Popular Telephony's Peerio GNUP is live - kinda, sorta. I am going to request some volunteers/fans of VoIP to aid in Peerio's initial deployment, which I'll get into in a bit.
First, let me share this from Popular Telephony's GNUP website:
A Free Global Numbering Plan, Peerio GNUP provides interconnectivity between all existing peer-to-peer, PSTN, Standards-based and proprietary VoIP applications.
GNUP is the first solution that will let VoIP users receive calls from other applications, phones and devices. This communication necessity is unique to Peerio serverless communications technology introduced earlier by Popular Telephony. However, it is not restricted to Peerio-based applications - every single VoIP user can profit from GNUP.
GNUP users are assigned a free VoIP telephone number that can be dialed by anyone on any phone - grandma in Florida, friends on the move and cyber buddies across the globe. The number belongs to the user and calls can be answered from any compatible device (PC, PDA, Laptop, Cell, etc...). That's telephony... That's peer-to-peer
Now, as of yesterday, you can download a lightweight utility appliance called PT Inspector, which has been specially designed to facilitate version management of all Popular Telephony applications, including Peerio GNUP. PT Inspector is a key component for the installation and running of Popular Telephony's serverless application (Peerio, Peerio444 or Peerio GNUP).
According to their website, "Users will not be able to install and exploit Peerio GNUP without a prior PT Inspector installation!" PT Inspector installs the application (Peerio, Peerio444 or Peerio GNUP), automatically checks for new and updated version of a chosen application, notifies user about the updates availability, downloads and installs them when permitted. Popular Telephony does mention a particular restriction for this serverless operability -- version management. In order to ensure efficient and transparent interconnect between various VoIP applications and devices, it is essential for GNUP users to have identical, the most recent available, program version.
Also according to their site, "No action is taken without user's explicit approval, no information concerning user's computer is transmitted to Popular Telephony or any other party. PT Inspector is NOT A SPYWARE, is ADDWARE-FREE (no commercial, 3rd party's software will be installed on users' computer) and is NOT monitored by switchboards." Well, that's always a good thing, right? Especially, considering the notoriously bad name Kazaa has earned as a "spyware infested peer-to-peer (P2P) program", many P2P programs have earned a sometimes unwarranted guilt-by-association mentality with respect to P2P applications.
The site also mentions that the creation of the initial user base, vital for serverless operability, may cause a minor delay for the Peerio GNUP upload. Users, downloading PT Inspector on November 1st and 2nd, should expect the upload within a three work days period. I downloaded the app today, so I'll keep you posted when I get the actual Peerio software application pushed down to me via PT Inspector.
Since the initial user base needs to "ramp up" to support the P2P serverless architecture, (they actually need initial 1000 downloads or so to start operations), I'm calling out all you VoIP fans, Skype users, etc. to go download their VoIP software application, get a GNUP number and let's get this ball rolling! I'm really curious to see Popular Telephony's peer-to-peer (P2P) VoIP technology work, so go download PT Inspector and hop on board the VoIP peer-to-peer bandwagon!
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Hello Tom:
I also downloaded the PT Inspector on November 2nd and am, like you, waiting for the initial user base to build to enable this serverless environment. All I get so far when I click on the "ptinspector.exe" is: "Retrieving updates" dialog box [which I guess, it is unable to do so far] and then the "Test dialpad". Thank you for blogging about this and keeping us informed.
Here is the direct link for the PT Inspector download: http://www.gnup.org/getgnup.html
Alex
[P.S.
Tom: Should you wish to communicate/test with me, you can find my skype and pulverCommunicator_FWD IDs at the URL I provided. I am looking forward to the Peerio client download as soon as things become operational]
Good to know that you are planning to download and evaluate Peerio GNUP. If some of their claims at www.gnup.org/abgnup.html are true, this is amazing. Specifically they say: “A lightweight software agent used with any VoIP application (Peerio, Skype, Liphone, SIP or H.323 client software, etc), GNUP allows you, your computer, PDA or other device to be called from any another VoIP, PSTN, mobile or satellite device.” Later on they say, “GNUP provides interconnectivity between all sources.” That means, I can use NetMeeting and call you on a SIP phone or use Skype to have a chat on AIM. This is really an amazing feat considering it is “a lightweight software agent.”
I am eagerly awaiting your evaluation.
Have any luck yet? I just tried to find PT inspector and it seems to have disappeared all together - any status? am I missing something here?
No luck here either. I contacted Popular Telephony and they said the software would be coming "soon". Damn, I thought with the PT Inspector "software rev protection mechanism" that the software would come out right after.
Hang tight and I'll try and find out more.
I am starting to think that GNUP and PEERIO may be vaporware. The file that PT Inspector tries to download http//www.gnup.org/downloads/testupdate/update-i586-win32-.xml does not exist. Use notepad to read update-i586-win32-.xml in the PT Inspector directory for confirmation of what's happening. I sent a message to support@populartelephony.com to report this problem. There has been no answer.
--Keith
Regarding your vaporware comment - go to my blog post that states the status of Popular Telephony's Peerio. It's located here: Popular Telephony Enters Japanese Market
the basic gist is "be patient". I agree that they should be more forthcoming - at least with some sort of timeline. I'll try and find out more and post here.
Something's afoot...
As of today when PT Inspector launches it displays:
Peerio version 0.32
GNUP version 1.000.04
but then unfortunately PeerIO pops up another window informing me that I am behind a firewall and that the current version of GNUP does not support firewall bypass.
Guess I will just have to wait a little longer.
Alex
i need a free VOIP service please tell me where can i get that??