I'm super excited to see how well everything is progressing so here I am again to bring status about the 2.9 release and news about an up coming [url=/open-telephony-training-seminar]FreePBX Open Telephony Training Seminar![/url] What a great chance to get familiarized with all the great new features in version 2.9 then attending the next training. We are also really excited to add a new class to the program on FreePBX Call Centers (Queues Module and a lot more). If your organization has any type of inbound call center then read on below as this is interesting to you.
FreePBX 2.9 Beta Program
Progress continues as we’re heading for the home stretch! I opened the flood gates last weekend by making the Version Upgrade Tool available on the 2.8 repository. What this means is that lots and lots of new beta testers join in on the fun and drive us that much closer to a final release. Since many of you have lives and thus don’t hang out and read this blog every week (shame on you!) this is how many people find out there is a beta to be had, because their system suddenly tells them there is a new module available and with a few mouse clicks, they are on their way.
As a result the testing has increased at a very fast rate and we are already past 1000 beta testers since the flood gates have been open. This has uncovered a handful of very minor bugs which are being closed about as fast as they are being reported. The encouraging thing is that not many are being reported which means it’s time to start thinking about moving to a release candidate! We actually did a ‘stealth’ beta2 release just yesterday which simply means we bumped the version without making a lot of noise and packaged up a new tarball for download. Feedback about your experiences on this blog is always welcome since not too many people file tickets that say “it’s working” (and please don’t) but your experiences here are welcome.
As always you can see all the progress and as much detail as you would care to on the 2.9 Milestone and I’m sure that will give you a first hand view on just how much has gone into this release! With the beta program winding down meaning the gates are basically locked on new features, it’s time for many of us to start thinking about what comes next! There are some great ideas that have been put up on the the 2.10 Milestone where feedback and comments are very welcome as well. We’ve also got some fun surprises that a few folks are silently working on in the background so stay tuned!
FreePBX / OTTS Training
It’s been a while since we did our last FreePBX Open Telephony Training Seminar! and we’ve had a lot of people asking us about it so here we are to announce the next event and hope to see some of you there! We’ve picked a great central location in Cleveland, Ohio at a facility called the Polaris Career Center that has excellent facilities and is located right next to the airport providing great convenience. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame should not be too far either! Come join us May 10-13th.
Advanced Training & FreePBX Call Centers
With all that has been going on with FreePBX, this class will be valuable to both new students and some of you past attendees may want to consider coming back form a refresher! (hint - if they are listed as a Leap Frog in the forums then they probably attended one of our classes.) We will be updating much of the material to reflect many of the changes and as always, there will be invaluable nuggets of knowledge that can only be had at such a class. We are also really excited to offer a NEW one day class on FreePBX Inbound Call Centers! This class is either available as the fourth day of the overall training (with a significant discount) OR as a single day class for past class attendees or those who feel they have an adequate base knowledge to take this advanced class. We put this class together based on feedback from many past class participants and many experiences dealing with paid support and professional services customers!
We anticipate both of these classes to fill up quickly so sign up soon and make sure to reserve your space!
For now, it’s time to have a look at the VERY FEW remaining 2.9 tickets and see what we can do about getting them closed!
Philippe - On behalf of the FreePBX and OTTS Team!
Yes I should have added that the distance learning classes would involve a fair amount of logisitcs, they would have to cost as much as the “in person” training.
I can certainly backup the interactive comment, a video would not be useful. Producing it would also dilute the value of the content of the class.
the nature of our classes are not geared to a training video. They are often highly interactive and involve a fair amount of lab work which is why we have not pursued that in the past.
Providing a proper training class geared to a video training of any quality is a science in itself and is a lot of work which has not been done at this point.
What Scott suggested could possibly work though even that would be a challenge but would be live so could keep a level of interactivity, though it is not something we have considered up to this point. Just filming the training and making it available would not do justice.
I’ve got some great rates at the Residence Inn by the airport, less than a mile from the facility. Call and tell them you are with OTTS. There is also a link on the main eventbrite page.
That’s a nice proposal but it doesn’t actually have to be a live feed (considering time zones that would be hard).
If the possibility exists to tape it and put it online that would (in my opinion) be the best solution. Any costs are understandable but it has to be payable…
the information is on the OTTS link provided above and the details page. There is an outline of what will be covered there. However, at this time we only plan on doing this class as part of OTTS.
I’ve read the OTTS details page and it looks very interesting.
I understand that this class is part of OTTS but I was just wondering if it is possible to get maybe a video from the presentation or the speaker notes or the powerpoint or … (anything would be fine) from the OTTS. It would help me a lot and if necessary I even want to pay for it.
Finding these kind of classes in my country is impossible.
I’m sorry (and don’t mean) to sound like a whiner but this is just my enthusiasm.
Unfortunately I’m unable to visit OTTS (I live in Europe and visiting US is a bit expensive) but I’m really interested in more information about that new class for Call Center.
thank you for adding that information. We are grateful for all your help and that of Polaris for making this venue a reality!
We had a couple of false starts because of logistics issues for this next training and are really excited to finally lock it down! I was saving the the culinary experience as a surprise as we’re hoping people come for the learning and not just the food
Seriously though, as the facility is geared towards technical trainings it was a big factor in our decision to go this route as experience tells us students have the best learning experiences when we have such facilities available. We’ve also been trying hard to get something in the Midwest to provide close access to major metropolitan areas such as Chicago, Detroit and Toronto over to the various East Coast locations, many of which are moderate drives or quick flights making it much more convenient for many of you to attend.
Micro Advantage is very pleased to be hosting the OTTS training for the FreePBX team.
In the forums I am just another user helping fellow FreePBX integrators and users. My day job is CTO of Micro Advantage, a facilities based carrier and Asterisk/FreePBX integrator based in Cleveland OH.
The Polaris Career center, in addition to be a regional center of excellence in technical education, is also home to a wonderful culinary school. Micro Advantage will be providing catered lunch to the attendees and hosting other fun activities.
Personally I would be glad to organize a trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
I am looking forward to meeting all of the attendees.
With the introduction of 2.9 and Asterisk 1.8 it’s a great time to be part of the OTTS community.
