Hi Janina, Thanks so much for taking the time to write such a comprehensive response. It was well worth the wait. :)
It sounds like my needs are very similar to yours. I, too, need a specific phone number that clients can call, and would like to be able to receive calls from anywhere, either on my Mac or my iPhone.. I don't need a group platform, such as that of Zoom. I currently use Skype, and yes, it does allow for making and receiving calls from the PSTN. But I have become unhappy with the changes Microsoft has implemented in the interface, so have begun to look at other options. I like FaceTime, but it has the limitations that you mentioned, and Also does not allow one to obtain a separate phone number. It sounds like the solution you use runs under Linux, not Mac. Am I reading that correctly? Again, thanks for taking the time to write such a lengthy answer to my question. Cheers, Donna > On Dec 26, 2017, at 3:07 AM, 'Janina Sajka' via MacVisionaries > <macvisionaries@googlegroups.com> wrote: > > Hi, Donna: > > My apologies for the slow response. I've been distracted by noncomputer > responsibilities these past few weeks. > > To answer your question I'd need to know a bit more what your needs > are. Let me explain: > > Probably the most widely known soft phone is Skype. Howegver, I myself > don't use Skype. Depending on your platform, you might find Skype > accessible--or not. For instance it's not accessible on Linux today. > > On Apple products we have Face Time. I've used it slightly, and my > experience suggest it's accessibility is excellent. > > There are other soft phone clients that people use for voice communications > such as Face Book's Whatsapp, or > Cisco's GoToMeeting or their Webex product. Accessibility of these > varies from very accessible, e.g. Webex on Android, to not very > accessible for anyone even when you're not using assistive technology, > e.g. Webex on Mac. > > Now, my situation is somewhat different. I have the particular > requirement for an old fashioned phone number. I need the ability to > recieve calls from any phone anywhere, and to call any traditional > telephone number anywhere. I do this in two ways using the SIP protocol > and a gateway service that routes calls between my SIP devices and the > standard telephony world, usually abrieviated PSTN, which stands for > "Public Switched Telephone Network." > > 1.) I have hard ware devices that look all the world like old > fashioned telephones, but they're different. They're hardware SIP > phones, and they connect over computer type network cables--what we call > Cat5 (or Cat6) ethernet cables. > > My current device of choice is the Snom D715, primarily because > it's able to use IPv6, where Polycom phones do not. I have not > investigated use of the SIP handsets from Digium--though they're > on my list to look at the next time I'm in the market for a > hardware phone. > > 2.) I use linphone, and sometimes the fs_cli application > provided by FreeSwitch on my Linux computers for placing and > recieving SIP calls. This functionality is critical to my work > because it allows me to use a high quality headset that connects > to my computer using USB, and still allows me to route the audio > through a 12 channel audio hardware mixer on my desk. This way > I'm able to have my screen reader as well as my telephone > conversation in my ears, without the people I'm talking with > hearing my screen reader. > > Of course SIP phones can be used to place direct calls to other SIP > phones, just like Skype and FaceTime calls can be made to others who are > also using Skype or FaceTime. I believe Skype also provides the ability > to call to and from the PSTN, but I don't know anything specific about > that, or about any similar functionality among the other soft phones > mentioned. > > The biggest problem with all these services is that they don't > interoperate natively, e.g. Webex can't call FaceTime, or vice versa. > The standards world is hoping to solve this with specifications called > WebRTC. Time will tell how that goes. > > Hope this helps! > > Janina > > > Donna Goodin writes: >> Hi all, >> >> I'm directing this question to Janina as she mentioned using a soft phone, >> but would be interested in hearing from anyone else who uses one. >> >> Can anyone recommend good accessible soft phone options? >> TIA, >> Donna >> >> -- >> The following information is important for all members of the Mac >> Visionaries list. >> >> If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if >> you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or >> moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. >> >> Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor. You can reach mark at: >> macvisionaries+modera...@googlegroups.com and your owner is Cara Quinn - you >> can reach Cara at caraqu...@caraquinn.com >> >> The archives for this list can be searched at: >> http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries@googlegroups.com/ >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "MacVisionaries" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >> Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > -- > > Janina Sajka, Phone: +1.443.300.2200 > sip:jan...@asterisk.rednote.net > Email: jan...@rednote.net > > Linux Foundation Fellow > Executive Chair, Accessibility Workgroup: http://a11y.org > > The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) > Chair, Accessible Platform Architectures http://www.w3.org/wai/apa > > -- > The following information is important for all members of the Mac Visionaries > list. > > If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if > you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or > moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. > > Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor. You can reach mark at: > macvisionaries+modera...@googlegroups.com and your owner is Cara Quinn - you > can reach Cara at caraqu...@caraquinn.com > > The archives for this list can be searched at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries@googlegroups.com/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- The following information is important for all members of the Mac Visionaries list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your Mac Visionaries list moderator is Mark Taylor. You can reach mark at: macvisionaries+modera...@googlegroups.com and your owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at caraqu...@caraquinn.com The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries@googlegroups.com/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
