Mplat's Skype jumper box
By Donald Melanson 
posted Jun 16th 2006 3:33PM
posted Jun 16th 2006 3:33PM
You won't get it for free like Vonage subscribers do, but Skype users are probably getting enough of a free ride already that they won't mind plunking down the $50 needed for Mplat's new Jumper S100 personal gateway, which'll let you use any old landline phone as a Skype phone. The unassuming little blue box (available in grey as well, it seems) also packs in a fair amount of additional features, including call forwarding to your cellphone, three-way conferencing between Skype and PSTN calls, voice recording, and voice mail support. Unfortunately, the software required for most of those features is Windows only -- hey guys, Mac users like free phone calls too, you know.[Via Red Ferret Journal]
The D-link DPH-50U does the same thing...
http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=466
I paid 70 bux for my little jumper box from vonage.... FREE??? maybe now... but not when I signed up. Actually had a long argument over the phone with them regarding this. Early adopters pay the buck.
Heh. It seems that the blue box returns.
-Doc.
I wish one of these days someone would come out with a box that would work stand alone - without the need for a PC. If companies are able to make Wifi Skype phones that don't need a PC, why not stand alone ethernet boxes too? Then it wouldn't matter if I used Windows or Mac OS X!
Forgot to mention that Vonage has been making stand alone boxes forever now - it can't be that hard. C'mon Skype!
Can I plug in my old Rotary Phone?
"...hey guys, Mac users like free phone calls too, you know."
"Then it wouldn't matter if I used Windows or Mac OS X!"
Let's not forget about those of us who are exclusively Linux! Skype is available for us, natively, too!
Heck, the standalone box would probably run a teency Linux distro.
I've been looking for a box that would support old rotary phones as well, but it seems that nobody has really pulled it off yet without some major modding of the phone itself. If anybody is aware of a solution share. My dream of a red HOTLINE phone must be realized. What if the Kremlin needs to contact me?
Heh, nice post Doc. Pretty ironic that ~30 years later here we are with a "bluebox" that enables you to make free calls.
really though, a stand alone skype box would be awesome. I'm surprised that Dlink and Linksys haven't done it yet.
Nate: I'm not a Linux user myself (was for maybe a couple months), but would WINE not be enough to run those Windows utilities? I'm not clear on WINE's limitations, so correct as needed. :)
I have skype! it is ok...not as good as calling on your phone though...
I've been using Skype for a few months now, and I haven't had any major problems. Sure, it's not a stable as a landline for international calls or whatever, but free is free! It's about time they came out with this box. I'll have to pick it up soon.
This is awsome product but D-link DPH-50U does the same thing. Also D-Link has DPH 540 WiFi phone.
Nate, I'm with you, dude. I'm a Linux user and get fed up with the lack of support offered by these firms, but am increasingly impressed by the OSS packages that not only do the same job as the manufacturer's software, but often surpass it!
Shunnabunich, WinE tends to work well for single .exe programmes, but anything linking to .dll files or calling secondary progs tends to cause more headaches. It still copes well with most, so there's a good chance, but I never managed to get my older games running under WinE.
flim
has anyone seen mac software for the dph-50u?