you dont have HTTPS provisioning?
you have to edit the base file and set up the config that way, it is not handled in the gui.
Part of increasing the cost is so we can justify more time and resources into it. Everything has to be justified as a whole project and we have to balance it all.
@tonyclewis Will anything be changing in cost for the PBXact UC Units to accomodate this or was the recent price increase announce covering this?
No PBXact wonāt be changing for EPM. Just FreePBX as PBXact already charges more for 3rd party support.
1 Like
Thanks @tonyclewis I think everyone would appreciate that, you know how these sales cycles can drag out. @tonyg comment regarding Grandstream and some of the more advanced features being supported without us having to modify base files and roll our own would definitely help justify the large price increase by adding more value.
I am extreamly surprised peopleās opinions regarding Grandstream phones, especially the GXP2160. Is there a better bang for the buck model available from anyone? We have hundreds and hundreds deployed problem free ā¦ and the features wow can you ask for more??? Am I missing something here??? Is it that people just donāt have experience with them or they are still remembering Grandstreamās original SIP phone offering ā¦ they were horrible. Please do not stop supporting Grandstream Sangoma.
1 Like
Not sure how you want me to respond. āthe phone software is freeā ? What? You mean Asterisk? You realize that isnāt Sangoma, right? You act like this is being done out of the goodness of their hearts - @tm1000 said it himself the other day. Stocks are up. They are here to make money, donāt fool yourself. The work on the OSS FreePBX enables them to sell the rest of it; itās like saying Wendys is doing a service to us all by increasing the cost of the Frosty because it comes with that sweet spoon for free. No one is bitching about the OSS aspects of the system, nor does the fact that it exists make this easier to swallow. Youāre conflating two things that have nothing to do with each other, and itās seriously distracting from the actual discussion.
Hereās a quick list of my issues.
The module doesnāt support PJSIP, outside of properly assigning port numbers.
The module doesnāt support assignment of TLS ports.
The module crashes frequently when using the basefile editor, and has for ages.
The moduleās firmware management is wacky. At best.
The module handles background images terribly, and this will not be changed.
The module crashes often when saving and rebuilding large numbers of phones.
The module opens to nothing at all, meaning I need to click, wait the 2s for the tab to damn near fill my screen, move my mouse to the thing I want to click, and then get to work.
The module uses basically the same color for the endpoint mapper. This makes it exceedingly difficult to tell them apart on many monitors.
It does, however, support the new Htek phones! That is not exciting to me. That, to me, sounds like Htek phones were added while I still need to set ports manually for TLS endpoints, certificate management isnāt there, etc. I have about 30 lines of config I need to hand. Enter. Every. Time. I. Deploy. Another. System. I generally deal with ~5 āwhoopsā during that input. Iāve given up opening tickets. In the long run, will this put me out of business? No. Is it disheartening? Yes. A module I need to continually open issues for in order to keep it in a minimally running condition doesnāt feel like something that deserves a 200% price increase.
If I were to open EPM one day and be pleasantly surprised by the UI, which didnāt stretch to arbitrarily take over 1/4 my screen, or notice that someone had actually taken the time to use the basefile editor and notice it was utterly infuriating, and resolve the basic problems in usability and file management, then Iād be like āwow take my money!ā itās not that way. Itās a constantly-updated, slow, clunky experience that pisses my users off and is a tool we use simply because itās easier than the alternative, not because itās a joy. If thatās where weāre setting the bar, then weāre in for a nasty ride.
Not to mention, this is now free for Sangoma devices. Which probably represent a not-insignificant portion of devices registered using EPM. Which represents a not-insignificant portion of unsold licenses. I donāt buy the ācosts are increasingā - sounds to me like a business decision was made that resulted in less revenue from the module, and now thereās a need to make up for it.
1 Like
cullenl, for what its worth, my experience has been ok with epm. i have had very little stability problems, my gripes are mostly with features. maybe your environment is part of the issue?..just a thought
frankb, i agree, up with grandstream!
My environment?
Cullen. If you choose to attack a community member again we will be forced to ban you. Please be respectful. This is your last warning.
Attack?
Does it matter that I said stocks are up? This is public knowledge. Why do I have to be thrown into this. Also what I āsaidā here is taken completely out of context, it has nothing to do with this thread. In fact it was inspired by the mistreatment of a user in IRC, of which you are an active member. Pulling me into this does nothing but discredit my name and it serves no purpose.
I agree with Tony after being pulled back into this thread about saying stocks are up and calling out another user. What was the point of that?
@tm1000 If you want to talk, PM me on IRC. Iām not willing to do this in public where my words could be reinterpreted as an attack on anyone.
You called me into this thread and now you want me to go to a PM? This makes no sense.
Sorry, i was told I was attacking people, and Iād like to avoid that misconception.
Yea your attacking about Stockholm syndrome is a direct attack.
Edit: The post āStockholm syndromeā this is referring to has been removed due to community flagging.
cullenl, what i meant is maybe your browser or browser plugins might be contributing to the issue. i use firefox and kaspersky, while i like kaspersky, it inserts itself in the http/https stream and that has caused some issues for me on web sitesā¦just saying.
To be honest, I thought you were the guy maintaining it because your name is still attached to it everywhere. If there is no conspiracy theory then there is no conspiracy theory and I stand corrected. I would say that maybe I have gotten to used to how good OSS EPM was and itās lack of price and gotten spoiled by it. I am just floored by the 100% price increase of EPM. Yes I know itās UCP as well but since that is the only way you can purchase EPM that is effectively the price.
1 Like
Understood and thank you.
I see I set off a storm of negativity and I apologize that was not my intent.
I am just surprised by the price increase. Yes I understand everyone has mouths to feed. If you guys are throwing more resources at it then I look forward to it getting better I am just not sure when the expense makes sense for me. I do agree it can save you tons of time and that it can pay for itself.
But you have to look at it from my point of view a little bit. If you needed a car and you knew a car was $75 but on the way to the lot the price doubled you might be miffed a little as well. Especially if the dealership told you the double increase was for the same car plus they added a trailer (which you did not need) but promise to make the car better in the future.
I get what is going on here and it is called business. But you cannot be surprised to catch some flack for doubling a price of something that , for the time being, remains the same it was before. I think that would be a common reaction whether you are selling heads of lettuce, a PBX or widgets.
Anyways, just my 2 cents and I hope the changes go well and keep FreePBX strong.
PS (for anyone it matters to) - OSS EPM is still broken beyond being in Spainish.
1 Like