One question that might come to mind is, if Mobicents exists, why would Ernie?

Well, that’s an excellent question. From where I sit, I would answer it like this: If C++ exists, why then have Visual Basic? Well, the answer to both is that sometimes you need to script a solution, and sometimes you need to build it from the ground up. Scripting is excellent for smaller applications and for integration with a bunch of technologies, components, etc. Fully featured development environments are a must for any sort of large feature development, or ones that involve many developers. Mobicents is an implementation of JSLEE, as are offerings from Ubiquity and others. Chances are though, in my office inside a small ISP, the web developer would really, really rather see a Python or TCL API than Java.

There’s really room for both.

Posted by Thomas Howe @ 12:54 pm | Filed Under Lead Stories | 3 Comments

Well, I found this excellent post quoting the leader (Ivelin Ivanov) of Mobicents.org. For those of you who don’t follow it, mobicents is an open source implementation of a JSLEE platform. From their site:

Posted by Thomas Howe @ 12:47 pm | Filed Under Lead Stories | 1 Comment

Sometimes speaking is easier than writing - Adam Uzelac interviewed me for his podcast. I’ve tried to put down some of where I think Ernie is going - have a listen.

Posted by Thomas Howe @ 5:58 pm | Filed Under Lead Stories | Leave a Comment

Hey - a big shout out to cape.com, for agreeing to sponsor the Ernie server. Currently got plans to unveil the big Ernie site right after New Year’s… so now Ernie has a home. Thanks!

Posted by Thomas Howe @ 2:03 pm | Filed Under Lead Stories | Leave a Comment

This is an excellent one from Alec. Basically, a standard way to make payments from your phone using a PayPal Web 2.0 API. Just press *P.

Posted by Thomas Howe @ 2:01 pm | Filed Under Lead Stories | Leave a Comment

More examples of great applications that Ernie could enable, and supporting Adam’s thoughts, this time described by Om Malik. The future will certainly contain multi-player games.

Posted by Thomas Howe @ 11:07 am | Filed Under Lead Stories | 1 Comment

Jon’s looking for those applications too… from his blog:

The best takeaway message for me was the importance of having applications that cater to the specific needs of a law firm. Peter explains how it’s great to use VoIP to replicate what they had before - law firms are not early adopters, and are not looking for the multimedia richness of IP - at least now. However, what he’s looking forward to are third party apps that can help him address specific problems, such as billing - something lawyers are quite fond of. In the TDM world, this simply wasn’t possible or practical, but with IP it’s easy, and Peter looks forward to being able to pick and choose apps from various developers that suit him just right.

Peter certainly echoes the importance of apps being the real drivers of value, and the same story will hold for countless other vertical markets. So, for all the developers out there, this podcast should be a good listen.

Posted by Thomas Howe @ 10:47 am | Filed Under Lead Stories | 2 Comments

Or getting there… I’m busy documenting the basics of Ernie on my site, and will forward that link when I’m done. Until then, look! Ernie has a rough architecture diagram!

Posted by Thomas Howe @ 10:35 am | Filed Under Lead Stories | 1 Comment

From an e-mail conversation with Adam Uzelac, a whole host of potential Ernie applications… Not fully baked, but very exciting…

How about this one…think houseingmaps.com - I am a person that is
looking to buy a house in an area that I do not know. So as I am
driving around looking at the general areas, I enable Ernie as my
“housing agent”. I get fed not only the location of houses that are for
sale in the area that I just stumbled on, but I also select the one that
interests me, and I get an IVR that calls me up and spews info about
house - like a verbal walk-thru. This Ernie-app was invoked once I
found the area of interest. Could couple in a “click to call rep” like
feature - though I do have to say that I think Real Estate Agents aren’t
worth what they get paid - but I digress….

Another one might be a weather advisory service, similar to the old
sirens that would sound when there was a Tornado sighting. (I grew up in
Michigan) Ernie is tied into some local weather source, and based on
input from that, a SIP-based “siren” alerts subscribers.

How about via Paypal API - and some PINcode-like authorization, being
able to make a purchase somewhere, with a audio and textual
confirmation. This one I am not so sure about - but just brainstorming.

I betcha there’s a TON of applicability in the gaming world. Think of a
‘Live game’ that involves location, SIP-based calls, and live status on
a frappr map. DND-like: (Phone) “You have an alley within a mile, and
an enemy also within a mile in the opposite location.” (/Phone) and you
have to decide where to go. Treasure Hunt: (Phone), “Your getting
warmer…” (/Phone).

Just some thoughts…..

Posted by Thomas Howe @ 10:32 am | Filed Under Lead Stories | 3 Comments

A note to all of you out there: here’s a pretty interesting site looking to rank the VoIP providers in the world, based on price. What’s even more interesting is the criteria they use for ranking : price. Hmmmm…. Alec is right. We are acting like a commodity market.

Posted by Thomas Howe @ 10:24 am | Filed Under Lead Stories | 1 Comment

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