from the office (the caller ID says this is a work-related call) even though you’re calling from home or the beach in Maui. You are also concerned about personal privacy and want to make sure that your personal number is only available to the people you want to have it.

***

In talking with Craig Walker, GrandCentral CEO, he tells me they couldn’t be more different than TalkPlus.

“Our philosophy is that we don’t need MORE numbers for people to reach us at…we need less.  As long as I have the control over my inbound calling that GrandCentral gives me, there’s no reason that I would want to juggle different personas. I don’t want phone numbers that identify me as being located at a certain place or doing a certain thing, I want a phone number that is personal to me.  If you want to reach me, call my ONE NUMBER.  I’ll be able to answer it wherever I want…I will be able to know who’s calling every time, and I’ll even be able to listen in on the voicemail as its being left if I’m still unsure whether I want to take the call.  When somebody calls me, they shouldn’t be able to “figure out” or know where I am based on the number…if I’m in the office, working from home or on the beach, that’s my business.” 

Obviously there’s more to both GrandCentral and TalkPlus than what I describe here, and the enthusiasm voiced by many in the VOIP blogging community seems to be not so much what these services are doing today, but what we can expect from them in the future.

To set up a free GrandCentral account, click here. To sign up for a TalkPlus sneak peak beta (for Cingular, T-Mobile, and Sprint customers in select U.S. states only), click here. TalkPlus won’t be a free service like GrandCentral and pricing is to be determined.

I’ve just got home from an inspirational but exhausting weekend at the Surrey International Writer’s Conference. Sorry folks, no blogging here, IP whats-its, new-fangled phones, gadgets of any kind (can you imagine?), or mobile VOIP. Just 800 enthusiastic writers, editors and agents from all over North America. What  a blast!

So next year, if you feel like rubbing shoulders with the likes of Bernard Cornwall and Diana Gabaldon, or better yet, if you’ve got a novel that’s been simmering inside you for years waiting to make a dramatic entrance, then see you in Surrey, BC (Oct. 19-21, 2007). 

Initially, I thought that the online support systems for VOIP softphones Skype and Gizmo Project were pretty decent. Using them to answer burning questions is another matter. 

Online Help belongs with the application. When I click Help > Online Help, please DON’T send me to the Knowledge Base or FAQs. Please DON’T open up another browser window and make me wait while the generic Help home page appears. Please DON’T make me use the Search feature. High level user guides or getting started tutorials are great, but make sure they’ve got some meat in them.

A Knowledge Base gives you little gulps of info with no breadcrumb trail to follow and no sense of context. To really aid and educate users, build Help right into the interface. Take the time to explain fields and buttons before I use them. To provide more information, use a fly-out Help pane (part of the interface that’s only visible when needed) and pull the content from an online server.

I want online Help that is specific to what I’m looking at on the screen. I want to browse Help by drilling down to the level of detail I need without losing my place in the story.

The End.

Today BridgePort Networks announced the commercial availability of MobileSTICK, a USB device that transforms your PC or laptop into an extension of your cell phone. When you plug MobileSTICK into a PC or laptop with a fixed line or Wi-Fi broadband connection, the device launches a PC softphone, secured by a SIM card that utilizes the your existing mobile phone number to make and receive phone calls, SMS messages and multimedia (MMS) messages. Your existing mobile remains active and continues to utilize its existing SIM.

Ken Camp had the opportunity a few months ago to do a podcast with BridgPort’s Sanjay Jhawar that explains the MobileSTICK technology in detail. It’s really good and worth a listen.