I have been experimenting with FreePBX since the beginning when Coalescent Systems started it. It always has been and continues to be the best free GUI out there.
I love it because I have no interest in manually editing config files for dialplans. As the other poster mentioned, I am totally addicted to Asterisk and FreePBX is more than half the reason for that.
What I like is that it is to the point where you can do just about anything any business would possibly want to do with it.
What I don’t like is the fact it depends on heavy services such as Apache and MySQL. I’d like to see a lite version one could potentially run on Compact Flash. I think the GUI could use some cleaning up with a more logical menu arrangement but that’s just a minor gripe.
I really don’t know what other features you could possibly pack into it as I still haven’t found a use for most the the features it already has. A more automated way to personalize it with custom logo’s and changing the links to customized documentation would be useful I think.
I have 2 production installs running 2.1.3 and a few more in the pipeline. Always have 2 or 3 experimental systems around for running various tests.
Let me start by saying that while I’ve only been using it for about 10 weeks, I LOVE FreePBX and Trixbox. It has quickly become an addiction.
What I would like to see in a future version:
Caller ID checking on ‘Follow-Me’.
If I’m away from the office and I call my DID from my cell phone (To Check VM or leave myself a message), I don’t want the PBX to call my cell phone back, even if it is in my follow-me list. So if it checked the CID against the follow-me list and just did not call if they are the same number.
Better Time Conditions
This should be split up into conditions and actions. Right now the action is linked to the condition in such a way that if you want two different IVRs to do something after 5pm you need to create to separate conditions with the same time information but different actions.
Time Condition Graphing.
Cascading CNAM lookup.
If a CNAM lookup fails it should have the option to go to another source.
User Templates.
I should be able to save a user (or device) as a template and then create new users from that one.
More Robust System Recording.
Per DID/Extension Blacklists/Conditional Routing (Virtual Ring, Etc)
Per Extension setting for ‘Number of seconds to ring phones before sending callers to voicemail’
Expanded Print Extensions to include Ring Groups/Paging/Etc.
In the Core Destination instead of just saying ‘voicemail box xxxx’ It should show the name.
While paging, the CNAM should show the users name, not just show ‘device xxxx’
Respond to this post telling us what you like, don’t like, want improved, etc. about freepbx, or how you use it, how many installations you have done, etc.
I love FreePBX as it is now… All the feature put together make a great front end to manage Asterisk. I would like to see some minor improvements to the Front-End menu system where possibly placing the menu items up top and having a drop down for each catagory. So far, I have about 4 installations and all are working great with very little issues from time to time. I highly recommend FreePBX to a lot of people that I work with and many have started using either directly by adding it to Asterisk or using Trixbox.
Thanks for the opportunity to win the free tickets. I live in Boston, MA and I will go for sure. Anything I get, I will be glad to donate back to FreePBX, I will also donate a Cisco 796X (excellent condition) if the FreePBX team can benefit from it.
