tiger's ichat to feature telephone functionnality?

boubabouba
Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
I just read that on the iMac's software page :



Quote:

Answer incoming voice calls on V.92 modems.



What is that? a voice modem in the new imac? This is listed in the software pane of the imac G5's description. Does this imply a new software? does it imply an update to ichat that would allow us to answer normal telephone with ichat? We might be able to see caller id for ground line as it is available for bluetooth phones (synchronized with the addressbook!)



What do you guys think? can anyone confirm the voice modem of the imac?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Er, V.92 is just a normal modem, as always. Voice over modem is pretty standard these days, the days of a special 'voice modem' are long gone. (And I had one for my PowerBook 180... )
  • Reply 2 of 11
    badtzbadtz Posts: 949member
    when did apple start adding voice-capable modems? [just now?]



    because I don't think my Powerbook 667 DVI is capable of that .... or maybe so?



  • Reply 3 of 11
    johnqjohnq Posts: 2,763member
    This thread needs a serious renaming. It is a misleading feature tease as it is currently worded.
  • Reply 4 of 11
    boubabouba Posts: 33member
    no, I'm wondering if ichat will feature ground line feature and ip telephony ala Skype. ichat is their communication application, so logically, a feature that would add telephony to the new imac would get included in iChat.



    Why are they advertising this functionality? is it just because the modem is capable of doing it, or because there would be software provided to do it?



    ichat is integrated with the address book, so it already has a way to map phone numbers to a buddy. They could only add an entry in the popup menu to call over the phone line...



    They could also add the same functionality as Skype, with the apple id to charge for the long distance fees.





    that's just what I think... if it's possible with current hardware, why not make it??
  • Reply 5 of 11
    talksense101talksense101 Posts: 1,738member
    A product like Skype cannot be created by an organization like Apple. They will get into legal trouble with the telephone companies. Skype is trying to maintain a low profile and build up an enormous user base that will force change on the policy makers. I think that since Skype is peer-to-peer, it also circumvents some of the legal issues. Personally, I recommend that we encourage products like Skype while Apple provides basic inter-operability with products like AIM, MSN, etc.
  • Reply 6 of 11
    amoryaamorya Posts: 1,103member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by talksense101

    A product like Skype cannot be created by an organization like Apple. They will get into legal trouble with the telephone companies.



    Why?



    (Not doubting you, just curious).



    It was on the news recently that in the UK, Oftel have approved a range of phone numbers for Voice over IP calls. I reckon that, combined with the rise of broadband, this tech will become bigger.



    Amorya
  • Reply 7 of 11
    mmmpiemmmpie Posts: 628member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Bouba

    What is that? a voice modem in the new imac? This is listed in the software pane of the imac G5's description. Does this imply a new software? does it imply an update to ichat that would allow us to answer normal telephone with ichat? We might be able to see caller id for ground line as it is available for bluetooth phones (synchronized with the addressbook!)





    I was very excited for a second, but when I read it I interpret it as referring to external modems connected to a usb port. Just previously they talk about being able to fax from your imac, but voice is relegated to a section on IO optoins? Also the use of plural 'modems' makes me think they are talking about 3rd party ones.



    Its a shame. The apple modems are soft modems, and I dont see any reason why they couldnt process voice as well as data.
  • Reply 8 of 11
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    *sigh*



    They can already. That was the entire reason I posted what I did earlier. The hardware is already there, has been for a while. No USB dongle needed.
  • Reply 9 of 11
    talksense101talksense101 Posts: 1,738member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Amorya

    Why?



    It was on the news recently that in the UK, Oftel have approved a range of phone numbers for Voice over IP calls. I reckon that, combined with the rise of broadband, this tech will become bigger.



    Amorya



    It is still very early in the adoption cycle. The US, UK and some more countries are ahead of the crowd in this area, but I don't think policies have been set globally for usage of VOIP.
  • Reply 10 of 11
    mmmpiemmmpie Posts: 628member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Kickaha

    *sigh*



    They can already. That was the entire reason I posted what I did earlier. The hardware is already there, has been for a while. No USB dongle needed.



    But they dont have any software support for voice, or any of the other niceties of a modern modem ( caller id etc ). Before the soft modems all of this was handled in hardware, and thats what the old mac modems did. I dont think Apple has shipped voice software with their modems since the change ( excluding the old geo port modems ).



    What surprises me is that nobody has released a more competent software set for these modems. It might be a niche, but it is real enough that there are people producing hardware solutions.



    My hope was simply that Apple had finally gotten round to doing this themselves.
  • Reply 11 of 11
    davegeedavegee Posts: 2,765member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by johnq

    This thread needs a serious renaming. It is a misleading feature tease as it is currently worded.



    Imagine that, a thread worded with a misleading tease tone? Color me shocked!
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