As a foreword, I’d like to advise that this article is a bit technical. If you have queries or would like more details, drop a comment and I’ll be happy to provide further explanations.

I’ve recently come across a softphone that works on Linux, iPhone and Android phones: Linphone. It’s open source and free of charge.

I’ve only tried it on Linux Ubuntu so far (if iPhones and Android users want to give it a go, I’m all ears about your feedback) and I definitely enjoyed its “ease of use” and quick setup.

One of its other features that is interesting for tech-minded people is that you can handle calls with command lines. This feature can be turned into something powerful when used in scripts.

If you’re not a Blueface customer yet and are simply looking for information about Linphone, do not hesitate to check out our services. We’re providing residential phone services and business VoIP solutions, as well as other extra services. Maybe you can give Blueface a go along with Linphone.

Here is a quick setup guide for the Ubuntu client :

1. Install the dependencies from Synaptic Package Manager: speex, libosip2, libeXosip2
2. Still from Synaptic Package Manager, install : linphone
3. After installation, you can find the app in your menu : Applications > Internet > Linphone
4. To setup your Blueface account, go to the menu : Linphone > Preferences > ‘Manage SIP Accounts’
5. There you need to add a new “proxy account” :

Your SIP Identity will be : sip:YOUR_BLUEFACE_SIP_USERNAME@sip.blueface.ie

SIP Proxy Address is : sip:sip.blueface.ie

Registration duration : 113

From there you should be able to call out using your Blueface account.

If you want to use the console interface, you need a few more steps:

1. Quit the client if you have it open, to make sure your SIP settings won’t conflict.
2. Open a terminal and run : ‘linphonec’ (notice the ‘c’ at the end)
3. You need to add your SIP details again, for that run the command : ‘proxy add’
4. You’ll be prompted for the same parameters as mentioned above, for the graphical version.
5. Follow the prompts and validate.

You should start seeing successful registrations messages.

To call, run the command : call <number>

For example : call 012222222

Don’t forget to end the call, by running : terminate

One draw back I’ve noticed is that the same configuration file is used by both the GUI and the console and both interfaces tend to erase the configuration of the other, so you can only use one, basically. The config file is in ~.linphonerc.

You can get more information about this tool from this page: linphonec

Do not hesitate to drop a comment if you need help in setting this up. If you are working on an application that makes use of this commands feature, let us know!

Guillaume

Blueface CTO, Aaron Clauson, started some years ago a project that allowed mangling with multiple SIP accounts with a single SIP phone. One of the particularities of this project was the fact that it handles only SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) signaling, rather than signaling AND media (ie: audio streams), which enables a fantastic flexibility when it comes to managing calls.

My SIP Switch was born!

My SIP Switch

This project has come a long way since its early days. It is now fully open source (freely available online at : SIP Sorcery Source),  regular blog news are posted regularly (SIP Sorcery Blog ) ,  more than 12.000 messages have been posted on the forum and about 1.000 people are using the application online every day.

The name of this project changed to SIP Sorcery recently (June 2009) along with a major backend and frontend update!

SIP Sorcery the Ruby of VoIP.

The great strength of SIP Sorcery resides in its Ruby (programming language) dial plans, out of which an almost endless lists of call related features can be designed by a creative and tech-savvy mind.  The tool can be used for very simple PBX tasks such as “find me follow me” (also called : Call Hunting) or time based call forwarding to more advanced features such as ENUM lookups,  Google Voice integration or Voxeo IVRs integration. These features make of SIP Sorcery one of the best web PBX solutions available and best of all, it’s FREE.

With multiple SIP accounts registered to SIP Sorcery, you can receive and manage the calls from many different phone numbers easily. For outgoing calls, you can chose the SIP account that will be used when dialing out. That’s another great benefit since you can call out using your provider that has the best rate for the actual destination.

SIP Sorcery can be installed on your computer or used directly online. There are still regular improvements and new features added to the software so it is more for experimenting than for a production system as of now but the feedback we are getting from the community of users predicts SIP Sorcery quite a bright future.

Some  famous VoIP related open source projects have become complete products with major added value mainly thanks to their community of users and developers (Asterisk, Open SER, SIP Foundry…). Blueface has been sponsoring My SIP Switch (hardware, website, as well as some development) since the end of 2006 because we believe there is an enormous potential in this application.

For more information : My SIP Switch / SIP Sorcery

Guillaume