Comments on: Add SUSHI to Your Asterisk Server for Rock-Solid, Secure VoIP Telephony

By: KieranMullen

KieranMullen — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 08:18:26 +0000

The charge is fine and warranted (could even be more!) and I also believe that PBXIAF people put in their time…. however who really provides more completed work to the table? PBXIAF or Asterisk and FreePBX? it is nice that you are throwing them a bone when they are not getting any, but that is all it seems all that they are being given. If Asterisk or FreePBX did not provide software, where would this project be?

[WM: When you play in the open source game, you understand the deal going in. At least we’re providing some compensation which is more than you can say for some. 🙄 ]

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 05:22:27 +0000

I am definitely ready for some of that SUSHI love. Mmmmm. Gotta love the SUSHI! &B^)

By: Irving Isler

Irving Isler — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:55:53 +0000

Considering just how much money we’ve saved with PiaF, I’d wholeheartedly subscribe to keep the project going.

Great work!

By: Eric Weaver

Eric Weaver — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 02:44:12 +0000

Ward, I am 100% for your plan. Software developers need to eat, too!

By: Michael Rice

Michael Rice — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:16:19 +0000

I dont mind that you are going to charge some money, cheers to you and I hope that you are able to keep the project funded. I just want to make sure I understand this though, so in a sense y'all are just going to be providing us with crippleware for free and to keep from being a security risk we have to pay to play? [WM: You haven't quite got it, Michael. Nothing in our distribution is crippleware. Everything works out of the box, and the ISO distribution is ALWAYS current with the latest versions of everything we can find. If you've already installed an ISO of PBX in a Flash and want to keep it current for years to come using our Software Update Service rather than search for and install all of the updates yourself, then you can sign up for SUSHI. Or, if you prefer, you can download a new, current ISO any time you like at no cost and have the latest and greatest build. ]

By: WAudette

WAudette — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 01:11:32 +0000

I like the idea. My customers will like this idea. I’ll be tracking this closely as the project moves forward.

William…

By: Sergio Cury

Sergio Cury — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:39:44 +0000

Ward;

A lot of very good projects died in the past and still die because of lack of funds. We don’t want to happen here.

I think this is a good idea. At least we will know that the project will continue to move forward.

I am on it.

Best regards.

By: Ken

Ken — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:27:56 +0000

I'm not sure I quite understand this. So, you are saying that PBX in a Flash will still retain use of the update-scripts, update-fixes and update-source utilities? And you will have a voluntary pay service which provides those exact same utilities? I don't quite get it. Asking for donations is one thing but asking for people to pay for something they are already getting is kind of goofy and it makes me think there is something else going on which isn't being mentioned. So, what am I missing? How does the pay service differ from using a non-pay PBX in a Flash system? [WM: Update-fixes and update-source would become the new SUSHI service and would no longer be available without a subscription under this proposal. All users would retain the ability to download and install anything else they desire at any time. And the ISO and payload install will continue to be current and free to download as often as you like. Hope that clarifies things. If not, visit this thread.]

By: Reginald W

Reginald W — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:43:38 +0000

Interesting concept that you have come up with. It keeps the software open source but provides a service to keep it current that people subscribe to if they want to. Considering the security implications of someone breaking into a system tied onto the internet, and the cost implications of that happening, and the need to find and fix bugs that most people do not take the time to do, I think you have a good solution.
That you support your own efforts AND support those other OSS efforts that you rely upon is great. The only thing you may find is that there are other groups that are creating utilities or software that you use as part of PBX-in-a-Flash who will say "where is my share?" Any time money comes out, everyone wants their piece of the action.
Do you have a few dollars extra or part of the $30.00 that is set aside for those other modules that make up PBXIAF? What happens when you add in a new module? What happens if you REMOVE a module? What happens if one of you get in a fight over someone’s inclusion of a module and swap one module out for someone else’s module that does nearly the same thing but differently?
I’m not knocking your SUSHI system, just giving you feedback on what I think is what would raise a ruckus from those who contrbute code who might feel slighted from not getting any "love" (ie. money) back for their contributions and go off in a huff. Overall I like the concept and for a phone system, $30.00 per server is more than fair.
How will a "development" server or a backup server be handled? So if I have a single server in use plus a backup server to install if the first blows up, is that $30 or $60? What if I have a single server, a backup server and a developmental/play/testing server? Is that $90?
Who is going to handle the money? Cynical people will point out any flaws and possible "corruption" of the money handling process.
Notification of termination of service, length of time to allow for payment, reinstatement of service for those cut off, etc. Look at rental software (equipment, mailbox, etc) as one model for ideas on what might be needed to look at on this. Take what you come up with and add it into the mix of your solution.
More detail on these and other questions/issues that others will raise will get it all sorted out, eventually. Hope my comments help and good luck with it. I thiknk it is fair and you have been way generous with your time and efforts in the time I’ve been reading things here on Nervvittles.
Take care.

[WM: You’ve raised a number of interesting points. First, we’re not contributing to other projects as a payment for code. We’re trying to do our small part to fund future development of projects we care about. And the list and contribution amounts may change from time to time, and we’re not going to make any ironclad promises to always do this or that. In short, it will be a voluntary contribution from the PBX in a Flash project, *NOT* an entitlement for recipients. As you appreciate, we obviously can’t please everyone with the contributions, but we’re the only ones proposing to do much of anything so something is certainly better than nothing. And we’ll try very hard not to act like the Soup Nazi.

As for SUSHI itself, our service will come with the same fine warranty that you get from Microsoft and everyone else, i.e. none. But we will do our best to keep people’s systems current and safe. The SUSHI payment is a contribution toward labor costs. It funds the SUSHI project and our future development efforts by making it less necessary to do outside work which takes time away from the PBX in a Flash project. It’s most definitely *NOT* insurance. It’s assistance and nothing more. As for pricing, none of that has been decided, but my guess would be that, if you have 3 servers that you want to enroll in the SUSHI program, that’s 3 x $30. Of course you don’t have to enroll all three servers in the SUSHI program unless you want to. Thanks for your comments.]

By: Wolf N. Paul

Wolf N. Paul — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:23:07 +0000

I just implemented PBX in a Flash at an international K-12 school here in Vienna, Austria, and we would certainly be willing to pay such a modest amount for professional update service.