Amiga MA Magazine 1998 #6/amigamamagazinepolishissue1998.iso/www/cucug/amiga/amiinfo/reviews/phonepakvfx.txt

Text File | 1997-11-07 | 14KB | 423 lines

Article 165 of comp.sys.amiga.reviews:
Path: menudo.uh.edu!menudo.uh.edu!usenet
From: [e-mail] (Tony Campbell)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews
Subject: REVIEW: GVP PhonePak VFX 1.01 FAX and Voice Mail System
Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.datacomm
Date: 11 Dec 1992 04:00:56 GMT
Organization: The Amiga Online Review Column - ed. Daniel Barrett
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Keywords: FAX, voice mail, hardware, Zorro, commercial



PRODUCT NAME

    PhonePak VFX 1.01


BRIEF DESCRIPTION

    The PhonePak VFX is an integrated voice mail and FAX system.


AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

    Name:        Great Valley Products (GVP)
    Address:    600 Clark Avenue
            King of Prussia, PA 19406

    Telephone:    [phone]
    FAX:        [phone]
        BBS:        [phone]


LIST PRICE

    $449 (US)


SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

    HARDWARE

        Amiga with Zorro II or III slots

        2 megs RAM minimum

        Hard drive, size depending on how many voice
        and FAX messages are anticipated

        Accelerator not needed

        512k Zorro II RAM required for use in A3000

    SOFTWARE

        OS 1.3 or 2.04 and above

        Some features not available under 1.3


COPY PROTECTION

    None


MACHINE USED FOR TESTING

    Amiga 2500/20
    2 megs 32 bit RAM, 1 meg CHIP RAM
    OS 2.04
    2091 SCSI controller, Quantum 80 meg hard drive



OVERVIEW

    The PhonePak is for single line applications, but you can put
    in as many PhonePaks as you have slots and phone lines for. The
    PhonePaks can share the 'Mail Boxes' you create between them.

    It is compatible with the Public Switched Telephone Network,
    Centrex, and PBX.  DTMF (Touch-Tone) service is required.

    An accelerator is not needed, even if you fill the machine with
    PhonePaks, unless you operate with voice compression turned on.
    FAX conversion will be slow without an accelerator.


DOCUMENTATION

    The nearly 200-page, wire-bound manual starts with voice mail
    etiquette, and walks you through the setup of several example
    applications, from use of PhonePak as an answering machine, to
    a product information system with the ability to FAX back
    literature on the same call.

    The remainder of the manual is a reference to the commands and
    options available for each of the programs, along with step by
    step mini-tutorials for most functions.

    There is a table of contents, an index, menu summary, IFF FAXX
    format specification, and more.

    There is a lot of detail in the manual, and it is easy to miss
    a subtle reference or instruction, so read carefully.


HARDWARE

    PhonePak is a Zorro II AutoConfig full size card.

    It has two RCA connectors, a line-in (digitizing), and a line-
    out (audio monitor), and two RJ-11 telephone jacks, one to the
    phone line, and the other for a local telephone.

    It uses a Yamaha YTM-401 voice-FAX chip.

    There is one jumper to be set if you are using the PhonePak on
    a PBX system. There is an undocumented 16 pin header and two
    RESERVED jumpers.


SOFTWARE

    The PhonePak software comes on two disks, one containing the
    programs, and the other with prepared messages.

    Commodores' standard installer program is used.

    There are several programs that make up 'PhonePak VFX':

    * LineMan (60k)  This is the program that must be running for
     PhonePak (the hardware) to answer or make calls, or to send
     and receive FAXes.

     It automatically determines if you have more than one PhonePak
     board installed, so you can set options for each line
     independently.

      LineMan opens a small window on your Workbench screen.  The
     configurations that are made with it are: number of rings
     before answer, Auto FAX Detect on-off, audio monitor on-off,
     voice compression enable.

     LineMan also passes DTMF tones detected to an ARexx port,
     depending on which mail box the caller is in.

    * PhonePak (300k)  This is the program where you setup and
     maintain  mail boxes, groups of mail boxes (Systems), record
     and playback voice and FAX messages (you can do this remotely
     of course), and schedule sending FAXes.

     The PhonePak program opens on its own 8 color screen, has an
     integrated telephone database, and can also open another
     screen called 'Switchboard', where you see which mail boxes
     have new messages, and can check a mail box 'in' or 'out'.
     This determines how a call to that box gets handled.

     PhonePak has an ARexx port, with a dozen functions available,
     and its own script language, 'Operator', which also can be
     executed through ARexx.

    * PPakFAX (41k)  This is the program/printer driver to
     intercept printouts from other applications for conversion to
     FAX.

    * PPakMonitor (8k)  When you start this program, it opens a
     window and displays events detected by the PhonePak, like RING
     and which DTMF tones are entered.  The manual does not say
     much about this, other than its being a troubleshooting program,
     but I could see this program's output being redirected, or
     piped to another program for various purposes.

    * ShowMode (3k)  This allows you to operate the PhonePak
     hardware 'locally' without being connected to the phone line.
     This is for demoing and testing.

    All of these programs can be run from the Workbench or CLI, and
    have various options that can be set by command line or via
    ToolTypes in the icons.  Both LineMan and PhonePak have on-line
    help, by pressing the 'Help' key.


FEATURES

    AUDIO:

     The PhonePak records and plays back standard IFF sounds at
     9600 8 bit samples per second.  You can also record from an
     attached telephone, but the quality is better using the line-in.

     The IFF playback is fixed at the 9600 samples/sec speed, so
     imported sound files must be converted to this rate.  I also
     own a GVP DSS-8, and this software has a resampler.  It would
     be a good idea for GVP to include a sound editor program, as
     the PhonePak software does not allow you to edit your
     samples.  You must either get it right, or record it again,
     just like a standard answering machine.

     The monitor jack is to monitor incoming calls, can be turned
      off with LineMan, and this can be overridden via an 'Operator'
     script.

         The Amiga's left audio channel is used for playback of
     messages, and PhonePak does not tie up the audio device when
     not in use.  I ran NComm (which does tie up a channel), DSS-8,
     and played back messages with PhonePak, all at the same time,
     with no conflicts.

     You can also play back audio messages on the local phones'
     handset.

      Incoming voice messages take 10 megs per 17 minutes, or 34
     minutes with compression.  Each PhonePak board only needs to
     transfer data to or from the hard drive at the rate of 48k per
     second.

    FAX:

      The FAX portion of the hardware is Group III compatible,
     send-receive 9600, fall back to 2400, with optional auto FAX
     detection.

     The software portion allows you to:
     * Send-Receive standard and fine mode FAXes, with 1D and 2D
       (MH, MR) compression.
     * Convert ASCII text files, with your choice of font, to a FAX
         format file.  A couple of fonts are included.
     * Convert IFF graphics to a FAX format file
     * 'Print to FAX' from any application (DTP, WP, Paint) through
       the PPakFax printer driver
     * Display FAXes on screen, print to a printer or FAX machine,
       and convert to an IFF graphic file.
     * Use an attached FAX machine as a scanner

     FAX file sizes vary widely according to the contents, about
     250 FAX pages per 10 meg of hard disk space.

    MAIL BOXES:

     Most voice mail software gives a limit to the number of mail
     boxes you can have, but I couldn't find anything that states
     the limits with PhonePak.  So I finally thought to check the
     maximum route number you assign to get to a mail box.
     That number is 1 Billion.  Yes, that is a 'B'.  A mail box can
     have a route number from 0 - 999999999.  And that is just from
     the 'initial' mail box.  So the real limit will be the size of
     your hard drives.

     A mail box uses a standard AmigaDOS directory, but PhonePak
     imposes a 9 character limit for names.  Mail boxes can be
     spread across multiple devices.

     The Switchboard screen is where you assign DTMF tone 'Routes'
     to the mail boxes.  Default mail boxes can be assigned if
     the caller makes no input, or the call can be terminated.

     A mail box greeting is interrupted when a tone is detected.

      A mail box can be made not to take a message and just play a
     greeting, or can take a message up to 9999 seconds (nearly 3
     hours), and there is an option in the voice edit menu to
     continue recording the message.

     Mail boxes can also transfer an incoming call to another line
     if you have Centrex or are running with a PBX.

     It is also through a mail box where you can send an ARexx
     message, containing the current mail box, line number, and up
     to 16 digits that a caller has entered, like a VISA number, or
     a phone number, to an external program.

     After your external program is done, a result code is sent
     back, along with a mail box name to place the caller in.

    SECURITY:

     Each mail box can have a password to prevent message playback
     or editing.  This applies for remote or local access.

     There is also a 'Master' password that can be assigned to
     prevent unauthorized changes to the system.  The master
     password can be used to gain local access to individual mail
     boxes.

     This is because PhonePak is designed to be used in an office
     setting, with access to the machine to check messages, and to
     check oneself 'in' or 'out'.

     The security of the 'Master' access is limited.  A person with
     knowledge of the Amiga's file structure, and unhindered access
     to the physical machine, could tamper with system features.


COMMENTS

    The PhonePak was easy to setup.  I put the installer in 'Expert'
    mode to see what software went where, and it put everything where I
    would have put it.  Right after I installed mine, I left for a
    minute.  The phone rang.  Lo and behold, the PhonePak answered and
    took the message.

    The manual includes a tutorial for an information FAX back
    system.  This means a person can get voice and FAX information,
    with only one call, on THEIR dime, unlike some 'FAX back'
    systems where a caller punches in their FAX number and then
    you call the caller back.  But you could customize the PhonePak
    to do it this way if you wanted.

           Not having an integrated data modem is disappointing, but is
    not a drawback when using voice mail extensively, as you will
    want to have dedicated lines.  If this is not an option for
    your situation, there are other solutions, including
    Distinctive Ringing, a Call Detector, or my own idea, the
    'Modem Mail Box':

    A 'Modem Mail Box' can be directed to send a message via ARexx
    to a BBS or communication program to tell a modem to answer
    the line (ATA), if you have a modem in line before the
    PhonePak.  For example: 555-1234,123  <- 123 being the mailbox
    to activate the BBS.

    I installed PhonePak in a BodegaBay (Zorro II slot adapter) for
    the Amiga 500, and the PhonePak appeared to function with no
    problems.


COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS

    At the time of this review, there are no other voice mail
    systems available for the Amiga.  But there is a FAX package,
    GPFax by GP Software, which you can get with a Supra modem, or
    purchase separately.  There are a couple of things I like about
    the FAX interface of GPFax a little better than PhonePaks':

    The FAX View screen.
     The GPFax display has scalable viewing of FAXes, and saves an
    IFF exactly.  PhonePaks' display is also scrollable and
    scalable, but saves a slightly distorted IFF, though you can
    view a FAX in SuperHires, and it will be very, very close to
    the original FAX.
      The PhonePak has faster display conversion, clipping of
    areas to be saved, and you can return to PhonePak while
    displaying a FAX (internal multitasking).

    Convert to FAX.
     GPFax has a superior ASCII to FAX, as it will keep bold,
    underline, and italics.  PhonePak removes these text attributes.
    But PhonePak will let you adjust font width, and in fine mode
    the fonts look sharper.

    There are a couple of things to remember:
     The point of computer generated FAXes is to send great, sharp,
    impressive FAXes.  This is done by printing from a desktop
    publishing or word processing program, which makes the above
    reservations about ASCII conversions a non-issue.

    If you find that one of the above points to be crucial, the FAX
    files generated by GPFax and PhonePak are INTERCHANGEABLE!
    So you can create a FAX with GPFax and send it with PhonePak,
    and receive a FAX with PhonePak and display it with GPFax.


BUGS

    I have not had any problems with the hardware or software that
    were not my own fault, most caused by not reading the manual
    thoroughly.


VENDOR SUPPORT

    In the manual, a technical support telephone number is listed,
    along with a form to help speed troubleshooting.

    A new version of the PhonePak software (1.00->1.01) was made
    available for downloading on the GVP BBS.


WARRANTY

    2 years warranty on the hardware.


CONCLUSIONS

    I am very pleased with the PhonePak, and highly recommend it to
    anyone looking for a voicemail system, with the bonus of FAX
    send-receive-creation as a nicely integrated part of PhonePak.

    The PhonePak is fully capable as it now stands.  In my
    experimenting, I am finding a few features I hope that GVP will
    consider adding, including a couple of addition ARexx commands,
    'smart' IFF sound playback, better FAX to IFF saves, and
    character - pattern recognition, either integrated or stand
    alone with ARexx.



COPYRIGHT NOTICE


    Copyright 1992 Anthony E. Campbell.  All rights reserved.

    [e-mail]         "Data is a Toaster"
    Not affilitated with Cryogenic Software, just using la machine

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