VoIP IP-PBX Diagram

These days VoIP seems to be the new hot topic in the telecommunications industry. With every new technology comes numerous hurdles and a steep learning curve if you’re an early adopter. Through my work, I have had the opportunity to be in charge of phasing out the legacy PBX phone system in our office to a new VoIP system run by an IP-PBX.

Now I don’t know what my boss was thinking at the time, as I knew nothing about VoIP phone systems apart from the fact that it was voice data which was sent over the IP network. Over a couple of weeks I began to research and investigate what was required to implement a VoIP phone system and to say the least, I was lost for the whole first week, but once I got my head around the basics it really wasn’t that complex.

Let’s get down to some VoIP basics. The underlying protocol which enables voice to be sent over IP networks is called SIP (session initiation protocol). SIP is responsible for initiating, modifying and terminating two-way communication between two peers. Central to the VoIP system is an IP-PBX which is the central control centre for routing calls between SIP clients. Administration of the IP-PBX is usually done via a web interface, but some do have graphical user interfaces which can be used on the server its self.

There are two different breeds of IP-PBX’s, software based and hardware based. Software based runs as an application on a current Windows or Linux machine, but some are also available as thin standalone operating systems which is pretty cool. There are a huge amount of software based IP-PBX’s, and a large number of them are open source too of which are usually built around the asterisk system which runs on Linux. Hardware based solutions are what’s known as a “black box” solution, a vendor supplies a box which plugs into your existing network which runs some sort IP-PBX software. Generally hardware based solutions will have a high initial cost and may also cost more to maintain depending on whether or not they are easily configurable without a specialised technician.

Most of the popular IP-PBX systems run on the Asterisk system. Asterisk is an open source system which runs on Linux and because of this, there are many different distributions of the Asterisk based system which are maintained by various groups and companies. These distributions have built on the Asterisk system and boast full featured IP-PBX systems which include features such as voice mail, conference calls, hunt groups, operator panels and everything in between. “trixbox” is the most popular Asterisk distribution, but doesn’t mean it is necessarily the best choice. The company which produces the trixbox distribution also produces a premium IP-PBX system which is paid for product, so their interests in maintaining and improving trixbox may be some what less than other distributions. Other distributions which are worth a look are PIAF (PBX in a Flash) and Elastix. If you are looking for a windows based system, check out 3CX, which you can download as a low featured free version or get the full blown version which is priced on the number of concurrent calls.

Once you have settled on a IP-PBX system for your VoIP system you need to now start thinking about how the end user will make calls. VoIP phones function just like legacy phones and once set up you should not even be able to tell that it is in fact running over an IP network. A cool thing with VoIP is that every computer already connected to the network is able to have a softphone installed on it which enables calls to be made directly from the computer with the use of a microphone and earphones/speakers. There are numerous free softphones available to download such as x-lite, 3CX phone and zoiper which reduce costs considerably when you think about the cost of replacing all the legacy phones in an office with VoIP phones. In our case at work, we have decided that about half the office will just use softphones as these users rarely use their phones.

Hopefully this has given you a little bit of insight of what implementing a VoIP phone system entails. As I said earlier, I spent a week reading in my spare time about VoIP and IP-PBX systems before I began to get a grasp on the whole concept of what was required. I suggest downloading one of the previously mentioned VoIP systems and installing a softphone on a couple of computers and just having a play around and then it wont be long before you have a good understanding.

Little of us know that there are literally hundreds of download-able programs out there that can recover recently deleted files. Most of these programs are trials which allow you to list the files that are recoverable and then require to you pay a little money and buy a license to use the full featured programs which of course allows you to recover those files!

I have personally tried out close to a dozen of these programs and have a couple of which I recommend, due to success I’ve have had using them. Before I go on further I would like to give you a few tips for when you are in one of these dilemmas where you have deleted important files.

• Don’t panic, when files are deleted all the computer does, is marks that section of the hard drive as available for writing to. The file is still there, just not visible.
• As soon as you are aware of the file being deleted, avoid doing too much on the computer, which might overwrite the remnants of the file. This means, don’t carry on editing and saving other files, avoid downloading off the Internet and running programs which clean up your file system.
• Run a few searches for the file, a lot of the time you may have accidentally dragged the file into an adjacent folder without knowing.
• Avoid using multiple file recovery programs if the first couple don’t work. The job is now probably best for the experts so the less you play with the files, the greater chance they have of a successful recovery.

The first program that I recommend is simply called Restoration. This program has a basic interface which is easy and straight forward to use compared to other programs out there with a multitude of settings which can be changed. I have had success with this program in restoring thousands of files off my hard drive, almost 50GB worth! This program would definitely be my first port of call. Best of all this program is FREE.

The second program is one that I tried out when the first program had no luck in recovering files that I wished I never deleted. This program is called GetDataBack funnily enough, and there are versions for both FAT (USB sticks, and older versions of Windows) and NTFS (Windows XP and Vista). This program has an easy to follow step by step process, which is a lot less user friendly than the first program, but the upside is that it managed to recover files which the first program failed to! The downside to this program is that you do have to purchase a licence if you wish to recover the files which it detects.

These programs may be the first port of call for most of us which aren’t prepared to empty our wallets of hundreds to recover files. Having said that, if the files you need to recover are very very very important, I do recommend paying a professional to do it right the first time.

Fonts – The History and Basics

Author: Rex Camposagrado

Fonts are a set of glyphs or images that represent characters from some particular character set in a particular size and typeface. The fonts term comes from the Middle French fonte, from fondre (meaning to melt or cast) which referred to type produced by casting molten metal at a type foundry. Fonts in printing, sometimes called Fount, are a complete set of type of any one size, with all the usual points and accents; a font consists of about 100,000 characters. In computers, a computer font is an electronic data file which contains a set of glyphs, characters, or symbols such as wingdings. Although the term font first referred to a set of metal type sorts in one style and size, since the 1990’s most fonts are digital and used for computers or computer devices.

Ascender is a leading provider of advanced font products specializing in type design, multilingual font development & licensing and software development for mobile phones. The Ascender team is renowned for its TrueType and OpenType font expertise, and can tune fonts and create custom fonts for on-screen legibility in Microsoft Windows as well as Digital TV fonts, Set Top Boxes, Mobile Phone fonts, Game Consoles fonts, Embedded Systems, Consumer Electronics and other devices.

Font History and Font Formats

There are different font formats – which one should I choose?

OpenType fonts (.OTF) – OpenType is a scalable format for computer fonts that was initially developed by MicrosoftTM, then later joined by AdobeTM Systems. OpenType fonts were first announced in 1996 and AdobeTM completed conversion of its entire font library to OpenType around the end of 2002. In 2005, there were around 10,000 fonts available in OpenType font format, with Adobe’s font library making up under a third of the total. As of 2006, every major font foundry and many minor ones were developing fonts in OpenType font format.

TrueType fonts (TT or .TTF) – TrueType is a digital font technology that was designed by AppleTMComputer, and is now used by both Apple (MacTM) and Microsoft (PC) in their operating systems. Microsoft has distributed millions of quality TrueType fonts in thousands of different styles. TrueType fonts offer the highest possible quality on computer screens, printers, and include a wide range of features which make them very easy to use. PostScript Fonts(Type 1) – PostScript fonts predates TrueType by about six years. First, there were many different font formats for digital fonts, none of which were standardized. Then Apple adopted Adobe’s PostScript page description language (PDL) for its Apple LaserWriter printer in 1985. This, combined with the introduction of desktop publishing software, sparked a revolution in page layout technology. ClearType Fonts(found on AscenderFonts.com) – Microsoft ClearType fonts are an unprecedented innovation in font display technology that dramatically improves font display resolution and marks a genuine breakthrough in screen readability.These Microsoft fonts were designed by Microsoft and leading type designers and font technologists to improve the reading experience in Windows VistaTMand Microsoft Office 2007TM.With ClearType font technology, the fonts on your computer screen look almost as sharp and clear as those printed on a piece of paper.

The choice of font format is mostly based on the kind of documents you create and your computer environment. Here are some general guidelines: OpenType TT OpenType TT fonts contain TrueType® outlines, and have a .TTF file extension. This is the default font format of both Macintosh and Windows systems. OpenType fonts with TrueType outlines are popular among home users and both small and large businesses or other enterprises. OpenType PS OpenType PS fonts contain PostScript® outlines, and have a .OTF file extension. OpenType PS fonts are replacing Type 1 fonts as users upgrade their systems. Type 1 PostScript Type 1 is the original font format that was part of the desktop publishing revolution that started in 1985. Type 1 fonts for PostScript and PostScript compatible printers consist of more than one file and have a limited character set. These limitations are overcome with OpenType fonts.

Font Characteristics

Font Weight

There are three basic categories of font weights: light, regular, and bold. The regular font weight for most typefaces is slightly lighter than medium. Many computer fonts for Microsoft Office, Web and common use come with a normal, regular and a bold weight. Font Weight relative order: thinultra lightextra lightlightsemi lightbookregular, (roman), plain, normalmediumdemi bold or semi boldboldextra boldheavyblackextra blackultra Font Width compressed, condensed, narrowwide, extended Font Families There are a multitude of typefaces that have been created over the centuries and they are commonly categorized into font families according to their appearance. At the highest level, one can differentiate between blackletter, serif, sans serif, and decorative fonts.

1. Blackletter Fonts Blackletter fonts were the earliest fonts used with the invention of the printing press. They resemble the artistic handwritings of cloisters in the Middle Ages and fall into three groups: Gothic fonts and Old English Text – Of all the blackletter fonts, the Gothic ones most closely resemble the Textura calligraphy used with manual copying of books. A Gothic typeface was thus also carved by Johannes Gutenberg when he printed his 42-line Bible, including a large number of ligatures and common abbreviations. While in Germany, Gothic fonts were quickly displaced, they remained in use in great variance and are frequently also referred to as Old English Text fonts.Schwabacher typefaces were predominant in Germany from about 1480 to 1530. Most importantly, all of the works of Martin Luther, leading to the Protestant Reformation, as well as the Apocalypse of Albrect Durer (1498) were printed in this typeface. It was probably initially used by Johannes Bamler, a printer from Augsburg, in 1472. The origins of the font name are unclear; some assume that the font was designed by a typeface carver from the village of Schwabach who worked externally and was thus referred to as the Schwabacher.Most commonly known among the blackletter fonts as those of the Fraktur font family, which stated when Emperor Maximilian I (1493 – 1519) established a series of books and had a new typeface created specifically for this purpose. Fraktur faces were widely used in Germany until the end of World War II.

2. Serif Fonts Serif fonts are divided into four font groups: Renaissance – this font type has a slight difference in thickness within each font. This font category includes the GaramondTMand PalatinoTMfont families.Baroque – this font type has a thickness within each font with greater variety. This font category includes the BaskervilleTMand Times New RomanTM font families.Classicist – the most variance of thickness with each font. This font category includes the BodoniTMand Century SchoolbookTM font families.Modern fonts – these fonts are designed mainly for decorative purposes. This font category includes the RockwellTMand AmasisTM font families.

3. Sans Serif Fonts Sans Serif fonts first appeared to be the “Egyptian” font released in 1816 by William Caslons’ foundry in England. The Sans Serif fonts are commonly used for display applications such as signage, headings and other applications where the font is needed to stand out and continuous reading is not a requirement. Sans Serif fonts are divided into four font groups: Grotesque – This font category includes the GrotesqueTMor Royal Gothic fonts.Neo-grotesques – This font category includes the Standard, ArialTMand UniversTM fonts.Humanist – This font category includes the Gill SansTMor FrutigerTM fonts.Geometric – This font category includes the FuturaTMor SpartanTM fonts. Other common Sans Serif fonts include: LucidaTM, TahomaTMand VerdanaTMfonts.

How to Download fonts

FontMarketplace.com makes is easy for you to download the font. For every item that you purchase there will be a download link on the order confirmation page. Additionally, the receipt that is automatically emailed to you will also have the links. For more information, please view our Font Help page section on “How to Download Fonts” How to Install fonts Fontmarketplace.com provides font downloads in two forms: Automatic Installer for Windows Manual install for Windows/Macintosh/Linux/Other For more information, please view our Font Installation page under Font Help. All trademarks are property of their respective owners. Please view our Trademarks page for more information.

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Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Fonts – the History and Basics

First lets understand how a conventional file transfer works. A user sees a file they wish to download off a website or P2P program, the use clicks on the link or file and the file transfer commences. The file is downloaded in little pieces called packets (a packet of bytes that is), all of these packets are downloaded in order one after the other and then the end result is the file on your computer. These transfers can be quite slow as there is generally only one server or uploader transferring the file to you. This method is fine for small files, but you generally run into problems with larger files.

Torrents on the other hand have a different method which increases the availability of the file and the speed of the transfer. This is achieved by having multiple people uploading parts of the file to you in a random order. These parts are reassembled into the correct order at your end. By having multiple people uploading different parts of the file to you, a greater download speed is achieved and you get your file quicker. This is perfect for downloading large files.

So now you are interested and want to download using torrents right? Okay, before you begin you need a torrent client, which is similar to P2P programs such as LimeWire. Some of the more popular torrent clients are Azureus, BitTorrent and uTorrent. Once you have downloaded, installed and made any required configurations to any firewall you might have, the next step is to find a torrent you wish to download. There are many online directories of torrents available to download, the biggest one seems to be mininova.com. Here you can search and download the torrent file which will open in your torrent client and begin to download.

Hang on don’t get to ahead of yourself, there is still one last catch with torrents. As you download complete parts of a torrent, these part will then start to upload to other users who require them. Some of us tend to not like to upload or share files to other users on the Internet, which is fair enough as uploading a file adds to our broadband data cap, but in the torrent world it is referred to as leeching. It is generally considered good online etiquette upload as much as you download, in other words a 1:1 ratio, after all sharing is caring right?

Remember guys, although it is perfectly legal to take part in P2P sharing, sharing copyrighted material is definitely illegal without permission from the copyright holder.

If you are not familiar with this game, its just over a decade old and was made my EA Games back in 1997. It was created after the great success its predecessor Theme Park was. The jist of the game is you are given an empty hospital in which you have to build all different sorts of hospital rooms, hire staff, treat patients and keep the hospital running whilst trying to achieve set goals to proceed to the next level, there are 3 competing hospitals in the same area. The game is filled with humor, for instance some of the sicknesses which you come across are Bloaty Head, Jellytitis, Baldness and Serious Radiation just to name a few. These illnesses are treated in different ways depending on what it is after the required research has been done.

In the corner of the game there is an advisor which gives you comments and tip offs throughout the game, a lot of the things he say are complete piss takes though, such as “You are three quarters of the way to losing this level” and ” Kill another 132 patients to lose the level”. Messages pop up through the game where you must make decisions on certain things such as whether or not to take a chance on a certain patients cure, whether or not to invite or fob off  VIPs who wish to visit your hospital or whether or not to accept a handful of patients from an emergency.

I found that Theme Hospital did not run too well on my Windows Vista computer, which is understandable seeing as this game was designed for DOS and Windows 95. To make it run properly I ran it through a program called DOSBox. This program emulates a computer running DOS, which makes all the old classic DOS games like Theme Hospital run fine on this days ultra computers (compared to a decade ago).

Nevertheless this game is fun and addictive, I have spent the good part of three days playing it and intend to spend however more longer it takes me to complete the remaining two levels.

The Mk V came about in September 1979, orginally as a facelift version of the Mk IV known as the “Cortina 80”. Mk V tag was given to it by the press, enthusiasts and the general public.

The differences in the Mk V from the older Mk IV include, larger rear tail lights, larger front indicators which meant no need for a side indicator as on the Mk IV, newer grille which was said to be more aerodynamically efficient, more squarer edges around the roof, better visability for the driver, restyles bumpers with black plastic end caps and upgraded trim options

Variants included the regular Base, L, GL, GLS and Ghia variants, although various ‘special editions’ were announced, including the Sport (S pack) and Crusader.

Up until 1981, the Cortina was the best selling car in Britain. The production of the Cortina came to a cease when the last cortina rolled off the production line in 1982, when ford replaced it for the new Sierra.

Many various body styles of the Mk V came out including 2 door and 4 door saloons, station wagons and sometimes seen in ute form.

Engines included 1.3/1.6/2.0L crossflow, and 2.3L v6.

In New Zealand the more commonly seen Mk V cortinas are 4 door saloons and station wagons powered by the 2.0L pinto engine, although there are a few floating around in the 1.6L and 2.3L forms aswell as the 2 door versions.

The Mk IV had a more square-shaped style than the previous MK III. it is basically a rebody of the Mk III as it is on the shame chassis, this is also the case for the Mk V. Many parts were carried over from the Mk III, such as the dashboard design but as said before, the most noticable was the running gear/chassis.

This version of the cortina gave birth the the Ghia model which was top of the range with all the luxury trim options, this bascially replaced the 2000E. The 2.3L v6 engine was introduced in the Mk IV which was seen as an engine above the 2.0 pinto.

Many various body styles of the Mk IV came out including 2 door and 4 door saloons, station wagons (estate)

Engines included 1.3/1.6/2.0L crossflow, and 2.3L v6.

In New Zealand the more commonly seen Mk IV cortinas are 4 door saloons and station wagons powered by the 2.0L pinto engine, although there are a few floating around in the 1.6L and 2.3L forms.

Ford originally wanted to call the Mk III something other than Cortina, but the name Cortina stuck. The Mk III has more curves than the boxy Mk II and looks a lot larger although it is the same length, but it is 10cm wider. To me it has some australian muscle car styling in the design, surely the most beasty looking version of the Cortina

The different trim levels were Base, L (Luxury), XL (Xtra Luxury), GT (Grand Touring) and GXL (Grand Xtra Luxury) which was later replaced by the 2000E. Four headlights and Rostyle wheels were a trademark of the GT and GXL versions, while the GXL also had bodyside rubstrips, a vinyl roof and a brushed metal and black tail panel on the GXL and plain black one on the GT. All models featured new updated running gear, with coil suspension all round running a double wishbone setup in the front, opposed the the Mk II’s leaf rear and MacPherson strut front end.

Engine wise, they ran either a 1.3/1.6 kent or a 1.6/2.0 pinto. They came out in 2/4 door saloons, and estates.

In New Zealand now, there are still a few 4 door saloons floating around, definately more than any 2 door saloons that are still around. Station wagon wise, probably up there with 2 door saloons, you’d be pushed to find one, and if you did its probably been modifyed/restored and will cost you an arm and leg.

The engines were the same as the Mk I pre-crossflow in the first year, then they were changed to a crossflow which made they more efficient. This means they now came out in 1.3L and 1.6L, the Lotus version still had its own twincam engine. One of the popular and well known models was the 1600E which held the 1.6L engine.

2/4-door saloons were availavle and also a 4 door estate. Trims were base, Deluxe, Super, GT, 1600E.

The 1600E had all the nice sporty extras which were appealing to people, eg, lowered suspension from the Lotus, a high tune GT 1600 Kent engine and luxury trim. Also bucket seats, sports steering wheel and a different instrument cluster featuring things like a tacho which were not included in some other models, a vinyl roof and rolled on Rostyle wheels.

The Mk I is one of the more popular Cortina’s these days, of which the popular/well known models were the Lotus and GT. They came off the production line with either 1.2 L and 1.5 L engines in 2 and 4-door saloon and 4-door estate forms. Trims available were base (standard), deluxe, super and GT although they werent all available on all body styles.

The engines which powered these little beasts were 4 cylinder pushrod engines, theses engines are known as the “pre-crossflow”, as intake and exhaust were both on the same side. The most notable engine which came out in these, was the 1.5L which was used in the GT Cortina, which produced a humble 78bhp. This engine was worked from factory with, a mild camshaft profile, larger port head, extractors and a double barrel weber carb.

Lotus Cortina’s all came out as 2 door saloons painted white with a green stripe painted either side, they also ran a twincam 1.6L engine which was based on the crossflow engine and made by lotus.