« Google/U. of Waterloo Redux | Main | About Me »

November 25, 2005

Saved by the PhoneGnome

Just a small slice-of-life experience to share about my PhoneGnome. I had some small false starts getting this to work in my home office, and their tech support has been great, but we're fine now.

One of the things I really like about PhoneGnome is how you get the best of both worlds with POTS and VoIP. When you place a call using PhoneGnome, a cute voice informs you if the call is local PSTN, on-net with other PhoneGnome users, or long distance. After that, the call goes through just like normal, and there are no extra digits to dial. Very convenient.

Well, we got our first real taste of winter here in Toronto this week, and the power went out yesterday afternoon. It just so happens that this occurred while I was in the middle of a call with my PhoneGnome line. All around me, the lights went out, the modem went quiet, my PC screen dimmed as I went to battery power, Skype went out, and the screens for my IP phones went dark. I'm sure you've all been through this a few times!

That said, my call continued as if nothing happened. Of course, it was a PSTN call - an on-net call to another PhoneGnome user would have died - I think. When the power went out, I heard a short click sound on the line, which must have been the PhoneGnome cutting out, but the call continued as is. Am not sure if PhoneGnome can do a PSTN failover, and automatically port an IP call over to PSTN if the network goes down - would probably have to have a battery backup for that.

Anyhow, I just thought it was great that my call didn't die, which of course, would have been the case if I was using most broadband phone services. Operators like Bell Canada and EarthLink are offering line-powered VoIP to get around this, but the majority do not.

So, for those of you thinking about replacing your POTS with VoIP outright, I'd say think again - unless you have reliable alternatives, namely a cell phone with some battery life on it.

There's another side to this story that vindicates the tech luddite in me. I have never trusted machines of any kind (there's a classic Woody Allen routine about this from his standup days - don't get me started - "So, I gather all of my possessions for a meeting in my living room..."). We have way too many phones in the house, but I always keep an old one around - the kind that doesn't run off electric power - for emergencies or blackouts. Well, I just bought a reconditioned Nortel Vista 100 for this purpose, and that's what's connected to the PhoneGnome. So, while the PhoneGnome did its job, the real reason the call stayed alive was the Vista phone. Score a point for the old guard!

So, the moral of the story for having a bulletproof contingency plan that optimizes the use of POTS and VoIP is to have a line-powered phone with your PhoneGnome.


Posted by jonarnold at November 25, 2005 10:09 PM

Comments

In the next few days, I'm either going to strongly back you or take a strong shot against Televolution. I got my unit last Tuesday and am still having a very odd problem that they have not solved. So today, I posted my problem on Voxilla and Televolution's own forum board. Lets see if their tech support lives up to your praises.

By the way, I've got my DSL modem, router and VOIP adapter connected to a UPS. I find that Sympatico usually continues running through a blackout and so as long as my own equipment is powered, I can continue using the net.

Posted by: Alan Gahtan at November 26, 2005 03:40 PM

Line-powered VoIP is not really VoIP from users' point of view. From features point of view, it has all the limitations of POTS. But then ATA based systems have the same limitations, except that users can hope to get a native IP client.

Posted by: Aswath at November 26, 2005 09:26 PM

In my house, all the phones are either cordless or IP-based. Even if the underlying phone line survives a power outage, the phones won't. :)

Posted by: PhoneBoy at November 28, 2005 04:06 AM

Hey Jon,
I found this post by doing a search for "phonegnome problems sympatico".
I am a Toronto area Sympatico user, I just got my phonegnome, and am have a hell of a time getting it to work consistiently. I am on the verge of sending it back then I read your post and now I have hope. Can you tell us what specific problems you were having? Mine is having problems placing calles using "local phone service" and the audio quality is very inconsistient, often I have to unplug the unit when someone calles because I hear nothing but... click.. click.. voice.. click .. voice.. click.
It's bad for my clients to hear that!

Can you elaborate? (I have a D-Link router, the tech support seems to thing my router is the problem but I know NOTHING about routers...)

thanks,

Posted by: Scott at January 31, 2007 07:30 AM

Post a comment




Remember Me?


Trackback Pings

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Saved by the PhoneGnome:

» Adderall. from Adderall.
Adderall online pharmacy. Buy wholesale adderall. Adderall xr snort. Adderall. Adderall and migraines. [Read More]

Tracked on December 15, 2008 12:53 AM

» Cialis canada. from Asprin and cialis.
Buy cialis. Cialis free sample. Cialis. [Read More]

Tracked on December 18, 2008 03:03 PM

» Barking dog pouch sex. from Girl dog sex sites i.
Gay dog sex. Dog sex clips. Dog sex. [Read More]

Tracked on December 28, 2008 10:37 PM

» Cialis generic. from Taking viagra with cialis.
Cialis fedex. Cialis vs viagra. Cialis positive side. Cheap cialis. Cialis. [Read More]

Tracked on January 22, 2009 09:50 PM

» Prozac. from Phentermine and prozac.
Prozac use in dogs. Prozac never get over you. Prozac dangers. Prozac nation quotes. Prozac. [Read More]

Tracked on February 26, 2009 03:30 PM

» Soma to florida. from Soma.
Soma cube puzzle. [Read More]

Tracked on February 27, 2009 03:49 AM

» Viagra vs cialis. from Cialis best price buy online.
Cheapest cialis. Cialis best price buy online. Cialis. [Read More]

Tracked on February 27, 2009 06:21 AM

» Soma to florida. from Soma.
Soma cube. Soma cube puzzle. Soma seeds. Soma juice. Soma long term effects. Soma. Soma without prescription 180 count. Buy watson brand soma. [Read More]

Tracked on March 5, 2009 09:41 PM

» Ultram starting from per pill. from Ultram.
The mondego group wiki xwiki buy ultram. Ultram for long term chronic pain. Side effects of ultram. Ultram ortho mcneil. [Read More]

Tracked on March 16, 2009 05:54 PM

» Ephedrine. from Brewing your own ephedrine.
Ephedrine suppliers. Getting high with ephedrine. [Read More]

Tracked on March 22, 2009 11:05 PM

» Buy generic cialis. from Cialis.
Cialis best price buy online. Online pharmacy cialis on line. Cialis. [Read More]

Tracked on March 24, 2009 07:36 PM

» Cheap tramadol cheap tramadol cheap tramadol. from Tramadol.
Tramadol hydrochloride. Rxmedsasap com purchase tramadol. Cheap tramadol. Tramadol cheap no rx free overnight shipping. Tramadol dog. Tramadol. Tramadol wikipedia the free encyclopedia. [Read More]

Tracked on March 25, 2009 06:44 PM

» Animal horse dog beast zoo porn sex cum fuck. from Beast sex zoo sex animal porn.
Zoo porn. Dog sex exclusive zoo sex horse porn only. Adult zoo free thumbs porn. Porn animal free dog zoo. Animal sex best zoo sex horse porn only. Horse porn beast porn zoo porn dog. Free zoo porn. [Read More]

Tracked on April 3, 2009 02:45 PM

» Ephedra products. from Ripped fuel without ephedra.
Ephedra. [Read More]

Tracked on April 4, 2009 12:43 AM

» Valium definiton. from Buying valium.
Valium drug test. Valium. [Read More]

Tracked on April 24, 2009 11:26 PM

» Lexapro side effects. from Lexapro side-effects.
Half life of lexapro. Lexapro side effects. Success stories with lexapro. Lexapro. Lexapro medicine. Lexapro withdrawal. [Read More]

Tracked on April 28, 2009 12:57 AM

» Abuse phentermine. from Phentermine obesity.
Cheap phentermine. Phentermine. Phentermine capsule. Phentermine risk. Online phentermine. [Read More]

Tracked on April 28, 2009 07:16 PM

» Buy soma watson brand online 150 tablets. from Buy domain onlinevcvpl soma.
Buy soma cod. Buy soma. Buy soma online. Buy soma cheap. Buy soma watson brand online 150 tablets. Buy domain onlinevcvpl soma. [Read More]

Tracked on April 29, 2009 05:27 PM

» Soma next day. from Soma.
Cheap soma. Soma. Pornstar soma. Soma ironman. Buy domain onlinevcvpl soma. [Read More]

Tracked on April 30, 2009 05:14 PM

» Lipodrene with ephedrine. from Ephedrine.
Getting high with ephedrine. Ephedrine. Ephedrine faq. [Read More]

Tracked on May 1, 2009 05:10 PM

» Hydrocodone online no prescription no membership. from Buy hydrocodone online.
Hydrocodone online. Buy hydrocodone online. Purchase hydrocodone online. Pharmacy online hydrocodone description price. Online pharmacy hydrocodone. [Read More]

Tracked on May 3, 2009 08:00 PM

» Generic zoloft best online pharmacy. from Generic zoloft best online pharmacy.
Generic zoloft best online pharmacy. [Read More]

Tracked on May 6, 2009 06:52 PM

» Phentermine lowest prices online cheap phentermine. from Online phentermine.
Phentermine online pharmacy. Cheape... phentermine online url. Phentermine online mastercard. [Read More]

Tracked on May 7, 2009 06:12 PM

» Viagra impotence buy viagra buyviagra.net. from Buy viagra viagra impotence buyviagra.net.
Buy low price viagra. Buy cheap viagra online uk. Viagra buy. Buy gnric viagra next day. Buy viagra in canada. Voyforums buy viagra online. Buy viagra buy viagra viagra buyviagra.net. Buy viagra uk. [Read More]

Tracked on May 8, 2009 06:44 PM

» Amoxicillin cheap. from Buy amoxicillin online cheap amoxicillin.
Cheap amoxicillin. Buy amoxicillin online cheap amoxicillin. [Read More]

Tracked on May 11, 2009 06:39 PM

» Ambein buydrug phenterminecod phentermineonlin. from Ambein suicide.
Ambein suicide. Ambein dizziness. [Read More]

Tracked on May 12, 2009 05:26 PM

» Buy viagra. from Buy viagra uk.
Buy viagra next day. Viagra buy. Buy viagra in canada. Buy viagra. Buy viagra uk. [Read More]

Tracked on May 14, 2009 06:43 PM

» Movie tickets online. from Online airline tickets.
University of hawaii football tickets online. Buy cheap tickets online. Cheap train tickets online. Online tickets. Buyselltix com chicago blackhawks tickets online. Airline tickets online. Pay philadelphia parking tickets online. Online tickets toront... [Read More]

Tracked on May 15, 2009 05:22 PM

» Effects of vicodin. from Easing symptoms of vicodin withdrawal.
Vicodin. Signs of vicodin addictio. Vicodin without a prescription. [Read More]

Tracked on May 16, 2009 06:05 PM

» Cheap soma. from Cheap soma.
Cheap soma watson. Cheap soma. Soma buy soma cheap soma soma online. [Read More]

Tracked on May 17, 2009 06:14 PM

» Phentermine online. from Get phentermine.
Compare phentermine price. [Read More]

Tracked on May 22, 2009 06:41 PM

» Buy phentermine on line. from Lowest online phentermine price.
Phentermine without a prescription. Phentermine. Buy phentermine online. Phentermine on line. Phentermine no prescription. Order phentermine. Phentermine review. [Read More]

Tracked on May 24, 2009 07:18 PM

» Buy cheap phentermine online. from Buy cheap phentermine.
Buy phentermine mg. Buy cheap phentermine now save. [Read More]

Tracked on May 25, 2009 07:06 PM

» Buy percocet online. from Order percocet online.
Percocet online. Buy percocet online. [Read More]

Tracked on May 27, 2009 07:44 PM

» Phentermine 37.5 grams cheap no doctor. from Cheap phentermine online.
Cheap phentermine. Phentermine cheap. Cheap phentermine online. [Read More]

Tracked on May 28, 2009 07:15 PM

» Buy hydrocodone online discount cheap pharmacy. from Hydrocodone online.
Purchase hydrocodone online. Buy hydrocodone online without prescription. Hydrocodone online. [Read More]

Tracked on May 29, 2009 02:16 AM

» Buy ephedrine hcl guafenison. from Ephedrine to buy.
Ephedrine to buy. Buy ephedrine. Ephedrine buy online cheap. Buy ephedrine hcl. [Read More]

Tracked on May 29, 2009 06:59 PM

» Ephedrine from sugar recipe. from Ephedrine hydrochloride.
Ephedrine. Ephedrine laws. Ephedrine dangers. Ephedrine side effects. Ephedrine pills. [Read More]

Tracked on June 1, 2009 07:34 PM

» Buy fioricet. from Buy fioricet full information amp low prices.
Buy fioricet bloghoster. Buy fioricet online that ships to missouri. Buy fioricet. [Read More]

Tracked on June 5, 2009 07:06 PM

» Ambein dizziness. from Ambein buydrug phenterminecod phentermineonlin.
Ambein dizziness. Ambein. Ambein buydrug phenterminecod phentermineonlin. [Read More]

Tracked on June 7, 2009 07:32 PM

» Buy vicodin without script. from Buy vicodin no prescription.
Buy vicodin without prescription. Buy cheap no prescription vicodin. Buy vicodin no rx. Buy vicodin without script. Buy vicodin. [Read More]

Tracked on June 10, 2009 07:33 PM

» Oxycodone extraction iv. from Hydrocodone versus oxycodone.
60 mg oxycodone. Hyrocodone oxycodone. Oxycodone reactions. Oxycodone how long in system. Oxycodone cr amnesia. Oxycodone. [Read More]

Tracked on June 12, 2009 04:14 AM

» Cheap lexapro. from Cheap lexapro.
Cheap lexapro. [Read More]

Tracked on June 12, 2009 06:07 PM

» Cheap phentermine. from Cheap phentermine net.
Cheap phentermine. Cheap phentermine no prescription. Phentermine cheap. [Read More]

Tracked on June 13, 2009 06:46 PM

» Buy cheap soma. from Buy cheap soma.
Cheap soma. Soma buy soma cheap soma soma online. [Read More]

Tracked on June 14, 2009 07:14 PM

» Oxycodone online. from Oxycodone online.
Online prescription oxycodone. Oxycodone online without a prescription. Oxycodone online. [Read More]

Tracked on June 15, 2009 03:17 AM

» Ambein. from Ambein.
Ambein suicide. Ambein. Ambein dizziness. Ambein buydrug phenterminecod phentermineonlin. [Read More]

Tracked on June 25, 2009 02:14 PM

» Symptoms vicodin addiction. from Vicodin.
Vicodin. [Read More]

Tracked on June 26, 2009 02:55 PM

» Tramadol buy. from Buy tramadol.
Tramadol cyclophoria buy tramadol generic ultram. Buy tramadol. Buy online cheap and fast tramadol. Buy cheap tramadol mg tablets only in us online. Tramadol great buy. [Read More]

Tracked on June 26, 2009 11:08 PM

» When was xanax created. from Buy xanax without prescription in usa.
Generic xanax no prescription. Xanax. Xanax class action. [Read More]

Tracked on July 13, 2009 01:03 AM

» Elavil. from Half life of elavil.
Elavil ibs. Elavil for dogs. Elavil. [Read More]

Tracked on July 15, 2009 01:43 AM

» Celebrex dosage. from Celebrex.
Celebrex side effects. Side effects celebrex. Bloody toenails and celebrex. Celebrex. [Read More]

Tracked on July 18, 2009 03:08 AM

» Vicodin. from Vicodin.
Vicodin. Vicodin no prescription. Vicodin addiction. [Read More]

Tracked on July 22, 2009 02:02 PM

» Adderall. from Buy adderall without a prescription.
Adderall. Who makes adderall. [Read More]

Tracked on July 22, 2009 05:50 PM

» Order phentermine phentermine online. from Buy phentermine mg.
Phentermine. Phentermine no prescription. Phentermine online pharmacy. Free phentermine. Online phentermine. Order phentermine phentermine online. Phentermine cod. [Read More]

Tracked on July 26, 2009 07:37 AM

» Soma seeds. from Soma.
Soma without prescription. Effects of soma. Soma online sales. Soma to florida. Soma. Soma online next day. [Read More]

Tracked on July 27, 2009 02:47 AM