I'm on vacation at Disney World this week but happened to be checking my email and noticed a bit of interesting news involving Costco, Microsoft, and VoIP. Yes, I know, strange bedfellows, eh? Apparently, you can now buy a Microsoft Response Point IP-PBX phone system from Costco.com! That's great news for Microsoft, though I would have liked to have seen Costco's retail stores carry this IP-PBX system as well. After all, who doesn't want to make a run to Costco to buy some inexpensive bulk packages of chicken/meats, bulk cereal, and of course an inexpensive somewhat bulky IP phone system? 
Don't forget, Microsoft Response Point SP1 was recently announced with support for SIP trunking. Well, gotta run - busy enjoying my vacation, so I'll just share the news here:
Microsoft Response Point Phone System Retails on Costco.com
Response Point small-business phone system from hardware manufacturer Quanta Computer is now available for purchase directly from Costco.com.
REDMOND, Wash. — May 28, 2008 — Microsoft Response Point, an easy-to-use voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) phone system designed uniquely for the needs of small businesses (one to 50 employees), is now available to purchase on Costco.com, a leading global retailer. Costco.com will now offer the award-winning Syspine Digital Operator Phone System from Quanta Computer Inc. featuring Microsoft Response Point phone system software.
“A small-business owner does a little of everything — CEO, accountant and IT trouble-shooter — all before lunch,” said Richard Sprague, senior director, Response Point at Microsoft Corp. “Costco.com’s easy online purchase process, combined with Response Point’s easy setup and intuitive magic blue button for voice dialing, gives the small-business owner another easy way to gain a powerful communications tool to help grow his or her business.”
The Syspine Digital Operator Phone System with Response Point features a powerful voice-recognition system that can be linked with a company’s internal phone directory, as well as an individual’s Microsoft Office Outlook address book. Syspine includes a base unit appliance with a four phone-line analog telephone adapter, four desktop phones and Response Point phone system software. Businesses can add up to 50 individual Syspine IP310 business phones to create a complete, integrated small-business phone system with no additional licensing fees.
Syspine has been lauded as product of the year by Internet Telephony magazine and Unified Communications magazine, and received the prestigious Innovator Award from VON Magazine. More information about the Syspine Digital Operator Phone System can be found at http://www.syspine.com.
Trained Response Point technology specialists are available to small businesses interested in some assistance to install their Response Point system. A comprehensive list of specialists, searchable by ZIP code throughout the U.S., is available on the Microsoft Response Point Web site, http://www.microsoft.com/responsepoint.
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MS whored out the channel a few months ago. I can buy Response Point from a retailer cheaper than i could from the distributors!
Be interesting to see who they partner up with to help the poor mom-n-pop who think this a nice cheap way to go.
Truly it is easy, but people generally will still need to rely on service work.
This has been a hot topic on yahoo groups the past 2 days.
Good to see that VoIP is getting mainstream, and not just for the tech-saavy. IP-PBX is definitely the way to go!
I just wanted to say how funny it is for me as a customer to be looking for this phone system online, and find a little unknown website in Canada (www.BuyResponsePoint.ca) is both more informative and easier to navigate than the Microsoft site, at least they have tech support.
I have serious concerns about buying a phone system that runs off of Windows Embeded in the first place, but then to see they have almost ZERO technical support resources makes me all the more nervous.
I agree with db above, customers like us WILL need service work because even though I'm an IT professional, I'm not a phone guru and without resources to learn properly, I'm going to need someone -- I guess the main question is who?