Bill,
This may sound simple or stupid, but under what circumstances can you use devices other than a direct modem connection?
If I look on the "Devices" tab I have 6 other devices.
Can you "point to" or explain how these other devices can be used and under what cicumstances they would be used?
I dont need too much detail, I am more curious as to why anything other than a directly connected modem is useful.
How do you use devices other than a direct connect modem?
Re: How do you use devices other than a direct connect modem
Hi,
This is a good question.
Currently, the devices listed on the "Devices" tab are the ones that TAPI says are available. In Windows 2000 and Windows XP, Microsoft added several pseudo devices, preumably because there is some reason to use TAPI software to communicate over them. On my Windows XP machine, I see the following pseudo devices:
These "devices" connect over the network and don't correspond to physical devices. Presumably Microsoft wanted programs to be able to initiate or respond to these protocols using TAPI so they added TAPI support for them. In theory, you could use Ascendis Caller ID to announce incoming calls (connections) for these protocols by enabling the device. "H323 Line" is probably the most likely candidate from the above list, since it's used for audio and visual communications. However, some of these pseudo devices do not support monitoring and can not be opened properly by Ascendis Caller ID, as you would see if you opened the Line Monitor window and enabled one of these devices on the Devices page.
Non-modem TAPI devices exist that can connect to your computer that Ascendis Caller ID works with. Some PBXs are accessible through TAPI. Some companies make telephony boards (like Dialogic) that can be accessed through TAPI. In theory one could write a TAPI Service Provider (TSP) for any hardware device to make it accessible through TAPI, and therefore Ascendis Caller ID. That's why we don't restrict the Devices page to just modems. Admittedly, we could filter the device list to exclude devices that cannot be opened by Ascendis Caller ID, and probably will in a future version.
Hope that helps!
Finest regards,
Bill Root
Ascendis Software
This is a good question.
Currently, the devices listed on the "Devices" tab are the ones that TAPI says are available. In Windows 2000 and Windows XP, Microsoft added several pseudo devices, preumably because there is some reason to use TAPI software to communicate over them. On my Windows XP machine, I see the following pseudo devices:
- RAS PPPoE Line0000
RAS VPN Line 0
WAN Miniport (L2TP)
LPT1T
IPCONF LINE
H323 Line
These "devices" connect over the network and don't correspond to physical devices. Presumably Microsoft wanted programs to be able to initiate or respond to these protocols using TAPI so they added TAPI support for them. In theory, you could use Ascendis Caller ID to announce incoming calls (connections) for these protocols by enabling the device. "H323 Line" is probably the most likely candidate from the above list, since it's used for audio and visual communications. However, some of these pseudo devices do not support monitoring and can not be opened properly by Ascendis Caller ID, as you would see if you opened the Line Monitor window and enabled one of these devices on the Devices page.
Non-modem TAPI devices exist that can connect to your computer that Ascendis Caller ID works with. Some PBXs are accessible through TAPI. Some companies make telephony boards (like Dialogic) that can be accessed through TAPI. In theory one could write a TAPI Service Provider (TSP) for any hardware device to make it accessible through TAPI, and therefore Ascendis Caller ID. That's why we don't restrict the Devices page to just modems. Admittedly, we could filter the device list to exclude devices that cannot be opened by Ascendis Caller ID, and probably will in a future version.
Hope that helps!
Finest regards,
Bill Root
Ascendis Software
Last edited by Bill Root on Wed Oct 18, 2017 6:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Hi,
Our testing focus is indeed on modems. If you have managed to use the H323 'device' in a useful way, or any other pseudo-device, we would be very interested to hear about it. Similarly, if you see error messages or exceptions or other strange behavior (other than inability to open, which is expected for most pseudo-devices) we want to know.
If you have a real non-modem telephony device (like PBX, smart phone, Dialogic card, etc) with TAPI support, then let's talk over email (support at ascendis dot com).
Finest regards,
Bill Root
Ascendis Software
Our testing focus is indeed on modems. If you have managed to use the H323 'device' in a useful way, or any other pseudo-device, we would be very interested to hear about it. Similarly, if you see error messages or exceptions or other strange behavior (other than inability to open, which is expected for most pseudo-devices) we want to know.
If you have a real non-modem telephony device (like PBX, smart phone, Dialogic card, etc) with TAPI support, then let's talk over email (support at ascendis dot com).
Finest regards,
Bill Root
Ascendis Software