Month: October 2018

Basics on the ROLM CBX

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This film made c 1980 shows how the ROLM CBX works. The CBX stood for the Computerized Branch Exchange and it differed from other phone systems that signaled the devices and machines differently. ROLM didn’t care about “dumbing down” the content to make it easier to understand. Despite the cute character, the intent in these engineering focused companies was to keep it highly technical.

For whatever reason the company did very well until the suits from New York decided to go into phone systems and then destroy it within several years, just like what AT&T did to NCR in the early 1990s. IBM (yes that same IBM that believed people needed to be “computer literate” to use a large mainframe) really lacked the telephony and innovative literacy to help pull them out into their misery in the early 1990s.

Siemens would later buy them out and use ROLM’s brains and talent to replace their existing offerings and inherited many of ROLM’s designs, and other tangible assets that made ROLM what they were for a period of time.

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POTD: Polycom VVX 310 SIP Telephone

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This is a revised post of the VVX SIP sets I got from the street of a business that relocated in fall of 2016. I was able to tell that they were using Comcast’s SIP services by looking at the config screens. Of which, I do not prefer if I wanted to use a cloud phone system with less than 20 phones. Security wise, it scares me. I recently acquired some SIP phones for work purposes, and they came from second hand complete with a Ring Central handle and password. The seller is lucky I wouldn’t do anything illegal like toll fraud. I always recommend SIP Proxy services when possible. SIP Proxies are basically the modern day “splitter” since VOIP is all software base. Even Free and Open Source Software can do this for free on existing store-bought routers.

Complete with the 6 call appearances, line appearances, but only up to 6! and 4 softkeys that can only go up to 4 features! Also a Gigabit connectivity is great if you want speed without sacrificing using Fast Ethernet.

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Hey SEOs! We're seeking non pricky engineers/professional information services professionals, non technical people, AND girl power! females from 18 to 35 too!

 

 

 

POTD: Avaya 9650 IP Deskphone

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This little fancy gadget is the 9650 IP Deskphone from Avaya. Introduced in 2006, to replace the 6 year old 4600 Series; these phones were initially thought of as clones to Cisco given some of the similarities. This was also Avaya’s first sets to move away from the simple to use user interface, to the flip phone like functionality (to change ringers, you do not press Conference when idling, and most one touch features doubled or doubled in a half.) Sadly the legacy AT&T, then Lucent to become Avaya’s simple, telephone line focused digital or IP sets were never applauded. (This is why I rave this company I used to kinda favor.)

In 2008, similar paper-desi sets came along as the 1600 Series, and digital sets 9500 and 9400 series and 1400 series for paper desis. In the Avaya world, people like to choose to express how they want to assign their buttons. In color and their own words. Some sets that use screens instead do not allow the systems administrator to use their own form of assigning buttons. If you want to put blame, blame the customer, but remember the customer is the one whose right, not the vendor at least in traditional American business norms.

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POTD: Aastra 390 PowerTouch

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Via Joe the UCX Guy from 2016, if memory serves me.

It’s alive and well. This is an older telset from October 22nd, 2002. Private label from Shoreline Communications that would become ShoreTel that in full circle merged with Mitel just over a year ago whom of which also acquired Aastra a few years back.

Go ahead and make your head spin as I still can’t get over how Polycom and Plantronics tied the knot and a distro company buying the source code (Sagnoma/Free PBX> Digium/Asterisk.) These were just within year to date mergers.

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POTD – Polycom 3xx – Londonderry, NH Fire Department – Central Station

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I grew up in this town in part of my young life. I don’t really miss the town that much, but as a kid, I had toured the legendary Central Station of the Londonderry, NH Fire Department. In recent years, the South Fire station built a new base and relocated, and the North Fire station was demolished and became a parking lot for the Senior Center, and was relocated closer to MHT, the large airport north of Boston.

I say legendary for Central because it looked much bigger as a preschooler. As an adult it looks really small. Just look below.

Earlier in the year, I guess they did a 40 minute reel of selling the idea of renovating their department. They even have their own web site, so I guess it passed some town election.

But hey you came here for the phones. In a bathroom!

Guess I’m not the only one right?

And yet I see another (with a Motorola radio, which is understandable.)

On a side note, you may wanted to know how the Town of Londonderry went to VOIP? It goes back all the way to the year 2000, when the town’s board, the Town Council, out of plain silliness approved for a 10 year, $1 million dollar contract with Verizon, the RBOC for New Hampshire for the time… for what?  A Centrex contract! Ironically the Town used NEC’s Onyx Key based phone systems, so why the need for Centrex?

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