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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice read to explore VoIP for organizations..., September 25, 2005
This review is from: VoIP For Dummies (For Dummies (Computers)) (Paperback)
Businesses and organizations have the potential of saving large numbers of dollars if they move to running their phone system with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). But to pull it off, you really do need to have an understanding of how it all fits. VoIP For Dummies by Timothy V. Kelly does a nice job of getting you there.
Contents:
Part 1 - VoIP Basics: Getting Down to Business with VoIP; VoIP: Not Your Father's Telephone Service; Everything You Need to Know About Charges
Part 2 - Taking VoIP to Your Network: Road Map to VoIP Transports and Services; Getting Switched; Going Broadband; We're Dedicated; Going Wireless; Using VoIP on the Internet; Telephones and VoIP
Part 3 - Making the Move to VoIP: Simplifying Cost Management; Locations Galore; Setting Up the Smaller Office; Providing Dollars and Support for VoIP
Part 4 - The Part of Tens: Ten Reasons Why Your Company Should Switch to VoIP; Ten Reasons Why You Should Switch to VoIP at Home; Ten VoIP Myths; Ten VoIP Manufacturers
Part 5 - Appendixes: VoIP Providers; Glossary
Index
I've had the opportunity to read and review a number of VoIP books lately. Many of them have been more geared towards the consumer application of VoIP with services like Skype and Vonage. The business titles have been more into technical details of VoIP implementations in an organization. This book fills a nice niche on the business side. Kelly effectively takes the reader through phone technology, both past and present. Building on that information, he then transitions into how VoIP offers alternative solutions that save a lot of money. The book doesn't go into details on packages like Vonage, but you'll walk away understanding the entire spectrum of phone systems and how to plan for a successful VoIP implementation.
I'd see this book being a good read for a networking or communications professional who wants to explore VoIP for their company. It'd also be a good read for someone who wants to put VoIP to work for them in their house, but also want to know exactly how phone systems work. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who just saw a Vonage commercial and wants to sign up right now. There are better titles out there for those types of consumers.
Bottom line... really good read for the right audience. I don't think I've seen a book this readable that explains telephony in a way that makes it understandable for someone who hasn't worked for Ma Bell for years...
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Introductory Book, November 9, 2005
This review is from: VoIP For Dummies (For Dummies (Computers)) (Paperback)
The basic technology of the conventional telephone system has been around since the very beginning. You make a call and you get a dedicated communications channel to the instrument at the other end. And in the beginning that was indeed a physical wire. This wiring circuit was physically switched to your phone and stayed there until you hung up. Later Bell Labs was set up to discover how to get more signals through a wire than just one message at a time. Everyone knew that you could get more signal through a wire than just one phone call. And running all that wire was expensive, especially when it ran underwater across the Atlantic.
Step forward a few decades. The internet isn't circuit switched like this. Instead it's packet switched. A packet of data has it's own address as to where it's supposed to go and is thrown up on the network. It makes its way to the intended receiver. That's the way this message got to you. Suppose instead that that packet was a little tidbit of digitized voice. With the proper instrument on the receiving end (let's call it a telephone) the data is converted back into voice.
That's what VOIP is all about. To learn the details, buy this book. It's a complete description of what it's all about from equipment, procedures, and a bit of the background technology.
Only one last comment -- keep at least one regular, old fashioned, hard wired (not cordless) telephone around. If you have a fire, that knocks the power out, you want something that will let you call 911. Note that the authors say the same thing on pages 44 & 225.
Well, one more last thing. The cost savings on VOIP are difficult to estimate. SBC just came around here and offered 500 minutes a month of nationwide long distance for $10 a month. But if Grandma or the Grandkids live overseas, the cost savings are great. The book talks about this on page 50.
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17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
VERY High Level Stuff, October 22, 2005
This review is from: VoIP For Dummies (For Dummies (Computers)) (Paperback)
This book isn't for technical people looking to implement a VoIP solution. It doesn't even define the terms one typically finds in eBay auction descriptions. For example, a typical description for a VoIP phone contains statements like:
- Support popular vocoders including G.723.1 (5.3K/6.3K), G.729A/B, G.711 (a-law and u-law), G.726, G.728, and wide-band G.722 (Model 102D).
- Support Silence Suppression, VAD (Voice Activity Detection), CNG (Comfort Noise Generation), Line Echo Cancellation (G.168), and AGC (Automatic Gain Control)
There is no introduction to this terminology in the book. Only a few paragraphs on SIP and nothing on H.323, SCCP, or IAX. Nothing about setting up gateways or servers. No mention of Asterisk or Digium cards or Skype.
According to the back cover the author is a business professor which is likely the reason for the lack of technical material. I get the impression he is well-versed in traditional telephony systems but his actual hands-on experience with VoIP systems is very limited if it exists at all.
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