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Linux Business

Submission + - Which Asterisk or other VoIP System to Deploy?

ubercombatwombat writes: Which Asterisk or other VoIP System to Deploy?



I am probably going to get flamed a bit here. 9 NOV 2006 I have a meeting to discuss an Asterisk based phone system for a new elementary school. I am the network admin for the district.

Currently, we are one migrating from a T-1 based Nortel (option 61, 2 x option 11 and 7 x Norstar 8x32's, for those who care) to 1GB Data fiber and a 2nd pair per site-to allow simple(r) copper to fiber for the split T-1/Norstar's. We also just got a 10MB (scalable to 100MB) connect to the Internet. I can keep the VoIP basically on a seperate network if need be as well.

So, here are the questions I have come up with:

What do I install? Are there there Asterisk vendors that are available and have enough experience?

Keep in mind that E911 is priority one for any brand or type. No exceptions. Otherwise, the field is fairly open.

I see it two ways. 1) A Cisco system or Shortel system — Education budgets vary wildly from year to year and reoccurring cost have to be kept down.

2) Hybrid of Cisco, Snom or Polycom handsets with a custom Asterisk box with good third party support. I see a few options such as Fonality or Digium. There are a few online companies I would consider — kerryg, various Aussies and UncleWard if he were for hire.

Hardware support we can handle fine.

So, what and who? I won't go there without third party support.

Trixbox may or may not be what I use. I have had systems going 24/7 for over a year and am very happy but the products future is unclear just now.

I'd love to get some advice.
Security

Submission + - How to inform a company of a security discovery?

An anonymous reader writes: I recently found a major security flaw through serendipitous independent research. I do not want to go into details, but it could be used against certain companies and have a large negative financial impact. However, I have no wish to use this for malicious purposes, and would rather profit by helping the company fix the problem. Seeing as many researchers have been persecuted/prosecuted lately for public disclosure, what is the best way to go about informing the company and agreeing on an appropriate fee for my services, without having it look as though I am trying to extort them?

Note to editors: Yes I am serious! This is an important topic these days.. so please post this to Ask Slashdot, as I am sure the readers will have some helpful advice for me. :) Thank you!

E-voting State By State 186

jcatcw writes "One-third of Americans will use voting machines next week that have never before served in a general election. Computerworld.com provides an overview of e-voting in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia — equipment, systems for voter registration, polling, significant legal challenges to the systems, previous media coverage, links to government watchdog sites, the vendors, technologies and laws that are important to the issue, and a review of 'Hacking Democracy.'"
User Journal

Journal Journal: A good ending to a bad night - a rollercoaster 4th of July 5

I think that I've said before that I'm a volunteer fireman (that's as close of a thing to a hobby as I have :) ). My wife is an EMT on the volunteer ambulance service. On Monday evening, July 3rd, we were paged out to search for a 3 year old girl who wandered off into a corn field.

A DNA Database For All U.S. Workers? 625

fragmer writes "New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg suggested a plan on Wednesday that would establish a DNA or fingerprint database to track and verify all legal U.S. workers. The mayor said DNA and fingerprint technology could be used to create a worker ID database that will 'uniquely identify the person' applying for a job, ensuring that cards are not illegally transferred or forged. Bloomberg compared his proposed federal identification database to the Social Security card, insisting that such a system would not violate citizens' privacy and was not a civil liberties issue."
User Journal

Journal Journal: 2005 Tax Year review

Just a couple of thoughts after finishing up 2005 taxes

- If you live in Iowa, check your withholding. It's rarely "right on" in the best of circumstances, but in July of last year the state treasurer adjusted the withholding tables to "allow you to keep more of your money." I guess that was meant until taxes were due.

The Pandemic vs. the IT Department 181

ElsaBorzoi wrote to mention a Network World article suggesting some pandemic preparations for your IT department. From the article: "A survey last month of 300 Minnesota business officials found most thought a flu pandemic would significantly affect their business, but only 18% had preparedness plans in place. The poll sponsored by the University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy found that close to two thirds said they were already prepared or somewhat prepared to move employees to remote locations or let them work at home, while 29% said they were not prepared. The H5N1 influenza virus, which originated in Asia, could hit the U.S. this fall, potentially causing an epidemic, the nation's chief avian flu coordinator warned."

Cassini Finds Evidence of Water 167

CheshireCatCO writes "Scientists working on the Cassini Mission think that they have found compelling evidence for the existence of liquid water at the south pole of the moon Enceladus. In addition to the obvious puzzles relating to how temperatures can be held high enough for liquid water, the presence of water, as well as the detection of organic molecules, opens up the possibility for life at Enceladus's south polar region. The findings are to appear in the 10 March issue of the journal, Science"
User Journal

Journal Journal: RAGBRAI

I live and work in a small town in northern Iowa (population around 600), and today RAGBRAI came through town.

RAGBRAI is a bicycle ride across Iowa that has been sponsored by the Des Moines Register for about 30 years now. From what I understand, about 10,000 riders participate in the event.

User Journal

Journal Journal: I hate lightning

We had a nice little thunderstorm pass through the area at about 5am this morning. We got about an inch of rain before it stopped raining (before 7am) - and we needed it. The farmers call this type of rain a "million dollar rain" - because it came at exactly the right time as far as the corn is concerned.

It also brought some fairly sharp lightning.

User Journal

Journal Journal: Thoughts on a Homeland Security meeting 2

I am a volunteer fireman and ambulance driver in my hometown. Last night, we had one of the state fire marshals in town giving a talk on homeland security, terrorism, and bombings. One may think that this has no place in small town Iowa, but he did have some stuff to look out for.
User Journal

Journal Journal: TykeClone's First Commandment 1

Thou shalt reboot thine hardware from time to time.

Meaning: It is indeed right that one should, from time to time, reboot his IT hardware for it cures all manners of ills. Furthermore, if one is experiencing problems with the device, one should reboot the hardware and see if the problem continues before calling technical support.

Mozilla

Journal Journal: Of Firefox and Slashdot 1

I've been running the Firefox browser for a while and have had the same issues with Slashdot that everyone else is having.

Yesterday, when trying to load a freaking page correctly, I tried something different. Normally, I'd either been refreshing the page or going back and re-clicking the link.

Yesterday, I hit the "page back" button followed by the "page forward" button and everything loaded correctly. It's worked 100% since then.

Slashdot Top Deals

Top Ten Things Overheard At The ANSI C Draft Committee Meetings: (5) All right, who's the wiseguy who stuck this trigraph stuff in here?

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