A bit of advice for new users
MichiganTelephone:
I just discovered this board and assume it is newly created. So, this is for the new OBi device users:
Welcome to the OBiTALK forum! This is a great place to get help and advice on any issues you may be having. But there are a few pitfalls you may wish to avoid.
First of all, there are users on here that have very high post counts that believe they know the "correct" way to configure an Obihai device. It may be "correct" for them, but remember, they live and breathe these devices, and they may give you advice that would possibly be valid for other expert users, but is questionable at best when it comes to new users. In other words, they may be asking you to do things the hard way when there is a much easier way available!
One of the things you may be told to do is turn off Auto Provisioning or OBiTalk Provisioning. If you are an expert user and you know what you are doing, and more importantly, what you are giving up by taking that action, that may be valid advice. For a new user, it's horrible advice. The biggest problem with it is that you won't be able to use the OBiTALK portal to get firmware updates and/or configure your device. And for new and inexperienced users (and even for some of us advanced users), the OBiTALK portal is one of the best things about the OBiTALK devices, since it allows you to make configuration changes to your device even from a remote location. This is especially helpful if you have configured a device for a friend or family member and after you have shipped it to them, you remember some setting you should have changed (it's happened to me!). All you have to do in such a case is log into the OBiTALK portal and make the change, and then next time they connect the device the change will be made!
The OBiTALK portal also makes it much easier to configure Google Voice and other service provider accounts. You can use the provided default configurations for Google Voice and several other popular VoIP providers.
And if you need to change individual settings there is an "Expert Configuration" mode that allows you to individually change almost every setting on the device, except for a few having to do with network connectivity (I think they don't want you to be able to make a remote change that would render the device inaccessible from the network).
So if someone tell you to turn off Auto Provisioning or OBiTalk Provisioning and you are not an expert user of these devices, think long and hard before you do that. The people with the highest post counts on these forums are NOT Obihai employees (nor am I, for that matter) and we all have our own biases and our own ways of doing things. I just happen to feel that for new users, it is much better to use the OBiTALK portal to do any configuration you may need to do, instead of manually configuring your device.
The other thing I will mention is that when you post a message here, very often the first responses you receive may not be the best responses. So if you are smart, you won't just take the first answer and think that's all you need to know. Very often, a discussion ensues that may lead to better solutions for your problem. It may take days (or occasionally even weeks) for these better responses to appear, so you may wish to continue to monitor any threads you have started (or that you are interested in).
Having said all that, this is mostly a friendly bunch, so have fun with your new Obihai device!
lhm.:
Your signature says it all buddy. The message you give above is just a subtle attempt to diminish some of the other members of this forum that have made many helpful contributions to forum members. (Ron R, Stewart and others)
Give it up or take a hike out of here.
Luke
MichiganTelephone:
Quote from: lhm. on March 23, 2012, 01:48:42 pm
Your signature says it all buddy. The message you give above is just an subtle attempt to diminish some of the other members of this forum that have made many helpful contributions to forum members. (Ron R, Stewart and others)
Give it up or take a hike out of here.
Luke
Excuse me, are you a forum moderator? I didn't think so, so you needn't be telling anyone where to go (other than yourself). And by the way, there was nothing subtle about it. I think at least one of the people you mentioned is the worst thing that has ever happened to this forum, particularly because he is leading new users who don't know any better down the wrong path.
You should have seen my post before I cleaned it up to remove the more personal references. Believe me, I'm not in any way trying to be subtle about the fact that I think certain people (one in particular) are like a plague on this forum, even if they are knowledgeable in certain aspects and occasionally help someone.
If only the "know-it-alls" would realize that just because they do things a certain way, that doesn't make it the right way for everyone, and particularly not for new users just getting their feet wet, this would be a much better place. Also, I can't imagine that Obihai is happy about the fact that one of them tries so hard to discourage people from using a service that they worked hard to create (the OBiTALK portal), or goes into other forums and complains about Obihai behind their back (also here). So yes, I would like to see other people stop treating such people like some kind of messiah just because they apparently have absolutely nothing better to do with time than post in online forums!
carl:
We should be nice to each other here. And as far as RonR - he helped me to set up my Obi for Localphone which was a real challenge in my case, something nobody else was either capable of or willing to do. I appreciate any help, wherever it may come from and opposing views and alternative solutions are always very welcome.
Ostracus:
Quote from: MichiganTelephone on March 23, 2012, 02:16:24 pm
...or goes into other forums and complains about Obihai behind their back (also here)...
The issue there seems to be about a "backdoor". Someone reasonably network literate could resolve that question. The issue seems to be "is that capability under owner control"? Not an unreasonable question in this day and time.
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