The new portal...

Any suggestion welcome

Do you think the new portal page is cramped?

Yes! It needs reworking!
6
86%
Yes, but I can deal with it.
1
14%
No, I think it's fine.
0
No votes
A portal?
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 7

hmmwhatsthisdo
Posts: 32
Joined: Thu Jun 17, 2010 6:48 pm

The new portal...

Post by hmmwhatsthisdo » Fri Jun 18, 2010 6:23 pm

I noticed that after the layout change, the portal is no longer full-window. This, IMHO, makes it feel small and cramped. I have a 1280x1024 screen with about 100 pixels of toolbar at the top, and I can't see all of the application. I think that the portal page needs a little bit of reworking. Here are some things I believe will make the page better (or at least look better):
  • Make the header smaller, or move it to the bottom.
  • Make the background of the page black or the background of the silverlight app white, to create the illusion of a bigger window.
  • Have an option to hide the header.
PS: Just to see what everyone's opinion on the subject is, I added a poll.
Last edited by hmmwhatsthisdo on Sun Jun 20, 2010 6:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Aaron
Site Admin
Posts: 4652
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2007 12:13 am

Re: The new portal...

Post by Aaron » Sat Jun 19, 2010 12:20 am

I have a big screen as well so I may end up tweaking the size of the Silverlight control. In the meantime you do still have the option of using the old page http://www.sipsorcery.com/portal.html.

AviMarcus
Posts: 153
Joined: Sun May 16, 2010 7:07 am

Re: The new portal...

Post by AviMarcus » Sat Jun 19, 2010 6:27 pm

Aaron wrote:I have a big screen as well so I may end up tweaking the size of the Silverlight control. In the meantime you do still have the option of using the old page http://www.sipsorcery.com/portal.html.
Thanks for keeping the old page available.
(BTW, there's no announcement about the switchboard on your twitter, or about the wiki on blog or twitter.)
Help document SIP Sorcery on the wiki!
If you solved an issue you were having or figured out how to do something, please share on the wiki! It will save everyone lots of time and frustration.

hongkongpom
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Oct 14, 2009 10:04 am

Re: The new portal...

Post by hongkongpom » Sun Jun 20, 2010 4:57 am

Aaron wrote:I have a big screen as well so I may end up tweaking the size of the Silverlight control. In the meantime you do still have the option of using the old page http://www.sipsorcery.com/portal.html.
Thanks Aaron for keeping this direct link alive as it's much easier to use on my laptop's 1280x800 screen.

As always your hard work with this excellent site is very much appreciated 8)

J
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Dec 24, 2009 11:10 am

Re: The new portal...

Post by J » Sun Jun 20, 2010 6:05 pm

The switchboard link was a bit confusing at first. I thought it was about a new java or ajax client (instead of silverlight) and tried logging in with my login password instead of my sip account password.

Well, actually I already made an IVR app on Voxeo's evolution server that gets it's xml data from my php webhost that checks the logged in sip accounts through Sipsorcery's api.(Just something you can call to and say the name of the contact(together with different pronunciations) So I won't need the switchboard service any time soon.

AviMarcus
Posts: 153
Joined: Sun May 16, 2010 7:07 am

Re: The new portal...

Post by AviMarcus » Sun Jun 20, 2010 6:41 pm

Aaron, who is the system for?
I haven't set up any business call centers, but it's not an auto-attendant, and it's not IVR - so what is it? Wouldn't I want to write rules to do most of it automatically?
Is it for the receptionist to pick up and then send the call somewhere? If so.. can't they do that via a SIP phone with a transfer functionality?

I think if we knew the use a business would have, it would be easier for you to get people to sign up. Also, you will need programmers to set this up for the business, if they don't have one themselves.
Help document SIP Sorcery on the wiki!
If you solved an issue you were having or figured out how to do something, please share on the wiki! It will save everyone lots of time and frustration.

hmmwhatsthisdo
Posts: 32
Joined: Thu Jun 17, 2010 6:48 pm

Re: The new portal...

Post by hmmwhatsthisdo » Sun Jun 20, 2010 6:56 pm

AviMarcus wrote:Aaron, who is the system for?
Yes, I had the same question. Heck, I don't even know how it's supposed to be used.

Aaron
Site Admin
Posts: 4652
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2007 12:13 am

Re: The new portal...

Post by Aaron » Mon Jun 21, 2010 10:00 am

Don't forget the switchboard is an "alpha" release which means it does still need more work before releasing or in this case selling to end users. The implicit request for assistance in this case was that sipsorcery users who already have a grasp of dial plans and such would be able to test out the sipsorcery interface and provide feedback to help out in return for getting the free sipsorcery service.

The target audience for the switchboard is small businesses that have a receptionist but don't want to fork out on a thousand dollars or more on a telpehony system, VoIP or otherwise, and then more on ongoing maintenance. By using the sipsorcery switchboard they will be able to avail of superior functionality and avoid the high cost. The advantage the sipsorcery switchboard has over a solution that relies on a standalone SIP phone is that you get a lot more features and information presented as well as being able to have anybody anywhere do the receptionist task without a special phone or more importantly without needing special training (some features on IP phones are harder to comprehend than sipsorcery dial plans). The advantage the sipsorcery switchboard has over hosted pbx service provider offerings and similar products is that you can pick and choose where calls will go, for example tropo have the best IVR tools but ribbit have better speech to text transcription so you they can both be used transparently and if the situation changes it's a simple adjustment in a sipsorcery dial plan rather than switching providers and porting DIDs etc.

For those that aren't getting anywhere with the switchboard so far can you tell me whether you read the getting started guide at http://www.sipsorcery.com/mainsite/Help ... ingStarted? If you did and still couldn't get anywhere it means I need to have another attempt at it to make it even easier or to rework the switchboard software somehow.

Aaron
Site Admin
Posts: 4652
Joined: Thu Jul 12, 2007 12:13 am

Re: The new portal...

Post by Aaron » Mon Jun 21, 2010 10:04 am

In regards to the poll I see most people have voted for a rework which is understandable as I only spent less than a day getting the current site up. What would be useful is suggestions as to what sort of rework. The size of the portal control is the main suggestion so far but if there are others feel free to fire away. I need sipsorcery to have a proper web site rather than just a single page so am happy to listen to suggestions for improvements.

hmmwhatsthisdo
Posts: 32
Joined: Thu Jun 17, 2010 6:48 pm

Re: The new portal...

Post by hmmwhatsthisdo » Tue Jun 22, 2010 12:56 am

Well, the Portal needs reworking. That's one thing. Perhaps make the header smaller, or use the old page, with a new (wider) header. As for the switchboard, a better help guide would be nice. I looked at the help, and I had no clue how to use it. I have the GV-SS-Complex dialplan with CNAM, and I had no clue how to implement it. However, I am assuming that something like that would be useful for someone.

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