Not Asterix… he bows before no fist. But Asterisk… also known as *. Also known as the world’s most popular open source PBX (private branch exchange). Basically it’s a phone server, like office’s have. Except this one’s open source and free, runs on all sorts of hardware, and is almost limitless in it’s configuration options (hence the *).

Before we left Canada I rented a 416 number from DIDWW. At first I used it as a Skype-IN number, due to Skype not natively having Canadian numbers. This didn’t work out so well however, as calls would often end up mysteriously nowhere. DIDWW supports routing calls to many different devices, including other PSTN telephones, and VOIP devices. Enter Asterisk.

I’ll post again shortly on the ins and outs of actually configuring this beast. An unfortunate side effect of it’s near limitless potential is that it can be painfully difficult to configure. It’s taken me two weeks to get it to this stage, admittedly I’m a noob.

This stage is: you can now call us on a Toronto local number. You’ll be prompted to enter an extension for Maija or myself, and voila… phoneage. If we’re not available, voicemail. Asterisk says “I’m a real boy!” If you want the number, I’ve listed it on my Facebook. If you’re not on my Facebook, AAAAHHHHHHAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA.