[ale] OT help ENDING unsolicited phone calls

[JD]

On 06/05/2012 12:35 AM, Ron Frazier (ALE) wrote:
> Hi Guys,
> 
> You all are always a good source of geeky info, even if something doesn't relate
> just to Linux. This year, for whatever reason, I've been getting more and more
> unsolicited phone calls, from politicians, charities, surveys, telemarketers,
> etc. They're amounting to several per day, and I'm sick of it. I've exceeded the
> 12 # limit on the block list for comcast phone service, and I'm about to get
> some bigger weapons. I'm thinking of moving from a black list concept, where I
> block what I don't want, to a white list concept, where I allow what I do want.
> Everything else goes to an answering machine.

FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash can easily split your home into friendly extensions
that ring and unknown callers who get mailboxes.

* http://pbxinaflash.net/
* http://www.freepbx.org/

Both of those run well inside a VM or a low powered Atom system for businesses,
so your home phones shouldn't be any issue.

With your own PBX, there is no limit to blocking callers or redirecting them as
you like or lots of other things.

Been using VoIP service over 10 yrs now.  Gone through about 5 different
services.  These days I pay about $5/month and have been extremely happy.
Inbound calls are free. Outbound, I choose if I want extreme quality for a price
or good enough quality for free. I'm pretty sure the provider runs FreeSWITCH
http://www.freeswitch.org/ - another PBX that you can run at home, inside a VM,
if you like.

Comcast was our previous provider, but the issues with their service were
unacceptable to me. Besides the HUGE costs, seems they did system maintenance in
my area every Thursday afternoon, timed to an important weekly call with a
business partner. Dropped calls happened for over 8 months. Calls to complain
just got the "reboot the ETA/ATA" or whatever Comcast called it. Useless.

For those who want an easy, cheaper,  answer, Vonage has a $10/month plan
available with unlimited minutes (residential only). It is a nice starter for
people new to VoIP, provided your broadband is solid. Many people think they
have solid ISP service and discover it is not. Lots of people use Vonage, but
the VoIP crowd usually goes to wholesale accounts for their homes. Sure, it is a
little more hassle and money isn't everything, but if you like to tinker, VoIP
is like a whole new world.

Oddly, as I was typing this, callerid showed a call from a Loganville Insurance
company. No message = blocked number.


The AAUG meets monthly at CBeyond (near Cobb cloverleaf).
http://www.meetup.com/atlaug/ - they lean more towards the professional use of
Asterisk, but there are a few hobbyists too.  Always a fun time. There's much to
learn.